Wolf Untamed by Alexis Calder

5

The seconds dragged by, turning into the longest minutes of my life. I didn’t have a clock in here, but I was pretty sure it had been nearly a half hour already. Shit.

I’d totally been played.

I shouldn’t have believed Kyle. What was wrong with me? Why was I constantly seeking allies when I knew everyone was just going to let me down in the end?

The door opened and I spun on my heels to face the newcomer. Kyle’s hair was a mess, his eyes were wide, his cheeks flush.

“What happened?” I had planned on asking more questions, but it was clear by his disheveled appearance that something was going on.

He pressed his finger to his lips, then bolted for the bed, sliding under it and pulling the comforter down over the edge to hide him. Before I could figure out what was happening, the door opened again and a huge, bald shifter male peered in. His nose looked like it had been broken a few times and his bushy eyebrows made his eyes look like tiny specks on his squishy, pink face.

Baldie stomped into the room with a grunt. “Where is he?”

“Where is who?” My heart pounded and my stomach twisted into knots. Whatever was going on, I hoped it was the plan to get me out of here. And I really hoped it was going as anticipated.

He walked to the closet and slid the door open, then stuck his head inside. I kept my gaze on him, afraid to turn to look toward the bed where I knew Kyle was hiding.

After looking in the empty closet, the huge shifter scanned my room, glaring at the pile of clothes on the floor.

“What? They tossed me in here naked. I had to find something to wear.” I shrugged. My nose caught a strange scent. Like smoke. “Is something burning?”

With a growl, he turned and left the room. I let out a relieved breath but remained in place, my eyes fixed on the door. A few long moments passed, and it didn’t open. There was a more obvious scent of smoke in the air now, but I figured grunting bald shifter had it under control. I turned toward the bed in time to see Kyle crawling out from under it.

“What the hell?” I whispered.

Kyle held up one finger as if to tell me to wait. I glared at him. Trusting him might have been a huge mistake.

Suddenly, an alarm blared and I covered my ears. “What the fuck?”

My eyes widened. The smoke might not be under control. “What did you do?”

“Time to go!” He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the window. Instead of the six shifters that had previously been standing outside, only one remained. He looked up and us and waved. While he was a little rough around the edges, I was pretty sure I’d be able to recognize the familiar form of Alec for the rest of my life.

“You saved him first?” I yelled at Kyle.

“I told you that you wouldn’t like it,” he said as he pulled the window open. He pushed out the screen, giving us a clear exit. “Now, jump.”

We were on the second story and while I’d considered this as a way out, it didn’t seem as great of an idea as it had when I first contemplated it.

I heard the distinct sound of cracking bones and when I looked back over at Kyle, he was in his wolf form. He growled at me, then he leaped through the open window, landing ungracefully, but seemingly unharmed.

He was back in human form so swiftly, it made my head spin. Quickly, he moved alongside Alec and the males stretched their arms out. Alec and Kyle were going to catch me.

“You have got to be kidding me,” I shouted.

“Just fucking jump, Lola,” Alec said. “Now.”

Dammit. This was my best chance. Taking a deep breath, I climbed onto the window so my legs were dangling out. Then I pushed off, hoping I wasn’t going to end up with a broken leg and remain trapped here.

I landed hard, but I was in strong arms rather than the ground. The two males set me down and I was pleasantly surprised that I was in one piece. So far, Kyle’s plan wasn’t so bad.

“Time to run,” Kyle said. He shifted into wolf form quickly.

Ace reached for my hand. “We gotta go.”

I pulled my hand away. “I can run by myself.”

He nodded. “After you.”

I coughed, the air was full of smoke now. Kyle had literally set the house on fire. For a moment, I had a fleeting worry for Tyler, but it passed quickly. The dark part of me hoped that both Tyler and Ace were trapped inside.

With all my attention focused on getting away from pack lands, I took off at a sprint. Kyle’s wolf ran alongside me, with Alec in his human form on the other. It was almost too much to process. I couldn’t forgive Alec, but I also couldn’t even let myself go there right now. I had to get away from here. Then I could start to figure out what the fuck was going on in my far too complicated life.

My body protested the running, cramps biting into my sides. Wincing, I slowed down, pushing through the pain, unwilling to stop. I might not be sprinting anymore, but I wasn’t about to ease up until I was in the clear. I’d gone days without enough food or water. I was exhausted and not at my usual fitness levels.

As soon as we got to the cover of the trees in the woods, I stopped to catch my breath. I glanced back at Tyler’s house. Flames were coming from the window of the room I’d just left and smoke rose in large clouds. In the distance, I heard the sirens racing to put out the fire. They’d be distracted for a while.

