Untamed Wolf (14 page)

“Thank you for the ride,” she told Julian when he handed her the slip of paper with the phone numbers for the two Alphas.

“You’re welcome, Trouble.”

“You know I’m not really…a problem for you anymore. Maybe you could just call me Chrystal?” He’d dubbed her a problem child fifteen minutes after dragging her life story out of her and she’d been Trouble ever since. She’d once thought it an affectionate nickname.

A faint smile creased his lips. “Maybe.”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“You can.” Which meant he might not answer.

Whatever
. “Why now? Why tell me what packs they belong to,
now
?”

Resting his inscrutable gaze on her, he tapped two fingers on the steering wheel. “I didn’t know for certain which Carlo was your father, since you only had a first name. Your mother changed her last name.” Something was off. The musty scent irritated her nostrils.

“You’re lying.” Mystified as to why, and more than a little annoyed, she glared at him.

“Be very careful about making accusations, Trouble.” Not a denial. “As I recall you didn’t want to know about the packs. When I mentioned them to you the first time, you were terrified.”

Actually, she’d vomited. All over his shoes. “I was, but in all fairness, you were scary as hell. You said you’d tracked my father, killed him, and you were after my mother…another Rogue. What was I? I thought you were going to kill me.”

“I thought about it.” The earlier musty scent was absent. Her stomach dropped.

“Okay, you could have lied about that.” The protest earned another faint smile from him. He’d not mentioned her mother, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to ask.

“Embracing your wolf will open the world up to you. Deceptions will become clearer, so will agendas.” Though he didn’t look at the house beyond, she almost did. “I’m glad to see you’re not afraid of your wolf anymore.”

No. She definitely wasn’t. “Did you really have to kill my father?”

“He was a Rogue, Chrystal. Even if the relationship between him and your mother hadn’t violated the laws…what they did with you most certainly did.”

Surprised, she blew out a breath. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Three Rivers.”

“No you’re not.” Shaking his head, he said. “That paper has my number on it. If things go wrong here…if it doesn’t work out, call me. I will come get you.”

The shocks kept coming, and instead of jerking or floundering, she simply stared at him. “Why?”

“Because I said I would. Now get out. Your
Alpha
is coming.”

Oh crap
. She’d forgotten about Luciana and being in trouble. Although, after the last few hours, she almost looked forward to engaging her Alpha. She’d always been kind.

“Be careful, Trouble.”

Not really certain what else to say, she nodded and slid the paper into her pocket. “I’m always careful.”

Julian’s laughter chased her from the vehicle. The cold air was like a slap in the face, and he didn’t linger after her exit. Facing the front door, she braced herself with one last glance at her phone.
No messages. Dammit.

The door opened before she could step on the porch. Rayne’s expression warned her she’d screwed up. Following him inside, she slid her hands into the pockets of her borrowed coat.
Time to face the music…

F
atigue burned in his muscles
. Instead of returning to the cabin, he stood in the freezing drizzle at the regional airport waiting for the flight to get clearance to take off. He’d barely made it to the first step of the cabin the day before when A.J. caught him. Arriving for the handoff had been a coincidence. He and Tyler had been en route before Mason had gotten through to him. Three families had gone on a moonlit run when the first storm hit four days before. Two had been found but the third remained missing.

“As far as we know, they entered the state park about an hour north of here, no one’s been in their cabin.” An hour north put them well beyond the area Mason ordered the pack away from. Dylan hadn’t needed to be told twice. He grabbed a duffel bag and stuffed his phone in the side pocket. With the Buckleys, he headed out, shifting as soon as he arrived.

One of the pack’s best trackers, he knew finding a family in a snow-laden tree line would be difficult enough. Finding them after four days of snow required more than a solid nose. The family of four included Jemma and Rockston Kirkland and their teenage sons—ages eighteen and sixteen. It was one of the last trips the family would be able to do mid-school year because their eldest would be going to college.

The information gave him hope. The older boys would have an easier time of keeping up with their parents. They could arguably have found shelter for the four of them and hunkered down. So, first he had to identify where they might have run, then range out traveling at a comparable speed to find where to start his search.

One thing about A.J. and Tyler. Neither gave him a hard time or asked a lot of questions. Tyler shifted, running with Dylan while A.J. carried their supplies and followed on snowshoes. Though they ranged farther and farther ahead of him, A.J. could track their fresh prints in the snow. It took them hours, but they tracked the wolves to a ravine and a cave in. It took all three of them to clear the entrance, and A.J. got the wounded Rockston under control so they could set his leg and get them out.

The exhausted boys hadn’t been able to shift yet, so they tucked them in to sleep. Jemma focused on her mate, and they had enough painkillers to keep him out until they got him home to the healer. All in all, it could have been far worse. The family was safe.

A.J. appeared in front of him with an oversized Styrofoam cup of coffee. “You look like you could use this.”

“Thanks. Any word on when y’all can take off?” He downed half the cup of scalding coffee and ignored the sludge after taste. Tar oil would probably taste just as good at the moment.

