Silence of the Wolves (18 page)

Tamriel nodded, suddenly feeling grimy.

‘You should talk to your mother, Tam. If she’s anything like my mother, she will already know most of it anyway.’

‘Yeah, mothers have a way of doing that.’ Tam grinned at the thought, though the expression on Sapphire’s face made her frown suddenly.

‘No, I mean if she’s anything like
my
mother was, she
will already know
.’ And with that, the female spun on her heel and strode out, waving over her shoulder, leaving Tamriel standing in the kitchen, confused as hell.

‘Right.’ Leyth stalked over to the phone. ‘Hi. Yeah, would you mind grabbing us some takeout? Yeah. Pizza, pepperoni?’ He glanced at her and she nodded. She seemed to be living on pizza lately.

‘Yeah, two of us, make it two large. Thanks. My room. Thanks, bye!’

‘The pizza guy delivers straight to your room?’

‘No, we have uh, staff, that are employed by the Council. If there are humans found with wolf blood, they get sent here to, uh, “serve” us.’

She scowled at him, but he hastily continued before she could start cursing him. ‘We refuse to let them work as such; Julian’s fond of our wolves, half-breed or no, they are still pack.’

‘Ah, so that’s why this place is so grubby.’ She grinned.

‘Yeah.’ Leyth eyed the kitchen with new-found disgust. ‘The problem is, most of them were raised here, and they want to work, to help around the house. Julian doesn’t like it, he feels like he’s making them do it. So he built them all houses on the land and tells them not to do anything.’

‘Why would they want to be servants?’

‘Honestly? I think it’s because they don’t want to fight the tuhrned.’

‘That makes sense, and I suppose it’s just like any other job really.’ Tam tossed this idea around in her mind for a second. ‘Why won’t Julian let them look after the land and the houses though? If this is pack-land, and they
want
to help, stopping them is just as bad as making them do it. Why not just let them do whatever it is they want to do?’

‘That’s a good point.’ Julian laughed, walking through the door and opening the fridge. He leant against the surface. ‘Nice ears.’

‘So everyone keeps telling me,’ Tamriel muttered, grabbing her own beer and cracking the lid.

‘Doc told me you managed to work out how to partially shift. That’s really interesting.’ He looked at her for a long moment. ‘When you’re feeling up to it, mind walking me through how you did that?’

‘Sure thing, but I’m not entirely sure myself.’ She grinned.

‘Cool, would be a good thing to learn.’ He turned to leave. ‘I’m guessing you two are going to try and get some rest. Come and find me when you’re up and about.’ And with that he was gone.

Leyth slipped an arm around her waist and led her out of the room. When they reached the stairs, he swept her up into his arms and carried her up them; she couldn’t help but chuckle.

When they arrived at the top, he carried her past various empty rooms until they came to one near the end. He cracked the door and plopped her on the huge double bed.

‘This is where I’m crashing at the moment,’ he said.

‘Nice.’ She eyed the room. Not much in it, to be honest; bed, wardrobe, a few pairs of trousers and a few jackets strewn about the place. There was a suitcase that had been practically ripped open and a bathroom with a towel.

That was about it.

‘Sorry there’s not much here,’ he muttered, watching her as she lay back against the pillows and sighed.

It was just nice to be warm, dry, and with Leyth.

God, Tamriel looked so beautiful lying back on his pillows, Leyth thought. Her fragile body was dominated by his huge bed. It took every ounce of strength he had not to stalk over to her and wrap himself around her, but he kept himself in check. Now was not the time. She was healing and more than a little vulnerable.

Instead, he reached into a cupboard and tugged out one of the blankets folded at the top and draped it across her.

He then lay his own aching body down on the bed next to her and propped himself up on his elbow.

‘Thank you,’ she whispered, looking him directly in the eye.

‘For what?’

‘Finding me.’

‘Tamriel, I shouldn’t have lost you in the first place.’

‘No,’ she said, determination hardening her features as she looked up at him with those wide green eyes of hers. ‘It was my fault. I’ve always dived headfirst into situations before really thinking about it. My father always said that was my one major downfall, and I always said it would make me a good investigative reporter.’ With a grimace she added, ‘Turns out it’s not such a good quality after all.’

‘There is no such thing as a bad quality where you’re concerned,’ Leyth mumbled, reaching up and tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

‘You know, I always liked the idea of being a private investigator. For some reason I’ve always been drawn to investigative work, I’ve just never been patient enough.’

‘It’s the wolf in you.’ He grinned. ‘You enjoy the hunt.’

