Ashes To Ashes (Wolf Guard Book 2) (6 page)

A stalking sound came from the woods to my right. Crashing steps that quickened as I turned, rumbles of pleasure that chilled and heated my spine in the same measure. I frowned at the trees that hid my view and squinted in hopes that I'd see what puzzled my senses so completely. The sun dipped low and a hazy amber turned barren brown trees to dew spun gold.

Whispers filled my ears from the females grouped together. I took no notice of their words so focused on the sounds moving swiftly forward. A grunting male wolf sounded calls from the thickened forest, scampering animals fleeing at the sound. I caught a glimpse of blond, a human hand clenched tight with emerging claws, a thick forearm softly tanned with last summer’s sun. I took a step forward, a faint scent on the air turned my nose to this creature and a rumble filled my chest as the animal inside let that smell invade her senses.

I took another step. A thoughtless step that was less a conscious movement and more a different kind of need. A roar filled the forest, a top of the food chain roar that stilled the females in their twitching limbs and only made me want to step forward once more. Blond filled my vision again, strands that ran down a face hidden between the ancient trees. One clawed hand emerged first, held out in front as if reaching for something it couldn't quite touch.

That smell rolled around in my head, heaven sent and bathed in sin.

A warrior stepped through the trees, a few inches either way of seven feet and battling heavily for control of the animal pushing his claws through finger tips. Blond, muscled to the point of stretching the clothes that clung precariously to his towering frame, grey tinted eyes that shadowed an otherwise angelic face, days worth of stubble making me itch to scratch my skin against his.

Blood that covered every inch of his painted on clothes.

Rain and thunderstorms on a sunny day. Lighting that exploded the sky and broke the sun from the clouds.

Mate.

This man was my mate.

And I’m pretty sure I’d promised to kill him.

Chapter 8

What great purpose such a man shows. Strong and powerful - more so than I'd seen for some time. He was built like the thunderstorms he smelt of; howling winds of gale force bearing, crackling thunder that raged against a swirling ashen sky, electric flashes of pure white lightening that struck the earth and scorched blackened burns in soil. And when those stark eyes shut to breathe deeply at the air surrounding him, it became an open door to the sun that shone brightly deep within. The chaos dimmed and anarchy calmed, the disorder so obvious in a steel tainted gaze, blurred until harmony almost reigned. It was as if the wolf was drowning in his own hurricane and the moment he closed himself off from the world, a glimpse of what he could have been forced itself through.

I could not stop taking deep, lung expanding breaths. Rain and sun and storm; the freshness of a world wiped clean with nature's purifying wrath. A smell that permeated, invaded, trespassed to sink into my skin only to be absorbed and buried deep, infecting the animal with this smell that was at once heavenly and monstrous. Terrible only because I knew the source of that whirlwind scent, remembered the first time I'd caught that mixture, so subtle when mixed together with the coppery fragrance of blood. I'd found my salvation in my pitfall and now I'd have to convince the animal that we would choose avenging the death of two people who'd given us somewhere to belong, over the mate that should have been our happy ending.

I cast my eyes to the females gathered, stood in silence, brave enough to glare my way but not enough to speak up so far in the presence of what had to be their new Alpha. I saw quite a few of them glancing towards him, eyeing the man that was supposed to be mine. I couldn't find it within myself to blame them, it would be like asking someone who'd never been outside to stop staring at the sun; some shining star that draws the eye regardless of will. No, I wouldn't begrudge them looking, but already I felt the beast rising and pushing for the surface, wanting to show these females exactly whose mate this Alpha was. I'm sure they'd laugh, perhaps pity the man who'd received such an anomaly to match his soul. I felt a little sick at the thought that he'd feel that way too.

I almost laughed at myself - this bond was twisting me already, taking thoughts of killing and replacing them with feelings I didn't want to have. I snapped my gaze back to that blond warrior, he had moved in the minutes I'd been within my own head. From less than a foot away I ran my eyes over the length of him, even covered in blood, hair in disarray around his unshaven face, clothes ragged from what looked like days of travel, still he made my heart thump a little harder. He cocked his head to the side and rumbled in his chest - if that wasn't the sexiest sound I'd ever heard I don't know what would be.

One giant foot left the ground and strode forward, putting his massive frame an inch away from me. That straw colored hair swept across his face as he dipped his head to touch his nose lightly against the skin at my neck. Shoulders wrought in iron and hewn in molten rock became my prison as his width completely overshadowed mine. Another one of those rumbles released from his chest and I felt the exhalation as shivers against my skin. A beastly voice came from deep within his rolling chest, as if the human had departed and only animal remained.

"Pretty..."

I huffed out a breath. The wolf definitely enjoyed the attention, I imagine she rather liked the male currently shoving his face in my shoulder. I however, much preferred halfway intelligent conversation. As I weighed up the merits of pushing him off or stabbing a little welcome hole into his side, Ty decided to make an appearance. I caught a glimpse of his shoes as he stepped up behind the Alpha and I caught the tensing of shoulders as his presence registered to the male who had just found his mate. I had the time to put a small hand on one thick forearm before, in a single blink, Ty was against the wall held a foot in the air by a large, rough hand clenched around his throat. I rolled my eyes at the Alpha's back, no doubt he'd decided Ty was a threat to his newly found mating - he had yet to realize he had more issues than just Ty. It wasn't until I heard the absolute disgust and anger in a rough whisper from the man choking my brother that I understood it was more serious than I originally thought.

