Chapter Six
Maybe whatever was making her have dizzy spells was affecting her mind somehow. But she’d worry about that later; she needed to get help for the wolf cub.
She ran inside the nearest building – the Brew-Ha-Ha coffee shop. It had curtains made of burlap and a heavenly smell of ground beans, and most of the booths and round wooden tables were full. She pushed her way past several people in line at the counter.
“Oh my God, I hit a puppy,” she cried out, tears spilling onto her cheeks. “A wolf cub. It’s lying in the road. It’s still breathing; it’s sitting up. Can someone please help?”
A woman who’d been sitting at the table with several children looked around frantically. “Robbie?” she said. She leaped to her feet and yelled, “Watch them!” at the waitress, gesturing to her children. Then she shot out the door.
Was Robbie the wolf cub’s name?
When she got back to her car, she saw that the woman was kneeling next to a little boy in a striped shirt and denim shorts. It was the boy Taylor had thought she’d hit before she stopped and got out of the car. She was sure of it.
Taylor looked closely at him. He was standing up, rubbing his hip and crying. But to her enormous relief, he didn’t seem too badly hurt. The woman was tearfully yelling at him. “You know better than to run into the street!”
Boy. Wolf cub. Boy.
Cliff’s strange amber eyes. The weird things he’d said to her at the office. The weirder things Truman had said when he’d come to her house.
A strange suspicion was starting to buzz in Taylor’s brain. It was so ridiculous that she didn’t even dare let the thought fully form in her head, or give it a name. It would sort of make sense of all the bizarre things that had happened in the past couple of days, but it was also impossible and crazy.
Because there was no such thing as werewolves.
And she could not possibly have been lured to a small town that looked like Mayberry R.F.D. but was peopled by werewolves.
She waited until everyone moved away from the car, with the woman carrying Robbie in her arms, heading for the sidewalk.
Then she quickly walked towards her car, shoulders stiff with tension.
“Hold on a minute!” a man’s voice yelled. She didn’t look back, and she didn’t answer. Panic choked her.
She could leap into her car and drive off, but how far would she get? She had a feeling that those iron gates wouldn’t open for her.
“Taylor,” a stern voice said behind her.
She froze at the sound of Cliff’s voice and slowly turned around.
Cliff stood there, wearing a light blue polo shirt and jeans. It was a change from the beautifully tailored suits he wore for business, but one thing was the same. Wearing a well-cut Armani and with a silk tie cinched tight at his throat, Cliff still looked powerful. Primal. And nor did his casual clothes do anything to hide his strength and the predatory way he moved. Taylor felt a rush of arousal shooting through her veins. It was like a whole-body blush, leaving her feeling hot and breathless and tingling with awareness.
Truman came trotting up, elbowing his way through the crowd that had gathered, and before Taylor could say a word, he climbed into the driver’s seat of Taylor’s car. Taylor was too stunned to argue.
The little boy wiggled out of his mother’s arms.
“Robbie!” she yelled angrily, but he ignored her and ran over to Cliff. “Uncle Cliff, Uncle Cliff, I got hit by a car and then I turned and it’s not even a full moon. I think I can do it again. Want to see?”
“Don’t,” Cliff said in an urgent voice. He glanced over at Taylor. It was obvious this was something he didn’t want her to see.
But it was too late. The boy closed his eyes, and gray fur rippled over his skin like a carpet. His ears turned pointy and the bones in his face shifted, and he groaned with effort. Then the fur sank back into his skin, his ears rounded and his face smoothed out.
“I almost did it. Paul couldn’t do it ‘til third grade! I got Dominus genes in me for sure!” he said happily. Before his mother grabbed him again, she gave Taylor a very strange look and hurried back into the store.
Taylor felt a wave of dizziness rolling over her, and the last thing she remembered was Cliff’s strong arms catching her as she swayed and fell.
* * * * *
Taylor woke up on a cloud. A soft, puffy cloud. She lay still for a moment, trying to get her bearings. Her heart was pounding, and when she opened her eyes she couldn’t see much because a curtain of hair had fallen over her face. She pushed the hair away and began feeling around her, and realized that she was actually lying on an exquisitely soft, comfortable couch.
