Linc pushed his feet in quick lopes, swinging as far as he could without the prey catching his scent.
He heard growls and yips as Adam and Wash each got in their attacks.
Linc knew the animal was headed his way and broke through the brush to the clearing they'd flushed the moose into.
“Dammit! Calf!” He howled.
Franklin was still on his way and the two moose were trapped, but they couldn't hold both of them.
“Cow or calf?” Franklin asked, not slowing.
“Cow!” Linc answered, moving right past the calf to bite into the neck of its mother.
The little brown being, with no antlers to speak of, hurried away. It probably wouldn't survive without someone to show it the way out of the city, even this close to the edge. It would fall to the coyotes, if they weren't too stuffed on rabbit. Death was a part of life, so Linc didn't spare the calf another thought as he and his cousins binged on the moose. An hour later, Wash was done. He had curled up, tail covering his nose and blood matting the fur of his chest. Aunt Norm was going to have fit when he came home to shower.
Franklin and Adam each headed toward home, leaving Linc alone with the pup. He didn't mind. He had to go back to Auntie Norm's for his clothes.
Linc splashed in the creek, soaking himself from nose to tail. With any luck he'd just need a rinse in the morning. He looked back at Wash sleeping and left him to check on the house.
From the edge of the trees he saw her, sitting on the bench atop his clothes. Her figure was hidden in the coat she wore against the autumn chill. Beneath, she wore flannel pants. Perfect for sleeping, but not daily wear. She didn't look like much of anything.
When he inched close enough, he saw the tears streaking her cheeks in red and white lines. Her sobs came out in little puffs of steam and he cursed being a werewolf for one of the first times in his life. He wanted to comfort her. He wanted to tell her that she deserved better than the asshole she was with. She deserved...so much more. More than a man that disappeared three nights a month.
Linc had never had a steady girlfriend. He had a circle of lady friends, though, and a few indulged him from time to time—the ones that had no plans to settle down. He was constantly picking up girls, too. At the bar, at the coffee shop, in class at the U. He had never stayed with one more than a couple months. It wasn't that he had picked girls who were jealous of him taking off. Most didn't even notice, but after a month, he was ready to move on. Franklin called it the “Littlest Hobo” effect. He was one to talk. He'd been with Celeste since high school; no ranging for him.
No, Zoe deserved more than he could give, but she needed to ditch the dick.
***
Zoe dropped her book bag, taking a deep breath of crisp, fall air. It was sunny and reasonably warm, something that wouldn't last. She tossed her jacket on the ground despite the chill and sat on it. Pulling out her text book, she opened to the latest Chapter.
“Hey, bitch,” Elliot said, dropping next to her. “Whatchya doin'?”
“Reading,” she said, not looking up. That should be obvious.
“Yeah, but why you want to do that?”
Zoe took a sidelong glance at her boyfriend and followed his gaze to the skinny blonde hanging a banner over one of the building doors. Well, her butt specifically. She put her nose back in her book, ignoring him entirely.
When he didn't say anything else, she worried. Was he brewing some new nasty for her? No, he was staring at another girl, a redhead this time. She was bent over a book the same as Zoe, but Elliot's eyes were lost in her cleavage, not Zoe’s.
She shook her head before looking back at the page.
Something caught the corner of her eye and she turned. A small smile touched her lips when she recognized Mrs. Brown's nephew. She didn't even know his name. Today he was wearing a white tee beneath his barely buttoned plaid shirt and his jeans lacked air conditioning. He was chatting with another girl, one much better looking than Zoe. He turned his head in her direction and she stuck her nose in her book again.
Unable to resist, she glanced back. He was laughing at something the girl had said.
He is probably just wondering who the freak staring at him is.
“So, Friday night. I'm coming over to get some.”
She closed her eyes to stem the tears welling up. Elliot had barely talked of anything else. She'd gotten him to lay off for a week by claiming she was on her period. It had been a lie, but she was grasping for anything to avoid that dreaded night. After nearly two weeks, she knew her time was running out.
