Summer's Wolf Read online

  Not to mention that she wasn’t here to rehash the great love story of Tristan and Ashlee. She had her own future to think about now.

  A future that would never include reconciling with her parents. That thought hit her mind like a flamethrower and for a moment she couldn’t breathe because of the heat that threatened to destroy her. Cullen put his hand gently on her arm and she felt his cooling presence within her soul.

  When she could finally speak around the lump that formed in her throat, she continued. “Here’s my plan. Since my Cullen was Kendrick’s right hand man until the betrayal, I suggest he goes down to Mexico and pretends he hates you, hates this place, and he hates how the pack has changed.” She focused on Tristan. “He tells Kendrick that you’re a weak Alpha and that the pack is disintegrating under your leadership.” Summer saw anger flare in Tristan’s eyes. She decided she better hurry up and finish explaining her plan before Tristan exploded. “He gets Kendrick to take him in. Then he breaks me into the place, and we kill Claudius and Kendrick. No more demons. No more attempted deaths. We open the hotel free and clear of maniacal plots and mad scientists.”

  That’s what her parents would have wanted. Summer couldn’t undo what had happened with her parents. There was no way to make any of that right. But she could finish the plans they laid out and ensure nothing bad ever happened again.

  “What about all of the sick wolves they’ve created down there?” Azriel, the quietest of the brothers, asked. “None of this was their fault. They’re mental patients he’s abused. We need to do something for them.”

  Summer shrugged. “I’ll set fire to the place before we leave. They won’t be able to hurt anybody.” She’d seen those mental patients in action. One of them had tried to rape her. Maybe, if she was given enough time, she would find her compassion again but for the moment she had none.

  Azriel’s eyes got wide. “I didn’t mean you should kill them. I thought we could get them some help.” Summer rolled her eyes and then wished she hadn’t. The others didn’t need to know how bloodthirsty she felt. Az turned to Cullen. “Wow, she really is perfect for you.”

  “Oh, I’m much meaner than he is.” Some low laughter met her statement and Summer tried to smile too. They all thought they knew Cullen so well but they didn’t. Next to her, he was a giant teddy bear.

  Gabriel nodded his head and looked at Tristan. “It could work.”

  She narrowed her eyes at the word could. “No. It will work.” Had she ever been this sure of herself before? She almost grinned at the thought. It was Cullen’s soul inside of her. Summer looked over at him expecting him to agree. The look on his face had her quietly gasping for air. He didn’t seem happy. In fact, the way his eyes flared and the strong, obvious bulging pulse in his neck told her he was downright furious.

  “I didn’t say I would do it.” Cullen spoke to Tristan but stared at Summer. She gulped. His eyes flashed. What was his problem? It was a good plan. They needed to be proactive. It was imperative that they take the fight to Kendrick and stop letting him determine the rules of the game.

  He won’t place us in danger. He’ll never agree to this. Her wolf, who had been contentedly quiet since the mating ceremony, spoke up to explain Cullen’s behavior. What did it say about Summer that she needed to rely on her four legged companion to understand her mate’s point of view?

  “Gabriel can come with me. But not Summer. I won’t take my mate into danger.” Cullen’s eyes were all business, he looked hard, scary—the man she’d been fearful of, not the gentle lover whose soul she held with her own. Even like this she could feel her love for him swell up inside of her. The mating bond was such a funny thing. Cullen had waited three hundred years to find her. Fate had determined that he should live centuries alone before she came into his life. It was as if the universe knew who could love him perfectly. Summer felt grateful for his patience and endurance. She knew she’d love him forever, even when he acted like a mean, pompous jerk.

  “I’m not staying here. If you leave me, I’ll follow on my own. If you send me back, I’ll just escape again.” She wasn’t lying or exaggerating. There was no way in hell he was going to leave her behind. Her plan required both of them. He glared at her but she glared right back.

  Tristan turned to Gabriel who nodded. “All three of you will do this. Cullen will work out who goes in and who doesn’t but I think Summer is right. I think you’re going to need her on this.”

