Ashes To Ashes (Wolf Guard Book 2) (20 page)

Chapter 26

Conall was drunk.

How a man who was a thousand years old, had a wolf burning through that alcohol and was the size of the average house, managed to get so drunk was a bit of a puzzle. "You think that maybe you should slow down now?"

He peered at me with narrowed, slightly too bright eyes. "Why would I do dat?"

I pursed my lips and shook my head - a human Conall would have been a dead Conall. "You're lucky the wolf heals your liver, although he's probably pissed he has to spend so much time doing it."

Conall grinned, a little too widely, one that made his teeth glint in the fading sun."He likes tha whiskey just as much as I do. It's quite funny, bein' in the same head as a drunk animal."

I frowned at him, trying very hard to keep my straight face. "Your wolf is an alcoholic?"

He spluttered around his glass. "Hey! No need fer name callin'."

I snorted as softly as I could but his suspicious eyes still picked up that amusement I tried so hard to hide. "How many bottles did it take to get you in this state anyway?" I was genuinely curious, I rarely drank more than two or three, enough to get a tiny buzz and drown all the crap that likes to take over your brain sometimes. I was alot smaller than Conall though, and had to wonder what it took to stagger the big wolf.

He shrugged, "doan't remember. Got crates of tha stuff in tha cellar, went through a couple I guess."

I had a feeling he meant a couple of crates and could guess he'd hit somewhere around the twelfth bottle quite a while ago. He took another large gulp and wobbled slightly when he stood to refill his glass.

"Yer know, faeries doan't like whiskey - someting in it makes dem ill. Feckin' abominations, who ever heard of an Irish who doan't like whiskey?" He seemed quite disgusted by the fact.

I shrugged and smiled at him, allowing his rant to continue. It was entertaining if nothing else. His accent had become a whole lot broader with each mouthful of that burnt amber liquid.

"Won't be sinking der teeth into me again." He huffed and returned to his seat at the kitchen table, refilled glass firmly in hand. "Talkin' of teeth...dat's a big mark yer have there." He grinned widely again and this time, it was less amusing.

I scowled at him, daring the sneaky wolf to continue. The thing about drunk wolves though, is that they seem to lack the sense to stop talking when warned.

"Looks like tha Alpha took a big bite out of yer." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, "he's got big teeth I'll give him dat."

I'd obviously covered the mark on my breast, but couldn't do much about the matching one on my neck."Watch your mouth, Irish. It'll get you in trouble in a minute."

He nodded his head sagely, as if he was truly thinking about dropping the subject, before that grin hit his lips once more. "Course, it doan't look much like a claiming mark tae me. Funny dat he bites you but doesn't make it permanent." His grin never once faltered.

"I will set fire to your whiskey stash if you don't drop it."

He looked rather affronted. "Now, there's no need fer such talk. Was only sayin' he's a bit of an arse tae not claim such a pretty wolf."

He wasn't fooling me and the bright twinkle in his eye was an obvious give away. "Conall, I'm not talking about this."

False shock descended over his face."Unless of course he bit yer somewhere else first."

I snatched his glass from the table and gulped the rest of his whiskey down in one swallow. It was foul, and had a higher percentage than I was used to, but it made me feel better that I'd stolen something of his.

"But dat can't be right, can it? Only a mad wolf bites his mate where no one can see it."

I thumped the empty glass back on the table and attempted to ignore him instead.

"Of course, he could always just keep bitin' yer, make sure dat one on your neck doan't fade."

I opened my mouth to send a growl his way, my wolf not appreciating his sense of humour, until heavy footsteps stopped behind my chair.

"Who's biting who?" Ty's voice was soft and slightly strained.

Conall laughed loudly, echoing around the large kitchen. He stood from his chair and backed away slowly to the doorway. "Why, tha Alpha took a few bites out of your sister. Doan't look like he tought enough of her tae claim tha female though." He grinned wickedly one final time before escaping into the hallway and shutting the door on his parting words.

What an arsehole.

I felt the fury emanating long before he voiced it. I could very easily have told him that Lane had claimed me, although the words to choose to avoid my embarrassment took quite a while to think through.

"He what?" I rather hated this side of Ty, his quiet and toneless words were such a complete departure from his normal self that it sent a shiver down my spine.

"Conall was being generally annoying. Lane definitely claimed me." I refused to turn around, no doubt my face was already bright red and turning a deeper shade with each word.

"Then why do I feel your humiliation?" That tone lowered again, had a dangerous quality that spoke of the creature that lurked tapping beneath the surface, waiting to pounce on what he saw as prey.

