Saved by the Big Bad Wolf: A Darkhills Romance Page 2

  Especially one that made her inner wolf crack open a watchful eye. However, he smelt entirely human so didn’t pose much of a threat to her.

  “We were just closing for the night; can I help you with anything before we do?” She asked.

  “I need a whiskey and directions.” The man sat himself down on one of the bar stools and slid a few dollars across the bar towards her.

  The money was barely enough for a drink of soda but considering everyone was broke these days, she decided to be kind and serve the man his drink. The sweat and anxiety pouring off him gave the impression that he really needed it.

  She poured him a measure of the cheapest house whiskey and punched in the sale into the register, depositing the few dollars.

  “You ain’t from around here, where you heading?” She asked over her shoulder.

  The man downed his whiskey at an alarming speed and dropped the glass back on the counter with a thud.

  “Tumbricane Manor. You heard of it? Half these roads ain’t even marked in this godforsaken Hicks-ville. I gotta be there tonight.”

  The man shoved his glass forward and nodded at the bottle behind Rose, she put down the glass she had been wiping and folded her arms. She wasn’t about to give him another handout, she’d been generous enough giving him his first drink for half price. That combined with his insulting attitude to her beloved town, hadn’t exactly made her warm to him.

  “I know of Tumbricane, can’t say I’ve ever been there but I know roughly where it is.”

  The guy was from out of town and human, most likely had no idea of the paranormal world that existed alongside his own. She wasn’t about to tell him she knew it from her runs in the forest but not by the roads around here. So, she would have to give him rough directions.

  “Well, you got a map or something? I ain’t got all night Missy.”

  Rose’s wolf stood up at that, extending her claws as she stretched. The guy was an offensive asshole and she wanted him out of her bar. Rose grabbed the out-of-date map that sat propped up behind the cash register and flicked to the right page.

  “Here. If you follow this road out of town and take the left turning here,” She pointed to the map so that the man could see, “Then keep heading towards the mountains you should find it. No-one else lives up that way so the most well taken track will likely take you to Tumbricane.”

  “Is that it? Is that the best you can do?” The guy snarled at her, sweat showing on his brow, his eyes bloodshot.

  Sheesh he was in bad shape. She could scent his panic heavily. Whatever business he had at Tumbricane with its mysterious owner, she did not want to know. Her wolf’s hackles were up, and she wanted the guy gone.

  “Like I said,” Rose said, taking the map back from his grasp. “I’ve never visited. I only know of it. Those are your directions: take ‘em or leave ‘em.”

  “I’m gonna be taking that map.”

  “No, you will not, now I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave, we’re closed now.” Rose said firmly.

  “Now listen here you little bitch,”

  The man didn’t get a chance to utter another word. Sam McClaw had entered the bar and had grabbed the man by the scruff of his collar, lifting him off his bar stool. He wasn’t the biggest wolf in the pack, despite being the Alpha, but he was strong and enjoyed any opportunity to demonstrate the fact.

  “The only little bitch around here is you. Now apologize to the lady and get out of my town.” The Alpha growled out.

  “Fuck, I ain't got time for this shit.” The pale and sweating man said, more frustrated than scared. “I’m sorry. Now can you let go of me so I can get the hell out of here?”

  Sam glared at the man but released him after another moment of attempting to intimidate him. Rose inwardly cursed as the man scurried out of the bar, his long trench coat flapping behind him. She had the situation under control, she was a strong female, capable of landing that guy on his ass before he even had a chance to notice, but instead she had been ‘rescued’ by the Alpha.

  After watching the man leave, Sam turned back to face Rose with a look of manly pride on his face. His shoulders were pulled back to puff out his chest. Making the buttons on his flannel shirt strain. He wasn’t a completely unattractive male, but his arrogance and bullying nature soured any charm Rose might have found in his appearance.

  “It’s a good thing I decided to swing by.” He said.

  “Yeah thanks, Sam. He wouldn’t have been around for much longer anyway, but I’m glad he’s gone.” Rose replied, trying her best to seem grateful to her Alpha.