  Cullen swore and Summer smiled. He spun around. “You’ll stay at a hotel in Cancun or I will lock you in the car.”

  “Like hell I will.” Her eyes blazed. She could match him in this. He needed her, whether he knew it or not, and he needed someone to stand up to him. It was important that someone remind Cullen he wasn’t invincible and he wasn’t always in charge.

  Cullen closed his eyes for a second. Summer didn’t want to imagine the argument he was having with his wolf. She knew his furry creature was on her side.

  He is. But I’m not sure he should be.

  Why is that? Summer felt incredulous. Her own wolf sided with Cullen?

  Because.

  That’s just plain ridiculous. I’m not going to be a liability to Cullen. Summer crossed her arms over her chest. A strange thought filled her mind. Can you communicate with Cullen’s wolf without my knowing it? Do the two of you have your own conversations?

  Don’t be stupid. Summer’s wolf snorted.

  Then how do you know he’s on my side?

  Because I’m intuitive and I pay attention to behavior. Cullen would never indulge you on this by himself. His softer side comes from his other half.

  Cullen sighed and Summer guessed he was finished with his internal discussion. When he spoke it was through gritted teeth. “Fine.” But Summer knew she hadn’t won the argument, he was just through disagreeing with her in front of the pack.

  “Now,” Tristan sighed loudly. “Perhaps before it is lunchtime, you could tell us about the flying demons so we know how to fight them if they come back while you’re in Mexico pretending to betray us.” Summer didn’t like the way Tristan said the word pretending, as if it was possible Cullen might really do such a thing. For a second she imagined herself gouging out his eyes. Cullen’s voice brought her back to reality.

  “They shed their faces every few minutes. During that time, they are vulnerable. Any other time, they’re vicious, deadly creatures. As Prince Theo found out.”

  Tristan nodded. “And you know this how?”

  “Do you know the story of how my parents were killed?”

  Gabriel shook his head and snorted. “We’re talking about demons here, Cullen. Can we stick to that please?”

  Tristan shook his head, ignoring Gabriel’s remark, and anger simmered in Summer’s stomach. Not one of his pack mates had ever taken the time to really know Cullen. As her beloved told the story of his parents’ murders and his coming to the pack, Summer took the time to watch the way he conducted himself. The pack members thought of Cullen as being akin to the bogeyman. Because she owned his soul, she knew how this hurt him. He hadn’t liked being the pack enforcer; Kendrick had used him that way.

  He reached the end of the story, how he had chased down and killed his parent’s murderers and Tristan asked a question it hadn’t occurred to Summer to ask.

  “How did my father get a hold of the men?”

  “They all belonged to a group called ‘The Missionaries of God.’ Their mission, or so they claimed, was to rid the earth of so-called creatures of Satan. That included shifters, obviously those of the wolf variety, and all kinds as well.” Slight murmurs around the room told Summer she hadn’t been the only one to not know there were other kinds of shifters out there. “Witches—not all of them are as bad as the one who cast a spell on us thirty years ago. Wizards—slightly different from a witch. Vampires—you mostly find them hidden in caves and old European crypts. And skinwalkers—you’ll find them in the North American Southwest. The ‘Missionaries of God’ basically wipe
d out the vampires and the wizard population in Europe. Your grandfather, the Alpha at the time, wasn’t going to let that happen to us.” Summer watched Cullen gulp.

  “And?” Tristan’s voice struck out like a sword, cutting through Cullen’s pause.

  “So he told Kendrick to take care of it. I was only eleven, I hadn’t even shifted yet. But I remember them pouring through book after book on mystical endeavors. The women wanted nothing to do with it. I didn’t know it at the time, but they accidentally raised some particular demons. Kendrick thought one would be enough. But they come up in pairs. He raised them and he used them to track down and kill all the members of ‘The Missionaries.’”

  “Bet they weren’t as easy to control as my father would have liked.” Gabriel scoffed. “Exactly.” Cullen nodded. “First there were two, eventually there were two hundred. It was a disaster.”

