Legacy Page 5

  Eschel turned off the engine, and we sat there a moment. Despite it being so early in the day, I was bone weary and wanted to rest a while. Finally, we all climbed out, but instead of heading for the house, Christie gave us each a hug and turned toward her car parked at the curb.

  “I hope you don’t mind,” she called, “but I need to get home to do laundry and stuff. I’ll stop by to grab you for lunch tomorrow, Wendi.”

  “Bye.” I watched her walk away, still looking as down as she had in the car. I wanted to do something to make her feel better. How close was Rattlecreek to her upbringing? Something there had triggered a memory, I suspected. With a sigh, I took Escher’s outstretched hand and headed up the front steps. One step at a time. Today, I needed to take a nap and maybe study in the afternoon. I’d never been so grateful not to be scheduled to work. I’d have had to call in. Outside the door, my knees wobbled, and if Escher hadn’t grabbed me around the waist, I’d have fallen to the hard brick.

  “Easy there, Wendi.” He braced me against him and used his key—they all had keys now—to unlock the door. Inside, we found the others sitting at the kitchen counter and eating cereal out of mixing bowls. Sometimes, they were just big kids. I mentally added cereal to my shopping list since it looked like they’d emptied the three boxes I had in the cupboard.

  “Wendi!” Brandon came toward me, but he stopped a few feet away. “Are you having trouble walking?”

  “I’m fine.” I appreciated his concern, but I was too tired to explain why I was so tired. “I don’t think anything is wrong except—”

  “Except exhaustion,” Escher finished for me. “A night at Rattlecreek is like a month in the desert without any water or shade.”

  “So, nothing has changed?” Cash set down the huge spoon he’d been using to shovel in my secret box of Cap’n Crunch. I kept that guilty pleasure at the back of the cupboard behind the high-fiber, whole-grain varieties I ate nearly every day. “Maybe you need breakfast?”

  Despite myself, I laughed. “I guess it won’t be cereal, then.”

  “Cereal isn’t enough after your experience anyway,” Moss said. “Cash, can you manage to make Wendi an omelet and one for Escher, too…without eating them?”

  “Hey!” he spoke around another mouthful of crunchy deliciousness. “I don’t eat much.”

  “Keep thinking that. Escher, sit before you fall down. I’m going to go help Wendi get cleaned up and into something comfortable then she can have breakfast in bed. Wheat toast and some cut up fruit, too.”

  “I’ll get the fruit.” Brandon opened the fridge and pulled out a box of strawberries and a half cantaloupe. And Moss ushered me down my own hallway and into my room.

  “Shower. I want you to wash off all molecules from that place. It sticks to you like toxic mud.”

  I was grabbing my robe and an oversized tee, but stopped. “You aren’t from there, are you?”

  “No, but I’ve been. It’s a sad, angry, violent place, and I hated you had to go there. But that’s done now. Right?” He perched on the edge of a chair in my bedroom, watching me.

  “Far as I know. We barely made it out of there in one piece, but Escher can describe it better, I think.”

  “Fine. Want me to help you shower?”

  I giggled. “Yes, but I don’t have the strength.”

  “Aren’t you worried about falling?” He looked way too hopeful.

  “I have a shower chair in there. But maybe talk to me while I shower. I could use the company.”

  He grinned. “Glad to.” He gave me a few minutes to undress and get under the spray before following me in and perching on the toilet. I could make him out through the steamy shower door. Afraid he’d want to discuss Rattlecreek, I was relieved when, instead, he chatted with me about what had gone on in the pack the night before and an upcoming school event.

  Such mundane talk was a balm for my soul.

  Chapter Twelve

  By the time I finished with my shower, even my bones were exhausted. Moss held out a towel for me, and I had to lean against the sink basin to brush my teeth. It seemed like Rattlecreek had permeated my gums.

  But before I could finish the task, the reality of the horrid place soured my stomach, and I began to shake. I closed my eyes and focused on my breaths, deep ones in through my nose and cleansing ones out through my mouth, but the quaking increased.

