Chapter Four – Nadine

Nadine stopped herself from looking behind as she ran. She had to put some distance between them, to shut him out. For his sake, she kept telling herself, it was purely for his sake—as if that made it easier.

A safe distance away she slowed to a walk, wondering if it would be wise to go and find somewhere to get some coffee before she drove home, although she knew it wasn’t the wine that was making her feel light-headed. It was Kurt and the need to be with him, a need that infiltrated her body and soul.

Not trusting herself to stay away from him, she went to her car and got in, catching her breath and silencing her brain before she put the key in the ignition and started the engine. Pulling out slowly, she headed out of the city. Along the country road leading to her home, she passed the signs for Wolf Valley, but she resolutely drove on. She lived in a small house nestled in the woods between Bear Bluff and Cougar Ridge. It had been her home and her sanctuary for the past ten years, but there was nowhere safe from the pull of her mate.

Growing up, she had always lived in between everything and everyone. Neither shifter nor human, not fully, she had never fit in and never achieved her full potential, as her mom often told her. What she meant was Nadine had never been able to transform into the other side of herself. It wasn’t as if it wasn’t there, she could feel it and hear it; she simply couldn’t grasp hold of it and change. And then her fear became that if she ever did change, she would not be able to change back.

Being presented with this conundrum had given her a purpose, and so she had pursued psychology as a career, tailoring it to helping those who were like her. Stuck. Mainly her work involved helping those who had shifted and couldn’t come back, those like Kurt. And she was good at it, really good.

But one of her rules was not to get involved with anyone, other than on a professional level. It saved her a lot of heartache. She knew patients became too reliant on her; she became their security blanket. It was harmful in itself, but especially if it was allowed to fester into something deep and meaningful. She was there to help them overcome their problems and then move on.

Nadine was always moving on, so that her patients didn’t realise what a fake she was. Because let’s face it, if she were any good at this psycho mumbo jumbo, she would be able to control her other side. And she couldn’t.

“Damn!” She braked hard. Something had run across the road in front of her and she thought she had hit it.

Opening the car door, she got out, fearing the worst. The car had thudded into something, and she only hoped if it was an animal, it wasn’t one with a human side too. That would be just awful. She edged around the car, relieved to see no one on the road, no one bleeding out on the asphalt. Nothing.

Relieved but mystified, she walked towards the back of the car, leaning down to look at what she had hit. There: a rock, someone had dropped a rock in the road and she had gone over it. Hoping there was no damage done to her car, she got back in and pulled her car forward, enabling her to pick the rock up and drop it onto the ground on the side of the road. She didn’t want anyone else to drive over it.

Only when she turned back to the car, did she realise she was being ambushed.

“Hello there,” a voice said. It belonged to a man, tall, broad, and trouble.

“Hi,” she said, keeping her voice calm. She would talk her way out of this. She understood enough about how people’s brains worked, and she could deal with this. Surely.

“You having a bit of trouble?” Had she been wrong, had he stopped by to help—if so, where was his car? Maybe he had shifted and been running in this direction when he saw her headlights stop, and come over to help.

However, something about him was off. Nadine was certain he meant her harm.

“No, everything is fine, thank you,” she said, trying to figure out whether to make a run for her car or the hills. But he was sure to be faster than she was at running. Although reasonably fit, she carried a few extra pounds in all the right places, whereas he was toned and looked as if he could easily run for miles. Her instincts told her he was a wolf.

“Are you sure, because it looks as though you are having car trouble.” He came closer, standing right by the open door of her car and she cursed her stupidity—she had left her keys in the ignition while she got out and checked the road.

Now she had a choice, did she try to bluff her way out, or what? What else could she do?

“Thanks again,” she said, walking back around to where he stood with his hand on her door. Smiling, she kept her breathing even and all traces of panic from her voice. She knew how to play this game; she often had to keep calm no matter what was going on around her in order to keep her patients calm.

“No, problem, I would hate for you to be a damsel in distress with no knight in shining armour to help you.” He took a deep breath—was he scenting her, smelling her fear? Swallowing, trying to keep her heart from racing, she slipped into the car seat, relieved when he shut the door for her and stood back.

Not bothering with her seatbelt—she would fix it once she had got away from him—she turned the key, holding her breath while the engine turned over. She had no idea if he had tampered with it while she was moving the rock. But he hadn’t had chance to lift the hood, so it must all be fine. Still, it was somewhat of a relief when the engine fired into life and she drove off, lifting her hand as a thank-you gesture. He watched her, eyes sparkling in the night, a green glow shimmering across them, and by the time she drew past him and looked in her mirror, he was gone.

Nadine trembled. That had to be the weirdest thing she had ever experienced, and she had seen a lot of weird stuff.

Watching the road carefully, just in case there were more rocks in her path, she drove slowly home, wanting to put as much distance between her and the wolf, but knowing if she hit a larger rock at speed, she would damage the car and be stranded, that didn’t bear thinking about.

As the miles drifted by, and the road began to narrow, following the twists and turns of the mountain, she put it all behind her, until she heard the unmistakable sound of a flat tire. At first, it was just a small noise, different, but as the air escaped, the sound and the way the car held the road told her she was going to have to pull over.

Glancing around, she recognised the part of the forest she was in. It went on for another mile or so before it opened out again. It was maybe another mile after that until she would reach her house.

There was no way this was a coincidence. The guy she met on the road must have tampered with her tire, which meant he would know she would not get home and be stranded on the road.

“Damn it,” she cursed and pushed her driver’s door open, getting out as quickly as she could. Grabbing her purse, she locked the car and then melted into the trees. It might have been the wrong choice, but she knew she was too exposed out there on the road whilst changing the tire. It wasn’t that she couldn’t do it, but she didn’t have the luxury of time.

She knew the way through the woods well enough. But had never attempted it in the dark. Everything seemed different, as though she had stepped into another world. Her heart beat rapidly, the sound thundering in her ears as she climbed steadily higher. After ten minutes, she slowed, trying to regain her breath and her composure. With no one pursuing her, she figured she had completely overreacted; the flat tire was just a coincidence and no one was after her.

Then she heard the plaintive howl of a wolf. Not too unusual, but then it was taken up by one or two more voices, and her blood chilled. Turning to head for her house, her legs carrying her as quickly as they could through the undergrowth, she tried not to panic. Surely, whoever it was wouldn’t hurt her.

The voice of the wolf rose again, haunting. Closer.

Others joined now, and she knew one thing above all else. She was being hunted, prey to the wolves who had been raiding people’s houses, stealing cars, and generally creating trouble around Wolf Valley. Tonight, Nadine was their entertainment. But what they intended to do with her if they caught her made her run faster, tears flooding her eyes, which she angrily rubbed away. What right did they have to do this? Damn it, if she wouldn’t fight them with her last breath if they caught her!

But she didn’t want to fight; she didn’t want to know what they wanted with her. She just wanted to be home, safe in her cabin.