Wicked Wolves, page 4
To have his wolf form.
To feel wanted and protected.
Desired and loved.
Now that I don't have that anymore—don't have a hope in hell of getting it—I might be better off dead. Especially if, by merely living, I've doomed my pack.
Shaking off the thought, I climb into the passenger side of the sedan, grab onto the dashboard, and watch Ali slide into the crumb-covered backseat.
"Ready?" Mom doesn't wait for an answer. "Let's go."
In her defense, she might be stubborn, but she drives very, very, very slowly. So slowly that I'm certain the mud is going to suck the tires down completely. But somehow, despite the impossibility of it, the car glides over the wet ground and onto the gravel road.
Almost like an invisible force is keeping it out of the mud.
Once we get to the gravel road, Mom quickens her pace. Her hands are tight on the steering wheel, her eyes flicking back and forth from the road to me.
"You okay?"
I nod, breathing slowly. "Other than the open wound in my chest, right as rain."
"Good. Let's keep going."
She drives a little faster.
Ali leans forward to watch me, a small potion bottle in the palm of her hand. "If you start to feel any pain, let me know. I have something for it."
"I'm still good," I tell her, watching as we turn the corner and onto the main road. "In fact, I'm starting to think that whatever Delilah did—"
I suck in a sharp breath.
Because a man is standing in the middle of the road who wasn't standing there just a second ago.
He's tall and pale, with light blond hair and striking blue eyes. Wearing dark slacks and a white, gauzy button-up shirt, he has bare forearms that reveal thin wrists and broad hands.
The wind shifts, pressing his slacks against his lower body. Thick muscles stand out against the thin fabric.
My mom doesn't react to him at all. In fact, she seems to be driving the car right towards him.
"Do you..." Ali makes a strangled noise. She leans in towards me. "See... that?"
My mom frowns at us. "Are you two whispering about something?"
"Yes," I tell her, and Ali as well. "We were just discussing how much better your driving has gotten since you took those court-ordered driving lessons."
"Funny, very funny." Talon rolls her eyes at us both. "I'll have you girls know that I'm a perfectly good driver! No points on my license or anything. Well, no extra points since that stupid misunderstanding."
Misunderstanding is one word for it. The bent stop sign and totaled golf cart might have other ideas.
She speeds up the car.
The man holds his palm up in front of him in a clear stop motion.
I gasp and hold my breath.
Ali grabs my hand, interlocking her fingers with mine.
We get closer and closer to the man—
And a wind kicks up out of nowhere and slams against the car, turning us towards the right sharply.
"What the fuck?" Mom adjusts the steering wheel and gets back onto the road. "I swear that wasn't me. Appalachian weather, you know how it is."
"Yeah," I mutter, "Mysterious winds kick up all the time around here."
We're headed right towards the man again. I want to tell her to stop, to turn around, but I can't find the words.
He mesmerizes me.
Those striking blue eyes. His strong, confident gaze. The sharp line of his jaw. And the smirk playing on his lips, despite the apparent danger.
As the wind screams around us, I swear I pick up a scent in the air.
The light, delicious scent of clean linen and morning rain.
I can feel my mom fight the wind, putting her foot on the gas with increasing force.
We reach the spot in the road where the man is standing—and he steps elegantly to the side with a flourish.
As we pass him, I start to scream.
Because overwhelming pain floods my body all at once, insisting I go back, back, back—or die trying.
Chapter 10
Rina
I'm doubled over in pain and crying out. Waves of nausea hit my stomach, deep and relentless. I feel like my very soul is being plucked from my body and jerked out of the car.
"Turn around, turn around!" Ali screams and hits the back of my mom's seat. "She's fucking dying!"
"I'm trying, I'm trying!"
I pant and moan as Mom swerves the car around, jerking my body back and forth. The seatbelt digs into my wounded stomach and chest. Pain blazes like fire from the crown of my head to the tips of my toes, overwhelming all my senses, whiting out the edges of my vision.
