chapter seventeen
“Your eye!” Kallie dropped her towel beside a head of lettuce when Wolfrik surprised her in the garden.
A grin lit up his face when she reacted with the concern he’d hoped for.
She jumped up and hurried to him, as though her leg would stop her if she took too long. When she winced, Wolfrik wasn’t sure if it was at seeing his black eye or having put too much weight on her bad foot. He reached out and drew her against him, his heart clenching at the thought of her falling. She gripped his arm in one hand and cupped the bruised side of his face with the other.
“Who did this?” she demanded with a snarl.
Wolfrik’s smile widened. “Raider.”
“Raider?” Kallie repeated in a voice of disbelief. The sharp lines on her face smoothed over.
“He told me to stay away from you.”
“Why would he—oh.” Her mouth gaped open.
“Oh?” Wolfrik leaned his chest back to study her face.
Kallie scowled. “That must have been what Palmer was talking to him about before he left the den. I saw the two of them speaking together before the den mates departed. They kept looking at me.”
Wolfrik frowned. “Palmer kept a close eye on you. Why?”
Kallie hunched her shoulders and wrinkled her nose.
“Kallie?” Wolfrik coaxed.
She groaned and tried to pull out of his arms, but Wolfrik held on. He wouldn’t let her get away that easily.
“He wanted to hump you, didn’t he?”
The old horndog. No wonder he’d thrown a fit when he found them together at the cabin.
Kallie scowled.
“He wanted more than that. He wanted me as his third mate.”
Wolfrik released her, his jaw tightening.
“And? What did you tell him?”
“No—lots of times,” Kallie said with exasperation. She tucked her hair behind her ears and shook her head. “But he wouldn’t listen.”
Ever so slowly, Wolfrik folded his arms across his chest.
“So you made him listen.”
Her eyes snapped up to his. Understanding dawned on him like a new day lighting up the hidden truths he’d missed in the heat of the moment. Oh, yes, it all made sense now. The minx had lured him to the cabin, knowing Palmer would show up and hear them together. The look of shock and outrage on the elder’s face when he stormed in had been palpable. Wolfrik felt the familiar look coming over his own face.
“Palmer expected to meet you at the cabin, didn’t he? You made some kind of arrangement with him first. You—used me.”
Darkness seeped into his vision, cloaking him in bitter realization and blotting Kallie from view.
“You’re right,” she said. “I arranged for Palmer to meet me at the cabin. I wanted him to find us together so he would back off. But that’s not the only reason I asked you there. I wanted to be with you—with or without Palmer around.”
Wolfrik didn’t want to hear it. He turned away from her. She reached for him, and he stepped away. Kallie sighed.
“Before the cabin, I tried, Wolfrik. I wanted Palmer off my back so I could try again.” A smile wavered over her lips. “You’re worth the effort.”
Wolfrik snorted in amusement before he could stop himself. He loosened his arms and let them drop to his sides.
Kallie straightened her spine. “I made myself clear to Palmer, and Raider should have never butt in. He had no right. I can’t believe he struck you.” She squinted at Wolfrik. “Was he defending himself?”
Wolfrik grunted. “The bastard took me by surprise.”
Kallie gaped at him. “Raider hit you first?”
He frowned and nodded.
“And you didn’t see it coming?”
“Never dreamed he had it in him to start a fight. I guess he’s not as tolerant as he’d like the rest of the pack to believe. We all know I’m capable of aggression, but I truly thought Raider was above all that.” Wolfrik couldn’t help enjoying the look of disgust on Kallie’s face as she wrinkled her nose.
She chewed on her bottom lip. “I’m sorry you had to take a blow to the face on my account.”
Wolfrik puffed up his chest. “I’ve taken way worse for no good reason. At least I got the satisfaction of telling Raider to mind his own damn business.”
“You didn’t fight him back?” Kallie shot him a skeptical look.
“Sasha intervened.”
“Oh.” Kallie frowned.
The look of jealously on Kallie’s face almost made up for the way she’d used him against Palmer. No wonder the elder hadn’t voted for him to become a council member. It all made a lot more sense now.
At least Wolfrik had the satisfaction of knowing that Kallie didn’t willingly bend over for any male, no matter how persistent. Instead, she’d opened herself up fearlessly to Wolfrik, not backing down even after he’d given her half a dozen reasons to steer clear.