“About twenty minutes. Pilot’s getting the pre-flight check done. We have room. Do you want a ride back?”

“No, I’m good.” He’d avoided any one-on-ones with either of the Buckleys. Good men and wolves, but he wanted to get back to the cabin and onto his rotations. “I need to hit my lines and make a run.”

“All right.” A.J. continued to study him, but Dylan ignored the attention. If the wolf had something to say, he would say it. Until then… “According to some of the weather forecast models, this storm was just the first of a few we’re going to get. You should hit a grocery store and lay in more supplies.”

Obvious, but fair. They’d used most of the fresh meat for Mama, and he’d burned through several of his longer term supplies to make sure Chrystal had more than enough to eat. “I’ll take care of it. How’s Vivian?” Asking about a mate was always a great way to distract another wolf.

“She’s good, thanks for asking.” The simple, if vague response rang a warning bell.

“How about Linc?” His brother mated the Delta Crescent Alpha, leaving Willow Bend after the Alpha meeting. Save for A.J.’s time in prison, the three brothers had never been separated.

“Don’t get him started,” Tyler announced as he joined them. “Ten minutes and we’re wheels up. Linc’s fine, living it up in warmer weather than we are.”

“Hmm.” A.J.’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t elaborate. “He hasn’t called in a few days.”

“He’s fine, A.J.” Tyler repeated with a grin. “He’s also newly mated. As I recall, you snarled anytime we called you during that first month.”

His brother gave him a dirty look. “You weren’t much better with Claire.”

“Damn straight. So that he called us a few days ago says he’s doing great. Let him enjoy his mate. Once they get comfortable, he’ll be in touch more.”

He imagined it was difficult for the three to be apart, but they had practice. “Yeah,” A.J. didn’t sound as though he agreed with the syllable coming out of his mouth. “We’re boarding. Check in soon and often, Dylan. Stay safe out here.”

“I’ll be fine.” The truth hurt. He would be
fine
, though he suspected happy or content were a long way off. He waited for the plane to taxi out to the runway before climbing into his truck and pulling out his phone. Unwilling to share even a moment of Chrystal with them, he hadn’t been willing to check the phone while they were in close proximity.

Thumbing the screen on, he scrolled to his messages. A photo waited. Accepting the image, he watched the little wheel turn as the cell downloaded the image. Phone in hand, he started the engine and got the heater running. The brothers rode in the truck, but Chrystal’s scent still clung to part of the seat. Mama’s scent was fainter, but he could still detect the hint of wet wolf.

The last time Chrystal was in his truck, he’d rescued her and Mama from the storm. Had it really only been four days? The phone dinged and a close up on a snow-laden leaf filled the screen. A message captioned it…
Isn’t it pretty?

Squinting, he studied the photo. What did she see in the leaf? The narrow focus showed the tip turned down slightly and the snow feathered along the sides. Pushing the phone out to arm’s length, he tried to imagine what she saw when she…oh, the faintest hint of light on the snow left it gleaming like eyes.

A wolf.

She’d found a wolf in the snow. One corner of his mouth kicked higher, and the fist around his heart relaxed a fraction. He thumbed the keyboard on and typed.
The wolf is nice…but not as pretty as you.

Only after he hit send did he get the SUV moving. Though the snow had ceased the day before, the roads were still sketchy with rough patches of ice in spots. He took his time, stopping once for gas, then a second time for food. Both times he checked his phone. No response.

After stuffing a burger into his mouth, he sent a second message.
Sorry for the delay on answering. I had to find a family who got lost in the storm. How did it go for you?

He finished a second burger, then the rest of the fries. His phone buzzed several times with messages from other Hunters, two broadcasts from Mason regarding the missing family having been found. A third from Owen asking him to wrangle his father at some point, and persuade him to stay closer to Willow Bend proper for the rest of winter.
Oh, and FYI, we got more snow than you did.
The last line earned a snort. He fired off a
Sure, I’ll talk to your dad. Whine to Gillian, she’ll care that you’re winning snowpocalypse.

Once he checked Chrystal’s message and found no answer forthcoming, he got back on the road. His eyes were gritty, his body ached and his soul was tired. The cabin was cold when he arrived. Cold and empty. The blankets she’d folded were right where she’d left them.

Exhausted, he stowed the groceries, got a fire started, then recreated their pallet. Sprawling on his back, all he could scent was her. If he closed his eyes, he could imagine here there.

He checked the phone again.

No message.

L
uciana’s power
swept through the room a heartbeat before she entered. Setting the roller into the pan, Chrystal leaned on the ladder and glanced at the Alpha. An hour after she returned to Three Rivers, Luciana set her to refurbishing one of the last buildings on main street. No downtime, no assistance…and, worst of all, no phone until she’d stripped, primed and repainted all the walls.

Other than breaks for food—which Luciana insisted on—she’d worked for two days straight. Her back hurt, her eyes burned and her hands were raw in three places. But the place looked great. She was on the last wall.

“I’m impressed,” Luciana said as she paced the room, studying each of the walls.

