Page 6 of The Wolf Slayer

He couldn’t stop thinking about last night. He’d stopped at Cliff’s to fill up his bike and catch up with him. Cliff had scolded him for not coming as often as he used to anymore. “You were my best customer,” Cliff had told him with a smile. Even as a child, Blake had run all the way from his family’s home to the little gas station to grab a treat and listen to Cliff’s stories.

He hadn’t even noticed the girl in the back of the shop until she’d come to the counter to pay. At first, he hadn't recognized her; she'd looked different—haunted—as if she'd been to hell and back and the demons were still coming for her. When she’d lifted her head and he’d seen her blue eyes, he’d known instantly who she was. He’d only seen her once before and hadn’t spoken more than a few words to her. She’d lost her glow, her fun and sunny aura, the aura that had attracted him to her in the first place. Her eyes looked sad and exhausted.

He wasn’t sure what it was about Niev, but he couldn’t stop thinking about her. Maybe he felt attracted to her because she was different, likely not even fully human. He’d watched her cut her palm, and a second later it was healed. The healing had happened so fast that not even a single drop of blood had gotten the chance to form. He was used to strange and supernatural things. Being supernatural himself had helped him not to go straight into panic mode like others would’ve done. Instead, he’d given her space and privacy. It hadn’t been his place to ask about secrets he shouldn’t have known about in the first place. He shouldn’t have snuck up on her like that. It was likely that her gift was something shecouldn’ttalk about. After all, he was forbidden to share his secret with anyone. He was forced to keep part of his life from the rest of the world.

He’d let her get the rest she’d needed so desperately; it seemed like she hadn’t slept in days. Before her shower, she looked dirty, covered in mud and he’d been able to smell blood on her too. She’d slept peacefully through the night, even though he hadn’t been able to rest himself. He’d been far too worried about her to be able to get any sleep. Instead, he’d made sure her clothes were cleaned and dried and had checked on her a few times.

After about two hours he arrived at Cliff’s gas station. It was only a quick stop to let Cliff know that he would take care of Niev’s car later in the day. After chatting a few minutes with Cliff, Blake headed home. On the way he formulated a plan to fix Berta, as Niev called her car, and take it back to her. He wanted, even needed to see her again, and that seemed like an acceptable excuse to return to her. His heart already ached for her and the whole way home he missed the way her warm arms wrapped around his waist. It was a strange feeling, especially because he didn’t know her, and they’d hardly spent a night together. Yet, he missed her like he’d never missed anyone before.

It didn’t take him long to drive down the dirt road toward his cabin. His whole family had always rejected his wish to live closer to the outskirts of the grounds they owned. He didn’t care too much for their wishes. His family’s opinions never stopped him from doing anything anyway. After all, he wasn’t his brother. Being further away from his family had helped Blake to regain and secure his sanity. He needed physical separation from them. It helped to ease his pain.

As he approached his cabin, he knew he wasn’t alone–he could scent his best friend. Tristan was waiting for him on the front porch. His face was cold and didn’t show his usual friendliness. Tristan was still angry, and Blake hated to have put him in a difficult position. He’d never wanted to bring him into this. No one was supposed to know about Niev’s visit. He stopped the bike and jumped off.

“You told father, didn’t you?” He wasn’t disappointed or angry with Tristan, he just needed to know to be able to prepare himself for what was about to happen.

Tristan nodded, his gaze fixed on the ground. “Yes, you know I had to. You broke the law. I didn’t want to get you in trouble, but I can’t withstand his commands.”

“You did what you needed to do, and I don’t blame you for it. I just wish I wouldn’t have gotten you involved in this.” Blake deeply regretted Tristan’s involvement. He was his best friend and he never wanted him to get in trouble for anything, at least not now that they’d both grown up.

“Where is she?”

Tristan seemed curious; he was probably asking himself why Blake would risk getting in trouble for a one-night stand. Blake had never been in a committed relationship and knowing Tristan, he was trying to figure out what had motivated him to bring a woman on his pack’s territory.

“I took her home.”

“Why did you bring her here?”

“I honestly don’t know. Her car broke down at Cliff’s gas station and I couldn’t leave her out there by herself all night. I know it seems stupid, but something told me I had to help her.”

Tristan crooked his eyebrow and was about to ask more questions, but Blake silenced him with a motion of his hand. He didn’t want to talk further about it.

“Let me take a quick shower before we head off.”

“You won’t be able to wash off her scent.”

Knowing Tristan was right, Blake sighed and walked inside. After he’d taken his shower, he didn’t even bother putting clothes on, instead grabbing a pair of jeans and walking outside onto the porch where Tristan was waiting for him.

Tristan had already taken off his jeans and in a provocative tone he asked, “Ready?”

With a smirk Blake walked past him. “Ready to beat your ass.”

Blake threw his jeans in the air and jumped. His bones cracked, skin stretched and tore apart before his four enormous paws dug deep into the dirt. He caught his jeans with his muzzle before running into the woods. Tristan was right behind him but not quite fast enough to catch up to his pitch-black wolf.

Blake’s alpha genes gave him an advantage over normal wolves. He was naturally stronger, bigger, and faster than others. Still, it never stopped Tristan from trying his best to defeat him. Tristan had always been a loyal soul to Blake and had been his best friend since they were children. They’d always gotten in trouble together, even though Tristan had always been Blake’s voice of reason.

It only took a few minutes for them both to arrive at the village. Blake stopped right behind the tree line and shifted back to his human form. He quickly put on his jeans and stepped out onto the clearing. The village was busy as always, women trying to do their house chores while the children ran around distracting their mothers.

Blake walked up to the largest house of the village, which was his family’s home and was called the main house. He loved the huge log structure. It was built entirely out of tree trunks–no stone, and no cement. His family had built it three generations ago and every alpha of the pack had lived there since.

Tristan walked in silence by his side and only broke it when they stopped before the porch. “I’m sorry.”

Tristan knew exactly what was about to happen, and Blake could see that he felt guilty for it. He knew Tristan hadn’t had another choice but to tell his father about any laws being broken–even if they’d been broken by the alpha’s son.

“It’s not your fault. I brought this on myself.”

Blake laid his hand on Tristan’s shoulder and gently squeezed it, giving him a forgiving smile. Walking inside, he left his best friend behind.

As expected, his father was furious and had yelled at him for the past fifteen minutes, reminding Blake of why such an important law existed. Blake stood in front of his father, letting him give his speech and waiting to hear what his punishment would be. He was used to his father being mad at him–it wasn’t the first time. Although over the past few years, keeping to himself and being far away from the pack had helped him to stay out of trouble.

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