To Catch A Wolf: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Wolf Valley Raiders Book 2)

by Harmony Raines

  Lawless Wolf Valley, bad news by anyone’s standards. Yes, simple, just walk in there and say they had come to take over, be the new alpha, or alphas; she couldn’t see how Cole and Riley would ever work out who was the right man for the job.

  She shook her head. There was no simple way to end this. But standing here was only going to give her a chill as the early morning air covered her with its cold touch. Shivering, she took a step forward towards the house, and then she heard the mournful call of a wolf in the distance.

  Bliss turned, trying to make out where it had come from. Surely, Hugo hadn’t got loose and followed her already, and if he had, would he be stupid enough to announce his arrival to her brothers?

  Then the cry went up again, and another wolf answered. Clearer now, she recognised them both. Cole and Riley. Something must be wrong if they were up at this time in the morning. That could only mean one thing: Sol was in trouble. She cursed herself; she had let Sol down when he needed her, abandoned him, and now he was hurt or worse.

  Panicking, she turned wolf and made off for where the cries had come from. Only once, did she hear them again. They had moved closer together, one calling the other. In response, Bliss lifted her head in the air and answered. Then she ran towards where her brothers were, blaming herself for everything and knowing this was the end of her dreams. If she had left Sol for one night and something had happened to him, she could never do so again. She would have to live in their ramshackle house forever, knowing that her mate lived so close, but emotionally so far away.

  Bliss ran as fast as she could, her lungs burning by the time she reached the place where she was sure her brothers had called from. It was a high peak that led down into a steep gully, but when she reached there, she could hear nothing but silence. She raised her head once more and called, but no wolf replied, instead she heard Cole call, “Here, Bliss.”

  She ran down to the tree line, and picked up their scent, following it along a game trail and then down a sharp incline. There she saw Riley and Cole crouched down, looking at the ground. Her heart stopped beating for a moment: Had they found Sol dead on the floor? Were they examining his body?

  Shifting into her human form, she went to join them, ready for the worst. But Sol wasn’t there. “What’s going on?” she asked.

  “It’s Sol, we were out all night looking for him. There was no sign, and then by chance Riley picked up his scent and followed it here.” Cole looked up at Bliss, concern etching his face.

  “But he’s not here.” Bliss frowned, not able to understand what was going on with her brothers.

  “Yes, he is. He’s down there.” Riley pointed down at the ground, but Bliss still couldn’t see anything. Only when she moved forward and crouched beside of them, did she understand what had happened.

  “Are you sure he’s in there?” she asked, looking down into a crack in the ground, which disappeared into darkness.

  “Sol,” Riley called. In response, a pitiful whine came from below them.

  “Can’t he change back, and then maybe climb back up?” she asked.

  “It’s very narrow and we can’t tell if he’s injured. Maybe he knocked his thick skull on the way down.” Cole peered into the crevice. “I’m wondering if I could climb down and help him.”

  “If it’s that narrow, you’ll never fit. I’ll go.” Bliss began to peel off her torn jacket.

  “No, Bliss. You know how unpredictable he is, and what if he’s hit his head? He might be more volatile than usual.” Riley put his hand on hers, and made it clear she wasn’t going anywhere, which just compounded Bliss’s guilt.

  “It’s my fault. I should have been here for him.” Tears pricked her eyes, but she would not let herself cry. She had to be strong.

  “It wouldn’t have mattered, we searched all night for him, he didn’t want to be found,” Cole said, looking up from the ground and searching her face before asking, “Where were you, Bliss? We were worried. We figured you’d gone off in a huff, or were looking for Sol. When we never caught your scent, we were worried.”

  She thought back to last night, and how they had driven off and left her. “What the hell were you thinking? You ran off and left me and Sol.”

  “We saw Sol run and thought you were behind him. When we lost track of Sol we came back here to the house, thinking that was where you would both head for. We waited for over an hour, then we went out to look for you both. Sol was our main concern, and when Cole heard him way up over the mountain calling as if he was possessed, we headed that way. We couldn’t look for you both.”

