“She didn’t have it on her. We found it in her bag.”
While they chatted about what to do, I got dressed while holding the blanket up so Joe wouldn’t catch a peek of my nudity. With Eve missing, the leaders would try to blame me. Everyone knew she hated me, and I didn’t necessarily care for her. It didn’t look good that I shacked up with her mate last night. It wasn’t uncommon for alphas to have women on the side, but they kept it quiet. As much as Adam and I might want to keep our tryst silent for the time being, that would be hard to do with a large raised scar on our palms. If someone got a glimpse of it, they’d know not only that the myth was true, but suspect it gave me motive for wanting to take Eve out of the picture. An alpha couldn’t be mated to two different women.
Climbing out of bed, I adjusted my shirt and walked over to the two men.
“So what’s the plan?” I made a point to tuck my hands behind my back so that Joe wouldn’t accidently see my scar. Adam didn’t have the same worries. He either forgot about the mark or didn’t care who saw it, either way it made me nervous.
“Joe, I want you to head back to the main house and call an emergency meeting,” Adam said. “Have the leaders been alerted?”
“Yeah, we searched the forest around the house, but to no avail.” Joe looked like he hadn’t gotten much sleep and was about to crash where he stood.
“You’ve done good.” Adam clapped Joe on the back. “Once you alert every one of the meeting, take a couple hours to get some rest.”
Joe nodded and headed outside where he hopped in his truck and took off. I watched out of the small window as he disappeared down the mountain.
“What do you think happened?” I turned to face Adam. He bent over and picked up his shirt off of the floor, slipping it over his shoulders and working the buttons.
“I don’t know, but it isn’t sounding good.” He wouldn’t make eye contact with me. Instead, he went about the cabin straightening items and picking up what little we’d messed up.
I hugged my arms to my chest. “I’m sorry. I know this must be scary for you.” Though those words hurt to say, I knew they needed to be said. Eve was his mate after all. That hadn’t changed because we’d slept together and were marked. Nothing in life was ever that easy.
Adam stopped what he was doing and looked at me through thick eyelashes. His blond hair fell forward, casting shadows against his face. “This is probably awkward for you, huh?” Without waiting for my response, Adam crossed the room. His arms went around me as he held me against his chest. The scent of spices and forest teased my nostrils and sent a wave of calm through my body.
“I meant everything I said last night,” Adam spoke softly. “I love you, Anna.” He reached for my hand, turning it over so the scar faced upwards. With a finger, he trailed the mark and clasped our hands together so the scars met. “The earth has spoken, and you are mine, and I am yours. There’s nothing that can undo that.” Leaning down, his lips met mine ever so softly and were gone before I realized it. “Come on, I have a feeling the bad news is just beginning,” Adam said. I shuffled the book back into my messenger bag, looped it over my shoulder and we headed out.
*
Back at the house, the pack was already arriving. Elle set up a small buffet, featuring coffee, muffins and what looked like egg sandwiches with bacon. The leaders sat at the kitchen table, devouring their food. When I walked in they all looked up as if they’d choreographed the movement. I kept my hands fisted at my side so they wouldn’t see the scar just yet. We needed to find Eve, and if word got out that Adam and I were each other’s chantes, then it’d cause a plethora of questioning and excitement. I never thought I’d rather focus on Eve than me and Adam, but I was still guilty over last night. It made me sick to my stomach to think that while we were finally giving into each other, Eve was kidnapped or worse.
“Hey,” Elle said with a knowing smile.
“Hi,” I told her, making sure to also smile at the leaders. They watched me with heavy scrutiny, and I held back the urge to shake under their penetrating stares.
“I’m going to take a quick shower,” I told no one in particular and then headed to the bathroom. Once I shut the door, I leaned against it and let out the breath I’d been holding. My chest felt heavy and my hands were unsteady. Shaking out my arms, I tried to get myself together. What I really needed to do was get over the guilt. Could I help it that Adam and I were drawn towards each other? If what the book said was true, then it was out of my hands. I’ve always been a firm believer in the saying “What is supposed to happen will always find its way”. So why couldn’t I grasp that concept right now?