‘Yeah, I guess that must be it.’ She drew her hand up so it was resting lightly on top of his.

‘Leyth, I missed you. I know it sounds mad, we’ve known each other for such a small amount of time. But I missed you when I was, you know. Away.’

‘It doesn’t sound mad. I missed you too.’ He gently stroked her cheek as he said it, watching her as she turned her head and kissed his palm. Her touch sent ripples of heat skirting through him, shooting directly to his treacherous manhood.

As he looked at her, he wished like hell he could understand what was happening to them. In his heart he knew, yet he wasn’t sure he wanted to find out for certain.

‘Leyth,’ she whispered. The strength in her voice spoke of a female who knew what she wanted, and was determined to get it.

‘Yes.’ Yet, as he looked into her beautiful eyes, eyes that sparkled as they met his, he could almost see the conflict behind that stunning green stare. He knew she felt as he did, and he was so strongly drawn to her that it was possibly the hardest thing he’d ever had to do, to try and keep any sort of distance between them.

Leyth sucked in a breath as she lifted her hand to his face; her touch was so gentle, so soft. It was literally all he could do not to lean forward and…

‘Leyth, kiss me,’ she whispered, her breath washing past his skin. God did he want to, Maker only knew he wanted, no, needed to, lean forward and take those sweet lips in his, taste her, feel her. But for a heartbeat, he resisted. He knew the impact this could have. For starters, he wasn’t entirely sure he could stop; if he kissed her, that would be it, he would want to be in her, filling her with everything he had, his scent, his mark. But mostly, he knew the stories of finding your soul mate, hell, he only knew one male who’d managed to find their life partner, their mate, and that was Carl. He had heard that the moment you meet them, you fall in love and, frankly, it wasn’t a stretch to say that he’d almost fallen for Tamriel already.

The stories of legend told of soul mates that knew they were destined to be together from their first kiss. That kiss, that connection, apparently is what connects your souls when you give yourself over to one another.

Carl had always said that you just knew when you found the one.

And Leyth wasn’t sure he wanted to find out. He didn’t know what finding out that she was his soul mate would do to him and, what’s worse, what if that connection didn’t happen? What if she wasn’t? Shit.

‘Leyth?’ Her voice brought him out of his thoughts. As he looked down at her, in all her glory, he found himself memorising every inch of her; the way her eyes lit up when they met his, the way her lips moved when she spoke, the way her breasts swayed with each rise and fall of her chest.

‘Tamriel, I—’ The rest of his sentence was cut short as she moved forward, her hand resting on his cheek as she gently tugged him towards her.

For a moment, panic surged. He wanted her, Christ he wanted her so badly it physically hurt, but he was absolutely terrified of the damn feelings he had for her, terrified of what could happen if this all went wrong.

Any residual fear was rapidly chased away as she came within reach of him; her soft skin brushed his as she gently pressed a kiss against his cheek, leaning in so closely that when she moved her lips, he could feel her warmth.

‘Please…’ she whispered, her breath hot against his lips, her foresty scent surrounding him, filling him. The heat of her warmed his skin and, in that moment, nothing else mattered, not the Council, not the Circle, nothing.

Leyth let go, allowing himself to concentrate solely on her; his hands found their way around her waist, pulling her gently into him, crushing her body against his. Her breasts were soft against his hard chest, her hips fit against his perfectly, her fingers brushed against him as they tangled into his hair.

Slowly, Leyth lifted his hand and cupped her cheek, gently ushering her towards him. For a long moment, he just looked into those beautiful green depths.

This was right, he thought,
she
was right.

With that, Leyth pulled her against him, crushing his lips to hers, in a kiss that honestly destroyed everything that he was and rebuilt it, piece by piece.

Her lips were so damn soft as they met his, eagerly giving way as they came together. He moaned as she opened her mouth to him, allowing him further access. He slid his arms around her, caressing her hips, pulling her against him as closely as he physically could. She slowly slid her tongue around his and, in that moment, he lost himself inside her. Hell, this was better than sex, this was earth-shattering, monumental. His entire life flashed before his eyes, and not the life he’d previously had, no. The life he could have.

As he kissed her, he saw them getting mated, out in the woods with his pack brothers stood around them, he saw them with a house and some land, with a whole horde of kids, running, playing, living, learning. He saw their kids growing older and going through the change, becoming the most beautiful black and red wolves he’d ever seen. He saw them growing old together, living out their days in a farm house, smiling, full of love.

