Chapter Two
Cole
Sunlight broke through branches of the needled pines, shining through my window and warming my side. I sat in the cushioned, rolling desk chair at my darkly-stained, mahogany desk and rested my hand on the manila folder. There were other things I needed to attend to, including the search for Garret and Harkins. There wasn’t time to linger on Frank Wilson anymore. I needed to focus, I told myself.
I opened the folder for the hundredth time. A stack of photos printed on standard-sized paper filled the center of the folder. I stared at the photo on top of the stack. Shattered glass lay scattered over the kitchen island’s wooden countertop, evidence of the broken lightbulb. Smeared blood streaked across the floor. A bloody knife from the block on the counter lay beside the small man collapsed by the fridge. If I didn’t know better, I might have mistaken him for a passed-out drunk.
Flashes of that terrible event replayed in my head. The fear in Hailey’s blue eyes, the dripping wound on her face. The scents of her fear and the intruder’s sickness. The pain inside me as I snapped his neck. The sound of the break, and his collapse onto the floor.
I turned to the next photograph. Lance had recorded my wounds, the stabs the man with the salt-and-pepper hair had made in my flesh with the paring knife he stole from my kitchen. An eight-inch slice across my chest, and a four-inch cut at the base of my neck. Flesh wounds that were already healed. The only evidence that remained were the stripes of lighter colored skin where the knife had been. I turned the page again.
Hailey sat curled up on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket. Her eyes were sullen and distant, like she didn’t notice Lance was standing there with the camera, or like she didn’t care. White cotton was taped to her cheek where the knife had sliced her skin. A glass of red wine sat beside her, with her fingers wrapped loosely on the stem. It pained me to see her suffering from the physical wound and the emotional one.
I turned to the last photo. One final look at the man who had tormented my Hailey, the man I had killed. His small, fragile body lay in a box made of fresh wood. He looked at peace with his eyes closed. Only the touch of purple that stained his neck from within and his mangled, crimson left hand were evidence of what had happened to him, of what I had done to him. Blurred behind the box was a hint of orange, of the fire we used to burn his remains. Lance was there for me when I needed him most. The two of us had cleaned up the mess. We had told no one but the Tribunal, and I waited for their response.
I closed the folder and kept my hand on top. I had killed a man. I would do it again. He would have killed Hailey if I hadn’t killed him. I would make the same decision again in a heartbeat, but the weight of it was eating me from inside.
In an attempt to move on with my work, I picked up the phone—I needed information about Garret. I dialed the number again, the same one I had been calling every day, but I still hadn’t gotten any real answer. I would have gone straight to speak to Lowell in person, but I needed to stay in town until the Tribunal let me know what they decided.
“Cook Brothers Bar, Zane speaking,” Zane answered in his familiar, friendly tone.
“Hey, Zane, it’s Cole Tenbrook again,” I said.
“Oh. Hi. I still don’t have anything new to tell you.” Zane’s voice tightened. He was not happy to hear from me again.
I asked, “Did you give Lowell my message?”
“I called and left him a voicemail. He’ll call you when he’s ready,” he answered.
I lowered my voice to a measured growl, “Tell him to call me back or I’ll be showing up on your doorstep sooner rather than later.”
“Fine, yeah, I’ll tell him. Take care, Cole.” Zane hung up the phone.
I knew he was lying. I could always tell. When I had first called, Zane hadn’t lied to me. He had intended to tell Lowell that I needed to reach him. The same conversation day after day, and now he was keeping the truth from me. He was no longer giving Lowell my messages, and I would find out why. If not soon, then I would make good on my promise after I heard from the Tribunal.
I opened the top drawer of my desk and placed the folder inside. I didn't need anyone seeing its contents. Especially my mother, who didn't respect my personal space. My black dress shoes made little sound against the hardwood as I walked out to the bar to grab a late lunch. Customers chatted amongst themselves at tables scattered around the room. Locals and tourists ate and drank. In Sawtooth Peaks, people started drinking by late morning, which was good for business.
