A Handful of Wolf (20 page)

Alex waited until she’d climbed into the car. “Phillip told me it was all Sasha’s fault, that he’d got mixed up with some dodgy people and they’d come after you, to put pressure on him.” By this time they’d established her phone had gone missing, presumably stolen by the garden contractor she’d bumped into. When he brushed the supposed cicada from her back, he must have taken her phone at the same time.

She shivered under her brother’s stern tone. “He saved me, Alex. He fought the dog and then sent me to get help.”
He did some shape shifting as well, but you don’t need to know that.
She tugged her brother’s fleece jacket a little tighter around her shoulders.

“Where did those wolves come from, sis? The ones with you.”

“Wolves? They were just big dogs.”

“Nu-huh, they were wolves.”

She laughed. It had a definite hysterical note to it. “What do you mean? There are no wolves in New Zealand.”

He sighed, and then fiddled with her seatbelt, making sure it lay smooth and flat. “Gran used to have a tame wolf when she was a girl. I’ve seen pictures of it. Looked the same as those things today, even down to those freaky blue eyes.”

“She did?” Why had Megan never known this?

“You should ask next time you see her.” She would, but first she had to see her very own wolf. He’d been hurt too, bleeding so badly, she needed to know he was okay.
And apologize, don’t forget that. Tell him you’re sorry for thinking he was insane.

“Please take me to Thorndon, I need to see Sasha.”

*

Although Connor’s team managed to get the captive wolf to shift into human form, he’d said little, other than he’d been told to watch the girl.
His Mate
. To add to the frustration, they’d been unable to track the English rogue wolf. He must have driven away and gone to ground. Connor showed Sasha a grainy CCTV image.

“He calls himself Rufus. No idea if that’s his real name, and this is the only picture we have. He’s smart and usually avoids security cameras. We got lucky. He’s targeting the fringe elements of the pack, trying to fire up the ones that might cause trouble. A word here, a rumor there. We can’t figure out his game plan but we’ve known about him for a while. He’s behind the wolf sightings in the hills.”

“Why did he come looking for me? And Megan?” He stumbled over her name.

Connor shrugged. “Like I said, we’ve no idea what he’s doing. He’s a Pom, a Brit, so it’d make more sense for him to target your packs, rather than coming all the way down here. He’s a mystery.”

“What will you do with this one?” Sasha jerked a thumb at the captive, currently languishing butt naked in a large cage.

Connor’s smile was pure, cold satisfaction. “We’ll get something out of him, it just might take some time. I don’t tolerate outsiders fucking with my pack. While this isn’t Rufus, it’s still a good catch.” The Alpha glanced back at Sasha. “Now the medic’s finished with you, d’you want a ride anywhere?”

He needed to pack up his gear and get his ass to the airport. Sure enough, Jake had performed some miracle and produced a ticket home. The journey started at Wellington on a 10 p.m. flight, and that was only three hours away. Packing would be a quick job, he hadn’t brought much. He wanted to say goodbye to his friends though, and rang Dion to break the news to him, on the short drive back to Thorndon.

Sasha ached all over. There were no broken bones, but plenty of muscle damage and his left leg hurt like a bitch. Walking was painful, but none of his injuries came even close to how his heart felt. He swore there was a cavity in his chest now, it felt so empty. If it wasn’t for Tammy, and the need to be there for his twin, he wasn’t sure what he’d do. The world felt curiously flat and grey, all the life bleached out of it.

Back home, he dragged himself from room to room, collecting his things and dumping them into a single large hold-all. Carry-on luggage only. That was how he preferred it. Maybe once Tammy was better, he’d go traveling again. South America, perhaps. Or Russia. His grandmother came from Siberia and maybe it was time to check out his roots. His wolf had been grumbling all evening, whining in bewilderment and scratching at him. It didn’t understand the man’s decision. The Mating bond would continue to tighten its hold on him until he went insane with loneliness, and already he felt physically sick at the prospect of putting so many miles between them. He fumbled through a drawer for a working pen, before remembering he’d already written his note to the landlord. Jesus. He was a mess.

When he heard the knock at the front door, he assumed it was Dion, with his lift to the airport. “Come in,” he yelled from the bedroom. “I’ve nearly finished.” His nose was playing fucking tricks on him; he swore he could smell caramel and spice.

