Chapter 4
The pain in Savon’s hazel eyes nearly tore him in half. Shit, Nate wanted to go to her but that would have cost her life. Twelve long years ago, his father tore apart any chance to have Savon with one threat.
He could still see the rage in Dad’s eyes when Nate told him he needed to find Savon. Shit, he’d never been so scared in his life.
Nate bolted upright, finally waking up from the coma.
Savon, he’d seen her with his own eyes, in the shower. Her hands covering her stomach, a smile on her lips. She saw him and the color drained from her face before he woke up, his consciousness slammed firmly back in his body.
“Savon!” he cried out.
His father leaned down, hatred in his deep brown eyes. “You seek her out, and I will tear her apart and gnaw on her bones. I’ll make sure she doesn’t live through the shift. No more Sylvan Fae will be turned. You will not fall victim to the little bitch.”
“I’m going to marry her.”
His laugh was cruel. “No, you won’t. I will go to her in my half-beast form and rip her open, pull out every organ, feeding on her heart and ribs. You will not touch her again, you will not go to her. If you love her, you will let her go, or you sign her death warrant.
Nate seethed, “She’s my whole world.”
“No, you’re a werewolf now. And a werewolf in my pack will never take a Sylvan Fae for a mate.”
“Not a fucking werewolf,” Nate growled, anger vibrating down his spine as his body started to shift.
An evil smile spread on his father’s face. “Yes, you are. I had to change you to save your life when your bitch of a mother ran you off the road. You’ve been in a coma for two months, Nathan. I thought I’d lost you.”
“No. Not a wolf!” Nate screamed even as his body shifted to something caught between man and wolf.
“Get used to it. You can’t have Savon now. Her kind do nothing but destroy wereanimals. She won’t want a monster.”
“I don’t care. I love her. She’s everything.”
“Remember, go to her, even call her, and I will destroy her while you watch.”
He looked down at his hands, the monstrous claws. He hadn’t shifted to full wolf. No, he managed to shift to half-man which wasn’t supposed to happen the first shift if it ever happened at all.
Shaking off the memory, he focused on the present. With his father dead and gone he finally had a chance to prove he’d never stopped loving Savon. Thanks to Bran, who somehow convinced her to move back. Nate had every intention of telling her everything, in person. If she’d finally listen. Chasing her in dreams sure as hell hadn’t worked.
Savon had always been a magnet for trouble. Back less than a day and she had already gained attention from Nate’s biggest problem.
Then again, he came back after he had his own run-in with trouble three months prior. Someone from the Dark Templar attacked him, trying to pry information about something he called the Wolfssengen Pendant.
First, the Wolfssengen Pendant was something he’d only heard his father mention twice in hushed tones when he thought Nate wasn’t there. He had no clue what it was supposed to do or where it was.
Second, the dark mage was part of the Silver Council, which would have been bad enough, but this one claimed to be a Dark Templar. The Council policed Others and protected all of them from humans learning about magic and monsters. The Dark Templar could be considered a dark ops branch that the Council claimed didn’t exist. Everyone believed they did. And the mage had definitely been dark, meaning he lived off the magic that resided in Others, draining them to empower themselves.
Third, the New York Alpha exiled Nate because he didn’t want to endanger the pack.
Nate came home to get answers only his father could provide. Then he planned to challenge his father and go after Savon.
Before he got a chance, Jay challenged Killian Taggert and killed his father. Something strange happened—a lot of strange things actually.
Killian never shifted back to human, though his wolf was certainly dead.
Jay didn’t become Alpha.
The pack hung in a sort of limbo with no Alpha present.
Nothing made a damned bit of sense.
And if Jay hurt Savon in any way, shape, or form, Nate would dismantle him and put him back together in such a way he’d live in pain for the rest of his life. He had the knowledge to do it, and with the way werewolves healed, he could cause some serious damage.
The cell phone buzzed again, but Savon stumbled on her stairs, and he stepped inside, scooped her into his arms, and carried her to the master bedroom. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she snuggled closer.
His heart expanded as he pressed a kiss to her temple. Her scent enveloped him. Lilacs and roses. Every instinct pushed him to claim her, but he pushed that down. Instead, he planned to take care of her, earn her trust.
Nate had watched her blast Clay for trying to sneak up on her. He wouldn’t have blamed her for doing the same when he pushed too far.
Shit, he’d been an asshole, and he deserved worse for a million reasons. Bran and Evangeline were right. He should have found a way to tell her outside of dreams. A way she could understand and not think she was batshit crazy.
At least some part of her still trusted him. As mad as Savon was, she curled into his embrace.
Somehow, he would mend what he broke the day of the accident. He never meant to stay away from her, but he was unable to break free of his mind for so damned long he thought he’d never resurface.
Nate laid her down, but her hand twisted in his shirt, holding on. He joined her on the bed, holding her to his chest. She murmured, pressing her whole body against his.
Shit, he was hard, and he had to ignore his dick. Drunk, and not fully aware, there was no way he’d do more than hold her. The moment he was inside her, she’d be his forever. The one thing he wanted, but she needed to make that choice. He wouldn’t force it. He’d already done enough damage with the way he followed her through dreams.
Savon rolled against him, pressing her face against his chest. Her breathing evened out as she slipped deeper into sleep.
Among all the other things she felt, some part of her knew what he was to her. She would see it, eventually—she had to.
His love had never wavered, never died, even when he thought he would never have her in his arms again.
A tear fell. There was hope.
His damned phone started to buzz again. He pressed one more kiss to her head before climbing from the bed and taking those sexy as sin stilettos from her feet. Then he grabbed the quilt off the chair and covered her.