  “See this is exactly what I wanted to talk to you about.” His brow furrowed under his baseball cap, his gray eyes darkening as he prepared to launch into what she knew was coming: the attempt to persuade her that she needed a man. And that man should be him.

  “You really should consider my offer, Rosie.”

  She hated him calling her that. She was Rose. Not Rosie. Him deciding on a pet name for her did not make them in anyway closer or more connected.

  “It’s obvious that you are vulnerable without having a male in your life to protect you. There is no-one better than the Alpha to do that for you, and I think I proved my point just now.” He stood with his legs apart, hands on his hips as if to make it clear that he wasn’t taking no for an answer. Too bad he would have to.

  “Sam, it really is very considerate of you to want to make sure I’m taken care of. You’ve known me since I was a kid and it’s nice to know that you’re looking out for me,” Rose always tried to remind him of their age difference in the hope that it would put him off, she liked to think that it had helped keep him at bay so far. “But I’m doing OK. Me and Gram look out for each other and I’ve got good friends in this town.”

  “And what happens when you go home to your apartment at night Rosie? Who’s taken care of you then?” Sam pressed.

  The implication of her needing him to take care of her in more ways than one made her skin crawl. She chose to act dumb and ignore it.

  “I have great neighbours and,”

  “Sooner or later you are gonna find yourself all alone, and without any blood tie to this pack I’m going to have no choice but to force you to leave. I don’t want that for you Rosie, I’m offering you the chance to lead this pack with me. Move out of that tiny apartment that you’re renting and settle yourself in my home. You’d want for nothing and I’d make sure that your grandmother saw out the rest of her days in the best old folks’ home in town.”

  Rose was furious. He’d never been so blunt before and the way he had moved forward to lean across the bar at her made her wolf start to bristle. She opened her mouth to refuse him but was cut off by his rough fingers pressing against her lips. It took every ounce of self-control not to bite the presumptuous Alpha.

  “Think about it darlin’. Your grandma probably ain't long for this world, which means you are running out of time. The hospitality of this pack ain't going to last after she’s gone. Do you really want your grandmother’s last thoughts to be filled with worrying about you? Hell, I’m surprised she ain’t dropped dead from worrying over you already.”

  At that, a growl slipped past Rose’s lips. If he weren’t the Alpha, she’d already be at his throat.

  “Or do you want that sweet, kind lady, who took you in and raised you when no-one else would, to go to meet her mate knowing you were safe and taken care of by the finest male in town?”

  Finest male in town, her ass.

  “My grandmother loves me.” Rose bit out. “She would want me to make my mating choice with my own free will. She would want me to answer the mating call of the wolf who was fated for me, just as she did and just as my mother did.”

  “And look how well that turned out for your mother.” Sam drawled sadistically.

  Rose gasped. She had never seen this vicious and manipulative side to the Alpha before. She’d heard he was mean when he wanted to be, but he’d never shown it to a female as far as sh
e knew. Then again, his mate had left him, it wouldn’t have been without reason.

  “Hey Sam, whatcha doing here? Its good to see you.” Carly chose that moment to come bounding in from where she’d been on the phone to her mate out back.

  The Alpha’s frame relaxed instantly, and an easy smile spread over his rough, stubbled face.

  “Oh, hey there Carly girl, how are you and Clint getting along?”

  “We’re doing real good, we’re fixing up our little home, hoping to welcome some little paws someday.” She beamed back at him.

  “Well now, that sounds like you two have your hands full. Tell you what, why don’t you and Clint take it easy on Saturday night and join Rosie and me for some good, old fashioned steak and beers?”

  Rose cursed the manipulative bastard. Carly’s face lit up at the prospect of a night out, mixing with the Alpha no less. How could she deny her friends a chance to potentially climb the ranks of the pack? The increased social standing might result in better wages for Clint, and then getting pregnant might be back on the cards for the couple.

  “Oh wow, Sam that sounds great.”

