“Fair enough,” he said. “But once this is all over, promise me you’ll give me a chance to better explain everything.” He cupped the side of her face with his hand and ran his thumb along her plump bottom lip. “Like Dolf, I’ve waited over a thousand years to find you. You fill a space inside me that has been long empty. I don’t want to lose you.”
Cydney pulled away from his touch. “I promise I’ll give you a chance to explain, but I’m not going to give you anything beyond that.”
He dropped his hand into his lap. “That’s all I can ask.”
* * *
Cydney got out of the car as the others with her did. Theirs, along with Brand’s, was parked on the shoulder of a long stretch of road surrounded by fields and farmhouses. She looked up at the sky and saw it had just barely started to lighten.
Dawn was almost upon them. For being up all night, she didn’t feel tired, her nerves were just strung too tight.
She followed the men as they met up with the others from the car in front. Once they drew even with them, Dolf said, “The den is beneath an old farmhouse on the other side of this field. There’s an entrance to the underground den inside the house.”
Raed pointed to the werewolf. “You lead, but don’t even think of pulling any shit.”
The werewolf shook his head. “I won’t. You’ll do me a big favor by putting Stephen down. I would do it myself if I stood a chance, but I don’t. I’m not going to do anything to mess this up. Follow me.”
They all jumped the fence into the field. Seeing how fast the men ran—faster than she’d ever seen a person move before—she knew there was no way she’d ever be able to keep up. But she soon realized that wouldn’t be a problem when Wulfric scooped her up in his arms and took off running with her just as fast. She put her arms around his neck and held on for dear life.
As the farmhouse came into view, their group slowed. Wulfric put her down on her feet and held onto her hand as they stealthily made their way to the front door of the house with the werewolf still leading them.
Inside, the dwelling smelled of neglect. Wallpaper peeled off the walls and all kinds of debris littered the floors. The werewolf led them to what at one time would have been a homey kitchen. He walked down into the root cellar, then led them through a door that connected to a long tunnel.
Cydney held tighter to Wulfric’s hand as the dark earth walls and ceiling closed around them the deeper they went underground. Just before they reached the end, the werewolf brought them to a stop.
“The central cavern of the den opens up at the end of this tunnel,” he whispered.
“Stephen, as pack leader, has a smaller one that offshoots from it. Since it’s almost dawn, most of the pack, if not all, will be inside the larger cavern. I suggest you shift now and come in fighting.”
Cydney’s heart galloped inside her chest as all the men around her shifted into their werewolf forms. They were all huge, standing at least seven feet tall, even the bad one. If it weren’t for Maggie, Cydney would have run out of the tunnel.
As if he sensed the fear that had crept back on her, Wulfric brushed her cheek with the back of his furred fingers. Low and soft, he said, “Nothing is going to happen to you. Just stay with me.”
She nodded, unable to speak past the whimper that threatened to break free. She could do this. She had to for Maggie’s sake. The thought of what her best friend could be suffering through had her taking a deep, cleansing breath.
Then it all seemed to happen so fast. The men rushed into the central cavern, attacking the first werewolf they reached. Their growls and howls that bounced off the rock walls sounded loud in her ears, making Cydney want to cringe.
During the fights that broke out, she stuck to Wulfric like glue. She gave him enough room to slash out with his sharp claws and not much else. She stared wide-eyed all around her, unable to tell which werewolves were which. Who was the good and who the bad.
A loud snarl came from behind her. Cydney turned and let out a shriek as she narrowly escaped the jaws of the werewolf who lunged toward her. Wulfric spun around, and roughly shoving her to stand at his back, he slashed out at the creature.
Needing to hold onto something, Cydney grabbed Wulfric’s tail, clinging to it for dear life. A sword appeared in his hand, and with one thrust to the chest, he put an end to the werewolf he fought.
The sound of a howl accompanied by Dolf’s shout of denial had Cydney’s gaze focusing on the center of the cavern. He stalked a man who held Maggie in front of him as a shield. Cydney bit back a cry at seeing how traumatized her friend looked. Her eyes were round with fear. Dirt streaked her face and her lip bled from where it had split.
