Chapter 18

When Shay arrived back at her cabin, she felt a sense of warmth and happiness run through her. She was finally rebuilding her life. Greyson Falls was beginning to feel like home to her. Something that had been a void in her life for over a year. She didn’t know exactly what it was with Jaxson, but she felt a sense of belonging and protection every time she was with him. She loved that feeling. Something she had never experienced with Kane even during their good times. In the end, she only knew angst and pain with him. Walking on eggshells in an effort to make sure not to upset or get a backhand for looking at him the wrong way.

She had made sure to stop by Sue’s house after she took her shower and let her know she had to cancel. Sue didn’t give her much trouble about it, especially when Shay let it slip that she was going to see Jaxson that night instead. Sue just gave her a knowing look and then laughed when Shay blushed. Sue wished her a good night and said she looked forward to their dinner next week.

Shay had promised her that she would make it up to her with a special meal. She would cook her favorite dish, Chicken Kiev. What she didn’t tell Sue was that Jaxson would be joining them. She wanted to surprise the two of them. Hopefully, it would be a good surprise for both.

Shay still had more than an hour before she had to be at Jaxson’s. She wanted to pick up a nice bottle of wine for supper. She thought it was the least she could do since the man was going to the trouble of making her a special dinner. But, she didn’t want to get hot and sweaty from the walk to and from the store.

Sue had always said that Shay could borrow her truck whenever she needed it. So she went over and knocked on her door. Sue gladly gave Shay the keys. It was an old beat up Chevy that had seen better days. But the air conditioner still worked, and it sure beat walking in the humidity. She made it to town in no time and took a few minutes picking out a nice wine for dinner. She wasn’t sure what Jaxson was going to prepare, but she thought she would be safe with red. So she picked out a nice light table blend.

She dropped the keys back of at Sue’s and thanked her for the ride. Sue told her she could keep it for the night, but Shay declined to say that she preferred to walk. She bid her goodnight and headed back to her cabin to gather her things.

She checked the clock above the mantle and realized, it was already going on 7:00 pm. Walking the trail to Jaxson’s only took her about twenty minutes if she followed the river and then took the path through the forest that held the small covered path. If she left, now she would get there on time.

She checked herself in the mirror one last time. She wore a simple jean skirt, white t-shirt and a pair of flats. She couldn’t wear her sexy heels on the trail and not risk twisting an ankle, so the flats would have to do. She decided to keep her hair down as she left the cottage and headed for the trail. She carried the bottle of wine in a little shoulder bag as she walked the trail.

She had finally reached the river and turned to follow the path that headed through the woods. If you didn’t already know the path was there, you would walk right by it because it was hidden behind some brush. She had discovered the shortcut on one of her many morning runs. She walked for a few minutes, and all she could think about was spending the rest of the evening with Jaxson. Lost in her daydream, she didn’t hear the footsteps that followed behind her. But, then she heard a ‘crack’ of a twig breaking. The sound broke her out of her thoughts, and she paused to see if it was just a deer.

She was fine until she heard a growl coming from the left of her, deeper in the woods. Panic instantly rose in her stomach as she recognized the sound of a wolf. She looked around the thick treed area trying to spot the animal but couldn’t see through the dense brush. She took a few steps further down the path, listening intently. She had maybe gone five steps when she heard the growl again, but this time it was much closer.

Images of her recent nightmare flashed through her mind, and her panic turned into full-fledged terror. She didn’t waste any time trying to determine if she was being hunted. She just bolted. Her feet stumbled across the rough terrain as she launched herself towards the woods, her eyes frantically scanning the greenery around her.

Her heart was pounding as she made her way deeper into the forest. The snap of branches under her feet seemed too loud in the desolate surroundings. Tree limbs stretched over her head, acting as a cage against the outside world; the birds had long since scattered at the first sign of trouble. She was completely and utterly alone. There was nothing but her and the animal. She stopped for a second to catch her breath and to listen to see if it was still after her. She was off the trail and didn’t know where she was. The sound of her racing heart seemed to fill the emptiness around her and a lump formed in her throat. Glancing back over her shoulder, the trees obscured the path she had taken.