  “Good, good. My treat you understand.” He waggled a good-natured finger at the buoyant woman, his laughing gray eyes lit with victory. “Rosie here has told me all about how hard you two have been working on the house and Clint’s efforts at the timber yard haven’t gone unnoticed.”

  “Well, thank you Sam. Thank you very much, I can’t wait to go home and tell Clint.”

  “Perfect, Rose and I will meet you at Ray’s Steakhouse at eight on Saturday. I’ll see you then.”

  Sam made a show of taking off his baseball cap and bowing towards Rose in what she guessed he must’ve intended as a gentlemanly gesture. All it did was showcase his increasing bald spot; yet another reminder that he was old enough to be her father.

  “I’ll pick you up from your place Rosie, I sure can’t wait to see you all dolled up.”

  Rose had no answer for that. So, she grit her teeth behind a closed lipped smile and nodded before turning her back to wipe down the tables. She heard him leave to a jubilant farewell from Carly. As soon as his truck roared to life and the sound of crunching tires indicated he’d gone, Rose went to the door and locked it.

  “Can you believe that?” Carly said

  “Nope.”

  “Me and Clint are double dating with the Alpha! When were you gonna tell me you’d finally decided to give him a shot?” Her friend teased.

  “I haven’t. He just arranged that whole thing without even asking me.” Rose stated angrily.

  “You serious? Why would he do that?”

  “Because he knew I wouldn't agree to it without putting me on the spot like that.”

  “Like what?” Carly asked, confused.

  “By making it impossible for me to say no. There’s no way I’d ruin the chance for you and Clint to have a night out and rub shoulders with the Alpha. This could be a big deal for you two.”

  “Hey now Rose, if you don’t wanna go, then we won’t go. Me and Clint get by just fine. A night out eating steak and drinking beer would be swell but not if it means putting you in an awkward situation.” Carly took hold of Rose’s hands and squeezed them.

  Rose loved her friends. She wanted what was best for them. Maybe one date with Sam wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe he’d see that she wasn’t a good mate for him, that they had nothing in common and finally leave her alone. In the meantime, she’d speak with her grandma tomorrow. She had tried not to concern her with the issues she was having with the Alpha, but it was time she sought out her sage advice.

  “No, no. It won’t be awkward. It’ll be fine. I think Sam is just trying to convince himself that we’d be good together. It isn’t going to happen, but a night of dinner and drinks with you and Clint won’t do any harm. Let’s do it.”

  “You sure?” Carly asked.

  Rose could tell she was holding her excitement in as best she could, but the corners of her friend’s mouth were twitching upwards.

  “Yes, let’s do it. Besides, it’s free right?”

  “Oh, hell yes!” Carly grinned and hugged Rose tight, making her smile indulgently.

  Meanwhile her wolf paced uneasily, snorting her disapproval. Her animal didn’t want to be anywhere near the Alpha. She knew who she wanted to be near and whimpered with longing. But Rose knew it couldn’t happen.

  Lone wolves were notoriously bad news. She didn’t necessarily believe that to be true, but the fact remained that he was off limits or she might as well leave her grandmother and the town she loved behind, right then and there. Her time with the alluring lone wolf was best left in the past, with memories of last summer’s exhilarating night-time runs, and delicious dreams of how he had looked at her with such dangerous promise the night before. She’d never felt anything so powerful before in her life. Her body shivered just thinking about him and her wolf sighed dramatically as she rolled onto her back with a wicked twinkle in her eye.

  Such a hussy, Rose thought, smiling to herself.

  She finished the short task of shutting down the bar for the night and waved goodbye to Carly as she climbed into her beloved old jeep. It had been her grandfather’s and although it had seen better days, it was still going strong. She looked at the time on the dashboard. It was too late to visit her grandmother now; she’d be in bed already. Most likely having fallen asleep reading one of her romance novels. Rose chuckled to herself at the thought. The tough, no nonsense woman would never admit to enjoying the books, but Rose had found more than a couple of them lying around the house whenever she had visited.

