A Wolf's Obsession (14 page)

Gathering her courage, she let the familiar number fly from her fingertips. Long seconds passed, Kass’ grip on the phone tightening until her knuckles were white.

“Hello?”

She sighed in relief as Charlie’s voice filled her ears. “Dad?”

“Kass? Is that you?”

“It’s me dad.”

“Thank god.”

His relief was an almost tangible thing and guilt settled over Kass. While she’d been busy trying not to lust after her self proclaimed mate, Charlie had clearly thought the worst. “Sorry I didn’t call earlier. I’ve been….busy.”

“Not important,” he said dismissively. “That doesn’t matter. Are you safe? Where are you?”

She bit her lip. This was what she’d been dreading. “It’s hard to explain but I’ll try. Remember that man who was holding me a few days ago?”

Suspicion filled his voice but he nodded in agreement. “Yes.”

“Turns out that he wasn’t one of Ethan's men.”
Now how to tell him the rest?
She paused, took a deep breath and then decided that honesty really was the best policy. “Well he’s a werewolf and he thinks I’m his mate. And by mate I don’t mean friend, he thinks I’m his wife and he plans on keeping me here,” she rushed, the words tumbling out of her mouth. She clutched the phone tightly and waited expectantly for his reply. Her nerves were strung tight and getting tighter the longer he didn’t say anything. “Dad?”

“Well that’s a damn sight better than you being with Ethan.”

He was taking the news much too well. There was something going on. “You don’t sound surprised about this dad. I just told you that I’m living with a werewolf and that’s all you can say?”

“I’ve always known that werewolves exist and even if I didn’t know that, I spent my whole life raising a phoenix and trying to keep her out of the hands of a mad man, werewolves aren’t going to cause me any sleepless nights.”

“You knew about them,” she spat in accusation. “And you never told me?”

Charlie sighed heavily. “Of course I told you Kass. All of those stories I told you when you were a baby…they
were the history of your people. This thing with Ethan all started because of a werewolf and his mate.”

Her head was starting to spin, her breathing becoming choppier but Kass fought to regain control of her body. If she fainted because of speaking to Charlie she had a feeling that Wyatt would be very reluctant to let her speak to her father in the near future. After being raised by Charlie she knew a lot about men and protection. Everything about Wyatt screamed that he would take protection to new limits.

“Kass? Are you alright?”

“I’m fine dad but those stories you told me I thought they were just fairy tales. I can’t even remember them.”

“Well they weren’t Kass, they were history lessons. I wanted you to be prepared but apparently I wasn’t as clear as I could have been that the stories were important.”

“Well I know that they’re important now. Refresh my memory…please.”

“Once upon a time -“

“Dad, if this actually happened then you can’t start with ‘once upon a time’ that’s how all fairytales start and that’s probably why I didn’t believe you in the first place.”

“This is how the story was told to me and this is how I choose to tell it. The reason that I started like that is because no one knows exactly when this happened all that we know is that it did. Now stop interrupting and listen.” He sighed and continued his tale. “Once upon a time there was a phoenix who found out she was the mate to a werewolf. The phoenix had never thought to love anyone because she didn’t want to have to see those that she loved wither away and die but the werewolf was as immortal as she and he pursued her until she fell in love. The love that the two shared was as intense as a burning sun for the two were immortal and when immortals love they do so with every atom of their being. The two were blessed with many years of happiness but the werewolves were hunted by men who didn’t understand that they were not beasts and wished to see them all gone from the world.”

Relaxing into her chair, Kass let the sound of Charlie’s voice calm her. After meeting Wyatt she was very much convinced that this story could have been true. Wyatt was intensity personified and if the trait had been passed down to him by his ancestors she knew that the phoenix in the story had never stood a chance against him. She chose not to think too hard about what that meant for her and continued listening to Charlie’s soothing voice.

“The hunters cornered the werewolf and his phoenix mate. Though vastly outnumbered, the wolf fought hard to protect his mate but in the end they were both slain. The phoenix was reborn but her werewolf mate was gone forever from the world and the phoenix was wild in her grief. She took her own life and chose to come back to the world as a baby hoping that the innocence of new life would save her from remembering the loss of her beloved wolf. The phoenix grew into an adult without incident but when she turned twenty seven and the memories of her past lives returned to her she couldn’t cope. The grief was too raw to survive and so she set about finding a way to end her cursed immortality. There was no way that she could live in a world where her mate was not, she would find a way to join him permanently in the ever after.

