Her Wolf Read online

  Victoria had paused the brush mid-stroke and looked down at her with a startled expression marring her otherwise perfect Nordic features. She’d regained her composure quickly.

  “Do you think there are monsters, Ash?”

  Ashlee hadn’t known what to say. Something about her mother’s tone had made her more nervous than the monster movie with the chainsaw-wielding psycho killer. What was it? Thinking with her adult mind and not that of her younger self, Ashlee realized her mother had sounded anxious. Fourteen years later, Ashlee couldn’t remember ever hearing Victoria sound quite like that again.

  Summer had interrupted then; she was never satisfied until she had every answer she needed. “Do you, Mom? Do you believe?”

  Ashlee thought she knew what her mom would say. It was the job of grownups to reassure you, to tell you that nothing scary was real.

  “I do believe, girls. Some of the things that go bump in the night are real and we must always be on guard for them. But don’t worry, nothing will ever harm you here while I am with you.”

  The memory, like dust in the sky, floated out of her mind and Ashlee was back in the present with her decision already made for her. Why wasn’t it possible that Tristan could speak to her, even if he was a wolf? It wasn’t any more unreasonable than anything else. People believed in ghosts and no one called them crazy. Hell, she’d had a friend whose mother attended conferences about aliens. Declaring herself a lunatic hadn’t worked out so well, maybe it was time to try a different approach. Just for tonight, she would believe.

  Tristan was a talking wolf and she was going to save him from the men who were out to get him.

  She looked at her small black alarm clock on her nightstand. 10:30 PM. She’d only been asleep for an hour. Wearing her flannel red and black pajamas, Ashlee jumped from her bed and ran out of her bedroom. She didn’t have time to change her clothes, the urgency to reach Tristan at the zoo too great. She rushed through the house pausing only to write her parents a note.

  Mom and Dad, I may have gone off the deep end but there is a wolf that talks at the zoo. I know, I know. I’m nuts. But he needs me to break him out and I’m going to do it. If you need to call the doctors and send me away, I understand. I love you and I wish I didn’t have to do this. But, I do, even though it makes no logical sense.

  I love you.—Ash

  She rushed into the garage. She grabbed the key off the wall where it hung and climbed into her SUV.

  She pulled out of her driveway fast and rounded the corner down the suburban street. Her tires squealed and she forced herself to slow down. Jail…she might do hard time for this. She was going to break a wolf out of a government-owned zoo. That meant it was a felony. She swallowed the saliva that pooled in her mouth and clenched her teeth together until they hurt. Too late to back out now. At least her parents could afford a good attorney when the police arrested her, and they had her note to prove how out of her mind she really was.

  She pulled into a parking space close to the employee gate—the zoo was empty of people, she had her pick—and rushed out of the car. Her key fit perfectly in the door and she stepped inside. Quickly, she plugged her code into the silent alarm. Its unique numbers would identify her to zoo security. They would know exactly who had broken out the wolf based on that alone. She sighed.

  Quietly, she followed the path towards the wolves. The monkeys screeched when she passed them, but otherwise only the hiss of the dully-lit gas path lights acknowledged her arrival. She reached the pen and looked down. Tristan’s ears shot upwards as he became alert and he stood to run towards the wall.

  What are you doing here, my Ashlee?

  She swallowed. She could still hear him. He was still a talking wolf. That hadn’t changed. “I’ve had a dream.”

  A bad dream? He paced around in a circle in front of her.

  “It felt very real to me. I’m getting you out before the men who did this to you arrive.” She paused. “Some men did this to you, didn’t they? Trapped you like this?” That’s correct. Do you have these psychic dreams often, little Ashlee?

  She shook her head and walked towards the gate. “No. This was my first and hopefully my last.”

  It would be easy. She would let Tristan out, he would go wherever it was that he went, and then things could go back to normal. Assuming, that is, she didn’t get caught in this jailbreak (which of course she would), and also assuming her parents didn’t lock her up and throw away the key.