Ali climbs in between the front seats, grabs my hand, and shoves an open glass bottle into my fingers. A sharp, acrid scent greets my nose, and liquid sloshes across my palm as Mom jerks the car around in the opposite direction.
"Drink this," Ali insists, pushing my hand towards my mouth. "It'll make the pain go away instantly."
Gasping, I manage to get the liquid into my mouth and choke it down. It tastes like some foul combination of cough syrup and peppermint schnapps—horrifying.
But as it burns my throat, the pain subsides. Even the pain from the open wound.
"Thank you." I close my eyes and sink into the seat. "That's much, much better."
"Don't drink too much of it," Ali warns, plucking the bottle from my potion-covered hand and shoving a cork back into it. "It's highly addictive, or I would've given you some of it earlier. I could get in trouble for even giving you this much."
Another reason to be thankful for Ali—she's never really given much of a shit about the rules of the coven. If a potion or spell will help others, she does what she can to share it around, no matter the punishment.
That's why Laurel has never taken her under her wing, despite Ali being the most powerful young witch in the coven. Ali's done the most with her lack of tutelage, though, turning to potion brewing and traveling across the country to other covens to learn what she can from them.
We glide past the spot in the road where the tall man was standing. He glowers at the car, staring inside towards my mother.
He opens his mouth, and a thrill of shock goes through me at the sound of his voice. "I tried to warn you. But no one ever listens to me."
Then he disappears.
Looking back at Ali, I search her face for a sign she heard his voice. But she isn't even looking in his direction—she's just watching me sigh and relax into my seat as we get closer to the Mating Circle.
"Something about being away from the Mating Circle hurts her," she observes. "We're going to have to solve this mystery before you can take her home."
I wish I could say that I'm disappointed, but the truth is, it might be nice to avoid going back to my mom's home. I've come to like my little apartment—and if Talon is dating Harry again, I'd rather not be around for the inevitable fallout.
Back at the tent, we find ourselves greeted by the tall, dark complexioned mate of Delilah's with bright amber eyes and scars on his body. He inclines his head to me as I get out of the car, watching me walk towards the tent flap.
"I'm Bastian—I don't know if we've been formally introduced."
He holds out his hand and awkwardly shakes mine in a loose, nervous grip. I smile at him awkwardly, wondering how a werewolf so big got such deep scars on his body.
"I thought I might try to heal your wound a little more now that you're up and about. Healing isn't completely my strong suit, but there are a few things I can try that your coven witches may not know about."
The coven witches are on my shit list after trying to get me kicked out of the pack, so I accept his help. Ali asks to stick around and observe, as does Mom, though I have the feeling she wants to gawk at Bastian more than anything.
He is an attractive man, towering over me at six and a half feet tall, with a sweet scent like crushed red berries, lemons, and mint. There's an earthy hint to him, as if he's been freshly dug up from the ground and set in front of us.
Despite that, as I lay back on the cot and he tenderly pulls up my shirt, I find that I can't concentrate on Bastian's relative hotness at all.
Instead I'm thinking about the man in the road who only Ali and I could see.
There was something about him. Maybe it was the mischievous glint in his eyes, or the elegant flourish of his movements. He felt almost wild to me, like the wind itself conjured him up.
I want to hear more of his voice, which was rich and melodic, with a hint of humor in each clipped word.
"This may hurt a little," Bastian says as he unwinds the bandages from my middle. "It should help with the bleeding, though, and prevent infection."
He presses thick fingers to my scratches, skimming them carefully with a gentle touch. In his free hand, he cups his palm around a ball of compressed earth that has moss and little plants growing in it. I find that odd, but his touch does soothe, and the claw marks grow less angry with every pass he makes over them.
Ali steps up to watch what Bastian does. "Are you connecting with the earth somehow? That's from the ground around here, isn't it?"
