Her Wolf Page 5

  She focused on the landmass as it grew closer. Westervelt wasn’t too big and most of the island appeared to be wooded. Big, thick, dense trees filled with color like on the mainland. She didn’t see any housing. They did sleep indoors, didn’t they? Her heart pounded in her chest. Rex seemed content not to speak, which left her alone with her thoughts. Ashlee didn’t know if this was a good thing or not. Finally, after what felt like forever, they docked on the island.

  Rex crossed the deck to retrieve Tristan’s cage. Ashlee started to walk forward when Peter grabbed her arm. He tugged her to his side. She pulled back from his hold but his fingernails dug into her skin. She cried out.

  “Turn back. I’ll take you back right now. Things are not right over there. Satan lives on that island. The animals, they’re not right. These people do weird work with the wolves. I’ll take you back, miss. Come with me now.”

  Ashlee stared at him with her mouth open to speak but Rex was suddenly behind her.

  “Peter, what do you think you’re doing to Ms. Morrison?”

  Ashlee finally managed to free herself from the old man’s grip and she almost fell backward from the effort. When she turned around, she had to stifle a whimper. A growl erupted from the metal cage but that wasn’t what frightened her. Rex’s eyes had gone dark, menacing. They were his wolf eyes. Ashlee worried that in one moment Rex would shift and then Peter’s days were finished.

  “Thank you for your concern, sir. I’ll be fine.” She tried to smile as she crossed past Rex and the cage, and then hopefully to the boat exit. She looked down as she walked, glad she was on solid ground. When Rex had finally taken the cage off the boat and joined her, she whirled to look at him.

  “I thought you were going to shift right there.”

  “I had it under control. But I would have shifted if he didn’t let you go. We obviously need to get a new ferryboat operator. He threatened the pack.”

  He was right, little one. We do not let others harm those who belong to us.

  Tristan didn’t need to say more. The unspoken words lay out before them like a bridge she need only cross. If she was pack, she belonged to them, as she belonged to Tristan. She swallowed hard. Did she really want to be owned like that? Once the boat was far enough away, Rex opened up the cage and Tristan walked out. He stretched as he pushed his front paws down towards the ground.

  Ashlee didn’t move an inch as she said, “I don’t belong to anyone. You told me I could leave when I wanted to, Tristan.”

  You can. But even if you run to the ends of the earth, you will still belong to our pack. You are one of us.

  That sounded like a big problem. She never got the chance to respond as four wolves ran out from behind the trees. The biggest one held a bag in his mouth that he dropped on the ground in front of him. She guessed they weren’t just regular wolves. Seemed a pretty solid bet they were shifters come to greet them.

  A band of white light suddenly engulfed the four wolves. Ashlee covered her eyes with her hands as it momentarily blinded her. When it cleared, the wolves’ bones snapped and pulled as they grew larger in front of her eyes. She gasped. She’d never actually seen anyone shift before. Moreover, she could feel their magic in her own bones. Her stomach stirred. She put her hand on her belly to stop the grumble. She wasn’t hungry; it was more like pain shot through her intestines and her stomach didn’t know how to deal with it.

  The shift finished, and four men of various heights—all of them tall and naked— stood in front of her. Rex crossed to the tallest and hugged him awkwardly. They embraced for a moment before the four naked men opened the bag they had dragged and quickly clothed themselves.

  As they dressed, the tallest in the group spoke. “Greetings, Rex. I see you found our brother. Locked in a zoo, was he?” The man who spoke had to be six foot five or taller.

  He had blond hair and brown eyes, the same as Rex’s. Was that what Tristan’s eyes looked like when he wasn’t a wolf?

  Locked in a zoo. Yes. Snicker if you must.

  “We must,” the tall brother remarked again and the other three cracked up laughing. She looked at him. Each one had varying degrees of brownish-blonde hair, cut short. The darkest of the group was also the smallest. Now that she could see five of Tristan’s brothers together, she could make out the family resemblance between them. The Kane brothers all possessed the same high cheekbones. Identical noses protruded proudly from their face. It was the jaw line and the eyes that differentiated them.