  “Tristan, I can’t let the other wolves out. Unless they’re also humans trapped as animals?”

  Tristan snorted in what might have been something like a laugh. No, they are wolves. They will not come near the gate. He turned around, growled at the pack, and showed his teeth. His meaning was clear—back off.

  Ashlee opened the door and Tristan trotted out. He sniffed the ground in front of him. Ashlee closed and locked the gate. Up close, Tristan was an even more impressive animal. Thick brown fur with red patches, deep sunken brown eyes specked with grey, and filled with intelligence. Absentmindedly, she reached out to stroke his fur but jumped back when she caught herself. She sucked in a breath. It was one thing to contemplate breaking out a wolf, another thing to actually be alone with one, let alone touch it. Those teeth could take off her hand. She stepped backwards and hit the wall behind her hard.

  Tristan followed her retreat and nudged her with his head until she touched him of her own volition. With great trepidation, Ashlee petted Tristan on his head and then on his back and sides. He was coarse under her touch and he smelled clean, like the first scent of fresh air on an early summer morning. She laughed at the thought and he nudged her.

  You must never fear me. I will never hurt you. Only to you will I ever make that promise.

  “Come with me. We’ve got to get you out of here.” She heard the click of the nails on his paws as he followed behind her. She ran towards the front gate. She looked around and opened it, noting the way the moonbeams played on the bars, giving it the impression of swimming in the moonlight. Tristan loped through the gateway and into the shadows.

  Her breath shook in her throat. “So what happens now? Do you run home or something?” She didn’t know what to do with her arms and legs. She felt lost in the space around her. How did you say goodbye to a magical talking wolf? For a moment, only silence met her query.

  Ashlee, I cannot leave you. I am hopeful you will take me home to my pack and you will meet my family. But if you cannot, then I will stay with you.

  She knew she shouldn’t have just accepted all of this as commonplace, certainly it was weird, but if she was in for a penny, she was in for a pound. Weird prophetic dreams, talking wolves, shifters…why not? It felt right to her. In the same way that she knew she had red hair, she knew this was real. “You can’t stay with me. Where would I put you? Besides, if you get home, they can help you, right? They can make it so you can be a man again?”

  So that I can be a man when I choose to and a wolf when I want, yes. They can help me with this.

  She blew out the breath she’d been unaware she held. “Then I guess I’ll take you home. Where do you live?”

  On an island, off the coast of Maine.

  “An Island off the coast of Maine? We’re in New Jersey. That’s what, eight, nine hours from here?” She shook her head. How would she explain where she’d gone? Her family would worry. She’d need a good excuse. Her parents had taken to treating her as if she were a child ever since her breakdown.

  I would guess more like ten hours considering we will need to wait for the boat.

  A really, really good excuse.

  She walked towards her waiting SUV and popped open the door. “Hop in. I’ll drive you to Maine, and then I’ll turn around and come back. I can be back for dinner tomorrow night. I’ll make up some excuse.”

  The wolf snorted. You will not be back for dinner tomorrow night.

  She furrowed her brow at his authoritative tone. “Yes, I will.”

  Trist
an remained silent. She narrowed her eyes and rubbed her nose. She knew she hadn’t won the argument, he’d humored her. This day really wasn’t going as planned. She turned to get into the car but stopped when she saw Tristan’s head jerk upwards. His nose moved frantically in the air as he sniffed something. He growled and she shuddered. Her voice wavered. “Tristan?” Get in the car, little one.

  She followed his gaze and turned around. Behind her car, three men stepped out of the shadows. They were the men from her dream. She whirled around and stared at Tristan. His teeth flaunted, he growled loudly. Gone was her sweet, gentle wolf and in his place stood a terrifying animal. She had a feeling this situation called for just that kind of creature.

  The first man stepped forward. His hair, long and blond, hung down his back. He turned in the light and she saw that half of his face was tattooed with the symbol of a serpent. “Hello, Tristan. We’ve been looking for you,” the blond man lisped. He really sounded like a snake.