She took her eyes off the book, searching the quad from Mrs. Brown's nephew, all around and over her other shoulder. No one was looking at her. No one wanted her.
At least I have Elliot. I could still be alone.
Maybe it would be better to be alone.
She didn't quite believe it.
***
“Oh, Violet, you didn't!” Linc said, laughing freely at his friend's retelling of her latest sexual mishap. He'd spent one night with Violet and ended up with his cock bruised and sore. She hadn't meant to roll onto it with her knee, but that sort of thing was constantly happening to her. This time, she'd taken someone in her ass without meaning to and screamed bloody murder at him until she realized it was her own fault.
“Well, it hurt!” she said, smacking his arm for laughing.
“I bet it did.” He snickered. “You tossed him out of bed. At least you didn't step on it.”
She made a face. “I only did that once.”
Linc’s laughter broke off as he sensed someone watching him. He looked over to where Zoe sat with her asshat boyfriend. That douche made no bones about staring at every girl in the quad. She had gone back to her reading.
“Who is she?” Violet asked.
“Huh? Oh, she lives in my aunt's basement.”
“Cool. So are you going to the Pi Beta Psi party?”
“That's still weeks away,” he said, planning to make excuses when it got closer. He couldn't attend on the full moon after all.
“Yeah, well, I want to know if you'll be there.”
“So you can hurt me again?”
“No,” she complained, frowning. “So you can look after whoever I do hurt.”
Linc braced his hands on his knees, laughing. Violet turned to go, tossing her hair and putting her nose in the air. She tripped on an uneven paving stone and nearly bit it. No one was as graceless as Violet. He shook his head, trying to imagine the man who could stand up against that.
His gaze passed over Zoe again and the jerk was standing, talking to her in a voice that was far too loud. Or perhaps it was just Linc's good hearing. He often forgot that his ears were keener than other people.
“Can't wait to have that ass, bitch.”
What the ever-loving fuck? He started to storm over, but Elliot strode away before he even got close. Instead, he squatted next to Zoe. “Why do you let him talk to you like that?”
She shrugged. “Not like replacements are lining up.”
He brushed her curly brown hair back from that round cheek. This close he could see the warmth in her brown eyes and the tears that she fought. Her full bottom lip trembled. It was plump and soft, and he almost leaned even closer before catching himself.
“Well, maybe I'll have to get in line then.”
Her head whirled toward Linc, and their lips did brush before her nose crashed into his. He covered it and cursed.
“Oh my God. I am so sorry. Are you okay?” She reached up, touching his fingers.
“No worse than you,” he answered, smiling and running a finger down her nose. It turned up very slightly at the end and had a smattering of faint freckles.
“I don't even know you're name and I'm already breaking your nose,” she muttered.
“I'm Linc,” he said immediately. “And my friend Violet has done far worse.” Linc shifted to sit beside her, his arm bracing on her jacket behind her back, and told her Violet's story.
&n
bsp; She didn't laugh. “I bet that hurt.”
The moron's last words came back to him. “You don't have to be with him. You deserve better than that.”
“Yeah, I should have hot guys like you fawning over me.”
He worried about coming on too strong. He had a tendency to do that. With the type of women he usually hooked up with, that was perfect. They were forward, independent, take-no-guff ladies that liked his honesty. Zoe, he could already tell, was fragile and he might scare her off. So instead of agreeing and kissing her, he nudged her with his shoulder.
“Sure; me for a start.”
“Yeah. You are going to pick me over that girl you were just talking to.”
“That was Violet,” he explained.
She let out a little snort. “Oh. I wouldn’t have guessed.”
“Not everyone is what you expect. For instance, I expected the guy you spend time with to be, you know, civil.”
Zoe chuckled wryly, looking away. “He can be civil. He just doesn’t bother around me.”
