Chapter Two
He stood staring down at the woman in his arms and laid her out gently on the large bed, pulling a heavy quilt over her and sitting on the edge. His head shook as he lifted a palm and gently brushed through the springy curls on her forehead.
He went to the small kitchen and frowned at the choices in the fridge until he remembered that she had a full sized very well stocked kitchen in the main part of the house. He took a bottle of water from inside and snapped the cap before going back to sit beside her.
He watched the dark lashes flutter, regretting the instant fear in them when she opened her eyes.
“I’m sorry,” he held the bottle of water out to her. “I really am sorry.”
“That hasn’t happened in a very long time,” she said tensely, more than a little angry with herself. “I don’t like being snuck up on.”
“Like I said…I’m sorry. I’m under a bit of a time restraint here and two of my guys will be back in the morning with the stock we bought for the ranch and I need to get back. I know you probably don’t care. I get that.”
“I don’t want to go there. They hate me,” came the pained whisper.
“Scarlet…” stunned surprise filled his face. “They don’t hate you. Where the hell would you get an idea like that?”
“I killed someone,” she whispered hoarsely, hearing her own words echoing inside her for the first time in a very long time.
“Yes, you killed one of the boys involved and the others ran free, thanks to the idiot elders in the town. I get the anger, you might not think I do being a guy, but I do. And maybe anger isn’t a strong enough word, Scarlet. But they don’t hate you. A lot of them were very worried about you. My mother and aunt kept up with all the gossip in town, believe me, I was made very aware of it growing up.”
“Are…are their families still in the town?” She scooted back slightly, away from him and toward the headboard, accepting the water he held out to her. She watched him closely as he seemed to weigh his response.
“Yes and no.”
She inhaled a little shakily and took a long drink, her eyes focused on the sloshing water in the plastic bottle.
“I like my little town. I like my inn and I love cooking,” she said quietly. “The other two…the way people look at you…I couldn’t be there. Not then.” She paused, glancing over at him. “Do you know them?”
“One is married, decent enough,” Lucas answered, not sure if his words would hurt or not. “The other not so much.”
“I don’t know if I blamed their parents or not,” she said softly, staring toward the closed window without seeing anything in the present. It seemed like another life. So far away.
“The decent one, Jay, his parents blamed him and themselves. They held him to a very strict life after it happened,” Lucas didn’t move from his spot, just watched both her hands on the plastic bottle. “The one who was killed…they never accepted responsibility, for themselves or their son. They were forced out of the pack and last I heard, have a small pack just outside Seattle.” He wasn’t quite ready to tell her he’d kept an eye on them with the express purpose of making certain none of them ever bothered her again.
“I’m not sorry.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to be. You defended yourself. My personal opinion, regret or not, the other two deserved the same thing.”
“The…but they didn’t…”
“They didn’t stop him or help you. So they’re just as guilty,” he said coldly.
“Backbone doesn’t come in the grocery store,” Scarlet said simply. She dragged in a long, shaky breath. “You interrupted my fall clean up celebration.”
“I talked to people in town. You might deny being an alpha, Scarlet, but you’ve shown it unconsciously the way you’ve organized them. The way you’re taught them to manage their resources and their businesses so they can have a winter vacation,” he hoped she was willing to listen now. “I know you don’t consider Devil Hills your town or your home anymore, but I need your help.”
“Why me? You can’t tell me you can’t find another female to fill the space.”
“That pair bonding thing,” he said with a sigh.
“You could have had it annulled…canceled…no one would blame you.”
“I could. But I didn’t. We can both take other lovers to bed, but the strength in the pair bonding is the only thing that will keep a pack in line,” he knew he didn’t have to explain that to her, but he said it anyway. The sudden flash of jealousy in her eyes made his lips lift a little. “Jealous?”
“Of course not. There’s nothing to be jealous about. I left, remember? Deliberately. How’d you find me, anyway?” She demanded, the petulance and anger returning at his poke.
“Luck. A friend passing through,” Lucas shrugged. “I have this picture of you in my wallet. I think you were all of seventeen at your graduation,” there was a slight glimmer of hope when surprise filled her face, dark lashes blinking at him in confusion. “My mother sent it to me when I was in the military overseas. Josh had seen it and remembered. He gave me a call because he knew I’d been trying to find you.”
“Well, now you did. Hi, been great, time for you to go now,” she said with a fast clip, gesturing to the door. “I need sleep and I want it alone.”
“Will you come back to Devil Hills and help me? It’d just take a few weeks, Scarlet,” Lucas saw the answer in her eyes. “It isn’t because you’re afraid. It’s because you’re pissed at me.”
“I don’t know you other than your name,” she lied sweetly. A little too sweetly, Lucas thought.
“You’re pissed because I didn’t find you sooner and stake my claim,” he watched the pure feminine fury flare to life and knew he’d hit the mark.
Now he was in trouble.
“Get out of my room. Get out of my house. Get out of my town,” she hissed angrily, shoving the quilt off and climbing from the bed on the opposite side. She went to the door, pushed the chair to the side and flung the door wide. “Good bye, Lucas Daniels, and good luck with whatever your problem is, because it’s not mine.”
