TwistedRevenge (8 page)

“Liar! I heard what you said.”

He looked upward as if asking the heavens for patience. “I
was being sarcastic. Why would I try to train you to fight if I was going to
lure you to your death?”

She shook her head. “I heard all of it, Luc. I heard you say
you wanted your rightful place as head of the pack no matter what the cost.”

“When have you ever known me to give a serious answer? Aren’t
I always sarcastic? Always a jackass?”

Rowan wiped at the tears that managed to spill down her
cheeks. “Maybe you were just hedging your bets, making sure you came out on top
either way.”

“Was I hedging my bets when I kissed you? When I tasted you?
Or how about when I touched you?”

“Don’t…” She gripped the sides of her head. She couldn’t let
him twist things around. “That wasn’t real. It was just you pretending.” He
moved closer. Rowan pulled out another knife to keep him at bay. “Stay back,
Luc.”

He kept coming. “Or what? You’re going to stab me again?”

“Yes.”

She didn’t even see him move. One minute he was a yard away
from her, the next minute, he had her pinned against the tree. His warm body
pressed against her and the feel of it made her whimper. Luc gripped her
wrists, pinning them above her head. His thumb pressed on her wrist and pain
exploded in her hand, causing her to drop the knife. He kept his face close to
hers, his green eyes practically glowing in the moonlight. When he spoke, his
lips brushed against hers. “Don’t fight me. You like the way I make you feel.
You like the way I make your body respond. Nothing that happened between us was
fake.”

Her knees felt like jelly. She wanted to give in to the heat
pooling between her legs. Damn him for making her feel like this, for making
her feel weak. She had to keep her legs squeezed together, willing herself to
remain focused. Luc was the enemy. “Get off me, you mangy wolf.” She had to grind
out the words through clenched teeth for fear of kissing him instead of
threatening him if her lips brushed his one more time.

He shifted on the balls of his feet, as if her words had
physically hurt him but he didn’t let her go. “Why are you so convinced I am
the bad guy?”

Why, indeed? Couldn’t everything he just said be true? Could
he be a wolf and still be helping her? What about what he had told her about
Ulric? What if that was true? He had said he wanted the wolf dead so the pack
could heal. But Theron was right. If Luc wanted to protect her, he would have
kept her in St. Louis. He would have protected her there instead of bringing
her to the Black Forest to fight a wolf who had systematically killed every
member of her family. She could hear the flute playing in the background.
Clinging to the sound as if it would give her strength, she leaned her head
back, took a deep breath and then flung her head forward, connecting the top of
her head to Luc’s nose.

He stumbled back, clasping his nose and already choking on
the blood flowing from it. Rowan tried to tell herself she didn’t care, but
that wasn’t true. She did but she couldn’t afford to be weak any longer. Seeing
him doubled over and defenseless, she advanced on him, grabbed him by the hair
and drove her knee up to meet his bloody face. She expected pain but what she
got in return was worse than pain. Her knee felt as if it had shattered when it
connected with his face and her head pounded to the point that her vision
blurred. “Don’t ever touch me again. I don’t need you.”

She turned on her heels and stalked through the woods toward
the fire and Theron, who was waiting for her with a grin on his face. “What?”
she snapped.

“Nothing, nothing. I just think that if you truly meant what
you said to him, then we should leave now. No sense waiting for the wolf to
bare its fangs, you know?”

Rowan couldn’t agree more. She wanted to be far away from
Luc so she could figure out how she would defeat both him and his father now
that it was clear whose side he was on all this time. “Let’s go then.”

Theron nodded toward the path at the north end of the
clearing. “If we want to head them off and get safely to your grandmother’s
then we should head this way.” He tucked his flute in his belt and waited for
her to start up the trail before stamping out the fire and trailing after her. “You
did good, you know that, don’t you? You really managed to put that mangy mutt
in his place. I’m sure he’ll have a hard time smelling anything for at least a
month.”