*

Megan persuaded her brothers to stay by the car while she knocked on Sasha’s door. She agreed that if he was home, she’d stay no more than ten minutes. Their over-protectiveness was driven by their love for her, and it was hard to feel cross at that. He didn’t answer her knock, but she heard him shout and that was good enough. She gave a thumbs up to Alex and Hugh, and then opened the door. She longed to see Sasha, with an ache that intensified the longer they were apart. She still didn’t know what to believe, despite seeing the evidence for herself. It made no logical sense.

The first thing she saw was a large black hold-all on the coffee table. The zip was open, clothes and toiletries seemingly dumped inside. A white phone charging cable snaked across the top, and a slim netbook and a passport sat beside it on the tabletop. The breath caught in her chest. Was he leaving?

The back of her neck prickled and she looked up to see Sasha in the doorway. He leaned against the frame, arms full of clothes and she stifled her gasp. His face was pale, scrapes and bruises all down one side and he held himself stiffly, as though in pain. “What are you doing here, Megan?” His voice was stilted too.
Megan, not Cariad.
Her heart stuttered.

“You’re going home early?” He nodded and limped into the room, dropping the bundle into the open bag, and then shoving it down in rough, jerky movements.

“Tam’s having her appendix out today. I don’t want to be thousands of miles away.”
You don’t mind being thousands of miles from me, though
. She chided herself. That was unfair. Last time they’d spoken, not including the brief words earlier, she’d told him to go away and leave her. And now he was.

Unable to stand there and do nothing, she calmly moved his hands away and then lifted out his jumble of clothing and began to fold the things neatly. “If you pack it properly, you’ll get more in.” She felt pleased at how steady her voice came out.

“There are things we need to talk about while you’re here.” Sasha took a position on the other side of the room, leaning on the back of the sofa, hands gripping the top. He sounded like a stranger.

“I have some questions too, and,” she hesitated, “Alex and Hugh are waiting outside.”

“Your brothers are good people.” A shadow crossed his face. “It might be best for them to hear this.”

Whatever he meant, it didn’t sound good. Her chest tight, she focused on the T-shirt in her hands and continued to roll it up. “I thought the whole wolf thing was a secret.” She looked up and met his gaze, the blue stare more intense than ever. “I didn’t believe you. I owe you a huge apology.” They were only a few feet apart, but it could have been miles. Her hands itched to touch him. More than anything, she wanted to hurl herself into his arms and kiss the life out of him, but she didn’t know how. He stood there, awkward and unfriendly, as though she was the last guest to leave a party and it just felt so wrong.

“You can’t tell anyone about the shifters. I shouldn’t have told you.” His face twisted and he closed his eyes, and then sucked in a long breath. “Go and get your brothers. I have to leave soon.”

Frustration spiked. “Leaving, or running away? You said you wanted to spend your life with me, Sasha. Change your mind?”

Pain flashed across his beautiful eyes and the muscles bunched in his arms. “Yes.”
Oh
. She hadn’t expected that. She rubbed her chest and tried to think straight, and nearly missed his next words. “Is your hand okay?”

She lifted the bandaged hand to show him. “Yes, it’s fine.” This was not how she wanted the conversation to go, but it reminded her of a question that needed to be asked. Fear churned inside and made the words difficult to form. “Phillip was bitten by that…
wolf
. You bit
me
. Does that mean that we turn into werewolves?”

His face was shuttered. “No, we’re born this way. You can’t catch it.” He dropped his head and rubbed the back of his neck and she wondered again about his own injuries.

“You were so brave today. I thought I was going to die. I can never thank you enough for that, Sasha. Your leg…it was bleeding so much.” Emotion clogged her throat and made it a struggle to speak. “We came back to the clearing and you’d gone. I was so worried. Why didn’t you stay?”

Sasha knew if he let go of the sofa he’d not be able to keep his hands off Megan. She stood there, his T-shirt clutched in her fingers, bottom lip wobbling and eyes glistening. Everything he’d ever wanted and everything he dared not have. His wolf howled, mournful and hurting and his fucking heart raced at the speed of sound. Her scent wrapped around him, driving his poor wolf even crazier, and something had to give. The sharp knock and the sound of the door opening was a timely interruption.
Please let it be Dion
.

