I opened my eyes slightly, and my gaze fell on the mirror on the wall behind Ryan. I could see the outline of his broad shoulders through his torn t-shirt, the line of his hips, and behind him, a bedraggled woman, her clothes hanging in tatters from her slumped body, her skin coated in dirt and dried blood, her hair handing in matted dreadlocks and her eyes like giant white marbles against her filthy face. It was hard to believe that girl was me. Just looking at her made my body feel weary, like I would collapse right there.
Ryan sensed my sudden weariness, and backed away, smiling slightly. “You’ve had an ordeal, Alex. As much as I’d love to climb into that tub with you and ravish your beautiful body with my tongue, I think what you really need is a few minutes to yourself. Relax, clean yourself up, and when you feel human again, come and crawl into bed with me. I’ll be waiting.”
He backed out of the room, flashing me one final, brilliant smile. I stripped off my torn clothing, and slipped into the steaming water. Bubbles clung to my skin. I took a block of fruity-smelling soap (also made by Clara, I guessed) and began to rub away the dirt and blood and grit that coated my body. The water started to turn a soupy brown colour, but I didn’t care. I began to relax, the jet behind my head pounding out the knots in my back.
I sank into the water, the warmth pulling my whole body down, cleansing me of the horror of the previous night. I thought of Ryan, waiting for me on the other side of the door, trying to be a gentleman while his body screamed for mine. The pull of my mate impacted my entire body, my body tugging at me to leap out of the water and join him. But I didn’t give in. I let the rich, calming scent of the herbs penetrate deep into my pores. I was cleaning the dirt from my fingernails and toes. I let my mind wind down, tuning out all thought.
Let him wait for me. We have all the time in the world.
4
I woke hours later, shrouded in warmth. My whole body ached, as if I’d been playing chicken with a speeding locomotive and had lost badly. I reached up and rubbed my eyes, unsure for a moment where I was. Slowly, Ryan’s room came into view; the cool grey walls, the chair in the corner piled with my dirty clothes, Miss Havisham stretched out blissfully in front of the large picture window overlooking the forest. The light was dim – dusk or dawn, I wasn’t sure which.
“Good morning, beautiful.” Ryan leaned over the bed. He took my hand in his, and clasped it to him. His scent filled me, that deep, woody aroma that always stirred something within me. Suddenly, I was wide-awake, and very, very aware of his other hand draped casually across my chest, the fingers just scraping the edge of my nipple.
“What time is it?” I mumbled.
“Nearly 6 pm,” he smiled, pointing out the window. I could see a reddish glow stretching over the horizon, above the line of trees. The sun was setting.
“I slept all day?” I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t even remember crawling into the bed. I must’ve been beyond exhausted.
“You did.” Ryan laughed. “Here I was, waiting in bed, hard for you, when you came out of the bathroom, slipped under the covers, and were asleep in seconds.”
“Really? I don't even remember.”
“I admit, the idea of rolling you over, waking you up, and fucking you slow and gently did occur to me. But I am a gentleman, much as it pains me to admit. You clearly needed the sleep. But I’ve been waiting hours for you to wake up.” He gestured to the table beside me, where he had placed a tray of delicious treats – some warm cheese scones, a glass of orange juice, and a slice of Simon’s delicious sweet potato frittata. I didn’t realise how hungry I was until the smell of those hot cheese scones slathered with melted butter hit my nostrils. I scooted up in the bed and reached for a scone. Ryan pushed some pillows behind my head and set the tray on my lap.
I scarfed down the food, not even pausing to breathe or speak between bits. Ryan watched me, a mixture of amusement and admiration on his face.
“I’m glad you’re not one of those girls who picks at food,” he said, smiling as he wiped the corners of my mouth with the linen napkin. “Melissa was more like a rabbit than a fox, the way she nibbled on lettuce leaves.”
“Please don’t compare me to her,” I said.
“Alex … I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. It’s not a big deal or anything. It’s just … I killed her. She was evil and I don’t regret it, but I don’t want to constantly be reminded of the fact that I had to wash her blood from my hair.”