  “I don’t know what got into him, running off like that,” Cole said.

  “Sugar. He ate all of those cupcakes. I knew he was going to be bad, I should have come home…”

  “So why didn’t you? It’s not like you to hold a grudge against us. We swear we didn’t realise we had left you behind.” Riley scrutinised her face, and then looked across to Cole, and something passed between them.

  “What?” she asked. “What was that look?”

  “We had bets that you had found … you know, the one.”

  “This is not the time to discuss it,” she said, ashamed that they might guess she had been in bed with a man. He wasn’t any man though, was he? He was her man, her mate.

  “OK. Well, we need a plan. If he wasn’t a wolf we might be able to throw a rope down and get him to climb up. As it is, one of us is going to have to go down there. Bliss, you are the last resort,” he said when she opened her mouth to speak. “I know you feel bad. But he is too big and strong when he is a wolf; he is likely to kill you. Or hurt you, and we don’t want two of you stuck down there. No, it has to be me or Riley. He respects us.”

  She laughed, “I have no idea why? Neither of you are exactly respectable. Nor do you look after him in any way.”

  “But he sees us as his alphas, now Dad isn’t here.” She knew he was right but still hated being so useless.

  “First, we are going to need rope. So, Bliss, you stay here and talk to him. We are going to go back to the house and get what we need, then we can try to get him out. OK?” Riley and Cole were on their feet and shifting into their wolves before she had chance to answer.

  She nodded as they disappeared into the trees around her, and then she was alone with Sol. Bending down, she began to talk to him, telling him how sorry she was. But he gave no answer.

  Chapter Twelve – Hugo

  He could see her, sitting on the ground, looking so sad his heart broke for her. Her brothers had gone, and he wanted to know why they had run off on her again. Had they disowned her for being with him?

  Unable to stand not knowing, he took the winding path down from the peak he had used as his vantage point, making sure he stayed downwind so that if her brothers did come back he could remain undetected.

  When he drew closer, the breeze blew her scent towards him and he licked his lips, remembering the taste of her. He wanted her so badly, but he didn’t want to make things worse for her, so he knew he had to be careful how he handled the situation.

  Now only a hundred feet from Bliss, he stopped, sniffing the air, making sure it was safe. The scent of wolf reached him, but it was mixed with dirt and iron, iron ore. He had heard this part of Wolf Valley had narrow shafts that dropped down into the old mines. Now he realised why Bliss was here, staring down at the ground and talking to herself.

  Swiftly changing from his wolf, he went forward, calling her name softly. “Bliss. Are you OK? Can I help?”

  She turned around and scooted back from him, but then relaxed a little. He could see she had been crying, and his heart ached to hold her.

  “You should go. My brothers will be back soon.”

  He reached out to her, and she came to him, throwing herself into his arms. “I should have been here,” she sobbed.

  “What happened?” he asked, holding her close. “Has something happened to your brother?”

  “Yes. Sol’s fallen down into the crevice here.” She point
ed to a thin split in the ground, and he loosed her to move forward to look down into the dark. As he did, a wolf leaped up, growling as he lurched for the light.

  Pulling himself back, Hugo said, “The area around here was mined extensively generations ago. These cracks in the ground litter this side of the mountain.”

  “Is there a shaft? Some way to get down there?” she asked hopefully.

  “There are several shafts. But I’ve never been too far into them. When I was a boy, I explored the ones closer to the mouth of the mine. But really, you need someone who knows them well. There is Colin, lives on the edge of Wolf Valley; he knows every inch of the tunnels. If we ask him, he might be able to pinpoint exactly where your brother is. Then we could go underground to rescue him.”

  “Will you help us, Hugo?” she asked.

  He touched her cheek, wiping the tear away from her face. “You don’t even have to ask. I will always be there for you.”

