by Maia Starr
Grateful for the sentiment, Ginny smiled and leaned back in the chair she sat in, sighing joyfully at the moment she and the kids were sharing with Zander, Callie, and Ash. She couldn’t remember the last time she or the kids were this happy all at once. Under Danny’s rule, the children rarely smiled, rarely got the time to just be wild and energetic children. Now, with no sign of Danny for over a few weeks, Ginny assumed he was gone for good and that he’d hopefully have given up the chase...if he were even chasing them at all. Now all she had to do was figure out what she’d do about the court hearing next month. She wouldn't be able to avoid that forever.
“So, what’s this new guy’s name?” Zander asked. “Who is he?”
“Well, apparently the guy’s name is Danny Krisher...some businessman who decided working in an office was too stressful. Something of a theme going around all the newcomers, recently,” Ash responded.
The peanut butter cookie Ginny had been chewing on slipped through her fingers and crashed to the floor, shattering into a dozen pieces.
The room went somewhat silent, except for Grace and Oliver, who began to drift away into the living room and play. Zander, Callie, and Ash exchanged looks as Ginny’s lower lip quivered and she went still as a statue, the hand she’d held her cookie in beginning to tremble as she stared at Ash.
Danny...Krisher? Did he just say that name? Had Ginny heard him right?
Waving his hand in front of her eyes, Zander frowned at Ginny, leaning in so close his hot breath nearly melted her skin. “Ginny? You okay? Wouldn’t be allergic to peanut butter by any chance...are you?”
Snapping back to reality, a cold chill began to scramble up her spine. She blinked multiple times to steady her vision and rubbed her forehead. “Uh, no! Sorry, I just got hit with a little bit of nausea...I’m fine. Who did you say the man was? His name?”
Ash glanced at Zander. “Danny Krisher. May Silver told me directly.” At the second sound of Danny’s name, the two children in the living room slowed their play, looking back at the group of adults still gathered around the counter,
“And what did he look like?” Ginny pressed. “Did May say?”
“Besides the business suit?” Ash said, scratching his chin. “Um, well...sorry, I don’t remember. I didn’t think much about what May said since new people are more common than ever on Silverwood.”
Bile began to fill her throat, and Ginny had to swallow the sickening liquid down to keep from embarrassing herself. The three remained staring at her, exchanging worried glances and shifting their weight, each appraising the redness growing in her cheeks. Ginny couldn’t help her heart from quickening its pace, from her blood heating and rushing through her body, forcing her mind to go faster and faster and whirl as memories of Danny slapping her just outside of the courtroom echoing in her head.
Without warning, she found herself standing and speed walking to the door, the wood creaking under her sudden weight. “I need some fresh air,” she said quickly, rushing out the door, not daring to glance behind her.
The hill overlooking the beach and crashing waves calmed her mind for an instant, but soon enough memories of Danny came rushing back, filling her vision and causing her to stare out at the open ocean, hoping beyond hope that Ash had misheard the man’s name, that her ex-husband really wasn’t coming to Silverwood Island. But she knew she couldn’t deny it forever; Danny Krisher was about to be on Silverwood, almost certainly following her trail.
Ginny took a deep breath before silently screaming into her palm.↡
¶
Chapter Twelve
Zander
He couldn’t remember the last time he scowled so much.
For once in Zander’s life, he was perplexed. Perplexed by none other than Ginny Whitlock, the very woman he claimed as his lifelong mate only weeks prior. But it was until the day Ash had informed them all of the new man arriving on Silverwood Island, some businessman named Danny Krisher.
Who the hell was this Danny Krisher? At the very mention of his name, Ginny froze like a deer in the headlights, an aura of sheer fright enveloping her entire being, her eyes going wide and mouth drying up as Ash cemented the idea of this newcomer in her mind. And then she had run off, slipping outside to silently scream to herself, as if the whole island had gone up in flames. It wasn’t just Ginny either, but the twins who pouted and frowned as the dolls and figurines were flung to the ground, and each stared at the carpet.
