Chapter 14

Rafe ran.

He ran until his lungs burned and the scent of cinnamon and coffee and Ruby was finally replaced with pine and dirt and dead leaves. He ran until the trees blurred together and the earth beneath his paws nearly erased the feel of Ruby’s soft skin beneath his fingers. Nearly but not completely. And nothing could stop the sounds of her moans and whimpers from playing over and over in his mind. The wind through his fur only reminded him of Ruby’s fingers in his hair, tugging and demanding.

He had fucked up. He’d given in when he’d only wanted to protect her. Especially from himself, because regardless of what Ruby said, he was a monster. A fact that had been drilled into him for years, decades. His father, the old Alpha, had made sure of it. He made sure that no werewolf in his pack ever forgot what they truly were, especially his sons.

But she’d been so damn soft and she smelled so fucking good and when she pressed her body against his, it made him weak. So damn weak. Too weak to protect her at all.

If he was being honest, they were lucky Lena didn’t find them with Ruby bent over the kitchen table, her ass in the air and Rafe thrusting into her from behind.

Goddamn it. That was not a helpful image.

Oh, if his father could hear him now, pining over another human woman. Rafe could hear the old man’s sneering voice, could feel the scrape of the man’s claws over his skin.

Rafe shook off the memory, pushing himself to run faster.

He was the largest of his brothers, huge from the day he was born, killing his mother on his way into the world. His father had refused to get medical attention for her, the mother Rafe never met. If she was strong enough, she would survive. That was the old bastard”s way of thinking.

Rafe should have taken over as Alpha. It’s what his father had wanted. But Rafe never did. Never wanted to fight his brothers like his father had insisted; claws and fangs were the only language he knew for so long.

He’d left all that behind, but now he felt it dragging him back. Back to those fights, back to his father’s demands, back to his backward, dying pack. The pack that his father had refused to bring into the modern world, leaving them fending for themselves in the backwoods of Maine. Rafe had left all of it, like the coward that he was.

He wouldn’t let Ruby make him forget the things he’d done. The life he’d lived. He would figure out who was after her and then he’d go back to his cabin and forget Ruby. Ruby and her soft skin and red lips. Ruby who took care of everyone. Ruby who thought she had nothing to fear.

Rafe let his wolf brain take over, letting the world become nothing more than smells and sounds: a family of skunks in a nearby log, a snake slithering beneath the dried leaves, the sun warming his back. Simple sensations. Simple thoughts. Maybe he should be a wolf more often.

It didn’t take long to get to Theo’s cabin, not in wolf form anyway. He shifted in the overgrown front lawn and grabbed some clothes from the front porch. They always left some lying around for moments like this.

Rafe was bigger than his brother and the T-shirt stretched tight across his chest. He took a peek around the house, looking for signs of life. The cabin was similar to Rafe’s, small, isolated, an old pickup around back for trips into town.

But Theo’s house had two chairs out on the front porch and window boxes with flowers in full bloom. He wasn’t alone out here. Rafe swallowed the swift rise of jealousy and rapped his knuckles on the door.

No answer.

He knocked again, louder this time and threw in a shouted “Theo” for good measure. He didn’t have time to waste, not if he wanted to get back in time for Ruby’s shift at the bar.

Shuffling sounds and a muttered curse came from behind the door, and then Theo tugged it open, blinking in the sunlight.

He squinted up at Rafe. “Oh, fuck. What are you doing here?” He stepped aside, rubbing a hand over his stubbled jaw and let Rafe into the dim interior. All the curtains were drawn tight against the daylight.

“It’s after noon. Why were you still asleep?”

Theo flipped on the light and gave his brother a lopsided grin that Rafe was sure some people would find charming. He found it irritating to the extreme.

“I had company last night.”

Rafe grimaced. “Still fucking every human, nymph, and witch in a fifty-mile radius?” There was no shortage of pretty, available creatures in these woods or the surrounding towns and his brother seemed to be acquainted with all of them.

Theo clapped a hand on Rafe’s shoulder like they were pals. They had never been pals, not even before their father pitted them against each other. They had been brothers who fought, argued, wrestled, and drove Nell crazy. If he was honest, it hadn’t been all bad, but Rafe chose not to remember that. Then he would have to acknowledge what he’d lost. One more thing his father had stolen from him.

“You know I don’t fuck witches. Not since that last one put a hex on me.” He shuddered and shuffled into the adjoining kitchenette.

“That wasn’t a hex. It was chlamydia,” Rafe grumbled.

Theo’s laugh filled the tiny house. “Funny.” He poured two cups of coffee and held one out to Rafe. He accepted but only to have something to do with his hands that didn’t involve punching his brother in the face.

Theo had always been the pretty one, the one all the pack women doted on when they were young. He took after his mother, Nell, the woman their father jumped on so quickly after Rafe’s own mother’s death. His eyes were an eerie green like hers, and his hair black and curly when he let it grow. It was short now. Too short. The scar that ran from temple to his jaw was too visible.

“Where’s Phoebe?”