  At that moment, the two wolves appeared from out of the trees, Riley carrying rope around his neck. As soon as they saw Hugo, their hackles rose and they snarled in warning.

  “I think you had better introduce me to your brothers,” Hugo said, standing up. But by the look of the two wolves in front of him, they did not like him being so close to their sister. Well, if they thought he was going to back off just because they didn’t like him, they had a tough lesson to learn.

  Chapter Thirteen – Bliss

  “Stop that right now,” Bliss said, getting to her feet and standing between him and her brothers. “Hugo can help us to save Sol. So you will do him the courtesy of not growling at him and change so that you can say hello properly.”

  Bliss was fed up of always been the outsider, and she could see that things would never change unless her brothers got over their dislike and mistrust of everyone. Once more, she thought of just how much their father had to answer for.

  The two wolves still circled around, but they no longer snarled; instead, they watched Hugo warily, just as he watched them. Bliss took another step forward and they looked at her steadily. She held their gaze, staring them down. She was an equal to her brothers, and she would do whatever it took to make them see they had to behave. It was time they were introduced to her mate. And they had better accept him.

  Cole changed first, although he still looked hostile. Then Riley turned back into his human form, standing with his fists clenched before Bliss.

  “This is the rancher?” Cole said accusingly.

  “Yes, it seems last night we went out to steal the cattle from my mate. So Cole, Riley, I would like you to meet Hugo.” She gave them a hard look, the one she saved for Sol when he was behaving particularly childishly.

  “Good to meet you,” Hugo said, holding out his hand.

  Cole looked at it and then stepped forward, taking Hugo’s hand and shaking it. “Hugo.”

  “Riley, it’s good to meet Bliss’s brothers,” Hugo said, offering him friendship.

  Riley stared at Hugo for a moment and then walked forward, saying, “I guess that does explain where you were last night, Bliss.”

  She ignored the insinuation and simply said, “Well, that wasn’t so bad. Was it?” The three men in front of her obviously had different ideas, but none of them voiced their opinion. “Great. Let’s get to work to free Sol.”

  “Why don’t we go and see Colin. I might be able to rustle up a few other people who will help.” Hugo looked at Bliss, waiting for her response.

  “Who is Colin?” Cole asked suspiciously.

  “Hugo says there was extensive mining in this area, and that Sol might well be in one of the old shafts. If so, Colin will be able to pinpoint where he is and take us to him through the tunnels rather than trying to get him up through this small gap,” Bliss explained.

  “And he will help us?” Riley asked. “Only we heard that Wolf Valley isn’t the friendliest place.”

  “It’s not. Well, parts of it isn’t—the town’s gone wild over the last few years. They need an alpha to keep them in order.”

  “And you’re not up to the job, Hugo?” Cole mocked.

  “It’s not as simple as being up to the job. Bliss told me about your father, the oath he made you make to come back here. That kind of power doesn’t come to just any wolf,” Hugo countered.

  “Bliss has told you a lot about us, I see,” Cole said, making Bliss wary of where this was going.

  “I’m his mate, Cole,” she said, stepping forward. “He deserved some kind of explanation as to why we were in his field trying to steal his cattle.”

  “Payment,” Cole said, taking a step towards Hugo. “Our father was the rightful alpha of Wolf Valley, but he was exiled.”

  “But you don’t know what for?” Hugo asked.

  The two Merric brothers came close to Hugo, squaring up to him. Bliss knew it wouldn’t take much for the testosterone to fly and this to end in a fight. She stepped between them, and said, “OK. We will go and see if Hugo’s friend Colin will help. You need to stay put and talk to Sol until we get back. If that is a mine shaft, the last thing we need is for him to run off.”

  “Bliss is right. If Sol stays here, Colin might be able to pinpoint his location in the tunnel. If he runs off, then he could end up anywhere down there. And believe me; I have seen the map. That is a big place.” Hugo stepped around her brothers and reached for her hand, taking hold of it and then heading back down the mountain.

