Seducing? The word flipped around in her stomach. Nash hadn’t quite put it that way, no.
“He was smart to talk you into leavin’ before I got the chance,” he went on. “I had no right to be that selfish with everythin’ that’s goin’ on. You need to go.”
Her heart sank. “Not until I know what’s going on, and that you’ll be safe.”
Connor growled. “You are the damn stubbornest female I’ve ever met.”
“Yeah? At least I’m not trying to hunt you down. That’s what’s happening here, isn’t it? That woman wants to hurt you.”
“I’m not havin’ this chat with you right now, and if you value our safety, you won’t keep me on the phone tryin’ to have it. Good-bye, Terra.”
There was a click, and the line fell silent. She stared at the phone in her hand. Why was it that she was rushing away from something one minute and desperate to cling to it the next?
They would be all right without her. Better off, even. Connor and Nash could take care of themselves. They were supernatural. They didn’t need a somewhat damaged member of the human race around to save the day.
That settled it. With another look at the surroundings, she tugged the gearshift and started the long, lonely journey back down the mountain. Hopefully, she wouldn’t have another panic attack while she was at it.
Chapter Seven
“Honestly, Terra, I don’t understand why you don’t just go back to him.”
Terra’s eyes snapped up from the bowl of mushy bran flakes she’d been poking at. “What did you say?”
Her mother shook her head. “Why won’t you go back to the gym? Physical therapy is for your own good, sweetheart.”
Gym, not him. Of course. Those words wouldn’t have come out of her mother’s mouth in a million years, even if Terra had told the truth about her mountain escapade two days before.
“I’m just not feeling up to it right now.”
“That’s kind of the point, isn’t it? People who need physical therapy aren’t feeling their best, naturally. It takes time to build stamina back up.”
Lilith Benson. Full-time office clerk, part-time shrink. Or so she thought, judging by the way she always tried to drop pearls of wisdom. At the moment, Terra wasn’t in the mood.
“It’s been six months.”
The woman smoothed her short, dark bob. “After thirty months of nothing but passive range-of-motion exercises while you were in bed.”
Terra sighed. Winning arguments with her mother had never been a talent of hers. The woman acted like Terra was still fourteen. Maybe she would never think of her child as a grown-up because Terra hadn’t shown up for the birthday party that would have made it official.
“I’ll go on Thursday, okay?”
“Twice this week would be better.”
“Mom.”
Lilith pushed away from the breakfast table. “I know, I know. You hate being coddled. I just want what’s best for you.”
“It’s not that I hate it, exactly.”
Her mother raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And who was it who hated being picked up and carried so much that she defied doctors’ predictions and walked months before they thought it possible?”
Terra picked up her bowl and followed her mother to the sink. Her mother moved gracefully in a fitted skirt and heels. Terra scuffed along in pjs and slippers. “It just brought back memories of that night. You know, being carried helpless out of the wreck.”
Her mother touched Terra’s sleeve. “I know. I’m just saying, I understand that you don’t want me nagging at you to do things. I can’t help it. I swear, it’s a mouth disease I contracted the moment you were born. It’s hopelessly incurable.”
Terra had to quirk a smile at that. “And you wouldn’t be the mom I love so much if you didn’t.” She gave her mother a short hug. “Maybe I’ll go for a nice walk today for exercise. Okay? It’s a pretty day out.”
Not that she cared much about the bright sunshine pouring through the breakfast nook windows, but it would make her mother happy. One of them should be content today, at least.
Her mother brightened. “That sounds wonderful.”
A short while later, Terra marched along on her mother-silencing walk like a trooping soldier, dressed in an emerald velour jogging suit and a sour mood that stood out against the cheerful day. Equally cheerful pedestrians and bicyclists populated the paths winding through the park. Several passersby gave her the courtesy nod of those seeking power walker solidarity, but she pretended not to notice and kept to herself while she wondered why she’d bothered to come out. She could have just said she was going for a walk, and then gone and sat somewhere else. Or she could just sit right there in the park, for that matter. Still, blowing off some of the extra energy jittering her stomach like a caffeine overload wasn’t the worst idea. At least the need to dodge dog walkers and roller blades helped interrupt the constant stream of thoughts that was slowly but surely driving her insane.