She gave a halfhearted smile but she didn’t feel all that
great about the cheap shot she’d delivered to Luc with her knee and even worse,
her knee was killing her with every step she took. “Thanks, but I don’t want to
talk about Luc.”

“I understand, it’s just that, well…” He panted as he jogged
to catch up to her. “I think it was good practice for what you will face next
time.”

Rowan tried her best not to give a physical reaction to his
sentence. Next time she would face one of two scenarios—either Ulric himself or
his assassins who were on her trail. Luc only went down because he was
distracted and because she cheap-shot him. Up against Ulric or a pack, she didn’t
stand a chance, her gut knew this. Her mind knew it too, but Theron seemed
convinced she could take them all. “Like I said, thanks.”

“He really did a number on you, didn’t he?”

She arched her brow but didn’t answer him.

Theron laughed and tapped his head. “Up here, I mean. He
really messed with your head. Did you think he loved you? That you two would
have some romantic happily ever after and ride off into the sunset together?”

“So what if I did?” she snapped but then took a calming
breath. “I said I didn’t want to talk about him. I meant it. Please.”

“Okay, I understand. It’s painful but talking about these
things helps.”

“How would you know?”

“I was betrayed once, long ago. I remember how it feels to
put everything you are into the belief that people will keep their word. It
hurts when you find out how naïve you’ve been. It hurts even more when you can’t
get your revenge.”

“I don’t want revenge. I just want to be left alone.”

“Isn’t revenge why you are out here to begin with? Don’t you
want to kill Ulric for what he did to your family? He killed your parents.”

She shook her head.

“Rowan, you have to want revenge, it’s natural. Trust me, no
one would fault you.”

“I don’t want revenge. I just want this thing, these wolves,
to stop hunting me. I couldn’t care less about old grudges. I don’t want any
part of it.”

“So you came here, you crossed the Arch for nothing? Did you
think having a sit-down with the Big Bad Wolf and sharing a scone and some tea
would make it all better? You have to be driven by something.”

She stopped walking and turned toward him. “I will do my
best to kill Ulric when he comes for me but I will not seek out a fight. I don’t
even have the whole story. For all I know, what Luc told me was a lie. Just a fairytale
to get me to cross the Arch. What if I’m here for all the wrong reasons? Hell,”
she threw her hands in the air, “for all I know Ulric might be the good guy in
all this. Luc could have been lying about everything.”

“That is true.” Theron patted her back. “I mean I’ve never
met Ulric personally. Maybe the stories of his insanity are overinflated. Luc
could actually be the one tormenting the woods.” He pulled out his flute and
fluttered a tune. “Good thing you broke ties with him before it was too late.”

Rowan nodded and covered her mouth to stifle a yawn. Theron
smiled. “It’s still hours before sunrise and you need some sleep. I think we’ve
placed ourselves far enough ahead of Luc for the time being. Let’s take a break
and rest. You sleep, I’ll keep watch.”

“You really think it’s safe?”

His soft melody was already working, lulling her to sleep
even as she walked, Theron chuckled. “Yes, I think it’s safe.” He guided her to
the ground and rested her against a tree. “You just sleep. I’ll take care of
everything else.”

There was no fighting the pull of sleep anymore. Her eyes
closed and she was lost to everything around her. All she could see in her
dreams was Luc, chasing her, hunting her, but no matter how hard she tried, she
couldn’t wake up.

Rowan ran from the clearing. She could hear Luc calling for
her as he crashed through the woods but she refused to stop. The morning had
started normally enough. She had woken up on the trail Theron had pointed her
to the night before when she parted ways with Luc but Theron was nowhere in
sight. Instead she heard Luc calling for her and the sounds of wolves howling
in the distance.

In a blind panic she bolted. Running hard and fast, she jumped
over fallen trees, dodged branches and skidded around corners. After a mile or
so, she came upon the river. It was exactly as Theron had said. The bridge was
in perfect working order. She was halfway across when the bridge started to
rumble. “What is that?”

