“She’s going to use it on Wulfric’s dresser,” Brand said as he answered for her.
On his way by, he placed his large hand on top of the baby’s head and kissed her cheek.
He continued down the hallway until he reached Wulfric’s bedroom door. He turned toward her. “Coming?”
Cyndey gave Lexi and Nika a sheepish look. “Brand has decided I’m not to use the axe without having supervision. And since Wulfric isn’t here, he’s taken on the job.”
Lexi’s lips twitched as if she held back a smile. “There’s no point in fighting it.
Trying to get Brand to change his mind about anything is like trying to push over a brick wall with only your hands. It isn’t going to happen.”
“And I know from personal experience, believe me,” Kamryn said as she walked past Brand, gave him a wink and then joined them. “It’s nice to see you again, Cydney.”
“And you too, Kamryn.” Cyndey gave each woman a smile. “I better not keep him waiting. Brand already looks impatient enough as is.”
She left the other women and walked down the hall toward Brand. He moved aside, so she could walk past him and into the room. Cydney didn’t bother to turn to see if he followed her. While she slipped on the safety glasses, she felt his gaze watching everything she did.
Cydney stepped closer to the dresser and lifted the axe. She then swung it down, the sharp blade skidding across the top of it and taking a small chunk out of the corner.
She lifted it for another try, but found it held in place by a strong hand before she could follow through.
She met Brand’s sharp gaze. “What?”
“Not that way. You’ll hurt yourself.”
He shifted to stand behind her and reached around to put his hands on top of hers around the axe handle. He raised both their arms higher, then allowed them to drop. This time the axe made a sizable cut in the dresser. They made the next strike together as well.
Brand had just lifted the axe for a third time when a loud, animalistic growl sounded behind them. Cydney turned her head to see what had made the sound, but the man at her back blocked her line of sight.
“Relax,” Brand said as he let go of her hands and stepped away. Now she was able to see Wulfric who stood just inside the bedroom. Brand continued. “Your woman was going to hurt herself. Now she knows how to use an axe the right way.”
Without another word, Brand walked out of the room. Cydney went to Wulfric and gave him a kiss. “When you told me about Brand you neglected to say how he doesn’t take no for an answer. And what’s with this ‘your woman’ crap? Does he think he’s from the Dark Ages?”
The tension in Wulfric’s shoulders seemed to loosen as he cracked a smile. “More than you know. In some ways we’re all like that, but Brand has always done his own thing regardless what people think or say.”
“Well, he was quite insistent he supervise.”
Wulfiric placed the cans of paint he carried on the floor and crossed over to her.
He cupped her face and gave her a lingering kiss. His mouth moved over hers as his tongue stroked inside. After he lifted his head, he said, “But Brand is right, you are my woman.”
Not wanting to get on the topic of her not going home again, Cydney smiled, and said, “You’d better watch the ‘your woman’ thing, buster. I have an axe, and thanks to Brand, I know how to use it. I would hate to suddenly confuse you for your dresser.”
Wulfric dropped his hands from her face, then reached around and gave her a swat on the ass. “Be nice. At one time a woman liked it when a man claimed her as his, to protect her and take care of all her needs.”
Cydney snorted. “Like I said, Dark Ages. As a modern woman, the only need I want you to take care of in the near future is the one for sex.” She took a step away.
“Now if you don’t want to get hurt, I suggest you give me some room. I have to put this dresser out of its misery.”
Once Wulfric was no longer in range of getting hurt, Cydney lifted the axe as Brand had showed her and brought it crashing down on the dresser. She let out a whoop as it split in half and fell to the floor. Giving Wulfric a look of delight, she attacked the fallen pieces until they were chucks littered around her.
Chapter Eight
Stephen slowly worked his way around the large, open room. The loud music blaring out of the speakers played havoc with his sharp hearing, but he did his best to ignore it. His gaze shifting from left to right, he searched among the mortals for exactly what he looked for. The males, he didn’t pay much attention to. The females, they were what interested him. Not finding what he sought, Stephen circled back to the bar and ordered a beer. It was still relatively early. He had all night if needs be.
He’d just taken a swig from the bottle of beer when three women walked past him. One of them had him trailing her with his gaze. She definitely could be the one he wanted. Leaning with his back against the bar, he watched her sit at one of the tables not too far from where he stood. She talked and laughed with her friends, all the while not knowing he, one of mortals’ predators, had her in his sights.
The longer he watched the woman the more she appealed to him. She would be the one. There was an innocence about her, a goodness, that he would enjoy stripping from her. And a woman like her was always the type to scream and cry. He was more than looking forward to breaking her, teaching her not everything was bright and cheery in the world. That bad men like him did exist.
All night he kept his gaze on her, and when she got up to leave the nightclub with her friends, he followed at a discreet distance behind them. As if he’d planned it himself, the two other women walked off down the sidewalk while his prey went to the parking lot.
He took a quick look around to make sure no one watched him as he increased his pace. She’d just reached her car when he came up directly behind her. His hand on the door stopped her from opening it. With a gasp, she turned toward him. Stephen gave her an evil grin.