  Tristan snarled and moved towards the snake man who turned around to smile at the other two would-be attackers, both dark haired. One of them was small in stature, the other the exact opposite, huge and built like a linebacker.

  “Look boys, I don’t think he can shift back yet. I think the beloved boy is still stuck.” He laughed. “Classic.” The other two men snickered. “Get the leash and catch his little girl before she runs.”

  Linebacker turned around to grab Ashlee. She didn’t think, just reacted. She swung open the back door of her SUV as he stepped forward. It collided with the man’s gigantic gut. He fell backwards a step. He made an oomph noise and stalked forward. Instinct made her run. She went no more than ten feet when her mind screamed for her to turn around and help Tristan.

  A scream of agony cut through the night air as Tristan attacked Ashlee’s pursuer. Her wolf went right for the giant man’s throat. Tristan ripped and tore him to pieces as he bit and attacked the huge man with his teeth and claws. Blood splattered and coated Tristan’s fur. The concrete beneath them turned red from the gaping wounds.

  Ashlee tried not to gag and spun around in an attempt to avoid the scene as it unfolded. She lost her balance, tripped and hit the ground. She grunted as her shoulder took the brunt of her weight, followed immediately by her head as it hit the pavement. Her teeth tore into her tongue. She saw stars and spit out the blood that came from the bite she’d given her tongue.

  The smaller attacker stood over her now. He reached down to grab her. Suddenly, he was down on the ground. Another wolf, not Tristan, attacked him and literally ripped the skin from the man’s face. The scream was short-lived, as only moments later the wolf locked onto his throat.

  How hard had she hit her head? Where had this second wolf come from?

  Unlike Tristan, this wolf was entirely black. The attacker reached into his belt for something hidden there. He pulled out a knife and struck the black wolf on his left shoulder. It was an act of desperation because Ashlee guessed the man was already on his way to death’s door. The wolf whimpered for a moment, but didn’t stop his assault as he shredded the hand that held the knife to nothing but bone.

  Ashlee rolled onto her side and looked for Tristan. He growled and stalked the blond snake-man who held the leash he’d ordered the others to get. She’d seen this type of lead before. If Snake-boy managed to touch Tristan with the end of it, an electric shock would be released and render Tristan paralyzed for a moment. Enough time for him to be caught.

  She had not gone through all the trouble of breaking Tristan out only to lose him to that electric stunner.

  She crouched and her body screamed with pain. Fury filled her body and she smiled. Had she ever been this angry before? Before she could stand up a third wolf, this one small and white, leapt from the darkness onto Snake’s back. He went down onto his belly. Tristan attacked from the other side as the white wolf finished him off from behind by ripping out his throat. Growls filled the air and drowned out the screams. Moments later, there was nothing but silence.

  Ashlee’s head spun. She sat back on her butt and touched her forehead. Blood stained her right hand when she pulled it back. She must have really gashed open her head. Gagging at the sight of her own blood, she looked at the ground to regain her equilibrium. Two bare feet obstructed her vision and she jerked her head upright to look. A man stood before her, completely nude. His hair was the same shade of black as the wolf who’d attacked the short assailant and saved her.

  He knelt on the ground next to her. His hand pushed up against his shoulder to put pressure on a bleeding wound. This man was the black wolf. She’d thought she’d accepted the fantastical when she broke Tristan out of the wolf pen, but her stomach still rolled at the thought that this person and the wolf were the same being.

  His eyebrows raised, he looked at her. “Are you hurt badly, ma’am?”

  Ma’am? She had one second to register the man’s kind voice in her brain before

  Tristan attacked him. Her wolf leapt into the air and toppled the stranger onto the ground. His teeth shown, he growled just as fiercely as he had at that their attackers. Tristan’s face loomed over the stranger’s only inches apart.

  Ashlee staggered to her feet “Tristan, he saved me!”