A voice echoed all around her. “Who dares cross my bridge?”

A shiver went down her spine. Whatever was underneath her
sounded as if it was gnawing on bones. “I… I just want to get to the other
side.”

Water splashed below as something climbed up the riverbank
but when the creature who had spoken reared its ugly head, she took a step back
and gasped. Its skin was a sickly shade of green. Yellow and black teeth filled
its mouth and yellow tusks jutted out from its upper lip. The thing’s hair was
black and shaped in a mohawk with the exception of two long braids dangling to
the beast’s waist and decorated with bones and beads. It wore no shirt, only a mangled
pair of breeches and no shoes on its feet. Various pouches hung from its belt
and it carried a very large mallet. She took another step back. The creature
drooled as it talked. “You will make a fine meal. You have enough meat on you
to feed me for week.”

Her eyes narrowed. “How dare you!”

The creature tilted its head to the side and snarled, “My
dinner doesn’t talk back to me.”

“Well, I am not your dinner, buddy.” She pulled out a dagger
and twirled it in her hand. “You better let me pass or so help me I will gut
you, bleed you out in the river and leave your body for the wild animals.” It
was the best badass-sounding threat she could come up with regardless of
whether she knew how to do any of those things or not.

The creature raised his mallet and slammed it down two feet
in front of her, causing the entire bridge to shake. Rowan stifled her scream
but had to stumble back to find her balance. Her foot caught on her cloak and
she drew it closer around her to keep from stumbling on it again. The beast’s
yellow eyes widened. “Red.”

Rowan frowned. Apparently the creature wasn’t color blind. “Yes,
my cloak is red, what’s your point.”

“You are the one in red, the one the wolves are hunting.”

“Great. Does everyone in this damn forest know my entire
life’s story?”

He rocked back on his heels and yipped like a hyena. “Yes.
We all know about you.”

“Well, that is just fantastic. And who the hell are you
anyway?”

He gave a deep bow. “I am Azlin, the bridge troll. Haven’t
you any bridge trolls where you come from?”

She wrinkled up her nose. “No. We have toll bridges not
bridge trolls.”

The troll scratched his chin. “I cannot let you pass, one in
red. I swore my allegiance to Ulric long ago. I am bound by my oath to him. If
the wolves are hunting you then I’m sorry, I have to give you to them.”

“Please, Azlin, you have to let me pass.”

“No, I’m sorry.” His brows drew together in a tight line as
his eyes focused on something behind her. Rowan stiffened and turned slowly to
see a large black wolf walking toward her. His lips curled as he snarled,
showing off rows of deadly teeth. She couldn’t take her eyes off the wolf but
she could hear Azlin stuttering behind her. “Ulric, she is all yours. I did
well?”

She felt her knees buckle as the wolf spoke, “Yes, you did well.
Now leave us.” The troll scrambled over the edge of the bridge and disappeared.

Rowan fumbled with the dagger in her hand. “Wha… What do you
want with me?”

“You know what I want. I want you to die.”

“I haven’t done anything to you.”

Ulric growled, “You continue to breathe, that is enough for
me.”

She slid her foot back, edging toward the opposite end of
the bridge but for every foot she moved backward the large wolf advanced
forward. “This isn’t fair.”

“Fair?” Once again she witnessed the transformation from
wolf to man, a crackle of electricity, a flash of light and a man stood in
place of the black wolf. The man stood tall, at least six feet, six inches,
salt-and-pepper hair, a long scar marring his exceptional good looks from his
right temple through his eye and down his cheek. His eyes were green like Luc’s
and their features were definitely similar. There was no doubt this man was Luc’s
father. He was dressed like his son. Black seemed to be the color of choice for
evil in the forest. His tone turned harsh as if her question set him off in a
fit of anger. “Fair is a concept I’m not too familiar with. Is this scar fair?
Your great-grandmother gave it to me. Do you think it was fair?”

“I don’t know.”