  Behind her, she could hear Cole and Riley talking. “We’ll be back as soon as we can,” she called, and then Hugo turned wolf, and she followed, exhilarated to be running free with her mate in the open air.

  Hugo led her sure-footedly back down from the peak, and then he cut across into the forest, his pace fast. She followed, her body brushing against his as they ran. He was taking her back to his house, she didn’t question why, she simply trusted that he knew what he was doing and was going to help her.

  When they reached his house, Hugo changed back into his human form, and she did the same, waiting to see what Hugo had in mind. “Stay here,” he said, going inside, only to appear a minute later, holding up his truck keys. “It’s not safe to run about as a wolf in the day. So we need to take my truck.”

  Bliss followed him to his vehicle, and opened the passenger door, pulling herself up into the seat. Buckling her seat belt, she held on tight as he sped along his drive and out onto the road. He was taking this very seriously, which both frightened her and made her love him even more. Here was her man, her soul mate, going out of his way to help the very people who would have stolen his cattle without a second thought last night.

  “Thank you,” she said, looking at him and smiling. “You don’t have to do this.”

  “Yes, I do. You know that,” he said, returning her smile, but not hiding his desire for her, which was visible in his eyes.

  “I know how you feel for me. But that’s because fate makes you want me. Helping my brother, that’s all you. I know you could have just kept quiet, but you didn’t. So I wanted to thank you.”

  “I want you to be happy. I certainly don’t want you to feel guilty if something happened to your brother while he’s trapped down that hole.”

  “I already do feel guilty. I should have made sure he was safe last night. I should have thought about him. I should have known he wouldn’t go home.”

  “Hey, there are two other adults who could look after him. Your brothers share equal responsibility.”

  She sighed. “Sometimes they are as immature as Sol. The two of them are always fighting, or else cooking up some new scheme to get us into trouble. They’ve taken this thing about avenging my father very seriously. I don’t know if we actually realised how binding the blood oath was.”

  “And what about you?” Hugo asked.

  “I don’t know,” she began. “He used to tell us what happened and how the people of Wolf Valley were responsible for my mom dying. We grew up believing those stories. But now … I don’t know. I loved him, but he
drank so much I think what really happened kind of got mixed up in his head.”

  “And you looked after him and Sol? Where were your other brothers?”

  “They went off to see the world. It wasn’t much fun living where we were and not being able to change into their wolves, so they moved around a bit, worked where they could until my father was diagnosed with liver disease and it became obvious he wasn’t going to live very long. They came back and somehow my father made them bitter about what happened to him. The oath just compounded things.”

  “And that was all he said? That he was exiled?”

  “Yes. I think he had an argument with the then-alpha.”

  “Ahh. Henry Fredricks. He was a true alpha, kept everyone in their place. He had a daughter if I recall, no son, which was why there is no alpha. So your dad was involved in some trouble?” Hugo asked, turning off the road and heading up a dirt track onto another part of the mountain.

  “He never said.” Bliss tried to remember if he had ever hinted at why he was exiled. “It must have been bad, mustn’t it? If it’s true he was promised the role of alpha on Henry’s death, but then got sent away.”

  “Must have been,” Hugo agreed. “Maybe we can ask Colin about it. He knows all the history of Wolf Valley. I reckon he is so old he has probably witnessed most of it with his own eyes.”

  “Really? That might be helpful.”

  “Might be indeed. Well we will soon see, because there is the man himself.”

  And sure enough, a man with a shotgun was standing in front of his house, gun raised. When he saw it was Hugo he lowered it, but when Bliss got out of the truck, he brought it to his shoulder once more.

  “Hey there, Hugo. I see you’ve bought one of those raiders with you. I’ll call the sheriff, unless you already have.” The old man meant business, she could see that, and all hope of him helping her rescue Sol soon vanished.

  But Hugo had a knack of getting people to do what was needed. He just had to use his powers of persuasion.