I undressed, turned on the shower, and slipped inside. The hot water beat against my skin, and I imagined it washing away all of my remorse over last night. It was a shame that rather than replaying the ecstasy Adam had given me, I was ruining our time together by feeling like this.
I closed my eyes and concentrated on the beat of the water, allowing the steam to clear my head. A flicker of light danced behind my eyelids and startled me. My eyes popped open, and I peeked behind the shower curtain. No one else was in the bathroom and none of the lights had blown. Ignoring the oddity, I closed my eyes again and leaned against the tile wall. Flickers flashed again, this time more violent than before. Squeezing my eyes tighter, I bent over and leaned on my knees from the vertigo it caused.
A picture, although muddled, replaced the flickers. It looked like grass and trees, but it was moving up and down as if I was running. The sound of heavy breath sounded in my eardrums, and I jerked in response. The picture moved to the side as if I looked to my left. My breathing picked up as if I was out of breath or scared. Shadows from the tree limbs lent an eerie feeling to the forest, my eyes shooting in every direction as I sought out something. Bit by bit the scenery disappeared into blackness.
My eyes snapped open, and I immediately retched. Since I hadn’t eaten since last night not a whole came up, but that didn’t stop my body from trying to expel any amount of food it could. A knock sounded and then the door opened.
“Anna? Are you alright?” Elle yanked back the shower curtain and found me on my hands and knees. “Oh my God! What happened?” Her voice sounded funny, as if she were speaking while holding a hand over her mouth. She slipped a towel around my back and tucked her hands under my arms to help me stand. As soon as I stepped out of the shower, Adam came barreling through the door. I had to blink back the stars that danced within my vision to focus on his face. It seemed there was a lot of commotion, and I couldn’t make sense of any of it.
“What happened?” Adam all but yelled.
“I don’t know,” Elle replied. “I heard her vomiting and came in to find her crouched on the shower floor.”
“Anna?” Adam’s hands encased my face and lifted my head so he could look into my eyes. He looked blurry so I blinked a few times. Still, I couldn’t seem to pinpoint exactly where his face was.
“Anna, what happened? Are you alright?” Adam’s voice came through just as muddled as Elle’s had. I knew what they were saying, but it was disorienting with all of their movements. I didn’t respond, at the moment I was working very hard not to retch again. The jostling movements of my body as Adam tried to figure out what was wrong with me caused the nausea to come back in strong waves.
I was being carried. Even if I couldn’t make out the outline of Adam’s face and blond hair, I’d know it was him. His scent was home. It calmed my nerves and helped settle my stomach a little bit.
He laid me on a bed, my room by the smell of it, and I felt the bed indent as he sat down beside me. “Anna, you have to say something. You’re freaking me out.” Adam brushed my wet hair away from my face and pressed a kiss to my forehead. I rubbed my eyes and when I opened them again everything was a little clearer.
“I’m okay,” I told him.
“Did you fall in the shower?” Adam asked with concern.
I snorted. It was a logical question, and I wished he
was right because what actually happened was so bizarre I didn’t know how to deal with it, or what to tell him. I watched him for a few moments, debating on my answer. I felt better by the second, and we still had to discuss how we were going to find Eve. Adam shouldn’t be beside my bed worried about me when there were more important things to deal with.
“Yeah,” I told him. “The floor was really slippery, and I just went down.”
Adam stared at me for a while. “Why were you getting sick?”
I bit my lip and shrugged. “Maybe I’m coming down with something.”
I sat up and hugged my knees to my chest, unable to look Adam in the eye. It didn’t feel right lying to him, but it was for the best for the time being.
“Don’t you think you should conceal that?” I asked, nodding towards his hand to change the subject.
Adam raised his hand and looked at his palm, a smile lifting his lips. “Why would I want to hide proof that we’re meant to be together?”