“I wasn’t talking about that.” Ryan lowered his eyes, his whole body sagging. He looked sad. I leaned forward and touched his cheek.
“What do you have to be sorry for? I loved the breakfast.”
“I ran, Alex. I abandoned you, and I’m ashamed of it. I left you and Kylie in that house all alone, and it was my fault you were captured. I didn’t think. I let my animal side completely take over. I only saw one thing – red, red in my eyes, red on my hands as I spilled Isengrim’s blood in revenge for what he’d done.”
My chest ached for him. I wanted to do something, anything, to wipe that look of sadness from his face. “Ryan, you are not the bad guy here. Isengrim took your mother and your brother. You are a fox trying to protect your pack. You acted on instinct, and your instinct was correct. I don’t think you would have left me if you didn’t trust that I could fend for myself. And I did, didn’t I?”
He nodded glumly.
“So everything worked out. Now, stop beating yourself up about it. We still have one more wolf to get rid of. Tell me about Isengrim. How did you find him?”
“He wasn’t difficult to find. In fact, I think he wanted me to find him. I followed his scent from the house. He’d laid a pretty clear trail. It led me into the forest a little way, to a small clearing half a mile or so from your house.”
I shuddered, remembering the beautiful spot not far from our backyard where I often went to think and draw in my journals. “I know that clearing well.”
“Yes, I could smell you everywhere. On the trees, in the grass, along the edge of the fallen log. I think that’s why Isengrim was there. He was making his threat obvious. First Clara and Marcus, then you. He lured me there, knowing I would follow him and not the other shifters, who were the ones who actually had Clara and Marcus. He was trying to get me alone, to bait me into doing something stupid, and he succeeded.” His eyes darkened.
“So you arrived in this clearing, and he was there.”
“He stood in the centre, his body rigid, ready to attack. We circled each other, neither one of us willing to make the first attack. As a wolf, he has the advantage of … everything. He’s bigger than me, and his body is designed for killing. Foxes are mostly scavengers – we are light and nimble, but no match for the raw power of a wolf. It should have been his fight, but I had anger on my side – a white-hot rage that burned me up inside. He could sense that rage, feel it radiating from my burning body. If I was going down, I was going to bring him with me.”
I leaned forward, stomach clenching as I imagined the scene. “Then what happened?”
“The sheer force of my rage got the better of me. I pounced on him, got him around the neck, and brought him down to the ground. I could taste his blood in my mouth. The rage burst out of me, flowing through my mouth into him. That’s when I passed over my thoughts, unwittingly. Anyway, he managed to roll around, wrestling his head away. He leapt at me, but I dodged his bite and got his back leg, biting through the muscle right down to the bone. That was a mistake. Even though he must’ve been in agony, he managed to twist around and slashed at my face.” He ran his hand down a long cut across his cheek.
“That looks deep.” I shuddered as I ran my hand along his cheek. I hadn’t even noticed that cut last night. I must’ve been really out of it.
“It’s okay. He looked far worse, trust me. I clamped my jaws around his leg and managed to use his own momentum to swing him on to the ground. Then I slashed him with my claws, through his chest, across his face. Blood flew everywhere, splashing across
my face and obscuring my vision. But I kept slashing at him until he stopped struggling and lay still. He’d lost so much blood. I was standing over him, looking at my enemy right in the eye, and the rage was rippling through me. I thought about how he’d tried to take away you, and Marcus, and Clara – my whole family. I bared my teeth. I was ready to kill him, to tear his body to pieces. And then I heard you.”
“Me?”
He nodded. “Inside my head, your voice came to me, calling me back from my rage. You told me where you were, what you planned to do. I didn’t even think. I just ran. Isengrim was too broken to catch up to me, though as I approached the cemetery, I sensed he was behind me somewhere. He was trying to reach his pack, trying to drag his broken body there in time for the ritual.”
Ryan raised his hand to his cheek, wrapped his warm fingers around mine, and pulled it into his lap.
“I came to the cemetery, and saw the ritual taking place. I saw you all inside and I was ready to leap into that cone of power and save you, when I heard your voice again.”