Nate stepped out of her room and shut the door silently. His phone read Bran. He let out a quiet growl and pressed talk. “What?”
“I saw you mauling my sister on the porch. I heard she may be drunk. If I find out you forced yourself on her, I’m going to kill you. I don’t care if you may be my Alpha soon, or she’s your mate, or the fact you’re my closest friend. You hurt her, and you’re a dead man.”
Nate drew in a breath and let it out. “Didn’t maul her, and the moment she told me to stop, I did. Shit, things got out of hand, but I just put her to bed. I’m going to leave Advil and some water on the nightstand with a note. I’ll be in my own home, alone, in ten minutes, tops.”
“Good.”
“Why the hell didn’t you tell her I moved back?”
“I’m a fucking idiot. I hoped she’d see you and realize she’s so pissed because she’s still in love with you. I should have known she’d only make a stand.”
Nate sighed. “You said you were going to tell her.”
“She found your picture in the hallway and lost her shit. By the way, asshole, did you put that there?”
He balked, “I haven’t been in this house since the day I went into the coma.”
“Hmm, wonder if Evangeline is fucking with things.” Bran sighed. “I told her not to interfere.”
“She wants to test Savon. You and I both know how that’s going to go.”
Bran half-laughed. “Yeah, Evangeline will learn. Look, I need to find a pen and paper and some Advil before I leave. I don’t want her to be hungover when we show up to help in the morning.”
“You’re going to have to grovel at her feet for a while. Got years to make up for. I told your dumb ass to go to her.”
“You were right. But you know Dad would have killed her just to keep me from her.”
Bran snorted. “Which is why this is so fucked up. She’s still pissed. I don’t think she ever truly dealt with the fallout of your disappearance.”
“Clearly. She wouldn’t listen to you when you mentioned my name. Doesn’t want to listen to me now.”
“She will. Eventually.”
“Hope so,” Nate answered.
“I want you two to be happy, and I have a feeling that’s never going to happen until the two of you are together again.”
“Hope you’re right about her coming around. Her head is a damned mess—thanks to me.” He never imagined she’d think she was crazy for seeing him. Staying away hadn’t been an option, though.
“Well, help her straighten it out. You need to come clean about her dreams. And you need to do it soon,” Bran warned. “If you don’t, I will, and you know I’ll muddle it up.”
“Yeah, I’m trying. She doesn’t get it yet. But right now she needs to sleep off the alcohol. She drank too much too damned fast and she’s out cold.”
“That’s my fault. See you tomorrow.” The line went dead.
Nate stepped outside. Something was off. He scented another wolf and walked around the house. He stashed his clothes and shoes under a chair and shifted to full wolf, settling down on the porch to watch.
Another shifted wolf crept closer, made eye contact, then took off.
Change of plans. He’d stay on the porch to protect Savon from whoever was lurking in the woods.
* * * *
Falling through darkness.
Tumbling through nothingness.
Savon opened her eyes to the sound of an orchestra playing far below. Her senses were in total vertigo as she collided with the floor in a sea of colorful gowns and suits. Beautifully painted masks adorned each face.
Slowly, she stood up and looked down at the elaborate black lace gown and corset that threatened to steal her breath. No mask on her face. Alone, amid a crowd.
“Savon, please, Savon,” Nate cried.
She spun and found him across the room with tears in his eyes. He started to make his way through the dancing couples twirling around at a brisk pace.
Anger hit her, followed by the need to let him catch her, to let him explain. Everything felt so real, even surrounded by her imagination. Then she felt something else close, watching her, ready to pounce.
Not just a wolf. Something more. She’d felt it in the bar.
The need to run won out. She dropped to her knees and crawled through the tangle of people, through the doors, onto the balcony. She ran down the stairs, into the garden below. Rose bushes filled the property, the vines twisting up statues reaching for the light, trying to get away from the shadowy ground.
“Savon, wait!” Nate shouted. “Please!”
She collided with a statue that resembled Killian. The roses grew away from him, not touching the cold stone.
Nate’s voice grew closer. “He promised to kill you if I ever came for you.”
Spinning, she came face to face with Nate. The scents of forest, sandalwood, and musk surrounded her. “What?” she whispered.
“I woke up from a coma screaming your name. My father swore he’d tear you apart to keep me from you.” Nate reached for her.
She backed away. “Doesn’t matter now. You destroyed me. I’ll never be whole again.”
“I know, and I hate myself for it. I never meant to leave you like that. I would do anything to go back and stay. If I hadn’t gotten in that car, I would still be with you.”
“You can’t fix what you took from me. We can’t go back.” Tears fell down her face. She turned and ran.
“Be careful, Savon. Whatever you do, don’t trust Jay. He’ll only hurt you.” His words echoed after her.
Snarling and snipping yanked her out of sleep. She sat up, her head pounding. She pushed forward, going to the window. Two massive wolves ran into the woods.
“Shit,” she whispered before sinking back onto the bed. A note lay on her nightstand with a glass of water and Advil.
A slow smile spread on her face as she took the Advil and drank down the water. She picked up the paper and his scent rolled over her. Being curled in his arms had felt good. What little she remembered.
The note read,
Savon,
Sorry about last night. You’re going to have one hell of a hangover. This should help.
And I know you’re still mad, but I need to tell you a few things. Even if I never touch you again.
I hope you’re having sweet dreams.
Nate
Her heart was twisted two ways. Stay away from Nate, or let him back in. She feared if he did make it through her walls, she would fall apart all over again.
A glance at the clock proved it wasn’t worth going back to bed.
Time for a shower then.
The movers would be there before long, and she needed coffee before that happened.