by Desiree Holt
Joel frowned in confusion. “And you’re just all right with this? You come out into the forest, and my brother attacks you, and you’re fine with it? That’s not the Ruby I know.”
“He didn’t attack me, Joel. We were getting to know each other.” Her eyes widened at him. “If you know what I mean.”
Joel’s gaze flicked between Ruby and Holton, fury and hurt tightening his features.
“Right. I see. I’ll leave you two love birds to it, then.” His tone was ice cold.
Joel turned and ran off into the forest, shifting back into a wolf as he did so.
“Thank you for that,” Holton said to her, trying not to focus on the fact they were both still human and utterly naked.
She shook her head and glanced away. “I didn’t do it for you. Joel needs to move on, and he can’t do that if he thinks there is any hope for me and him. I care about your brother, but he was never the one for me.”
Holton felt a little glimmer of hope in his heart. Did that mean she might have accepted he could be her mate?
She must have seen something on his face. “Don’t get excited, big guy. Just because I believe in sacrifice for the greater good, doesn’t mean I’m going to go all gooey over you, either.”
With that, she turned and stalked the way Joel had gone, shifting back to the beautiful auburn wolf that was her other shape. Leaving Holton standing alone, and naked, trying to lose the rest of his hard-on, in the middle of the forest.
Chapter 6
Ruby galloped on all four paws, back toward the shifter compound. She didn’t want to feel so torn between two men, but she did. Despite knowing there was never going to be any future between her and Joel, she hated hurting him so badly. Other than being a little thoughtless, he’d never done anything to wrong her.
Though she didn’t want to overanalyze it, she also felt hollow and disappointed at leaving Holton naked and alone in the forest. What would have happened if Joel hadn’t interrupted them? She’d only gotten a hint of how that kiss would have felt, and, even though she swore Holton wasn’t her type, something about his roughness and forceful attitude spoke to her, inside. He excited her in a way Joel never had. Was it because Holton was more a man than a boy? Or was it because she’d been focusing her attention on the wrong brother, all this time?
Only a few hours were left until morning. Her last day of freedom. Tomorrow night, on the final eve of the full moon, before it began waxing again, she would become Holton Golding’s mate.
As she ran through the trees, the brush and leaves catching in her fur, her breath heavy in the warm night, a howl rose from the direction of their compound.
Ruby drew to a halt to listen. It was Gregory’s howl, again, her uncle and alpha. He was calling them back to the compound, for the second time that night. As far as Ruby was aware, calling a meeting twice in one night was unheard of. What the hell was going on now?
A second howl sounded, her alpha again, this one even more urgent.
Ruby started to run, moving faster. This wasn’t like when he’d called them back for the meeting. This was a command, an instruction to them all to return now. Something was going down, back home, and by the fact it was the middle of the night, and their alpha was howling for them, she didn’t think it was good.
As she got closer to the compound, other wolves began to run alongside her, all having heard the call. She recognized each of them, as they’d all grown up together at Dark Ridge. The two wolves flanking her were an older wolf, Henry, and another female wolf in her twenties, called Sara. They both whined their concerns at her, perhaps thinking she would know more, considering her connections, but there was nothing she could tell them.
Ruby made it back to where she’d left her bundle of clothing, shifted back, and quickly dressed.
They moved at a trickle, people running back to the meeting house, where their alpha still howled them in.
Ruby kept her eyes open for Holton and Joel. Joel had left before them, so should have made it back sooner. Holton had been behind Ruby, but he was bigger and faster and could have easily overtaken her on the way here. The forest was thick enough for her not to have noticed him.
She reached the meeting house. Her uncle had stopped howling but she couldn’t see him. He must have gone back inside. Others were already gathered, everyone nervous, and speaking in low tones to one another.
“What’s happening?” she asked Sara, who appeared beside her.
She shook her head. “Your guess is as good as mine, but it doesn’t feel good.”
Sara was right. It didn’t feel good at all.