Zander had gone outside to comfort her, but Ginny had wanted none of him, simply shoving away his attempts at an embrace, her expression completely twisted up, the way faces scrunched up when tongues were drenched in sour lemon juice. Whoever Danny Krisher was, Ginny had remained silent about him on that day, and every day since, the air around her growing stale and quiet, and the kids mirroring her every look and hunched posture, her face becoming more drawn with every new dawn. Ginny’s unresponsiveness grew, her eyes beginning to dart around every room in her cottage, always glancing over her shoulder, always seeming to mishear Zander or completely fail to hear him at all.
It hadn’t exactly made Zander’s job harder during the day, while he and the three men Flint had given him worked to finalize the repairs on her cottage, but it certainly ticked him off more than he thought it ever would.
Something was very wrong, and the more Zander thought about the whole issue, the more he became convinced that Danny Krisher was a looming danger to Ginny and the kids, the very danger that Ginny had come to Silverwood Island to get away from.
“Zander, toss me more of those shingles, will you?” Gus called from the other side of the roof, snapping him back to the present. The big man waited on the other side, crouching on the slightly angled roof unblinking, with his open palm hanging in the air. Letting the moment drag on, Zander reached into the bag he’d heaved up and tossed Gus a volley of five navy blue shingles, Gus catching each with ease. “Thanks, man.”
“Yeah, no problem.”
Steadying himself on the roof, Zander finished removing broken or frayed shingles and replacing them with the navy blue ones, wiping the sweat from his forehead and turning to glance on the hill behind him.
There stood Ginny, of all people, silently gazing out at the ocean, watching a few cargo ships become dots along the horizon. Zander watched for a moment as well, wishing one of the boats contained Ginny’s apparent fear. Even from up on her roof, Zander spied the crease lines in her silky skin, her taut, thin lips bracing against the chilled seawinds. Even her arms were tightly crossed across her chest, her posture rigid. If it weren’t for her flowing platinum hair, Zander could have sworn Ginny was nothing more than an abandoned statue on the edge of Silverwood Island.
Groaning, Zander felt his inner wolf swim along the heated currents of his veins, awaiting the moment he lost all control over himself and let the wolf come out. Agitation usually lessened his ability to constrain himself, and now one of the few things keeping him from opening the cage to his wolf was his work. But work on Ginny’s house was practically finished at this point, with even Zander’s two other men relaxing and leaning against tree trunks as they chugged their bottled waters.
Gus rose up once again and stretched toward Zander. “Hey, boss, give me—”
“Just take the whole bag,” Zander said, using his biceps to lift the weighty bag and toss it at Gus. Wide-eyed, Gus managed to catch the bag with a loud grunt, sliding down to the roof’s edge. He looked to Zander but found that his boss had leaped off the roof without warning, landing feet first next to one of the living room windows, catching the eyes of Oliver and Grace.
Thanks to Zander’s immense weight, two large foot-shaped holes remained where he had landed on the soft earth, dirt caking the outside of his boots. But Zander hardly noticed the holes, the dirt, or the two children pressing their faces up to the glass windows staring at him, because Zander wouldn’t rip his gaze from the angelic woman standing just a dozen feet away. Her rigidness prickled his skin, even from just watching her. This wasn’t the way
he expected things to turn out, but Zander knew he wasn’t about to remain silent while his mate worried over things still relatively unknown to him. It would hurt his pride as a shifter, as a man, if idling along was the solution.
So Zander took a step forward, and then another, and another until he stood shoulder to shoulder with Ginny. She snuck a glance at Zander, but quickly dodged his gaze when he turned her way.
“Look, I’m here for you, for whatever is going on,” Zander began. “I know you don’t want to talk about this Danny Krisher...I can only keep guessing as to who exactly he is until you directly tell me. But what I do know is that he’s after you, right?” Ginny bit her lip and jerked slightly, but otherwise didn’t respond to his suggestion. The tension straining her body was so palpable, Zander’s inner wolf growled in annoyance, feeling its cage tightening inside. Despite the unpleasant feeling radiating off of Ginny, Zander smiled. “I know you think I’m half hunk, half-crazy man, but if there’s any part of me that you should place your faith in, it's the part of me that loves you. I was serious about claiming you. Part of claiming means that if anyone tries to come in between you and me, especially this Danny Krisher fellow, then he’ll have to deal with me.” Zander’s smile faded to a rather grim stare. “I’m not ready to let harm to either you or your children. As long as I’m alive, I’ll fight for you. Okay?”
