01 Taming the Wolf - Anna Avery (24 page)

“Even if that’s true,” Sawyer said. “How do you know it was Eve’s hand?”

“Because she’s the only one I know who wears fire engine red nail polish and keeps her nails longer.” The majority of the women, what little we had, all had jobs to do. That meant long, pretty nails didn’t last long. Eve, as the alpha female, didn’t have that problem. Aside from guarding her territory next to Adam’s side, she didn’t contribute much.

“What’s goin’ on? You guys find something?” We all turned to see Adam peering over our shoulders, staring at the muddy ground. Elle and Sawyer didn’t say anything. That meant a lot because they swore their loyalty to Adam—not me. I couldn’t help but feel proud to have them on my side.

“We thought so, but it was just mountain lion tacks,” I lied. The words tasted bad in my mouth. Adam and I were just starting our complicated relationship, and I was already lying. I’d been horrible at relationships my whole life; I couldn’t expect to become an expert overnight, right? I’d eventually tell Adam everything. I needed to understand what it all meant first. The logical side of my brain told me that if I told Adam, perhaps he could lend some insight. Then again, when did I ever listen to logic? I was too stubborn to give into it.

“The weather is getting bad,” Adam said, looking over his shoulder. The pack was heading out of the woods. “We’ll pick up the search as soon as the rain lets up. For now let’s get home and get something to eat.”

I stood and Adam slung his arm around my shoulder, pulling me against the warmth of his body. I gave Elle and Sawyer a ‘thank-you’ look and followed Adam back to the truck.

*

“What was that back there?” Elle and Sawyer cornered me in the laundry room as soon as they saw their chance. Sawyer stood guard by the door so I couldn’t make a run for it, while Elle stood like a brick wall in front of me—her green eyes squinting and impatient.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “This morning is the first time it has happened.” I reached for a dry towel from the metal shelves where we stored them and rubbed it through my hair. “I’ve had dreams…” I ignored their confused faces and yanked my soaked shirt off. Luckily, I’d done a load of laundry the other day and it still waited for me in the dryer. I shifted the wrinkled clothes around until I found a white babydoll tee that had a sunset and palm tree design on the front. The shirt was old and the picture was fading, but it held a special place in my heart. My mother got it for me a few years ago when her and my father visited the Bahamas. Wearing it made me feel closer to her, and at the moment there was nothing I wanted more than for her to tell me everything was going to be alright. As I thought about it, I heard her voice say those exact words. I’d stored it in my memory and pulled it out when I felt like crumbling. When I was younger, I always believed those comforting words, now…now I wasn’t so sure.

“You’ve been lying to me?” Elle accused. Her eyes drooped and her lips turned downward as she looked away from me.

“Not lying—just not telling you everything. I was scared and for good reason. The leaders are convicting me of the murders. I was supposed to be dead already.”

I expected to be bombarded with questions. Instead, Elle’s arms reached out, clasping behind my back as she hugged me tight. I looked over her shoulder and saw Sawyer was staring at me, his eyebrows drawn and his lips in a thin line. I gave him a small smile. I bet he was happy he wasn’t involved with a mess like me anymore.

“We’ll run away,” Elle said, stepping back to look at me. Her hands gripped my arms almost painfully.

“Are they still planning on doing it tonight?” Sawyer asked so quietly I almost didn’t catch it.

Peering around Elle’s body, I said, “Not anymore. Because Adam and I are bonded, it would kill him if I were to die.” Looking back at Elle I said, “I can’t run away. That would also kill Adam, and I don’t want to spend my life on the run.”

“But…what are they planning to do with you?” Elle asked, her voice trembling.

I hesitated, hating that I had to break the news that this could be the last time they saw me. “I’m being shipped to the Idaho pack.” The stipulations of that sentence hadn’t sunk in yet. There’d been too much going on to really think about what it meant.

“So you did kill those people?” Elle questioned with disbelief.

