Wolves’ Bane (9 page)

Chapter Thirteen

Checking In

I didn’t lie when I said I was tired, but it wasn’t physical exhaustion I was talking about. My body felt strung tight, like a cord being pulled taut. Even the smallest touch from Cal would have had me vibrating with desire, just a look from him had me aching and it was scaring the hell out of me. I didn’t want to give in to him. I didn’t want to let myself get sucked into a heart-walloping situation. He said he wouldn’t fall in love with me, wouldn’t allow himself to, and I believed him. And as long as he felt that way, I couldn’t willingly walk into another painful situation. Because no matter what, if I gave in and bonded with Cal, halfway wouldn’t be enough. I would want all of him.

I sighed as I entered my room, pulling my hair into a ponytail before I plopped down on the bed. I’d read all afternoon, which was nice, but now I had no desire to pick up another book. That left me with nothing to do but dwell on Cal and his sexy body, or on the Order and my sudden headfirst plunge into the role of a Huntress. And then there was the prospect of a bonding process that could supposedly give me everything I needed to defeat one of the scariest creatures I’d ever laid eyes on—a creature who claimed that I was his bride. For my exhausted mind, it was all too much to contemplate.

I glanced at the TV, tempted to flick through the channels and see if there was anything worth watching. But then, I’d done a lot of movie watching over the past few weeks while trying to bury my misery over Jimmy’s betrayal. What I really needed was one big emotional release and I knew exactly what, or who, would give me the most bang for my buck. Cal.

At least he’s being honest with me right up front.
No strings attached.

I swiped my cell phone off the night table and noticed that I’d missed several calls from Rachel, and a zillion text messages. I scrolled through the string of them, feeling guiltier and guiltier as Rachel’s texts grew anxious to the point of desperation. She was worried about me, and here I was mooning over Cal.

I hit the callback button then frowned as my phone beeped with a weak signal. “Shit.”

I looked down at the phone, the signal bars were fading in and out.
Of course, no reliable service in the middle of nowhere.
With a glance at the landline that lay on the table, I shook my head. For all I knew
the Order
could be listening in on my phone conversations. I moved to the window, opened it and stuck my phone out. The bars instantly returned. Full service outside. Wonderful.

It was still light out, the sun just setting below the tree line, giving off a warm glow that bathed the surrounding forest in beautiful yellow and orange. No harm in going outside to make a call. I exited my room and quickly found my way through the maze of the mansion to a back screen door where I stepped out into the cool twilight air.

Ah, freedom.

I took in a deep breath and reveled in the clean scent of the freshly cut grass that stretched out before me, buffeted on all sides by the thick foliage of the surrounding forest.

I hit redial and winced when Rachel answered after the first ring.

“Morgan? Where the fuck are you?” Her voice was near hysterical. “Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been?”

“Rach, I’m okay.”

“You fall off the face of the planet for almost two days and all you can say is you’re okay? All I’ve been going on is that vague message that you left about being okay. And then you don’t answer any of my texts or calls since. Where the hell are you?”

I sighed as I looked over my shoulder at the house. “Well…” I shifted my gaze to the forest around me. “I’m in the country.” Admitting that I wasn’t exactly sure where I was at the moment didn’t seem wise. It had never occurred to me to ask Cal, or anyone else for that matter, where the mansion was located. I’d been in such a daze when we travelled here that I hadn’t paid attention to where we were going. For all I knew, we could be in an entirely different state. “But I am safe,” I reassured Rachel.

“Is this some kind of joke? Are you telling me what you think I want to hear because you’ve got a gun to your head?”

“Seriously, Rach, I’m fine.” I started walking in a wide circle, happy to have a chance to stretch my legs while I was outside. “I met this guy.”

“You met a guy?” Rachel sounded like she had just choked on something. “And what, ran away with him? Now I know something is up. You’d never do something so reckless.”

My mind raced through a series of possible lies. Rachel was right to be suspicious—I would never do something as foolish as take off with a complete stranger to the middle of nowhere. But here I was, so somewhere along the way I had forgotten that.

“Rach, I’m seriously okay. This guy, someone I knew from back home, came by and I decided to take a little trip with him. You know, to get away from all the craziness there.” I bit my lip, wondering if she would buy the story.

A moment of silence stretched out and I started questioning if Rachel was processing it or calling the cops on her landline.

“So, you’ve reconnected with an old fling and taken off for a mini-vacation?”

I smiled. “Yep.”