Who knew it could be so satisfying to be pursued by a female?
He jutted his chin.
“How about we go for a run together? The garden will still be here when we get back.”
“Okay?” Kallie formed her response as a question, as though asking if things were still right between them.
Wolfrik left it hanging in the air. Running always cleared his head. He figured they could both use the break. He was already naked, which put him in the pleasing position of watching Kallie pull her dress up. He took in every inch of bare skin as the fabric brushed over her thighs, then hips, followed by her breasts, neck, and head.
Running his tongue over his teeth, Wolfrik gave a growl of approval. If she could use him, he had every right to do the same. “On second thought, why don’t I bend you over that fallen log?” He nodded to a slanted trunk propped up by a living tree outside the garden.
Kallie’s lips formed a pout he would have liked to kiss. “You promised my wolf a run.” She glanced at the riot of small red tomatoes that reached her shoulders. “I’ve been cooped up and crouched over this garden most of the day.”
“Very well, Kallie. We’ll run—for now. Just remember I can catch you anytime I want.”
“How could I forget?” Kallie asked pertly, causing Wolfrik’s groin to tighten.
Time to shift.
They walked out of the garden to shift then took off around the den’s surrounding woods, leaping over fallen logs as they flashed through the trees. Wolfrik slowed his pace to stay in sync with Kallie. This wasn’t a race, and his wolf already had plenty of exercise running back from the caves. Having a female running beside him filled an ache in his chest, making his wolf experience a long-lost sense of contentment.
He brushed up along Kallie’s side, his fur ruffling hers, and yipped. Kallie stopped, and Wolfrik skidded then whipped around. She blinked at him. He yipped again and crouched on his front legs, butt in the air, tail wagging.
Kallie gave a patient sniff.
Wolfrik jumped up and ran around her while she watched. As he made his fourth lap, she shot out, knocked him on his side, and pounced as he rolled onto his back. His legs flailed in the air, like a beetle on his back, while Kallie stood over him, giving the wolf equivalent of a triumphant smile. She jumped aside as Wolfrik twisted his body around and righted himself.
He crouched, tail wagging, and yipped again. Kallie blinked and looked away.
Wolfrik ran at her playfully, only to be flipped on his back a second time. He let her, of course. Kallie was giving in to his persistence and playing with him. She really seemed to like knocking him over and jumping on top. This time, she nipped his shoulder, but not hard enough to pierce skin, then took off running with Wolfrik in hot pursuit.
They didn’t have far to run before steep, jagged mountains blocked their path. The wall of rock went on for miles. The den’s location had been chosen for this reason. The terrain was too treacherous to tempt intruders into entering the hollow from any of the eastern directions.
Kallie lifted her snout, looking at the mountain. She turned and walked toward the forest, but didn’t make it far before Wolfrik jumped into her path and slunk up toward her.
Kallie issued a warning growl as he approached. Wolfrik stopped and met her eye, his lips curling in a suggestive smile.
His wolf hadn’t mated in three years and was getting rather insistent he didn’t wait a day, or even a minute, longer.
He jumped onto Kallie’s back and gripped her with his front paws, tightening his hold once they were joined. His lower body thumped against her, seeking deeper entry. More. More. Mine.
He lost track of how long he kept at it. He felt like he could stay inside her for days, pulsing at her back.
She was his female.
His to mate and protect until the day they joined their spirit pack in the Forest of the Ancestors.
He knew these things without thinking them. His human side would have fled from such thoughts, but his wolf’s senses were strong and unpolluted by mankind’s useless sentiments.
They weren’t yet finished when an avalanche of rocks tumbled and scraped down the mountainside.
Wolfrik and Kallie sprang apart. Wolfrik had barely landed on all four paws before growls erupted from deep in his throat. He aimed his nose at the top of the mountain where two black wolves stood looking down with yellow eyes that seemed to glow from their dark faces. At first glance, he’d thought they were vulhena because of their midnight forms, but it appeared that they were regular wolves.
The intruders didn’t screech nor snarl, even as Wolfrik’s beastly growls threatened to start a much larger landslide.
This territory is spoken for, his snarls communicated.
More importantly, the female was his.
Wolfrik’s snarl shot up the jagged mountainside.
Leave before I rip out your throats.