  He didn’t struggle under Tristan’s attack. The black haired stranger lay perfectly still. “It wasn’t me, Trip. I swear it. I know you think it was, but I didn’t do it. I got there too late. I swear it, brother. I’ve searched for you for six months. I didn’t betray you to Father’s men. I’ve been following them, looking for you.” His voice sounded raw with emotion, Ashlee could hear him gasp as he tried to get enough air. “Rip out my throat brother, if you don’t believe me. Rip it out.”

  Tristan stared down at his brother and stopped growling but didn’t move from his attack posture.

  “I saved your woman. She is yours, isn’t she? I can smell it. Why would I save her if

  I wanted you dead?”

  Tristan bowed his head and his brother took a deep breath. Ashlee watched Tristan step off the other man’s body and limp over towards her.

  She gasped. “You’re hurt?” She leaned down to touch his front paw. He yelped.

  “Yes, they’re both hurt. And it’s exactly this kind of grandstanding that I haven’t missed for the last thirty years.”

  Ashlee jerked her head around, her mouth dropped open. Her mother stood before her, completely naked. Suddenly embarrassed, Ashlee covered her eyes with her hand to not see her mother’s nude form.

  She swallowed and turned around so she couldn’t see her mother. She opened her eyes. “Mom, what are you doing here? I mean…I can explain.” She didn’t know how she was going to explain, she’d already confessed her intentions in the note she’d left. Wait a minute, what was her mother doing there and why was she naked?

  “No, Ashlee, I think I’m going to have to explain. When I got home I read your note and I could smell your fear all over the house, so I followed the GPS signal your father had installed in your car.” Her mother’s voice sounded tired.

  The GPS signal in her car? Why had her father felt the need to spy on her and what had her mother meant by smelled her fear? Ashlee opened her mouth to question her mother but Rex answered her first.

  “Victoria?” Ashlee opened her eyes and saw Tristan’s brother had stood up and walked towards Ashlee’s mother, his hand on his shoulder again.

  “It’s me, Rex. Only everyone here calls me Vicki. I’m exhausted. I haven’t been in wolf form in nearly two decades. Come. My mate is a surgeon, and he knows about all of this.”

  Tristan growled at that last statement.

  “Oh hush it, Trip. Why would he expose us? He’d be dooming his own daughter if he did that.”

  Ashlee turned to look at her mother, her mouth hung open in disbelief. Her mother was also a wolf? What the heck was going on? Her mother stared at Ashlee, her mouth slightly ajar. “I knew you were extraordinary, Ash, but I thought it was just a mother’s pride talking.
Never in a million years did I think you would end up the mate of one of the Royal Six.”

  Mate? “The what?”

  Tristan nudged at her leg with his nose and she moved to the car.

  She’ll explain this to you when we get to your home. Or I will. Tristan’s voice soothed Ashlee’s strung out nerves.

  Her mother turned to walk towards the darkness. “I’ll take care of cleaning up this mess and I’ll meet you back at home. Ashlee, take the princes back with you to our house.” Ashlee nodded even though she doubted her mother could see her.

  Her car door still hung open and despite his injured paw, Tristan leaped easily into the backseat. Ashlee closed the door behind him and got into the front. Rex, that’s what her mother had called Tristan’s black haired brother, climbed into the passenger front seat. Ashlee handed Rex the emergency blanket her parents made her keep in the backseat. He wrapped himself up in it. Tristan growled.

  Rex groaned. “Come on, Trip. I just got you back. I am certainly not making a play for your mate. She already shares your scent. She’s yours. I get it. I’ll climb in the back if it makes you more comfortable.”

  Rex turned around in his seat, still holding his shoulder, and manipulated himself over the console to the backseat. Tristan climbed through the center and sat in the front passenger seat next to her. Ashlee, unable to resist the need, reached out and stroked his fur. He lay across the front seat, eyes upwards and gazed at her. She swallowed away the strange unknown feeling that had formed in her stomach.

  She put the key in the ignition and started the car. Rex stretched out in the backseat and yawned before saying, “My brother isn’t usually so possessive. But then again he’s never been mated so maybe this is just how he is.” Can it, Rex.