My eyes snapped to his, and my heart melted a little bit. Figures that he’d say something like that and make all the time I’d spent worrying over it pointless.
“Hey,” Elle said, stepping into my room. “How are you feeling?”
“Better. We should probably get the meeting started.” I looked at Adam, and he nodded, pressing a kiss to my forehead before standing up and leaving. Elle closed my bedroom door and rushed over to my bed with a huge smile on her face.
“I don’t like, dudes, but how was our alpha in the sack?” She waggled her eyebrows and I laughed.
“What makes you think we slept together?”
Elle gave me an “out-with-it-already” look and I laughed again.
“Alright, alright, he was…fantastic. The bones in my body melted. He completely consumed me last night.”
Elle bounced up and down. “’bout damned time! I swear if you guys didn’t screw soon, I was going to slip you guys some E—try refusing him on with a high like that.”
My eyebrows drew together. “E?”
“Ecstasy, you know the drug that gives a whole new meaning to horny.”
I shrugged. “I’ve never done drugs.”
“I had a rough childhood, drugs were my go-to escape route. That all changed when I became a werewolf.”
I’d never asked Elle how she’d been changed. I guess I assumed she knew about werewolves beforehand and was accepted for the change. It was common to have humans living amongst the bigger packs. From what I heard, they were considered staff until they proved themselves worthy enough to be chosen for the change. It was dangerous though, only half survived the bite of a werewolf. Not worth the risk in my opinion.
“Hey, what is that?” Elle reached for my hand and yanked my arm out.
“Tear my arm off why don’t you.”
“What happened?” Elle asked as she examined the scar on my palm.
“You have to promise not to tell anyone.”
“I’ll take it to my grave.”
I eyed the door and then brought my attention back to Elle. “The myth is true,” I whispered.
“I told you!” Elle exclaimed. “It didn’t say anything about marking the couple though. That’s both cool and bizarre.”
“Agreed.” I got up from my bed and walked over to my closet to get dressed. “I just don’t know what will happen now that Adam and I are bonded.” I chose a pair of denim capris and a yellow top with ruffles on the sleeves.
“What do you mean? Eve will be kicked to the curb, and you’ll be our new alpha female,” Elle replied.
“Nothing is ever that easy, Elle.”
*
Elle and I headed out to the living room. The meeting had already started, so we slipped through the crowd and tried to catch up. The leaders stood behind Adam as he spoke. As soon as I’d entered the room their eyes found me. I shifted my feet, unable to stand still, or make eye contact with any of them. Instead of focusing on them, I thought about what happened in the shower. I never had a dream while I was awake, but that’s exactly what it felt like, except I wasn’t a wolf. There was nothing I could piece together and make sense out of, and that was frustrating.
Elle elbowed me. I raised my head and she nodded towards Adam with a smile. I hadn’t been listening to what he said, but now my eyes shot wide and I had to work really hard to keep my jaw from dropping on the floor. He stood with his legs shoulder width apart, his head held high, full of pride, and his arm outstretched as he showed the pack his palm.
“Many of you may not know what this means,” Adam said. “There are a lot of legends surrounding our kind. Some are true and some are nonsense. Last night I learned that one of them is very much real: the myth of the wolves who find their true partner. I don’t pretend to know the magic behind it, but the Great Spirit has spoken, and she has paired me and Anna together.” Adam smiled, an emotion out of place for a meeting about one of our own missing.
“Anna,” Adam said as an invitation to join him up front. I hesitated, not wanting to take focus off of why we were all joined today. It was too late though, Adam spilled the beans prematurely. I shouldered my way through bodies and walked up front, standing off to the side.
“Is this true?” Wade asked in awe. I looked behind me and nodded.
“Show them your hand,” Adam said.
I gave him a dirty look, but held my hand out. The pack gasped and asked questions all at once. The leaders grabbed for our hands and inspected the marks. My annoyance and anger got the better of me. I ripped my hand away from Michael and stepped in front of Adam and the leaders.