  Despite what the old battle axe would have you believe; Rose knew her grandma had a soft heart, lived for happily ever after and was a firm believer in true love conquering all. Maybe she’d pick up a new title from the local goodwill store tomorrow morning before she headed over to see her, she’d slip it under the TV Guide and let the old romantic find it in her own time.

  With a lumbering chug of the engine, Rose headed towards her apartment. She would try to put thoughts of the propositioning Alpha out of her mind until her visit with her grandma tomorrow. Tonight, she would get some rest and maybe indulge in a little dreaming of a certain forbidden wolf with piercing amber eyes.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Cayden

  Cayden felt the sweat trickle down the side of his face as he lifted one end of the giant pine they had just taken down. This one was so big it took three of them to lift and load it onto the nearby logging truck. It would’ve been easier if they had been a crew of four, but the Beta of the pack hadn’t arrived for his shift yet. From the grumblings of the other wolves it was apparent that this was a regular occurrence. It was also unusual that he never saw any bear shifters brought in as extra labour. They’d make light work of the huge pines. Then again bears were known to be none too fond of wolves, and they were expensive to hire.

  It didn’t bother Cayden too much. The extra strain on his muscles was a welcome distraction from thoughts of the she-wolf. She’d haunted his dreams again last night and while he had enjoyed them in the moment, it had left him feeling needy and unfulfilled when he’d woken with the dawn. The obsession was becoming all consuming, if it continued to escalate, he’d have to quit his contract early and get the hell out of there.

  The other scenario saw him seeking her out, rules be damned. She didn’t need that kind of trouble and nor did he. So, he focused on the heavy pull on his arms and back and grunted with the effort it took to heft the felled giant up and onto the truck bed.

  Task completed, the three men, stomped over to where their pick-ups were parked. They’d earned a five-minute break.

  “Fuck, today’s feeling long already.” One of the wolves huffed out. A lean and muscular man with rich brown hair who was always chatting. Cayden enjoyed his sense of humour and didn’t mind listening to his commentaries on their daily slog.

  “I don’t mind it.” Said the other, he was a bigger, broader wolf with light san
dy hair and a quiet, easy-going nature. “Means I don’t have to fake feeling tired tonight.”

  That peaked Cayden’s curiosity. The wolf was newly mated and should be right in the midst of his honeymoon period, he should be arriving at work exhausted instead of going home that way.

  “You still keeping up that old charade?” The first wolf asked, “I don’t know how you do it, if I had a mate like Carly,”

  A low warning growl emitted from the other wolf.

  “You keep your ideas about my mate to yourself or I’ll ensure you regret it, Nate.”

  “Easy, Clint, easy.” The first wolf held up his hands in a surrendering gesture, “I said, ‘like Carly’ not actually Carly.”

  Clint’s growl grew louder, his muscles tensing underneath his loose vest. Cayden cursed inwardly. He’d have to do some peace keeping if the male wouldn’t shut up about the other’s mate. Wolves were extremely protective of their mates and wouldn’t stand for others openly admiring them.

  “I’d stop saying the female’s name for a start Nate, or you’re going to get your ass kicked.” Cayden said, stepping up beside Clint, handing him a bottle of water, hoping to cool his temper.

  “Ah shit, I’m sorry Clint. I didn’t mean anything by it. All I mean is, it must be killing you, going home each night and lying to her. How can you do it?” Nate visibly slumped his posture in submission to Clint.

  It was funny, Cayden would’ve assumed by their contrasting personalities that the hierarchy between them would’ve been the other way around. Seeing the gesture, Clint relaxed and opened the bottle of water, chugging half the contents down. Cayden grabbed another bottle and lightly tossed it to Nate. Crisis averted. Although something was clearly not right there.

  “Of course, it’s killing me. Hell, I’ve spent my whole damn life thinking about building a home with my mate, raising a family, living the good life.” Clint finished his water and tossed the empty bottle into the back of his pick-up. “But how can I do that when we’re barely making enough money to keep the roof over our heads. I can’t raise a family knowing they’ll be hungry, and every day will be a struggle. I can’t do that to Carly. I want more for my mate and future pups.”