“They did a DNA test and it came back positive. I don’t remember doing it, but I can’t argue with lab results.” Up until now I hadn’t talked about the murders with anyone except Adam and the leaders. I was sure that gossip was flowing through the pack. I mean there was only one reason why the leaders always wanted to have secret meetings with me. The obviousness of my situation spoke volumes.

“I don’t believe it,” Sawyer said. “Sure you don’t like humans, but I can’t see you going on a killing rampage. I can’t believe you’re just going along with this. I can’t believe
Adam
is going along with this.”

“There’s not much we can do aside from going against the leaders. I’d much rather be shipped off than killed.” I crossed my arms as my stomach rumbled. “Can we go eat now?” I started forward, but Elle stopped me.

“You said you were having dreams.”

I nodded, already tired of having this conversation. It seemed the last few months of my life were dedicated to it.

“What kinds of dreams? Were they visions like today?”

“I don’t know if todays were
visions
,” I put extra emphasis on the word, thinking how hokey it all sounded. When Elle raised her eyebrow in annoyance, I continued. “In the dreams I was the wolf attacking the humans. They were very real and very scary. The leaders think it’s my subconscious’ way of reminding me of what I’ve done.”

“And today you saw glimpses of things, no murdering?” Elle’s voice was growing more and more interested as if she knew something I didn’t.

“Yeah,” I answered cautiously.

“Hmm.” A smile spread across her pink glossed lips.

“What?”

“Let’s go eat,” she said, ignoring my question. Maybe she was putting a friendly face on all the while getting ready to commit me to the nearest psych ward. With the way my life was going I wouldn’t be surprised.

I awoke to someone getting into my bed. The left side indented; the weight of the person enough to jostle my body. Looking over my shoulder, I smiled at Adam. It was still weird my first reaction wasn’t to tell him to get lost. The bond threw all my previous qualms out the window, or maybe I was giving into what I always wanted.

Adam curled up behind me, his arm snaking its way through mine and holding my hand. The warmth of his flesh felt like fire against my skin, arousing my wolf. Her desire pounded through my body, erasing my sleepiness.

“You were quiet tonight,” Adam said, speaking softly. His voice, even as a whisper was a sweet masculine rumble that did funny things to me. It was like a seductive tune that played for my ears alone.

“Just thinking about everything,” I explained. The house was filled with the pack tonight. Adam thought it’d be a good idea to have them all in one place. The rain let up a few hours ago and search teams were out scouring the mountain. When one returned, another would take its place.

“Wade told me they won’t transport you until next week. I’m doing everything I can to find the real killer before then. I’m not losing you, Anna.” I felt the bed shift again. “Hey.”

I turned to face Adam. He was propped up on one elbow, his chest highlighted by the glow of the moon streaming through my window. Shadows played along his face, detailing his strong jawline and high cheekbones.

“Everything is going to be okay,” he said, and I smiled. The words I desperately wanted to hear from my mother came from his lips and comforted me just the same.

“How are you doing?” I asked him. “I know you and Eve weren’t in love, but it can’t be easy not knowing what happened to her.”

Adam trailed a finger down my arm, his eyes following the movement. “It’s difficult…the not knowing,” he admitted. When it came to Eve he never said much. I knew he cared for her, at least in a small way. They’d been together for a while, feelings were bound to grow.

“We’ll find her,” I reassured him.

Adam nodded. “I don’t want to talk about her right now. I want to be here with you, feel your body beneath my fingers, and listen to your heart race as I make love to you.”

I frowned. Using the phrase ‘making love’ was a pet peeve of mine, one that others didn’t seem to share. To me it sounded cheesier than Velveeta. Then again, maybe that was why I was so bad at relationships. I didn’t know how to be in love. Adam didn’t notice my aversion for his words. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my lips, soft and promising more. Reaching for my arm, he guided my body forward to where I was sitting up and drew me over to him. Wrapping an arm around my waist, he laid down so that I was laying horizontally against the length of his body.