To his surprise, Ginny looked up at him, a shy smile adorning her pink, beautiful lips. “Thank you, Zander...but this isn’t something you can just fix on your own,” her voice more solid than it had been for a week.
Zander stared, mouth agape, unable to believe the sudden resoluteness in her voice, and despite her words, his smile returned, and he playfully sighed, folding his arms across his chest, mimicking her. “I figured you’d say something like that. Oh well, I’ll just have to step up my game, I think.” Winking at Ginny, he began to back up, her vibrant green eyes following his every step. “Tomorrow I’ll come by with the bill for all the extremely hard work my men and I put into your little cottage. Wait for me then...”
With that, Zander whistled and twirled on his heels, digging into the soft earth once again and marching away. Even if his words hadn’t exactly lifted Ginny’s spirit completely, he knew now that Ginny saw his resolve to keep them all safe. Waving at Oliver and Grace, who both stared at Zander from the front door, he turned and walked towards the truck his crew had driven in with, his mind drifting to thoughts of the next day.↡¶
Chapter Thirteen
Ginny
How long had it been since Danny’s name had escaped from Ash’s lips and journeyed to Ginny’s mind, creating a shroud of everlasting fear that followed her everywhere she went...or didn’t go. Ever since she’d heard her ex-husband’s name, Ginny had remained at the house for what felt like a millennium, an endless stretch of time that seemed to fill with thoughts of Danny Krisher suddenly arriving outside her cottage door.
Thanks to Zander the day before, Ginny's mind had settled down a little, though she still felt as though slitted eyes were watching her from some dark shadow within the house. Every tiny noise, every scratch from the squirrels that roamed across her new rooftop, every toy that slipped Oliver’s or Grace’s fingers and crashed against the ground, sent cold shivers and ripples through the tension in her slender body. Even the air seemed to grow colder on the outside, though Ginny knew it was simply because of the encroaching autumn season rather than Danny himself. Ginny realized much of her fear in the present was irrational, stemming from memories that were long in the past, and yet she still couldn’t stop herself from hanging around the children all day, her gaze lingering on them, always making sure they were within her sight.
Even now, as Ginny lay in her bed, back pushing against the headboard, staring into the room across the hall at both Oliver and Grace, each resting silently in their respective beds, their chests rising and falling softly, their breathing shallow and eyes dancing beneath their eyelids from dreams they must have been experiencing. The dim night light that hugged the lower outlet created varying levels of shadows, leaving hard lines everywhere.
Ginny’s own night lamp flickered next to her, the bulb sparking and dissipating until it returned to its normal state of illuminating her bedroom. Even with the covers on, the soft, doughy mattress sucking in her body, practically begging Ginny to let her eyelids shut and pull her head to the yellow pillow so sleep could whisk her away to better thoughts and places, Ginny remained unmoving. Arms wrapped around herself, Ginny sighed as she stared at the children.
Had she made the right choice to flee? Had she really? If Danny had found the island Ginny had come to, then he could certainly find the cottage she’d bought if he just looked hard enough. Ginny hadn’t expected him to look this hard for them. Either a change of heart had guided him here, or he meant to pull through on his hellish promise. And that thought made Ginny shiver uncontrollably. What would have been the point of fleeing, or finding a new life for her and the kids, if Danny would find them so easily? How would Ginny stop him from ripping the children from her grasp and then unleashing his men on her?
Her first thought was Zander...what he had promised the day prior. He’d said that she and kids were his to defend, that if Danny wanted her, he’d have to go through Zander first. Scowling, Ginny shook her head. Even if Zander was charming and buff, he wouldn’t be able to take on a group of Danny’s men. Of course, there was Zander’s claim that he was more than a man, that he was a shapeshifter, but of course, it was all nonsense. But...even if it was nonsense, it warmed Ginny’s heart, if only slightly. The very thought of Zander turning into some magical beast to protect her and the twins was comforting.