She tried many things but none could stop her coming back and remembering her loss, until one day she decided that her heart was too heavy to bear. She decided that the only way to end her suffering would be to remove the cursed organ from her chest. She found a man dying and gifted him with her heart and was finally reunited with her love. The man that had been given a phoenix’s heart lived one hundred years without ageing a day. He grew wealthy and had sons who, when asked about their father’s youth, were told tales of the woman with stars in her eyes that had saved him by giving him her heart.”

“She gave away her heart?” After spending her entire life defending her own, the idea of simply giving it away was ludicrous to Kass and her hand rose to her chest in automatic defence.

“Yeah she did and after the man died his sons began to hunt down phoenixes because they wanted to live longer and that’s where Ethan comes from. His ancestors managed to get their hands on the heart of a phoenix and he wants the same.”

“He’s not getting my heart.”

“No he’s not,” Charlie agreed. “Especially not if you stay with your werewolf.”

“You want me to stay here?” She couldn’t believe her ears. Charlie was always the first one to demand she stay as close to him as possible after a close encounter with Ethan. He’d never ever told her to stay away.

“I don’t know where you are but there’s no one that you’ll be safer with. If that wolf thinks you’re his mate he’ll lay down his life to protect you.”

You don’t need to tell me that, he gave me his heart this morning.
“You’re trusting a man that you’ve never met to protect me?”

“I don’t need to know him Kass, you’re his mate.”

She rolled her eyes at the words. She’d heard them all morning from Wyatt’s mouth, she didn’t need to hear them from her father’s as well. She quickly put that train of thought behind her. It wouldn’t do to dwell on Wyatt’s mouth, her cheeks were already flush from the brief reminder of his sinful lips. “He told me that already.”

“You don’t seem to understand just how lucky you are Kass. You’ve found the love of your life just at the right time. Ethan has no idea about this wolf, he can’t find you and even if he did, your werewolf would be more than happy to take his head off if it meant protecting you.”

“I never said that I loved Wyatt.”

“Wyatt? Is that his name? I like him already.”

“Well you’re not the one expected to fall in love with him. He’s…” Her words trailed off. She might not love Wyatt but what went on between them was private. Charlie might be her father but he didn’t need to know about Wyatt’s madness. “He knew Emily.”

“So what if he knew her? She’s gone now and he has you. You’re perfect and don’t let anyone tell you different. If he knew Emily then he knows what it’s like to lose her, he’ll be even more careful when it comes to protecting you.”

Kass couldn’t help but smile at his words. “You sound just like him.”

“Well you know what I always say.”

Her smile widened even further. “Great minds think like mine,” she chuckled.

“Exactly. Kass.” His voice turned serious. “Kass have you got your meds?”

She’d completely forgotten about the pills that had once been as essential as air. “No.”

His voice turned cold. “No,” he screamed. “What do you mean no? Those things are keeping you alive.”

“Wyatt’s doing a pretty good job of that by himself.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Neither do I,” she muttered under her breath. Running her fingers through her already messy hair she sighed. “I had an attack but Wyatt managed to get my heart back under control. He seemed pretty confident that he can do it again if I have another attack and he’s making sure that I’m not doing anything that would put me at risk.”

Charlie’s relief was almost a tangible thing. “You’re not really doing a very good job of convincing me that you shouldn’t be there. The fact that he can control your heart is just proving to me that you and him should be together. I know that you aren’t prepared for a situation like this, your heart has made sure of that, but this really is what’s best for you. I don’t know where you are and neither does Ethan. There’s only a few weeks until your birthday and after that you can have a normal life. I don’t want to know where you are and I don’t think you should contact me again unless it’s a matter of life or death.”

“What?”

“Ethan knows about me, he know what I look like. He has people that are capable of finding me but he knows absolutely nothing about your werewolf. He’ll never find you if you stay with him.”

“So you want me to stay here?”

“Can you honestly tell me that you don’t want to stay? I’m your father Kass, I can hear what you’re trying not to tell me. You like this man.”

“I might like him but he thinks that he’s in
love
with me.”

“And maybe he’s right. Maybe things work different for supernatural people like you. All I know is that he’s going to keep my baby safe and that’s enough for me. Kass, I’m not arguing with you about this. Don’t call me unless you’re twenty seven or dying. I’m doing this because I love you. Goodbye Kass.”

“Dad, wait,” she called frantically but it was too late. The call ended with a distinct click. Confused by what had just happened, Kass stared unmoving at the phone hanging from her limp fingers for long moments, her mind struggling to understand what her beloved father was doing. She could call him but what would be the point? She knew very well what the iron in his voice meant. He’d probably turned off his phone by now. She was in this alone.