An angry male voice rang through the air. “The important question is, how the hell did this happen?”
“I would say it’s pretty obvious that she has no idea that she’s a werewolf. So obviously she’s been turned since the last full moon.”
They were saying that she was a werewolf. And if her fuzzy brain was comprehending properly, she would turn into an actual wolf on the next full moon?
“It can’t be a coincidence that she works for our company and was turned. We’ve got to find out what happened to her. You need to turn her over to the Elders for interrogation.”
Then she heard a snarl of rage. An actual snarl, like a dog’s. Or a wolf’s.
“Try it, Jerrold. Try to get past me. I want you to.”
Taylor sat up and looked around, her heart hammering against her rib cage with panic. She was in a huge, high-ceilinged room she’d never seen before. Dust motes danced in the golden light slanting in through the huge bay windows, and she squinted against the dazzle. The honeyed light glossed the highly-polished wood of a baby grand piano. The chaise longue where she’d woken up was upholstered in duck-egg blue patterned with gold, and somehow managed to be both elegant and the most comfortable piece of furniture she’d ever sat on. She scuffed her toes into the thick, plush carpet and peered around for the source of the voices.
“Cliff, stop thinking with your dick. This affects the safety of the entire pack.” Jerrold’s voice was self-righteous and indignant. “If anything makes it obvious that you’re not fit to be Alpha, this does. After all, she worked for your company, and she somehow turned and risked exposing us all. That will never happen when I’m CEO.”
“She hasn’t risked exposing us in any way. And handing her over to be interrogated is the nuclear option. Obviously, Cliff will ask her what happened, I will compel truthful answers, and we’ll get to the bottom of it.” That was James; she recognized his voice.
“He thinks she’s his mate.” Jerrold’s voice again. “He’s too close to the situation, so he won’t be the one to question her. And James, you’d lie and say whatever he wanted. Actually, forget the Elders. As a neutral party with no connection to this woman, and someone with a vested interest in the future of this pack – which I will soon be Alpha of – I will interrogate her myself. Move aside.”
Taylor leaped to her feet. Hell no. Whoever that voice belonged to, she had a feeling it would be a very bad idea to let him interrogate her.
“Let me rip his throat out.” That was Truman’s voice now, in a low, threatening growl. “I’ll face the consequences. I don’t care.”
“I’ll do it myself if he doesn’t leave in the next thirty seconds.” Cliff’s voice.
“You see that, Phineas? He’s threatening me! Your future leader!” Jerrold’s voice had gone high, whiny, and self-righteous.
“He’s threatening my future mate. That’s a one-way ticket to a dirt nap.” Cliff again.
Seized with panic, Taylor leaped to her feet and ran to the doorway at the back of the room. It was unlocked. She yanked it open and ran straight out through a beautiful rose garden, winding through hedges and into a thickly wooded area.
She kept running until her lungs burned in her chest, then she slowed down to catch her breath, but kept moving at a trot.
She heard the crunching of footsteps on leaves, and looked around wildly. Which way should she run?
Suddenly, an enormous gray wolf burst through the underbrush and leaped in front of her, blocking her way. The wolf was too big to be real; it was the size of a pony, and its amber eyes gleamed with a fierce, human intelligence as it stared at her.
Amber eyes?
“Cliff?” she said
It shook itself and shifted. It stretched, arching its back, and its limbs lengthened, silvery fur fading away as its ears rounded and its paws tapered into human fingers. It unfolded gracefully to stand upright, its snout retreating into a full, familiar mouth set in a grim line. And then it was Cliff standing there. A tall, stark-naked Cliff, gleaming with sweat, panting from the run. Only the eyes were the same.
She took a step backwards, astonished. She wasn’t afraid anymore for some reason. She should be scared witless, but all she felt was a sense of wonder.
“Stop!” he barked at her. He moved so fast that he was on her before she’d realized he was running, and he grabbed her roughly and pressed her up against a tree. One hand tangled in her hair, tipping her head back up to look at him.
“Wait.” It came out in a growl.
