The Werewolf Cowboy: Werewolves of Montana Mating Mini #6

by Bonnie Vanak

  Ash and dust caked in Katy’s rumbled brown curls. Her palm trembled against his cheek. Grayson took her hand, turned it over and kissed it.

  Such was his relief at finding her, he wanted to kiss her mouth as well, but they had an audience. He had to get her to the only place where he could keep her safe. Not her world, but his world here.

  Until he discovered who wanted Katy enough to punch a hole from this world into the Skin world to drag her here, she would never be safe.

  Grayson swatted at his head, trying to rid the thoughts buzzing there like a swarm of noisy mosquitos. He kept clutching her hand, marveling at her aplomb and courage faced with a new world and threats.

  Then again, he always knew she was a true survivor.

  Jaeden sat by Ninnea. “You are Ninnea. The missing Thannach and niece to Queen Morgan.”

  “I’m not missing. I know where I am.” Ninnea eyed the other Fae warily.

  “Your parents never gave up searching for you, and finally the queen agreed to offer a reward for your safe return.”

  Ninnea blinked. “And I suppose you will collect it.”

  Standing, Jaeden frowned in the direction of the brothel. “Not if those Night Riders catch up to us. You’ll need me to take you back to the Unseelie Court.”

  “I can find my own way,” she snapped.

  Jaeden gave a wry smile. “Your powers have depleted, Ninnea, by staying in your Thannach form. You cannot even find water for yourself. Unless you wish your parents to find your body scattered in five pieces, which is what the Night Riders will do when they find you, you will come with me.”

  The Fae woman turned to Katy. “I hate to leave you.”

  “I’ll be fine. Will you be okay?” Katy hugged her.

  “Worry not about me, wolf. I can take care of myself. Do you trust that one?” She pointed at Grayson.

  “With my life,” Katy told her.

  Ninnea hugged her again. “Then go with him, and be well.”

  Motioning to Grayson, Jaeden pointed east to the vast stretch of desert. “The next stationary portal is a good eight-hour journey, but with your wolf, you can make it by dusk. Look for a pile of dry unicorn bones. If you can outrun the Night Riders, you should be safe.”

  Outrunning the Night Riders was the least of his worries. He had to find out who the hell aligned with a Dark Fae to bring Katy here, and why. Until he did, Katy would never be safe.

  He gave a meaningful look to Grayson. “You know what to do to protect Katy, wolf. Do it if necessary. It will save her.”

  Grayson nodded, hoping it wouldn’t come down to that. Katy wasn’t ready yet for his kind of sex, the sex Lupines demanded here in the Dark Kingdom.

  Standing before her, Jaeden held out a hand to Ninnea. “Come.”

  Ninnea gave him a wary look. “I’m not going with you, until you give me your word you’ll take me to the queen. No detours when you teleport. Deal?”

  “Of course,” the Dark Fae assured her.

  Grayson sputtered as Jaeden crossed his fingers behind his back, indicating the man lied. But Ninnea had a spark in her eye and Grayson suspected the woman could hold her own against the Dark Fae.

  With a doubtful look, Ninnea took Jaeden’s outstretched hand. Jaeden snapped his fingers and they vanished. Grayson wished he had the power to teleport Katy, but he didn’t dare try, not when he’d gone for years without using his full powers. He was like a rusty car and the action could hurt her.

  He glanced at the brothel in the distance, and the clouds of dark ash rising on the horizon. The Night Riders could not easily track him, but Katy, with her signature aura of the Skin world, stood out like a beacon.

  “We have to hustle, Katy, before they reach you. I’m going to shift into wolf. Don’t be scared. Strap on the pack and climb onto my back when I’m wolf.”

  “I can transform into a wolf as well,” she protested.

  He gave her a calm look. “You’re smaller than me, and I can run faster. We’ll get there sooner if you ride me.”

  “I’ll break your back,” she protested.

  “Naw. Not a lightweight like you,” he teased.

  After he shifted, her eyes went wide. “You’re very big.”

  He grinned, showing sharp rows of teeth. “In more ways than one, I reckon.”

  She blinked. So Grayson could also speak in wolf form. She knew this deep, smoky voice.