"Yes, and yes. Your earth is very powerful—especially near the mating stones. It's fed by a strong magic, and even with the blood rot and poisoned pack bonds, the strength is still there."
"Interesting. I guess because Rina is a member of the pack, it's affinity magic, isn't it? Like to like."
"Yes, it is." Bastian sounds pleased she figures this out. "I can show you more of it later. Including how to help plants grow faster with a few simple spells almost anyone can cast, even a human."
"Plant growth?" I perk up at this. "I have a garden back at Mom's house. Maybe you could—"
Stopping short, I remember that I'm stuck here for now.
Ali shoots me a pitying look, and I press my lips closed firmly. Shutting my eyes, I ignore the rest of her conversation with Bastian, trying to let the sting of it pass.
When he's done tending to my wound, it's almost completely closed over, and the bleeding has stopped. Ali bandages it with fresh linen, then bites her lip and looks back and forth between us.
"Could you show me some earth magic? If you don't mind. And if you're okay being left alone, Rina."
Mom sighs and grudgingly offers, "I'll stay with her."
"I don't need a babysitter," I tell them both, annoyed. "Go, Ali. I'll be fine without you. I can look after Mom."
Talon rolls her eyes at this and softly knocks her closed fist against my shoulder. "You wish I needed looking after. And don't mention that time I nearly burned down the kitchen. I told you, that wasn't my fault, and I would've figured out how to put out a grease fire eventually."
Ali and I exchange the sort of silent look only best friends who grew up together can share.
As soon as she and Bastian are gone, my mom slides up next to my cot and fans herself exaggeratedly.
"That Bastian! What a body." She grins at me. "Did you get all hot and bothered with him close by?"
I narrow my eyes at her. "He has a mate, you know."
"Yes, yes." She sighs. "I wish I could have five mates like the wolf-witch hybrid alpha does."
I point out, "You're technically unmated and can have anyone you want."
Narrowing her eyes at me, Talon boxes my ears. Gently, softly, but enough that I wince, a muffled noise echoing in my head.
"Really?" I raise my brows at her. "I just almost died, you know."
"Key word: almost." She grins at me wickedly. "Now, gossip with Mommy about hot men. Did you see that Finn Barber? Another one of Delilah's delicious mates. Let me tell you, if I could have five of them—oh boy, I would be a cougar in the sack."
Annoyed, I start to respond, but before I get the chance an angry woman comes storming into the tent. She's followed by her mate, a man with curved shoulders and a hollow-eyed expression on his face.
The woman narrows her eyes at me, growls like she's in wolf form, and lunges for my cot with her teeth and claws bared.
Chapter 11
Rina
Iscramble back—but she's on me too fast. Grabbing my wrist, she pulls me towards the tent flap. I'm too drugged up and injured to do much besides go along, my wound smarting the whole way.
"Hey! Get off my daughter."
Talon lunges for the woman, trying to stop her. But her mate grabs my mom and throws her to the ground, overpowering her with sheer size alone.
Not wanting to rile them up further, I go with the woman. After all, she won't kill me near the Mating Circle, in full view of our gods and ancestors—would she?
Besides, Bastian and Ali aren't that far away.
But when we get out in the darkness of night, I realize with a cold shiver that the meeting area at the foot of the Mating Circle is now completely empty. Wherever Bastian and Ali have gotten to, the strangers must not think they're close enough to step in and help.
The man drags my mom out of the tent, holding her arms tight. He's shoved something in her mouth, but she's already spit half of it out, determined no doubt to get some foul curse words out.
I'm about to ask what this is all about when the woman answers for me.
"I lost my baby because of you."
Dropping my wrist, the woman throws the full force of her anger at me.
"The night the mating bonds were poisoned, I felt a pain in my abdomen. I started to bleed. So I called out for Hunter—but he couldn't feel me. Because of you."
