Her Wolf

Chapter Three

Rex was loaded up on painkillers and out cold in the backseat of her mother’s minivan. She had insisted they use the van because it had better safety features than Ashlee’s SUV. She’d shoved the keys in Ashlee’s hand before quietly whispering that she shouldn’t worry about finding Tristan handsome, because Trip had always been a

‘babe.’

Ashlee had grimaced at that remark. It was gross that her mother had once been in a position to notice whether or not Tristan was handsome in that way. But truthfully, it wasn’t the weirdest part of the whole situation, so she might as well let it go.

Tristan lay across the front seat, eyes closed, panting heavily.

She’d been driving for four hours and was about to enter the Boston area. Her eyelids felt heavy; they drooped as she concentrated on not letting them shut. Her parents had wanted them to stay the night at their house, but the idea of poor Tristan having to spend any more time than necessary stuck as a wolf seemed cruel to her. Now she wished she’d taken them up on their offer. She needed to pull over to sleep or find a hotel. But what kind of hotel could she bring a wolf and a drugged-up, injured man into at six in the morning? Her lids fluttered. She jerked them open and turned up the air conditioner. Even with the cold air hitting her in the face at full blast, she could barely keep her eyes open.

What’s the matter, little one?

Ashlee jumped an inch in her seat and laughed. She looked down at Tristan, his eyes wide. She’d thought he was asleep.

“I’m falling asleep at the wheel. We need to stop.”

I’m so tired of being trapped like this. I should be driving. You should rest. You’ve been through an ordeal.

She shook her head. “I think you’ve been through more of an ordeal than me.”

Rex, wake up!

Rex leaped in his seat, eyes wide. “What is it, big brother?” He rubbed his eyes.

Is your head clear?

“It can’t possibly be, Tristan. My Dad gave him a whole bunch of pills.”

We absorb painkillers differently than humans. My brother should be more than able to handle the wheel. Look—there’s a truck stop at the next exit and we can stop.

“I’ll drive.” Rex nodded. Ashlee pulled the car into the truck stop and let Rex get in the front. She climbed into the backseat and Tristan climbed over the center console to be with her.

“Is Rex your real name?” Seemed a little funny that his name was Rex when he spent time as a canine. Ashlee remembered reading kid stories where the dog was almost always named Rex.

“No. Randolph Kane, at your service.” He gave her a mock salute in the rearview mirror. She laughed and Tristan growled.

“His jealousy will subside after you perform the mating ritual. Then you’ll be able to speak to other males and not worry that his head is going to spin off.”

A warm fuzzy feeling spread through Ashlee. She’d never had anyone act jealous about her before.

Sleep. Tristan lay across the floor in front of her.

Now that she wasn’t driving, she felt wired, her heart pounded in her chest and she couldn’t settle down. “I don’t think I can.”

You can. Shut your eyes, my Ashlee. You’ll be out in minutes.

“You’re creative with the endearments.” But she obliged him by closing her eyes.

Ashlee?

She opened her eyes. “I told you I wouldn’t be able to sleep.”

We’ve arrived at the ferry. You’ve been asleep for five hours, little one. He made a snort that had to be the wolf version of a laugh. Ashlee sat up and stretched her neck. Her muscles felt stiff. She must have slept in the same position for the whole five hours.

“I’m sorry I fell asleep for so long, Rex.”

He shrugged. “I like driving. This thing actually gets great gas mileage.”

Ashlee peered out the window at her surroundings. They were parked at a boat dock, although no boat was in sight. An old decrepit wooden shack stood to the left of the dock.

She opened her door and stepped out. “Ooh.” She shivered and rubbed her arms. It was much colder in Maine than in New Jersey. The colors of the leaves varied from a deep brown and red to gold, even purple, a strange occurrence for so early in the season, especially since back at home they were still green.

The wind chased about her and she shivered again. Rex walked up next to her and leaned on the van. He wore her father’s black sweatpants and grey sweatshirt, which were small on him, as if his clothes had shrunk in the dryer.

Tristan rubbed against her legs and she looked down at him. She patted his head absentmindedly and he closed his eyes under her touch. She smiled.

“Does it feel good to be almost home?”

I will feel better when we get off the boat and onto our land. Rex, go get the cage. I hear the boat.

Rex nodded and walked to the back of the boathouse. He emerged with a metal cage that he quickly opened.

Ashlee’s heart thumped in her chest. “Why do you have to be caged?”

The man who runs the ferry doesn’t know who we are. He thinks this is a wolf preserve and that we run it. He would be very unhappy with a wolf running loose on his boat.

“Oh.” She really hated the idea of Tristan caged. But he didn’t seem to mind. He walked into the metal cage and Rex snapped the door shut.