His body was hot and hard against hers, and she could feel the rigid length of his erection against her hip. The awareness of it made things clench low in her body, and she knew that her breathing was shallow and her heartbeat too fast. Cliff’s pupils were dilated, huge with desire in those beautiful golden-brown eyes. Taylor ached for him.
“Wait,” he said again. She could hear the low tremble in his voice as he fought for control, feel the tension in his body.
“Wait for what?” She was panting with arousal, her mind clouded with the frantic need to pull him to her, to feel him plunging deep inside her.
And then his mouth was on hers. It was fierce and hungry and unrestrained, and he gave a harsh groan as his hands slid down her spine and over her ass, yanking her hard against him so his heavy cock pressed against the soft curve of her belly. She snatched a breath and wrapped her arms around his strong neck, clinging to him helplessly as he devoured her with greedy kisses.
In the distance, she heard a howl. It sounded like a howl of anger.
Cliff jerked away from her suddenly. He stifled a groan. “Too rough…” he muttered.
“What?”
His eyes were wild. His pupils were wrong somehow. She thought she saw his face ripple, as if the bones were struggling to reshape themselves.
“You think…you’re human… I’m being too rough… I can’t control…” He staggered back a step.
She forced herself back to reality. She was in the woods with a werewolf. Right outside a town full of werewolves. She was being held prisoner.
Just like when she was little, when her father flew into his rages and locked her and her mother in their room.
She scrabbled in her pocket and pulled out the canister of pepper spray she’d tucked in there that morning. She shoved him off her, pepper-sprayed his face, and ran blindly. Every cell in her body was screaming at her to go back. Cliff. She wanted him. Needed him. She—
An upturned root hooked her ankle, and she went sprawling, barely stifling a cry of pain.
As she slowly climbed back to her feet, she heard that leaf-crunching again – this time, through a thick wall of underbrush.
She crouched down and peered through a tiny gap in the brush. Cliff, in human form, was loping through a clearing between the towering pines – when suddenly a white wolf leaped over a fallen tree trunk and blocked his path. It was a much smaller wolf than Cliff’s had been, and somehow Taylor knew it was a female.
Something flared inside her – something deep and primal. She didn’t want the female to be near Cliff.
As she watched, the white wolf shuddered and shook itself – and turned into Shelley. Naked, and standing next to Cliff. Who was also naked.
Shelley.
So that was how Shelley knew Cliff, Taylor thought, with a sharp sting of hurt. She practically lived with him.
Shelley slowly started walking towards Cliff.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Cliff snapped at her.
Shelley flashed him a hurt look. “Cliff, honey, I came as soon as I heard. She tried to escape, Cliff! She wants to leave our property and tell everyone about us. She’s a danger to us all.”
Taylor only focused on one word. Honey?
Cliff’s lips curled back in a snarl.. “I did not invite you to be here today. It’s nowhere near the full moon. You should be in town, or at work.”
“Okay, sweetheart, whatever you say.” Shelley put extra emphasis on the word sweetheart, and a smirk curled her lips. Taylor thought she saw Shelley’s gaze flick to the wall of underbrush that she was hiding behind. “I was just trying to help. When I heard that she was brought here today, I wanted to come and warn you about her. You don’t know her like I do. She’s mentally unstable. She put her poor ex-boyfriend through hell with all kinds of false accusations. Almost got him fired.”
False? Taylor thought furiously. He threw me against a wall!
“She bruised herself,” Shelly continued. “To frame him. I’ve seen her do it. I know she puts on a good front, but remember, I’ve worked with her every day for the past year. You just met her yesterday.”
“Bullshit.” A short, angry bark.
“She’s trying to escape and you’re actually trying to bring her back? Why waste your time? The Elders already took a vote and forbade the mating ceremony. I heard.” Shelley’s nasal whine made Taylor want to stab her. And somehow, hearing that she was forbidden to be with Cliff filled her with anger. Completely irrational anger. After all, she was trying to escape him. And he was a werewolf. Of course she couldn’t be with him. But what the hell was a mating ceremony? And why did it sound so incredibly sexy?
“They didn’t forbid it. They said it would have to wait until after the Alpha Trials,” Cliff growled at Shelley. He took a step back, and when she tried to follow him, he froze her on the spot with a ferocious glare.