  “Come here,” I heard behind me as a pair of strong, warm arms wound around my waist. Moss tucked me against his body, my head coming just below his chin as he whispered comforting things to me. “I’m going to grab your robe and put it on you, okay?”

  I nodded, but kept my eyes closed. Images of those children, on the brink of starving and secluded to those lesser cabins, floated through my memories and wouldn’t stop.

  I didn’t know much beyond the alpha of Midnight Alder, but what I did know included no member of a pack ever being treated like that.

  No one in the world should be outcast like they didn’t belong or didn’t matter.

  “Those children,” I said, my teeth now chattering as the wave of the time with them took over.

  “Hey, look at me, Wendi. Sweetheart, look at me. Open those gorgeous eyes.”

  I mentally tried to steel myself and opened them. His mint-green eyes bore down on me, almost as though he was trying to see through me.

  “There, they’re open,” I sassed as he motioned for me to put my arms in the holes of the robe. He tied the sash in front and the towel underneath fell to the floor.

  “Not the way I wanted you to take your towel off, but I’ll take it,” he said, chuckling. “Do I have you back with me? I think I lost you for a second.”

  I nodded.

  “Wanna talk about it?” He opened the bathroom door. With his arm slung around my waist, we made it to the bed where he crawled in first and opened his arms. I barely made it to him before collapsing against his chest.

  “The place is awful. Not only do I never want to go near there again, I wish I could do something for those families. Don’t they have another choice? Can’t they transfer packs or something? Why would they stay when they are treated like that?”

  All of my concerns and questions came out strung together in one breath.

  “They simply don’t know any better. And you’re not the first to want to save them, but sometimes, people don’t want to be saved.”

  I sat up at the expense of leaving his comfort. “You didn’t see the looks, the fear in those babies’ eyes. There’s nothing they want more than out.”

  “We’ll speak to the alpha about it. I don’t know if there’s anything we could do, but it wouldn’t hurt to try.”

  I nodded and sank into the nest of his embrace again.

  Cash, Brandon, and Escher entered the room. Escher had acquired a pair of shorts and waggled his eyebrows at me as he walked in. Cash carried a tray I’d forgotten I owned, piled with toast and fruit and, from the scent, cheesy omelets.

  Was there anything better than breakfast foods when you were having a bad day? I didn’t think so.

  “You need to eat and get your strength up. We can chat while you do.”

  Cash placed the tray in front of me, and I intended to share until a second wave of scent hit my nose and alerted my stomach.

  All of a sudden, I was ravenous.

  I dug in while Escher gave them the story of the alpha and the weird tour and the feast.

  And eventually he got to the fight this morning where they didn’t want me to leave and he took a chunk out of the alpha’s side.

  “He’s probably going to seek retribution, Escher. We all have your back, but be prepared. I’m sure our alpha will do his best, but they may issue a challenge, not for her, but for the attack. He won’t be able to deny it.”

  “Worth it.” Escher shrugged then reached for a grape and held it in front of my mouth. “You stopped eating.”

  “Oh,” I said and ate the grape, the gesture making me rise in temperature about three-hundred degrees.

  “You forgot about the harems. That alpha and his betas all have one mate.” I busied myself eating while I spoke but noticed no one responded. Looking up, I found them all gawking at me. “What?”

  Brandon scooted closer and put his hand on my foot. “And this was repulsive to you?”

  I picked at the fruit while I mulled over my answer. “Not repulsive.” Had my expression read repulsed? “Just different? I thought every male only had one mate. All of you have told me you are waiting on your mate.”

  Moss’ hold on me tightened while Escher looked to the floor. Brandon ground his jaw while Cash stepped from foot to foot.

  Clearly, I’d said something off.

  Moss cleared his throat behind me. “You’re right, Wendi. We’ve all been waiting a long time for our mate. But females can have more than one male if she chooses. That way she is well-protected, cared and provided for. It takes someone very special to be the female of a harem.”