“Lucky us, Ashlee.” He winked. “Only way to keep him contained.” Tristan growled. “I joke, big brother, that’s all.”

Ashlee shivered again, but this time not from the cold. Hadn’t Tristan thought Rex betrayed him? What did she really know of Rex, anyway? Not that she knew Tristan either. Ashlee’s pulse sped up and her stomach twisted. Why had she thought it was a good idea to come to this place?

The boat flowed smoothly in the water alongside the dock. It looked like a small fishing vessel, the kind she’d seen in Martha’s Vineyard when they’d vacationed there a decade ago. It didn’t seem like a ferry. Wooden and old, it let out a puff of black smoke when it came to a complete stop.

“Don’t worry, it’ll float. And don’t talk to Trip on the way over there. The seaman will think you’re nuts. We have to replace them every five years as it is so they don’t notice that we don’t age.” Rex whispered.

“Why don’t some of you just learn to drive a boat? You could send one of those telepathic messages across the water: ‘send speed boat now.’” Ashlee looked at the rough dark water they were about to cross. Not that she wanted to pilot the boat. She wasn’t volunteering or anything.

Rex shrugged. “We have a lot of things we need to update around here, customs, like the ferryman, which haven’t been changed in way too long. One of us should become a boat captain, but the telepathy thing, it doesn’t work over long distances like that.”

Ashlee nodded. “Oh.” What else needed to be updated? Were they living in huts with no indoor plumbing? Ashlee swallowed, her mouth dry.

“Got a wolf you’re bringing over, Mister Kane?” The old sailor seemed straight out of a movie. He wore a patch over his left eye. His hair, completely white, thinned in the back. He wore a black rain slicker and overalls.

“I do, Peter. Not to worry, he’s properly caged. Plus this one’s been castrated. He’s not going to harm anyone.” Ashlee heard Tristan give a low growl in the cage. She wanted desperately to reach through the cage bars and touch him. But, you didn’t do that to regular wolves, and it wouldn’t do to make the captain suspicious. “This is Ashlee Morrison. She’s joining us at the Institute.”

“Welcome.” Peter extended his hand and she shook it. “Where is your coat?”

“Packed.” She hoped she had remembered to pack her coat.

“Why don’t you go below where it’s warmer?”

“Thanks, but I’ll be fine.” She wasn’t leaving Tristan and Rex. She stood by the railing and looked out at the water as the boat slowly plowed over the sea. The water was choppy. In general, she didn’t get seasick, but this ride pushed even her limits. The boat rocked right and shook left as the vessel groaned beneath them. Ashlee scanned the deck for life preservers and didn’t see any.

She stared out in the distance and watched as the island got closer. There it was: Wolf Island—they had called it Westervelt—where wolf-shifters had lived for a century unbothered by mankind. The place her mother had fled in the middle of the night in a run for her life. Visions of a young woman, huddled over, hidden, terrified, knowing that she might never come home again filled Ashlee’s mind.

One lone tear slipped from the vision of young Victoria’s eye and Ashlee sucked in her breath. It seemed so real, what she’d imagined. Ashlee wanted to reach out and grab the young woman and assure her that a young man doing his Emergency Room rotation—her mate—waited in New York City to sew up the top of her finger after she cut it off at the cafeteria job she worked. But the vision waned and Ashlee was brought back to her current situation.

She focused on the landmass as it grew closer. Westervelt wasn’t too big and most of the island appeared to be wooded. Big, thick, dense trees filled with color like on the mainland. She didn’t see any housing. They did sleep indoors, didn’t they? Her heart pounded in her chest. Rex seemed content not to speak, which left her alone with her thoughts. Ashlee didn’t know if this was a good thing or not. Finally, after what felt like forever, they docked on the island.

Rex crossed the deck to retrieve Tristan’s cage. Ashlee started to walk forward when Peter grabbed her arm. He tugged her to his side. She pulled back from his hold but his fingernails dug into her skin. She cried out.

“Turn back. I’ll take you back right now. Things are not right over there. Satan lives on that island. The animals, they’re not right. These people do weird work with the wolves. I’ll take you back, miss. Come with me now.”

Ashlee stared at him with her mouth open to speak but Rex was suddenly behind her.

“Peter, what do you think you’re doing to Ms. Morrison?”

Ashlee finally managed to free herself from the old man’s grip and she almost fell backward from the effort. When she turned around, she had to stifle a whimper. A growl erupted from the metal cage but that wasn’t what frightened her. Rex’s eyes had gone dark, menacing. They were his wolf eyes. Ashlee worried that in one moment Rex would shift and then Peter’s days were finished.