Nights had been the worst since her return from Shay Falls, but days stretched long and unsatisfying as well. For a woman who should be embracing each sunrise with the gratitude only a near-death survivor could appreciate, she had certainly grabbed hold of an apathy that was rapidly approaching full-on depression.
Terra tightened the high ponytail that swung behind her as she blazed along. A pair of seniors jogged by, waving.
“Forget this,” she muttered after they went past.
At the next fork in the multitiered trail, she veered onto a leaf-covered path where few would bother her. Poplar trees shouldered each other closely along this segment, their limbs overhanging the path enough to block most of the sun. While most found the encroachment too cloying and dark, she found comfort in the woodsy scent and the solitude. Everyone was in such a hurry these days, even while at a park meant for relaxation and recreation. No one stopped to really enjoy life. Not that she was a motivational speaker on the subject.
Even as her feet turned onto the darker path, her thoughts turned toward the cowboys who had taken her understanding of life and shaken it senseless. Maybe it hadn’t been Nash and Connor’s fault that she’d skipped out on her party, but just like Dorothy’s trek through Oz, once she’d started picking up assorted stragglers on the journey, things had gotten a whole lot crazier.
Just a week before, life had been a series of simple, though sometimes frustrating as hell baby steps toward independence. Her only goal was to see the day when her past would catch up to the present, and she could be off on the pursuit of an adulthood that had come to a screeching halt on her eighteenth birthday. Now, suddenly, she could no longer see that day coming. She could no longer remember why it even mattered. All that mattered was a single word.
Why?
Why had two men fate had allegedly thrown in her path vanished? Why had they run so hot and cold about wanting her? Most important, why couldn’t she just forget them and move on?
Both Connor and Nash were irritating as hell, in different ways. Yet both shared some of the same twisted views on things. They claimed not to be into pain, but their dicks got hard when they were bound and whipped. They supposedly weren’t gay, but they liked to fuck each other. And they both claimed she was Connor’s mate, but were desperate to hurry her out of their lives with no way to contact her ever again.
The last was what really nipped at her like an angry Chihuahua. It was so easy for them to toss her aside. Connor had kissed her and then shoved her away. Nash had kissed her and slammed a door in her face. Not that she wanted him. It didn’t matter, anyway. They had no home of their own and didn’t know where she lived. They didn’t even know her cell phone number. So much for destiny, if the finding of a mate meant getting more sexually frustrated than ever before being separated for good.
Perhaps the biggest mistake she’d made had been not at least getting in a quick fuck before hitting the road. Thus far, it seemed her only true destiny was to remain a virgin forever. Any time she’d come close to ending th
at chapter of her life, she’d gone into inexplicable panic and backed out of joining the popped-cherry club. Except with Connor. She would gladly have given him a ride to more than just the nearest motel. The insane fever had come and gone, thankfully, but as she scuffled through leaves on her power walk, she had to admit that the horniness had not. Not even the mind-blowing orgasm she had given herself in front of two guys—God, had she actually done that?—had taken the edge off. If someone didn’t come along and pop her cork soon, she would definitely explode.
Still, what if she had pinned Connor to a wall and had her way? How much worse would she be feeling now, deflowered and deported instead of just deported? Yes, it was better that she hadn’t given into her lust. Or that Connor hadn’t let her, really. Was the reason he rejected her because he knew he was planning to walk away? Or was it simply because Nash had come along and dethroned her?
She gritted her teeth, in part because her bad knee began to throb. The pain had lessened so much over the past couple of months that the torturous early days of regaining mobility were fading. Still, when she pushed too hard, several parts of her body were happy to remind her she almost didn’t have a chance to walk away from anything ever again.