"Bottom feeder."
 

And if any words were guaranteed to turn my vision red, it would be those two. Like gazing through ruby stones I saw the landscape tinted crimson, a bloody canvas for my insecurity and its resulting burning fire. I stepped in between the two men and shoved my body into the tiny gap when the raging wolf didn't move and became almost rock solid with the attempt to keep me out. My own animal was slightly conflicted, she certainly didn't want her brother hurt but neither was she overjoyed at the thought of damaging her mate. I simply reminded her that this man had insulted us with those words  and she once again became that crystal clear perfect cohesion, just like the human - a little bit vengeful, a little bit sadistic, a lot of ego he had battered with his disgust. Her claws came out - a serious threat to his beating heart. Our existence had been a self serving one, since childhood we'd lived to save only ourselves and Ty. In the end, whatever fate had decided for us, whatever pretty package she'd wrapped it in, would not be more than the life I'd worked so hard for.

I took a moment to marvel at the claws she gave me - something that should not have been possible yet, a wolf no older than fifty human years and already we'd synced so completely that we were one fluid entity of skin and teeth. I looked up from between the two rigid men and flicked my eyes to each in turn, faces carved in icy fury, one blond looking slightly crazed in his anger and, behind me, Ty's dark hair falling over his blistering eyes. I didn't think that either would be particularly open to conversation at the moment and so I simply took those chrome hardened talons and stabbed a couple into the Alpha’s side. Blood ran quickly, though it only joined the rivers that must have poured to cover his saturated clothes. I cast a quick glance up at the Alpha, his head had dipped to look in curiosity at me, a full foot and a half below his giant height. A tiny smile and something akin to pleasure shot across his face as I retracted those claws, satisfaction, as if I'd just given him some great gift. Fabulous - I'd been given a lunatic as a mate. Annoyance ran through me, his fist still wrapped around Ty's throat, clenching hard enough to turn his normally sun kissed face to ashen grey.

"Get off my brother, arsehole."

Utter horror fell across his face. I almost grimaced at the thought that the sudden horror was realization that his mate was some sort of genetic mash-up of good and evil -like a bad parody of some moral ridden demon. He could smell the wolf inside me, a thick and strong essence that almost bled freely from my pores. The empath hid, concealed beneath the shifting beast, a caged sin and damnable surprise. He'd smell the wolf on Ty but it was subtle and mixed heavily with blackened silk - all wicked virtue and honorable villain. Ty may not be a blood relation but the Alpha didn't need to know that and we'd easily pass as siblings. I had his midnight black hair and slightly tanned skin - enough to have a resemblance. There was an obvious difference in stature of course and his blue eyes to my burnished Amber, but enough similarity to be believable.

He took an immediate step back and released his hold on Ty to a series of coughs that showed exactly how tight his fist had been. I was overly impressed with my brother for allowing the Alpha to squeeze so hard, he could quite easily have let some of that rage out and returned the favor and yet he'd kept hold of those reigns and trusted I'd fix the situation. Steel eyes flashed anger and vile hatred and some sort of grief of which I didn't understand. Perhaps grief for the mate he would never claim, and so in my own assumptions I became even more clear in my path.

"I'm Sasha." I swept my hand to the side to indicate the man still rubbing at the redness on his throat in the shape of one huge hand print. “And Ty...”My voice dropped slightly lower as I couldn't keep the hiss out of my words, "..my brother ." Grey eyes flashed shiny steel and I may have thought it a wince if a sudden and confusing smile hadn't appeared across his mouth, "We were only here for some information but it seems we have no need of it any more."

Ty flicked a frown my way but remained silent. I nudged him to start walking and he took a few slow steps towards the forest, I followed with my back to him, facing the blond who did nothing but stare blankly at me with a decidedly creepy smile on his face. I backed further away as Ty picked up the pace and I saw Conall appear from the pack house, hair wet and in some towel dried mess. His face instantly lit into a grin until he saw us backing away and the Alpha staring at our retreat.

"Aw shite." Conall jogged from the house to the blond and touched his arm lightly to gain his attention. The Alpha only cocked his head in Conall's direction and kept his stark eyes glued to me. "Yer a bit early, Lane."

My wolf made an embarrassing little rumble in my chest at the sound of his name and I shushed that animal before she made a fool out of us both. I nodded at the Irishman and resumed backing away from the staring Alpha. "Thanks, Conall. It seems we'll be leaving after all."

Green eyes flashed at me in disappointment, "but I didn't get tae show yer the faeries."

I smiled in indulgence, "another time maybe."

He looked quite severely upset and I could only imagine that most of the people here had already heard his stories a few too many times. He shot an annoyed glance at Lane as if the whole situation was his fault. Oddly, I felt more confident turning my back with Conall behind me and I swiftly moved to avoid those eyes that seemed to glare and consume so readily and in equal parts. I'd taken few steps before his rough, scraping tenor rumbled behind me.

"Run....little witch."