Return to Kadenburg (8 page)

It was true. That night had been a sickening wake up
call for her. She’d been so worried that she’d harmed the baby somehow, and
the guilt gnawed on her soul mercilessly as she cried herself to sleep. She
had been so confident that she could carry through with Breslin’s wishes. She
was so certain she could keep all of them drugged until Breslin’s plan became a
success; but that was all before she realized her niece –her own flesh and
blood-was with child.

Natalie had become the very monster she’d been sleeping
with for years and she wasn’t sure she liked that.

She knew that she would never be forgiven by the
ursithropes of Kadenburg. She’d done too many terrible things. But what if
she could make up for it somehow by setting her niece and the Bamey boy free?
Would it change anything at all?

As she pressed her nose against the window, watching
the two fleeing figures on the ground, she only hoped it would be worth
something in the end. She hoped that her sacrifice would be the healing point
for so much wickedness. She hoped Presley would remember her for helping and
not for causing damage.

But above all of these things, she hoped the baby would
have a chance at living a happy life with loving parents. She hoped it
wouldn’t be persuaded by fear, and she prayed to Urseth –if he was even
listening-that her great-niece or nephew would not fall into the hands of
Breslin Connor.

Nine

I
t was proving to be much more of a challenge
than Lorcan originally anticipated. He’d followed the directions word for
word, and once he had Presley outside of their makeshift prison, a string of
profanities left his lips over the fact he couldn’t make his legs work
correctly.

Maybe it was because he hadn’t used them in so long, or
maybe it was still a lingering effect of the drug; all he knew in that moment
was that his legs felt like play-doh and he was becoming increasingly agitated.

“You don’t have to carry me,” Presley said gently as
she gazed up at him. “I think it would be easier if you put me down.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Lorcan said through clenched
teeth, taking another shaky step forward as he glanced down at her. “You’re
not wearing any shoes.”

Presley stared up at him in disbelief. “Have you
forgotten where I grew up?” She asked, squirming in his arms. “Let me down!
I’ll be fine.”

“Stop being stubborn for five minutes,” Lorcan
frowned. “We need to get as far away from here as possible, and fast. They’ll
smell us.”

“No, they won’t,” Presley argued as she wiggled against
his chest. “Honestly, Lorcan. Put. Me. Down.”

“Stop squirming or I’ll drop you,” Lorcan scolded as he
tightened his arms around her. “Let’s get away from here and I’ll consider it
okay?”

Presley scowled, crossing her arms over her chest as
she turned her head in the direction they were headed. The drugs had long
since left her system, and she was far more alert than Lorcan was at the
moment. Why did he insist on carrying her? It was absurd.

“Do you really think it’s a good idea to go back home?”
She asked after a moment. “Won’t that be the first place they look?”

The muscle in Lorcan’s jaw was working overtime as he
concentrated on placing one foot in front of the other. He shook his head
gently before speaking. “That will be the last place Breslin wants to go,” he
replied after a moment. “She said more ursithropes are coming. If that’s the
case, a werewolf would have to be suicidal to place a single paw on our
property. They’re going to be in over their heads.”

“Is that what she told you?” Presley frowned. “What
will happen once these ursithropes arrive? Surely it won’t be a repeat of
what’s already happened.”

“No, it won’t,” he whispered, catching her gaze briefly
before he looked straight ahead again. “The ursithropes that are coming
haven’t been here in decades, Presley. They are the descendants of every bear
in existence. Some of them aren’t as kind as we are. Some of them hate
werewolves more than we do. They’re expecting a war and that’s exactly what
will happen. Breslin Connor doesn’t have a damn idea of what’s about to hit
him.”

She chewed her lower lip, her eyes remaining on his
face as her brows knitted together. “Are you going to fight again?”

Lorcan was silent as he climbed up the embankment,
crushing her against his chest until he made it to the very top. It was only
then that he let her stand on her own two feet, but his arms stayed around her
waist. “If I have to,” he said softly, searching her face. “If that’s what I
have to do to keep you safe.”