The man who held Maggie said, “I’m walking out of here, mate.”
Dolf stalked closer, his sword held menacingly. “Give me the woman.”
“It seems I got lucky and picked the right one,” the man said with a sneer. “You want her, that sword of yours disappears, or I sink my teeth into her. Then she’ll be mine, not yours.”
The man shifted to his werewolf form and dragged Maggie in front of him as he continued to back toward the tunnel that led to the farmhouse above. All the warriors closed in on the three in the center, Wulfric pulling Cydney along with him, since she’d yet to let go of his tail.
One of the warriors, she couldn’t tell which one, tried to sneak up behind the werewolf. Dolf yelled at him to stop when a sharp-clawed hand yanked Maggie’s head to the side, and equally sharp teeth hovered mere inches over the vulnerable side of her neck. Once the warrior shifted out of the way, the werewolf continued his backward steps, never moving his teeth away from his human shield.
At the entrance to the cavern, the werewolf shoved Maggie into Dolf who caught her against him. As Maggie’s screams filled the chamber, her captor swung around and took off in a run, almost too fast for Cyndey to track, into the tunnel.
Letting go of Wulfric’s tail, Cydney rushed over to Dolf and Maggie as her friend continued to scream and fight his hold. “Maggie! Maggie, it’s all right. You’re safe now.”
Her friend stopped her struggles, and when she turned her gaze toward her, she asked warily, “Cydney? Is that really you?”
“It’s me.”
“How?”
“I came with the good guys to rescue you.”
As Wulfric came to stand at Cydney’s side and put his arm around her shoulders, her friend’s eyes widened even more. “You know about these…things?”
Maggie sucked in a sharp breath as if she would scream once more.
“It’s all right, Maggie.” She stepped out from under the heavy arm around her.
When Wulfric tried to pull her back, she turned and snapped, “Wulfric, back off.”
“That’s Wulfric?” Maggie asked, a tremor in her voice.
Cydney nodded. “Remember how I mentioned his best friend to you, Dolf? Well, he’s the one holding you.”
Maggie turned to look up at Dolf as if she just remembered who held her in his arms. She whimpered and violently shoved at Dolf’s chest. “Let me go! Let me go!”
Dolf only seemed to hold onto Maggie tighter, which upset her friend even more.
Before Cydney could do something, Wulfric shifted to his human form and smacked Dolf on his muzzle. “Shift, you wanker. You’re scaring Maggie. Let her go to Cydney.”
Dolf shifted, but still hadn’t released Maggie. “She’s mine. I have to protect her.”
Wulfric nodded. “I know, but she’s terrified. Look at her.”
Cydney watched Dolf try to calm himself down as he looked at Maggie. He reluctantly dropped his arms, and Cydney clutched a trembling Maggie to her.
“I’m sorry,” Dolf said in a gruff voice. “I didn’t mean to scare her.”
“It’s all right,” Cydney reassured him. “Let’s get out of here.”
As she slowly walked Maggie, who clung to her, toward the entrance to the tunnel, Cydney tried not to look at the werewolf bodies that littered the ca
vern’s floor.
Once they were out of the farmhouse and out in the early morning light, Cydney breathed a sigh of relief. Wulfric and Dolf hovered nearby.
She had no idea what the other warriors did in the den, but it was a few minutes before they joined them outside. Once they did, their group backtracked across the field to where the cars were parked.
Settled into the backseat of Raed’s car with Maggie clinging to her still, Cydney stared out the window, feeling the last of her energy drain away. Seeing the manor house come into view, she didn’t complain as Wulfric ushered her and Maggie inside once they pulled out front. Shown to the spare room, Cydney urged Maggie into the bed and climbed in next to her. Too exhausted to keep her eyes open any longer, she fell into a dreamless sleep.
Chapter Ten
Cydney came awake with a start. She sat up and looked around the room, her gaze latching onto the man who sat on the floor with his back against the wall a short distance from the bed. She then looked at the spot next to her and found it empty.