Gregory finally emerged in human form from the meeting house, Holton right behind him. Gregory was a bald-headed, bull-like man, with a thick neck and shoulders twice as wide as his hips. His mate, Valerie, a skinny, blonde woman who was known for her sharpness of tongue, slipped out of the meeting house and stood at his left shoulder. Ruby had no love for the older woman. Sometimes, she felt like it was only because Gregory was her uncle and alpha that she had any affection for the man. He may have raised her, but he was cold and emotionless, and didn’t always make choices that were best for the pack. It had sickened Ruby when he’d gone after Holton and Joel’s sister, Alyssa, especially as Alyssa was two years younger than she was herself. She tried not to question her alpha’s decisions, but on that occasion she’d hoped it had all been a big mistake. It appeared Gregory was trying to make things right again by mating her and Holton, and mending the crack his actions had created.
A sudden thought occurred to her. Perhaps whatever was happening now was linked back to Alyssa running away. Could this be retribution?
She caught sight of Joel, standing to one side, and deliberately not looking at her. She couldn’t hold it against him. After telling him what she had, she wouldn’t blame him if he never spoke to her again.
On the platform outside of the meeting house, Gregory lifted his hands, and the small crowd grew quiet. “I apologize for interrupting your night as wolf for a second time, but I couldn’t risk you all being out there, possibly alone. Tonight, one of our own, Jaco Nickoli,” he mentioned a young, male wolf in his mid-twenties, “was attacked by a couple of outsider wolves. He’s going to be okay, but has multiple wounds. A couple of our pack members managed to chase the outsiders off, but if they hadn’t been around, I don’t like to imagine what might have happened. The problem is, this isn’t an isolated situation. We’ve also had reports of strange wolves spotted in a completely different area as well. This means we possibly have the situation that wolves from another pack are scouting this area for a new territory. I want to put a couple of teams of our strongest wolves together to go and warn them off.”
Ruby’s gaze moved from her uncle, to the man standing right behind him. Holton wore faded, soft jeans, and a close-fitted, black t-shirt. His long, dark hair was loose around his shoulders, and a serious expression caused his thick brows to draw together. He appeared strong and in control.
How had I ever thought he was brutish?
She had no doubt that one of the wolves included in the group would be Holton. What if he got hurt? They knew nothing about the wolves who were scouting their territory. They might have been turfed out of their own packs, for all they knew, could be homeless and hungry, and willing to fight for what they wanted. Perhaps that would be a better situation than if they were scouts for an entire pack. The Dark Ridge wolves could fight off a couple of rogue wolves, but if it came down to pack against pack—men, women and even children—it would mean war.
Her uncle continued. “I need everyone else to stay inside the compound borders until we can assess the threat.” A combined groan rose up from the crowd. They only got a couple of nights a month where they could shift comfortably and spend time in wolf-form in the forest. To lose even part of one of those nights was disappointing.
“I know, I know,” Gregory said. “I feel the same way, but it would be on my head if someone else was attacked. Sacrificing one night of running in order to
keep our home, and each other, safe is nothing in the grand scheme of things. So please, unless I call on you now, go home and stay safe.”
More murmurs rose among the crowd.
“Those to stay behind: Gavin and Lee Toller, Stephen Janson, Ronny Halt, Joel Golding, Henry Fields, and Jax Pritchard. Everyone else, go home and stay alert, but try not to worry.”
Ruby glanced to Holton. His name hadn’t been called, but she assumed he already knew he would be part of the crew going out to find and warn off the strange wolves.
She didn’t want to hide away while they went out there. Just because she was female didn’t mean she wasn’t perfectly capable of fighting—she could say the same for several other female wolves in the pack.
As she’d suspected a couple of the other young women stayed behind, while everyone else drifted off, heading home. They would argue their cases, but Gregory wouldn’t listen. He was still in the dark ages when it came to male and female equality. He saw women as being the weaker of the species, there to be protected, and to raise children and keep a home. He was more than happy to have the female members of the pack run chores for him, but when it came to giving them jobs of any importance, he’d rather they stayed at home.