“Of course you don’t know. Your mother thought she could
hide you from me and even worse, you thought you could run away with my son and
you’d be safe.”

“Yeah, well, that was before I knew your son was working for
you. Trust me, if I could do it again I’d steer clear of both of you.”

He laughed. “I knew he’d come around and bring you to me. He
might not like me, but it is my blood that courses through his veins. He can’t
help but do what I demand.”

“You must be so proud.”

“I am. Now enough about my son. You and I need to get to
know each other better.” He reached into his pocket. Rowan expected to see a
weapon, maybe a dagger, or something, but instead Ulric’s hand was closed. She arched
her brow and he chuckled. “What were you expecting?”

“I expected you to kill me or at least try.”

“All in good time, my dear. I’d rather enjoy my meal closer
to home so it is time for you to sleep.”

“Sleep? Are you going to bore me into a coma? Because I’m
not feeling very tired yet.” She heaved her shoulders. “You know all the
adrenaline of the morning and all that.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve come prepared.” He uncurled his clenched
hand to reveal a small pile of what looked to be sand.

“What the—” Wide eyed, Rowan tried to take a step back as
Ulric blew the sand into her face. She coughed and blinked as a heaviness
entered her body. “What did you do to me?”

“Don’t worry about it. We will have our fun later. For now
you will sleep.”

* * * * *

One minute Rowan was standing on the bridge and the next
minute she was tied up in a small cave. Ulric was pacing in front of her. “Now
where do we start?”

“Why don’t you just kill me and get it over with?”

“I like to play with my food before they stop twitching.”

Her stomach knotted up. “You’re a sick bastard.”

Ulric smiled. “You have no idea.” Moving closer, he ran his
hand down her cheek, “You see, I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.” He
leaned in and ran his nose against her neck, inhaling deeply. “We are going to
have some fun.”

“Oh God, just kill me now. Isn’t it bad enough that your son
manipulated me?”

He laughed. “Not even close. My son at least gave you a
choice. Here in this place, I make the rules and I take what I want and you
will only die when I give you permission.”

He stood back and brought his hand down, connecting with her
cheek. She cried out at the unfamiliar sensation of pain. She’d thought her
knee hurt when she defended herself against Luc but the sting of the backhand
from Ulric brought tears to her eyes. Rowan fought the urge to beg for mercy,
she knew he would enjoy it too much. She steeled herself, gathering up every
ounce of willpower. “Do your worst.”

“I plan on it.” His hand gripped her throat, pushing hard
against her windpipe as he brought his other hand up so she could watch as his
nails transformed into claws. She gasped for air and in fear of what the beast
was going to do next. He didn’t make her wait long. As soon as his claws were
fully extended, he ran one of them down her chest. She hissed against the pain
of his claw cutting a line from below the hollow of her throat to her cleavage.
It burned but she refused to open her mouth for fear that she would give in and
beg. She could feel the blood trickling down her chest.

“Hurts, doesn’t it? Just think of how much worse it will be
when I tear the flesh from your bones.” Both hands moved to the cut he’d made.
His claws dug in at the wound as if he were going to tear her open.

She took a deep breath. There was no getting ready for this
pain. She prayed that somehow she’d lose consciousness before he got too far.
She could feel the tips of his claws digging in more but he stopped. Tilting
his head to the side, he looked as if he was listening to something. Several
minutes passed as she sat in the cave shaking with fear, but Ulric didn’t move.

The wooden door to the cave opened and Ulric launched
himself at the intruder. Snarls and yelps rang out. It sounded like a dogfight
only much louder. Rowan took action. She wiggled and struggled against her
bindings. It didn’t matter who was out there, this was her opportunity to run
and she was going to take it. She launched herself backward, landing with a
grunt on the floor near the jagged wall. Squirming back until she could feel a
sharp rock jutting out, she worked her ropes up and down until the rock cut
through them. With her hands free, she untied her legs. The wolves were still
fighting outside. She could escape if they stayed distracted.