The two wolves glanced at one another before backing away until they were out of sight.
Wolfrik continued growling at the ledge, half tempted to bound up the mountain like a mountain goat and chase the black wolves until they were fifty miles from the hollow’s border. But he wasn’t a mountain goat, and it would mean leaving his female alone.
It wasn’t until Kallie nudged him that he stopped growling and followed her into the forest. He let her take the lead, craning his head to look behind them regularly.
The den was still deserted when they reached the clearing. Kallie shifted outside her shelter and crawled inside, reemerging moments later in her yellow dress. By that time, Wolfrik had shifted and stood outside, thumping the earth with a shaky foot.
“I didn’t like the look of those wolves.” He reached out a hand and helped Kallie up.
“Me neither,” she said with a shake of her head. “But I think they got your message.”
“Maybe.” He frowned.
Wolfrik’s eyes searched the quiet clearing. He didn’t see it as a place of tranquility, but one of danger—separated from the glade and its surrounding patrols. Their den mates had left it unguarded and open to attack if any predators managed to sneak in at an opportune moment.
“I don’t want you in the den alone—ever. I’ll inform the council of my decision.”
Kallie raised her brows. “Doesn’t the council have to take a vote?”
“Your safety is not something to vote on.”
Her lips parted, and she stared at him with a look of surprise and longing.
Wolfrik coughed, discomfort settling into his shoulders now that they were back in human form. She may have used him, but she was no tease, nor a liar. In her gaze he saw genuine affection, and it eased the darkness in his soul.
“I’m going to the glade, and you’re coming with me.” He took Kallie’s hand, lacing her fingers in his. Her skin warmed his. Her firm grip quelled the uncertainty in his gut. Despite her injury, Kallie was strong, self-assured, and fearless.
His wolf wanted her as his mate—to stop dicking around and claim his female.
The damn animal had a mind of his own.
Yeah, easier to blame the beast than to admit he was developing strong feelings for the feisty beauty beside him.
He wanted to go back in time and kill the vulhena who had attacked her. Hell, he wanted to go back further and prevent the attack altogether.
She wouldn’t have wanted you then, an ugly voice jabbed into his mind. Her options weren’t limited before her injury. And it’s not as though a pack of frenzied females were after you, especially not after your return.
I’m a fucking pureblood, he snarled back, lips curling in anger.
You’re a dying breed, and everyone knows it.
Once they reached the glade, Wolfrik steered Kallie to a stump and inclined his head for her to sit. Maureen stood ten feet away, stacking clean bowls for the coming dinner.
“I’ll be back soon,” Wolfrik said. “Don’t go anywhere alone.”
Kallie gave him a peculiar look but nodded her consent.
It didn’t take long to find Sasha, who kept to the woods surrounding the glade waiting for the return of her mate.
She frowned when Wolfrik told her about the two black wolves.
“Hopefully they were just passing through. The last thing we need right now is a territorial war and a fight on both sides of the hollow. You don’t need to worry about Kallie being alone in the den. I’ll see to it that we have at least one patrol team there at all times. We need to cover all areas. Unfortunately, each team will have a lot more ground to cover since we’re already spread thin.”
Wolfrik nodded.
Sasha stared at his bruised eye. “Wolfrik,” she said slowly and paused. “Raider told me about his conversation with you.”
Wolfrik lifted his chest and folded his arms. “Did he now?”
She pursed her lips. “You know I don’t like getting involved in personal matters, but as a friend, I would warn you to proceed with caution.”
“Why? Because Raider treats Kallie like a pack sister who needs his protection?”
Sasha sighed and pulled at her hair, a nervous gesture unlike her. Wolfrik’s frown deepened.
“No,” she said, “because Kallie was once in love with Raider, and I don’t want you getting hurt.”
His breath caught in his throat like a cloud on a windless day. All his organs and the blood in his veins froze. Then, all at once, his body functions took off at a gallop. “You’re telling me she had a thing for that dickhead?”
Sasha huffed in frustration. “He’s not a dickhead.”
“Looks like one. Sounds like one. Acts like one.”
Sasha rolled her eyes and shook her head.
Wolfrik unfolded his arms and held them open. “What?”
“Who sounds like one now?” she asked.
“He bugs me.”
“He voted you on council,” Sasha fired back.