Ruby knew she’d never win the fight with Gregory.
Instead, she sneaked around the back of the meeting house. Holton was in conversation with a couple of the other men, Joel included.
“Psst,” she hissed at him.
He looked toward her and she jerked her chin to call him over. Joel had also spotted her, but the younger brother had glanced away, perhaps finally realizing she had become none of his concern.
“Ruby,” Holton said, his voice low, as he approached. “What are you doing here?”
“I want to come with you.”
He shook his head. “Not happening.”
“I can fight just as well as you.”
He cocked an eyebrow.
“Well, I can fight as well as Joel, at least,” she corrected. “If he gets to go, why can’t I?”
“This isn’t some fun outing, Ruby. A man has been hurt.”
“Exactly why it’s better to have more wolves on board. You have no idea how many strange wolves are out there. Having an extra set of eyes might be helpful. I’m a shifter, Holton, not some helpless little girl.”
“Gregory doesn’t think so.”
She snorted. “Since when do you take everything Gregory says as gospel?” She stared at him. “Take me with you, or I’ll put up a real fight against our mating tomorrow night.”
He scowled. “You’re a royal pain in the ass, did you know that?”
“Yep, and don’t expect that to change when we’re mated. You’ll just be stuck with me then.”
He gave a frustrated sigh. “Fine, but don’t let your uncle see you. Meet me on the north-east point of the compound, and we’ll go into the forest from there.”
“What about the other wolves in your group?” She worried about someone reporting back to her uncle.
“They know better than to go behind my back about anything.”
“Holton?” A male voice called from the meeting house.
Holton glanced toward it and then back at her. “I’ll meet you there in ten,” he said, and then disappeared back into the building.
A thrill of excitement ran through her. Not only had she convinced Holton to see things her way, she was also about to go on a hunt for strange wolves. There was only one other time when she’d come across wolves not in her pack, and that was shortly before her parents had been killed. Perhaps the thought of doing so again should send her scurrying away with fear, but life was too mundane as it was, living their lives in this one place, only having contact with people they’d known their whole lives. Ruby loved her pack more than anything—they were the family unit she’d never really had—but, sometimes, a little excitement wasn’t a bad thing.
Chapter 7
Holton had no intention of meeting Ruby.
As soon as he didn’t show up, she’d have to go back home where she would be safe. Gregory would have been furious if he discovered Holton had taken his niece out into a dangerous situation. It wasn’t that he didn’t think Ruby was more than capable of handling herself, but he didn’t want to upset things right now. If Gregory decided he didn’t want Holton to mate Ruby, Holton would lose something that would help him in succeeding Gregory as alpha. Plus, he had to admit the thought of mating Ruby drove him crazy. It had taken all of his self control not to have fucked her already, especially when she’d been all wild and naked in the forest. His animal instinct had been to jump her, there and then, but his human part had held back, thank God.
“Are you ready?” Joel asked, his eyes narrowed.
Holton wished Gregory had put Joel with a different group. Was his alpha so completely unaware of what had been going on between Joel and Ruby over the last few months—hell, years even? It may have been just a little flirtation in Ruby’s mind, but it was all so much more serious for Joel. Holton felt bad that he’d helped to break his brother’s heart, but better that than they mate the wrong people and be forced to live with that for the rest of their lives. Badly paired matings only ever ended in misery.
“Yes, I’m ready. Let’s go get the fucker who hurt Jaco.”
Two other shifters joined them, Stephen and Ronny. They were both tough guys, a little older than Holton, with families, settled in their ways, but willing to fight for the pack.
The other group of the same size meant eight in total.
Gregory approached. “What are you waiting for? Those sons-of-bitches might have gotten away by now.”
Holton narrowed his eyes. “Which group are you joining?”