“Where’s Maggie?” she asked.
Wulfric stood, crossed over to her and sat on the bed. “She’s with Lexi, Kamryn and Nika. She’s fine. They’ve gotten her calmed down finally, though they had to send Dolf away to manage it. They’re also explaining everything to Maggie.”
“Oh, good. What about her parents? Did anyone call them to let them know we found her?”
“Raed did, shortly after we arrived at the manor. I think he gave them some excuse about car trouble and Maggie running into an old friend she hadn’t seen in a while, or something like that. Whatever he told them, they accepted, and that you and Maggie would be sleeping here.”
“I’m glad. Other than a split lip, is Maggie physically fine?”
Wulfric nodded. “Apparently, Stephen—it was the pack leader who’d taken her—had wanted to wait until the rest of the pack had returned before he had his ‘fun’ with her. He told her if she didn’t cooperate he’d throw her to the wolves, literally. If we’d shown up later, I don’t know what we would have found.”
Cydney didn’t want to think about it. “Does Maggie know about her being Dolf’s mate?”
“That’s one of the things the women are explaining to her. I have a feeling she’s not going to take the news well. After what she went through, she’s still terrified of him, of us. Every time Dolf tries to go near her, she almost has a panic attack. Only with the women does she settle.”
“I should go to her.” Cydney shifted as if to get off the bed, but Wulfric stopped her by placing his hand on her arm.
“She’s fine. You and I have things to work out ourselves.”
“Then talk.”
“You’re not going to make this easy on me, are you?” Wulfric let go of her arm and ran his fingers through his hair. “You now know what I am.”
“But I don’t know how you got to be that.”
“Okay, I’ll start from the beginning. I was born in 583 A.D., here in East Anglia. I was a warrior who served under my king, Raedwald—Raed. After Tiw, the Sky Father, came to him and chose him to protect mortals from those werewolves sired by Fenris the wolf, we, his highest ranking warriors, agreed to take up the cause with him.
“Who is Fenris?”
“I’ll give you the short version. Fenris is the eldest child of the god Loki and a giantess. Even though he had been born as a wolf, unable to shift to human form, he’s no ordinary wolf. He had grown so large, the other gods of Asgard had worried he would turn on them. To protect themselves, they bound Fenris. The one time he managed to free himself, he'd escaped to the mortal realm, to East Anglia, where the very first werewolf was sired. Tiw had managed to capture Fenris, but the damage had already been done. A single bite from one of Fenris' get is all it takes to turn a mortal into a werewolf. So this is where we come in. We’re charged to bring down the beasts to stop the spread. It’s an on-going battle we’ve fought for centuries.”
“Okay,” Cydney said a little shakily. “I slept with an immortal warrior who can shape shift and has lived for over a thousand years. And you think I’m your mate.”
“I don’t think. You are. While you slept, I checked your back. Tiw’s mark has fully appeared.”
Cydney shot off the bed and rushed to the en suite bathroom. After flipping on the light, she turned her back to the mirror and pulled off her shirt. Looking over her shoulder, she saw in the reflection a black tattoo-like mark on her skin, the design of a stylized man between two wolves, the same as what Wulfric had on his shoulder.
She turned to look at Wulfric who had followed her in. “So what does this mean?
That we’re mated now?”
“It means I’ve claimed you, and that you’ve accepted. We won’t be true mates until Tiw grants you immortality.”
“And if I don’t want it—or you?”
Wulfric’s eyes turned bleak. “I’ll let you go. It’ll hurt like hell, since I already love you. But I would never bind you to me if that weren’t what you wished.”
Hearing Wulfric tell her he loved her sent a wave of panic through her. She could admit to herself she had strong feelings for him, but being tied to him for all eternity, she just didn’t know. She didn’t want a marriage like what her parents had had. And Wulfric asked to have forever with her. What would happen if her feelings changed, or his?
“You have to give me some time,” she said.