“And what about your job? Did you think to call work and let them know you’re going to be away for a few days?”

I grimaced. I hadn’t given much thought to work since I’d left. Too much had been going on for me to even remember that I had a job, much less that I’d missed two shifts already. “Um, no actually, I kind of dropped the ball on that one.”

Rachel clicked her tongue. “I went to your work looking for you today and they told me that no one could get a hold of you, that they were starting to get worried. You’ve never missed a shift.” There was a hard edge to her voice, worry now replaced by anger.

Shit, another major personality switch. “Listen, Rach, I’m sorry I’ve worried everyone. I just got swept up in this whole thing and wanted some time to forget about my life for a little while. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

There was another heavy moment of silence until finally Rachel sighed. “It’s okay, hon. I was worried, you’ve never just taken off before. And when I couldn’t reach Jimmy…well…”

I sucked in a breath. Of course, people would be looking for Jimmy as well. “Jimmy’s missing?” I croaked, the lie tasting bitter on my tongue.

“Yeah, no one has seen him for a couple of days. I called him that night that we went to the carnival to go and check up on you. I was desperate to know you were okay, and he was the only one who answered his phone. Did you see him?”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “No.”
Since when do I lie to my best friend?

“That whole night at the carnival was strange. I still don’t know what started the panic, but I got swept up in a massive crowd and lost you. Then I fell and someone stepped on me—actually a few people stepped on me—and I broke my arm.”

I nodded. Yes, just as Jimmy had told me, but Rach couldn’t know that. “Oh no!” I said instead.

“I’m fine, don’t worry. So Jimmy, the bastard, never went over to check on you?”

I shook my head, forcing myself to stay calm. I didn’t want Rachel picking up on anything in my voice that would hint at Jimmy’s actual fate. “No, he didn’t. I haven’t seen Jimmy, since…well for a while.”

“That fucker, when I see him again, I’m going to kill him.”

I chuckled uncomfortably, the lump in my throat coming back with a vengeance.

“Oh well, maybe he saw you with your long lost love and thought better of introducing himself.”

My stomach roiled. “Yeah, maybe.” I continued my mindless wandering, head down, eyes watching my feet move over the impossibly green grass.

“So, tell me about this guy. He must be something pretty special to get you to take off.”

I snapped my head up at the sound of a door slamming shut. I was farther away from the house than I’d realized and Cal was on his way toward me, his face set in a storm of anger, his eyes locked with mine. I grimaced as I glanced over my shoulder and realized that I was only a few feet from the edge of the forest. A chill ran through me. For some reason, the forest seemed more foreboding now that I was near it.

“Listen, Rach, I’d love to tell you all about him.” I rushed my words, knowing by the look on Cal’s face that he wouldn’t sound at all nice or pleasant to Rachel if she heard him just now. “But we’re on our way out for a bite to eat. I’ll call you back in a few days and fill you in, ’kay?”

“Sure, hon, no worries. Just keep in touch this time, okay?”

I nodded, watching with wary eyes as Cal approached, his jaw clenched and eyes blazing. “Yeah, will do. Oh, and could you tell my work that I won’t be back for a while. I understand if they need to let me go.” I left out the part about having to fight a werewolf in a few weeks and possibly dying in the process.

“Okay, it was a shithole anyway. I’ll get you a job at my work when you get back.”

“Thanks, Rach. Talk to you later.” I clicked the phone off just as Cal descended on me.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” His breathing was ragged, his body actually shaking with anger.

I looked up at him, casting the most innocent look that I could muster. “What? I needed to make a call. I couldn’t get any service in the house so I came out here.”

Cal grabbed me by the shoulders and spun me to face the forest. He braced his forearm around my chest and pointed forward with his other hand. “They are waiting for you just beyond this tree line,” he whispered menacingly.

The chill that had raced through me before was back, gripping my stomach and making me tear up. “They?”

“Lazarus and his pack. They can’t get past our boundaries so they wait. Now that you’re here they’re watching for any opportunity, waiting for you to screw up and give them a chance to get you.” I was shaking by the time Cal spun me back around, his hands firmly gripping my shoulders and his eyes boring into me with such intensity that I didn’t dare look away. “He wants you, Morgan. You are the only one who can give him his powerful heir. The Huntress who has been marked as his bride. You are the only one who can breed for him, and the only one who can kill him.”

“Why me?” My voice trembled, anger, frustration, terror, everything boiling to the surface. “Why is this happening to me?”

