by Liv Brywood
“What did Stryde do when he got back?”
“He went into a rage. He’d kept Ryker’s secret because he didn’t think Ryker had a chance of becoming alpha. Stryde lived with the humans for years and had military training. He assumed he’d be chosen for his ability to protect the pack.”
“But it’s not all about protecting the pack, is it?” Diana asked.
“No, you have to be a good leader, someone others will follow without question. Stryde was always too hot-headed. I still think he would have made a good leader, but he changed after the ceremony.”
“That’s when he left to go to the mountain to start his own pack?”
Leah looked through her, as if looking into the past. “Yes. And when he left, he took Trista’s clothes with him. He keeps them in a basket in his room in the den as a reminder of that day. He never forgave Ryker for keeping the engagement a secret. Stryde still thinks that if everyone knew about the engagement, he would have become alpha instead of Ryker.”
“Why would Ryker be angry about the clothes now?”
“If we’d told him back then, his obsession would have destroyed the entire pack. Ryker was insane with grief. He would have abandoned his role as alpha and spent all his time tracking Trista’s killer.”
“Wouldn’t Stryde have wanted that? He could have taken over as alpha.”
“The rest of the pack never would have accepted him.”
“I still don’t see why the clothes are an issue now. If you think it’s going to send him into an obsessive spiral, why tell him after all these years?”
Leah paused then looked into her eyes. “Last night, when they brought the wolves’ bodies to the healing room, I smelled the same scent that was on Trista’s clothes. The man who killed Trista also tried to kill Gwen, and he was the same man who attacked you.”
***
Zane slammed the empty shot glass onto the long, shoddy wooden bar. “Another.”
Hank, the daytime bartender at Drake’s Pool Hall, placed both palms on the bar. “I think you’ve had enough. It’s only early afternoon and you’re drinking like it’s last call.”
Zane’s words slurred. “If you’d seen what I seen, you’d be drinkin’ too.”
The Old West-style twin doors swung open to the pool hall. Haloed by sunlight, Zane couldn’t make out who the man was until he stepped further into the bar.
When he recognized his friend Bill, he said, “Glad you came. I got somethin’ important to talk to you about.”
Bill bellied up to the bar next to Zane. “Two fingers of Jim Beam, rocks.”
Hank set a clean glass on the bar. “You boys playin’ hooky from work? It’s the middle of the day in the middle of the week.”
Zane leaned forward. “We got some important business. There’s wolves in those woods.”
Hank finished pouring the whiskey then pushed the glass toward Bill. “Are you setting up a hunt?”
Zane held his empty glass up. “Give me another and I’ll tell ya.”
The bartender filled the shot glass with tequila. The liquid burned Zane’s throat, but he didn’t care. The burning in his soul was far worse. As long as the demons lived in the woods, he’d never be able to rest. Now that he knew God’s plan, he intended to make good on it. He needed some men he could trust to go on a hunting party.
He glanced around the bar. The pool tables sat empty. The small round tables were vacant. The only other person in the bar was a woman huddled in a booth in the back. She nursed a glass of red wine and stared out a dusty window. Brown hair, big sad eyes, not his type, but she looked familiar. He studied her until she turned and met his eyes. He quickly looked away.
Hank wiped the bar down with a musky towel. “Well?”
Zane licked the rim of his glass then set it on the bar, upside down. “There are werewolves in the woods.”
The ice in Bill’s glass clanked as he took a long drink. Skepticism crept into his face.
Hank stopped mid-swipe. “Werewolves?”
Zane nodded. “Big ones. I saw one two nights ago in the woods. Then last night, there had to be at least ten of them.”
Bill smirked. “Did they have big teeth and big eyes?”
“Yes, and fur.”
Hank slapped the bar and howled with laughter. “Let me get this straight. You went into the woods and saw werewolves, not once, but twice in the last two nights?”
Anger simmered in his belly. He knew he’d have a hard time convincing them that the creatures existed, but they shouldn’t be mocking him.
Hank wiped the back of his hand across his closed eyes. “That’s a good one. Usually you’re spouting off about the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Werewolves, now that’s somethin’ new.”
Zane’s hands clenched under the bar. “I saw them. They were coming to attack us. You don’t believe me, fine, but when they swarm our town, you’ll wish you’d struck first.”
The smile left Bill’s face. “You sound pretty convinced. What makes you so sure they’re werewolves?”
“Two nights ago I went on a date. Everything was going great until I drove her home. Halfway there, she jumped out of the car and ran into the woods.”
“That girl that was in here with you the other night? Why would she do that?” Hank asked.
“Women, who knows. Anyway, I followed her to try to help her. I didn’t want her getting lost in the woods. I found her in a clearing, I was about to take her back to the truck and a wolf jumped out of the bushes. I about had a heart attack. I ran like hell, but as soon as I got into the tree line, I turned back and that’s when I saw it change. The fur sunk back into the wolf’s skin. It stood up on its back legs and its front paws turned to hands. The back paws turned into feet. It was a man all right. A wolfman.”
Bill held his glass inches from his lips. “A wolfman?”
“Yep, like something out of Revelations.”
Hank asked. “What happened to the girl?”
