Reflections of the Wolf (23 page)

With Liam it was like a constant fire burned in her belly, and the only way to damp the flames was to touch him. She wanted his hands on her body as often as possible, and he was offering her that and more.

A voice in her head telling her to get up off of her ass and go find her mate startled her, and she laughed. That must be the wolf that Caroline spoke about. She sighed deeply, and her wolf growled.

Stop being stupid, you want him, and he has already claimed you, the voice snapped.

“I think I’m in love with him.” She said it out loud, but it was directed at the irritated voice in her head, and a soft growl was her reward. She laughed and stood up turning to go get into her car. She was going to call Liam and ask him if they could talk.

As she turned, a body standing nearly on top of her scared her, and she stumbled. Two hands held her steady as she almost tumbled into the lake. As she tipped her head to see who it was, the fingers on her arms dug deeply into her skin. She grimaced and gasped as the hands jerked her forward away from the edge of the dock.

“Hey!” she yelped.

The hands dropped away from her, and she found herself face to face with Carter Lawrence. She had never seen him outside of the hospital, and her skin went clammy as she realized he wore a hunting jacket complete with a rifle over his shoulder and bullets in his pocket. He glared at her, and his soft jawline jiggled as he clenched his muscles.

“Carter?” she said hesitantly. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m hunting,” he said gesturing to the gun slung on his back.

“Oh. Really? I never figured you for an outdoorsman,” she said as she bent to scoop up her purse and stepped into her sandals.

“Wolves,” he said quietly. Her heart stopped, and she looked up at him in shock.

“Excuse me?”

“I’m hunting wolves. There have been a lot of them around here lately, and they are a nuisance,” he said with a shrug.

“Isn’t that illegal?” she asked as she shifted in place. Recognition that Carter was the one who shot Cash hit her brain, and her vision spun slightly. She wanted to get out of there, but Carter didn’t seem inclined to move. With all of that gear on, he also seemed like a much larger figure than normal.

“Only if you get caught. What are you doing out here?” he asked with narrowed eyes.

“Just thinking. I like to come out here when I need some quiet,” she said, and she moved to step around him. He shifted and blocked her path.

“Have you had dinner? I’d like to take you out if you haven’t,” he said. He reached his hand out to touch her arm, and she shivered with revulsion.

“Thanks, but I’m not hungry. Umm…well, I better get out of here,” she said, glancing at her watch so that she could pull her arm away.

“Why don’t you like me, Tina?” he asked. His fingers were playing with the shotgun shells in his breast pocket, and he had widened his stance.

“What do you mean?” she said distractedly.

“You keep turning me down. I like you, Tina, and I just want to take you out.” His tone turned slightly whiney, and the desperation in his eyes made the voice in her head whine with anxiety.

“I’m seeing someone,” she said, and his angry look made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. “I’m sorry, Carter. I just don’t think of you like that.”

“It’s that fireman, huh? You know I asked you out first. I asked Caroline at least a dozen times, but she still went with that fireman. Now she’s marrying him. I’ve asked you, but you keep avoiding me. That fireman you’re seeing isn’t the marrying kind. I am,” he said bitterly.

“What? Carter, I can’t help who I fall in love with, and neither can Caroline. I didn’t mean to lead you on, but you aren’t my type.” She was edging slowly around him with her nerves on high alert. She let her eyes leave his for a second to dart around. She was hoping to see someone else around, but she found herself completely alone with him. She was surrounded by water and an angry man with a gun. She would have to talk her way out of this, because she wasn’t sure just what he was capable of.

“You will learn to love me. Don’t worry, I will give you time. I think you should come with me out to dinner now.” He reached for her arm, grabbing her right above her elbow. He held her tightly enough that she knew there would be bruises tomorrow. As he spun around, it put the muzzle of the gun right in her face, and even though there was no finger on the trigger, her body started to shake.

She hadn’t seen the gun that shot Esteban, but she had been traumatized by it. Just being this close to a gun made her hands clammy, and her skin cold. She needed to get away from him.

“Carter, stop. Let go of me now. I need to go home. I’m not going out with you, because I have a boyfriend,” she said loudly, trying to tug her arm from his tight grip.

“He’s not good enough for you!” he snapped, and he spun back to face her. His limp hair fell across his forehead, and his pale skin was mottled red with anger. “You don’t even know him. Do you know what he is, Tina? He’s a monster!”

“What are you talking about, Carter?” She gasped. Her mind was racing. How did Carter know about Liam?

“He’s a womanizer, Tina. He goes to that bar I saw you guys at, all the time, and he’s always with a different woman. You’re not special to him! You are special to me!” he said. His hand came up to grab her chin tightly, and she winced. “You will be the only woman in my life, Tina, I promise you.”

“Carter, stop it! I’m not going with you. Liam is a friendly guy, but he’s not a monster. Get ahold of yourself!” she said, but her mind was relieved that Carter still didn’t know about Liam’s real secret. He just thought she needed protection from Liam. Her wolf was snarling in her head, and her brain was screaming out for Liam, or Caroline, or anyone to help her!

“I’m not listening to you. I saw him dance with other women. If he loved you he wouldn’t want to touch another woman,” he said, and he went back to pulling her along the gravel parking lot behind him. There was no vehicle in sight except hers, and the idea of leaving this open space with him terrified her. He was completely unstable.

“Please don’t do this, Carter. Let me go, and I will forget this ever happened,” she pleaded.

“I can’t do that, Tina. If I let you go now you will never give me a real chance. I’m going to take you home with me and fix you a nice dinner. Then we can talk about our future together,” he said shaking his head.