I squeezed his hand. I couldn’t believe that I’d thought those things, and he’d actually heard me. I’d actually sent a telepathic message. That was the coolest thing ever.
“You told me to get as far away as possible. But I couldn’t leave you there! I saw the plume of fog rising and I was all ready to leap in and rescue you. Then, out of the corner of my eye I saw a figure running into the woods – a fox, carrying something in a metal box. I thought I’d catch it and force it to reveal Isengrim’s plan. I circled around and went to cut him off, but just as I was about to pounce I recognised Marcus, with your little cat lady’s cage clamped between his teeth. At first, I was angry, thinking that he’d left you there to die to save his own skin, but then he gave me the same message. He said you’d sent him away, and that we couldn’t be anywhere near the cemetery. And I heard your voice again, warning me away. Although it was hard to tear myself away from the scene in front of me, I knew I had to trust you. So we ran deeper into the forest, heading away from the cemetery, away from the danger. We had just reached the edge of the village when the ground shook and a great mushroom of grey light burst from the graveyard.
“I turned back, and watched that great cloud of magic light up the sky, and something broke inside of me. I couldn’t help myself. I started to run toward it. Marcus was right behind me, screaming that we shouldn’t go back, in case it was still deadly, but I didn’t pay any attention. I barrelled back through the forest, and then I smelt it. Death, decay, blood. It was everywhere – dripping from the trees, soaking the earth below my feet. And I could smell something else in it; an acrid, cloying smell that made my throat close up. It had to be the iridium. I didn’t know how you’d done it, but I realised what you’d done and why you were ordering us to stay away.”
“We retreated back to safety. Marcus went forward a little and howled, and luckily, Kylie heard him and got you and Clara out of the cemetery and found her way to us. I could still smell Isengrim nearby, but I didn’t bother going after him. I had you to think about and besides, he’d already lost so much that night, I thought he could keep his life for the meantime.”
“I was lucky the iridium worked, and that it didn’t hurt you or Marcus or Miss Havisham. If one little bit had touched you, I don’t know what I’d do–”
“That didn’t happen, so don’t worry about it, Alex. You did the right thing, and everything worked out.”
“The iridium is all gone, though. We won’t have it to help us kill Isengrim. And it’s not like we can get more. We’re unlikely to find iridium pigment at Staples.”
“You forget, I’m an artist. If there’s a hard-to-find art-supply we need, I can get Simon to order it.”
“Oh, you mean from the Art Supply Shop for Snooty Artistes Who Are Too Good To Shop At Staples Like Everyone Else? Well, yes, I suppose it would be there. If they have any in stock. Perhaps one of the other crusading reclusive shifter billionaire artists has ordered the last bottle.”
Ryan laughed. “I’ll have Simon call them first thing tomorrow and find out. In the meantime, Miss Alex, what do you plan to do with your evening?”
I leapt out from under the covers, flying into him, my body instantly flaring with heat as our skin touched. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close, rolling me over so my back lay against the soft bed, and he lay across me, his heavy frame reassuring. “I have plans for you, Ryan Raynard,” I whispered.
With a howl of disgust, Miss Havisham got up from her spot by the window and darted from the room.
Ryan pressed his lips to mine, and all my fears and worries melted away. The aches in my muscles dissipated, replaced by a glowing warmth that started in my chest and spread out through my limbs, like a crackling fire slowly consuming me, wrapping my body in bright flames.
5
We had thwarted Isengrim’s attempt to raise an army of undead barghests. Just thinking that made me feel a surge of triumph, not least because I so rarely had the opportunity to apply the word “thwarted” to anything in my life.
But we weren’t in the clear, not yet. Sure, Isengrim had no army, but now he knew what Ryan was planning to do with the exhibition, and he would do anything he could to stop it. He was almost beaten, but that made him an even more terrifying adversary. Like a desperate animal trapped in a cage, Isengrim was now at his most dangerous.
I could no longer escape the inevitable. We had to protect Ryan’s exhibition at all costs, and being near the paintings was the only guaranteed way to find Isengrim. That meant I needed my job back. The very thought of going to Matthew with my tail between my legs made my body erupt with uncontrollable shaking. But I had no choice.