“I’m not. Someone needs to be here to co-ordinate things if an attack happens here in the compound.”
“No one is going to get through us. We’ll scent them long before they do.”
Gregory glowered at him for questioning his authority, staring at Holton, daring him to do so again.
Holton knew he didn’t need to. He’d already said enough to plant the seed of doubt in everyone else’s minds. Gregory was getting older, fearful, weak. His encounter with the shifter who’d stolen Alyssa away had already highlighted this. Gregory had been unable to bring Alyssa home, had been beaten by a rogue shifter. It was just the start of Gregory’s downfall. Gregory might have been a strong alpha once upon a time, but he was getting old and selfish.
“Even so,” Gregory continued, holding his stare, “the compound needs a leader, a captain at the ship’s helm. Unless you think you’re unable to manage without me, of course.”
Touché, thought Holton.
“We’ll be fine,” he said instead. “If—when—we find the rogue wolves, do you want them brought here?”
“No. I don’t want them learning any more about our compound than they already know. If you can, just teach them a lesson and send them on their way.”
Holton nodded to show he understood. He wasn’t worried for a second about their ability to send any strange wolves running. He jerked his head at Joel, Stephen, and Ronny, and they all left without another word.
Rather than heading to the part of the compound where he’d told Ruby to meet him, they headed west. As soon as they hit the perimeter, the men quickly removed their clothing, dropping the items into piles where they stood. Naked, focusing only on the task ahead, they started forward at a run, shifting as they went.
Holton felt his joints and limbs change as he moved from man to beast. It was such a fluid process at this time of the month, but he could think of no other time where he had shifted so often during the course of one night. Normally, he would take on the shape of his wolf for the night, and run and hunt until morning, but this night, it seemed, wouldn’t be the same as previous ones.
As they ran, his brother at his side, he remained alert for any sound or scent of a strange wolf. They were headed back to the spot where Jaco had been found, planning on tracing any
trail from there.
Holton did his best to focus on the task at hand, and yet he found his thoughts constantly turning back to Ruby. Would she have realized he wasn’t going to show up yet? She’d be furious when she did, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it. By the time he returned to the compound, he’d have taken care of the threat, and she could bitch and moan at him all she liked. She would be safe, then, and they could get on with their lives and their mating tomorrow night.
No, he realized. It won’t be tomorrow night, now. They were already into morning, so he and Ruby would be mated tonight. Assuming, of course, everything went well now, and that she wasn’t so mad at him that she refused to be mated. She couldn’t exactly use this excuse with her alpha. Gregory would never listen to her complaints, and would tell him he’d done the right thing by not allowing her to come along.
The scent of blood suddenly assaulted his sensitive nose, making his nostrils flare. He recognized the special tang of shifter blood. They must be near the spot where Jaco had been attacked.
He put his hackles up and growled a warning to the others. They’d all scented it, too. The attackers may well have run off but, depending on how desperate they were, they might also be nearby, keeping watch.
If the reek hadn’t been so strong, he’d have been able to focus on trying to pick up the smell of any strange wolves. He needed to be able to track them, but the rich aroma of blood had taken over his senses.
Chapter 8
“Son-of-a-bitch!”
As soon as the ten minutes had passed, Ruby knew Holton wasn’t going to show.
Well, there was no way she was going to slink back home with her tail between her legs. Not a chance. She knew which direction the other group had gone in, and obviously Holton and his team hadn’t come this way. That meant they must have left the compound via the north-east perimeter and they couldn’t have gotten too far ahead.
Swearing beneath her breath, not wanting to be heard and stopped by Gregory, or anyone else for that matter, she slipped around the outskirts of the compound. When she reached a spot that was hidden in shadows, she quickly undressed. She would be faster as wolf, and more likely to be able to pick up on Holton’s scent so she could track him. Any strange wolves would have already been sent running when they saw Holton and the others coming, so she wasn’t worried for her own safety.