“Hey, Amy,” I said as I approached the bar. “How's it going?”
Amy's brown eyes lit up when she saw me. “Hi, Cole,” she answered.
A middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair sat on a stool at the other end of the bar, wearing a white, long-sleeved, button-down dress shirt and black suit pants. His appearance reminded me of the man in the folder. I pictured him on the floor in my kitchen, broken. My stomach turned. The man tapped on the counter trying to catch Amy's attention, but she ignored him.
“Can I get a turkey sandwich?” I asked. There wasn't a huge selection in the small kitchen, but the turkey was always decent. Amy worked the bar and the kitchen during the day, but only the bar in the evening. Fortunately, we had Lila to work the kitchen for dinner and the night, and to cover Amy's days off at the bar.
Amy reached down under the counter and pulled out a bottle of water and a plate from the mini-fridge. A sandwich sliced in half and adorned with little sword toothpicks sat on the plate. I lifted a corner of the thick, whole grain bread. Turkey, provolone, avocado, tomato, lettuce, salt and pepper, with light mayonnaise. Exactly the way I liked it.
“I expected you to eat an hour ago, but it's still fresh.” Amy smiled up at me.
“Thanks, Amy,” I said, then took my water and plate back down the hall to my office. I hadn't realized I was so predictable. I appreciated that she took the time to put together my lunch, but felt guilty when she smiled at me. It would have been easier if she would have seen me as just a friend, the way I saw her.
I stared out the window from my desk chair as I ate my lunch. Green and yellow needles decorated the dense forest. A porcupine scurried across the browned grass and fallen pine straw. Bluebirds hopped among the tree branches. I thought about shifting into a wolf and running between the trees, chasing the porcupine and birds. I thought about running to Hailey, showing up on the doorstep of Rosebuds and Greenery as a big, black beast. I could take her to run with me through the forest. I pictured her dressed in the clothes she’d picked for work in the morning. She wore a pair of the dark-colored jeans that hugged her curves like an outer layer of skin. I loved the way her ass looked in those pants. She wore a long, loose-fitting shirt with large blue and white stripes and long sleeves. The v-neck showed her ample cleavage. I pictured the wind pressing into her shirt as we ran, highlighting her hourglass figure. A huge grin spread across her face, with her full lips tinted pink from her peach lip gloss. Her blue eyes sparkled in the sunlight that broke through the forest pines. Her long, dark hair hung loose behind her shoulders and bounced with each step.
“Am I interrupting?” Lance asked, snapping me back to reality.
I turned toward him as he leaned back in the cushioned oak chair that sat on the other side of my desk. I had noted his scent in the building, but was too lost in thought to notice him enter my office. Lance moved quietly, but with my heightened senses, I shouldn’t have missed him.
My half-brother was six-foot one, nearly as tall as me, but with a leaner build. We both got our height from our father. Lance got his thin features, silver hair, and blue eyes from his mother, Emma. He tipped the wooden chair on its back two legs as he lounged with his feet on my desk and his hands behind his head.
“I was just thinking,” I answered.
“You’ve got a little drool.” Lance touched his chin, gesturing where he suggested my face was a mess. I tightened my lips and scowled at him in return, playing offended.
“I wasn’t asle
ep,” I said.
“Well it looked like you were dreaming to me. Thinking about Hailey?” Lance asked. My brother could see right through me.
“Maybe,” I answered, letting myself smile a little.
“Good. You could use some good thoughts. Everything going well still?”
“Yes. She’s it for me. I took her as my mate,” I admitted.
“Wow. Congrats, man. You deserve to be happy. Have you told Zaria?” he asked, setting his chair down and sitting upright.
That was not a conversation I wanted to have, ever. At some point I would have to deal with my mother, but not today. I had enough weighing on me with the Tribunal’s investigation that was certainly ongoing, though I had yet to hear anything. I was dealing with the stain of the blood on my hands. There was still no solid information on Harkins's or Garret’s whereabouts. Plus, my mother wasn’t herself with the rumors of Garret’s death floating around. No, I was not ready to deal with her yet.