Between bouts of frantic lovemaking, Ryan whispered his plan to me. When we finally dragged ourselves from bed early the following morning, I packed some clothes into a rucksack and dragged it downstairs. Simon made me a huge breakfast of venison sausages, sweet potato hash browns and roasted tomatoes. “It’s hard to get any good sucking-up done on an empty stomach,” he’d remarked wryly as he set my plate down. Great, even Simon thought I was hopeless.
After breakfast, Ryan packed the boot of the car with packs of clothes, bedding, a chiller filled with food, and some other supplies. If I got my job back, we’d need that stuff to put our plan into action. Ryan drove us to the gallery, and I was so nervous I didn’t even notice when he ran two red lights and crushed a curbside garden. He parked outside the huge double doors at the back of Halt. I didn’t move. I was glued to the seat. My stomach felt like I’d swallowed a cannonball.
Ryan squeezed my hand. “You just defeated an army of shape shifters and undead dogs and reversed some of the most powerful dark magic known on this earth. What is talking to one petty man compared to that?”
When he put it like that … no, it didn’t do any good. I was still terrified of Matthew.
“C’mon, Alex. You’ve got this.” No, no I don’t! My whole body was shaking. I didn’t move. Ryan got out of the car, came around to my side, grabbed me under the armpits with his strong hands, and tried to pull me from the car.
“I don’t feel well,” I whimpered as I clung to the armrest for dear life. “I think I’m coming down with something. Leprosy. That’s it. I feel a spot of leprosy coming on. Let’s just go back to Raynard Hall, and we can come back tomorrow–”
“You’re very cute when you’re nervous,” he kissed my neck. “You know we can’t. We have to protect the exhibition. We have to find Isengrim. How do you propose we do that without someone on the inside?”
“Why do I have to do it? You do it. I told everyone you were an intern. You could walk in there just as easily as me.”
“You may have told everyone I was your intern, but since I’m not actually an intern you never gave me a swipe card, or an access code, or any way to prove I’m a legitimate employee. Now, get in there.”
I forced my legs to move, pushing them out of the car. Ryan grabbed me under the shoulder
and yanked me up. I squealed as he spun me round and pushed me against the car, pressing his lips to mine, his hands warm against my back. “I’ll be right behind you,” he said.
“Do you think I’ll need your protection?”
“No,” he grinned. “I think Matthew needs my protection. You are a fierce, beautiful woman, and no man is going to tell you what to do. Go in there fighting, Alex. You’ve done all the work on this exhibit. This is your moment to shine. You deserve it.”
Heart thundering against my chest, I tried to put on a smile, but I suspected it came out more like a grimace. Ryan placed his arm around my waist, pushing my hips forward. “Let’s go.”
The security entrance loomed in front of me, like the drawbridge of a fortress that I had to singlehandedly capture. I took a shaky step toward it, and then another, and before I could blink I was inside and Ryan was dragging me down the hall toward Matthew’s office.
“No, wait, I-I’m not ready! The leprosy is coming back!” I protested, but Ryan’s hand on my waist was like a vice. We passed by my office, and I saw that the light was off and my desk was nearly completely bricked in by stacks of copy paper boxes. Matthew really had wasted no time in turning my office into a storage closet.
Belinda passed us in the hall, her long neck and self-righteous smirk obscured by a huge stack of catalogues she was carrying from the mail room. She looked up, and did a double take when she saw me. “Alex? What are you doing here?”
“She’s got a few last-minute adjustments to make for the Raynard opening.” Ryan smiled. “Apparently, the catering company were going to serve salmon. Can you imagine?”
“But … aren’t you fired?”
“That’s the rumour,” I muttered, enjoying the disbelieving look on Belinda’s face. Ryan dragged me past her and around the corner. There was only one door down this hall, and it was shut. I could see Matthew at his desk through the glass wall, his ear pressed up to the phone as he barked something demeaning to the poor soul on the other end.
Crookshollow foxes box set: The complete fox shapeshifter romance series Page 26