“Hello, beautiful. You and I are going to have some fun.”
She opened her mouth as if to scream. He clamped his hand over the lower half of her face and shook his head. Pulling back his other hand, he slammed his fist into the side of her head. She crumpled against him.
He gathered his prize in his arms and forcibly put her in his own car. He’d take her to his pack’s den and really see how loud she could scream.
* * *
Cydney came awake slowly after Wulfric gently shook her. She was stretched out on her side on top of his bed, which had been covered in an old sheet to protect it.
Rolling onto her back, she blinked up at him and looked around. As if she suddenly remembered where she was, she sat up.
“Sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep. After I cleaned up the brushes and paint tray I only thought to sit and relax until you came back.”
The room smelled of paint and the walls already had the first coat on them.
“No need to apologize. It’s late, or should I say very early in the morning.”
“What time is it?”
“Almost four o’clock.”
“I guess I really did fall asleep. I’ve been out for three hours. So what do you think of the color?”
Wulfric glanced around the room. “I love it. The room is looking better already.”
“I just need to do one more coat of paint and then the day after that I can rip up the carpet.” Her last word ended on a large yawn, which she covered with her hand.
He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “I think I should take you back to Maggie’s place. You don’t want to wear yourself into the ground. Or better yet, you can just stay with me in the spare bedroom.”
Wulfric felt a flutter of hope that she would agree when she looked as if she seriously considered his offer. But in the end, she shook her head.
“I’d better not,” she said sleepily. “I told Maggie’s parents I would come home late. And since they are more than likely still asleep, I don’t want to call them to say
I’m staying here overnight. And if I don’t call, they might worry if they wake up and find I’m not there.”
He nodded. “All right. I understand, but I do want you to seriously think about staying here on the nights you work on the room late. You’re not going to get much sleep if I have to wake you up just to take you back to Maggie’s place.”
Cydney yawned again. “You’re right. Interrupted sleep isn’t going to do me any favors. When I come tomorrow, I’ll make sure I bring some extra clothes with me, and I’ll let Maggie’s parents know ahead of time.”
“Good. Now let’s go before you end up falling asleep again.”
He ushered Cydney out to his car and they were on the road in a matter of minutes. Halfway through the trip, Wulfric glanced over and saw she’d rested her head against the seat and had shut her eyes. She sighed softly in her sleep. He smiled at the small sound.
As he turned onto the street where Maggie’s parents lived, he gently shook Cydney awake. “We’re just about there,” he said once she opened her eyes.
She sat straighter as he pulled his car over to the curb in front of the house.
“Something is up.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Both of Maggie’s parents are standing outside.”
He leaned forward and looked out the passenger window. Sure enough, Maggie’s mum and a slender man stood at the front of the house. Even from this distance, he saw the concerned expressions each of them wore. “Let’s go talk to them.”
After they got out of the car and walked toward the house, Maggie’s mum rushed over to them. “Is Maggie with you?”
“No,” Cydney said. “What’s going on?”
“She hasn’t come home yet. She never stays out this late. For some reason I woke up and decided to see if she was home. Seeing her bed not slept in, I went downstairs to wait. That was an hour ago.”
“Maybe she’s still with Ali and Carol.”
“She’s not. I called them already. I woke them up and they both said they left the nightclub with Maggie two hours ago. We were about to drive there and see if we can find her.”
Anytime Wulfric heard of someone missing in the middle of the night, the first thought that came to mind was one of Fenris’ get. Their preying on mortals accounted for a fair amount of unexplained disappearances.
“I’ll go look for Maggie,” he said to her mother. “It’s best if you and your husband stay at home in case she calls. If she does, Cydney has my mobile number.”
Cydney shook her head. “I’m coming with you.”
“I think it would work out better if you stayed here.”
While they spoke, Maggie’s father had joined them. He cleared his throat. “I would prefer if Cydney did go with you, Wulfric. Two sets of eyes are better than one.”
Seeing the determined look on Cydney’s face, he knew she wasn’t going to take no for an answer. He nodded. “Okay, I’ll take Cydney with me. I’ll give you my mobile number in case Maggie shows up on her own. And I’ll be sure to call if we find her.”
They only waited long enough for Maggie’s mother to go inside for a piece of paper and pen to take his number before Cydney and he were back on the road headed for the nightclub.
“I hope nothing bad happened,” Cydney said as she stared out the passenger window.
“There’s no point thinking anything negative just yet.”
He sure as hell hoped one of the werewolves hadn’t gotten to Maggie. Even though female mortals could be turned with one bite just as males could, Fenris’ get hadn’t been targeting women to bring into the pack for some time. It had gone all male.
But that didn’t mean they didn’t prey upon them with their thirst for flesh and blood.
The streets were pretty well empty at this time of night. Wulfric sped down them, wanting to get to the nightclub as fast as possible. If two hours had gone by since Maggie had last been seen just about anything could have happened, especially if she ended up falling prey to a werewolf.
At the nightclub, he pulled into the parking lot, and Cydney stiffened. She leaned forward and looked out the windscreen as she put her hands on the dash. “The white car, Wulfric. It’s Maggie’s mother’s--the one she drove tonight.”