Presley’s bottom lip quivered as she held his gaze.
She rested her palms against his muscular chest, feeling the steady beat of his
heart beneath the warm skin as she released a small breath. “Is it ever going
to stop?” She wondered aloud. She wasn’t really asking him. It was just a
question that troubled her heart. Life had been so normal until just a few
weeks ago. Sure, she’d been hurt by a dumb guy and she was still suffering
over the loss of the child she’d created with him; but as fate would have it
–that sick bastard-she was now carrying Lorcan’s child, and she had to think
about tomorrow. There
had
to be a tomorrow.

She felt the heat of Lorcan’s palms as they moved to
frame her face, and she held her breath as he leaned down to rest his forehead
against hers.

“I promise you, Presley Goult, no matter what it
takes, I will make sure he never has the chance to hurt you ever again.”

Presley’s eyes closed as her bottom lip began to
tremble uncontrollably. The past few days were a total blur for her, but there
were bits and pieces she could remember. She would never forget what her aunt
said to her, nor would she ever be able to thank her for her sacrifice.
Presley was more than aware that she and Lorcan were able to escape a horrible
fate because of Natalie’s sudden change of heart. She understood the reason
for the selfless now, but it would take some time to accept it.

“Come on,” Lorcan murmured, pressing a tender kiss
between her eyes. “Let’s go home.”

–––––––

As Rutley followed Dimitri further into the woods, he
was thinking about three things, and three things only.

I should’ve grabbed my boots,
was his first
thought. His feet were already screaming at him with each step he took,
pressing the tender flesh down against the cold leaves and broken twigs-it
didn’t feel good. At. All. Was it really his fault that he’d lost the tough
toes of a country boy since he moved to Florida?

Yes. Freaking yes, it’s my fault,
he frowned.
He tried to avoid the branches and pebbles, quickly becoming irritated with the
small jabs of pain.
I will never leave my boots behind again, no matter how
impatient that damn wolf gets.

Technically, he could say it
was Dimitri’s fault. The dumb wolf wouldn’t wait long enough for him to
retrieve his boots or anything else. In fact, he’d only had time to down a cup
of coffee before rushing out the door, and that led him to his second thought
of the night.

I gulped down the drugged cup,
he affirmed with
a shake of his head. That proved to be a big mistake as everything began to
swim. He felt like he was floating, and that wasn’t helping in his newfound
mission to avoid all sharp and pointy things on the ground. How in the hell
was he supposed to accomplish anything tonight if he was preoccupied with
hallucinations and nursing his feet?

You are being a wimp.

And that triggered the last
thought running through his mind. He zigzagged behind Dimitri, narrowly
avoiding being close lined by a large branch as he ducked down quickly. “Aw,
hell,” he mumbled.

Dimitri stopped briefly, turning around to stare down
at Rutley as he hugged his arms over his head. It made the wolf scratch his
head in confusion. “What the hell are you doing?” He asked impatiently.

Rutley was silent for several seconds, frozen in his
current position on the ground as he released a sharp breath through clenched
teeth. “I’m going to be honest with you,” he finally replied. “I might….be
experiencing some sort of psychedelic episode influenced by drugs right now.”

“What?”

Rutley lifted his head, peering at the wolf as he kept
his fingers clasped together on the top of his head. He blinked once, twice,
and then frowned. “I made a slight error in judgment earlier.”

“You’re telling me you’re doped up?” Dimitri asked in
disbelief. “Oh, that’s perfect,” he scoffed, shaking his head. “I should
leave you here, you know? I should do it. I have more important things to
worry about.”

Rutley groaned, falling backwards and sprawling out on
the leaves. They crunched beneath the weight of his body as he draped an arm
over his eyes. “Go on then. I’ll be fine in a little bit.”

Silence followed in the next few moments, and Rutley
was certain the wolf had left him there. He didn’t blame him, really. It was
his own fault, wasn’t it? How the hell did he forget there was truth serum in
that coffee? Why didn’t he take two minutes to put on his boots? He was dead
weight right now, and he couldn’t help free Baby Bamey or the Goult girl.

Fuck my life,
he thought, battling with the
sensations currently pulsating through his body.

He was a little surprised and a hell of a lot terrified
when the world shifted again. Strong arms gripped his shoulders, lifting him
upwards as he groaned.

“Oh god, don’t do that,” he whined. “I’m going to
throw up. Stop.”

