by Elena Lawson
“Are you calling me a liar, boy?” David asked dangerously, venturing a step closer. Behind me, growls echoed from the five new bodies.
Damn wolf shifters.
“Fix it,” David said. He was nose to nose with me, and it took every ounce of willpower to maintain eye contact. Endurans took it as a sign of submission to look away first, and I’d be damned if I gave more power to this alpha asshole.
My beast struggled against the carefully erected cage in my mind. It wanted to break free and attack. Defend itself. Hurt the people who dared call me a liar, who dared threaten me. I squeezed my eyelids shut in an effort to keep the monster at bay. It would do me no good now.
“Do you want your money back?” I asked gruffly. The words were painful to get out, and my fingernails dug into the skin of my palms.
Give a dog a treat, and they’ll come back for more.
Give these assholes what they want, and they’ll continue to take advantage of you.
If Jasper was here, he would settle this matter diplomatically. If Alex was here, he would’ve already engaged in a full-out brawl as if he was at one of the taverns he frequented. And my brother, Ellis, would flash his dimpled smile and have all the Shifters eating out of his hands. Me? It was always a toss-up.
I bared my teeth and stepped even closer to the alpha.
“The magic worked just fine. What are you playing at, Davey?”
His eyes glowed dangerously as his wolf rose to the surface again, hands turning into claws. Fur erupted on his hands and neck, twirling upwards towards his cheeks. When he opened his mouth, I spotted keen incisors.
A soft gasp sounded from behind me, and every hair on the back of my neck stood on end. Cold terror skated down my spine.
No.
I didn’t move, didn’t turn my attention away from David despite every pore in my body begging me to glance back at the idiotic female. I heard a startled yelp, a curse word not appropriate for a lady, and then Beck was forced to my side. Two Shifters had hold of her arms, one on either side, and were dragging her between them. I saw red.
My beast prowled in its cage, more demanding to break free than ever before. It wanted to kill everyone, maim them, for daring to hurt what it perceived as its own. I couldn’t understand those thoughts, so I buried them under lock and key to sift through later.
Even still, my stomach tightened at seeing their dirty hands on Beck’s arms.
“Who is this pretty thing?” David asked, flashing Beck a lazy, predatory smile. I had to give the girl credit; instead of cowering beneath his feral gaze, she pushed her shoulders back and lifted her head.
“Rebecca. And who the hell are you?”
She stared him down.
I could tell David was getting frustrated by what he perceived as disobedience. He wanted her to lower her eyes, become flustered, bow her head in submission. He liked his females weak—and I was beginning to think that was one word Beck would never be.
“David Small.” He extended a clawed hand, and she eyed it with barely concealed terror. It was there and gone too quickly for even David to notice. The girl had more gall than I’d given her credit for.
After a moment of prolonged silence, with her jaw set, she took his proffered hand. A growl reverberated from my chest at the claws scratching her dainty palm. Beck didn’t pull away, didn’t whimper. She held David’s stare—and hand—steadily with a steely determination.
When he finally released her hand, she casually brought it to her dress skirt and wiped it against the heavy fabric.
“Now, are we going to fight with a lady present?” I drawled, pulling David’s attention back to me. His eyes gleamed in the sunlight, a cruel smile curving up his thin lips.
David gave Beck another once-over, and once more, I bit my lip to keep from growling. My beast did not like the attention he was giving her.
At all.
In fact, it was almost murderous. Livid. Vivid images of Davey’s intestines removed from his body played out in my mind. His head disconnected from his body. My beast wanted blood.
“You’re right. This is not a conversation for a lady.” David spoke that last word as if Beck was anything but. She heard, of course, lips pulling back from her teeth. She was a ferocious little thing, even if she resembled a kitten with too-sharp claws. “But this isn’t over, Everett.” He smiled charmingly at Beck, but she merely glared at him.
Seemingly unperturbed, he grabbed her hand and pressed his slimy lips to the back. “Until we meet again, sweet Rebecca.”
He jerked his head toward his wolves, and the men sauntered back in the direction they came from, deeper into the forest. I waited until their footsteps disappeared before turning back to a trembling Beck.
Wide, terrified eyes met mine, and she took one step backwards. Then another. Then another. Her legs shook, collapsing, and I caught her seconds before she would’ve fallen.
“Don’t touch me!” she yelled, slapping at my chest. I immediately released her but remained close, just in case she fell again. Full body tremors shook her. I hated the fear emanating from her eyes…the fear directed at me. It twisted something within me, something within my beast, so that I had to look away.
“Beck-” I said soothingly. Well, as soothingly as I could with my gruff, raspy voice.
“Who were they?” she whispered hoarsely. “What were they? Their eyes…glowed. And their claws…” A hand desperately scrubbed at her face, pulling at the skin. I clenched my own hands into fists to keep from running to her and comforting her.
“Beck…”
“Don’t Beck me!” Her hands moved to her hair, pulling at the silky strands. “Motherfucker!”
“Mother…fucker?” I repeated blankly. “Is that the name of your mother? Is your memory finally returning?”
She took a deep breath, fingers moving to pinch the bridge of her nose.