As his mind crashed back down to earth, he was swept away all over again, by her, his female. She tasted amazing, like hazelnut, so sweet, so delicious. He rolled her over so she was on her back on his bed. Her scent was all over him; all he could smell was her, all he could taste was her, all he could feel was her.

The alpha in him came roaring to the surface; he needed to be in her, he needed to have her in every physical way possible. He needed to mark her and show the world that she was
his.

She groaned as he moved on top of her, rolling her hips against his, deepening the kiss further as her hands explored him, running across his chest, clawing at his back. He moaned as her hands slipped underneath his T-shirt, her soft skin against his, her hands exactly where they should be, on him.

His name left her lips as he carefully slid his palm downwards, fingering the material of the scrubs she was wearing, tugging it upwards so he could feel her…

He clipped the bandage wrapped around her stomach and she yelped, only slightly, but it was enough to bring him crashing straight back down to earth. Shit. He’d hurt her.

In a second he was off her and pacing the room.

‘Are you OK?’ he grunted, his voice more than a little ragged.

‘Yup.’ Her husky voice was as worn as his.

Neither of them said anything for a few minutes as they caught their breath and brought themselves back to reality. Hell. What a kiss.

Leyth lay there for hours, fighting sleep. He spent the time just looking at Tamriel. She was just so incredible.

Lord, what a kiss that had been. It was the most mind-blowing, erotic experience of his life. It truly was better even than sex, and he was no virgin. It wasn’t just the kiss though, was it? It was her; she called to him in a way nothing ever had before, she was like the wilderness personified, a part of him that couldn’t be denied. He inhaled deeply, memorising her scent, the foresty warmth flooding his nose. He scanned her face, burning her beautiful features into his memory. Crap. How on earth was he going to leave her?

All that kiss had done was strengthen the bond he felt with her; it had shown him a life that he could have, a life he’d always wanted. A life that was so far out of his reach it was unreal. She deserved so much better than him. He came from a family full of deserters; he was already a deserter himself. He fought the most dangerous of all scum on the planet daily, and was ruled by a bunch of arseholes. He lived out of a suitcase and was always on the run. That was no life for her.

She truly deserved the life he’d seen when he kissed her; the nice house and the kids. She deserved a male that could give her the world and more and, unfortunately, that wasn’t him. All he could offer was a guest bedroom and a lot of lonely nights worrying about his sorry arse.

As he stroked his female’s silky hair, she stirred, leaning into him, dragging a hand across his chest, trailing flickers of heat as she went. The wolf at his core leapt to the surface. His wolf, he realised, was falling for her too. Christ, they hadn’t even had sex and, in reality, they barely knew each other.

This, he decided, was one of life’s true cruelties. To find that one person that nigh-on completes you, only to realise that you can’t stay with them. And to have to make that decision off your own back because of the cards you’ve been dealt is just the most soul-destroying situation ever to darken the earth.

After hours of lying there watching her, sleep finally took him. He fell into the darkness smiling. For once, he’d gone to bed a happy male.

Tamriel woke to the sound of birds chirping. She opened her eyes and gasped. Leyth was stretched out on the bed, his broad shoulders supporting her head, arm wrapped around her.

She was so happy in this moment, with the noises of the woodland outside greeting her as she woke, with her man, her male, warm and pressed against her. Christ, last night was incredible. What a goddamn kiss. She had literally watched her life flash before her eyes as he’d taken her lips.

I should go.

Cold clarity hit her like a slap to the face. He hadn’t wanted to kiss her; his hesitation had made that clear. She’d initiated the kiss because she just
had
to know what this tension between them had meant. She just had to know what these feelings were. And if she was really honest with herself?

She had known he didn’t want to get involved, she had known he wasn’t into that, but she had hoped that by showing him that there really was a connection here, something good between them, that he might stay.

He probably only did what he did because he felt bad for her. Probably thought he was doing her a favour by showing her some compassion for a night. Lord only knew, he’d already told her he didn’t want her as a part of his pack and, hell, why would something silly like her being kidnapped by the Circle change any of that? He may have kissed her, but he didn’t let it go any further.

You’re better off living a normal life away from my pack.
The words he’d once spoken thundered through her mind. Men, wolf or otherwise, had never paid her much interest, and Leyth was no different. He had made it clear he didn’t want to get involved with her, and she had been too stubborn to just let it be. The pain of the realisation hurt more than any wound ever could have.

But at least she’d have the memories of this one night.

That one, earth-shattering kiss.

