Wolf Untamed by Alexis Calder

18

“You have got to be fucking kidding me.” I stood and dusted the dirt and pebbles from me as best I could. I was covered in dirt, freezing cold, and completely embarrassed.

Sure, my slumber had been blissfully devoid of Tyler, and I hadn’t expected anything from Alec, but where the fuck was he?

I crept to the front of the cave and peered outside. The sun made the woods look almost cheerful this morning. Birds flitted from tree to tree and somewhere nearby I could hear a woodpecker pounding away. A light breeze rustled the trees and carried the fresh, clean scent of pine.

I covered my chest, aware that it wasn’t doing much to hide me from anyone who might have stumbled upon our sleeping spot. It did make me feel better as I ventured into the openness of the woods.

Hoping I’d find Alec nearby, I started walking away from the cave. Fuck. I hopped on one foot, grabbing my other foot. Of course I’d managed to step on something sharp. Carefully, I pulled out the pointy stick and tossed it aside. My foot was still a little tender when I set it back on the ground.

What was I supposed to do now? There was no sign of Alec and I had no idea where we were. He’d mentioned that there was a place to meet our friends but even if I knew the location, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to navigate there. Where was he? I wondered if he’d gone off to check our location or find something to eat. What were our chances that there was a home nearby with coffee and pastries?

I considered shifting. If I was in wolf form, at least I wouldn’t be naked. Plus, it was possible my wolf was better at directions than I was. Or maybe she could scent something.

The sound of a branch snapping made me tiptoe back to the cave. I peeked out, hoping it was a small animal and not a predator or human. My shoulders relaxed when I caught sight of Alec.

He was wearing what appeared to be a blanket around his chest and waist like a toga. In his arms he had a bundle of fabric. I didn’t care what it was. Blanket, nightgown, whatever. Anything to act as some warmth would be very helpful.

I stepped out from my hiding place. “So you went out to find clothes?”

“Went for a run this morning at sunrise to scout ahead a bit. Happened upon some trash left behind by humans.” He held up a beach towel. “It’s not much, but it’ll get us where we need to go.”

I grabbed it from him and wrapped it around myself. It was caked in mud in places as if it had been outside for a while. I wasn’t in any position to be picky. My body was covered in dirt and grime as it was. A little more dirt wasn’t going to make much of a difference. “Thanks.”

“They didn’t leave any shoes behind,” he said, glancing at my feet.

“I’ll live,” I said. “Did you see anything on your route?”

“Other than the empty beer bottles and stuff I grabbed for us, we appear to be in the clear.”

“Should we head to meet our friends?” I asked.

“Let’s go,” he said.

We started walking side by side. I spent most of the time with my eyes on the ground to make sure I wasn’t ending up with too much damage on my poor feet.

“About last night…” Alec said.

My eyes widened and I wondered where he was going to go with this. I kept my eyes on the ground, not looking up at him on purpose. What if I melted into a puddle of affection when I met his eyes? I wasn’t ready to be emotionally involved. “What about it?”

“I know it was a post-shift, keep-warm thing,” he said.

“Yeah. It was fun,” I added.

“It was fun,” he agreed.

An awkward silence fell between us. This was why I probably shouldn’t have had sex with him last night. It was going to change things between us. Though, things weren’t great between us before the sex, either.

“So, how far away is this rendezvous location?” I had to say something. Anything.

“Another mile or two,” he said.

“You seem to know this area well,” I pointed out. “No map or anything.”

“I told you, I’ve been working on the antidote. I come here pretty often. Sheila comes with me sometimes so she picked the meeting place.”

“Sheila knew you wanted to create an antidote?” I asked.

“She’s the only one at camp who knew. Now, you and Malcom know, too,” he said.

“And Kyle,” I added.

“Right, I forgot about him.” He grunted.

“What’s with that?” I asked. “You don’t like Kyle? He thinks you’re his best friend or something. Believes everything you’ve told him.”

“I like Kyle fine. I don’t like how close he is with you,” he said. “But that’s not my place.”

I lifted my brow. Was he jealous? That was interesting. “You’re right, it’s not your place.”

I glanced over at him and caught a momentary scowl on his expression. If he was jealous, it was cruel of me to let him think Kyle and I were anything more than what we were. There was zero romance or chance of romance between us. I just didn’t feel anything for him. He was handsome, but that spark had never existed and I was confident it never would.

