Chapter 13

Ares could see Charlotte worried. Luckily, Greta didn’t. Then again, they kept her busy. The dumping of snow, the sticky packing kind, made it perfect for building and?—

“Snowball fight!” Athena’s warning before she smacked him in the face with a nice toss.

“To the fort, princess,” Ares shouted as he scooped Greta under one arm and ran for cover.

Greta giggled as they hunkered behind the wall of snow to avoid the next missile. “This is fun.”

“This is war,” he said with a waggle of his brows.

“I’ll make snowballs for you to throw.” She began scooping and patting the cold, wet stuff.

“Good thinking.” As fast as Greta made them, Ares threw them at his sister, who stood in the open, laughing.

Derek, however, glowered.

“What’s up, grumpy?” Athena asked.

“You’re pregnant!”

“And? Doctors say exercise is good.”

“Exercise, yes, not getting pummeled with snow,” insisted her mate.

“Bah, Ares throws like a girl.”

Ares stood. “He’s got a point, sis. Preggos and kiddos should be off-limits.”

“Okay.” Athena got an impish smile. “But do you know who isn’t?”

She whirled and hit Derek in the chest with a snowball.

He glanced at the white spot. “Seriously?”

“Better run for cover, sugar plum, because you are going down.”

Rather than hide, Derek stalked for Athena, who kept grabbing snow and firing it. She managed three tosses before Derek got close enough to grab her and shove snow down the neck hole of her jacket.

“Eek!” Athena screamed. “That’s cold.” When he would have given her a snow job—which for the uninformed involved rubbing snow in someone’s face—she cried, “Uncle! You win.”

“As if there were any doubt.” Derek smirked. “Once the baby is born, we can have the most epic snowball battle. But until then… get your sweet ass in the house and warm that fetus up. I’ll wager Grams has some hot cocoa ready.”

“Cocoa!” Ares lost his snowball-making partner as Greta bolted to go find it, entering the house with Athena.

Derek lingered behind. “You think that fucker is going to show up?”

“I’d say there’s a chance. He’s wilier than I would have thought. He found my business card at Charly’s and hunted down my home address.”

“Sounds more like he got lucky. He won’t know about Grams and Gramps’ farm.”

“Assuming he didn’t follow me. Assuming he doesn’t find out Athena is dating you. Assuming there’s nothing at the farm that would give our location away.” Ares had been racking his brain to think if they might have left a clue.

“You know, I really hate when the bad guys make the first move.”

“What are you thinking?” Ares asked.

“Now that the storm’s eased, what are the chances he goes back to your place, looking to cause trouble?”

“Depends on if he thinks I was lying before.”

“We could head over to check on things,” Derek suggested.

“The roads are shit and will be for hours.” Which worked against and for them, as it meant Barry would have difficulty getting around.

“As if we’d drive anything with wheels,” Derek scoffed.

“You mean take some snowmobiles?” Ares rubbed his chin. “Going cross country, we’d get there in decent time. The question is, should we both go? I hate leaving the girls unprotected.”

Derek snorted. “You want to say that to Athena’s face? With her hormones running wild, she’s more dangerous than both of us put together. Not to mention, Grams might shoot you for even implying they can’t handle a threat.”

A rueful grin twisted Ares’ lips. “Good point. Wanna head out after lunch? Gives us plenty of time to get there, see if anyone’s been poking around, and be back in time for dinner.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Hot chocolate awaited when they went inside, the homemade kind topped with marshmallows. The power failure hadn’t impeded Grams’ ability to cook with her gas stove. The toasty house didn’t make the decision to go for a cold snowy ride easy, especially after he filled his belly with a savory soup and grilled cheese.

Nap time , his wolf suggested.

Not yet.

Ares wanted to see if Barry had returned to the farm and lay in wait. What if the fucker had and trashed his home? Hopefully, the asshole wouldn’t go near the animals. That had been the one stumbling block with the plan to head to Grams and Gramps’ to hunker down. Things could be replaced, but the animals they were responsible for had no defense.

He pulled Charly aside to let her know of his and Derek’s plan to visit the farm, but he framed it as them checking on the livestock and not seeing if Barry had returned.

Her lips pursed. “Is it safe? There’s another storm system heading our way.”