“Me too.” Chrystal rubbed a paint stained hand against her face. “I’ll be done with this wall in a few more strokes.”

Folding her arms, Luciana pivoted to study her. Everything about Luciana was pretty and graceful. Chrystal had never thought of herself as svelte or model perfect…but Luciana had it all in spades. “You sound very cheerful about the subject.”

“I’m proud of my work. It looked like hell when I got started.” And as long as she kept moving, the urge to run back over the border seemed to be held at bay. Not that she really wanted to spend all of her days repainting house interiors. Still, there were worse occupations.

Luciana pursed her lips, a frown wrinkling her brow. “It did. You’ve done a remarkable job.”

“Thanks.” Flexing her hands a couple of times, she waited for her Alpha to say more, though Luciana only continued to pace the room. If there were a white glove test for painting, she could almost imagine the woman performing it. In her all white outfit, she seemed almost too clean for the empty space littered with paint supplies, drop cloths and dust. Biting her lip at the impudent direction of her thoughts, she finished rolling the corner, then retrieved a smaller brush to complete the lines butting up to the ceiling. “When I’m done here, I thought I might pick up my phone and head back to my place.”

Luciana’s displeasure at Chrystal wandering over the border had been plain. Though Chrystal got the distinct impression she confused her Alpha as well. The plan, it seemed, had been to keep her too busy to wander.

Though she could wish they’d returned her phone earlier so she could…

“You’re not contrite about crossing the Willow Bend border, are you?”

A fair question. One she’d actually
thought
about while she worked steadily for the last two days. Finishing the last corner, she set her brush aside then climbed down the ladder. It would take another hour to clean the painting supplies and discard the trash.

“No,” she said, facing her Alpha. “I’m not sorry. I know I’m still learning…I know I have a
lot
to learn. Something I do know.” She rubbed her hands on a cloth, peeling away some of the paint sticking to her skin. “I’m not looking to violate a border or to create problems for you or anyone.”

When Luciana folded her arms and studied her intently without any malice or anger in her expression, Chrystal took a risk. She continued, “I don’t know the Alpha of Willow Bend. I don’t really get why a sixth pack is such a big deal…I don’t even understand all these rules that everyone accepts as part of the everyday. I barely know my wolf…but I am getting to know her. Exploring is part of that. I like the pictures I take, the places I get to see…even the wolves I have met. I’m learning from all of you.”

Her wolf sat steadily within her, a quiet, strong supporter. Chancing meeting Luciana’s eyes, she gave her a small smile. “So…give me more houses to paint and more work to keep me busy. I’m okay with that, but can I have my phone back? I’d love to have done some before and after shots in here.”

“You are a most unusual wolf.” Somehow the way she enunciated the words didn’t make it sound like a compliment. “You have changed.”

An image of Dylan’s teasing smile flashed through her mind. “Thank you.”

“You called to me…for a brief moment during the storm. What happened?” Luciana hadn’t asked her about any of the events during her time in Willow Bend. She’d been angry when Chrystal came in, angry and a bit disappointed. When she’d dispatched Chrystal to paint the house, she’d radiated the same quiet kind of anger Dallas had when Chrystal shifted in the house. The anger seemed to have drained away, and real interest kindled in her eyes.

“I got attacked by a cat, a mountain lion, I think. I was in a lot of pain and it hurt…Dylan told me to lean on you because I didn’t have the energy to shift.” She still wasn’t quite sure how she’d succeeded. “Thank you for helping me.”

A smile softened Luciana’s expression. “I haven’t done right by you.” The admission startled Chrystal. “I don’t think I’ve done right by a lot of you. This doesn’t mean you’re not still in trouble for violating the borders, but we’re going to talk to tonight. All of us. I’m calling a town meeting.”

“Tonight?” She couldn’t quite keep the plaintive note from her voice. She was exhausted. All she wanted was a shower, a meal, her phone and some sleep. Not necessarily in that order.

“Yes.” With a nod, the Alpha pulled Chrystal’s phone from her pocket. “Here. I will remind you not leave the boundaries of our town. If you need to take a run, call me or call Rayne. We’ll send a wolf to go with you.”

Chrystal made a face, but Luciana’s implacable expression didn’t alter.

“Or you can simply stay in town. Trust goes both ways. I want to trust you, and I need you to trust me. This is for your own good and for your protection.” Where had she heard that story before? Oh yeah. Dallas.
You cannot shift. You cannot tell anyone you can. This is for your protection.

Most of what Luciana said made sense, but the last part?

“I’ll see you tonight.” The last words were an order, tasted like an order, and resonated with her like an order. Tonight was only a couple of hours away. If she planned to get any food or shower, she needed to hurry. It was only after she locked herself in her apartment that she pulled her phone out and turned it on.

Several messages waited from Dylan, including one sent two hours before warning her if he hadn’t heard from her before sundown, he was heading to Three Rivers. Her heart thrilled at the note…then worry crashed down.

I’m fine. They took my phone and I had to do some work repainting a house. I’m still in trouble…but not that much trouble.
She hit send, then added.
Sorry I didn’t answer sooner.