Chapter Fourteen – Hugo
“Sheriff isn’t needed here, Colin. Bliss here has seen the error of her ways and is a reformed character. Isn’t that right, Bliss?” He looked at her and winked. It was the truth; she just didn’t know it yet. There was no way he was going to let his mate risk her life doing anything illegal. Those days were over, even if he had to tie her to the bed to keep her out of trouble.
“That’s right.” Bliss took a step forward and smiled, holding out her hand to Colin. “It’s good to meet you, Colin. Hugo tells me you know a lot about the old iron mines.”
“I might do,” Colin said, still eyeing her suspiciously, but Hugo could see he had that glint in his eye, which said he would like nothing better than to talk about the mine and anything else they would care to know about. Colin lived a lonely life out here and the thought of visitors who would be interested in hearing him talk for hours always appealed to him.
“Bliss here needs help, Colin. And as far as I am aware, you are the only person with the knowledge we need.”
“She needs my help, does she? Well, normally I would be more than willing—you know that. But she has a reputation,” Colin said disapprovingly.
“She had a reputation; now she is my mate.”
Colin looked a lot more interested now. This piece of information could be added to his archive of facts about the people of Wolf Valley. “She is? Well, that’s something I would like to hear about.”
“Could we talk in the truck? One of Bliss’s brothers has fallen into the mine. He’s well and truly stuck. There is no way for him to climb back up. He seems to be stuck being a wolf. So we wondered if there was a way to get to him along the old mine shafts.”
“Ahh, now you’re asking me to help another one of those raiders. Maybe he is better off stuck down there where he can no longer do any damage.” Colin took a step back towards his cabin.
“Thing is, Colin, he’s a bit simple. I can’t even imagine how scared he must be. He won’t understand what’s happening.” As Bliss spoke, Hugo could hear the catch in her voice; she was close to tears, and Colin heard it too.
“I see. Well, I guess I can look.” He went back into his cabin, calling out, “I’ll get my maps.”
“Thank you,” Bliss said, throwing her arms around Hugo’s neck and kissing him. He felt her sob against his chest and then take a deep breath before straightening up. “You don’t know how much this means to me.”
“I have an idea, because I know how I would feel if anything happened to you, Bliss.” He kissed her lips, wanting nothing more than to take her home and to bed. Let her brothers sort out their own mess. But he knew she could never be happy unless her family was taken care of.
When Colin came back out, a roll of maps under his arm, they all headed back to the truck. Once they were safely inside, Hugo drove as fast as he dared along various tracks, taking them on a back route towards the mine.
Chapter Fifteen – Bliss
“We’ll find him, Bliss,” Colin said as they bumped up a rough track, only Hugo’s expert handling of the truck keeping them upright.
“I hope so, Colin. I feel bad I wasn’t there for him last night.” Bliss looked out of the window, trying to bury her regret.
“You know I’ve lived long enough to know that most things like this happen for a reason. You know what I mean?” He smiled at her kindly, making her feel even worse. There were good people in the world, good people in Wolf Valley, even though her father had tried to convince them differently.
“I’m beginning to.” She turned to face him, knowing she might never have the opportunity later to ask him the burning question in her head. “You’ve lived in Wolf Valley for a long time haven’t you, Colin?”
“All my life. Been sad to see the way it’s fallen apart.”
“So you would have known my father.”
“I would,” he nodded warily.
“You know who I am?”
“I do. Lionel Merric’s girl. I knew you when you were a babe in your mother’s arms.” He studied her carefully, and noted the look of sadness that crossed her face. “I was sorry to hear of her passing.”
“It was while she was giving birth to Sol. He’s the one in the mine,” she said, keeping her emotions in check when really she wanted to cry like a baby.
“I heard she had complications. It’s sad your brother never met his mom. She was a beautiful, kind woman.” Colin shifted his gaze, and Bliss wondered what he was thinking.
“And my father?” she prompted.
“He was the beta of Wolf Valley. The old alpha had told him he would be the next in line. But he disgraced his name.” Colin looked into the distance, as if watching something far away.
“Will you tell me what happened?” she asked, eager to finally know another side of the story, perhaps the truth after all these years. “He told me he was exiled and it had been a mistake. He told us over and over how we should avenge that mistake. He made us promise.”
Colin nodded. “And that is why you are all here causing trouble. I knew you were Merric blood, I thought you had his bad blood in you. But it goes a little deeper than that, doesn’t it?”
“He made us take a blood oath. On his deathbed. None of us could say no.”
“Then I will tell you what happened. And hopefully we can put an end to this cycle of pain. Your mom died of a broken heart. Did you know that?”
“Yes, because they were exiled from Wolf Valley.”
“No, honey,” Colin said quietly. “That is not what broke her heart.”
“Then what?” she asked, needing to know but dreading it all the same.
“Your father got exiled for having an affair.”
She frowned: could having an affair be that bad? But she caught Hugo’s quick glance as he heard those words, and in his eyes she could see how bad it was.
“Bliss’s dad broke the mating bond?” Hugo asked, making the pieces fall into place.
“He did. Oh, he loved your mom, but he thought he deserved more than one mate. There was no way that could be tolerated. It broke every tradition.”