“Thank you for your concern, sir. I’ll be fine.” She tried to smile as she crossed past Rex and the cage, and then hopefully to the boat exit. She looked down as she walked, glad she was on solid ground. When Rex had finally taken the cage off the boat and joined her, she whirled to look at him.

“I thought you were going to shift right there.”

“I had it under control. But I would have shifted if he didn’t let you go. We obviously need to get a new ferryboat operator. He threatened the pack.”

He was right, little one. We do not let others harm those who belong to us.

Tristan didn’t need to say more. The unspoken words lay out before them like a bridge she need only cross. If she was pack, she belonged to them, as she belonged to Tristan. She swallowed hard. Did she really want to be owned like that? Once the boat was far enough away, Rex opened up the cage and Tristan walked out. He stretched as he pushed his front paws down towards the ground.

Ashlee didn’t move an inch as she said, “I don’t belong to anyone. You told me I could leave when I wanted to, Tristan.”

You can. But even if you run to the ends of the earth, you will still belong to our pack. You are one of us.

That sounded like a big problem. She never got the chance to respond as four wolves ran out from behind the trees. The biggest one held a bag in his mouth that he dropped on the ground in front of him. She guessed they weren’t just regular wolves. Seemed a pretty solid bet they were shifters come to greet them.

A band of white light suddenly engulfed the four wolves. Ashlee covered her eyes with her hands as it momentarily blinded her. When it cleared, the wolves’ bones snapped and pulled as they grew larger in front of her eyes. She gasped. She’d never actually seen anyone shift before. Moreover, she could feel their magic in her own bones. Her stomach stirred. She put her hand on her belly to stop the grumble. She wasn’t hungry; it was more like pain shot through her intestines and her stomach didn’t know how to deal with it.

The shift finished, and four men of various heights—all of them tall and naked—

stood in front of her. Rex crossed to the tallest and hugged him awkwardly. They embraced for a moment before the four naked men opened the bag they had dragged and quickly clothed themselves.

As they dressed, the tallest in the group spoke. “Greetings, Rex. I see you found our brother. Locked in a zoo, was he?” The man who spoke had to be six foot five or taller.

He had blond hair and brown eyes, the same as Rex’s. Was that what Tristan’s eyes looked like when he wasn’t a wolf?

Locked in a zoo. Yes. Snicker if you must.

“We must,” the tall brother remarked again and the other three cracked up laughing.

She looked at him. Each one had varying degrees of brownish-blonde hair, cut short. The darkest of the group was also the smallest. Now that she could see five of Tristan’s brothers together, she could make out the family resemblance between them. The Kane brothers all possessed the same high cheekbones. Identical noses protruded proudly from their face. It was the jaw line and the eyes that differentiated them.

“This must be your mate. “ The tall one who Rex embraced stepped forward. “The whole island awaits you with great anticipation. We think very highly of your mother.

I’m Michael Kane.”

Our Alpha.

“Just for now.” Michael amended Tristan. “And this is Gabriel.” He pointed to the man who stood to his left. Gabriel stepped forward and bowed. Ashlee swallowed, unsure of what to do. How did one answer such a gesture? Gabriel was only slightly smaller than Michael. His jaw line was round, where Michael’s had been long. Also, he had a cleft in his chin, and his bangs were unevenly cut.

Rex rolled his eyes at Gabriel. “Don’t mind Gabriel, he doesn’t leave the island much. He doesn’t know that we don’t bow to women anymore.” Gabriel looked stricken and took a step back.

“It’s—ah—nice to meet you. And thank you for bowing; that was a very nice way to be welcomed,” she hurried to add, moved by his obvious discomfort. His eyes looked at her kindly.

“And this one over here who is younger than Trip by one year is Theo. Don’t be grumpy—come say hello to Trip’s mate.”

Ashlee had to force herself to stay still when Theo stepped forward. His eyes were huge and brown; he clenched his jaw so tightly that Ashlee could see the muscles strain.

Did he already dislike her?

“You look like your mother.” He extended his hand and she took it. His voice sounded cold. Maybe it was her mother he didn’t like? She thought he would shake her hand but he brought it to his lips and kissed it. Tristan growled. Theo raised his head to look at Tristan. “Just checking.”

Just checking what?

“And finally we have the one who is just one year older than Rex here, and that is Azriel.”

Azriel’s chin was very similar to Michael’s but no one would mix them up. He was the smallest of the group. He also had the broadest shoulders. One long thin line scarred his face from his left eye to his neck. He shook her hand cheerfully and she smiled.

She needed to say something. “Your Mom liked very strong names.”

For some reason, this struck all six of them as funny and they all burst out laughing hysterically. She tried to smile. Even Tristan snorted through his nose.

“She did.” Michael smiled. “Welcome home.”