  “This must be your mate. “ The tall one who Rex embraced stepped forward. “The whole island awaits you with great anticipation. We think very highly of your mother.

  I’m Michael Kane.” Our Alpha.

  “Just for now.” Michael amended Tristan. “And this is Gabriel.” He pointed to the man who stood to his left. Gabriel stepped forward and bowed. Ashlee swallowed, unsure of what to do. How did one answer such a gesture? Gabriel was only slightly smaller than Michael. His jaw line was round, where Michael’s had been long. Also, he had a cleft in his chin, and his bangs were unevenly cut.

  Rex rolled his eyes at Gabriel. “Don’t mind Gabriel, he doesn’t leave the island much. He doesn’t know that we don’t bow to women anymore.” Gabriel looked stricken and took a step back.

  “It’s—ah—nice to meet you. And thank you for bowing; that was a very nice way to be welcomed,” she hurried to add, moved by his obvious discomfort. His eyes looked at her kindly.

  “And this one over here who is younger than Trip by one year is Theo. Don’t be grumpy—come say hello to Trip’s mate.”

  Ashlee had to force herself to stay still when Theo stepped forward. His eyes were huge and brown; he clenched his jaw so tightly that Ashlee could see the muscles strain.

  Did he already dislike her?

  “You look like your mother.” He extended his hand and she took it. His voice sounded cold. Maybe it was her mother he didn’t like? She thought he would shake her hand but he brought it to his lips and kissed it. Tristan growled. Theo raised his head to look at Tristan. “Just checking.” Just checking what?

  “And finally we have the one who is just one year older than Rex here, and that is Azriel.”

  Azriel’s chin was very similar to Michael’s but no one would mix them up. He was the smallest of the group. He also had the broadest shoulders. One long thin line scarred his face from his left eye to his neck. He shook her hand cheerfully and she smiled.

  She needed to say something. “Your Mom liked very strong names.”

  For some reason, this struck all six of them as funny and they all burst out laughing hysterically. She tried to smile. Even Tristan snorted through his nose.

  “She did.” Michael smiled. “Welcome home.”

  Home? Could she ever think of this as home? She doubted it. Her parents’ white stucco house seemed more and more appealing. She glanced over her shoulder. Maybe she could make a run for it. All she had to was swim the four miles across the river.

  Mmm, maybe not.

  Michael looked down at Tristan with seriousness. “We need to get your problem taken care of immediately, Trip, so we can go about figuring out how this happened, how we can ward against it, and who betrayed us. I must tell you, some started to fear you were dead.” Some?

  Michael grinned. “Okay, me.”

  Let me get Ashlee settled and then I would love for all of you to turn me back. Theo grinned then. “Count on it, my brother, count on it.”

  Ashlee stood in the middle of Tristan’s room. She walked from wall to wall as she admired the artwork. They had that in common. If she couldn’t find anything else to say to him at least they could discuss painting. ‘Getting Ashlee settled’ had turned out to mean depositing her in his bedroom and asking her if she would be okay for a few hours on her own. She’d nodded and he’d turned to leave, before he came back with a strange warning.

  Don’t worry if you hear odd things tonight. They’re going to be forcing a lot of magic onto me to turn me back. Don
’t be afraid, little one.

  Then he’d run out again. She appreciated that Tristan had taken the time to warn her.

  Now she could obsess about what they were doing out there tonight. She heard a howl out in the distant night and walked to the window. Nothing but trees and darkness. And thirty male shifters who hadn’t seen a female of their kind for thirty years. She shivered at the thought. She walked to the door and locked it. Not that it would keep anyone out who really wanted to get in, but it made her feel moderately safer. Tristan couldn’t be too much longer…she’d just get up and let him in when he knocked.

