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Chapter 5
Every inch of Lacey’s body stilled as her eyes darted from the end of the gun to the man wielding it. “Any chance you could move that?” she asked, hating the tremble lacing her words but unable to steady them.
“Not until you tell me what the fuck you’re doing here,” he replied, his words dripping with icicles.
Lacey opened her mouth but anything that might have fallen off her tongue were silenced by a heart-wrenching howl.
Simultaneously, their heads moved in its direction, and the barrel of the gun lowered to the ground. Lacey’s heart, crashing against her rib cage, thanked every god ever worshipped for it.
The white wolf, only a few metres from where they stood, lifted its head and peeled out another cry soaked in excruciating pain. The beautiful, striking shade of amber burned through the woods in their direction, not needing words to plead them to make the pain go away. If she didn’t recognise it as a shifter, those eyes certainly stripped away all doubts. No normal wolf would look at them that way. It would be assessing how to get away from them. This wolf just lay there, its head on the ground, its body trembling.
Tears welled up in Lacey’s eyes at the sound escaping from its mouth. No creature deserved to suffer such agony.
Fucking bear traps. Those things need to stop being made. Unless on small-dicked hunters with egos bigger than their brains.
Mr Gorgeous dropped the weapon to his side and fell to his knees beside the poor creature. Anguish stained the lines of his face as he ran a hand over its face. It didn’t attack him. Instead, it pressed its muzzle into his palm, as if taking comfort from the act. No natural wolf would do such a thing.
One more sign she’d found what she’d been looking for.
He must be Mace, she thought, watching him soak up the sight of all the blood. It continued to drip from the wound, coursing a path through that beautiful fur coat and falling to the ground. Even now, in the midst of all the chaos, Lacey yearned to run her fingers through that fur, to feel it caress her skin. Nathan’s coat had been so soft, so silky. She’d missed it.
A thread of energy built up in the air, probing outwards and caressing her bare face. Christ, how long had it been since she’d felt that sensation?
Nine years or ninety, she would recognise it, no matter when. Like the first time you made love, or brought your first car, the first time you touched a shifter, the experience would burn into your memory, straight down into your bones, and into your soul.
It was the Change, the shift from one form to another, and realization dawned. The werewolf caught in the trap needed to shift if they wanted to heal, and they wouldn’t do that in front of her, a human who they didn’t know.
Such things meant death. Usually for the humans. Lacey didn’t know what the rules were now Sam was alpha.
Mr Gorgeous swept his gaze towards her, and nothing in them reassured her. “What are you still doing here?”
Lacey sucked in a breath and took a step forward. Suddenly, a burst of pain exploded through her hand and ankle. She stumbled and a plan instantly formed in her mind. The only thing was, could she pull it off? “Can you help me? Their idiotic faces hurt my hand,” she said, lifting her wrist and grimacing as she looked down at her foot. “And I don’t think I’ll get very far like this with my ankle.”
He shook his head. “My sister’s back there.” He used his thumb to gesture over his shoulder. “She got caught in one of their fucking traps and her leg’s hurt.”
But I need to find out if you’re the ones I’m looking for.
Trying for the desperate damsel look, Lacey pulled her face into a pity-me expression and stumbled forward another step. “Please? I just need to rest for a little while. Besides, I’m lost. I’ve never been here before.”
Hollywood, here I come. Where’s my goddamn Oscar?
Expletives shot out of his mouth as his gaze switched from the wolf on the ground to her. His eyes raked down her body, leaving Lacey with the feeling she was being assessed for potential threats rather than as an object of desire. She didn’t know whether to be insulted or not.
Finally, his shoulders sagged in resignation, and he nodded, although his face clearly stated he didn’t want to. “Find the path just through the trees and wait for me at the rock. You can’t miss it, it’s almost the size of you. I’ll catch up with you in a few minutes and I’ll take you to my place.”
A frown pulled across her forehead. The energy on the air gathered stronger and the wolf’s legs twitched, causing more yelps to spill out of its mouth. The poor thing needed to get out of there and fast before it lost any more blood, but if she left right then, he may not buy her story. Sorry, little one. Hold on for a few minutes more. “Why in a few minutes?”
A dark look edged further over his face and frustration and anger merged into one fearsome mask. “I’ll need to take care of this one before I can take you anywhere. And I don’t think a townie like yourself will want to watch what’s necessary.”
Lacey swallowed, knowing that he wouldn’t kill the werewolf in front of him but also knowing she still needed to play the part. Nodding, she staggered backwards, emphasising the limp in her leg and the painful expression on her face. Somehow she really had twisted her ankle, and whilst it hurt, it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as she acted.
But with each step she took away from him, the energy gathered, gaining strength until it wouldn’t be denied any longer.
Lacey kept her steps slow, but her gut ached for the shifter caught in the trap.
It took her several minutes to each the rock Mr Gorgeous mentioned, tall, thick, and a mottled grey colour. A few small rocks lay scattered at its feet, with other pieces smaller than her fist laying in all directions. It seemed out of place, out of character from its surroundings, and Lacey had to wonder if someone brought it there, perhaps for the construction of a small house, or some other kind of DIY project.
She’d known some people who had done that, built homes in isolated areas of the forests surrounding her hometown. They couldn’t bear to be part of life, even a small town like hers, and needed to be apart from the rest of society. Every so often as a child, she’d watched them head into town for supplies that they couldn’t salvage from the forest – tires for their trucks, an electric coffee pot, a generator, or bedding. For Lacey, such a way of life seemed lonely.
