by Jaci Burton
Max swept the moist tendrils of her hair away from her face. "Now. How soon can you get your things together and move in with me?"
Chapter Eleven
Shannon stilled, not sure she'd heard Max correctly. "What?"
"You're moving in here with me. As soon as you can. There's plenty of space for some of your furniture if you'd like. And the closet in here can more than adequately handle your clothes and mine."
She pushed away from him and sat up, wishing she could see his face in the darkness, certain he was teasing her. "Are you insane? I'm not moving in here with you."
He caressed her back and she shivered, refusing to allow his touch to sway her.
"You and I are destined to be together, Shannon. It's pointless to deny it. You felt what's between us as well as I did. Quit fighting the inevitable."
She wrenched away from his touch and moved to the side of the bed, switching on the lamp. Max squinted against the light.
"What's wrong?" He lifted up on one elbow to reach for her.
She kept her distance. "What's wrong? This is wrong. You and I are wrong. I can't believe you'd be so egotistical as to assume I'd move in with you just because you gave me a good fuck."
He frowned and shook his head. "That's not what this is about. There's a lot more to it."
"I don't care what's going on in your mind. Your suggestion is ridiculous." What the hell was he thinking? He'd never even told her he loved her, that he cared for her. Did he think she'd just give up her life and shack up with him so his fucking partner would be close by when the urge hit?
"If you think about it, if you feel it, it's not ridiculous at all. We're mated, Shannon. As sure as if we'd married. You want me. I sure as hell want you. We can start by moving in together, but in short order I want to get married."
Chills crept through the languorous warmth she'd felt earlier. Marriage? Now he was talking marriage? This was all too much. She slipped off the bed and went looking for her clothes, finding them draped over a chaise. The underwear was ruined, but at least she had her shorts and tank top to slip on.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm going home."
"You are home." His voice lowered and she looked over at him, shaking her head.
"No. This is not my home."
"It will be soon enough."
He really expected her to move in with him, just because he deemed them a match? And what about love? Was he going to mention the words? Did he even feel the emotion?
Hurt etched its way deep into her heart. Pain that came from the realization she'd fallen in love with the wrong man. A man who wanted to control her completely, not just in the bedroom. One who obviously didn't love her enough to ask her what she wanted, and then let her make her own choices. A man who hadn't even said he cared for her.
"Shannon, it's storming outside. Really bad. Where do you think you're going?"
"I told you. I'm going home."
"You don't have a ride."
She zipped up her shorts and met his concerned gaze. "I'll get a ride home."
He pushed away from the mattress and got up. She couldn't help but admire his long, lean body, the way his muscles bunched along his arms and shoulders.
"You're being unreasonable about this. I'm going to take a shower, then we'll go downstairs and fix something to eat, and talk about it. I have some things to tell you. Important things."
She stood there as he went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Grabbing her tennis shoes, she hurried downstairs, determined not to be there when he got out.
Tree limbs lashed against the roof, the wind picking up force. How was she going to get out of here in this storm? It was way too far to walk home, and the thought of facing any one of her family members right now made her nauseous.
Dammit, now what? She wasn't going to ask Max to take her home; she couldn't handle having to endure the confines of the car with him. He'd just try to convince her that his way was the right way, and the ensuing argument would be more than her blooming headache could handle.
What she needed was to get away from him and fast.
She went to the kitchen and grabbed the phone, intending to call Kaitlyn. There was no dial tone. Maybe it wasn't turned on yet, or maybe it was the storm. She found her purse and grabbed her cell phone. No service. Shit!
Closing her eyes, she willed her magic to come forth, to settle the raging weather outside long enough for her to walk to the end of the road, where she knew a convenience store could be found. She'd call from there. Less embarrassment that way. She could even take a taxi, then she wouldn't have to explain to her family why she was sneaking away from Max's in the middle of the night.
That's what she'd do. But she had to get out of here first. No way would Max wait around while a taxi showed up at the house.
The weather fought her, the storm railing against her powers, but she was stronger. This was her season, these were her elements, and if she wanted it badly enough, they'd obey. They had to.
In short order the wind died down, the rain stopped. Ominous, black clouds hung low overhead, but the fury that threatened to rage was at bay--at least for the moment. She couldn't hold it back forever, but she could long enough to reach the outskirts of town and grab a ride.
Slipping out the front door, she peered around her, wishing for that full moon to light her way, but knew the clouds would not relent. She headed down the long driveway, carefully watching her step. Limbs had fallen in the storm, littering the road like an obstacle course.
The roadway was pitch black, but she'd been this way before and knew where she was going. She pushed back the fear of walking down a deserted road in the middle of the night, rationalizing that no one would be out in weather like this. No one sane, anyway, she thought with a laugh. She'd be fine. No harm would come to her.
She'd made it about a quarter of a mile when she heard a low rumble, looking to the sky to see if the storm was about to break free.
The rumble turned into a growl, and she realized then that it wasn't coming from the sky. It came from the line of trees along the side of the road, deep into the heavily forested bayou.