Wolfrik smirked. “I bet he’s regretting that decision.”
Sasha shrugged. “If he feels a responsibility to look out for Kallie, that’s his business, but I think she’s more than capable of handling herself—with or without her injury. As I said, my concern is for you.”
“Well, it’s nice to have someone in my corner,” Wolfrik grumbled.
“Always.”
The conviction in Sasha’s tone enfolded the area around Wolfrik’s heart like a warm cocoon. He could behave like a total ass, and she’d still have his back. They’d been lovers, but he no longer thought of her that way. She was more than a friend, and as dear as family. He was glad they were together again. He didn’t need Sasha for a mate; it was enough to have her in his life. That she cared about his well-being meant so much.
Wolfrik grunted. Deep emotions aside, he wasn’t going to turn this into a sappy hug-fest. “Thanks for the warning.” His throat tightened on the words. He didn’t feel particularly grateful. He felt put out.
First, he’d found out the truth about Kallie using him to get Palmer off her back, now this. How could Kallie have had feelings for the ape?
You really have to ask yourself that? a little voice taunted inside his head. If she can have feelings for a maniac like you, then why not an upstanding packmate like Raider?
Wolfrik had simply been a consolation prize. A convenient fuck. She’d all but warned him from the start.
Dark clouds threatened to close in around him again. They seemed to always be there on the edges, waiting to storm in.
Wolfrik knew better than to form an attachment, but somewhere along the way he’d started to care for her. Love—
No. Fuck love! That star had winked out and died three years ago. He needed to stick to the basics: hunting, feeding, and fucking.
The muscles in Wolfrik’s arms tightened, and his jaw ached from the pressure of his teeth mashed together.
Sasha’s brows drew together. “Will you be okay?” she asked.
“I’ve always been able to take care of myself, haven’t I?” He didn’t mean to snap. He just had to get away—away from Sasha and from Kallie waiting for him in the glade. He stormed across the forest floor. “I’m going to make sure Aden caught up to Sparrow.”
“What do you mean?” Sasha asked.
Wolfrik kept walking, and she had to jog after him.
“She made a run for it earlier.”
“And you left Aden alone to find her?” Sasha demanded.
Wolfrik didn’t stop or slow his pace. “He can handle it, trust me.”
“I’m sure he can but—” Sasha stopped jogging and sighed loudly. “Just be safe.”
Wolfrik thundered through the woods, waiting until he was sure Sasha was far behind to shift. Then he raced for the river caves, having already decided that he would spend the night there. Hopefully Sparrow had learned her lesson and wouldn’t tempt him into killing her before morning dawned.
Kallie sat, staring into the treetops in a daze. Her wolf had mated with Wolfrik’s and recognized in him the male she wished to claim. Then he’d taken her hand and told her he intended to protect her.
Kallie rocked gently in place, giddy as she waited for Wolfrik’s return.
She’d never intended to fall for him, but now she couldn’t imagine her life without him as her mate.
“It’s nice to see you smile.” Maureen’s voice pulled Kallie out of her daze.
She felt her cheeks warm, not out of embarrassment, but genuine happiness.
“I think the way Wolfrik acts around you is so romantic,” Maureen continued. She sighed wistfully, her lashes fluttering. After a deep breath, her gaze drifted back to Kallie. “I know he acts tough around the rest of the pack, but he softens when he’s near you. I can see him as the protective, caring type when it comes to his mate.”
“We’re not—” Kallie didn’t know how to finish her sentence.
Maureen lifted her chest and chin. “You two are good together, and I think things will work out for the best.” She glanced side to side and lowered her voice. “Wolfrik and Sasha always reminded me more of brother and sister.”
Kallie felt the smile in every crevice of her face. Maureen smiled back then returned to the cauldron, busying herself with the final dinner preparations.
Kallie tapped her good foot against the soft earth. The wild grasses in the glade were kept tamped down by the constant activity around the gathering space. The tufts of flattened grass tickled the bottom of her foot.
She inhaled the scent of the vegetables she’d spent the past few weeks tending to and harvested earlier that day. It wafted into one scrumptious melody that spread across the glade in beckoning.
The moon drifted like a cloud over the blue sky, darkening a little quicker since the passing of summer solstice. The moon had filled out like an expectant mother’s belly. Soon it would be the full moon. Kallie’s stomach warmed.