She knew she couldn’t stay here. Shakily, she pressed onwards. Her movements were unsteady as she moved further and further and into the mass of trees until gradually, after what had seemed like a lifetime, they began to clear, and she came across a small clearing. It was eerily reminiscent of the clearing from her dream.

Hearing laughter through the trees, she tripped and struggled to stand up; her eyes looking everywhere for the source. She needed to get out of there NOW.

She stepped one way only to have the sounds of boots trudging on uneven terrain blocking her. Moving again the sound of snarls echoed so close. She was being herded, and she had no idea which way to go. The hair on the back of her neck stood up, and she realized that whoever it was, was right behind her.

A desperate and defeated sob caught in her chest as she slowly turned towards the intense gaze aimed at the back of her head. Amber eyes seemed to glow in the murkiness, and as her eyes met his, a slow grin emerged revealing sharp canines. She'd walked right into the trap as he pounced on her.

**

The fogginess of the stale air disorientated Jaxson’s senses as he closed his eyes and tried to differentiate the various scents around him. It was already going on 8:00 pm and his senses were going off like firecrackers.

He hadn’t panicked when Shay had been late. He had still been preparing dinner at 7:15pm, so he just figured she was taking her time getting ready for him. That put a smile on his face. He busied himself with the rest of dinner prep and getting the table set. By 7:30, the worry started to creep in. He tried her cellphone, but it went straight to voice mail. It wasn’t like Shay to be this late for anything. By 7:45 pm, he bypassed worry and went straight to fear.

He stepped out onto the porch to see if he could see any sign of her, but there was nothing. The air seemed to crackle with restless energy. Something didn’t feel right. He kicked off his boots and stripped right there on the porch. He shifted in midair and took off toward Shay’s cabin.

It only took him ten minutes to get to Shay’s cabin and realize she wasn’t there. He hadn’t seen any sign of her on the main path to his house either. He sniffed around until he picked up her freshest scent and followed it down toward the river. He raced along the forest floor, his giant paws turning up the soft dirt as he followed her scent.

He had been travelling at such a high right of speed; he missed the turn into the forest. He skidded to a stop when he realized the scent had gone cold. He backtracked until he picked it up again. Concern marred his features when he realized she had taken the hidden shortcut that led deeper into the woods. He hadn’t realized that she even knew of the trail. She probably had just stumbled on it on one of her morning runs he thought. But what she couldn’t have known was that it ran along the property line between his land and the Hanover’s.

Thoughts of their conversation that afternoon filled his head. He hadn’t listened to George about Jake all those years ago and hadn’t wanted to listen to Shay about him that morning either. But something about what Shay said had made sense. It had stuck with him all day. And now that he realized she was headed in Jake’s direction, he could feel trepidation flood his body. His blood ran cold after he heard the first scream.

It was Shay.

He took off in the direction of the scream, crashing through the brush trampling everything in his path. He paid no attention to the thorns and limbs that tore chunks of his fur and ripped his skin. His only thoughts were getting to Shay. He listened as he ran, but no more screams pierced the night. He didn’t know if that was a good thing. He tried not to think about why she wasn’t screaming, instead focusing on picking up her scent again.

He flared his nostrils and inhaled deeply. His eyes snapped open as they locked on an area to the right. Allowing his wolf senses to take over, he ran through the trees and towards the source of the smell. Branches shook in his wake as he bolted past grass and rock under his paws and he threw himself forwards before skidding to a stop. He had lost it again.

He rammed a small rotted tree over in his frustration. He paced the forest floor sniffing for any kind of sign of her, but there was none. He huffed in irritation before he shifted back into human form. What he needed now was human logic. He couldn’t get Jillian out of his head or the day when he’d finally discovered her body. How he had found her that day. Beaten and bloody, with her head, snapped. All he could hope was to find Shay in one piece and alive.