She crawled to the exit and froze. She’d assumed the ones
fighting would be in wolf form but instead Luc was attacking his father. He
straddled the older man, gripping Ulric by his hair and slamming his head into
the ground. Her eyes were as wide as saucers. It made no sense. Luc’s head
snapped up, he locked eyes with her and nodded his head toward the trail. Her
heart drummed in her ears. Was he helping her? But he’d betrayed her. Theron
had been right about Luc. She hadn’t moved until Luc’s voice echoed around the
clearing. “Run, damn it!”

* * * * *

She didn’t stop running. Her leg muscles cramped and burned
but she kept pushing forward. Her chest hurt. Her legs were giving out. Every
few feet she would stumble and crash to the ground, but she couldn’t stop.
Something came into sight and she ran harder until she could make out what it
was. Her heart fell. She was back at the bridge. The troll would never let her
pass. All the running was for nothing. She was trapped again. Rowan fell to her
knees and buried her face in her hands. Her shoulders shook as she sobbed.

Something touched her shoulder. She couldn’t help but flinch.
Anything or anyone who would touch her was her enemy. They all wanted to hurt
her. The voice she heard wasn’t what she expected. “Red, I’m not going to hurt
you.” Luc’s hand tightened on her shoulder. “We have to keep moving.”

“Why? So you can take me back to your father?”

She could feel his body next to hers. He must have crouched
down beside her. “I’m not taking you to anyone except to your grandmother’s
house. I was never going to hand you over to him.”

“That’s a lie. I heard you talking to that other person,”
she sobbed, “or wolf, or whatever you call yourselves.”

“I was being sarcastic and trying to buy myself some time to
figure out how close my father was. Why would I try to unlock your fighting
skills if I was going to hand you over to the Big Bad Wolf?”

She shrugged. It sounded right when Theron had convinced her
Luc was up to no good but now that her head was clear and Luc was pleading his
case, nothing seemed to add up. “I don’t know.”

“We can talk about this later, Red. Come on.” He pulled her
up to her feet and led her toward the bridge.

Rowan dug her heels in and fought against his grip. “No, we
can’t go that way. The troll, he works for your father.”

He smiled and pulled her onto the bridge. Each step they
took, she waited for the troll to appear but even as they neared the end of the
bridge, he still hadn’t appeared. “I am part of my father’s pack. He won’t even
bother you while I am with you. Which is why I was trying to catch up with you
this morning. If I had been with you, my father wouldn’t have had the chance to
grab you.” He looked away and whispered, “I’m sorry.”

Even when he looked away, his grip stayed steady around her
waist. She leaned into him, finally giving in to her fatigue. “I don’t know if
I trust you.”

“Understandable.” He led her to the continuing trail,
nodding toward the fork in the road. “We go left, but we’re going to have to
stop soon and clean your wounds.”

She shook her head. “I’ll be fine. We can’t stop.”

“Why?”

She looked up at him, wanting to lose herself in his green
eyes, but she knew she couldn’t. “Because every time we stop, you work your
magic on me and I give in to you a little bit more.”

He pulled her sharply to a stop. “Is that such a bad thing?”

“Yes. I don’t know if you are the good guy or not.”

“I never claimed to be the good guy. I just happen to be the
best guy for you.” He dipped his head down, letting his lips brush against hers.
“You know it’s true. There is no one in this world or the other who makes you
feel the way I do.” His tongue flicked over her bottom lip. “Your body ignites
when I am near. It can admit to me what you can’t. You want me.”

“I do.” The truth came slipping from her mouth before she
could stop it.

“Then you are going to have to trust me.” He pulled back and
took her hand again, leading her farther down the path. “We need to get you
patched up, but we can’t take any chances with the wolves tracking us. Hold
still.” Before she could protest, Luc had coated his hand in the blood dripping
down her chest. He pointed to a large tree. “Stay hidden. I’m going to lead
them off in the other direction. Trust me, they won’t be able to resist the scent
of your blood.”