Shannon stopped, wondering what it could be that made a sound like that. Maybe it was a lost, angry dog, frightened by the storm. That had to be it. She listened for a full minute, and when she didn't hear it again figured the animal had wandered off. She started to move again, but hadn't made it more than a few steps when she heard the growl behind her this time.
Panic caused her throat to go dry, her heart ramming against her chest. She turned slowly, hoping it was a friendly but frightened dog. She loved animals. She could handle this.
But no dog had glowing yellow eyes, eyes that pierced the blackness of the road.
That was no dog. It was a wolf.
Wolves again. Just like the one she'd seen at her condo. Hell, they were out in the middle of nowhere, too. It wasn't unlikely that she'd find all kinds of strange creatures out here, but she sure as hell had never seen a wolf before in these parts. Not even in the rural area where her parents lived.
She summoned her magic, thinking a shot of lightning or a strong hurricane force wind would either scare it into running off or push it away.
Lightning arced down from the skies a mere foot in front of the wolf. It started and backed up a step, then sniffed the air around it and continued to glare at her. She tried the wind, summoning up a gale force at the animal, but it seemed to dig its long claws into the side of the road and held on, its fur blowing back as the gust blew hard against it.
What the hell; were these creatures impervious to nature's elements?
She had two choices. Stand there and let it attack her, or run. If she ran down the road, she was an easy target. If she headed into the trees, she might have a chance at escape, or at least could double her way back to Max's place, providing there was a path to follow.
Deciding anything was better than allowing the wolf to tear her to pieces, she slow
ly moved toward the trees. The wolf growled, but didn't advance. As soon as she lost sight of it, she broke into a run.
Her shoes immediately sank into the mud, her progress impeded by fallen limbs and watery muck. She heard the growls behind her and to the side, realizing then that there was more than one wolf out there.
Rampant fear cut off her breathing. She wanted to stop, to curl up into a ball and hide from the creatures out there. But she couldn't, had to keep moving or they'd be upon her. She made sure to swerve back and forth instead of running in a straight line, but frankly she had no idea where she was headed. The trees were thick, there were no paths and there sure as hell was no light.
Climb a tree. That's what she'd do. She'd be safe up there because wolves couldn't climb trees. Could they? Hell, she didn't know. She stopped at one she thought had a low enough branch, but her shoes were covered in slick mud up to her ankles and she couldn't get a foothold. The bark was slick on one, and when she tried another, the trunk wasn't stable enough to hold her. Dammit, she didn't have time to try and climb every goddamn tree in the woods!
She fumbled in the darkness, tripping over limbs and rocks, the dense trees and bushes scraping her arms and legs as she pushed by them. She knew she bled, felt the scratches like needle sticks in her skin, but kept moving, hoping like hell she wouldn't run straight into a bayou.
Maybe the water would keep them away. Did wolves fear water? She didn't know, and wished right now that she'd spent more time watching those nature shows on television.
A burning pain seared her chest as she struggled for breath, panic quickly overtaking her. The wolves were gaining, although she had a gut feeling they could have jumped her by now if they'd wanted to. Didn't they run faster than humans or something? It wasn't like she was sprinting at top speed here. Were they toying with her? Was this some kind of game to wear her out and make her an easier target when they tired of chasing her?
Thoughts of Max entered her mind. How close was the house? She couldn't see a damn thing in the darkness, spotted no lights to guide her way. Where was he? Did he know she was gone yet? Would he come searching for her?
Oh, God. If he did, he'd drive down the road, never thinking she'd entered the forested area. Why would she? He'd think she meant to go home. He'd figure exactly what her plan had been and would drive to the store to look for her. How stupid was she? So desperate to escape him, she'd foolishly set out on foot in an area unfamiliar to her. She deserved her fate.
A sick feeling of impending doom swept over her, and she fought the tears that welled and spilled over her cheeks. She didn't want to die out here. Not like this. Not torn apart by these savage creatures.
Max, where are you? I need you. Help me!
*
Max slipped on a pair of shorts and went in search of Shannon. Maybe she'd gone downstairs to fix something to eat.
Knowing her, she was pissed off and pacing in the kitchen, waiting for him to come down so she could lay into him for suggesting she move in with him.
Okay, maybe he'd blurted. Not his smoothest move, that was for sure.
He had to calm her down, make her see reason.
It was time to tell her everything, explain why she had to be with him. He ran his fingers through his still-damp hair, damning himself for being so caveman-like in telling her how things were going to be between them, instead of discussing who and what he was, then asking her to move in.
Me big, strong man. Me tell woman what to do. Fucking Neanderthal.
He groaned and stepped into the dark kitchen, realizing immediately that something was up.
And that something was not good.
Sniffing the air, he smelled danger, knew instinctively that Shannon was no longer on the premises. The hair on his arms and legs stood on end, and chills popped goose bumps on his skin.
Shannon was in trouble. Big trouble.
He picked up her scent immediately. Not just hers, either, but others, and in close proximity.
Wolves.
"Shit!" He tore out the back door and into the woods, ignoring the burning pain of his body changing as he made the dash across the lawn. By the time he reached the woods, he was fully wolf and ripping through the trees and bushes, hoping he wasn't going to be too late.