“Diana? The wolfman took her. I tried to track them the next morning, but there were too many tracks. There’s more than just one out there. My guess? Hundreds.”
“If there are hundreds out there, why haven’t they been spotted?” Bill asked.
“Oh they have. Think about all the old stories. Our ancestors knew about them, but over time we lost our vigilance. We lost our way and stopped fighting the unholy creatures that roam our woods.”
Hank said, “If there are hundreds of those creatures out there, we’re going to need more than three men. But I don’t think we should go running around trying to convince people without any proof.”
Zane nodded in agreement. “We can do that, get proof. If we can find their den, we can take some pictures and show the others.”
“What about Diana?”
Zane spun on his stool. The woman who had been sitting near the rear of the bar stood behind him. Hands on her hips, she glared at him.
“If we find her, we’ll rescue her,” Zane lied.
The woman jabbed a finger into his chest. “You better find her, you coward. The girl you’re talking about is my sister.”
Chapter 9
As Ryker and Trent exited Kyran’s den, a tepid gloom greeted them. Ryker gazed up at the sky. Huge black clouds rolled in from the north. There was no way they’d make it to the Dark Moon Pack’s den before the storm broke.
“We need to head back.”
Trent nodded. “We can leave once the storm breaks.”
Ryker shifted to his wolf form and Trent followed suit. They raced back toward their den and made it just inside the entrance when the first jagged bolt of lightning slashed across the sky.
Trent trotted toward the center of the den. He curled up in a ball of fur and closed his eyes.
As he walked to his room, Ryker shifted back into his human form. He pushed the curtain back and glanced at the skylight. One of the other wolves had covered it with a large woven mat of leaves to keep the water out.
Diana lay on his bed
with her back to him. He couldn’t tell if she was awake. Exhausted from the run and the lack of sleep the previous night, he crawled into bed with her.
“Did you make it to both dens?” she asked.
“You’re awake.”
She turned and wrapped an arm around him. “I couldn’t sleep. I worried about you while you were gone.”
His skin tingled where their bodies touched. As much as he wanted to kiss her plump, luscious lips, he restrained himself.
“We made it to Kyran, alpha of the Phantom Lake Pack. He’s agreed to send ten of his best wolves to help fight Zane.”
“And Stryde? Did he agree too?”
Ryker shook his head. “We didn’t make it. The storm broke and we decided to return to the den to wait it out. I can’t risk losing any more wolves. They’re my family, my responsibility, and I can’t be reckless with their lives.”
Diana traced his bicep with a finger. “I understand. I’m worried about my sisters. I wish I could get a message to them somehow.”
“How many sisters do you have?”
Sadness masked her face. “Two, Luna and Brigit. Luna lives in Full Moon Bay with her boyfriend Peter. Brigit lives on the East Coast with her husband. I don’t see her very much, but I see Luna every Sunday for supper. We usually call each other every day, so she must be worried.”
“I could try to send Trent to tell her what’s going on.” He pulled her closer until her head rested under his chin.
“It’s too dangerous.”
“He’s very careful. If he sees any sign of danger, he’ll have to retreat. But it’s worth a shot if it will give your sister peace of mind.”
She gazed up at him. “Do you have any family? I mean, close family like brothers and sisters?”
“No. My mother died giving birth to me.”
“I’m sorry.”
He caressed the smooth skin on her back. “My father never forgave me. He blamed me for killing her.”
She frowned. “That’s ridiculous. You didn’t cause her death.”
“I know. My father would never admit it, but I could feel his scorn every time he looked at me. I vowed to protect the pack, my family, because I couldn’t protect my mother. I couldn’t save her.” The weight of a legacy of failure crushed against his chest.
“It wasn’t your fault.” She pushed a lock of hair behind his ear.
“I failed to protect her. I failed to protect Trista, and I…” He stopped before he could admit his greatest fear, his inability to protect her. “…I shouldn’t even be alpha anymore. I don’t know why they don’t send me away.”
Her hand rested on his chest. “They don’t see you the way you see yourself. To them, you’re a powerful leader. You’ve kept your pack safe for years. You couldn’t have foreseen Zane’s attack.”
“But I couldn’t defend against it either.”
“Not then, but with the help of Kyran and Stryde, you can capture Zane. I’ll tell the police what he did to me and they’ll lock him up for the rest of his life.”
Thoughts of tearing the man apart scorched his mind. But he couldn’t give in to rage. Diana was right; he needed to capture Zane and bring him to justice. He didn’t believe in vigilantism. He believed in laws and consequences.
His hand slid lower on her back. “How did you get to be so smart?”
She laughed and playfully punched his shoulder. “I read a lot of books.”
Smart, beautiful, sexy as hell. As he gazed into her eyes, the lipid pools of desire enflamed his soul. He was drowning, unable to resist her enchantment.
The soft caress of her breath on his neck sent shivers of need straight to his cock. He laced his fingers in her hair and drew her into a kiss so erotic he could hardly catch his breath.
“We’re playing with fire,” she whispered.
“I know.”