Cal’s face softened, his anger draining from his eyes. “I told you, you’ve been chosen.”

I shook my head and pulled away, raising my hand to cover my face as I did. Cal released his hold on me. “I don’t want this.”

Cal sighed as he draped his arm around my shoulders and slowly began to lead me away from the forest. “I know, Morgan. I’m sorry. I wish this wasn’t so difficult for you.”

I wiped my eyes and looked over at him. “I think I’ve reached my limit, Cal. You need to help me understand all of this craziness.”

Cal opened his mouth to say something but then closed it just as quickly, and I knew he had been about to tell me what he’d been saying for the past few days. It would all make sense to me if I would just bond with him.

I stopped walking and turned to face him, resting my hand on his chest. “Can’t you just help me understand
why
this is happening to me? You said it was part of my DNA. Then why is it that no one ever told me before?”

Cal stared into my eyes, contemplating my request before finally covering my hand with his and pulling it from his chest to link our fingers together. “Okay, let’s go over to the gazebo and I’ll tell you what I can.”

I nodded as I let Cal lead me toward the side of the house, conscious of the fact that he hadn’t released my hand, getting a pathetic thrill from how his massive palm cradled mine.

Chapter Fourteen

Folktales

Cal positioned himself next to Morgan on the porch swing under the gazebo. The sun had finally set, casting the hush of darkness all over the property. The border, the edge that marked the forest, was alight with the flames of hundreds of magically enchanted lanterns, which cast a warm glow over that part of the lawn. They were well enough removed from the tree line that Cal wasn’t worried about any of the pack catching sight of them, but even so, he leaned back and dropped the shades on the opening directly behind them to give them more privacy.

He turned toward Morgan, his eyes scanning her face for a moment before looking up through the slatted roof to stare out into the dusky night sky. He hadn’t liked seeing her so close to the forest, hadn’t like the sensation of his heart crushing and his gut clenching when he realized how near she’d come to danger. The feelings made him uncomfortable as hell. As his Huntress, he wanted to protect her, but there was something more to his emotions. Something that he was fighting to gain control over. Something that had him puzzled and frustrated. When he saw her there, standing at the edge, so near danger, he felt like his whole world was about to implode. His mind had leapt to the impossible idea of having to live his life without her, and it had almost brought him to his knees. It was a dangerous reaction, one fueled by the magic of their entwined destinies. He was supposed to be schooling those kinds of emotions, keeping her at arm’s length. Cal wasn’t sure what the bonding would do to those feelings, but he guessed that they would only magnify and suddenly he was afraid.

How would he control his feelings if nature overruled?

He looked down at his lap and realized that he still held her hand. Such a small hand nestled in his huge palm, so delicate and soft. She shifted to the side and the touch of her thigh against his was enough to jolt his heart once again, enough to have his cock straining against the confines of his pants. He cleared his throat and released her hand, adjusting his position so that he could face her and conceal his growing need.

She turned toward him, her eyes still glistening from the tears she hadn’t yet shed. She pulled her arms across her chest, shielding her breasts from him, closing him out. He knew he was sending mixed signals—was doing everything to hide his warring emotions, rejecting her in the process.

“Our history is rich in folklore,” Cal started as he raked his hand along the stubble of his jaw. He needed a shave in the worst way—would have loved a shower too, especially if it involved him and Morgan together, water cascading over her lush skin, his hands trailing to places that begged for caressing. With a hard shake of his head, Cal cleared his throat.
“You’ve heard the story of the little girl and the wolf?”

“What, you mean Little Red Riding Hood?” Morgan asked doubtfully, her eyebrows cocked. “You’re telling me that story is true?”

“Yes, as strange as it may sound, Little Red has a basis in truth. The story has been altered over the centuries to suit the needs of society, to teach a lesson to children about the dangers that lurk in dark places. But the original tale is much more sinister. It’s not the kind of story that any parent would want their child hearing and it is much, much older than anyone realizes, right back into ancient mythology. Rather than a little girl in a red cloak, the original tale is actually about an Amazon warrior, Alkaia, who was having a secret affair with a man—an act forbidden by her Amazon tribe.”

“It was Lazarus, wasn’t it?” Morgan’s voice was hushed, her eyes wide.

He shook his head. “No, the man who was once destined to be with Alkaia was called Lycaon. Their affair caused a war. A man and his army fighting for his love, pitted against a powerful race of female warriors who believed it would be better for Alkaia to die with honor than to succumb to her heart’s desires. To the Amazons, men were only good for one thing: propagating the Amazon race with female babes and nothing more. Love had no place in their thinking.”