“We don’t have a future together, Carter!” She used all of her strength to jerk her arm away from him, but he moved faster than she expected. He spun around and backhanded her, knocking her onto her butt. They stared at each other in shocked silence for several moments before he made any noise. When he did, it was a cross between a laugh and a sob, and it chilled her to the bone.

“Don’t try to leave me. I won’t let you go,” he said with a heavy dose of hysteria in his tone. “Now stand up, and take my hand. We have a short hike before we get to my car, and there are wolves in these woods. I wouldn’t want to lose you to one of those beasts.”

He hauled her up to her feet and pushed her in front of him. They walked into the woods, and her heart broke. This was it. He had her alone now, and surely he would end up killing her when she tried to escape. She wasn’t going to just accept his crazy fantasy, so her only option was to try to escape. She couldn’t imagine a life with Carter. Liam was her future. He was her mate, and he was the only one who could be. She would give up her life before she would let another man touch her like Liam did.

The path they walked on was narrow and heavy with brush. She was still wearing her leotard and running shorts and a thin pair of sandals. Her legs were getting scraped and bruised as she forced her way deeper into the woods. She gasped when a branch snapped back and hit her on the head, grazing her temple. Blood trickled down her cheek and sweat stung her eyes. What she wouldn’t give for some of those wolf super senses right now, but considering she was just mated yesterday, she probably wasn’t ready for them yet.

Trying to stay calm while being forced into the woods by a crazy man was wearing on her, and she stumbled, crying out. Carter’s hands gripped her hips, trying to steady her, but she jerked away from his touch.

“Stop it, or you will hurt yourself. Let me help you up.” He sounded very annoyed, and the gun on his back shifted again, reminding her that annoyed could turn lethal quickly. She forced herself to her feet but froze again when she heard a new voice in her head.

Stay calm. I’m here, and so are Cash and Ryley.

She gasped and her head spun around looking for him. Her sudden movement caught Carter’s attention, and he glared at her. “What is it? Did you see something?”

She shook her head, but he looked around them cautiously. Liam spoke again in her head.

Don’t let him know we are here, Sweet Tina. We’re working our way around you so that we can take him by surprise.

How is this possible? Why am I hearing you in my head?
She was glad she remained in front of Carter on the pathway. If he could see the incredulous look on her face right now, he would definitely be suspicious.

Not the best time or place to get into that, but I will explain later. Keep going, and don’t give us away. We have to get into position, and want to do that before you reach the bridge over the creek up ahead. I won’t let you get hurt.

I trust you, Liam.
She actually found her lips quirked up in a smile, because she really did trust him. She loved him, and she knew that he loved her. She had seen it in his eyes.

His cousin and brother were here, too. How did they get here? She shook herself mentally to stay on track. They could explain the hows and whys later, but right now they needed her focus. They were trying to surround them so that Carter wouldn’t get away. She would have to slow them down a bit. She continued to trudge forward until they reached a large tree root that stuck up out of the ground enough that it almost met its own low hanging branch. There was a small space between the two that she could probably fit through, but it would be tight with her large breasts. She stopped and turned to look at her captor.

His cheeks were flushed, and he had a small river of sweat on running down his temple. She scowled at him, and he stopped abruptly. “What is it?”

“How are we getting around this?” she snapped, and crossed her arms across her chest.

“We’re going through it of course. You just stick one leg through and then bend so that you squeeze through sideways on your belly. I do it all of the time,” he said with a frown.

“Ummm, excuse me, dumbass, but you don’t have a pair of these to squash through there.” She pointed at her breasts as she spoke, and then smirked when he blushed and glanced away.

“There’s no other path unless you want to climb the tree, so you have to at least try it,” he said with a huff and a shrug. “I’ll help you.”

“The hell you will! If you think I’m going to let you touch my breasts, then you have lost your mind,” she snapped angrily and spun around back to the tree.

A slight movement on her left sent her heart skittering. That was an animal for sure. She had gotten the impression of fur, but it was slight. A familiar scent on the breeze reassured her that it was her wolves moving in the trees. She would know Cash’s musky cologne anywhere. They really were here for her.

Reassured, she took a deep breath and forced herself to put her leg through the small space. Straddling the root of the tree she began to move through. As she expected, she reached the midway point with her body centered between the two giant plant appendages, and her breasts blocking any forward progress.

“Try wiggling a little bit. I’m sure you can squeeze just a bit and make it,” Carter said anxiously. His nervous fidgeting did little to calm her irritation.

“I tried to tell you this wouldn’t work. I’m getting out and we can go back the other way. My car was at the dock. We can just take it around to wherever you parked,” she said, and she tried to move back toward him. It only took one tug to realize that she was stuck. Somehow her leotard or bra was stuck to the branch at her back.

“Well, come on! I don’t like being out here this close to dark. The wolves start to come out when it’s dark, looking for dinner. I’ve been hunting them for weeks. I’ve only managed to get one so far, but he will make a nice rug for my floor. I saw a big gray one the other day that I would love to get next,” he said. His voice was laced with nerves and apprehension, but she could also hear the excitement he had over his hunting hobby.

There was another rustle of branches nearby, and she heard Carter whimper slightly. What kind of a pussy is he? she grumbled to herself.
It’s not like I wanted to come out here and get stuck in a stupid tree! And that wolf he’s hunting is my boyfriend, damn it!

Damn right I am. Just another minute, Sweet Tina.
Liam’s voice in her head put a smile on her face, and she was glad that Carter was behind her and couldn’t see it. He would instantly wonder what made her smile.

“I can’t move. I’m stuck. You’re going to have to help me,” she said begrudgingly. That last thing she wanted to do was let Carter touch her, but she didn’t want to hang out in a tree all night either.

“What do you mean you’re stuck?” he said with an irritated grunt.