Den and Breakfast: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Honeycomb Falls Book 1) (11 page)

"Rest, alpha." She's by my side, along with the others. "Heal. We will guard you."

No,
I want to say.
Guard Rachel. Protect her
. But I can't speak. I can't even growl. The world spins faster and faster, and then everything goes dark.

Chapter Eleven

I awaken alone, with a deliciously aching body and a broken heart.
He'll be back
. I tell myself that as I stand up and stretch slowly, carefully, wincing at the soreness.

He'll be back
, I tell myself as I brush my teeth. As I shower and then get dressed. The sunshine coming in through the windows is clean and white and hints at autumn. The house is silent. I know Hui and Anita will be showing up soon, but for now, it's just me and my thoughts. My memories. Of Blake's strong hands, his wicked smile, the sparkle in his golden eyes.

Anita arrives as I'm making coffee. She knocks on the kitchen door and I start, almost spilling my cup in surprise. She smiles and gives me a little wave through the glass panes, and I feel a flood of relief rush through me.

"You're early! It's not even eight o'clock yet!"

Anita gives me an embarrassed one-shoulder shrug and curls a strand of her midnight black hair behind one ear. "I know. If you want, I can come back after nine."

I grab her hand and pull her inside, exasperated. "Of course not! Come inside and have some coffee. I was just surprised to see you."

Anita glances around the kitchen, and I realize it's a possessive look. Checking that everything is where she left it. I feel another surge of warmth. I love that she's become so invested in Honeycomb Hall so quickly. It makes my own dreams for the place seem that much more real.

"To be honest," she says, grabbing a mug, "I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about all the things that need to be done today for Blood Moon's arrival. The cleaning, the cooking. I have to pick up the steaks from the grocers at eleven, and then I couldn't decide - should I season them or not? Do wolves like a light black pepper and garlic flavor, or do you think they want it raw?"

I laugh as we sit at the breakfast table. "I have no idea. Half man, half wolf, maybe they'll like it either way?"

Anita sighs. "It's really hard to cook when you don't know what your guests want. I guess I'll figure it out. Do you think it would be a bad idea to hand out little survey cards after each meal?"

"Survey cards? To the Blood Moon pack?"

Anita nods. "Yes. You know. 'On a scale of 1 to 5, please rate how happy you were with the amount of blood drizzled over your soufflé.'"

I stare at her for a moment until I catch a smile pulling at the corner of her mouth, and then we both break out into laughter. "You know, I think you should do it. I'll point my staff at them and threaten to turn them into toads if they fail to fill it out completely."

Anita smiles, pleased at the success of her joke, and for a moment we just sip our coffee in a companionable way. Then she blinks and looks around. "Where's Blake?"

My happy mood slides away like rainwater into a storm drain. I look down at my coffee. "He's gone."

"Gone? But I thought he couldn't leave."

I nod miserably. "I found a way to set him free. So I did."

"And he actually left?" There's shock in Anita's voice.

"Of course. He's gone to become alpha of his pack once more."

"Oh." Anita's shoulders slump a little. "I could have sworn he'd stay." She gives me a hesitant look out of the corner of her eye. "From the way he was looking at you, that is."

Just remembering the intensity of his gaze sends a shiver down my spine. I miss him so much already. Nobody has ever made me feel so sensuous, so loved, so beautiful. No man has ever looked at me and seen the woman I believe myself to be. Know myself to be. "Yes, well. What about you? Is there somebody special in your life?"

Anita gives a little laugh. "Oh, no. There was going to be. But." Suddenly her face grows pale.

"Anita?" I don't want to push too hard. "What happened?"

She stares down at her hands. "My father was going to make me marry the son of his best friend." She glances up at me, eyes wide. "Something about an old debt from when they were kids. I still don't understand it. But I hated Gerry. My fiancé. Hated him. He made fun of me. Said all I was good for was cooking."

"What?" I can't believe it. "And your dad was still insisting?"

Anita nods miserably. "He said he had no choice. And that as long as I lived under his roof, I had no choice either."

"You ran away." Anita nods and won't meet my eyes. "And that's why you need this job so badly. You don't have any money of your own."

She shakes her head. "I have a little, enough for me to rent a room over Mindy's store. That's where I was working odd jobs till I saw you put your notice up."