  The room felt colder than before and she opened her suitcase to rummage for a sweater. Undecided on whether she’d stay or not, she hadn’t put anything away. There was nowhere to put her things had she wanted to. Tristan obviously hadn’t been expecting a roommate when he’d last left the place. No empty hangers in the closet, no room in any drawers.

  Most surprising was the big-screen television that faced the bed. She’d expected everything to be rustic, but inside the house was modern and updated. She turned on the television. Did they get any reception here or did they just watch DVDs?

  Ashlee changed the channel and sighed in relief when she found a full array of satellite television channels presented to her. So, there were some modern conveniences in this strange place. Another howl in the night ruined her mood for late-night Jay Leno and she turned off the television. She walked to the window and looked out. Was that Tristan out there howling? Goosebumps rose on her arms and she tried to massage them away with her hands. In her entire life, she’d never felt so alone.

  She crossed to the chair next to the bed and sat down. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. When Tristan got back, she would tell him—whether he was a wolf or a man— to take her home. She closed her eyes to rest them for a moment. Just for a moment…

  Ashlee jerked awake and fell out of the chair. She closed her eyes to avoid the sheer torture that had awoken her. She rolled onto the floor and screamed out in pain and agony. Every bone in her body felt like it had just broken. She tried to use her legs and couldn’t. She opened her eyes and looked down at her hands. They shook of their own volition and fur rapidly spread over her skin. She screamed out again but no one answered. How long had she been asleep? Where was Tristan? Who was doing this to her? Her mother had said she needed to be with the pack to change. Something bad would happen to her wolf if she was alone.

  Were they making this happen?

  Was Tristan torturing her for not being sure she could be his mate? He’d known this could happen. Yet he left her.

  She sucked in her breath and gave one last yell that sounded like a stifled yelp. She rolled over onto her stomach and stood up on all fours. She looked around. Everything felt different. The clothes she’d worn were ripped into shreds and spread out on the floor around her. Her skin was covered in white and red fur.

  I’m a wolf.

  Her head shot upwards. Everything felt incredibly clear. She could smell scents in the room that she’d never noticed before. Tristan. He was everywhere, and he smelled like nighttime and pine trees. Why hadn’t she noticed? Her eyes darted from side to side and she pushed her head down to the floor.

  Alone. I am so alone. I have no family. I’m not meant to be alone. I have no pack to love me.

  She howled in agony, this time not from physical pain, but loneliness. She needed to get out of this room. It did not belong to her. She did not know these people and they did not love her. They had left her to hurt all by herself. She ran for the door but could not wedge it open with her paw and her snout. No luck. It would not open.

  Out. Need to get out.

  Only one other way out of the room. She stared out the window and looked down. Not too far. Two stories. She could make it if she broke through the window. She leapt at it and it gave under her weight. As the glass shattered around her, it cut at her front paws and sides. She howled again as her momentum took her out the window. She hit the ground with a thump and her paws burned. She walked for a moment despite the limp she’d just given herself.

  I’m free and I am all alone. Forever.

  She ran for the woods in front of her. Every step she took was agony. If she was to be alone, this would be the best place to lose herself.

  4

  Tristan walked towards the main house, or the Institute as the outside world thought of it, and shook his limbs. His brothers followed close behind him, but none of them were in as big a hurry to get back as he was.

  It felt awesome to be back in his human body. His limbs felt so loose. Michael droned about plans to finally find their father, but Tristan wasn’t listening. His whole mind was intent on getting back to Ashlee. The pack had taken much longer than he’d expected to bring him out of his wolf body. Eight hours of magic and it had hurt like hell the whole time.

  He pulled his tee shirt over his head, his pants already on, and once again thanked the fates that Theo had thought to bring along a change of clothes for him. Tristan needed to court Ashlee, and coming to her completely naked would not be a great way to start. She’d been raised as a human. She wasn’t going to just accept him because his wolf claimed her. He smiled as he pictured her wandering around his room. What had she thought of his artwork?

  “Trip?” Theo clipped and Tristan turned around to see what had happened.

  Tristan didn’t see anything amiss. “What?”