  “I guess so.” I put the fork down. “I’m full as a tick.”

  “Why don’t you get some rest. Cash and Brandon have patrols, and Escher’s going to crash on your couch, if that’s okay?” Moss patted my thigh.

  “Yeah, of course. You’ll stay with me?” I looked over my shoulder at him.

  “Of course. Come on, female. Let’s get you tucked in.”

  As I got in bed, I spotted the book I was reading on my bedside table, and Moss must’ve seen me.

  “If you promise to try to go to sleep, I will read to you.”

  I crossed my heart.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Okay, Wendi Walker. It’s just a stepladder. You can walk up steps now. It’s a thing you can do. Come on, girl.

  Shit. I’d become my own Tony Robbins. My aunt used to watch that guy and listen to his CDs. CDs of all things. I would tell her about, you know, modern technology and podcasts, but it never sank in.

  I grabbed only one book since I wasn’t sure if I was about to cause my own death or not and put one foot on the bottom rung. Look at me, scared of a ladder shorter than I was. But to be fair, I had very little—as in none—ladder experience

  My other hand braced on one of the shelves, I glanced at my wheelchair which was now more of a crutch for me than actually full-time useful. Still, I knew if I needed it, it would be there. I felt the stretch and tug of my calf muscle as I used it to heft my body to the height I needed. Simple task.

  With both feet on the second rung, I leaned my upper thighs against the ladder for balance and, with my fingers, made a space for where the book should go according to the series order.

  And all hell broke loose.

  Or, at least, Wendi-hell broke loose.

  One book fell from the shelves, and that one unassuming volume, bent at the spine about three-thousand times, looking like someone had once adored it, caused a domino effect. Before I knew it, all the paranormals whose authors’ names began with M-P had toppled to the carpeted floor.

  Of course, that couldn’t be the end of it.

  Nope.

  The falling books flared up my nervousness, and I reached for the first thing I could to brace myself. Another shelf. Q-S. Whoever decided to start a row with Q? There were only three titles. Surely, they would have been fine with the other group.

  But it didn’t matter because, apparently, one entire series about teenager vampires wasn’t enough for me. This time, the shelf facing me, along with the shelf on the other side, on the next row, all of those books came down like a literary avalanche. In trying not to get my eye taken out by one of the paperbacks, I bent down, and that one move was the beginning of the end.

  My left foot slipped from the rung, and Muppet flailing took on a whole new meaning.

  As did fear. I’d been confined to the wheelchair for a decade and a half…and been free to walk for a matter of weeks. I was still building strength. A bad fall could end my new life forever. Time slowed down, allowing me to reach a pinnacle of terror.

  Until she showed up inside me.

  Silly human, she chided, and a wave of power poured over me, taking control of my muscles and infusing my veins. Rather, my wolf took over. Don’t ask me how I knew she had done it, but she had. I pushed off the ladder with the opposite foot and landed in a crouch, my hands mangled, knuckles bent like claws. The tips of my fingers felt like they might split open. And if it were possible and not just a figment of my imagination, every pore seemed to throb with some force.

  Holy shit.

  I was losing it.

  I patted my chest and legs and face, but nothing was bleeding or hurt. Still, it scared the shit out of me not to be in control of my own body.

  I scrambled backward and got into my wheelchair, and as soon as I sank into the seat, my breaths normalized again.

  The mess I’d made was insane.

  But more so, my wolf was with me. She’d saved me. Helped me.

  “Why can’t I shift yet?” I asked her, as always impatient for progress.

  It’s not time yet. Soon.

  Okay, that was something. I finally got a hold of myself and picked up the mess but faced the beast of the ladder again.

  Blowing out a breath of frustration, I eyed the shelf and cursed it in my head.

  No matter what, I will protect you.

  I hopped backward a little and barely braced myself on the shelf. That voice inside me was going to take some time to get used to.

  As I reshelved all the books with little trouble this time, I thought over the past few days.