“Yes, Scarlet, it is yours as long as we’re pair bonded and I won’t break that,” he told her flatly, standing up and striding to stand in front of her. “You aren’t afraid of me. I don’t even think you’re afraid of mating with me,” he saw the breath catch in her chest, her eyes wide at the idea but it wasn’t fear he saw. He knew she was interested. He could smell it. And she would easily be able to know just what he was feeling. So why had she run? That sudden question lurched into his mind at the same time she turned and strode through the dark house to the front door.
“Good bye.” She pulled the door wide, her chin tipped up and eyes meeting his without backing down.
“There’s a reason we were pair bonded, Scarlet. I don’t understand how it works, my father always said I would if I had a daughter,” he stopped in front of her, his hand up to stroke gently over her face, along her jaw and onto her throat. “You feel it now that we’re closer than a hundred miles. You feel how strong it is and how impossible it is to ignore.”
Scarlet refused to back down, actually surprised that she could keep her eyes open when he lowered his mouth to cover hers. She was pretty sure she wasn’t breathing though and wondered if you could die while holding your breath when someone really rugged and handsome kissed you?
Probably not since as soon as his tongue stroked over her mouth, her lips parted and air rushed in with the teasing caress. She pretended not to hear the little whimper because she was positive it was hers.
“I need your help, Scarlet. I’m telling you right now, it can be voluntary or involuntary,” Lucas nipped sharply on the full bow of her lower lip. “But I will have your presence in Devil Hills.” He took a firm grip of the waistband of her jeans, tugged and strode from the house without looking back. He shrugged lightly. At least she didn’t slam the door.
Scarlet leaned heavily against the door she closed behind him. S
he knew she was breathing too fast and sunk to sit on the floor, her head between her knees. There was a really good reason she had distance between them and those damn pheromones were a clear and convincing reason. She sat still for a couple minutes before drifting to her bedroom and falling face down into the mass of quilts and blankets.
She was also just a little pissed that he hadn’t come looking for her sooner. Damned irrational girl thoughts! It was a convenient thing to be pair bonded when some aggressive female tries to corner you, she thought with a little growl.
She rolled to her back and stared at the ceiling. Then onto her side and curled against a pillow, the quilt pulled over her. Just a little sleep then she’d disappear for a while. Lucas Daniels could work out his own issues with the aggressive females after his hide.
Not her problem, she murmured as she drifted to sleep.
Chapter Three
She was up and throwing things as the streaks of sunlight filtered into her room.
“Damn it!” She hadn’t wanted to be there come light. She wanted to be high in the hills and away from Morning Star Lake. She knew him. She didn’t trust him. He’d probably be watching the front door since he saw her stuffing clothing into her pack. What he didn’t know was she had it adapted for her wolf and she had friends who would help her with the buckles.
With the lights out, she opened the window and quickly stripped. She dropped the pack over the window ledge, shifted and leaped through into the early dawn. Her paws touched down and she had the pack in her teeth when she felt the sharp pinch in her hip. Her head went up and back, amber eyes landing on the man standing a few feet away.
She wanted to call her fangs into a growl. But they wouldn’t work.
Suddenly there were three of him.
Still really good looking, but three?
Then she watched as they spilt again but she wasn’t sure because she dropped the pack and then seemed to slide to the ground. Then it was very dark and peaceful.
Lucas set the safety on the tranquilizer pistol and stepped forward. He sighed and dropped to his heels, his head shaking even as his palm came out and stroked gently down her head and neck.
“I am so sorry, baby,” he whispered to his mate.
“She’s gonna be pissed, boss,” Hank dragged his hand over his neck.
“No kidding,” Lucas exhaled and nodded to Allen. “Bring the stretcher. I want her in the back of the truck and us on the road.”
He wasn’t happy with the way she had to travel, but he’d known instinctively that it would be a possibility. He held the front of the stretcher, lowering it carefully into the large cage before they lifted the lid and latched the sides. He made sure the lock was set before swinging around to the door of the truck and behind the wheel.
Scarlet stirred forty minutes later, blinking and watching daylight spin around her before she let her head drop back down. She tried focusing, drawing in long, slow breaths before attempting to open her eyes again. This time the world stayed in one place so she lifted her head, blinked and blinked again before her gaze narrowed.
She was in a cage.
She had a wild collection of words she wanted to use on him and his ancestors but settled for the most vicious snarl she could manage. Which, considering her physical state at the moment, wouldn’t have scared a bunny. She pouted for a long minute, peering around curiously, gathering her bearing and inhaling deeply.
The good news, the sun was shining.
She pulled herself onto her haunches, amber eyes peering around the back of what she guessed was someone’s large pick-up truck. Typical stuff left lying around on the bed which was a good thing. The bad thing was she couldn’t get a paw through the bars. But…her hand would slide through easily. She found just the piece of wire she wanted and took several long, slow breaths. She had to be fast because as soon as he sensed she’d changed, he’d be suspicious.