“My father never told us that.”
“He was exiled because of the affair.” Colin patted her shoulder. “I’m sorry to be the one to tell you.”
“No, thank you, Colin. It makes things so much clearer. I always thought there must be something more to it. My poor mom.”
“She had to follow your father. She was pregnant with your brother, three pups at foot. There was no escape for her.”
Bliss sensed that dam of emotion inside her again and could barely keep it walled up. This news was worse than she could have imagined. Their dad had caused so much pain and suffering; he did not deserve their loyalty. Then she let her anger take over. She would not be a victim to her father anymore.
“Tell me, Colin, do you have any idea who the new alpha of Wolf Valley is?” Hugo asked. “I never thought to ask before, but surely if the alpha took over, things would be so much better in town.”
Colin glanced swiftly at Bliss, his face unreadable, and then said, “I don’t know for sure. But my gut is we are going to find out real soon.”
Hugo looked at Bliss and she raised her eyebrows, questioning him, but he simply shrugged.
“Does that mean you do know, but don’t want to tell us?” she asked.
“No. I don’t know, not for sure. But I think it’s just a matter of time until things sort themselves out and a new alpha is named.” His face brightened and he pointed out of the window. “Here we go. Let the search begin.”
Bliss looked to where a big, wide mine shaft opened up before them. It had a barrier across it, but nothing to prevent them accessing it. So they got out of the truck and Colin spread his map out. “You know where that brother of yours is, Bliss?”
“Not exactly. I don’t know these hills too well.”
“Hugo?”
“Here.” Hugo said pointing to a map of the mountain range. “That’s the peak I
was on. Here is the crevice.”
“OK, yes, I see it.” The map began to make sense to Bliss.
“Right. Let’s overlay this map of the mine and all its tunnels.” He took another map and then spent several minutes making small sounds of agreement as he muttered to himself. “Right. I think I have an idea. The question is, if your brother is stuck as a wolf, is he likely to attack?”
“Yes,” Bliss said. She was sure Sol would see Colin and Hugo as attackers and defend himself. It could get nasty. “My brothers should go with you.”
Hugo nodded. “You stay here, Colin. I’ll go with Bliss to get her brothers and then we’ll come back here.”
“Sure. I’ll just check inside the mine and get some flashlights,” Colin said. “Be quick, you two.”
They moved away from Colin, shifted into their wolves, and ran fast through the trees and up towards the place where her brothers were. She only hoped in the time they had been away, that Sol had not moved far. If he had, then this was going to be a long and dangerous day: a wolf on the loose was never good.
If it wasn’t for the danger Sol was in, she would have been in heaven. The day was warming up; the sun on her fur and a gentle breeze on her face made her want to find a stream somewhere and roll in it. With Hugo at her side, they could frolic in the meadow and then change back to their human forms and make love in the grass. That was a good daydream to have, But reality kicked in when they arrived to find Cole and Riley, lying on their stomachs, trying to call Sol.
Quickly changing back, Bliss went to them. “Is he still there?” she asked.
“Yes, but he keeps running away and then coming back. Each time he gets further away, one of these times we think he’ll just keep running.” Cole’s expression told Bliss just how worried he was.
“I’ll take over. You two need to go with Hugo,” Bliss said, and then added, “Don’t look like that. If you want Sol out of here, you are going to have to do this. You need to go with Hugo and bring him out, without him tearing anyone to shreds. Only you two have that kind of control over him.”
“Are you sure this is going to work?” Cole asked.
Bliss looked down the narrow gap. In the dim light, she could just about see two eyes looking up at her. “Unless you want me to go down there, then it has to. There is no way Sol is going to climb out of here as a wolf. I’m going to try to talk to him, see if he’ll change. Although I’m scared that if he does, he might try to climb out and fall.”
“Bliss,” Riley said, his voice comforting. “We’ll get him out.”
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Sol was in so much danger, and despite him being the biggest pain in the world to look after, she wouldn’t have it any other way. He was her brother, and now she knew about her mom, her family seemed even more important. Sol had been deprived oxygen and his mom’s love, all because of her father. That was a hard thing to understand.
Swallowing her tears, she simply said, “Hurry.”
Behind her, the air was charged with static electricity, more than usually occurred when they became wolves, the animosity between her brothers and Hugo manifesting itself as they changed. Before they left, Hugo’s wolf came to her, nuzzling her and licking her cheek. She kissed his head and said, “Thank you, Hugo. I love you.”
He whined and pushed against her, and she knew he was saying he loved her too.
Why had it been easier to say those words to his wolf, when it was almost impossible for her to say them to his human face? Watching them all disappear, she realised that Sol wasn’t the only who was messed up because of their father’s past. All the Merric kids had been affected; only Sol’s was displayed openly.
Chapter Sixteen – Hugo
They wanted to tear each other’s throats out. He knew that, or at least they wanted to tear his throat out, and his wolf wanted to defend itself. It was only because of their love for Bliss, and their need for him to help them find Sol, that stopped them carrying out an attack. He wondered why they were so against him, and then he remembered what Bliss had said about the blood oath they swore to their father. He had made his children hate everyone in Wolf Valley, and that included him.