  The guys were acting weird. Especially when the subject of harems or mates or anything else came up. As I thought about it, my stomach soured. Maybe they were just dating me until their true mate showed up. And then, one by one, as they found them, I would be left alone.

  Or did I have a true mate?

  Chapter Fourteen

  After my more than interesting afternoon at work, I met Brandon at the diner where we’d had our first “date” together. Or at least our first meal out together. I found him seated at the same small table facing the window where we’d eaten then, and we settled in. The special tonight was meatloaf with mushroom gravy, garlic mashed potatoes, and new peas. It even came with a small sundae for dessert, so we both decided to indulge together.

  Brandon had been the first of the guys I’d really connected with, and coming back here reminded me of the fact. Our conversations held both ease and an incredible amount of sexual tension. The waitress brought our salads and left, and I watched the people passing on the sidewalk while spearing a little yellow pear tomato. For a small-town diner, they did a heck of a job using the best local, fresh ingredients. And they made the dressings in-house as well. But even when the server replaced our empty salad plates with platters of sliced meatloaf and all the sides, I couldn’t focus on the delicious food. At some point, things were going to come to a boil between us…between me and the other guys, too, but I couldn’t think of that now.

  He scooped a fork with meatloaf, gravy, potatoes, and peas and gave me the grin that melted me into a puddle of admiring femaleness. “I like to taste it all at once.” He slid the fork into his mouth and groaned.

  My panties dampened, and I squirmed in my seat. This sensation had become much too common lately, and not just when Brandon was present. The other three guys had the same effect. I’d gone from a girl who really didn’t expect to have much sex in her life to one who was horny all the time.

  Did that make me a slut?

  Could you be a slut when you hadn’t ever done the actual deed?

  I blinked out of my brain fog to find a fork hovering in front of my face. Well, not actually hovering since it was held by Brandon. And laden with all the same things he’d put on his bite. “Wendi? Open wide.”

  I smiled, hoping he wouldn’t realize where my mind had been, and then parted my lips to allow him to feed me. Was there anything sexier? I knew feeding one’s mate was a shifter thing, and the guys had provided me with things to eat every chance they got, but this…the intimacy as he watched me chew and swallow then lifted a napkin and dabbed my lips for me… Holy hell. Next time one of them wanted to put food in my mouth, it had better be in a more private setting.

  “Is it good?” He quirked one eyebrow.

  “Yes, but…”

  “Oh no, you aren’t someone who doesn’t like their foods mixed, are you?” He’d eaten with me any number of times, and while I didn’t mush it all together in the middle of my plate, I never worried about them touching.

  “No, that’s not the ‘but’ here.” I hesitated, cheeks warming up fast. “I ummm…”

  His eyes held such anxiety, I had to laugh. “Come on, Wendi, what did I do wrong?”

  “Absolutely nothing. Except make me want to rip my clothes off and beg you to make love to me right here in public. So…for now, let me fix my own bites, please. I don’t want to humiliate us both.”

  “Humiliate us? Is that what you’d call it?” He went from worried to blazing heat in about two seconds. Taking my hand under the table, he brought it to his thigh then, holding my gaze with his, he released my fingers and waited.

  We were in front of the window, but the oilcloth table cover hung low enough I summoned all my daring and crept my hand higher until it rested on the front of his jeans. I swallowed hard and gave a shiver. “I guess you like feeding me.”

  “His palm covered my hand and pressed down a bit over the bulge. “Everything about you has this effect on me. Feeding you, of course, but also walking with you, talking with you, and seeing you anywhere anytime.”

  “I hope you don’t mind.” I extricated my hand and brought it to my own lap. “But touching you like that is making it hard to think.”

  “Imagine how I feel.” We backed off then, eating our own food from our own forks, and had just had our desserts placed before us when Brandon stilled. “Dammit.”

  I looked up from scooping a bite of sundae onto my spoon. “What’s wrong? Not enough whipped cream?” But my joke died away when I followed his focus to see some unwelcome passersby outside the window. “What are they doing here?”