His arms enclosed around my waist as his blue eyes swirled with gold. My wolf had been pretty quiet the past few days, aside from popping up every once in a while to let me know she approved of what I was doing—or who I was doing.

Adam’s hands slid to my backside, his fingers gripping my butt, and grinding me against the growing hardness beneath his cotton pajama pants. I moaned as he continued to move me against his body. Our mouths quickly found each other, hungry and eager for one another.

Adam gripped my legs and moved them so they rested on either side of his hips. Sitting up, he lifted my tee over my head, throwing it on the floor. Since I didn’t sleep in a bra, my breasts were right in his face, nipples hard nubs begging for his attention. The power this man had over me was astounding. Every fiber of my being craved him, burned for him.

His mouth closed over one of my breasts, his tongue doing clever circles around the areola. I moved my hips, making sure to press hard against his lower region. Adam looked up at me through his lashes; a possessive look promised this man was mine.

“Adam, you in there?” Asher called from outside my door.

“Go. Away!” Adam ordered. He snaked a hand around my neck, tugging to bring me closer to his lips. The bulge in his pants was hard as a rock beneath me, my own panties growing wetter in response.

“Sir, they found her,” Asher said, his voice raising an octave. Adam and I became as still as mannequins, our eyes locked.

“Go,” I told him. “Eve needs you.”
Had I really just said that?
What I really wanted to do was cuff him to my bed and keep him all to myself. It was some kind of cruel punishment to ignite my body and not tame the flame.

“Is she…alive?” Adam asked, keeping his eyes on me.

“Just barely,” Asher responded. Adam closed his eyes as if in relief.

“Give me a minute,” Adam called. Asher’s footsteps echoed down the hallway until they disappeared completely.

Climbing off of Adam, I scooped my shirt up and redressed myself. My wolf growled in frustration, but I ignored her. My stomach was in too many knots to worry about finding completion with Adam. The air in my bedroom seemed thicker, as if the stress of our situation was enough to suffocate us. I had mixed emotions on the situation. I knew sending him to be with her was the right thing to do, but the illogical side of my brain didn’t give a damn. Adam was mine and nothing else mattered.

Adam walked up behind me, placing his hands on my shoulders, and kissed the top of my head. Was it wrong that I wasn’t all that happy they’d found Eve? Of course it was. Just thinking those sorts of thoughts made me hate myself. I couldn’t blame the emotion on my wolf, though she wasn’t happy either. It was jealousy plain and simple.

“I have to deal with this,” Adam began. “As soon as I’m back we’ll pick up where we left off.” He turned to leave, but stopped, his hand resting on the doorknob. “Everything will be alright, don’t look so sad.”

I looked at him as I hugged my arms to my chest. “Saying that doesn’t make it so.” It wasn’t that I was worried about Eve’s recovery and what that meant for Adam and me as a couple. It was that I knew come next week, I’d be in Idaho. Realizing that I was being whiny, I forced a smile onto my face. “Never mind, I’m just tired. Go take care of Eve.” I was proud that my words came out unruffled. Inside I was like an earthquake—shaking and breaking apart.

Adam watched me for a few seconds before nodding and leaving my bedroom. He’d left the door open so I could see the entire house was up and active, all anticipating the return of their alpha female. Again, the illogical side hated him for leaving. I gave into that anger for all of ten seconds before I pushed it away. I couldn’t handle putting on a brave face for the rest of the night, so I climbed out my bedroom window. Judging by the lightness of the sky I’d say it was around 2:00 a.m. I’d gotten three hours of sleep, but I was too antsy to sleep anymore.

“Making a run for it?”

I gasped and jerked backwards. Looking to the right, Wade was leaning against the side of the house, a cigarette glowing against the darkness as he took a drag.

“No,” I bit back, annoyed he’d startled me. “I just needed some air.”

“Yeah, the return of your lover’s mate can’t be an easy thing to deal with,” he mocked.