  “And yet the pack still let him be Alpha?” Summer’s voice sounded strained. She could feel the emotion radiating from Cullen.

  “They never knew about the demons because I figured out how to kill them and eliminated them for Kendrick. I assumed they’d be gone forever but Kendrick must have raised them again.” Cullen looked at the floor.

  “And that’s how you became the enforcer? Because you were the only one smart enough to figure out how to kill the creatures and were loyal enough to never tell the pack what Kendrick had done.” Tristan’s voice was soft, his eyes kind. Summer didn’t have to look at Cullen to know he wouldn’t like pity.

  “They killed my family. I was grateful to him. I felt he was the only one with the guts to do what needed to be done.” Cullen paused. “I was very young.”

  “Is there anything else I need to know?”

  “A multitude of things.” Cullen laughed, but it was not joyful. “Well?”

  “There’s another wolf shifter pack living, I believe in New Orleans and I think they’re still in possession of your sister.”

  “My what?” Tristan’s roar could have woken the dead and Summer couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Before long she’d be hysterical. Her mate really knew how to put on a show. Evidently she wasn’t the only one interested in the theater.

  Cullen’s eyes glowed as they looked at her. He knew exactly what he’d done. Now everyone was going to be totally focused on the bombshell he’d just dropped. A sister? He’d just freed himself to make all his own plans as Tristan would be completely busy elsewhere.

  10

  Cullen’s consciousnesses returned and it felt like he’d been hit by a Mack-truck going sixty miles an hour. He blinked twice and tried to figure out what was different this time about how he’d woken up. He rubbed his eyes a few times before it occurred to him that he was completely warm and there was a waterfall of blonde hair covering his chest.

  Summer.

  She was what was different. A major change to his wake-up routine. Her soul embraced with his own, just as her body pressed up against his. Her features looked soft, untroubled. He knew that would change as soon as she woke up and reality returned. He wished he could let her sleep until she woke naturally, but there wasn’t time. They needed to collect Gabriel from where he bunked at the hotel and start their trek down to Mexico.

  He smiled at the memory of Summer cracking up at his announcement of the missing princess. She’d laughed so hard and carried on until Tristan ended the meeting in disgust. At least Cullen had gotten what he’d wanted. Tristan would be focused on other things now and he would able to run his operation without Tristan micromanaging him. Eventually, he’d have to explain to Tristan about the sister and why he’d kept her existence a secret even after Ashlee’s return. But, in his opinion, there were more pressing matters at the moment that needed to be handled.

  Her plan to take down Kendrick and Claudius might work, with a little tweaking. Kendrick would have known Tristan and the others would demand answers about the flying demons. That’s why he’d sent them. If Tristan behaved like a different kind of Alpha, the kind of Alpha his father had been, Cullen would be dead right now. Banishment was a second option for betrayal. If he could pull it off, if he could make Kendrick think Tristan had banished him from the island, they could all be rid of Kendrick once and for all.

  It would be some kind of poetic justice that Kendrick be killed by the man he’d trained to be an assassin.

  Summer’s foot connected with his shin, hard. “You’re thinking so hard, I can feel it in my bones.” Cullen pulled Summer tighter and smiled into her shoulder. He had to find a way to keep her from trying to go to the Institute and after Claudius. If he’d been certain she needed to be kept safe before the mating ritual, he was even more convinced of it now.

  “What am I thinking about?” He bit her lightly on her shoulder and she yelped. She rolled over in his arms until she faced him. Their noses were inches apart. He could feel her warm breath on his mouth. He bridged the small gap of space between them and gave her a gentle kiss.

  Something between a moan and a sigh sounded in her throat and sent waves of pleasure down his spine. She pulled her mouth from his.

  “You weren’t thinking about that. If you’d been thinking about pleasurable things, it wouldn’t have hurt my head to have channeled into your thoughts.”

  He raised an eyebrow at her. “You say that like it’s not a new gift and it doesn’t freak you out that you can do it.”

  She shook her head. “It’s not a new gift. The telepathy might be new. The weird psychic dreams, they’re brand new. My ability to know what people are thinking, that I’ve always been able to do.”