I'm rather glad I left Lane in the shower, I doubted either of them had the restraint to not cause a small war in the middle of the kitchen. "Because I really don't want to talk about this with you."

He lent closer and I felt his hands grab a hold of the chair back and tighten until the wood creaked under the pressure."Show me."

"What?"

"Show me the mark that the damn Alpha gave you."

"Fuck no, Ty. "

"If he didn't claim you, I'm going to suffocate him. Now show me the damn mark!"

I pushed out of the chair and leapt onto the table, vaulting off the hard wood and landing rather gracefully on the other side. If the animal had refused to lend me her agility, it would have been an entirely different landing. "I can't show you."

"Why the hell not!"

His eyes were flashing that icy blue and I realised I had seconds to placate him before he let that lid off and destroyed a house that I was just beginning to quite like. I huffed and avoided his eyes, "He marked me...elsewhere."

I had no response from him and yet I found I still couldn't meet his eyes. This was beyond awkward.

I looked from window to ceiling to floor. Everywhere but Ty, before the silence became even more uncomfortable than facing him would be.

I hesitantly nudged my gaze his way and saw skin slightly paler than his normal tan and a nose crinkled to his forehead.

"Ew, Sasha. Don't tell me that shit."

I huffed and stomped to the counter, grabbing Conall's whiskey and a fresh glass. Fuming slightly as I tried to burn that redness off my cheeks. "The lot of you, are arseholes."

I left the kitchen in an unapologetic tantrum, determined to find Conall and crack that bottle over his head. Every step though, seemed to pound something at my subconscious. A niggling thought that had escaped my focus and was insistent on me acknowledging it's presence. I heard Conall's rumbling laugh as he sat outside on the wrought iron bench. I heard Ty, now as loud as normal, stomping around the kitchen and inspecting the fridge for food. I heard Tessa singing softly to herself, a song of mated females from centuries ago sending their men to war as kings fought against kings. I heard Lane's footsteps in those heavy boots he always wore, leaving the bedroom and hitting the wood of the hallway floor.

Lane.

A flush heated my neck, blood that pounded and sent a warning sweat to my palms.

The thought came crashing though so quickly, I failed to put a lid on the distress that followed. It beat at me. Shame that turned to horror, that multiplied to devastation the moment I realised what I'd done. He'd hate me.

I'd taken everything from him without asking his permission. Taken what the worryingly satisfied empath seemed to believe belonged to it. He'd offered when he saw me with Harry but, had he even thought it through? He hadn't mentioned it since and so I'd let it drop, believing the same man that remained tormented by empaths, could never allow one to feed. And now I'd taken his choice away, become the same as those he’d wiped out. I wondered why he wasn't already in front of me, demanding why I'd turned our mating into the epitome of his nightmare.

He should have felt that draining exhaustion instantly, when he'd gotten up to take a shower after me. Yet he'd only smiled and watched me leave the room. The distress beat harder at me, to realise that he'd never smile at me again, not when I'd become the very thing he hated so completely. How empty must he feel? How betrayed? All those memories of torment would now be forever imprinted on my face, a constant reminder of all the horror that he can never escape.

I shook when Ty appeared so suddenly, concern etched on his face. "What happened? I can feel that from a mile away."

Unwanted tears burned my eyes, I'd finally felt a little bit whole only to know I'd stolen it just as readily as all those feeders I’d condemned." Ty, I didn't mean to."

"Ssh, Sash. Tell me what happened." His arms pulled me toward him and tightened when I tried to pull away.

"He's coming, just get me away for a minute." Ty nodded and pulled me quietly back to the kitchen and through the back door, allowing me to take a gasping breath in the cooling air. Frigid frost that hung lightly on the wind, awaiting darkness to fall before clinging to the landscape. "I fed from him, I don't even know when I did."

He frowned a little. "You don't remember feeding?"

"No, I remember letting go and now I feel so full and satisfied that I know I've fed. He's going to hate me." More tears tried to escape and I held tightly onto Ty in an effort to stem them.

He continued walking towards the treeline and pulled me with him with one arm slung over my shoulder. "He say anything yet?"

I shook my head and rubbed it slightly against his shirt, wiping at the water that tried it's hardest to streak across my face. My wolf rubbed her own head inside me, a little nudge to comfort and an urgent shove to return to Lane, as if he was the answer to all our problems. In her eyes, I suppose he was.

"Sash, listen to me."

I looked up at Ty so focused on my face.

"He doesn't know. He would already have questioned why he felt so drained and as you and I are the only empaths in that house it would make it bloody obvious where his energy went. For some reason, he isn't feeling it. Now clean your face up and put a smile on it, he'll be looking for you soon."