“It’s not supposed to hit until after dinner. Plenty of time for us to get out there, check on things, and come back.”

She brought up Barry. “What if he’s there?”

“Doubtful. His rental didn’t have all-wheel drive. If he even tried, he’d get stuck since our road is one the last plowed.” Country living did have its drawbacks. “And before you wonder, he has no clue we’re here. But even if by some weird chance he shows, just get into the bunker. Ain’t no way he’s getting to you in there. Leave him to stew and we’ll handle him soon as we’re back.” The bomb shelter, once sealed, couldn’t be opened from the outside without some serious metal-cutting tools.

Charly threw her arms around his neck. “Be careful.”

“Don’t you worry about me. I’ll be fine. You go have some fun with the princess. I’ll be back before you know it.”

“Grams said I could be the co-assistant to the sous chef. I can’t believe my kid ranks higher than me in the kitchen.” Charly grimaced.

Ares grinned. “Count yourself lucky Grams even let you in her domain. I told you she likes you.”

“If you say so.” She kissed him, a soft lingering embrace where she murmured, “Come back to me.”

“Always.”

Just as they were suiting up to go, Ares’ phone rang.

Selene called.

“Hey, little sis. How’s the tropics treating you?”

“We never even made it off the ground,” she announced.

“What?”

“The flight got delayed, and the storm hit before we could take off at our new time. They cancelled it and had us rebooked for this morning, but then that got pooched as well.”

“Why didn’t you call me?” he exclaimed.

“Because then you would have worried, duh.”

“I am worried. The roads are shit. Stay in a hotel until they get them cleared.”

“You’re funny.” She chuckled. “We’re already home. Four-by-four all the way, baby. A little bit of snow wasn’t going to stop me.”

“You’re at the house.” Derek heard Ares and offered a sharp look.

“Yeah. Where else? Although I am wondering where you are.”

“Grams and Gramps’. We got invited to spend Christmas since they have a generator.”

“We really should get one of our own for the house. Can’t believe your goats and the chickens get to keep warm while we make do with the woodstove in the living room.”

Since he didn’t know how to delicately broach it, he blurted out, “Did you see any signs of someone poking around?”

“No. Who would be crazy enough to be out in this weather?”

“Charly’s ex. He popped by looking for her and Greta yesterday. I sent him off, but I’m not sure he believed me when I said I didn’t know them. I was just going to head over because I was worried he might have returned and trashed our place like he did Charly’s.”

“Are Charly and Greta okay?”

“Yeah, they’re fine. He didn’t see them, but I don’t think he’ll give up that easily.”

“I can see why you went to see Grams. She’ll just shoot him if he shows up. But you can relax. Place looks fine. I didn’t see any tracks or anything, but we’ve only been home about twenty minutes. I was just calling to let you know we were here and not on a ship before I checked on the animals.”

“Be careful.”

“Unlike you, I always am.”

Derek signaled him and mouthed, “Invite them over.”

“Hey, you and Mom want to head here?”

“Aren’t you the one who just told me the roads were shit?”

“You just said your vehicle could handle it.”

“It did, but it was dicey,” she admitted.

“We were just about to head over on some sleds. They’re two-seaters, so we could bring you back.”

“Ha, can you imagine Mom riding a snowmobile?” Selene giggled.

Mom must have been listening because she shouted, “I’ll have you know I used to ride a lot as a teen.”

“Back when the sleds were drawn by horses,” Selene huffed.

“Brat!”

Ares smiled at the banter. “We should be there within the hour.”

“I’ll check the animals and get our gear together while we wait. I assume there’s a rack for us to strap an overnight bag.”

“Yes, so long as you don’t overpack.”

“Just because I had to sit on my suitcase to zip it doesn’t mean I overpack.”

“Uh, yeah it does.”

Selene laughed. “See you in a bit.”

He hung up and glanced at Derek. “You heard all that.”

“I heard enough. We’re bringing home your mom and sis. You go warn Grams while I finish getting our rides ready.”

Ares popped inside the warm kitchen to see Athena relaxing with a cup of tea, Grams sitting beside her directing with a wooden spoon. Charly hovered by Greta, who stood on a step stool carefully measuring some flour.

“Hey, Grams, hope it’s okay if Selene and Mom are going to join us.”