That wiped the smirk off his brother’s face.

“What do you care?”

“Does she know you’re still fucking around?”

Theo leaned his hands on the counter separating them, his eyes flashing. “That’s none of your business.”

“I didn’t get you out of the pack so you could fuck everything that moves. I thought you and Phoebe—”

Theo cut him off with a slam of his hand on the counter. “She’s none of your business. We are none of your business.”

Rafe held his stare but his little brother didn’t back down. This was a fight they’d had before. Rafe thought he saved him that day, thought he’d spared his little brother’s life. His father wanted a fight to the death, but he didn’t get it. And when Rafe caused enough of a distraction for his younger brother to slip off into the night, he thought for sure he’d run off with Phoebe, the little dryad he’d been in love with for years.

But smarts did not run in the family.

Phoebe was around. Rafe could see her touch everywhere. But his idiot brother was still pretending she was nothing more than a friend. What an asshole. Rafe didn’t have time for that today.

“Did you come all this way just to bust my balls? Seems like a text would have done the job.” Theo’s voice was a low growl. In the old days they would have shifted and taken this little discussion out back, but it wasn’t the old days. And as much as he hated the damn thing, Rafe did have a cell phone, but he’d needed to do this in person.

He cleared his throat and ignored Theo’s question. “Have you heard from Knox?”

None of the tension left Theo’s body with the move from one uncomfortable topic to the next, but the defensiveness left his gaze.

“No, of course not. Why?”

“How about anyone else from back home?”

Theo’s eyes widened. He stood up from the counter and folded his arms across his chest. “I talk to some people. Why do you care about the pack all of a sudden?”

Rafe ignored the sudden pang of guilt he felt at the thought of the people he’d left behind. “I think something’s going on.”

“You’re going to have to be more specific.”

Rafe nearly growled. Now that it was time to talk about Ruby out loud he was finding it hard to do. How the hell was he supposed to explain this to Theo?

“My neighbor was attacked.”

Theo’s eyebrow rose. “Your neighbor?”

Rafe cleared his throat. “Distant neighbor.”

“Okay, so? Cut the two-word answers and fill me in if you want my damn help.”

Help? Who said anything about help? Rafe ran a hand through his hair, memories of the night Ruby was attacked racing through his mind. Okay, maybe a little help would be all right.

“My neighbor was attacked by a wolf. No one that I recognized, but definitely one of us. If I hadn’t been there…” He had to clear his throat again, the panic of that night suddenly clamping tight around his windpipe. “I was there, though. That time. I just need to figure out who’s behind it and why.”

At some point he’d started pacing and the amusement on Theo’s face had grown as he spoke.

“And who is this neighbor, exactly? A sweet little old lady? Or maybe a family with adorable kids?”

“It doesn’t matter who it is. They’re in danger.” Something in Rafe’s jaw cracked as he ground his molars together.

Theo smirked and shrugged, bringing his mug to his lips. “Maybe it was just a wolf out for some fun.”

“That kind of fun isn’t allowed anymore.”

Another infuriating shrug. “Don’t tell me you never get the urge to chase some pussy through the woods, Rafe. Tackle her in the dirt, hold her down…”

“Shut. The. Fuck. Up.”

Theo’s cackle made Rafe think maybe his father was right. Maybe he should have killed this asshole when he had the chance. He slammed his mug down on the counter and turned toward the door. “Never mind. You clearly don’t know shit.”

“What makes you think this is more than a one-time attack?”

Theo’s question made him stop in his tracks, one hand on the door. They’re coming. Lena’s visions or episodes or whatever the hell they were had to mean something. It couldn’t be a coincidence that Ruby was attacked and her sister has some kind of power. But should he tell Theo?

He turned around to face his brother again. The smirk was gone, replaced by actual curiosity.

Rafe sighed. “Her sister has these visions or something. It feels like it might be related.”

“What, like a seer?”

It was Rafe’s turn to shrug. He had no idea what Lena’s deal was. There hadn’t been a known seer around in decades. At least not one that anyone had heard about. But if she did have clairvoyant powers, it would definitely be something people would be interested in. Like willing-to-do-some-damage-to-get-their-hands-on interested in. The power to see what was coming, who wouldn’t want that?

“Shit. That’s wild.”

“Yeah, well. If you hear anything let me know.” Rafe shifted, the old floorboards groaning beneath his weight. “Anything about Knox or the pack going after humans again. Just let me know.”

Theo nodded, his brow knit together in concentration. “I don’t think he would, man.”

Rafe’s skin prickled. He had no desire to listen to Theo defend their older brother.

“I’ve heard that he’s done a lot for the pack,” Theo went on.

Rafe snorted. “I’m sure he is. Feel free to go crawling back whenever you like.”

A low growl rumbled from Theo’s chest. “Fuck you, Rafe.”

“Same to you.”

He was out the door and shifting again before he had time to think about how much he wanted to throttle his little brother and how much it pissed him off that he’d bothered to save his life if he wasn’t going to do anything with it.

Another pleasant visit and nothing to show for it.