  “Come on, darling, climb on my back. I run faster than those ole Riders. They’re slow as Darius.”

  The remark coaxed a smile to her face. He lay down, to make it easier for her to mount him.

  I’ll be mounting you next, darling, and I’ll be the one giving you a hell of a ride. I’ll be riding your naked body until you scream and beg for more. Until your belly swells with my child. No one else will touch you or I’ll rip his damn throat out.

  The dark thoughts raced through him, thickening his blood and causing his shaft to slide out. Grayson shook his head, trying to control the wild desire rushing through him. It was this form, and the animal instincts pawing at him, smelling fresh, untouched female, ripe for the taking. A woman he desired in the dark of night, a woman he wanted as his mate, to claim in the flesh and to bear his pups.

  With all his control, he kept the lust at bay and focused on his surroundings. The desert stretched before them, acres of ash and sand. It would take half a day to cross.

  I can do this.

  I’ll keep her safe from the Night Riders.

  But as he tore off through the clump of woods, sensing the Night Riders finally had caught Katy’s scent, he harbored doubts.

  Katy would be safe from the Night Riders. He’d fight them to the death before letting them harm her.

  But who would protect her once his wolf was fully unleashed, and ready to mate?

  Chapter 8

  As she clung to the thick fur on Grayson’s back, Katy tried to keep her eyes on the horizon. Tried to keep the anxiety at bay, clawing at her. She was safe now, with Grayson, the one Lupine who’d promised to be there for her, day or night.

  But he seemed as foreign and dangerous as the world surrounding them. She’d never seen a wolf this large, one who looked like he could swallow an ordinary wolf whole. And then have another for dessert.

  The air in the Dark Kingdom smelled more pure, free of pollutants caused by Skins. The sky was a startling blue, no smog or haze. And that made scent clearer as well. She knew Grayson could detect the fear oozing from her pores, much as she tried to suppress it.

  Looking over her shoulder, she could see the two forms on horseback, or whatever they rode. Before they had been specks on the horizon. Now they were more discernable.

  The ash wasteland of the Blasted Zone seemed endless. She hoped they would soon find the unicorn bones and a way home.

  But instead of going in the direction Jaeden had told them, Grayson suddenly hooked a right, heading for the jagged mountain range looming over the desert. Holding onto him, bouncing up and down, she wanted to protest he was going the wrong way.

  I have to get you to a safe place, Katy. I can never outrun Night Riders, even though they are slower during daylight.

  Blinking, she realized he’d spoken directly into her mind, just as he had back at the Mitchell Ranch during the wrangling.

  You said they were slower than Darius.

  I was trying to calm you, darling. You were scared enough. Don’t worry. I can handle a Night Rider. I eat them for breakfast.

  “Long as you don’t eat me,” she muttered, wincing as he leapt over a rock and she landed hard on her bottom.

  Grayson turned his head, showing a toothy grin. Oh, I’d love to eat you for breakfast, darling. And dessert and dinner…and you would love every single, sheet-grabbing moment.

  She didn’t even know how to respond to that.

  And then he was running even faster, his energy seemingly boundless. Katy had seen Grayson on a horse, had seen him lifting bales of hay as if they were light as paper, and
knew he was muscled, but this wolf’s strength astounded her.

  The ash thinned here, leaving more yellow, hard-packed sand, which made traction easier. Clumps of stubby trees peppered the ground as they drew closer to the mountains. At a thick gathering of green trees with branches stretching out like welcoming arms, Grayson stopped. She climbed off his back, grateful for the rest.

  Katy unpacked the canteen and drank deeply, gesturing to Grayson. He nodded. And then he shifted back into a man, and conjured clothing. He took the canteen and sipped, his gaze glued to the wasteland they’d left behind.

  “Be careful,” he said softly. “These lands present all kinds of hidden dangers, even small ones.”

  She watched a black insect crawl up a nearby tree branch. “Such as?”

  A bright orange bird swooped down to eat the bug. Suddenly the insect reared back on its legs and spat at the bird. Shrieking, the bird flew off.