It was the Hellspawn, but maybe that was for the best. It saved him the job of fetching them and he took a moment to feast his eyes on Megan again while she was distracted. He’d no idea if she’d go back to Phillip, but he hoped not. He still hated the petty fuckwit. A red haze descended. He hated the idea of
any
other man loving her.
Mine
.

“Ready to go, Megan?” Alex slipped an arm around her shoulder and Sasha was amused to see her shake him off.

“Not quite. And Sasha wanted to talk to all of us.” Three pairs of eyes turned to him.

The truth was impossible. He fished around for something that might be near enough. “I got mixed up with a couple of gangs. It was stupid of me, but I was short of money. They saw Megan with me, and decided to use her to warn me off. I took a phone call at lunchtime from a guy who told me he’d taken her. He was using her phone.” He had to stop. The combined memory of the phone call and the image of Megan screaming beneath the wolf would haunt him forever. “I was near Phillip so I asked him for help. We went back to your place to start looking for you, and that’s when we found you being attacked by the dog.” He kept his gaze pinned on Megan, daring her to interrupt. Another quick breath to steady the nerves that were stretched taut as bow strings. “I don’t know where the guy went. That was his dog that attacked you, so he was somewhere close. How did you end up there? Did you go with him?”

She rubbed her chest again, as though her heart was hurting. Fuck, he knew how
that
felt. “I didn’t see anyone.” She sounded bewildered. “I’d gone to the tree house by myself, but when I tried to leave, the, uh,
dog
attacked me. I found out later my phone had been stolen and Alex told me you thought I’d been kidnapped.”

Sasha realized he’d been holding his breath.
Not kidnapped
. That was a relief, one tiny glimmer of good in a day full of horrors. “Okay, that’s ah, okay.” Great, he sounded simpleminded, now. “Thing is, I don’t know his name or anything about him, but with me heading back home, he should leave you alone now. It was just to frighten me.” And Christ, did it work. Megan opened her mouth to speak and he rushed on. “I’m sorry, so sorry for what happened.”
For messing up your perfect life.
“If I’d had any idea…”
I’d still have fallen in love with you. I’ll never forget the way you feel in my arms.
He forced a shamefaced smile and curled his fingers even tighter into the worn fabric sofa, the only thing holding him up.

An uncomfortable silence descended.
Go, please go. I can’t pretend any longer.

*

“Come on, Meggie.” Hugh jingled his car keys, but Megan ignored him. Was this why he was fleeing into the night? Leaving without a goodbye or an explanation? Not scared of the gang, but scared for her? All the little protective things he’d done over the past few days. Seeing her home. Holding her on the dance floor. Punching Phillip. Attacking that huge wolf without a care for his own safety. She felt hot and cold at the same time and clenched her fists. Dear God, if she let him go, she’d never see him again.

She stepped forward, away from Alex. “You have to go tonight, yeah?”

His gaze was fixed on the carpet. “Yeah. Flight leaves in a couple of hours.”

“And you’re not coming back?” Another step closer.

“No.” He looked up now, his face tight. His white knuckles gave away his death-grip on the sofa and she took a giant leap of faith.

“I’m going to Wales again soon. Can I come and see you?”

The look of intense longing that flashed across his face confirmed what she thought. He lifted a shaking hand and dragged it through his hair. It made him look even sexier. “No. Best not.” His voice was choked.

“Meggie, leave it.” Alex’s growl dragged her back to the realization she had an audience for this. “He’s just a two-bit chippie. You can do much better.”

She didn’t take her eyes off Sasha. “He’s got a Masters in Civil Engineering and he came here for the summer to help with the Christchurch rebuild. That’s more than either of you have done. Now clear out, I need a minute alone.” Silence met her words and she bit down on her frustration. “I said go. I’ll be out in a minute.”

“Megan, why are you still here?” He spoke in a low voice as her brothers finally got the message and trooped outside.

“You’re just as bad as them. Same stupid, macho bullshit.” She jammed her hands into her pockets. “Now tell me the truth.”

His smile looked totally artificial. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I need to finish packing. Dion will be here any minute.” She heard the strain in his voice.