When the knee was protesting enough to bring back a pronounced limp, Terra stopped at a nearby bench and sat down, stretching the leg out in front of her. Her breath came in rapid gasps, too fast for someone on a simple walk. The exertion had failed to exile a certain pair of cowboys from her thoughts, but it did serve as a reminder of just how out of shape she was. Some former perky cheerleader. And now, it occurred to her that she’d been in such a hurry to duck out of the house that she’d forgotten to bring water. Brilliant. She licked dry lips and tried to swallow down the parched feeling in her throat.
The crunching sound of footsteps in the leaves behind her came a moment too late. A hand came around to cover her mouth just as she felt a sharp jab against her lower back through the rear slats of the park bench.
“That knife in your back is pure silver, in case you’re thinking of trying something stupid,” a female voice whispered in her ear. “Make one move or sound and you’ll find out just how pure.”
Terra stiffened, her wide eyes searching the landscape for signs of anyone close enough to help. Why the hell had she taken this path? When did muggers start populating her neighborhood park? She hadn’t even brought her wallet. Shit, her mugger would probably get so pissed when she found out that she’d stab Terra anyway.
“Let me see your eyes,” the woman ordered.
“My eyes?” This was taking a rather familiar turn.
“Now, bitch.” The hand disappeared from her mouth and yanked hard on her ponytail, pulling her head back.
Terra cried out in surprise and pain. The knife dug in harder against her back. “Shut up.”
With her head tilted up, Terra could see the woman leaning over her, staring down with an almost mocking leer. The sharp features themselves wouldn’t have clicked for Terra, but the hair did. Though the woman had perhaps tried to disguise it a bit by pulling it back severely and covering the top with an extra-wide, black headband, there was no mistaking the angry red shade—or the hard look in those charcoal eyes.
“That’s interesting. No gold.” She released Terra’s hair, but slid the hand around her throat instead. “Thought for sure they would be gold. Could just be the light here, or some trick of yours, though.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Stupid doesn’t become you, Barbie. Don’t play it.”
Terra swallowed. The woman made no sense whatsoever, and an unbalanced, crazy woman with a knife was a lot more frightening than one with a mentally sound, if not illegal, agenda.
“Got any scars?” the woman asked.
Terra blinked. “Why?”
The hand on her throat pulled hard on her red scarf, cutting off most of her air. “I told you, no games. Scars. Do you have any?”
Terra nodded wildly while she wheezed, trying to suck in air. Her hands went automatically to her throat, trying to pry the scarf loose from her neck, despite the jab of warning at her back. Her eyes were pounding in their sockets and her face flaming hot.
“Well, let’s see it.”
Terra gestured wildly to her throat, and with an exaggerated sigh, the woman released her. Terra coughed while her fingers trembled over the knot, and finally she managed to pull the scarf away.
The woman tilted her head and frowned. “What the hell is that?”
“Tracheotomy scar.” Terra’s voice came out in a harsh rasp. “From a car accident.”
“That’s not the kind I meant.” The knife disappeared from Terra’s back. “I figured for sure they made you one of them.”
Terra fingered her throat. “Who?”
The knife came back. “Stop with the coy shit already. The wolves you’ve been hanging with. Why didn’t they turn you?” Her dark eyes narrowed in suspicion as she came around and sat down on the bench. “Don’t run off yet.” The knife came back against Terra’s ribs this time. “Silver might not be an issue, but sharp points are another matter.”
The huntress had on different clothing today, but the mud-brown sweater and brushed denims gave the same overall drab impression as the day Terra had first seen her.
Terra tried to pull away from the knife, but the woman made it clear she was prepared to jump to her feet and run her down. With her knee throbbing like fire, that would likely happen about three steps from the bench.
“What do you want from me?” Terra asked.
“Rule number one. The one with the knife asks the questions. What are you to them if they didn’t make you a wolf?”