I smile and take her hand. "Well, I'm glad you saw it. I can't imagine having any other cook at Honeycomb Hall. You're welcome here for as long as you need work, and then beyond that too."

Anita's smile is like the sun coming out from behind the clouds. I beam at her, and then we both startle in our seats as the front door crashes open.

I jump to my feet.
Blake?

I dart into the hall and hear somebody running heavily up the stairs to the second floor. What the hell? I run out into the entry hall and see the huge front door hanging from one hinge. My stomach turns into an acidic knot. Who the hell?

"Anita, go back into the kitchen."

"Hell, no." My eyes go wide at the nervous anger in her voice. Somehow she's had the presence of mind to grab a chef's knife, and is holding it point down.

I take a shuddery breath and begin climbing the steps. It's the last thing I want to do, but I have to. I have no choice. Who else is going to protect Honeycomb Hall? I scoot up quietly, the sound of somebody tearing the place apart growing louder. Crashing wood, shattering doors. Who the hell? I need to get to my bedroom, get to Simon Two.
Now.

Whomever it is is in my bedroom already. With Anita behind me I creep up to the door, terrified. A massive form is raging in there. Blake? It's a massive wolf on its hind legs, warformed. No. Not Blake. My heart sinks and my mind fills with terror.
Maric
.

He tears open the door of the wardrobe, swipes a hand through Mama B's dresses, then tosses the wardrobe crashing down onto its side. The knowledge hits me like a truck:
he's after the staff
. He hasn't seen it yet propped against the desk in the corner. He's like a whirlwind in there, a tornado of fury. I have to get to the staff. I have to! Even though my knees are jelly, and I feel like I have two left feet, I take a deep breath and run into the room.

Maric spins around, sees me, and sees what I'm going for. With a roar he leaps across the room in one bound, and crashes down next to the desk.

"No!" I scream. But it's too late. He grins wide, triumph written large across his wolfen face, and snatches up Simon Two.

I skid to a stop. No.
No!

He laughs, a sound straight out of a horror movie, and examines the staff in his hands.

"Give that back, you flea-ridden dog!" The words come out of my mouth before I can stop myself.

His eyes narrow, and he shifts down into human form. He's naked, but he doesn't seem to care. "You'll regret calling me that, you bitch."

Anita steps up beside me, knife pointed at Maric's heart. Never mind that her hand is shaking so much the point is weaving a figure eight in the air. I grab her free hand for support, and together we face Maric.

"Wait. You're here. Blake won." I realize this suddenly, simply. I can't help but smile. "You're no longer the alpha."

"Shut up!" Maric's voice is an ugly snarl. "He cheated! Yes, he's the alpha, but not for long." He grins evilly at us. "Now, I'd stay and... enjoy your company, but I've got a pack I need to get back to. With this staff and the power it gives me, nobody will stop me from being alpha. Who knows? Maybe soon I'll even become Cairn Elder."

"You don't know how much trouble you're getting into," I say, voice low. "Give that back before you regret it. Only a Wilder can use that staff safely."

Maric hesitates. For a second I hope my bluff will work, and then he laughs. "I don't think so. Now, if you'll excuse me." Turning, he shifts into wolf form, catching the staff in his mouth, and darts past us. Anita and I both lunge after him, trying to grab the staff, but he's too quick. In a flash he's gone.

We get to our feet, and I move to the window, watching as Maric races out the gates like Blake did last night. Anita steps up beside me and we stand in silence, horrified.

"Now what are we going to do?" Her voice is small, shaking.

I try to come up with an answer. Everything happened so quickly. Despair comes crashing down upon me. "I don't know," is all I can say.

At that moment Hui comes walking in through the gate, wearing a neat uniform she must have purchased herself. She sees us up in the window and gives us a stiff little wave.

Anita is wringing her hands. "But the Blood Moon pack is coming today. How are we going to control them without Blake or the staff?"

"I don't know," is all I can say. Then a wild determination seizes me. "We're going to have to find a way."

"Could we tell them we're closed?"

I laugh weakly. "Given what Blake's told me, I don't think they'd care. They'd make themselves at home anyway."