Outside, a strange howl pierced the air, and Ginny looked over her shoulder for the slightest of moments to peer out the tall window and at the dark forest on the edge of the hill her cottage sat upon. Even at night, Ginny found the forest, which rustled and swayed and groaned from the heavy winds, to be beautiful, almost mystical. Each and every pine that loomed over her cottage both scared and awed her, and under the starry night sky, the moonlight shone through the treetops to illuminate the odd deer or elk that slithered between the trees.
Following the howl, a chorus of deeper howls began to pick up, creating a strange, midnight melody that had Ginny in awe once again.
And then a knock came at Ginny’s door, a rasping too loud and quick to be anyone other than Zander. Startled, Ginny initially pulled the covers up to her chest, staring wide-eyed at the hallway. But when the knocking continued, she exhaled her fright and swung her legs over the side of the bed, standing and tiptoeing out into the hallway. Glancing into her children’s room, both were still sound asleep, although Oliver rolled and fidgeted under the sheets.
A third eager knock cause Ginny to vault forward to the front door, the pitter patter of rain beginning to pick up with every step she took. Despite what Zander had said about coming the next day with the bill, he hadn’t shown his face all day, so why was he here now at this time of night? Wasn’t it a little late to be handing her the bill?
Unlocking the three locks Ginny had installed, she methodically opened the door, peering around its edge to spy that her intuition had been right. Zander, towering and stoic in the rain, grinned at her.
Blinking at his odd grin, Ginny eased the door open more. “Zander, what—” But before she could finish, Zander shouldered the door so that it slammed against the wall and pushed himself onto Ginny, cutting off her voice with his lips pressed to hers. Unsure of how to react, Ginny left her arms up in the air, clutching at Zander’s biceps as he pulled her to him, his wet body dampening her pajamas and his skin smelling of fresh dew and wet bark. His lips continued to press into her as if he’d never again taste the lips of a woman. His nails digging into her lower back, the stinging needle-like pain causing Ginny to gasp and hammer her fist against his shoulder. Thankfully, he got the message and leaned back, though he remained holding onto her.
When she looked int
o his eyes, what Ginny saw wasn’t the usual Zander, but the gaze of a wild animal, of a passion burning bright behind his steely blue eyes that seemed to glow in the darkness.
“Zander! What do you think you’re doing?” Ginny said under her breath, clawing off his fingers from her waist. “You can’t just barge in here like this!”
“Why not?” he grunted, sniffing her hair.
Having him press into her like this created a tingling in her thighs, and her legs shuddered as her mind raced to lust. “What do you mean, why not? It’s the middle of the night! If you want sex, at least run it by me first.”
“But I thought I’d surprise you,” Zander growled, leaning back to smile at her. “Shock you out of this depressed mood you’ve been in. There’s no better therapy than to indulge in the best pleasures at the most random of times. Besides, I bet you were doing nothing but staring at the kids, right?”
Biting her lip, Ginny couldn’t deny his assumption, which only turned Zander on even more as his hold on her tightened. “So, how about we have a little fun then, huh?”
Gulping, Ginny glanced back down the hallway, seeing the floor illuminated by the nightlight in the kid’s room. “What if the kids wake up?” she whispered.
Leaning in, Zander’s hot breath brushed her ear. “Then we make sure they won’t.” Turning back, she found Zander’s lips coming towards her once again, though slowly and gentler. Ginny still held back at first, but as she tasted the salty remnants of the midnight rain upon his lips, mixed with his saliva, she found herself entranced, and soon enough they were fumbling for the open front door, attempting to close it while they embraced, eventually shutting it and muffling the pitter patter of the outside. Stumbling backward, the two fumbled their way to the hallway, one careful, giant step at a time, though their smooching never slowed. With each giant step, the more Ginny gave in to Zander’s desires, letting her struggling vanish as they passed in between her room and the children’s.