“Everett, who were they? What’s going on? Am I going insane?”
I blew out a long breath, wondering how the hell I was going to be able to explain this away.
My brothers were going to murder me.
Chapter 13
BECK
I let Everett walk me back to the house, but only because I was still reeling—processing—what I’d seen, and he’d promised to give me answers once we were away from the prying eyes of the cobblestoned streets.
If I was being honest, I was having trouble coming up with a logical explanation for it. The only thing that made even remote sense was that I was hallucinating. But if that were true, then wouldn’t Everett have seemed confused at my reaction? Wouldn’t he have asked what the hell I was talking about when I asked him what that man was instead of who?
When I spotted the house, I was quick to lift up my dress skirts and rush the last few steps inside, grinding my teeth as I waited for Everett to enter behind me. Maybe I was imagining it, but the big oaf seemed to be dragging his feet. As though he didn’t want to come inside. I resisted the urge to shout at him to pick up the damned pace.
It was a wonder I even waited the twenty-minute walk to get the answers my mind was craving. We had to stop at the dress shop, pick up the two dresses close to my size that Lydia had set out, before taking the winding trail back to the house. Eventually, Everett dragged his booted feet up the three stone steps of their stoop and came inside, shutting the door behind him with a grim look.
A pang of fear settled in my gut and sent my heart racing as his jaw twitched. Everett turned to face me, a barely concealed scowl twisting his features. “Why didn’t you listen to me?” he said, his tone even, but tense. I could tell it was taking him a great deal of effort not to raise his voice.
I swallowed past the lump in my throat and took a small step back, seeing a fire in his gaze that hadn’t been there before. A crackle of my own fire raced up my spine, and I seethed in response, refusing to be afraid of him.
“Oh no, you don’t,” I snapped. “You aren’t going to give me hell for—”
�
��That’s exactly what I’m going to do,” he shouted back, moving in closer so I had to flatten my back against the wall. His face was only inches away from mine, but still I stood my ground.
“Who were those people, Everett?” I demanded. “I want the truth!”
I felt like if I didn’t get it my head was going to explode. I needed him to tell me I wasn’t crazy—that what I saw was real and that he’d seen it too. I needed him to tell me what it meant before my mind came up with all kinds of nightmarish answers.
The most frightening of which was that perhaps I was in a coma and this was all some sort of fictional nightmare. Or worse still—that I hadn’t gone back in time at all and this was a completely different fucking dimension…one where there were real monsters. The kind in fairytales.
Or maybe it was none of that and I’d been right in my first assumption what felt like ages ago; that I was dead, and this was a circle of hell. It would make sense. Maybe that guy was some sort of demon.
Maybe Everett was the devil.
It wasn’t fair of me to think that—but right then, I was so angry I couldn’t help it.
Everett groaned loudly, the sound growing into something between a growl and yell. I flinched, but held steady, glaring at him. “Look,” he said pointedly, glaring right back. “There are…things—” he began, cutting himself off as though afraid to say more. “Things you won’t understand. That you don’t know about.”
No shit, Sherlock.
Judging by the glowing eyes, sharp incisors, and hair features of that fucking creep in the woods there was a lot I didn’t fucking know about.
“Tell me,” I said. “I need to know.”
Everett stared into my hard gaze for an indeterminate amount of time. I thought maybe he was trying to read me. Looking into one eye for a few seconds and back to the other. He was trying to find something there, but after a moment, he sighed, frustrated, and backed away. “The guys should be back soon,” he said, his voice losing some of its ire. “I’ll wait until we can all talk to you together.”
It was clear there was no way I’d convince him to reconsider. To tell me now. And that frustrated the shit out of me. I shoved against his chest and, surprised, he stumbled back a few steps. “Asshole,” I said under my breath as I moved past him, further into the house.
I couldn’t help thinking the only reason he was waiting for the others to return to tell me was so they could all get their stories straight before they lied to me about it.
There was something strange about these four men—I’d thought it from the start, and not only because they’d been so old fashioned, or because this was a different era.
No—there was something else, too, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was. But I was willing to bet it had something to do with what Everett and that man-thing had been talking about in the woods. Shivering and still flushed with the heat of my fury, I went in search of a way out. Into the back yard I’d seen from my window the night before. I needed to be alone. I needed fresh air. I needed to calm the fuck down and think.
Because what I was pretty sure I’d heard couldn’t have been right.
The magic worked just fine, Davey. That’s what Everett said to the guy in the woods.
Magic.
I found the back door and wrenched it open, reveling in the crisp air of the oncoming evening as it cooled my flushed cheeks.
What the hell have I stumbled into?
Chapter 14
ELLIS
I knew something was off the moment I returned home. It was a feeling—a sixth sense I’d always had that helped me read the emotions of others. And the atmosphere at the house was blood curdling from the moment I crossed the threshold.
The floorboards creaked underfoot as I hung my long jacket and hat by the door. I knew I shouldn’t have left him alone with her. I just thought…well, I thought maybe if he was forced to spend some time with her, he would see what I did. Feel what I could feel. That she was a good person. She was afraid—like a cornered mouse in the face of a great cat.