Terra stifled a snort. “What am I? Nothing.” The response sputtered out with a bitter edge.
“That’s a load of shit.”
“I don’t even know those guys. I was out for a drive by the Falls and picked up one of them hitchhiking. We found the other lying hurt along the roadside a few minutes later.”
The dark eyes glittered with incredulity. “You picked up a strange man in the mountains? Maybe you’re not just playing stupid, after all. You must be five shades of stupid.”
There was something she couldn’t argue with. “Yeah, that’s what I told myself when I did it.”
“Why did you do it?”
“Why do you care? What did those guys do to you, anyway?”
The knife pressed against her ribs, and Terra jerked. The tip had torn through the fabric, breaking the skin almost enough to draw blood. “I ask, you answer.”
“Fine. Stab me, then.” Terra lifted her arms, wondering why she was goading a crazy woman. “I know nothing about those guys, and I’m clearly not a wolf. So what else is there?”
“You know what they are, though. You were with them during a full moon. And staying in their motel is a little different than giving a couple strangers a lift.”
Terra tried for a casual shrug while willing her hammering heart to still. “The weather got bad, and one of them was hurt. So we pulled in at a motel and stayed overnight.” Their first encounter with Nash played back in her head. “Were you the one who hurt the man we found?”
Dark eyes flashed. “I saved him.” The woman shifted from one foot to the other uncomfortably. “I tried to save him, at least. It was too late. I drove off the thing that attacked him, though.”
She thought about Connor’s reaction to the wolf having been injured. Was it someone he knew? Cared about?
“Did you kill it?” Terra asked. “The wolf you chased.”
Guilt flashed over her hard features, and Terra realized that beneath the malignant stare and barely concealed rage, a truly beautiful woman was kept carefully imprisoned. “No. I injured it, but it ran off.”
“The other man I picked up wasn’t the one who did it. He tried to save him, too.”
She shook her head. “Spare me the heroic wolf tales. You were smart to get the hell away.” She paused. “How did you get away?”
“I left. They didn’t try to stop me.”
“You stayed with two werewolves overnight during a full moon, and I’m supposed to believe nothing happened?”
“I didn’t say nothing happened. Come nightfall, the men changed. I don’t know how, but next thing I knew, there were wolves in the motel room.”
“And they didn’t hurt or bite you.” The skepticism in her tone was clear.
“I locked myself in the bathroom while the two of them fought it out. When I woke up the next morning, the men seemed normal. Sort of. And I left.” Maybe that version omitted a few details, but that didn’t make the account false.
The knife came up again. “Just one problem with your story, Red Riding Hood. I saw the one I tried to save kissing you at the door.”
The memory seared Terra, and a bitter laugh burst out of her before she could stop it. “And did you see him slam the door in my face right after? He was just screwing with me. Then I drove off.”
“You only drove as far as the curb, and then you got on your phone.”
“I had to call my parents. They were freaked to no end that I’d been out all night.”
Terra watched thoughts flickering through the woman’s taut expression. Without warning, she reached over and yanked down the zipper of Terra’s jogging suit. “Hey!”
Crazy Woman yanked open Terra’s hoodie, exposing her white bra and staring at her with a narrow gaze. “You’re serious, aren’t you? You aren’t even marked.”
Marked as a magnet for insane people, maybe. “What the hell does that mean?”
The woman sighed. “So, you stupidly picked up a hitchhiking werewolf and his newest pack mate, and then you skipped away like nothing happened. My mistake.”
Terra zipped herself back up. “You followed me because you thought I was a wolf?”
She nodded. “Or else their mate.”
There was that damn word again. Terra tensed at it, but she offered a nervous laugh. “Nope, I’m just a stupid woman who learned her lesson about picking up hitchhikers. They don’t even know how to find me.”
Allister, J. Rose - Displaced Cowboys [Lone Wolves of Shay Falls 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 10
