ROMANCE: Mason (Bad Boy Alpha Male Stepbrother Romance Boxset) (New Adult Contemporary Stepbrother Romance Collection) (46 page)

Chapter Six

The forest loomed, dark and foreboding, despite the sun still shining brightly in the sky, the forest saw none of its rays. Amelia turned to Ethan, a skeptical look on her face; he barely seemed to notice her hesitance as he stretched his legs. She watched the display, shaking her head slowly. “What kind of werewolf needs to stretch?” she laughed.

Ethan turned to her, a wide grin on his face. “The kind that’s planning on out running you,” he shot back, smirking.

“The kind that’s set to fail then,” she concluded with a smug grin.

Shaking his head, he finished the last of his stretches, eyeing the forest with a mixture of amusement and trepidation, it was darker than he had imagined, and not that it would stop him of course. “I need to change,” he said suddenly, diverting Amelia’s attention to him.

“Be my guest,” she responded, shrugging off her jacket and draping it over a nearby branch.

When Ethan didn’t move she turned to him, confusion in her eyes. “Well go on, you do know I’ve seen you change before?” she chuckled.

“I mean change-change,” he muttered, an unwelcome blush spreading across his tanned cheeks.

It suddenly dawned on Amelia what he meant and she shifted uncomfortable on her feet, her body and her instincts telling her to stop him. “You’re not going to try and bite me when you change right?” she joked, trying to find some humor in their situation.

She pushed her fears aside and smiled slightly at her husband as he stared equally as awkwardly back at her. “Vampires don’t exactly taste good,” he chuckled, with a smile that fell far short from reaching his eyes.

“Neither do werewolves,” she muttered, her nose screwing up, the smell was bad enough.

“So we’re agreed, we don’t bite each other?” he laughed and she felt her body relax a little, some of the worry draining out of her.

“Agreed,” she said with a smile.

“Want to watch?” Ethan smirked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, despite the discomfort of what exactly he was suggesting.

Amelia paused for a moment, considering the question, she was intrigued but wasn’t sure whether that was a good thing or not. “No,” she answered finally, diverting her eyes from her husband.

She could sense him nodding before jogging away and into the tree line, just out of sight but still close enough for her to feel him. She waited, the seconds seemed longer than normal as her body repeatedly tensed and un-tensed. The change took less than a minute and all the while she could sense what was happening. As much as she didn’t want to she turned to where Ethan was bounding out of the forest, her body refusing to let her take her eyes off him.

With what looked to be a grin Ethan jogged over to her, leaving a good few meters between them before stopping. A small gasp broke free from Amelia’s lips as she took in the newly fur coated image of her husband. There were few traces of him left; his eyes were almost the same, tinted with gold now and his smile firmly belonged to him but that was it. She suppressed a grimace as he took another step towards her, far too close for her liking. She couldn’t deny it though, that there was something special about this form. His fur was black and white, a strange mix for a wolf, he was unique, even with the shorts strapped to his leg it was an impressive sight.

“Ready?” she questioned unsurely. The wolf nodded slowly, never taking his eyes of the vampire who, despite his love for her, was a bigger threat than any.

Ethan took off at full speed, leaving an unprepared Amelia staring in his wake, still thoroughly apprehensive about diving into the forest with his massive wolf form. He was at least four times the size of her now with lean muscles and heightened senses that almost matched her own, he was indeed a fine wolf. “Jerk,” she muttered under her breath before darting into the forest behind him.

She could sense him up ahead, less than half a mile in front of her and making quick progress. She pushed herself, the sensation of running not quite as fresh to her body and mind as it was to him. In recent years she had hardly run, partly out of having no need to increase her speed but mostly due to the pack of werewolves that lurked in the closest woods to her, werewolves that weren’t exactly her friends. She was catching up though, closing the space between her and her husband and Ethan could sense it.

He pushed his legs, his paws pounding the ground, relishing the feeling of unfamiliar terrain. He had no need to look down and find a safe path; his body did it for him, seeking out the fastest path through the trees. Trying not to dwell on the fact that his body was doing its best to help him escape from the vampire instead of running with her, he worked his way through the forest, winding and bending through the trees and hedges with ease.

On edge and trying to seek out the easiest path to over-take her husband, Amelia ignored her instincts and closed the space between her and the wolf. She could see him up ahead, bounding through the trees but there was something else as well, something that just didn’t feel right. The wind whipped through her hair, animals scurried from her tracks and she was surrounded by the earthly scents of the forest but nevertheless something was far from right.

She slowed a little, her eyes scanning the forest floor and the darkest shadows that coated the ground. Ignoring the prey that screamed out to her, she sought out what it was that set her body on edge and caused her skin to prickle. They weren’t alone in the forest, Ethan could feel it now, eyes were on him and they did not belong to the small animals that lay just out of sight. He slowed, sensing that he was not the only one to feel it. Whoever it was that was following them was not good, whatever it was meant only one thing, they were in danger.

Chapter Seven

Ethan circled back through the trees, coming to Amelia’s side as she entered a small clearing off to their left. Little more than just a break in the tree’s the clearing offered something the canopy cover didn’t, a small stream of light that filtered in through the leaves. Pressing against her side and betraying all his instincts he nuzzled her side in a way that he hoped would be comforting. Ignoring the shivers of discomfort that ran through her body she placed a soft hand on the werewolves’ head, returning the gesture of attempted comfort.

“Your kind or mine?” Amelia questioned through gritted teeth.

Ethan’s body froze and Amelia knew he was trying to figure out who was coming for them, or at the very least from what direction they were coming from. All she could sense herself was the werewolf next to her and how badly she wanted to move away, everything else was blocked by her desire to be away from him. Ethan let out a small growl of annoyance and she knew instantly that his luck was about as good as hers. With her body tensed and her fists clenched at her side, she readied herself for whatever was coming.