“You should’ve thought about that before you did
whatever you’ve done,” Dimitri muttered, tossing him over his shoulder like a
sack of potatoes. “I
really
don’t have time for this, but seeing as you
saved my life, I’m going to do you a favor.”

“I didn’t
mean
to do it,” Rutley replied
angrily, shutting his eyes tightly as the leaves blurred by. “It was supposed
to be your drink.”

He immediately regretted letting that slip. In fact,
he was becoming increasingly annoyed with his lack of restraint as he felt
Dimitri’s shoulder tense against his stomach. He sighed, letting his head fall
downward.

“I’m sorry,” he added quickly. “I should not have
attempted drugging you. Old habits die hard.”

He was afraid Dimitri was going to ignore him, or
worse; he would dump him in the woods and leave him defenseless against the
werewolves. Rutley didn’t have a doubt in his mind that they were lurking
about, somewhere, waiting to chomp on the crunchy goodness of a hunter’s
bones. He would be their ideal target, too, right? He’d already killed two of
them tonight.

Nearly ten minutes passed by before Dimitri finally
broke the silence.

“You didn’t have to attempt drugging me, you know,” he
said quietly. His tone suggested that he was angry, or disappointed. Rutley
couldn’t figure out which one it was just yet. “If you wanted to know
something, you could’ve just asked. That’s usually how a conversation goes.”

Oh great. Now Rutley felt like a douchebag. He was
only doing what he’d been trained to do. Their acquaintance had happened so
quickly, and Dimitri had left even quicker; how the hell was he supposed to
know that he would comply? That wasn’t how it worked in the past…..

“I’m not the best at conversations,” Rutley replied,
squeezing his eyes shut again. Damn, he could
not
handle the motions of
traveling right now. The Holter Truth Serum was definitely some
grade-A-helter-skelter party magic, and he would have to remember to
never
drink it again. “I was really only ever good at talking to Liam.”

Dimitri stopped dead in his tracks then, and Rutley was
cursing himself silently for opening his big mouth; again.

He couldn’t apologize fast enough as he found himself
being placed on the ground again, two strong hands resting against his
shoulders to keep him upright as Dimitri’s eyes bore into his. He seemed
really angry.

“Are you jerking me around right now?” Dimitri asked
between clenched teeth. “Because if you are, I will do us both a solid and
snap your neck right now. Is that what you want?”

Rutley’s eyes felt like they were as big as saucers as
he stared up at the wolf. Being jacked up on truth serum was
not
the
best thing in the world right now. Dimitri was probably intimidating enough
without the added effect of echoing and jittery edges. In a way, Rutley felt
like he was going insane. Maybe Dimitri needed to kill him……

“Hey! I’m talking to you,” Dimitri growled.

“No! I mean…..no, I’m not jerking you around. Why
would I?” Rutley asked, swallowing hard. “Liam was my best friend growing up,
okay? I’m not using him as some ploy to set you off, and for fuck’s sake, can
you stop staring at me like that? It’s bad enough that my brain is fried at
the moment without you adding in your wolfy scare tactics.”

It was almost like a battle of wills at the moment, and
Rutley didn’t have much on his side as he swayed back and forth. He blinked,
keeping his eyes on Dimitri’s as the wolf’s nostrils flared.

“He never mentioned you,” Dimitri said
matter-of-factly. “Don’t you think your so-called best friend would mention
you at least once? We were together for a long time, Hunter. I don’t recall
ever hearing your name.”

So it was true then. He was Liam’s boyfriend. Awkward
tension hung heavy in the air around them as Rutley squirmed beneath the weight
of his palms. “Well, maybe he did but you didn’t realize it,” he shot back
with a quirked eyebrow. “Do we really have time to be arguing about this right
now? We need to find the others.”

Dimitri exhaled through his nose as he cocked his head
to the side. He studied Rutley closely before he nodded. “You’re right. But
this conversation isn’t over, you got me?” He poked his index finger against
Rutley’s chest, and damn it, that
hurt.

Rutley rubbed at his chest
before frowning. “Yeah, I got you,” he replied quietly.

Werewolves,
he thought with a mental scoff.
This
is going to be one hell of a night.