Wulfric nodded. “All right, but I’m not going to let you return to Canada without getting an answer from you.” He came closer and cupped her chin in his hand as he kissed her lightly. “I don’t want to lose you, Cydney.”
She nodded. A part of her wanted to throw herself into his strong arms and never let go, but the scared part held her in place. “I promise to give you my answer before I’m scheduled to leave.”
Wulfric stepped back. “I’ll hold you to it. And all things considered, I think it best Kamryn drives you and Maggie back to her parents’ place.”
“Thanks. I’m sure Maggie will appreciate that.”
He ran his gaze over her face one last time, then walked out of the room.
* * *
It was the night of the full moon and Wulfric’s heart wasn’t into the hunt as it usually was during this time. For one thing, Dolf wasn’t into it, either. The first time in over a thousand years they weren’t competing to see who could take down the most werewolves. The thrill just wasn’t there.
Almost a week had gone by since Wulfric had last seen Cydney. And it was hell being apart from her. He thought about her constantly. Only to himself did he admit he was more than a little scared he’d lose her. That she’d turn him down, get on a plane to Canada and never come back. Every time he thought about it, he broke into a cold sweat. He loved her with all of his heart, and no one would ever take her place. If she rejected him, he had an eternity of being alone to look forward to.
The only one who was in worse shape than Wulfric was Dolf. The warrior moped around the manor much as he did. Wulfric felt sorry for his friend. Dolf’s situation was even worse than his. His fellow warrior had attempted to see Maggie again, but she still wouldn’t have anything to do with him. She’d taken one look at him standing in her doorway and had slammed the door in his face. But not before Dolf had seen the absolute terror on her face first.
Finally, when the night drew to a close, Wulfric returned to the manor. He dreaded the thought of having to get into his cold, empty bed. The one night he’d spent with Cydney had him craving her presence. It had felt more than right to fall asleep with her in his arms and wake up with her still there.
Dragging his feet, Wulfric slowly walked up the steps to the upper floor.
Reaching the top, a scent tickled his nose. He took a deep breath, detecting the strong scent of drying paint. That couldn’t be right. Cydney had finished the first coat on his room a week ago, and nothing else had been done since.
The closer he got to his bedroom he was able to pick up another scent, one he t
hought he might never get to smell again. Seeing a light under his door, he pushed it open and quickly scanned the room with his gaze. It froze on the figure of Cydney standing by one wall, a paint roller in her hand as she stared at him.
“About damn time you got back,” she said. “Since I started so late I thought maybe I could hit you up to help me. But you can’t. I just finished.”
All he could do was stand there and stare at her. He found it hard to believe she was actually there.
Cydney put the roller on the paint tray at her feet and crossed to where he stood.
She put her hand on the left side of his chest. “Your heart is beating so fast.” She lifted her gaze to his, and said softly, “I decided, Wulfric. I want you.” He opened his mouth to talk, but she stopped him by placing a finger against his lips. “Don’t say anything. I need to get this out first. I’ve given us, and the feelings I have for you, a lot of thought these past days. And I found I can’t just walk away. The time away from you has shown me that I do love you, which I’m going to say scares the ever-living-hell out of me.
Seeing the kind of marriage my parents had—my mom showing my dad all the love she had for him, and him never being able to reciprocate the way she wanted—I promised myself I wouldn’t end up in that kind of relationship. I didn’t think I was made to make that strong of a commitment to anyone. You proved me wrong.”
Wulfric pulled her finger away and kissed the tip. “I’m not your father, Cydney.
I cherish what is mine, and you are mine. I promise to do everything in my power to show you each and every day that I’ll always love you, and that you own my heart.”
Cydney blinked and a sheen of tears appeared in her eyes. “And I’ll do my best to do the same.”
Unable to keep his hands off her any longer, Wulfric pulled her against him and held her tight. Cydney clung to him just as tightly. After a few seconds more, he tipped her head up and lowered his mouth to hers. He kissed her slowly, putting all the love he felt for her into it. As it became more demanding, a familiar voice filled his head.
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