  “Insects that spit acid into the eyes of their attackers, for one,” he said, screwing the cap on the canteen. “If you leave most of the living creatures here in the Blasted Zone alone, they leave you alone.”

  Then he set down the canteen and pointed. “Except for the Night Riders. They intrude upon everyone and everything.”

  Grayson stared into the distance, the concentration on his handsome face worrying her. He knew this world and its dangers, it seemed, and she was on foreign land.

  “Why did we stop? I thought Jaeden said the unicorn bones are quite a distance away.”

  “They are, but until we find out who wanted you kidnapped and I deal with that threat, you’ll never be safe in your world.” Grayson pulled a pair of binoculars out of his backpack and scanned the horizon.

  This patch of thin trees, with the sharp, dull brown boulders and the yellow sand, didn’t seem like a terrific hiding place. Or a place to make a stand against dangerous bounty hunters.

  “Those Night Riders are gaining on us. They plan to take me back, but I’ll die here before I return to that place. I’m a wolf, too,” she said, gathering all her courage.

  If a fight was forthcoming, she had fangs and sharp teeth.

  An amused smile touched Grayson’s mouth as he lowered the glasses and glanced at her. “That’s my girl. But you focus on finding a place to hide, Katy. These Fae hunting you aren’t like those in the Skin world. And your powers aren’t as developed. Yet.”

  She sipped from the canteen again, and then set it down, trying to control her shaking hand and not knowing if her nervousness stemmed from the dust cloud of the Riders that grew closer, or Grayson’s odd words.

  “What do you mean, yet? I’m a mature Lupine.”

  Grayson placed the binoculars back in the pack. “I’ll tell you, Katy, but now is not the time. I want you to go back behind those trees, and stay there. I’m going to take them.”

  “One against two isn’t a fair fight. I can help.”

  Resolve glittered in his blue eyes. And then his irises flashed purple. “Not these Fae.”

  Letting her powers surge, she felt her fangs descend. “I’m a strong Lupine, Grayson. Don’t underestimate me.”

  That amused grin returned. “I’m not. Ever seen a Fae with talons sharp as butcher knives, Katy? A Fae who can toss a fireball and incinerate you? Not your skin—that’s painful enough. These energy balls fry you from the inside out. It’s not a nice way to die.”

  Mouth dry, she stared at Grayson. “And you’re going to fight them by yourself? What if you die that way?”

  Losing him was something she’d never contemplated before, not like this. Not ever. Grayson always seemed larger than life, as if he’d always be there. The thought of him dying made her heart ache.

  It was more than the thought of losing a dear friend, the only one who truly seemed to understand her. It was like losing…

  A mate.

  Pushing the thought out of her mind, she looked helplessly at the dust cloud growing closer, indicating the approach of the Riders.

  Grayson’s expression turned cynical. “Relax. I’m not going to die that way, and if I do, I’ll make damn sure you find your way home first.”

  He thought she was upset because she might lose her ride home. Not that she couldn’t bear him dying.

  No time to counter that, though, for he shoved her toward the clump of thicker trees. Grayson pointed to a narrow cleft in the nearby mountain range. “Stay there, stay down and if I get killed, head for that passage.”

  “But you can’t face them alone. I’ll help you, Grayson. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  His cynical expression softened. “Katy, I can take them on by myself. I have powers in this world you don’t know of. Go through the passage. That will lead you to Wolf Haven. Stay in Skin form, and you’ll be safe enough until one of our kind finds you. Remain on the path through the forest, whatever you do, never shift into wolf in the Feral Forest.”

  “Feral Forest? What’s in there? Trees with teeth?”

  He did not smile at her joke. “Do as I say. A Lupine will find you eventually, and give you safe passage back to your world.”

  Your world. Not our world. She didn’t want to hide, but Grayson kept herding her toward the trees. She found the largest one, and crouched down behind it to wait.

  In this world, her eyesight was much sharper. Now she could see the dust cloud draw closer, and see the faces of their enemies. Horror made her knees weak. Katy hugged the tree, ready to collapse. Grayson had not exaggerated about the Night Riders.