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and tried to calm down. He could faintly smell Jake’s scent. The werewolf wasn't stupid, mad but not stupid; he knew how to manipulate his scent. He knew how to cover his tracks if he didn't want to be found. He also knew how to manipulate others scents as well. Jaxson needed to try and outsmart him; to think of what he may have missed.

Continuing to breathe deeply, he ignored the various scents pulling him in different directions and tried to focus. As the answer suddenly came to him, a victorious smile lit up his face. Jake may have covered his own odor, but he hadn't been able to completely mask Shay's.

He shifted back into wolf form for the heightened sense of smell and quickly zeroed in on her scent again. It was faint, and a bit distorted, but his connection with her allowed him to decipher between the scents and focus on her scent only. The bond they shared ran deep. He allowed it to take over as he tried to get a fix on her location. Fear and panic nearly suffocated him as he took in her emotions and tried to use them to aid his werewolf abilities. The other traces in the air fought for his attention, but he pushed onwards, allowing the basic need to find her to take over.

He took off in the direction of the new scent, confident that he would find her. After a few moments, his senses snapped to attention as an alluring fragrance overwhelmed him: Shay. She was close.

Plummeting towards her, his heart raced as the smell became more twisted and darker the closer he got. Terror gripped him as he burst through another line of trees to come to a clearing. It was the same clearing that Jillian had been attacked in. He pushed back the fear and dread that threatened to take over. Find Shay. That was the mantra that he said over and over in his head.

Then he finally spotted her, and his heart stopped in his chest. Shay was on her knees convulsing on the ground; her back arched as she shook violently, her eyelids fluttering.

His stomach dropped: she'd been bitten. That bastard! He mewled in frustration as he padded up to Shay. She was beyond his help now. There was nothing he could do but let the change happen and hope she survived it. He rubbed his muzzle over her, hoping to let her know that he was there with her. But, her eyes had rolled back into her head.

He heard maniacal laughter and realized Jake was still here. In his haste to get to Shay, he hadn’t noticed that Jake’s scent was still strong. Jake stepped out into the clearing on the other side of Shay. Jaxson snarled and circled around keeping his body between Jake’s and Shay’s.

Jake mirrored Jaxson’s movements as he slowly circled him. The start of a beard was forming on Jake’s face; his hair was wild and shaggy. Crazed amber eyes were locked on him, occasionally flickering, showing the thin line between his human and wolf states. His bared torso was dirty and crusted in mud while the loose fitted jeans that hung loosely on his hips were torn and his feet were bloodied and bare.

"What the fuck have you done Jake?!" Jaxson growled shifting back into human form.

He grinned exposing his sharp canines. The wolf was closer to the surface than he had originally thought. "Nothing she didn’t deserve!”

“Shay never did anything to you, Jake.”

Jake glared at Jaxson, barely clinging to sanity. “You Avery’s are all the fucking same. You all think you're so high and mighty; that you're all so special. But look at you now, Jaxson, look at what a 'paltry' wolf can do." He taunted as he looked back over at Shay’s helpless form.

"Jake, this has got nothing to do with her, and you fucking know it."

"But it has though hasn't it?!" He snarled. Claws sprung free in his outburst causing blood to leak down his fingers. Gritting his teeth, they retracted, his fingers continuing to be stained by the remaining wounds. Stretching his hands as they healed, he refocused on Jaxson. "After all of your prejudice against us; your father, my uncle, treating us like outsiders! My mother was his sister for Christ’s sake! We deserved more!"

"You know why my father did what he did! We never treated you as anything other than one of us. He did what he did, so your father couldn’t get control over our land. We all know he married Aunt Olivia to get his paws on what we have owned for centuries."

"It is OUR land! It is OUR right!" He screamed.

Jaxson shifted his stance as he kept Shay in his line of sight. Her fingernails scraped at the earth beneath her uselessly as she tried to find purchase against the clearly unbelievable pain coursing through her veins. She moaned softly as another wave of pain racked her body. Jaxson wished he could go to her, but he didn’t dare take his eyes off of Jake. He was barely in control of himself. "Why turn her Jake? Why put her through this? This doesn’t solve the issue. It only makes more trouble for you and your family. You know this is forbidden! You know what we’ll have to do!"