Scarlet moved quickly once she shifted. The wire was in her hand, the lock was worked and snapped open. She shifted back quickly and was over the side of the pick-up just as he was pulling off to the side of the road. She headed straight for the woods as fast as her long legs could take her without glancing back at the rough shouting.
Lucas swore loud and repeatedly. He paced to the back of the pick-up, his palm down hard on the fender before climbing behind the wheel.
“Let’s get these animals back to the ranch. Then I’ll go back for her.”
“You can’t go alone, boss. Me and Allen will ride up with you. Maybe we can flank her…”
Lucas laughed, his head shaking. “I knew it wouldn’t be an easy thing. But I didn’t know she could pick locks.”
“Surprising woman, boss,” Hank chuckled and climbed into the truck.
Traveling on foot, or feet, Scarlet thought with a sigh as she drank from the small stream, wasn’t as fast as the back of a pick-up truck. It was noon when she found what looked like a nice, peaceful place to rest and curled up for a nap.
Lucas was outside her house and not a happy man. It was six in the evening. Darkness had settled around them and she still hadn’t shown up. He got in the pick-up and back tracked. She would have followed the stream that led right to the lake. He didn’t know how he knew that, but it was in his mind, like a marker to follow.
He parked the pick-up and stepped into the darkness alongside the road. He had to allow the night to settle around him before taking in several long breaths and reaching out with his thoughts as well as trying to gather her scent. She’d come this way, he was sure of that.
Lucas jumped back into the truck, his jaw set and pulse thumping at the side of his throat.
“Boss?”
“Keep your eyes out for an old barn. Rickety, falling down, weathered,” he said curtly, his palm against the wheel. “It’s too fucking dark out, damn it. Dig out the flashlights.”
“Out that way,” Allen slapped a hand on Hank’s shoulder and pointed off to the far left. “There’s what used to be the turn off. What’d you see, Lucas?”
“Dig around back there for a first aid kit,” he ordered, taking the turn off and hitting the gas pedal.
“You think she’s hurt?”
“I know she’s hurt,” he responded briskly, skidding to a stop and barely waiting for the tires to lock before he had thrown the door wide and was out running toward the barn. “Check around the outside!” He called behind him, knowing they’d follow and do as he ordered without questions.
Frustration and fury were mounting after fifteen minutes. He needed daylight. She was too dark, he thought, sending his thoughts out and waiting. He played the bright, strong light over the ground.
Then he felt it.
Faint, too damn faint. He turned on his heels and went into the barn, checking stalls and making a run when his gaze landed on the pale, long legs. She’d shifted back so he could find her!
“Scarlet,” his whisper shook as he was across the barn and dropping to his heels at her side. A side now drenched in blood that had slowed to an ooze and heavily tinting the hay spread beneath her. “Get some blankets in here and the first aid kit!” He called out loudly.
He saw her lashes flutter. She might not consciously hear him, but the other part of her would hear him, know he was there with her. He tilted her slightly onto her good side, trying to keep his hand steady with the light in it. He heard his own voice in his head, a grateful sigh at what he saw. He took the blanket held out to him and the bottle of water. He used the gauze and antiseptic, cleaning and making certain his guess was close to accurate before he set things aside, covering her with the warm blanket.
“Scarlet…you can hear me…I know you can. You shifted so I could find you,” his eyes flew from her face to the hand he held that weakly squeezed his fingers. “I want you to shift back, Scarlet. You’ll heal faster…” He said the words but felt in his mind that she couldn’t. She didn’t have the energy but he knew how to give it to her.
“Hank…you and Allen bed down here f
or the night. I’ll be in here with Scarlet,” he said firmly, waiting for the acknowledging answer before removing his clothing. He needed to keep her warm once she shifted.
“Scarlet…think with me…shift with me…I can help you…visualize it now, Scarlet…please…” he shifted and watched her body shimmer and form, a pair of amber eyes meeting his weakly.
He paced around her anxiously, sniffing, licking, reassuring as he thought the same things. This time when her eyes closed, he knew she was sleeping, not unconscious. He curled tightly against her, his head next to hers and sigh weary.
Lucas sat cross legged leaning against a worn out wooden panel that might have made up the stall at one time. Hank and Allen had gone out early and brought back food, water and coffee. His hands were wrapped around the steaming cup when he saw her eyes moving, shimmering amber watching him closely.
She moved tentatively, standing on all four feet, bending into a bow and stretching the lean muscled body out. Testing her strength.
Scarlet heard herself groan as she lowered her head and stretched out her back once more before dropping back to the floor tiredly.
“This might help. You lost a lot of blood,” he shoved a bowl of water closer to her and then the plate filled with steak and eggs. He laughed when she went for the food first, draining the water before settling down with what might be the wolf equivalent of a contented sigh.
“I have your pack here. You think you might shift back so we can talk about this?”
Scarlet was frustrated and angry and too many other things to talk to him right now. She held the block in place easily enough now that she wasn’t being ripped apart by pain. Some stealthy wolf she was. Old farmer catches her in the side with a rifle. How embarrassing.
She turned her head away from him and closed her eyes.
Devil Hills: #1 Scarlet, Lexi & Lily Page 2