He cleared his throat again. It was not an easy tale to tell. “The story goes that Zeus didn’t like it, that he wanted the war to end. His daughter Artemis, the goddess primarily worshipped by the Amazons, was very unhappy with her warriors fighting such a senseless battle. But they were so crazed to save Alkaia that they wouldn’t stop at her command. Zeus went to Lycaon and demanded that he give up the girl, but Lycaon would have none of it. He was so angry with Zeus for even suggesting it that he went so far as to attempt to trick Zeus into eating human flesh—a horrible desecration that he knew would dishonor Zeus if he succeeded. The god realized Lycaon’s plan and was suitably pissed. As punishment, he condemned Lycaon to live the life of a beast, turning him into the first werewolf and, ironically, dooming the human race to an unending war.

“Lycaon went after his love, determined to claim his bride, despite the fact that he was cursed to transform into a beast without warning. When he found her, in the forest where her tribe lived, he was crazed, overcome by the beast within. He captured her and raped her, brutalizing her body in a frenzy of aggression and passion. He dragged her deeper into the woods and ravaged her body over and over while the moon was high, his body transforming from man to beast over the course of the night. When morning finally came, he left her to die, broken and bloody.

“The hunter found her, a lone man who made the forest his home. He tended to her wounds and vowed to avenge her. Over the months of her recovery, she fell in love with her savior. She confided in him, told him of her attacker, of the beast and Zeus’s curse, of her heritage, and the Amazons who had vowed to kill her before they allowed her to fall in love with a man. It wasn’t long after that she discovered she was with child. The hunter vowed to do whatever was necessary to help her, no matter what the outcome would be. When the child was born, it was obviously touched by the same affliction that Lycaon had been marked with. Born larger than any human child, it was capable of walking on its four legs from birth, mewling and crying for her to nurse it while at the same time growling and clawing at her flesh. It was an abomination. A beast. A monster.”

“Lazarus?”

Cal nodded. “She left it in the forest to die—as was the Amazon way with male babes—in tribute to her goddess, Artemis, and with a vow to hunt Lycaon until she killed him or he killed her. That vow is why you have been chosen. Artemis heard Alkaia’s cries and accepted her vow to hunt the beast. She imbued Alkaia and her hunter with power and strength beyond anything they’d ever known, giving them the tools to battle the werewolf, thus marking her as the first Huntress. It is said in the texts that the Huntress is chosen to continue the battle. They are woman marked at birth to fight against the darkest evil. And it is only with her Hunter, her true protector, that she is endowed with the strength and power to fight the beast.” Unless a Huntress was willing to bare her throat for the bite of her wolf, get her powers that way—a disgusting option, in Cal’s opinion. He gave his head a shake then continued with what he was saying, letting the wolf bite information slide away.

“But there is a twist to the story, one that makes it just as much a curse as a blessing. Alkaia was true to her vow—she did hunt Lycaon and she battled with him, almost to death. But her love for Lycaon was too strong, even with all that he had done to her. So she spared his life, instead using a magical spell to cast him into a hell dimension called Tatarus. As a punishment for breaking her vow, Artemis cursed all Huntresses to lust after the beast as Alkaia once lusted after Lycaon, effectively condemning the Huntress to a weakness in the most vulnerable place a warrior has, her heart. If a werewolf finds his Huntress first, he has the power to win her heart before the Hunter can.

“Lazarus is able to identify those Huntresses who are his brides. We don’t know if it is some kind of genetic marker that you carry or if it is a case of divine providence. But over the generations, there have been a few of you, and his goal is always to breed with that woman. You are the only woman who can carry his child.”

Morgan raised her hand to the side of her face, shock, dismay, disbelief warring in her eyes. “What about Candy then?”

“Candy has been marked as a Huntress, but not as Lazarus’s bride. She will not have the power to kill him, only the beasts from his pack. He is the strongest of his kind, cunning and dangerous, almost impossible to kill, mainly because a normal Huntress would never get close enough to him to try. His Huntress though, his bride…she could get into his arms, close enough to mate with him means close enough to kill him as well. It’s tricky though; essentially you’d be killing your destined mate.” Cal sighed. “We believe that a child born of him would be all-powerful and an unstoppable monster. If it’s true, that you’re his bride, you’re the only one capable of killing him. Your connection to him opens his heart, gives him a weakness for you, making him vulnerable to attack. We believe it’s the reason why he didn’t kill you on the spot when he found you the other night.”

