Embracing the Wolf

“If Adam died—like he almost did tonight—he wouldn’t have a pack anymore either. So I’m only going to ask you this one more time. Who hired the vampires?”

“I did,” a female said behind me.

I whirled around and met the butt end of something very hard. It smashed into my face, and then I was falling to the floor. Lights out.

Chapter Twenty-Six

I came to with a nasty headache and a bad temper. Blinking, I cringed as pain infiltrated the spot over my left eye. I quickly realized that my hands were bound—silver, if the burning sensation was any indication.

“If I never wake up shackled again, it’ll be too soon,” I said to myself, wiggling the manacles that held my wrists. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air around me—my flesh. As I moved my arms, the silver singed more of my skin. Giving up, I took in my surroundings. I was in the forest … somewhere. The shackles wound around the base of a small tree, causing me to lie on my side. Scooting, I moved into a sitting position, wincing every time the silver rubbed against my wrists.

“Anna,” someone whispered.

I looked over one shoulder, and then the other, trying to find the owner of the voice. Branches cracked as someone moved toward me. I began tugging at the manacles, praying my strength was enough to break them. My new badass powers were useless if I was tied up.

“Anna, it’s me.” Anthony stepped out from behind a tree, his eyes darting to the right and then back at me. I watched as he moved closer, wondering if he knew who the employer of the vampires was like Chloe and Cadie had. It wouldn’t surprise me if he wanted Adam dead, too.

“Are you with them?”

“With who?” He knelt down in front of me and grabbed onto the shackles, flinging his hand away when his skin sizzled. “Son of a bitch … silver.”

“Them,” I said again, “Chloe, Cadie, and the psycho who hired the vampires.”

A look crossed his face, something resembling … disappointment. “No,” he said softly. “Chloe and Cadie know who it is? Do you, did you see who it was when they,” he nodded toward my captive state, “did this?”

I studied him for a moment, unsure if I could trust him or not. Earlier when I read him, his innocence came through loud and clear, but that could have changed. Maybe he figured it all out and decided to switch sides.

“No,” I finally said. “The bitch knocked me out before I saw who she was.”

“She?” Anthony questioned with surprise.

“Is it so surprising that a woman could be behind this?” I said. “Eve was a psychopath after all.” I glared at him.

He nodded, but didn’t say anything; instead, he lifted the hem of his shirt and tugged it over his head. My eyes widened at the gesture, wondering what in the world he was doing. My eyes casually roamed over the ridges and valleys that made up his muscular chest and stomach. When he noticed I was appraising him, a smile curved his lips. Quickly looking away, I cursed myself for checking him out.

“You know,” he said, coming up behind me and looping his shirt around the silver chain. His arms framed either side of my body and his face rested against my own. He gripped either side of the chain, and I felt the muscles in his arms flex. “When you first brought up Eve, I thought it was because you were still pissed about what she did.” He tugged against the chains, keeping his hands safely on the fabric of his shirt. “But now,” he continued, “I wonder if you keep bringing her up because you’re jealous.”

At that I laughed. “Jealous? Of Eve?” I rolled my eyes. “She’s dead.” I leaned away from him as much as I could. His face was too close to mine, and it felt more intimate than a rescue demanded.

“I know,” he said, tugging harder. “But maybe the thought of both Adam and me being with her drives you crazy.”

“Adam, yes. You, no. I don’t care who you’re with.”

His eyes cut to mine, a slight smirk on his lips. “You pull off that indifference attitude very well, but I’m not buying it. I know you feel something whenever I’m around—”

“Yeah, disgust,” I interrupted.

His smirk turned into a full smile, and he tugged at the chains again, his knuckles white with the strain. The links groaned with the pressure and snapped without warning, flinging both of us back onto the ground. I landed on Anthony’s body, his arms instinctually coming around me during the fall. When I began to get up, he released me and stood up with me. I couldn’t meet his eyes, if for no other reason than being pissed that he thought there was something between us … or at least that’s what I told myself.

“I think you use sarcasm when you don’t want to deal with the truth,” Anthony said, picking up his shirt and sliding it over his head. “Avoiding the issue won’t make it go away.”