  “Look.” Theo pointed at the second floor of the house and Tristan’s gaze followed his finger to the shattered window of Tristan’s bedroom. Glass littered the grass below.

  His heart fell into his stomach

  “Ashlee!” He ran, faster than he ever had on human legs, into the house. Theo was right behind him, and he knew the others would be too. He turned the corner down the long hallway that led to his room, his pulse pounding hard in his ears. The wolf wanted back and tried to force himself into his eyes as the dryness that precipitated the shift from man to wolf started inside of him.

  He grabbed the door handle. It was locked. What the hell? He banged on the door.

  “Ashlee?”

  No answer. He shoved his weight against it.

  “Wait.” Theo called as he caught up. “I have keys to all the rooms.” Tristan watched as Theo fumbled with the keys in his hands.

  Tristan paced in front of the door. “Come on. Come on.”

  “Got it.” Theo barely unlocked the door when it swung open. Tristan thrust his brother aside to get into the room. Empty. His eyes scanned the scene. Glass by the window. Her clothes, ripped, on the floor. Oh God, no.

  “Dad?” He spun to Theo, Mike, and Rex who had joined him inside the room. “Did

  Dad take her?”

  “Calm down. “ Mike placed his hand on his shoulder. “Take a deep breath. This is wolf, but not Dad, and not one whose scent I recognize.”

  Tristan forced himself to focus. Going off half-crazed would not help find Ashlee. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Mike was right. Wolf. Ashlee had been here. He could smell everywhere she’d gone in the room. He picked up the shreds of her clothes and sniffed. Wolf. There was wolf on her clothes.

  Realization staggered Tristan. He took one more deep breath at the fabric in his hands. She’d shifted. Ashlee was the wolf. The magic they’d thrown on him last night had been strong and powerful. Somehow that much magic had made its way to Ashlee and forced her shift. Tristan could feel his blood pressure rise. She’d been alone.

  “Not good.” Mike whispered. “She’s shifted all by herself. How could that even happen? It shouldn’t have been able to happen without the pack magic. She’s alone.”

  Theo nodded and desperation twisted Tristan’s gut. “You can lose yourself in your wolf the first time if you’re all alone.” Tristan was more than aware of this fact.

  Tristan swallowed hard. He rushed to the window, then stuck his head out and inhaled. “She’s got to be terrified, but she went into the woods.”

  “She w
on’t know how to hunt.” Theo stood beside Tristan, Mike on the other side.

  Michael nodded. “Some things are instinctual, but we need to get her back. She needs to bond with the pack, become a member, and respond to us. But she barely knows me. I’m not her Alpha yet. Tristan, you’re going to have to go and get her. You’re her mate. She’ll recognize you, whether she realizes it or not.”

  Damn it, he’d failed her already. He should have been there, been by her side as she made the change for the first time. Goddamn it. What if he lost her? He’d just found her.

  But the possibility of losing her to the wolf forever was grave.

  He turned to his brother. “There is still enough time to save her. There has to be.”

  Michael nodded. “You have to hurry, Tristan.”

  Hell, yeah, he had to hurry. He wouldn’t lose his mate to the wolf without him taking his last breath.

  Tristan called the shift to his body. “Get the Aunts. Have them on alert for when I get back with her.”

  He completed his shift, as easy for him to do as breathing. His bones cracked, reshaped, and eventually realigned until he was wolf. After so many years of doing it, and six months when he’d been unable to shift back, his canine body was an easy fit for him.

  He leapt out the broken window after Ashlee. He would find her and bring her home. And then he was never letting her go.

  He sniffed the ground. Ashlee had come in this direction and she had bled when she’d passed here. Injured?

  No, not acceptable.

  He raced forward as he followed her scent, each step he took her smell grew stronger. He sniffed the air. Damp earth, moldy leaves, wet vegetation and something else, Ashlee. As a human, Ashlee had smelled like vanilla beans and cinnamon. She still smelled of those things now but her wolf added to her the smell of pine leaves and fur.