Hui stops halfway up the drive when she sees the state of the front door. We both watch as she frowns, glances up at us, and then begins to walk quicker toward us. I turn and head downstairs, and we all meet at the ruined front door.

"What happened?" Hui is staring at the gashes in the thick wood.

"Maric stole my grandmother's staff." Hui's eyes go wide. "Which means you and Anita will have to leave. You can't be here when the Blood Moon pack arrives. It'll be too dangerous."

Anita crosses her arms. "And it won't be dangerous for you?"

"Well, yes, but I can't take responsibility for you. I can't protect you. Don't you see? You have to leave." I can feel tears in my eyes.

"We are not going to leave you here by yourself," says Hui with a disapproving sniff.

"No, we're not." Anita takes a deep breath and draws herself up. "And - and you wouldn't be able to make the desserts. You need me in the kitchen."

I open my mouth to protest, but Hui shakes her head and pushes past me. "I leave for one night and the house is already a mess. I will need to work hard to clean. Fix the door. Look at these scratches in the floor!"

Anita nods grimly. "And now I'm late. I need to get the cooking started, then head out for the steaks. Excuse me, Ms. Wilder." She also brushes past me and heads back toward the kitchen.

I stand there, completely dumbfounded. Are they crazy? Don't they understand who's coming, and what might happen to them? The Blood Moon pack are the worst of the worst. It's not like we can call the Honeycomb Falls police to come help. And now I've got no way of controlling them, of making them behave. None. Once they realize that, they'll tear the place apart.

A voice speaks in my mind. A quiet, determined voice.
Then they must not realize that. You will have to bluff them. You have to protect Anita and Hui.

I take a deep breath. It's my only hope. My tummy quivers at the thought. Oh god. I'm going to have to face down the entire Blood Moon pack with nothing more than attitude and sass. The urge to jump in my Mustang and drive back to NYC and Maria's apartment is almost overwhelming.

I take a deep breath. No. I won't run. This is my home. I'm Mama B's granddaughter. I will fight for my dream. I
will
make this work.

Chapter Twelve

The Blood Moon pack shows up early. The first warning we have that they've arrived is the howling. It surrounds Honeycomb Hall, seeming to come from all directions and none at the same time. I'm in the kitchen trying to convince Anita to carry the replica gun from Mama B's library when the howls break out. Distant and haunting, they seem to drift in the air like smoke in the wind.

Anita's eyes go really wide, and she grabs the gun from my hands and shoves it in her apron pocket like some kind of Mae West cooking bandit. I almost grab her chef's knife, but quickly change my mind. The quickest way to not look tough is to show up with a knife in your shaking hands.

The howls are eerie. Savage. Strangely beautiful, if you like death poems and that kind of thing. We both gulp and inch closer together. Hui comes running in a second later, a mop held in both hands like a spear.

"All right," I say, trying to sound calm and cool and probably failing completely. "Looks like it's show time."

"Um," says Anita. "Are they coming here to spend the night, or to hunt us?"

Hui grimaces and peers out a window. "I will not be hunted. If they try to hunt me, I will show them what I can do with this mop."

Anita and I both stare at her, and then we both laugh. The tension breaks, just a little. I grin, feeling desperate. "What exactly can you do with that mop, Hui? Clean them up a little?"

Hui raises one cool eyebrow. "You will see."

I wipe my hands on a kitchen towel and throw it down on the counter. "Well. Time to go see about these Blood Moons. Ladies, please stay in the kitchen unless I ask for you. Clear?" The fire in my eyes shows there's zero tolerance for negotiation. They scowl and reluctantly nod their heads.

Oh god. Oh god oh god oh god. I walk out of the kitchen toward the front door. My palms are sweaty. I feel shaky. My legs are wooden. I have to get my shit together. I'm a badass sassy woman from NYC. I can handle a pack of mangy doggies. They don't know I don't have Mama B's power, so it's time for some major poker-style bluffing. I have to make a good first impression. I have to set the right tone from the get-go.

Oh, Blake, where are you?

I open the front door that Hui's somehow miraculously fixed and step out onto the porch. There's nobody out there. The howls drift in, closer and closer. Panic grips me by the throat. Is this what deer feel like when they're hunted by a pack? This need to bolt, to just run blindly in any direction?