“This way to the barrier,” Alec said. “We can’t stop yet.”

“No. You don’t get to lead the way.” I turned to Kyle’s wolf. “How do we get out of here?”

The wolf started walking and I followed without looking over at Alec. For all I knew, Kyle was leading me into a trap. I didn’t give a damn where we were going if it meant I could walk away from Alec and not listen to him.

To my great relief, Alec moved alongside me, unspeaking. We crossed a narrow creek, and walked through bushes. I ducked under tree branches and sidestepped a few places of thick underbrush. Finally, I felt the icy sensation of passing through the magic of the ward.

I let out a long breath of relief. It wasn’t like I was any more protected here. Tyler or any of his cronies could walk right through that barrier and grab me. But there was something amazing about being outside the border. The ability to leave was still a novelty that I wasn’t going to take for granted.

Kyle’s wolf stopped walking. His body shuddered and I turned away so I wouldn’t have to watch him break and re-form into a human. Once the sounds of cracking eased, I looked back to where he was standing.

Alec tossed him a pair of jeans and a shirt that I didn’t even know he’d been carrying. I supposed that made sense I didn’t notice. I’d done everything I could to avoid looking at him.

“You said your car is near?” Kyle asked.

“Wait, your plan is trusting him?” I glanced over at Alec, then turned back to Kyle. “We’re better off on our own.”

“Lola, now isn’t the time,” Alec said. “The car is this way.” He started walking.

“You expect us to follow you? After everything you did to me?” I demanded.

Alec stopped and turned. “I’m trying to save you. For once in your life, accept some help.”

“I did that when I followed you to Wolf Creek. I asked for your help breaking the bond. I stole from my own mother. I risked my life. You betrayed me.” I could feel the anger rising alongside something else. A little hint of what I swore was my wolf. She had my back on this. It gave me the confidence I needed to press forward.

“If you have a car nearby, where are the keys?” I asked.

“Under the floor mat on the back passenger side,” he said. “You didn’t think I’d bring them to Wolf Creek with me?”

I looked over at Kyle. “You trust this asshole?”

“Asshole?” Alec set his hand on his chest. “You wound me. I thought we had something special.”

I growled. Low and guttural. The growl of a wolf.

“Well, nice to see you again, too,” Alec said. “I think your wolf likes me.”

“Don’t even think about it. You mean nothing to either of us,” I snarled. “Kyle, tell me there’s another way out of here that doesn’t involve going with this man.”

“He has a car, Lola. We could use the help getting away faster. The fire won’t occupy them for long,” Kyle said.

“It’s not just the car you need,” Alec said. “I have information.”

“I don’t want any of your information,” I said. “You are a liar.”

“I know who your father is,” he said.

That got my attention. I tried to hide the surprised look, but I knew I wasn’t fast enough. “Why would I care?”

“Because you aren’t meant to be feral. You need community, family, love. You were never going to be happy at camp,” he said. “And not to be dramatic, but you’re in danger because of who your dad is.”

“You know nothing about me,” I said. “And I don’t believe you about any danger. Why would you suddenly care about that? You sent me to a den of vipers without a second thought.”

“I know you better than you think and I hate myself for what I did, but I did what I had to,” he said.

“I trusted you and you used me,” I hissed.

“I didn’t have a choice. We both played our roles,” he said.

“Don’t you dare tell me you did all this to help me or some shit,” I accused.

“Then I won’t say that. I can’t change the past,” he said.

“You sound really broken up over it,” I said.

“You two can fuck and make up later,” Kyle said. “If we’re going to have any chance at getting away alive, we need to go now.”

“That is never going to happen,” I assured them. “There is nothing going on between us.”

“I thought you enjoyed our night together,” Alec said.

“You need to stop talking,” I warned.

“Fine, no fucking. Ripping each other’s throats out it is. But later. Not now,” Kyle said.

I knew he was right. Wolf Creek would send shifters after us. And if Tyler was fit enough to shift, he’d scent me without much effort.

“If you screw us over, I will ruin your life.” I glared at Alec. Just seeing him sent all kinds of emotions tumbling through me. I hated what he did to me. But I knew the two of us would be connected for the rest of our lives. It wasn’t something that sat well with me right now. I needed to get away from him and get him out of my head.

“I really am sorry for what I did to you, Lola,” Alec said. “I wish there had been another way.”

“Just show me where your car is.” I didn’t want his apologies. The hurt was too deep to heal.