“But you don’t know for sure if I am?” She lowered her hand to her lap. “How do you know for sure that Candy isn’t his bride?”

“They’ve had an…encounter, Lazarus tried to kill her. He wouldn’t have done that if she were his bride.” Cal shook his head when she opened her mouth to speak. “We have no way of knowing absolutely until the night of the lunar eclipse. But I believe that Lazarus wouldn’t have reacted the way he did when he found you if you weren’t his bride. He got to you first. If you weren’t meant to be his, he would have killed you.”

“So I have to start training.”

He nodded, his heart clinging to the tiniest hope that she might have begun to understand the need to complete the bond with him. “You must train, yes. You must learn not only how to defeat him, but what dangers he possesses.”

“Oh, you mean like the whole wolf on two legs with long, dripping fangs and huge gnarled claws?” She barked a humorless laugh and shook her head. “What more do I need to know? He’s an effing werewolf for Christ’s sake.”

He reached out and snagged her hand from her lap, catching her off guard and not giving her time to pull it away. “There are far more dangerous things about him than fangs and claws.” He traced his thumb along her palm. “There are werewolves in existence whose beastly form is similar to a wolf’s—beautiful creatures, really—who are young and ignorant. They cycle through their change from man to wolf by the course of the sun and moon with little control and typically little danger to humanity. Lazarus is so old, so powerful that he no longer changes from man to beast unless he chooses to. He has transformed himself into a monster and has spread his knowledge to his pack, making them more powerful and deadly. But on the night that he is most vulnerable, the night of the lunar eclipse, he is forced back into his human form. His mind, however, is still that of a cunning wolf and dangerous predator. He will use his human form as a weapon—use his seduction to try to lure you into his control.”

A snicker died on Morgan’s lips when Cal frowned and shook his head.

“It’s not a joke, Morgan. He possesses a power of seduction that will have you thinking you’d rather kill your closest friend than to do without him. He is so seductive, so bewitching that if you are not properly trained, properly prepared, he will get what he wants. He will get his heir.” Cal sighed. “It was Alkaia’s undoing in the end. Lazarus, kept alive by the goddess as another punishment to Alkaia, grew into a powerful beast. But it was in his human form that he succeeded in ripping his mother’s throat out and feeding on her heart. So you see, even with proper training, he could still succeed in seducing you, overpowering your will.”

“So what happens then? I mean, you said he’s at his most vulnerable, but what if I fail to kill him? Can you kill him?” Her body trembled. She was finally scared. It was a good start.

He reached up to stroke Morgan’s cheek. “No, I can’t, not a full werewolf anyway. Those who have been bitten, who’ve not yet to complete the full transformation, will fall under my sword. But only the Huntress can kill the beast, whether it’s Lazarus himself she faces, or one of his minions. The Hunter is only there to protect and support the Huntress. I can wound him, but I can’t kill him. That burden falls on you.” He lowered his hand to her collarbone, resting it there, flat against her flesh.

“But what happens if I can’t?”

Cal’s gaze strayed from her eyes to her lips, and he inched closer. She snaked her tongue out and dabbed her bottom lip, a gesture that had his body pulling taut with desire. Such a small action—that pink, little tongue darting out. So benign under normal circumstances and yet his body responded as if it was his cock that her tongue had touched. He shifted his eyes to meet hers, so consumed with wanting that he almost forgot to answer her.

“You can and you will.”

Her eyes darkened and she licked her lips again, this time moving closer to him, inviting him with her proximity to touch her. She laid her hand on his thigh, mere inches from his growing erection, and he shuddered as a pulse of urgent need raced through his entire body.

“Cal?” she whispered, her tone matching the desire he was feeling.

She slanted her lips up as he brought his down, plunging his tongue past the plump gates to her warm mouth and entangling hers with his. She tasted so sweet, felt so deliciously warm that he plundered deeper, kissing her with the urgency of his need, devouring her from the inside out. With a groan, he lifted her onto his lap, resting her ass to cover his hard cock where it strained against the prison of his pants. It took all of his willpower not to thrust against her. Even through the clothing, he so desperately wanted to feel that resistance, to let her know how much he wanted her.

She matched his urgency with her mouth, her tongue working his with the same pulsing need, the same desire. When he lifted his hand to caress her breast, to strum her already puckered nipple through the soft cotton of her T-shirt, she moaned again, arching into him, encouraging him to tease her more.