“The myth is true, but I think we should have waited to reveal it,” I shot Adam a displeased look. “We are here to find Eve, not celebrate. Most of you know that Eve and I didn’t really like each other, and maybe this is why,” I held my hand out. “That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t devote every waking hour to finding her. One of our own is missing, and it’s our job to find her. If you guys have questions about the pairing of Adam and I, please wait until after this mess is cleared up.”
Once I finished talking, I realized everyone looked at me like I’d shown up for school naked. Realizing that my speech might have been considered rude to Adam and our leaders, I turned and apologized. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt your questioning about our scars, but it doesn’t feel like the right time for all of this.”
Wade smiled and nodded while the other leaders gave me stony glares.
“Anna is right,” Adam stepped forward. “I’m sorry, Anna. I’m just really…well, I wanted share my excitement. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to find Eve. I’ve already divided search teams up and gave them locations to look.”
“Oh,” I whispered, embarrassed. I guess I should have thought about that since Elle and I arrived late. Still, I wished he wouldn’t have put his hand on display for everyone. Our scars weren’t magical in that we were hopelessly, mushy zombies.
Wade stepped forward. “We have her blood, which is the strongest scent. Each of you will smell this on your way out the door.” He held up Eve’s purse that was found along the woods and handed it to Melissa, one of the few females in our pack. She took a long sniff and then passed it to the next person. As each person caught Eve’s scent, their eyes glowed, looking eerily beautiful against their human faces.
One by one they headed outside, clothes shredding as they transformed into wolves. I was about to join them when Jeff stopped me.
“Anna, a minute,” the leader requested.
I should have known my murder trial wouldn’t be overlooked so easily. Now it was time to find out if my bond to Adam would save me.
“Have a seat,” Jeff said as they sat around the kitchen table.
“Shouldn’t I be out helping track Eve?” I may have been stalling, but could I really be faulted for that? I was ready to die yesterday, but now that Adam and I were marked, I wanted to live—needed to.
“Your brothers and sisters are searching for Eve. I doubt one less wolf wi
ll make a difference,” Jeff replied, giving me a look that I shouldn’t argue the subject. Sitting down, I rested my folded arms on the table and tried to appear strong and confident. Adam stood behind me, his hand resting on my right shoulder. Whatever news I was about to hear could end badly. If they carried out my sentence, Adam would die right along with me. There was no way he’d stand by and watch his chante be murdered. Heaviness settled in my chest as I thought about him dying because of me.
“Did you kill Eve?” Michael asked. His blunt question threw me off guard, even though I’d expected it.
“Of course not,” I exclaimed. “Why would I want to look for her if I killed her?” I took a breath to calm myself down. I was really tired of being treated like a criminal. The sooner the leaders left the better.
“Does a murderer act guilty?” Nicolas asked. “It’s apparent you’ve wanted her mate all along. What’s the best way to ensure that happens? By killing her of course. You couldn’t defeat her by demanding a duel, so you took the easy road. Of course how you were able to get the drop on an alpha female is beyond me. Perhaps you had help?” He shifted his steely gaze from me and focused on Adam.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” I snorted. Adam was the last person in the world who’d murder Eve. He took his responsibilities far too seriously.
“I find it funny that the one night we allow you your freedom, Eve goes missing,” Jeff added. “Where were you last night, Anna?”
“She was with me,” Adam answered.
“Like I said, a partner.” Nicholas smiled. “Perhaps since you two were so enamored with each other, and obviously each other’s chante’s, which we’ll discuss later, you cooked up a plan to get rid of the woman who was given to you as a peace offering. You knew that if you were to reject Eve and replace her with Anna, it’d start a war with her people.”
“That’s bullshit,” Adam snarled.
“Adam wouldn’t do that,” I said. “He takes being mated to Eve seriously.” I didn’t mention how annoying it was because that would only help their case against me. Hearing Adam tell me there was nothing he could do about his relationship with Eve had nearly driven me crazy, but not enough to kill which is what the leaders would assume.
01 Taming the Wolf - Anna Avery Page 16
