To Right a Wrong (7 page)

Ethan’s wolf lowered his head and nipped her under the chin.
“Stand up.”
Bowing her back, she flipped to her feet and hung her head. She licked the back of his front leg.
“I’m sorry.”

He pushed against her until she was almost completely tucked under his body.
“You have to
trust me. I can’t have you running off to fight this
battle by yourself. The pack learned about my
arrival today. Do you not think every single one of
them wants me…you, to mess up? We have a
plan, and you agreed to follow my orders.”
She’d broken her word, and that burden sat heavy on her shoulders. She folded her legs underneath her, lay on the ground, and put her head on her front paws.
“I’m sorry.”

“Stop saying that!”
Ethan’s wolf plopped down beside her.
“What were you planning on
doing? Barging into Greggoire’s house and
attacking him yourself? Without me?”

“No.”
She leaned her head over onto his outstretched paws.
“I wanted to see if I could
smell my brother.”
She sighed.
“I thought…with
my wolf, I could tell if Jordy was inside the
house. Once I found out where he was being kept,
I’d come back home and tell you.”
For several minutes underneath the cover of the trees, they lay side by side, each of them keeping their thoughts to themselves. Almost afraid to breathe in case she made Ethan angrier, she paused and waited. How could she explain her emotions?

In a matter of weeks, she’d gone from an unmated she-wolf to having the love of her life.

But still, the twin responsibilities of rescuing her brother and avenging her parents fell on her shoulders despite having a mate, someone who could help.

The long muscle running along her back twitched. The fear of failing her roles as sister, mate, and wolf, frightened her.

“I will go with you to Greggoire’s house, little
one.”
Ethan’s wolf stood up, and he glanced over his shoulder.
“Afterward, you must wait until the
challenge is over. Finding your brother will be
much easier if I am the alpha.”

“But what if something happens before the
challenge…or during. My dad—”

“Do you trust me?”

She closed her jaw.
“Yes, but—”
Ethan’s voice chuckled in her head.
“I never
took you for a worrywart.”

“I’m not!”
Her wolf growled deep inside of her, but she put a stop to it in favor of arguing the point.
“Maybe a little. I just want those I love
to be safe and for life to get back to normal. It
seems like this hell has gone on forever.”

“I know.”
Ethan’s wolf sprang from the trees to the street in front of them. “
We’re more alike
than you know.”

* * *

Greggoire’s rambling two-story house sat back from the street in a secluded area where his back yard melted into the forest. With no close neighbors and tucked into a stand of trees, the property provided many ways to creep unseen toward the house. That was the only advantage on their side, because Greggoire no doubt had his property booby-trapped.

Trip wires, traps, and if Dani was right, the alpha even had guards protecting the house twenty-four/seven judging from the nasty odor along the perimeter. She followed Ethan, confident in his ability to notice the out-of-place items and not step in an area where they’d find themselves in trouble. It wouldn’t look good at all to be caught red-handed scoping out Greggoire’s house.

“Stay with me.”
Ethan approached the back of the house.
“If anything happens, run like hell
deeper into the forest. Don’t run straight back
home. He’ll expect that, and be able to catch you.

Follow my scent. My markings will get you safely
away.”

“Okay.”

She lifted her snout and sniffed the air. The moisture settling over the hills in the area at night masked the normal scents she should have picked up. She put her nose to the ground and lumbered along the footpath in the grass.

Someone obviously walked around the house on a daily basis, because the short grass was worn away. All she could sense was the dusty dirt path and the strong ammonia odor of male werewolves.

Bile came up in her throat, threatening to choke her. She wanted to run, get out of here, leave the stench far behind.
“It reeks.”
Ethan stopped, turned his massive head, and let his tongue fall out the corner of his mouth.
“Anything?”

“No.”
She leaned against his side letting the familiar comfort of his fur settle her down.

“Nothing. I-I thought maybe I’d be able to sense
Jordan out in the yard. He’s old enough to walk
and run.”
Blinking, she studied the area.
“What
if they never let him out to play?”