  The Fae she’d seen once had pointed ears, pale skin, wide smiles and were lean and tall, with pale silver hair. They looked like Jaeden, only kinder and less cynical. Jaeden had a lethal air about him, and his magick pulsed dark.

  These Fae made Jaeden look as harmless as a child’s bouncy ball.

  The two Night Riders had pointed faces, with burning yellow eyes, two holes for noses, and ears that were not only pointed, but serrated like the edge of pinking shears. Their hair was pale, long, and they snarled.

  The creatures they rode…not horses, but centaurs, with gnashing teeth and wild eyes, their hooves coming down hard on the ash and sand. The stench emanating from them made her eyes water. It was a mixture of rotting trash and sulphur.

  Looking at them offered a glimpse into hell. The centaurs alone could kill Grayson.

  This was going down badly, and if Grayson died, Katy knew her entire world would collapse.

  Chapter 9

  Katy didn’t know why someone at the brothel wanted her as a prisoner.

  She had no idea why this place seemed slightly familiar.

  But she did know one thing—Grayson was not going to die at the hands of these Night Riders.

  Not today. Not as long as she was here.

  The Riders galloped into the glade and leapt off the centaurs, who pawed the air and whinnied. Not the whinny of horses she’d ridden countless times in the pasture, but a terrible ripping sound that screeched in her eardrums. Katy whimpered and clapped her hands over her ears, and felt blood flow.

  Blood flowed from Grayson’s ears as well, but he did not whine. He faced them, tall and courageous. Grayson’s smile sent a chill snaking down her spine and suddenly she was afraid. Not of the Fae, nor the centaurs.

  “Give us the girl who escaped,” said one Fae, and his voice sounded like nails raking over her eardrums.

  “Go fuck yourselves. She’s mine, and I never let go of what is mine,” Grayson told him.

  His? Katy reeled backward. Grayson’s quiet statement definitely put a claim on her. She didn’t know what to think of that.

  “You will regret this, wolf,” the other Fae said.

  Cold, emotionless, they withdrew silver swords from sheaths at belts around their waist. Grayson flung out his hands.

  Not claws, but five-inch talons emerged from his fingertips. Before the first Fae could raise his sword, Grayson struck, slashing at the Fae’s arm. It screamed and nearly dropped the sword.

  Katy s
tared, feeling as if she’d been submerged into a movie. Everything seemed to move slowly.

  And then the centaurs rushed forward, screaming and lashing out with their hooves. One struck Grayson in his stomach and he winced.

  Grayson shifted into wolf, a beast even larger than the one she’d ridden across the sands. The talons on his paws were like butcher knives and his teeth—dear goddess, he had a mouth filled with teeth like Ninnea had as the Thannach.

  Blue and green lightning flashed and thunder crackled, sounding as if the skies themselves had split open. The fury of the battle roused her own anger as Grayson fought with the two centaurs and the Fae.

  Fighting not for his life, but hers.

  Mouth dry, she stared at Grayson snarling and snapping at the Fae, who screamed as Grayson tore his throat out.

  Every Lupine instinct surged, her wolf struggling to be free and not hide like a coward. She was no weak female, cowering behind greenery and having a male defend her.

  Katy threw back her head and howled, the sound making the tree before her split in half. Not fighting the instinct, she rode with it, and felt her magick pour forth. Bones lengthened, and she howled with the shift. Talons grew from her hands and feet, and she felt stronger than ever before.

  Rushing into the fight, she leapt over a boulder and attacked the centaur closest to Grayson, which prepared to trample him. Katy went for the throat. She tore and snapped, and felt warm blood gush over her muzzle. The centaur screamed, and then gasped, gurgling. Seeing the other die, the second centaur turned and ran, leaving Grayson to fight the Fae.

  The Fae stabbed him but he did not fall. Each wound seemed only to enrage him further.

  Diving beneath their jabbing swords, he tore at the Fae’s legs. One staggered back, and summoned a bright ball of orange flame in his hands.

  The energy balls Grayson had mentioned.

  Immobilized by fear, she could not move. Katy started to scream a warning, but before she could barely blink, Grayson turned. He cut off the hand of the Fae holding the energy ball. Before it could move, he slashed at its throat.