It was too soon to hope for a claiming—a child, but the possibility had grown like a seed inside her and blossomed the more time she spent with Wolfrik.
Howls went up in the distance and moved like a wave across the hollow. A wolf streaked across the glade, running north. A pack member had returned. Kallie’s human ears recognized basic wolf cries, but not the details.
“Must be Tabor or Ford,” Maureen said, stirring the stew inside the cauldron.
It turned out to be Tabor. He and Sasha walked into the glade. Maureen spooned stew into a bowl and handed it to Tabor, even though the dinner gong had not yet sounded. He and Sasha sat on a log where he ate slowly, speaking to her between bites.
Kallie scratched her nose then her cheek and looked around the clearing, wondering when Wolfrik would return. If Sasha had left the council meeting, they would have to disperse, wouldn’t they?
The longer Kallie sat, the more her body stiffened. She extended her legs and tilted her head from one side to the other, stretching her neck. She laced and unlaced her fingers, unease taking the space inside her stomach where butterflies had fluttered earlier.
She got up, feeling her muscles groan. Kallie looked around the clearing and forced a smile to her lips as she headed over to Tabor and Sasha. Her limp, which seemed to fade away around Wolfrik, became more pronounced with each step. She gave up the smile to grind her teeth and get through the pain shooting up her leg.
“You delivered Elsie safely?” she asked when she’d made it to Tabor.
He set his half-empty bowl of stew in his lap and nodded. “She wasn’t happy to be back at Balmar Heights, but it’s for the best until the threat has passed.”
“So, she’ll come back once it is?”
“I hope so,” Tabor said.
“Me too. I miss her.” And Kallie knew what was at stake for Elsie if she didn’t claim a mate soon. She shuddered at the thought.
Tabor ran a hand through his hair and pursed his lips. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I hope the humans hurry up and get here. The sooner we take them down, the sooner we can get back to normal.”
Sasha nodded. “We’re cancelling another full moon celebration. The hollow appears to be jinxed this summer.”
Tabor sucked in a breath. “Don’t say that. This summer was moon-blessed and the happiest I’ve ever known. It gave me a strong, wise, and sexy mate, and a sister.” His eyes shone as he stared lovingly at Sasha.
She smiled. “You’re right. Besides, our struggles make us stronger and bring with them gifts where least expected.”
Kallie backed slowly away, feeling intrusive as Tabor’s and Sasha’s gazes turned to longing. The two recently mated shifters had been apart for several nights. By the time she limped back to her log and sat back down, Tabor and Sasha had disappeared. Even if Kallie hadn’t felt a duty to keep up the garden while the den mates were away, she wouldn’t have wanted to visit Tabor’s cabin to do more reading—not at the risk of walking in on him and Sasha.
Maureen picked Tabor’s bowl off the ground and set it inside an empty basket then went to the gong and struck it with the mallet. The sound rang out across the forest and Kallie’s soul.
Where was Wolfrik? He said he’d be back.
Shifters began arriving in pairs, lining up at the cauldron. When Raider strutted into the glade with Jordan, Kallie scowled. Had he said or done something to delay Wolfrik? She still couldn’t believe Raider had punched Wolfrik, especially after everything he’d been through. Other than a swollen lip, Raider didn’t have a bruise on him, which made her want to punch him on Wolfrik’s behalf.
Jordan led her mate to the line. He stepped behind her, wrapped his big arms around her waist, and pulled her against him. Jordan’s giggle soured Kallie’s appetite. Palmer’s daughters were the biggest flirts in the hollow with the exception of Sydney, who turned out to be a psychopath. Jordan had gotten worse since claiming Raider. She’d quit drinking Jager’s brew now that she was drunk on love.
Zadie and Heath, and Jolene and Alec arrived. Her fingers curled into fists. What was taking Wolfrik so long? Obviously council wasn’t in session and hadn’t been for some time. Even Sasha and Tabor returned, grinning from ear to ear and ogling one another happily.
Kallie waited as each shifter dished up until everyone had been served a bowl of stew. She waited while shifters went up for seconds. Her heart fell as Heath, Alec, Zadie, Nudara, Lacy, and Jolene headed to the eastern trail with their drums and laughter.
Once again, Wolfrik had left her waiting, and she had no idea why.