“Dani, they might not even have him here.

Have you thought of that?”
He turned and nudged her to go back the way they’d come.

“
Greggoire could have given him to someone else,
or even—”

“No!”
She nipped his back leg.
“Don’t say
that. He’s here. I’d know if he was dead. He’s
not. We just have to find him.”

“We will, little one.”
Ethan broke into a run the moment they stepped back out on the county road.
“Let’s go home.”

The fast run back to the house took all her attention. Adrenaline pumped through her veins, and she sucked the cool, fresh air into her lungs. The muscles along her legs and back stretched with her effort to outrun her troubles and keep up with her mate.
Hang on, Jordan. I’m
doing everything I can to find you. Soon, I’ll have
you back home.

Chapter Eight

Two weeks later, Dani had found that the agonizing time she’d wasted waiting to go into heat was nothing compared to waiting for the pack to pick a night for the challenge. She kept herself busy with housework, but that palled.

One could clean only so much. Nevertheless, she finished wiping off the countertop around the kitchen sink, then attacked the stovetop.

Passing the time was even harder on Ethan.

Most days, she was lucky to get two sentences out of him. Stuck in his own thoughts, he’d paced restlessly back and forth through the house. At night, his body twitched and rolled over the bed as if he fought Greggoire in his dreams. It didn’t help that they’d both stayed in the house most of the time. They’d agreed that the safest way for their plan to work was to stay on the pack’s good side, which meant avoiding contact, which meant being stuck in the house.

Last night, she’d convinced him to shift and let their wolves out to play. After a few attempts at egging him into frolicking on the living room floor, she gave up and lay down beside him. At least their wolves received a good rest.

Banging attracted her attention. It sounded as though it was coming from the garage. WTF?

Still holding the damp rag, she went to open the garage door and saw Ethan with a fist buried in the wall. Dents in the sheetrock and gray shards on the floor gave mute testimony to his rage.

Dropping the rag, she hurried over. “No! Stop it, Ethan!” She grabbed his arm and held on.

The force of his strength lifted her feet off the floor.

He froze. Sweat covered his body and he struggled to breathe. His gaze was fierce and pained. The tangy aroma of his blood filled her nostrils, turning her stomach.

Clicking her tongue, she grabbed his hand.

“What are you doing? You can’t hurt yourself.

You’re dripping blood all over.” She stretched to take his shirt, which was hanging off the handlebars of her old bike. Wincing, she wrapped it around his injury. “Oh, Ethan. I wish I could take it all away. That I could make all our problems be over. It hurts me to see you so frustrated.”

She kissed his bundled-up fist. “Does it hurt?”

“It doesn’t matter.” He flung his hair back from his sweaty face. “It’ll heal.”

“I know, but that doesn’t answer my question about why you’re pounding a hole in the wall.” She glanced up at him while holding the material against his bare knuckles to staunch the blood. “What if the council comes today and says the challenge will start?”

“I’m ready.”

Dani unwrapped the corner of the shirt. His wounds were already healing. “Talk to me. I know this is driving you crazy. I feel like I’m two short steps away from going insane myself, but you’re the one who said this is the only way it’ll work. We’ve got to bide our time, be careful, and after you win your position back within the pack, we can go after Jordan.”

He shook his arm out of her grasp and leaned against the wall. “That’s what I thought, but…Fuck! I hate waiting.”

“But?”

“Something else is going on. Why hasn’t Greggoire come back? And not one pack member has come over to check on you. That’s not pack mentality.”

“You’re right. I don’t even see any of them running around here at dusk. I used to see them all the time.”

He closed his mouth, inhaled through his nose, held it, and blew out the air in a puff. “I can’t figure it out. I feel like I’ve got an idea, but it just floats away, and I can’t solve it.” She narrowed her eyes. “Huh.”

He lowered his gaze to his hand, flexed it.

“Did you notice the other day when we went into town how the store owner rushed into the back room when we got up to the cash register?”

“No, but—”

“You mentioned when I first met you that your dad’s friend Butch was mated to a woman that worked at the store, right?”