The pack bonds are weak right now, and I've never met this woman before, but I can still feel her pain.
It's like a knot in my stomach, heavy and bleak.
And there's nothing I can do to push it away.
"I'm sorry," I tell her, shaking like a leaf. "I didn't mean to—"
She slaps me.
My mom screams angrily and fights the man holding her back, but he's too strong. He keeps tightening his grip on her.
"Stop fighting, Mom. You'll just hurt yourself."
Facing the woman, I open myself up to the full force of her grief.
It's overwhelming.
Tears spring to my eyes. I wish this had never happened. Maybe I'd be better off dead.
"You can take your grief out on me," I tell her, bracing myself for her claws and teeth. "I can't make it better, I'm sorry. But I can at least let you put the blame where it belongs."
"You think I'll be merciful, you bitch?" Her fangs lengthen, her eyes glimmering. "Don't count on it."
She comes for me, the pain on her face nothing compared to the anger.
Then, the strangest thing happens.
The earth rises up under the woman's feet and vines twist around her, dragging her down.
At the same time, a foul wind kicks up, bringing us the scent of vampires on the prowl. It spooks the man holding my mother. Eyes wide and wild, he drops her arms and runs off into the darkness, the scent of his fear mingling with the vampire scent on the wind.
His mate who miscarried tries to get one last verbal jab in—but she finds herself suddenly vomiting up water, unable to speak at all. Brackish and full of seaweed, the water spills down her front, mingling with the vines at her feet.
A chill spreads across my skin.
Talon gets the gag out of her mouth, but she has nothing to say. She looks as wide-eyed and spooked as I feel.
The woman looks up at me in panic and starts to claw her throat as more and more water bubbles up and out.
Shuddering in fear and disgust, I back away from her. My mom grabs me tight. Scared and uncertain, we hold onto each other.
She whispers, "They're getting what they deserve because they angered the ancestors."
Just on cue, Bastian arrives, a tall, towering form. He roars out his anger—and several pack members I didn't realize were watching from the shadows scatter.
Warriors, all of them. Cowards. But no doubt they had their own grievances to lay at my feet.
As if his roar of anger has broken a spell, the strange wind dies all at once. The woman stops vomiting water and falls to the ground, weeping and gasping. Her feet come loose from the earth, the vines untangling.
Ali, teary-eyed, comes running out of the darkness behind Bastian. She throws her arms around me, pulling me close and gathering my mother in the hug as well.
"I'm never leaving you again," she swears. "I can't believe they were waiting for us to go just so they could hurt you."
I can believe it.
Because I felt the woman's pain. I feel it now, even as Bastian hauls her to her feet and she stumbles away into the darkness, shifting into her wolf form.
He starts to go after her, but I stop him. "Let her go. She at least had a reason to be angry with me, and I don't think she was going to do more besides shout at me and beat me up a little."
My face still stings from the slap, but I don't care.
While I'm thankful for the intervention, strange as it was, it can't go on like this, with mysterious visitors, poisoned bonds, and ancient magic.
Maybe Delilah is wrong. Maybe I should leave my pack.
Because eventually, the decision is going to be made for me, one way or another.
Chapter 12
Rina
Sleeping is difficult, because fear and pain dodge my dreams.
Ali gave me a sleeping potion, apologizing profusely because she has to go home to her dad. Apparently she's barely been by in days while I was sick, and if she doesn't tend to her herb gardens or potion laboratory, it's all likely to blow up in Harry's human face.
Mom decided to stay at the tent with me, and got herself set up in a cot next to mine. Of course, I'm sure that has nothing to do with the fact that Bastian is sleeping in here as well.
Even though she keeps sliding her eyes open to stare over at his cot on the other side of the tent and sigh longingly to herself.
Even with Ali's sleeping potion, and my mother and Bastian sleeping in the tent with me, I can't seem to settle in. Sleep eludes me.
The woman's grief is like a thorn in my side.