“There is no issue,” I snapped. Meeting his eyes, I smoothed my face into a perfect mask of nonchalance. “You want me because I’m Adam’s. It’s your sick little way of screwing with your brother.”

Anthony slowly shook his head. He rubbed his jaw with his hand, staring at me through a fringe of thick lashes. Something blossomed in my stomach, hot and hungry. I imagined the emotion as a tangible thing and envisioned ripping it out. I loved Adam and whatever bizarre reaction I had toward his brother would not change that.

“Eve was never Adam’s,” Anthony said. “She and I were dating when my parents made the deal with her parents. Once a deal is struck, that pair is mated. Do you think it was easy to watch her be given to him? They didn’t even like each other and because of that, Adam allowed us to still see each other. This,” he waved his finger at the space between the two of us, “has nothing to do with Adam.”

Talk about dysfunctional.

“You know what? I don’t care that you think you feel something for me or what imaginary scenario you’ve cooked up in your head. You and I,” I mimicked his gesture and waved a finger at the space between us, “are never going to happen. It’s cool you’re trying to be a better person and don’t share Eve’s abhorrence toward humans, but I love Adam.”

That stupid smirk fell across his mouth again.

“What?” I snapped. “What’s so damn funny?”

He shook his head. “Nothing, it’s just, when you say that, that you love Adam …”

When he didn’t finish, my frustration grew. “What about it?”

He sucked in a deep breath through his nose. “It doesn’t sound like you’re saying it for my benefit. It sounds like you’re trying to convince yourself.”

He passed me, moving through the forest. I glared at his back, tempted to tackle him to the ground and rip out his throat. Pissed, I followed after him, stomping over downed logs.

“You’re a smug son of a bitch, you know that?”

“I’ve been told,” he said offhand. “But on this, I’m right.”

“Like hell you are. I don’t know what your angle is, but it’s not going to work.”

He stopped and turned to face me. “Because you love Adam.” His tone made it clear how much he didn’t believe that.

“I do,” I said through gritted teeth.

“Then kiss me,” he said, taking a step closer.

I took a step back. “What?”

“If you don’t have any feelings for me and are sure you love Adam, prove it by kissing me.”

I scowled at him. “I think that would be the opposite of proving that I love Adam.”

I started walking again, keeping my eyes open for whoever chained me up. They were bound to come back sometime soon. A thought occurred to me then: I should wait for them. Why the hell was I leaving the spot I knew they would return to. I stopped and turned around, ignoring the grin decorating Anthony’s face.

“I think you don’t want to because you know you’ll enjoy it too much. It will disprove what you keep saying.”

I whirled around and poked a finger in the air. “I’m not twelve, and your goading is not going to work. I’m not kissing you. Thank you for helping me escape, but I can handle the rest on my own.” I paused, another thought coming to me. “How did you know where I was?”

Anthony shrugged. “I followed you.”

My eyebrows rose. “So now you’re stalking me? Why didn’t you see who tied me up?”

“I saw you go into Adam’s old house and about thirty minutes later someone carried you out over their shoulder. The person had a crossbow, and I figured it would be smart to keep my distance, otherwise a hostage scenario could have happened. When they left, I waited another ten minutes, and the rest you know …”

So they hadn’t been gone for very long. That was good news. I made my way back toward the tree and silently cursed when Anthony followed me.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Setting a trap,” I told him. “You can leave.” He had already distracted me enough, and I was ready to find out the identity of the person who tried to kill Adam and me.

“I’m not leaving you,” he said. “You already managed to get knocked out and chained up. The next time I don’t think you’ll be so lucky.”

I kicked the silver manacles away from the tree and covered them with leaves and dirt. Sitting down, I wrapped my hands around the trunk of the tree in hopes of fooling my captor.

“I’ll be fine,” I said. “Run along …”

“There’s that sarcasm,” Anthony said. “Makes me wonder if you’re nervous about confronting the person, or about being around me.”

I leaned my head against the rough bark of the tree, closing my eyes and inhaling a breath. Anthony was relentless and delusional, both of which frustrated me until I thought I would blow steam out of my ears.

“What can I do to make you understand that I feel nothing when it comes to you? Why my countless testimonies don’t prove it is beyond me.”