“No, I haven’t told her,” I answered.
“She’s going to be pissed. Do me a favor and make sure I’m not within a five-mile radius when you break the news.” Lance looked at me with a straight face. I couldn’t blame him. When my mother learned that I had chosen a human for a mate and passed on the chance to claim alpha, she was going to be hell to deal with. She wasn’t mated by the last alpha, and she would never be mother of the alpha either. Lance held the strongest claim with me stepping out of the way, so she would either try to befriend him or take it out on him. I didn’t know which was worse.
“Sounds fair,” I answered with a smile. I pictured Zaria bringing Lance a gift, a peace offering, then beating him with it. I wouldn’t want to be near her, either.
“I picture her whole head spinning all the way around, red eyes, horns and scales, spitting fire kind of thing,” Lance said, and we shared a laugh. That sounded about right. “So what does that mean for you? Are you going to stay here and continue all of the bar stuff and play alpha for now? There’s still no one else putting in a claim. Or run off and play human?”
I considered the question. “I hadn’t really thought much about what it would mean for me as a wolf, only that I needed her as my mate. Hailey is the only one for me.”
“I’m happy for you. But, that isn’t something I’m looking for. I don’t want to be tied down to one woman for the rest of my life. Think about all of the others I would miss out on. The blondes, brunettes, and redheads. Fair-skinned, dark, and everywhere in between. The humans and the she-wolves. I can’t see giving them all up and settling on one flavor,” Lance said.
“It only takes finding the right one. Then you’ll know,” I replied. That was what happened with me, what happens to our kind. At least the lucky ones. Lance would find his mate too.
“Maybe. But right now I’m in the mood for chocolate and vanilla swirl,” he said. “I think I’ll call Chantel and Callie, see if they’re up for some fun. Nice catching up with you.”
“You too,” I answered.
After Lance walked out the door, I opened the top drawer of my desk and pulled out the manila folder that sat inside.
Chapter Three
Hailey
The afternoon went by in a blur. Before I knew it, five o’clock had rolled around. A familiar deep rumble came from outside. Cole’s motorcycle. My heartrate increased with anticipation. Work was nice, and so was lunch with my sister, but the best part of my day was, without a doubt, seeing Cole.
I couldn’t wait to be with him and run my hands up and down his defined chest muscles as I clung to him on the ride back to the home he wanted to share with me.
“He’s here,” Eric said with a smile. “You can go. You shouldn't leave that dark and brooding hunk waiting. But drag him in and make him say hi sometime.”
“I will. And I'd love to meet Victor one of these days. Maybe we should do a double date or something. I'd love to get you with Liv sometime, too. I think you two would hit it off.” One of these days I’d find a balance between my life with Cole and my social life. It was hard keeping each part of my world separate.
“Sounds good, hon. Have a great night.”
“Thanks!” I squealed, running over to throw on my hoodie. “You, too!”
With that, I raced out the red wooden door to find my sexy mate leaning on his motorcycle in a black leather jacket. Mate. I loved that word and what it meant. It was so primal, so animalistic. But the meaning was deeper. Cole pledged to be with only me forever. I never would have believed we would be at this point so soon, when only a few weeks ago I was living in another city, sure that Cole didn't want me at all.
I looked him up and down. His medium-length black hair was brushed back away from his square face. His golden eyes sparkled like the sun under his thick brow. Masculine stubble covered his strong jaw, my favorite amount of facial hair. He wore black suit pants and dress shoes, but the blue dress shirt I had chosen for him in the morning was untucked and unbuttoned at the top. I had picked it after Cole told me he liked the way it matched my eyes. With it unbuttoned and his tie gone, I got a peek at the hard chest within the shirt. Cole’s thick, muscular arms and callused hands showed that he wasn't just a man who wore a suit, but a man who spent time doing heavy labor. His tanned skin highlighted his love of the outdoors, and I loved every inch of it.