“Yeah, that’s Mrs. Danielson. She’s the one who tallied our groceries. Why?” She threw the shirt toward the garbage can in the corner of the garage.

“When you were putting the groceries in the car, I went back inside to grab a newspaper. I thought I’d get caught up on what was happening around Drover. Hell, if nothing else, it would give me something to do besides drive myself stupid in this house while we wait.” He swept back his hair. “Anyway, the owner had Mrs. Danielson pinned against the counter and seemed to be threatening her. When he saw me come in, he turned away and scurried toward the back of the store.”

“Why would he do that?” She frowned.

“When I gave her the money for the paper, Mrs. Danielson mouthed the word
Loren
. She was definitely trying to tell me something, but why? She wasn’t part of the community when I ran the pack. What the hell does the name of someone dead and buried mean anyway? That’s twice Greggoire’s brother’s name has been mentioned.” He pushed off the wall. “Shit!

Somehow, we’re missing a huge chunk out of the puzzle. If I could only figure it out…” He mimicked the pacing he’d done night after night. He remained tense, his body coiled ready to fight. The muscles along his shoulders rippled with each step. Dani chewed on her lip.

She wanted to help, but she was too young to remember a time when Greggoire even had a twin. She didn’t recall any of his relatives within the pack.

“Let’s go over there.”

Ethan stopped, turned, and frowned.

“Where?”

“The store. My mom and Mrs. Danielson were friends. I’m sure she’ll talk to me. Maybe that way we’ll get to the bottom of why Greggoire’s brother’s name keeps popping up.” She brushed at a bloodstain on her hand. “I’ll also ask her why the store owner is bullying her.

Mrs. Danielson is such a sweet lady. I can’t imagine someone being mean to her. Butch would kick some ass if his wife was being threatened.”

“Damn. I don’t want to start questioning anyone without securing my position in the pack first.” He tilted his head and groaned. “Oh, the hell with it. Let’s do it.”

She pulled him into her embrace. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” He slipped his hands lower and squeezed her butt. “More and more every day. I swear when this is over, I'm going to spoil you rotten and show you how life can and will be between us.”

Dani drove, parking her car on the side of the building away from the glass front door. The convenience store was no bigger than her house, and if four people were shopping at the same time it was crowded.

Two other cars were parked in the front. Mrs.

Danielson’s car and another she didn’t recognize were parked next to Dani’s. She shut off the engine. “Why don’t you stay in the car, and I’ll go in by myself. I think I’ll have a better chance at getting Mrs. Danielson to talk than you would. You’re a little intimidating.” She patted his leg.

He snorted.

“You are!” She laughed. “Not many men are as big as lumberjacks. Not even the loggers in the area.”

He grunted and turned to gaze out the window. “Just hurry. If you’re not out of there in five minutes, I’m coming in.”

“I’ll be okay. I’ve stopped in this store for one reason or another every week since I was old enough to ride over on my bicycle as a kid.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Don’t worry so much.”

“I can’t help it. You’re everything to me.” She smiled. “I know. I’ll be careful.” She got out of the car, and despite her confidence, approached with caution. The front doors swung open and she jumped out of the way. Shelley, her high school friend, and her mate Brad rushed out of the doors, laughing.

The bubbly blonde seemed on top of the world with her new mate. Dani would never have guessed that the girl who was on the cheerleading team with her would mate with the boy who preferred to hang out with the party crowd. Dani smiled. “Hi, Shelley.”

Their laughter died. Shelley glanced back and forth between Brad and Dani. “Hey, Danielle. You’re back. I’d heard you’ve been traveling.”

Dani raised her brows. “I guess you can call it that. I found my mate and spent a couple weeks away.”

“That’s great.” Shelley nodded at Brad, who slunk back inside the store without saying a word. “Brad and I just celebrated our six months together.” She stepped closer and pulled the collar of her T-shirt down a few inches. “He gave me this.”

A delicate gold chain with a teardrop pendant hung around her slim neck. Dani laid her hand on her friend’s arm. “It’s beautiful.