"Fuck the rules! And fuck you. You deserve to SUFFER!" His eyes shifted once more going completely amber, and Jaxson realized that it was now the wolf speaking to him. "And if she survives the change, I'm going to make you watch her die. I’m going to kill her…” he paused, “Just like I did to Jillian."

Jaxson was stunned into silence at Jake’s revelation. He dropped to his knees as if he’d been struck. Pain gripped his belly, and his head spun. It was true. The old man was telling the truth. “You fuck!” he roared as he bounded to his feet, his skin rippling with anger as he held back the change. “So, George was telling the truth all along.”

“Guess you should have listed to the old man.” Jake snickered.

“Why Jake? Why Jillian? She’d never done anything to you or to anyone. She was innocent and kind. Tell me why you did it. TELL ME!”

“She never should have ended up with you. That’s why. She was mine all along.”

Jake could see that he was beyond all reason. “You’re a fucking psychopath.”

“Oh, Jillian was fun. She tasted sweet too.” Jake sneered as he licked his lips. “She put up a good fight you know. I liked it when she struggled; it only made me have to have that much more. And I did have her cousin. Every last inch of her. And then I put my hands around her slender neck and watched the life drain from her eyes.” He said as he laughed wickedly.

With a growl, Jaxson launched himself at his cousin who was expecting the move. Jake easily deflected the move. His charge parred with an attack of his own catching Jaxson with a thunderous backhand. Jaxson barely felt the blow, too consumed with anger to care. He charged again. Arms strained as they became locked in a fierce battle. Bones were crushed, and ligaments were torn as they clawed and grabbed at each other. The wind whipped past them as their movements became quicker, sleeker as injuries healed and they adapted to each other's strategies. Time had no meaning as breaths became harsh and blood flew. Jaxson threw him to the ground and almost knocked him out when Jake’s head slammed against a tree stump.

Behind him, Shay screamed. It was a cry of pure agony, and it ripped at Jaxson’s heart. He turned and raced toward her, briefly forgetting about his cousin. Just as he was about to reach Shay's side, Jaxson felt the air shift behind him. The tread of feet closed in, and without a moment's hesitation, he turned and grabbed Jake’s body in mid-air. With a twist of his strong arms, Jaxson snapped his cousin's neck, killing him instantly. Jake’s lifeless body dropped to the earth’s floor; his eyes stared blankly ahead to some space off in the distance.

Jaxson ignored the pain and guilt at having to take his cousin’s life. He would deal with that aftermath later. But, right now Shay needed him. Diverting his eyes away from the body, he concentrated once more on Shay. She was lying prone in the dirt and wasn’t moving, her body no longer convulsing under the change. He feared the worst. Lowering to his knees, he was relieved when he saw the rise and fall of her chest. But it was short lived as he checked her pulse. It was erratic and faint, but at least it was there. His head dropped, and a pained groan escaped him. His voice was raw. "Shay, can you hear me?"

There was no response.

He leaned closer putting his mouth next to her ear. "Shay, please open your eyes baby. Please. I can't bear to lose you too." Still nothing. He stood and looked down into her pale face. She looked like a porcelain doll, so still. Too still. His thoughts went to all of the humans that had gone through the same process. The ones that had been bitten, only to never open their eyes again.

Because of this, his ancestors had forbidden any wolf in their territory to turn a human. And for a good reason. It was just too dangerous. Wolves could only be born, not created. That law had been in place for hundreds of years and had not been broken for decades.

Sickness churned in his stomach at the thought of never seeing her smile again, at never hearing the sound of her voice. He ran a hand over her clammy forehead, then down to stroke her cheek, silently urging her to wake up. As she lay absolutely still beneath his touch, another wave of agony swept over him as he realized that he had never had the chance to tell her how he felt.

"Please, come back to me." He whispered fervently.

Sweeping her up in his arms, he carried her away, running as fast as he could.