But she was also fierce and strong-willed. I knew straight off she was no prostitute when Jasper brought her home. But I also knew she wasn’t being honest—as scared people often weren’t. She was hiding something just as big as what we were hiding from her. I wasn’t sure what yet, but I would figure it out. I’d always been good at solving puzzles, and I already had the first piece…
She lied last night. After the others had left the table. About not remembering where her aunt lived, or anything else. I was certain of it. Now, all I needed to do was find out why. I assumed she had good reason, based on my assessment of her character. So, I wouldn’t prod. But I knew the others wouldn’t be so patient once they picked up on what I had.
Is that what happened? I thought as I moved silently through the corridors and vacant rooms of the house. Had they sensed that she was lying?
Damn. Why couldn’t I have just let the clock be for the day? I shook my head at my own stupidity. Old habits were hard to get rid of. I’d tended house for years to make a living before what happened to me seven years ago and I wound up here, Everett not taking no for an answer, no matter how much I shook my head. My mouth still filled with the phantom feeling of a muscle I no longer had. Thinking the metallic taste would never fully go away.
When something was dirty—I cleaned it. When something was broken—I made sure it got mended.
It was just who I was now. Like it or not.
And when I failed to hear the clock chiming its morning bells, it became necessary to go and have the thing fixed. Except now, I knew the clock hadn’t stopped working of its own accord. It’d been tampered with.
Alex, I was sure, but he would have to answer for that later.
I quickened my pace, listening for voices. Right now, I needed to find Miss Rebecca and make sure she was alright—that Everett hadn’t frightened her—or heaven forbid…lost control of his beast.
Chapter 15
BECK
I made sure to slam the door behind me on my way out. Call it pettiness or childishness, I didn’t care what he thought. I wanted him to know that I was pissed off and I wouldn’t soon forgive him for backing me into a corner like that. Hell, he was lucky I hadn’t punched him. I sure as hell wanted to.
My heaving chest began to settle, and the tinge of red I’d been seeing through was already starting to fade. The cool air and sounds of nature soothed me. Crickets and birdsong. The air smelled of late-blooming flowers, dry leaves, and sweet dry grass.
It was beautiful. Serene. Made it hard not to be calm.
Outside, the back door was a stone veranda on ground level. A thick stone bannister wrapped around the whole thing. Three beautiful Greco Roman style statues were hewn into the top of the wide railing, staring out over the expansive lawn with watchful eyes. Like gargoyles, or some sort of deities.
The yard itself seemed to go on forever, and on their side, where the property line ended, were rows of thick hedges. Meticulously tended. I suspected Ellis had a hand in that. To the right was a garden and a small shed. Strange looking plants grew in plots—not your average peas and carrots, but what looked to be more medicinal in nature. Like herbs or wild-growing things you would find deep in the forest and not in someone’s backyard.
I wandered to take a closer look and saw vibrant purple flowers that seemed almost to glow. And pretty golden buds that glittered in the dying light. As I rolled one of the smooth buds around in my fingertips, it caught the light and sparkled as though dusted with finely ground diamonds. I’d never seen plants like these, before.
I couldn’t imagine how much all this land would cost in my time. My time. I scoffed at myself, still unable to believe I was even thinking such things.
The wind changed, and I caught a whiff of something sour and tangy. Was that…horse shit?
My interest peaked and all thoughts of hairy-monster-men were forgotten for the moment as I went to investigate what looked like a small
stall and lean-to storage structure about midway between where I stood and the sparse trees that made way to an unknown area beyond the line of their property.
I was almost there when I heard the whinny and the clomp of hooves against wood. They kept a horse back here? Bunching my skirts in a fist, I lifted them high so the damp ground beneath my feet wouldn’t sully them. I couldn’t stand the thought. I wasn’t a dress girl, but these were finery. If my mother were still alive, she’d have my head for ruining a dress as nice as this one.
I rounded the side of the stall and peered inside, falling back with a smiling gasp at what I saw. The horse was magnificent.
The creature eyed me curiously, lifting its nose to the sky and then lowering it back down as though nodding at me. It was tall, with a healthy, shining coat of black hair that gleamed even in the absence of the sun. Big black eyes watched me—studying me. And beneath the half-wooden door that kept her in her stall I saw that the hair around her ankles was stark white.
A contrast to all the dark.
Somehow, I knew it was a female.
I grinned, stepping in closer. Wanting to touch her. “Hello,” I said tentatively, careful to keep my movements small, steady, and slow, approaching her from the side and not head on—or else I would risk spooking her.
After Mom never came home—after we had to have her funeral, Dad didn’t know what to do with me. I refused to go to therapy. I was cruel to my nanny out of spite. And when summer came and he had no one to watch me while he worked, he was at a loss of what to do.
So, he did what he always did. He threw money at the problem and paid almost ten grand to send me to a horse camp for the summer on a recommendation from a coworker. I’d been so mad at him.
But it turned out to be the best thing for me. I wondered what would have happened if I’d continued down the dark path of bitterness I was on that summer. I knew it wouldn’t have turned out very good.