“He should.” Linc turned and kissed her cheek. “You deserve that and a whole lot more.”
***
“Zoe. Don't look, but that guy is staring at you.”
Zoe's brow wrinkled. She and Sarah sat facing Kelsie and Anna who were still eating lunch. She'd pointed out guys looking at them several times, but never had anyone been looking at her. She ran her hand through her hair, thinking there must be something stuck in it.
Sarah blew a raspberry at her. “There's nothing in your hair. He's looking at you.”
Zoe shook her head and pulled her hair over her shoulders to hide her now hot cheeks. “No he's not. He's looking at one of you.”
“Zoe,” Elliot said walking up to the table. “Friday.”
She didn't meet his eyes and the others stood up for her as she had never been able to stand up for herself. “Take a fucking hike, Elliot.”
“Leave her alone, you jerk.”
“Hey, now, girls,” he argued. “She wants me. Don't you, baby?”
Zoe shuddered knowing he meant bitch. “Yes,” she answered, not looking up.
He didn't say anything else, but grinned as wide as a wolf about to pull down its prey. Zoe thought she could feel her neck snapping in his jaws. He stroked her hair possessively before walking away.
“Zoe, you have got to stand up to him,” Sarah advised. “I mean, he was okay when you started going out with him. No prince charming, but at least not a pig. It's only going to get worse, you know. He thinks you'll always be there, no matter what he does.”
“And he's right,” she said, not meeting any of their eyes. “Do you know how many dates I went on before I met Elliot? Two. That’s it. No one wants me. If I don’t go to his place, or invite him to mine, I won’t be doing anything Friday.”
“Fuck that,” Kelsie said. “Friday you're coming to my place and he can go fuck himself.”
Zoe shook her head. “It'll just be worse if I put him off anymore. He’s going to be rough as it is.”
“Rough?” Anna asked. “He’s not hurting you, is he, Zoe? You have to do something if he is.”
Zoe shook her head. “Not yet. He hasn’t hit me or anything, but he isn’t gentle.”
Sarah shifted in her seat next to Zoe. “That’s a fine line, girl. You be sure it doesn’t get fuzzy. Rough and tumble is one thing. Rough and unapologetic is something else.”
“Rough and tumble,” Zoe repeated, trying to discern if that was all it was. Elliot definitely enjoyed sex rougher than she did. Although he hadn’t purposely hurt her, he had left bruises and warned her to go with the flow or there would be more. “That’s right,” she finally said, not meeting any of her friends’ eyes.
“No,” Anna argued. “If it were, you wouldn’t be scared like you are right now. You shouldn’t be giving him the time of day.”
“Oh?” she asked, her voice louder than she expected. “And do one of you have the guy that's going to take his place? Who wants me?”
Linc seemed to appear from nowhere at the side of the table. “I thought I already answered that question.” He sounded so angry, so violent, that Zoe cowered against Sarah.
He ground his teeth, his eyes boring into her, and the sensation of being pulled down as prey returned. It fled quickly when he stalked off.
“Holy shit, Zoe. I think he means it. Does he have a friend or something?” Anna turned her head to the side in an appraising gaze Zoe had seen before. She couldn't say she'd taken any time to look at Linc's ass. She'd gotten hooked on his golden-brown eyes and those curls of chest hair she saw the first time she met him.
Her hand went to her face. She'd been blushing before, but felt clammy now.
Sarah hugged her shoulders. “You have to do something.”
***
Linc cursed himself on every stair he climbed, and he'd done the full six flights without breaking a sweat. He turned around and plowed down again. It was the only way to keep from erupting. Elliot was such a complete waste of breath. It was taking all Linc's concentration to not hunt him down and rip his throat out.
He reached the top flight again without really noticing he'd turned around. Now he was breathing heavily. What had come over him? He hadn't been like this since he was Wash's age. Normally he only got worked up like this the week before the moon. It was still two weeks away.