“What happened to their cruise?” Athena exclaimed.

“Flight got cancelled.”

“And they didn’t call? That rat.” Athena’s gaze narrowed. “I specifically texted Selene to see if she and Mom made it okay and she replied with a thumbs-up.”

“Apparently she didn’t want us worrying.”

Athena scowled.

Grams tapped her cup with her spoon. “No frowning. You’ll make the baby sour.”

Athena glared at her instead.

Grams smiled serenely. “Of course, Bea and Selene are welcome. Ahoy, sous chef Greta. We have two more guests coming.” To which the child barked, “Two more mini pie plates, stat.”

“Yes, chef,” Charly muttered with a roll of her eyes.

“Are you still heading out?” Athena asked, noticing his gear.

“Yeah. We’re going to bring them back by sled since the roads are crap.”

“And the farm…” Athena didn’t say more, but he understood.

“Fine. No sign of trouble.”

Not yet.

The ride over proved exhilarating. The sky, while heavy with clouds, remained clear, although the snow packed nicely as they rode, leaving a trail they could follow back. Since they mostly rode through empty fields and alongside snow-covered roads, they didn’t see many people out about, just a few snowmobilers like them. As they headed into the last copse of trees before the farm, they noticed a group of three riders clustered, stopped most likely to get their bearings since the trails weren’t officially open.

As they popped out of the trees and sped across the field, the house in sight, Ares noticed the wolf pacing out front. Selene had shifted, which meant something had set her off. She snarled in their direction, but Derek held up a hand and waved as they slowed to a stop a few yards away.

The enemy was here, his wolf announced.

Ares spotted the red and pink speckles in the snow in front of the porch.

Blood.

Probably from the body that lay sprawled and partially buried.

A naked body.

A chilled Ares ripped off his helmet and shouted, “What the fuck happened?”

Selene couldn’t reply nor could she shift, not while still upset. She’d always had an issue with strong emotions.

Mom emerged cradling a shotgun. A bruise blossomed on her cheek, and she looked shaken. “We’re okay. Some goons paid us a visit and asked where Charly and Greta were. I told the ringleader I had no idea who they spoke of. He didn’t believe me and gave me a smack. When I cried out, Selene came charging out of the barn, and…” Mom glanced at Selene’s pacing wolf. “Let’s just say she couldn’t hold her temper.”

“You mentioned goons in the plural. I only see one body.”

“The other one bolted once I brought out the gun.” Mom’s chin lifted. “My lessons with Grams paid off. I nicked it in the ass as they were running off.”

Ran off, not drove. The driveway showed no tire tracks other than the ones left by Selene’s vehicle. A glance past the carnage showed disturbed snow heading for the forest. Ares already knew the answer but had to ask anyway. “Were they lycanthrope?”

Mom nodded. “They arrived as wolves from the woods. One of them shifted to ask the questions. He’s the one over there.” She pointed to the body showing tear marks. Selene hadn’t messed around with the guy who hurt Mom.

A guy associated with Charly’s ex.

When Charly said Barry was a killer, he’d expected the mob kind. But nope, her ex was a werewolf, and even worse, he and Derek had left a trail that would lead right back to Charly and Greta. He couldn’t help but recall the snowmobilers he’d seen on the outskirts of their property. Had they passed the fuckers on their way in?

He glanced at Derek. “We gotta get back to the farm.”

Selene whined.

“Sorry, sis, but you won’t fit on the back while you’re a wolf, and there’s a body that needs handling before you can go anywhere.”

He felt bad leaving his sister and mother to drag it into the woods to be devoured by wildlife; however, urgency fired his blood.

“Mom, call Athena. Tell her to get everyone into the shelter.”

“Will try. The cell signal’s been spotty. Be careful.”

“You, too. Stay in the house, lock the doors, and keep the gun handy in case any come back.”

“They’d better not,” Mom grumbled. “Any suggestions on where we should drag the body?”

“Dump it in the ravine. The spring melt will float it away from the farm.” And the wounds, if still visible when the body was found, would point to a wildlife attack. “Use the ATV to pull it.”

With those instructions, he jumped on the sled and revved it back in the direction they’d come. Speeding. Praying. And yes, a little bit scared.

Our mate and pup are in danger.