It was easy to track Shannon. He could pick up her scent from miles away. He also knew she was panicked, afraid, and quickly running out of energy.
Not that it mattered. They stalked her slowly, enjoying the game. He knew their kind, toying with humans, making a game of terrorizing them, getting off on their fear.
He also knew they wanted her because they smelled him on her, recognized what he was and weren't happy about a new alpha in their midst. They wanted to take her, to put their mark on her, to claim her.
Over his dead body. No fucking way would any of them lay a paw on her.
Granted, this wasn't the way he'd wanted to draw them out of hiding. Not using Shannon as prey. Because he knew they didn't care what happened to her. The only reason they were doing this is because they knew if she was in danger he'd come running, and they thought they could beat him down this way.
Max didn't know who the members of this pack were, but he'd bet they'd never met a Devlin wolf before.
This was his territory now, and Shannon was his mate. He'd take on a dozen of them if need be. When he was finished, they'd know a new alpha was in town, and meant to take over.
She hadn't gone far, thankfully. He stopped about twenty yards in front of her and let out a howl, announcing his arrival to the others. He sensed their fury, their blood thirst, but he felt no fear for himself, only for Shannon.
Now that he spotted her, he felt a measure of relief. She was cut and bloody, but it looked more like branches had done the damage. The wolves hadn't touched her. They could have torn her to pieces in seconds, but they hadn't. He might let them live because of that.
He'd been aching for a fight for a long time, and as he scented their locations, knew this one would be bloody.
He welcomed it. They'd crossed the line when they targeted his woman. He'd either take over the pack or kill them all. Either way, he knew who'd come out the winner tonight.
*
Shannon stopped and leaned over, resting her hands on her knees, not caring if they attacked her or not. She couldn't breathe. The run, along with fighting her ever-increasing fear, had stolen every ounce of energy she possessed. Her adrenaline rush had passed and right now she just wanted to lie down.
But she couldn't. She leaned halfway up, resting her hand against the bark of a tree for support. The incessant growling grew louder, and she felt a calm peacefulness overcome her, as if she finally accepted her fate.
There was no way she could get out of the woods. But she refused to stand there and let them take her. She'd die, but she'd die running for freedom.
But then she heard a sound ahead of her now, as angry a growl as she'd heard before. Coming toward her, slowly. The sound grew louder and she stilled, praying for invisibility but knowing that it wouldn't matter. They scented her. That much she knew. Wolves hearing and scent were heightened, much more so than a human.
So she waited, watching its glowing eyes as it appeared before her. She met its gaze head on, refusing to look away, refusing to show weakness.
The wolf stopped in front of her. She was sweating now, her body drenched, her heart slamming against her ribs, her legs trembling from fear and exhaustion.
She could barely stand as it stopped a mere inches from her, its teeth bared, a low growl rumbling in its throat.
Lord it was a beautiful animal, though. Even though she feared it, she admired its strength, the gray and white fur that covered strong legs and body. And it was much bigger than she'd ever known wolves to be.
Then it shocked the hell out her. It winked. She blinked, surely delusional in her panicked state. But when it walked around her and behind her, she didn't know what to think. Why hadn't it attacked her?
Slowly, s
he turned to follow it, her heart lodging in her throat as she realized that at least six wolves were behind her in a semi-circle.
The gray one that had winked stood in front of them, snarling, saliva dripping from between its teeth. She backed away and stood to the side of all of them, not enough that they thought she'd run because one of the six watched her.
It seemed as if the big gray was communicating in some way to the others, because after it growled, the others did too.
She was afraid to move at all, but took small steps backward, sensing that something was about to happen between the gray wolf and the other, darker ones.
The gray took a few steps forward, ignoring the warning snarls of the others, and entered their circle. The strange thing was, she felt concern for the gray. Maybe because it hadn't attacked her. Stupid, she knew, but she really didn't know what to think about what was happening right now. She should take the opportunity to run, but with so many wolves around her, she was afraid if she moved, one would pounce on her. So she stayed put and watched.
They circled each other, moving counter-clockwise, their glowing golden eyes the only thing moving in the dark woods. The six wolves advanced slowly, closing the circle and drawing nearer to the gray.
Shannon shrieked and jumped back when the gray leaped on the center wolves. Then they all fell on him, snarling and growling as the battle ensued.
The tangle of fur on fur made it impossible to determine what was happening. She wished for the clouds to dissipate so she could see how the gray was faring, but it was all she could do to hold back the fierce storm.
They were all engaged. She should turn and run, head back to the road and return to Max's. Anywhere but here.
But her feet were frozen to the ground. She couldn't make them move, couldn't turn her eyes away from the carnage in front of her. Whimpering yelps emitted from the center of the fray, but she didn't know which wolf or how many of them were injured. The growls grew louder, more fierce, splitting the air with the angry sounds of their battle. And all the while she watched. Stupidly stood there and watched.
Suddenly, two of the dark wolves retreated, hovering outside the center of the circle. Soon, two more retreated, and then the other two. They stayed in the circle, moving around the gray, still baring their now bloodstained teeth, still emitting low rumbles from their throats.