Hugo decided the best way to proceed was to keep his head down and get them to the mine shaft, there they would have to go human. If a fight then broke out, at least no teeth and claws would be involved.
They covered the ground quickly and soon came to the entrance of the mine. There was Colin, flashlights ready, maps folded, and his expression serious. Whether that was to do with the peril of the mine, or the two Merric wolves that were with him, Hugo didn’t know.
“Howdy, boys,” Colin said as the Merric brothers changed from their wolves.
“Hello. Thank you for coming to help us,” Cole said stiffly.
Colin grunted. “Least I can do.”
“Shall we go?” Riley said somewhat sullenly.
“Sure. I’ve looked inside. The mine seems stable, so if we move quickly and carefully, we should get to your brother in the next half an hour. Getting him out might be more of a hassle, especially if he is still a wolf. I have some rope.” Colin patted his shoulder where he had a long coil of rope.
“We are not tying my brother up,” Riley insisted.
“Believe me, that might be a better alternative to him running off down one of the other tunnels and being lost forever. This mine is deep. Goes a long way underground, with drops into the earth you would never come out of.”
Riley opened his mouth to speak gain, but Cole patted him on the chest, and said, “Let’s see what happens. We are wasting time here arguing over something that we might not even have to do. Bliss might get him to change back.”
With that, Colin nodded and walked into the mine, and the rest of them followed.
Hugo kept up the rear, flashlights lighting up the inner tunnels as they went. Cole and Riley walked in silence, but the animosity emanating from them was palpable.
As sure as if he was on a walk in the open air, Colin led them deeper and deeper into the mine. The air became musty, and the taste of rust was on his tongue. Wolves did not belong underground, and he longed for the open air and the breeze on his face. He also longed to see Bliss happy, so he kept following, hoping they would soon reach their destination.
And then they did.
As Colin turned a corner, he was met by the low growls and snarls of a wolf. An angry wolf. He froze in his tracks. Slowly, carefully, Cole and Riley walked past him, their hands outstretched and their voices low as they tried to comfort and calm their brother.
Hugo moved to stand by Colin, who was visibly shaken. Neither of them spoke.
Before them in the dim light, the two brothers tried to calm Sol down, and once they had him cornered, Hugo could hear Cole trying to get him to change. But Sol either couldn’t, or refused to.
Eventually Cole came back to them, talking low. “He won’t change; it looks as if something hit him on the head. We want to try to coax him out, but it’s going to be better if you two aren’t right in front of him. So if you head out, we’ll follow the light of your flashlights and herd him forward.”
“Here, have the rope. I still think that is your best bet.” Colin handed the rope over to a reluctant Cole. “Listen, son, the last thing you want is to lose your brother down here. You’ve seen what it’s like. Easy to get lost.”
“Thank you,” Cole said, taking the rope and walking back into the dim tunnel towards Riley’s flashlight.
“Nothing more we can do, Colin,” Hugo said. “We need to move so they can try to get him to leave. You’ve done your best.”
“Would hate to see the boy get lost.”
“Now we’re alone, Colin, can I ask you again if you know who is going to be the next alpha?” Hugo asked, changing the subject as they walked, mainly to keep Colin’s mind off the growling and snarling behind them.
“Not exactly. But it will be one of those kids,” he nodded back towards where the sounds of snapping jaws were
getting louder. “Their father should have been the alpha of Wolf Valley; it seems to me that it skipped a generation.”
“And how do they know who it is—how do we know who it is, for that matter?” Hugo asked.
“I don’t know. But the first thing these boys have to do is get free of their father’s blood oath.”
“And how do they do that? I know Bliss still struggles with it now. Only the bond between us stops it controlling her completely.”
“I don’t know that either, Hugo.” Colin shook his head. “They deserve to be happy. I can’t imagine what it must have been like growing up without their mother and with a bitter and twisted man your only guardian. I can understand why they’ve turned out the way they have. Believe me, though, times are changing in Wolf Valley. But I’m not sure it will get worse before it gets better.”
“Great,” Hugo said, thinking of Bliss and how he wanted her to be happy.
“Your woman will be OK, Hugo. It’s those boys that worry me.” He glanced behind him. “Problem is, they aren’t boys; they are fully grown men who know how to fight. And a fight might be what it takes to prove who is the rightful leader of the pack.”
The light at the entrance to the tunnel could be seen now, and standing there was Bliss. He smiled and quickened his pace. He would do whatever it took to make sure she was happy and help her brothers too. Because he knew, she needed them in her life. His heart softened towards them when he thought back on Colin’s words. No wonder they were all so mixed up.
Chapter Seventeen – Bliss
“They have him safe?” she asked. She peered behind him, trying to see her brothers, but there was only the dim flicker of a flashlight coming towards her; she couldn’t see if they were all together.
“Colin gave them some rope in case they had to tie him up. They couldn’t make him turn back into his human form.”
“Rope?” She felt sick at the prospect of them tying Sol up. He would be so confused over the whole thing.
To Catch A Wolf: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Wolf Valley Raiders Book 2) Page 6