They only had to wait half a minute before the intruders made their presence known. Both sets of eyes flew to where the branches crackled at the far end of the small clearing. Amelia breathed in deeply, and then she saw them; it only took her a fraction of a second to dive backwards, putting a couple of meters between her and Ethan. He stood his ground, his paws dug firmly into the dirt as two black muzzles emerged from the tree line. They would not attack one of their own kind, not when there was a vampire in their midst.

The wolves pushed their way through the thinning trees, pausing the second that they could be fully seen. Shackles raised and teeth bared they stared at Amelia and Ethan in turn, daring not to let their eyes linger on the strange werewolf who seemed so comfortable in the presence of a vampire. The taller of the two wolves, distinctively covered in charcoal gray fur, stepped forwards while the other stayed back, watching Amelia intently.

Ethan tensed as the wolf made eye contact with him, a questioning look on his face, one he was sure Amelia wouldn’t recognize as such. “Come,” the wolf growled in a voice Ethan could only understand.

While his eyes were fixed on the closest wolf, his mind flickered between them and his wife, his loyalty lay with them yet his heart lay with her. He didn’t want to think of it as a choice but his mind and body worked rationally, he could go to them, his own kind, or protect her, the woman he loved. Amelia watched on, aware that some kind of exchange was happening between the wolves but unsure of the nature of it. Ethan was one of them, but he was also hers.

“Ethan,” she whispered, her voice low, so low that she hoped the other wolves could not hear her.

Ethan’s muscles flexed, the cry of his wife setting his fur on edge, it was enough to make up his mind. As the taller of the two wolves lunged for her, sensing where Ethan’s loyalties had settled, he dove to intercept the attack. A piercing crash radiated through the trees as Ethan’s body struck that of the other wolfs; the one that was easily a foot taller than him. In a flash of teeth and red the wolf was pinned to the ground, Ethan dominating it was his speed and strength.

Amelia’s eye’s bulged as Ethan leapt in front of her, doing something she never expected to see, protecting her from his own kind. From the corner of her eye she spotted the dark brown wolf stalking around Ethan, ready to strike. In a moment of madness where she put aside all her instincts she ran between them, catching the second wolf off-guard before he could harm Ethan.

The white-black form of Ethan’s wolf tossed the other aside and ran to where his wife fought off the other wolf, the one that had aimed for his throat while his back was turned. Fur merged with skin as Amelia fought the wolf off, trying to push him back; Ethan stilled, concerned that any intervention would cause him to harm the wrong person. Amelia tore into the wolf, tossing him to the floor with an almost fatal hit. Ethan winced as the wolf crashed down in the mud, bloodied and unmoving.

Once she was sure the wolves life force was too low to pose a threat she spun on her heels, her hands shaking and blood coated; it had been too long since she had fought a werewolf. Her dark brown eyes landed on her husband’s tainted gold ones and her body tensed once more, adrenaline of the attack still pounding through her slender body. Ethan eyed her warily, saw the blood on her hands, sensed the heavy panting of her breathes and his body readied itself for a fight.

The conflict inside her was almost over-powering, one of them had to break the contact, one of them had to stand down but neither was strong enough to fight off the urges imbedded so deep inside them that it was almost a form of control. Both squared off in the small space, either side of them lay the unconscious bodies of the wolves that had attacked them.

Amelia’s mind whirled until it settled on one memory, so fresh in her mind that it could not be pushed out. Ethan loved her, he had saved her. Slowly as if it pained her to do so, Ethan watched his wife drop her fists; still clenched she held them tightly to her waist. He met her eyes and a large wolfish grin covered his face, his body un-tensed and his shoulders slumped, for now there was no threat. 

Chapter Eight

Taking most of his weight, Amelia helped Ethan back through the dense forest and to the cabin. As Amelia finally laid eyes on the cabin, after what seemed like hours of walking, she was for the first time happy to see it. Rickety walls, broken door and all, she was beyond grateful to reach it. Having fared much better in the fight she had healed quickly, Ethan on the other hand had only began to walk partially by himself a mile before the cabin. Now as they walked towards the front door, he was almost carrying his own weight.

The walk gave Amelia time to think, to think about what was missing. At first she had barely noticed it; it was much harder to notice what was missing than what was blatantly obvious. She could sense Ethan, feel he was next to her, that his werewolf was ever close to the surface, but for the first time in her life she hardly cared. In the four years they had been married and in the years before that, she had been on guard constantly, the feeling had easily become second nature. It wasn’t quite their now though, as they pushed open the cabin door, for the first time in her life she didn’t want to kill him.

“Do you feel that?” she questioned as she leant Ethan precariously against the wall, worried at the same time that the flimsy wall might just cave in behind him.

Ethan’s face screwed up in confused as she stared at him nervously. “I don’t feel anything,” he answered. There was still an aching pain in his leg where the bones had reset but that couldn’t be it, as he looked into the eyes of his wife he knew something was up, whether it was good or bad he didn’t know.

“Exactly,” she murmured, more to herself than to him. Even more confused than before, Ethan pulled himself from the wall, ignoring the unstable creak of the wood as he did so.

“You know you’re being extremely cryptic, right?” he said, bemused.

Giving Ethan a pointed look she sighed deeply, running her hands through her long brown hair. “Do you want to kill me?” she asked bluntly.

Ethan almost laughed at the question, one that had to his amusement been asked a lot more than once in their relationship. Before he could shrug it off as nothing, something clicked in his mind, something was definitely off. She was close to him, intimately close and yet he felt almost nothing, there was no sharp pain in his body that told him to run, no voice in the back of his head telling him to call his pack, even his muscles were relaxed and calm. “No,” he whispered and for the first time he actually meant it.