“Hey there, handsome,” I said as I walked slowly toward the sex god who was here just for me, swaying my hips. “Waiting for me?”
He watched my slow approach with a grin spreading across his gorgeous face. I loved the way he reacted to me. I felt confident and feminine when he looked at me like that.
Cole stood as I got close, and pulled me into his arms. I loved his size. He was a foot taller than me, a solid wall of muscle against my breasts, making me feel small in his embrace. He put his mouth on mine, kissing me hard. I pressed into him, excited to taste him after a long day without him. I wrapped my arms around his back and parted his lips with my tongue. This was definitely the best part of the day.
“Ready to go?” Cole asked. I reached down and grabbed his hard ass.
“Yep.” I smiled at him, looking up through my eyelashes.
Cole grinned and handed me my helmet. He climbed naturally onto the Harley, straightening it between his legs. I admired his strength and size as he moved the bike with ease.
I put on my helmet and climbed on behind him, more naturally than I had a few days before. I was getting less nervous and awkward from our rides together. Cole revved the engine, and I snuggled up to his back. He smelled like the earthy cinnamon soap I once borrowed from his shower, like the leather of his jacket, and the manly scent that was just him. His chest was like warm stone under my fingers, a feeling that never stopped impressing me.
I clung to Cole as we drove past Sawtooth Den and into the woods. Space between the tall pines lessened as we traveled down the windy road. The forest was dense with evergreen and bare trees. Pine needles of green, yellow, and brown were scattered along the ground. The sun sank behind the treetops, leaving the sky full of swirling reds and purples. As daylight faded, the headlight on the bike lit the path ahead of us. The icy wind blew my hair back from my face, and the fabric of my clothing tightened against my legs and arms.
We turned off of the paved road that led to the lodge and onto the private road that led only to Cole’s house. The huge wooden home felt like it was in a world of its own, away from the rest of civilization. The foundation cut into the mountain side, and was constructed of the same gray and tan stones found all over the forest floor. It looked more like a natural part of the landscape than any other building I had ever seen. Wooden decking wrapped around the entirety of the first floor except the section that attached to the mountain. The Tenbrook seal was carved between the roof’s peak—mountain, pine, and wolf. Cole’s seal.
I climbed off of the bike and left my helmet on the seat. It felt good to be back at Cole’s house. He took my hand in his and we walked up the stone path to the door.
I reached in my pocket and pulled out the key with the leather oval bearing the same seal as the cabin.
“Let me,” I offered, unlocking the door. I was still giddy every time I used the key he had given me. He wanted me to feel at home in his space, and I was working on it. Even though I spent most of my time here, I still felt like it was his house. The Victorian I grew up in still felt more like my home.
We stepped into the great room, the room where we used to sleep. I eyed the empty hearth, feeling the need to start a fire because the room wasn’t complete without a fire burning. I also liked the way it warmed me while I sat on the new cream-colored sofa.
“Can we start a fire?” I asked.
“Of course.” Cole took off his jacket and shoes by the door and walked toward the fireplace.
“Show me how it’s done,” I said, and sat on the floor in front of the fireplace while I watched him. I loved the way he moved—silently and gracefully for a man his size. Since I had learned his secret, I noticed all of the little hints that had slipped by me before. I couldn’t believe how blind I had been. Cole could move faster and more quietly than any regular man. He was full of beastly, primal sounds. His extraordinary golden eyes suggested what hid beneath the surface, so much more than average. I had always thought his eyes were unique, but I hadn’t guessed how true that was.
Cole knelt down beside me and put three logs from the stack next to the fireplace into the hearth.
“First I put in some wood,” he said. He lifted the lid off a white ceramic jar that sat next to the logs and pulled out what looked like dry pine needles. “Then something to get the fire going.”
He dropped the brown straw on top of the logs, then looked at me with a grin. I rose to my knees next to him.
“What’s next?” I asked.
Werewolves & Whiskers: Sawtooth Peaks Wolf Shifter Romance Box Set Page 14