“But, since you brought it up, there’s nothing there between us. He’s a friend. A new friend at that,” I said. “He risked everything when he helped me. He’s just as dead as I am if we ever return. I owe him.”

“He saved my ass, too,” Alec said. “I owe him for that and for getting you out.”

“You realize that could have been prevented,” I reminded him.

“You’re never going to let me forget that, are you?” he asked.

“It’s a hard thing to let go,” I replied. “They could have killed me. Or Tyler could have…”

“Ace told me he was going to make his son break the bond.” Alec glanced over at me. “Since it was what you wanted, I figured it was the best way to do it. They’d get him close enough to make it happen.”

“How did you know he wouldn’t kill me to break it? That was an awful big risk if you actually cared about me,” I snapped.

“He promised me he’d release you once it was done, but I didn’t believe that. It’s why I got myself caught. Though, I honestly thought he’d force the bond to break. I was blinded by what I wanted,” he admitted.

“What do you mean, blinded by what you wanted? The money? If you got rid of me, there was no need to pay your witch friend to do the spell,” I pointed out.

Fear rolled through me and I wondered if I’d been played again. Why would he need so much money to have a witch do a spell for me if they were friends anyway? “You’re keeping things from me again. The money doesn’t make sense. None of this makes sense. Why would a friend who has been helping you charge for a spell?”

Alec stopped walking. “Supplies and alliances cost money. She’s not doing anything for me out of the goodness of her heart. She might be working on the antidote with me, but I keep her in supplies so she doesn’t have to leave her house. It’s a good arrangement, but I’m not foolish enough to think she wouldn’t hand me over if there was a better offer.”

“So why do you trust her?” It seemed like a huge risk.

“Because she never leaves and nobody know she’s here. It would be a challenge for anyone else to buy her loyalty,” he said.

“She’s working on the antidote but charged an obscene amount for a spell?” I still wasn’t convinced.

“It’s blood magic. If her coven catches her, she’s at risk of having her magic siphoned. The payment had to be worth it,” he said.

“Fuck. This is bad, Alec. It doesn’t seem like it’s worth the risk. What if the coven finds out and comes after you?” I asked.

“It’s possible,” he said with a shrug.

“I’m not worth all this,” I said. “I could have gone into hiding, or found a witch who could do a spell like Malcom has. There were other ways. Pissing off a coven of witches is fucking suicide. If they find out, they’re not just going to kill you; they’ll make your life hell.”

“It’s going to be fine,” he assured me. “She’s not going to talk.”

“We could still skip the spell. It hasn’t been done yet,” I offered. “I can’t be responsible for bad things happening because of me. It’s not right.”

“Stop it, right now,” he said. “You need to start having some sense of self perseveration. Can’t you see that you’re worth all this risk?”

“What? Because I have some alpha mark? You have the same mark,” I reminded him.

“Because you matter,” he said. “Since we met, I haven’t been able to get you out of my head. I haven’t felt this way about anyone since…” he shook his head, “never mind. It’s insane. Just trust me on this, you’re worth it.”

“What about you?” I demanded. “How will any of this be worth it if you end up dead?”

“I can’t lose you,” he said. “When my pack was slaughtered, I wasn’t there to help. I am not going to sit by and do nothing to prevent the death of someone I care about.”

“We’re risking too much. They could come after your camp, your home,” I said.

He shook his head. “I’m not alpha. They are not connected to my actions in any way. It’s shifter law. I’m not responsible for them and they are not responsible for me. They’re all instructed to turn me in to save themselves. And they would. We’re feral, Lola. Not pack.”

“You’re wrong. You don’t use the title, but they’re your pack. I promise you, not a single one of them would turn you over.”

“I hope you’re wrong about that,” he said.

“I hope the witches don’t catch us,” I said.

“I can’t change anything I’ve done. But I can make it so you’ll be safe. You don’t deserve the life you had. It’s time to change that,” he said.

“I could say the same thing about you.” How could he risk so much to help someone he barely knew? “What if I don’t do it? What if I don’t agree to the spell?”

“Listen, I’ve told you everything. It’s already in motion. The damage is done. If you don’t follow through and break the claim, it’ll have been for nothing.” He was so close to me now that we were nearly touching. “Once we break this, we’ll have options. And you’ll get your life back.”

Part of me wanted to reach for him. I wanted comfort, support. But I was confused. Nobody had ever cared for me and he’d risked everything to help me. “No more lies. No more masking the truth.”

“Promise,” he said.

I took a deep breath and started walking. “We better find our friends.”