Home? Could she ever think of this as home? She doubted it. Her parents’ white stucco house seemed more and more appealing. She glanced over her shoulder. Maybe she could make a run for it. All she had to was swim the four miles across the river.

Mmm, maybe not.

Michael looked down at Tristan with seriousness. “We need to get your problem taken care of immediately, Trip, so we can go about figuring out how this happened, how we can ward against it, and who betrayed us. I must tell you, some started to fear you were dead.”

Some?

Michael grinned. “Okay, me.”

Let me get Ashlee settled and then I would love for all of you to turn me back.

Theo grinned then. “Count on it, my brother, count on it.”

Ashlee stood in the middle of Tristan’s room. She walked from wall to wall as she admired the artwork. They had that in common. If she couldn’t find anything else to say to him at least they could discuss painting. ‘Getting Ashlee settled’ had turned out to mean depositing her in his bedroom and asking her if she would be okay for a few hours on her own. She’d nodded and he’d turned to leave, before he came back with a strange warning.

Don’t worry if you hear odd things tonight. They’re going to be forcing a lot of magic onto me to turn me back. Don’t be afraid, little one.

Then he’d run out again. She appreciated that Tristan had taken the time to warn her.

Now she could obsess about what they were doing out there tonight. She heard a howl out in the distant night and walked to the window. Nothing but trees and darkness.

And thirty male shifters who hadn’t seen a female of their kind for thirty years. She shivered at the thought. She walked to the door and locked it. Not that it would keep anyone out who really wanted to get in, but it made her feel moderately safer. Tristan couldn’t be too much longer…she’d just get up and let him in when he knocked.

The room felt colder than before and she opened her suitcase to rummage for a sweater. Undecided on whether she’d stay or not, she hadn’t put anything away. There was nowhere to put her things had she wanted to. Tristan obviously hadn’t been expecting a roommate when he’d last left the place. No empty hangers in the closet, no room in any drawers.

Most surprising was the big-screen television that faced the bed. She’d expected everything to be rustic, but inside the house was modern and updated. She turned on the television. Did they get any reception here or did they just watch DVDs?

Ashlee changed the channel and sighed in relief when she found a full array of satellite television channels presented to her. So, there were some modern conveniences in this strange place. Another howl in the night ruined her mood for late-night Jay Leno and she turned off the television. She walked to the window and looked out. Was that Tristan out there howling? Goosebumps rose on her arms and she tried to massage them away with her hands. In her entire life, she’d never felt so alone.

She crossed to the chair next to the bed and sat down. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. When Tristan got back, she would tell him—whether he was a wolf or a man—

to take her home. She closed her eyes to rest them for a moment. Just for a moment…

Ashlee jerked awake and fell out of the chair. She closed her eyes to avoid the sheer torture that had awoken her. She rolled onto the floor and screamed out in pain and agony. Every bone in her body felt like it had just broken. She tried to use her legs and couldn’t. She opened her eyes and looked down at her hands. They shook of their own volition and fur rapidly spread over her skin. She screamed out again but no one answered. How long had she been asleep? Where was Tristan? Who was doing this to her? Her mother had said she needed to be with the pack to change. Something bad would happen to her wolf if she was alone.

Were they making this happen?

Was Tristan torturing her for not being sure she could be his mate? He’d known this could happen. Yet he left her.

She sucked in her breath and gave one last yell that sounded like a stifled yelp. She rolled over onto her stomach and stood up on all fours. She looked around. Everything felt different. The clothes she’d worn were ripped into shreds and spread out on the floor around her. Her skin was covered in white and red fur.

I’m a wolf.

Her head shot upwards. Everything felt incredibly clear. She could smell scents in the room that she’d never noticed before. Tristan. He was everywhere, and he smelled like nighttime and pine trees. Why hadn’t she noticed? Her eyes darted from side to side and she pushed her head down to the floor.

Alone. I am so alone. I have no family. I’m not meant to be alone. I have no pack to love me.

She howled in agony, this time not from physical pain, but loneliness. She needed to get out of this room. It did not belong to her. She did not know these people and they did not love her. They had left her to hurt all by herself. She ran for the door but could not wedge it open with her paw and her snout. No luck. It would not open.

Out. Need to get out.

Only one other way out of the room. She stared out the window and looked down.

Not too far. Two stories. She could make it if she broke through the window. She leapt at it and it gave under her weight. As the glass shattered around her, it cut at her front paws and sides. She howled again as her momentum took her out the window. She hit the ground with a thump and her paws burned. She walked for a moment despite the limp she’d just given herself.

I’m free and I am all alone. Forever.

She ran for the woods in front of her. Every step she took was agony. If she was to be alone, this would be the best place to lose herself.