He pattered down and found Zoe standing at the bottom staring at him.
“I didn't mean to scare you,” he said.
She nodded but didn't speak. “I'd like to say you didn't, but you'd know I was lying.” She didn't meet his gaze, looking at her feet. “What did you mean to do?” she asked, looking up at him through lowered lashes.
Linc licked his lips. Kill your abusive boyfriend? Scare you into sanity? Mark my territory?
Where the fuck had that come from?
She took half a step back, really looking at him and blanching. His blood was still hot and he knew he couldn't have a decent conversation with her, not until he'd burned it off. He reached out and stroked her hair. “Will you be here later? Around four?” That was two hours away. He had a class, but there was no point in going now.
“I-I can be.”
“I'll look for you,” he said, lifting a hand to touch her cheek and wanting to touch her more. That territorial thing wasn't imagined. It wasn't anything he was familiar with either.
Her eyes were still wide, like a deer in the headlights, but she nodded.
Unable to resist, he seized her shoulders and landed a quick smack of a kiss on her lips before rushing past her and out the door.
Outside, he wanted to howl. He would love to find Elliot and rip him apart. If anything, that urge was stronger. He hadn't been a slave to the wolf like this since he first joined his uncle and grandfather at the full moon.
He jogged away from campus, heading down a trail toward the river. He could run until the murderous rage died down. It took a lot longer than he expected and when he circled back to find Zoe, he was still on edge. He slowed to a walk and pulled out his phone, dialing Franklin.
“Hey Linc.”
“Frank, did Celeste ever have an ex? Or someone coming on to her?”
“Well, yeah, she had all kinds of guys coming onto her. She's hot, you idiot.”
Linc shook his head. “Not like appreciative gazes, like touched her.”
Franklin's voice dropped and his words almost came out in a growl. “No. I wouldn't let anyone touch her.”
Linc closed his eyes, completely understanding Franklin's reaction. “There's a girl living in Aunt Norm's basement, and I'm just about ready to kill her boyfriend. How do you deal with that?”
“Damn,” he muttered, his tone lighter. “I don't know that I couldn't kill him. Are they happy together?”
Linc wound his way between buildings and through the quad. He wasn't quite ready to talk to Zoe yet, but talking to Franklin was definitely helping.
“Not a bit. He treats her like shit
and she knows it.”
“So where's the problem? Eat him.” Franklin was way too flippant and Linc scoffed at his suggestion.
“Yeah, where can we hide the body?”
“Oh, we'll find a place. After all, what are cousins for?”
“You're an ass, you know that.”
“But you don't feel like killing him anymore, do you?”
Linc took a deep breath. “Less, but I still do.”
Zoe stood in front of him with a little smile on her lips, like she was amused by the bit of the conversation she had heard.
“I gotta go,” Linc said, hanging up on Franklin. “Hey.”
“Hey,” she said, holding his gaze longer than any time before. “I said I'd be here.”
Linc reached out and played with one of the curls resting on her shoulder. “You did. Thank you.”
“Are you toying with me?” she asked.
Linc frowned, confused. “What do you mean?”
She sighed and turned away. “I had boys do it in high school. They'd pretend they were interested to get me wound up and then laugh when I thought it was real.”
“Who did that?” Linc asked, his voice again a growl and his still-hot blood boiling again.
Zoe whirled to look at him. She wasn't terrified this time, just surprised. “It was years ago,” she tried to explain.
Linc had to get a hold of himself. “I don't care if it was a decade ago or yesterday, Zoe, no one should treat you badly.”
It took a second, but a smile crossed her lips. “That's what my friends keep telling me.”
He took hold of her upper arms, his possessiveness getting the better of him. “You should listen to them.”
She sighed, slumping. “Why would I? I mean, girls treat me nice enough, and some boys are friendly, but nobody wants me.”
Beyond The Veil: A Paranormal & Magical Romance Boxed Set Page 289