“But, Cliff, baby…the Elders are going to be looking over everything you do. I’d make a much better choice of Alpha’s mate. She’s not just an unknown, she’s a danger. You and me were so good together, and—”“
Taylor couldn’t help herself. She sucked in a gasp of dismay.
Cliff glanced over at her hiding spot. “Taylor? Come out here! Now!”
Taylor considered ignoring him and just trying to make a run for it, but she saw James loping through the woods, heading her way. Cliff, James, Shelley…she’d never outrun them all. Hell, she probably couldn’t outrun any one of them.
Reluctantly, she pushed her way through the underbrush and walked over to Cliff, standing a good distance back from him.
“Don’t touch me,” she said bitterly. “Ever.”
A gloating smile of triumph spread across Shelley’s face. Yep, she’d known that Taylor was there and that entire conversation had been for ‘her benefit. Taylor felt sick to her stomach. Images of Shelley and Cliff flashed through her mind, and she desperately pushed them aside.
Then Shelley saw James bearing down on them, and a look of alarm flashed over her face. She took a few steps backward. “We’ll talk more later, when we can be alone,” she told Cliff, speaking quickly and shooting a nervous glance at James before looking at Cliff again. “Just remember – the future of our pack and maybe our species depends on you making the right decision. Selecting her over me will cost you everything.”
“Enough!” Cliff bellowed as James came to a stop at his side.
Shelley turned and started to jog off, and he shouted, “Get back here, now!”
She stopped and stood still, shoulders slumping.
“Turn around and walk back here.”
She did, walking slowly. Her expression had gone from pleading to angry and sullen.
“James,” Cliff said. “Compel her.”
All of a sudden, Taylor had the oddest sensation. She felt waves of power flowing through the air. They pulsed through her and made her dizzy. Cliff quickly moved next to her and put his arm around her waist, and despite everything – despite how angry she was right now – she felt that familiar throb of attraction.
“Ask her when we were last together,” Cliff ordered James.
“Say it,” James said to her. “When were you and Cliff last together?”
“Five years ago.” Shelley was panting, and her pupils were huge. Her face had gone as white as a sheet, and beads of sweat popped up on her forehead.
“How many times were we together?”
Shelley gritted her teeth and stifled a whimper. She frantically shook her head.
“Answer him!” James barked at her.
“Twice!” she groaned. She was clearly struggling not to answer, but somehow, James was forcing her.
“What did I tell you before we had sex?” Cliff demanded.
“You said we…you said we…”
James glared at her. “Answer.”
“You said…you said…that it if I wanted to do it with you, I had to understand it would just be a casual thing and you…you doubted it would happen again and…it would never lead anywhere and…I definitely wasn’t your mate…” Shelley looked at Taylor with pure hatred in her eyes.
“And why, four years ago, did I finally tell you to move off pack property except for full moons?”
Tears of humiliation glittered in Shelley’s eyes. “I won’t…”
“Answer. Him. Now,” James gritted out.
“Because I wouldn’t stop stalking you and following you around and harassing you, even after you told me not to! And because I sneaked into your bed and took all my clothes off and waited for you! And I tried to kill one of the other girls you were sleeping with!” It came out in a furious whine. Now, black, mascara-stained rivers of tears were running down Shelley’s face. She was bright red with embarrassment.
“Leave the property immediately and go back to your house.” Cliff ground the words out, his eyes blazing with anger. “Do not come back until the day of the full moon. And stay away from both me and Taylor when you’re here. You will be on the far east side of the property when you shift, and we will be on the west.”
“Cliff!” Shelley wailed. She turned and started to storm off.
“Shelley?” Cliff called after her.
She spun around. “Yes?” she said eagerly, eyes shining with hope.
“If you ever call me honey, babe, or sweetheart again, I’ll have you banned from the pack for good.”
“You motherfucker,” Shelley spat. She started to walk off, but turned and glared at Taylor. “You whore! He’s mine!” she screamed. “I’m the Alpha’s mate, not you!”
Before Cliff could say anything else, she shifted back into her wolf form and ran for her life.