She’d ruined things. She’d been so determined to make sure she knew exactly what was going on, so dead set on working out what was going on between them, that she had forced herself upon him, and yes, it was
only
a kiss, but it was a kiss she would never forget. A kiss that had shattered her world into a million pieces and made her realise that Leyth was truly someone amazing. Someone who almost completed her.

In the harsh light of day, the truth was clear. He didn’t want her. And she just had to accept that.

Pulling herself together, Tamriel padded into the bathroom, pushing aside the pain of her thoughts. The thought of Sapphire’s bright face made her smile; Leyth might not be a part of her future, but Saph sure was, and she intended to make up for lost time like there was no tomorrow with that female. Crap. She needed to call her mother. Not yet though, she decided. She wanted to find out for sure about her father first.

She washed her face and scrubbed a hand through her tangled hair, flattening it as best she could without a brush. Stalking back into the bedroom, she used the mirror to assess her wounds; they were still horribly obvious, but the cut on her leg had healed, leaving a pink scar in its wake. The one on her stomach was almost there, just a thin line of the cut left.

It looked nasty next to the large, circular scar left on her stomach from when she’d fallen in the woods when she first met Leyth. Hell, so many scars, such little time. Eyeing herself in the mirror, she straightened the scrubs he’d given her awkwardly, wishing she had some clothes of her own to wear. She began to tie a knot in the baggy trousers when Leyth spoke, making her jump a little.

‘No.’ Leyth croaked, propping himself up on an elbow, ‘wear one of my T-shirts.’ He waved a hand at the wardrobe.

Tamriel felt a jolt of joy at the fact that he wanted to see her wearing nothing but his T-shirt. But she hastily shoved that thought back down.

He was probably just being respectful. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she still hadn’t eaten. Where did that pizza get to?

Pulling one of Leyth’s great T-shirts out of the cupboard, she slipped off the baggy scrubs and slid it over her. The shirt was skin-tight on Leyth, barely containing his broad chest and muscled stomach, yet on her it reached down to her knees. This would do for now, she thought with a grin.

Walking over to the doorway, she opened the door. Yup, on the table next to the door to his room, sat two large pizza boxes. Maybe they hadn’t heard the door?

She grabbed them and quickly retreated inside, not wanting to be seen. Closing the door, she strode back to the bed and plopped them down on the sheets next to Leyth.

‘Cold pizza for breakfast? You really
are
my kind of female.’ He grinned, hefting himself up and pulling a slice out. He handed her a piece. She accepted it, being careful to keep her body covered up as much as possible.

Between the two of them, it took only five minutes for the two pizzas to disappear. She felt starved for food, for life even.

Tamriel walked over to the window and cracked it open, inhaling deeply. The scent of the woodland came up to meet her, and it was wonderful. It smelt like home, like everything she’d never had and always wanted.

‘Can we go walking in the woods today?’ She glanced over her shoulder at Leyth.

‘Of course, would you like to go wolf?’ At that she grinned, loving what she could do, loving the world she’d found.

Hell, it was just, almost perfect.

If only she could spend it with this male, it would be.

The two of them ventured downstairs. Tamriel also wore a pair of jeans that Sapphire had had brought up for her. They fitted well, even though Saph was a little more curvy than she was. Tamriel still had Leyth’s baggy T-shirt on, which swamped her but she loved it; it smelt of him. He wore jeans and a white vest. Christ, he looked good, with his shaggy black hair ruffled from the night’s sleep.

She grinned inwardly, as he took her into the kitchen.

Wow! The place was tidy.

The coffee pot filled with steaming brown liquid, there were pastries and an assortment of jams for toast lain out on the stainless steel surface.

‘Morning!’ someone cheerfully sang from the corner of the kitchen.

‘I was just about to make bacon, want some?’ The woman’s bouncy brown curls swayed as she skipped over, bowing ever so slightly as she came to them.

‘Morning, Sarah!’ Leyth grinned. ‘I see Julian finally let you come and clean his kitchen?’

‘Ah, yes, I don’t know what got into that man, but he phoned us last night and said that if we wanted to work, he would happily pay us even extra. Of course I told him to stuff his pay where the sun doesn’t shine; the Council already give us a wage! But nevertheless, here I am! You males need a good home-cooked meal after all that fighting you do!’ She grinned at Tam.

‘Nice to meet you.’ She stuck a hand out. ‘I’m Tamriel, I’m—’

‘Oh! Tamriel! I’ve heard so much about you from the boys this morning! You rescued our Alison!’

‘Yeah…’ Tam trailed off, not knowing what to say. It didn’t really matter though, Sarah just bounced off to fetch them coffee.