Seeing the lone, white car in the parking lot did not bode well for Maggie. He parked two spots away from it, not wanting to contaminate the area any more than it already had. If he were lucky, there was an off chance he could pick up the scent of a werewolf if one had been involved.
Wulfirc got out of the car first, and using his preternatural speed, while Cydney was busy getting out of her side, circled the white vehicle. His heart dropped when he spotted a set of keys lying on the ground by the driver’s side. He leaned in closer to the door and took a sniff, detecting the one scent he’d hoped wouldn’t be there—a werewolf’s stench.
He straightened and said, “Cydney, I found something.”
She gave him a bit of a double take seeing where he stood, but she didn’t mention him being over by the car already as she walked toward him. “What? What did you find?”
Once she reached his side, he pointed to the keys at his feet. She went to bend to pick them up, but he stopped her. “Don’t touch them yet.”
“Why?”
“I’m going to call the others. They’re more than likely on their way home. I don’t want our scents mixed with the ones on the keys until they’ve had a chance to smell them.”
Cydney gave him a confused look. “You mean you’re going to call Raed, Algar, Garrick, Dolf and Brand? And what the hell do you mean about them smelling the keys?”
He sighed. Her accompanying him had definitely put a wrench in the works. He needed the other warriors to see if they could pick up the werewolf’s trail. Since time was of the essence, they all needed to work together. And to better help them, a few of them would have to go wolf, since in their werewolf or wolf forms their sense of smell was even greater. Wulfric had to tell Cydney what he was at some point, and it looked as if that moment had arrived. With her friend missing, and the car being the only lead, he couldn’t see her letting him take her back to Maggie’s parent’s place.
“I’ll explain after they get here,” he said. Before she said anything else, he pulled out his mobile phone and dialed Raed. Once the warrior picked up, he said, “Raed, we have a bit of a situation going down. I need all of you to meet me in the parking lot at the nightclub called ‘The Nightclub.’”
“Trouble with one of Fenris’ get?” Raed asked.
“Yes, I’m afraid.”
“Are you still with Cydney? I thought you returned to the manor to take her home.”
“Yes, I’m still with her. I had taken her. It seems her friend, Maggie, has disappeared from the nightclub.”
“Shit. I’ll round everyone up and we’ll be there as soon as we can.”
Wulfric snapped his phone shut and put it back in his pocket. He looked at Cydney. “They’re on their way.”
“Why do I have the sudden feeling you’re keeping something from me?”
He pulled her into his arms and hugged her, not answering her question. He had no idea what Cydney’s reaction would be once the truth came out, but the fate of her friend weighed heavier on him at that moment. The chances of finding Maggie living decreased with every minute that went by.
* * *
After a little while, Cydney pushed away from Wulfric and paced, not too far away from him. The feeling he hid something from her wouldn’t go away. Even the look on his face said he was resigned about something. And the whole thing about not touching the keys until his friends arrived to smell them was just plain strange.
On one pass, she looked toward the entrance to the parking lot. The not doing anything, when deep down inside she knew something bad had happened to Maggie, did not sit well with her.
“They’ll be here very soon,” Wulfric said as she paced in his direction. “Try to stay calm.”
She stopped in front of him.
“It’s a little hard to do that when my best friend is missing and all we’re doing is standing next to a car, waiting for your friends to arrive.
Are smelling scents part of what you do for your job?”
“Partly.”
“What? That’s it?”
“For now.”
“You’re just a fount of information, aren’t you?”
Wulfric didn’t have a chance to say anything when another Mercedes and Brand’s Lexus pulled into the parking lot. Five large men piled out of the cars and walked over to where she and Wulfric stood.
Raed took charge of the situation. From their previous meeting, Cydney had noticed he came across as the ‘head of the family.’ The others seemed to defer to him.
“What happened, Wulfric?” Raed asked in a brisk tone.
“When I went to drop off Cydney, her friend’s parents were outside. Maggie hadn’t arrived home, and the two girls she’d been with said the last time they’d seen her was a couple of hours ago when they’d left the nightclub together.” He motioned to the white car with a jerk of his head. “This is the car Maggie drove. It’s her mother’s.
We found her keys on the ground. They haven’t been disturbed.”
Raed looked at her and then back to Wulfric. “And you’re sure about the other thing I said on the phone?”
“Yes, you definitely can smell werewolf.”
“A what?” Cydney asked, thinking she had to have misheard him.
Wulfric met her gaze. “A werewolf.”
She stuck her finger in her ear and gave it a little wiggle before pulling it out. “I really couldn’t have heard that right. Did you just say a werewolf?”
Raed didn’t give Wulfric a chance to answer. “Are you sure this is the way you want Cydney to find out, Wulfric?”
He pulled his gaze away from her, and with his face devoid of all emotion, he jerked his head in a short nod. “Cydney isn’t going to want to leave. And we need to use every edge we have to see if we can find a trail.”
Not liking how the two men spoke as if she weren’t there, and feeling anxious about what she’d soon find out, she said, “Damn right I’m not going anywhere. Would someone explain what all this werewolf crap is about?”
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