  Our mate is a very talented wolf. Cullen’s wolf wagged his tail in happiness and Cullen snorted. Summer made his wolf act like a puppy dog. His four-legged companion wanted to give her whatever she wanted whenever she wanted. Cullen did too but not when it came to compromising her safety.

  Maybe he could just keep her nude and in bed permanently. The thought of the perfection of Summer’s naked form made his groin get hard. He recalled the way her nipples stiffened when she was excited and the little noises she made when she particularly liked something he had done to her body.

  “I don’t have to be a mind reader to know what you’re thinking right now.” She reached down to stroke her hand up his rigid shaft and he sucked in his breath.

  “Truth is I have no idea if we’ve time for this. It’s possible he could show up any minute.”

  Her lips pressed firm against his neck. “Gabriel can wait. He’s a wolf. He’ll know what we’re doing if he gets close to the house and if he doesn’t have the good sense to wait outside quietly, I’ll kill him.”

  She stroked him one more time and Cullen felt twelve years old. He wondered if he would be able to control himself from coming under her touch. “Summer, you’re going to destroy me.”

  “I think you’ll survive.” Her eyes twinkled as she pulled back to look at him. “Tell me something, my Cullen, do you always wake up hard?”

  He shook his head. “Today would be the first time in a very long time. I think it’s because I’m pressed up against your hot little body and surrounded by your addictive scent.”

  Summer pulled the nightshirt she wore from her body exposing her breasts and the perfection of her nipples that had so enticed his memory earlier. Cullen needed no further invitation. He grabbed her left areola and gently pinched it with his fingers. When she gasped, he took the right one in his mouth and suckled it. He could taste the essence that was Summer alone and he wanted to lap it up like a puppy that finally found water after a dry spell.

  Summer clawed at his scalp with her fingernails as she arched her head deep into the pillow behind her. He knew she liked what he did to her.

  With her head flung backwards, she gave Cullen ample view of her neck. He wanted to mark her. It was a primitive urge and he knew it. He already owned her soul. Hell, he got to carry it around with him. He should feel satisfied with that. But it wasn’t enough. Unable to resist the urge he lifted his head from her breas
ts and bit down on her neck before he started sucking on it.

  She squealed and pulled back from his mouth. “Did you just give me a hickey?” He nodded as he stared into her blue eyes.

  “Are you serious? You gave me a hickey?” He nodded again. Was she going to get mad?

  Might have been a dumb move. His wolf paced restlessly not liking the possible end to their lovemaking anymore that he did.

  Thank you, like I needed you to tell me that right now.

  Summer busted out laughing. For a second, Cullen felt stunned and then he too started to hoot. It was kind of ridiculous. What had possessed him to mark her? He had no idea but as he looked down at the red spot forming over the two small teeth marks where he had bitten her, he had to smile. He would like seeing the scar on her for a few days. He would love knowing he had put it there in a moment of pleasure.

  Maybe it was some kind of primal instinct he hadn’t yet conquered. Perhaps all mates did this to one another. Although, he doubted it because he’d not seen any of the other women who had lived on the island scarred up by their mates. He guessed it was just something weird related to him.

  “You know I’m going to have to repay in kind?”

  “I know this about you. Yes.” He raised an eyebrow. Where was she going to do it?

  On his neck? He’d proudly wear her marking for everyone to see.

  “But what you don’t realize is that I’m going to make you wait. You won’t know when I’m going to get you. It could be anytime or anywhere. I’m just going to bite down.”

  Cullen propped himself on his elbows. “Are you threatening me?”

  Summer nodded and he grinned. “That’s what I thought. You’re a gutsy little thing.

  First you take on Tristan in the pack meeting and now you threaten the boogeyman?”

  She reached up to stroke his chest, which sent shivers down his spine. “You are no more the boogeyman than I am the tooth-fairy.”

  Summer shifted her hips and, even though he wouldn’t have believed it possible, his erection got even harder. He could feel it straining against her stomach.