What he felt for her tore at his heart. As much as he wanted to resist her, he couldn’t. Her scent called to him. No other woman in the world made his heart soar with such happiness and quiver with such fear. Even Trista hadn’t enraptured him like this.
A twinge of pain twisted his heart as he realized that as much as he’d cared about Trista, he cared about Diana a hundred times more. The revelation shocked him.
He sucked in a breath then let it out slowly. Could it be possible that Diana was his true mate?
He pushed aside the fleeting thought. Now wasn’t the time for deep thought, now was the time to indulge his mate’s every wicked desire.
The voluptuous curve of her hips enticed him. He laid his hand there and wondered if the sculptor who had created Venus felt like this when molding his creation.
She leaned into his chest and captured his lips with hers. The salty-sweetness of her tongue lingered in his mouth as she deepened the kiss.
As her hand wrapped around the hard length of him, a low growl rumbled in his throat. He’d never been with such a sensual, aggressive woman. She seemed so passive and frightened outside of his bed, but the second she touched him, a wild woman emerged.
As she stroked him, he kissed the valley between her breasts. The fullness of her body made him fantasize about what life would be like with a wife and kids. Her wide hips would be perfect for childbearing. He could almost see the faces of his pups frolicking in the woods. Diana, his beloved wife, would run after them telling them to be careful while he hunted for their dinner.
“I need you.” Diana whispered.
He needed her too, more than she could ever imagine. They’d only been together for two days, but in that time, something changed inside him. The perpetual sadness of losing Trista dulled from acute agony to an almost bearable ache.
Diana lay back and guided him across her body. “Now Ryker.”
He lowered onto her, careful to balance his weight on his forearms and knees. His voice choked with emotion. “I’ve needed you since before I even met you.”
As he slid into her slick heat, her eyes closed and her lips parted. Her hands gripped his butt to draw him deeper. He buried his face in her silky hair and inhaled the fresh pine scent.
He moved against her, taking his time, enjoying the rock of her hips against his. Little cries of ecstasy tumbled from her lips. He luxuriated in the sound of pleasure. His gentle thrusts grew harder as a rapturous haze engulfed him.
Suddenly, her thighs clamped onto his hips. Her breath stopped and she went rigid beneath him. The rolling pulses sent her over the edge. She squeezed him against her as she cried out.
He couldn’t hold back another second. As he spilled his seed into her, a sense of pure relaxation overcame him. Nothing had ever felt so right before.
Spent, he curled his body against hers. He laid his palm flat on her belly and wondered if they should have taken precautions. There was so much he wanted to say, but his lips refused to form the words. How could he possibly explain how much she meant to him without sounding like a fool?
***
Dusk fell but the storm raged on. Rain beat against the woven mat, waking Diana. She slid out from underneath Ryker’s arm as she rolled toward the skylight. She could barely make out the edge of the hole in the ceiling, but it appeared waterproof.
Her bladder felt ready to burst, so she quietly eased off of the bed. She padded to the curtain and pushed it aside. The long hallway was pitch black, but she’d been down it enough times that she could feel her way along the wall.
Trent stood guard at the entrance. “Where are you going?”
“I need to go to the bathroom.”
“Where’s Ryker? I don’t feel comfortable letting you go alone.”
Diana crossed her legs and squeezed. “There really isn’t time to argue. I either pee in the den, or not. Your choice.”
“Fine. Go, but not too far. I need to be able to hear you over the storm in case you run into trouble.”
She hurried past him into the torrential rain. “Will do.”
The saturated ground formed a muddy paste that seemed to suck her b
ack into the earth with each step. She walked about ten feet into the forest, just far enough to hide behind a thicket.
When she was finished, she listened to the cadence of the raindrops on the leaves. The sound always soothed her nerves. She smoothed her hand across the slight curve of her belly. She’d only been without her birth control pills for a few days so she was probably just being paranoid, but she felt different.
As unlikely as it was, she wondered what she’d do if she were pregnant. And what would Ryker think?
She was so confused by him. When they were alone in his room, she felt him opening up to her. He’d lowered his defenses and told her about his family. He’d even mentioned Trista. Diana wanted to ask a thousand questions about her, but she was afraid he’d shut down again.
He only changed when other pack members were present. He became distant, cold. Maybe he did it to maintain his position as alpha, but she wished he’d publicly acknowledge what he felt for her in private. Maybe then the others would accept her presence.
Lost in thought, she jumped when a branch cracked a few feet behind her. She spun and squinted into the shadowy night. She rounded the thicket and backed toward the entrance to the den.
A strong hand clamped over her mouth. A thick forearm grasped her waist and dragged her backward. She bit the man’s finger.
He yelped. “Dammit.”
“Trent, is that you?”
“Yes,” he whispered.
“Someone’s out there.”
“I know. Be quiet.”
Safely inside the entrance to the den, she peered over Trent’s shoulder. A flash of lightning illuminated the woods for a second.
Diana almost fainted with relief as a doe looked up from the bush she nibbled on. But her reprieve only lasted until a second, smaller flash illuminated three men. She screamed as Trent shifted and bounded into trees.
Another flash blinded her for a few seconds. But as the effect wore off, she realized one of the men had a camera. They were taking pictures of Trent.