Once they’d walked out of the kitchen, leaving Sarah to her singing and cleaning, they made their way into Julian’s office.

The door into the room was some seriously heavy wood on the right-hand side of the stairwell. His study was absolutely huge with a high ceiling. The walls had been painted blood-red and at the end stood a huge wooden desk. The laptop on the desk seemed tiny in comparison. The same couldn’t be said for Julian, who sat in a black leather desk chair with his feet propped up and a file in his hand. His broad shoulders and muscled chest filled the room out nicely.

‘We come offering coffee, my alpha,’ Leyth said, handing him a mug.

‘Morning, Leyth, no need for sarcasm! I will take that though.’ Julian grabbed the mug and took a long, hard gulp of the stuff, before rubbing a hand across his face. He looked exhausted.

‘How’s Alison?’ Tamriel asked, gently.

‘She’s … She still hasn’t woken up.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Leyth murmured.

‘Tamriel. How are you feeling this morning? Have you eaten?’

‘Yes, thank you. I slept really well.’

‘I’m sure you did.’ The alpha grinned at the two of them.

‘I see your ears have gone this morning.’

She’d forgotten all about that, they must have shifted back as she slept!

‘Yeah,’ she mumbled.

‘Now, I need to talk to you about your flat. Is it rented?’ Julian asked.

‘Yes, why?’

‘You need to end your lease on it. It was raided when they took you.’

‘But—’

‘No buts. It’s not safe. And you’re pack now,’ the alpha explained.

‘But—’

‘No buts! Now, we have many spare rooms here you can stay in. I’ve already sent someone to pick up your things. If you’re not happy here, I can arrange for another flat in town for you, while we build you a house.’

‘Thank you, but—’

‘No buts! You saved my sister’s life. Twice. I owe you everything.’

‘Thank you, my lord.’ She bowed.

‘Now, Tamriel, we also need to discuss your working situation,’ Julian boomed.

‘My what?’

‘Your work situation.’

‘What about it?’ Crap, she hadn’t even thought about work, with everything that had been going on, it had just slipped to the back of her mind. She’d be very lucky if she didn’t get fired after all this.

‘You’re a junior reporter, are you not?’ Julian rested his head on a large hand as he eyed her with what she suspected was interest.

‘I am, yes.’

‘And you like being a reporter?’

‘I do.’

‘Well, that’s irritating.’ Tamriel couldn’t help but snort, such a casual dismissal of her life’s work, a lifetime of studying and working all hours. To this man, this alpha, it was simply ‘irritating’.

‘Why so?’ she asked, the stubborn side of her wanting to beat some sense into him, the slightly more sensible side of her telling her to cut the crap, this man was now technically
her
alpha and, therefore, his word goes. Beating him probably wasn’t an option.

‘Because you’re pack now. You’re a wolf. You can’t be in the public eye any more,’ Julian said matter-of-factly, waving a hand at the newspaper on his desk. ‘If you’re in the eye of the media, people will know you, recognise you. People will be interested in your life, where you spend your time, what you do outside of work. We can’t have that.’

‘But I love what I do. I can’t just up and leave. That’s ridiculous,’ Tam snapped, maybe a little more harshly than she should have.

‘Tam, I’m serious. You can’t attract public interest; it will affect the whole pack if you do. It’s not fair to put them in potential danger by getting the media involved in pack business.’

‘But I won’t be, I won’t write about us, the pack or anything remotely supernatural. I will just write about normal things, general news.’

‘Tamriel, even if you don’t write directly about us, you will still eventually become a public figure.’ She couldn’t help but snort at that; she’d been busting her balls at that damn newspaper for years and still they didn’t really recognise her as anything more than a junior lackey.

‘Don’t snort at me, pup.’ The alpha shot her a grin. ‘You are one of the most hot-headed, determined females I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet. I have no doubt that if you stick to the world of journalism, you’ll become the next big investigative reporter.’ He slapped a heavy hand on her shoulder. ‘And with that comes fame, or a sort of fame anyway. With fame comes an interested public who will want to know where you live, what you do and who you hang out with. I can’t have that in my pack, I’m sorry.’

‘Well, crap,’ Tam cursed. She’d finally found a family, a home of sorts, and now she couldn’t have a career? ‘Julian, I’m good at what I do and I love it. I can’t give it up.’

‘It just can’t be easy with you, can it?’ He looked particularly thoughtful for a few moments. ‘How about a compromise?’

‘I’m listening.’ Tam grinned at the alpha. He knew she wasn’t backing down on this.