Not alone
, a small voice at the back of her mind reminded her. Forcing herself out of the chair, Kass smiled. She might not like what Charlie had done but the voice was right, she wasn’t alone anymore and if Wyatt got his way she’d never be alone again. She had a mate now. She might not have wanted one in the beginning but she had one and there were only two things she could do about it. Rail against her fate or accept it. Remembering how Wyatt’s smile created an torrent of butterflies in her stomach Kass knew there was only really one option available to her. She was going to take the bull by the horns and get on with it. If everyone around her seemed convinced that she was destined to be with Wyatt then the least she could do was to see if there was any truth to it. Her eyes fell to the door and she knew what she had to do. Her mate was out there and she was going to grab hold of him with both hands and if her father was right she’d probably never let go.

Chapter Ten

Wyatt paced. He’d been pacing ever since he’d given Kass his phone and time was doing nothing to make him less anxious. His claws had long since sprouted from his nails and pierced through his flesh. His ears strained, desperate to hear what was being said on the other side of the door but he forced himself not to eavesdrop. He hadn’t used them in years but Kass seemed to be very fond of manners and his vague memories of when he’d been a functioning member of his society reminded him that listening in on a private conversation was frowned upon. Despite his best intentions he was still able to hear titbits of her conversation and nothing she was saying was doing anything to ease his nerves.

I don’t know what you’re worried about,
the wolf yawned, clearly not sharing in Wyatt’s distress.
She’s not going anywhere.

And how do you know that?
Wyatt snapped.

You might have decided that listening to what our mate has to say is rude but I don’t. I can hear it in her voice she wants to stay with us and her own father is telling her that she should stay here. I haven’t even met the man and I like him already. Besides,
he drawled lazily,
even if she wanted to go would you have let her go?

At the very suggestion his eyes became incensed, fangs grew where once teeth had been and his claws skewered his palms as he fought the urge to smash his fist into a wall.
I’ll never be separated from her again. She can’t leave me and I’m not going to let her go anywhere.

Then I’m not sure what you’re even worried about. You’re not letting her go, she’s not going anywhere. Relax.

I wish it was that easy.

It is that easy, you’re the one that’s making things complicated.

“Wyatt?”

He spun around at the sound of her voice. It should have been impossible for her to sneak up on him but she had him so distracted with the mere thought of her that he couldn’t focus on anything. Staring in to her unusual eyes he was struck anew with just how lucky he was.
She’s so beautiful.

A blush came to her cheeks and he couldn’t help but wonder just how much of her skin was that delicious pink colour.

I have the most beautiful mate in the world, no doubt about it.

Her blush deepened.

Concerned, he cupped her cheek letting the heat of her skin soak into his palm. “What’s the matter?”

Seeing as a few minutes ago you were the one that was reminding about this special connection we have you should watch what you say. You’re embarrassing me. ‘The most beautiful woman in the world’?

His gaze became intense, his feelings burning from his amber gaze. “It’s true.”

She struggled not to laugh. “Take a look around, Emily is much prettier than I am.” She turned to point at the many pictures of Emily that covered the walls and quickly came up short. The pictures that only yesterday had made it hard to even see what colour the walls were had all vanished. Her confusion was evident in her voice. “What happened to the pictures?”

“I took them down last night before I came in to watch you sleeping.”

“Why? I thought she was important to you.”

He grabbed her hand and squeezed in reassurance. “You’re right. She
was
important to me but you
are
important to me. Emily is gone and I wouldn’t change that because now I have you and I’m going to fill the walls with pictures of you. You are the most beautiful woman in the world.”

“And you want to plaster my face all over the walls?”

He didn’t even take a second to think of his answer. “Of course.” His voice was cheerful, his expression merry despite the disbelief that was radiating from Kass’ face. “This is our house and we only want the best.”

It was his words that should have captured her attention but it was his eyes that made Kass pause. The colour was changing, the bright amber darkening to a rich brown. “Wyatt, what are you doing to your eyes?”

His hand rose to his face automatically but he shrugged when he didn’t feel anything out of the ordinary. “Nothing.”

She shook her head. There was definitely something going on and if he wasn’t controlling it then what was? “The colour is changing. That isn’t nothing. It’s not normal even for phoenixes.”

“Oh that.” He shrugged. “I’ll tell you about it when we’re outside. Go and get changed so that I can start taking my pictures.”

Remembering the professional looking pictures that had adorned the walls, Kass shook her head. There was no way that her half mad wolf could have taken such stunning pictures. “You’re taking the pictures?” Her voice was filled with disbelief.

“Of course. I might not look it but I’m a wolf of many talents.” He winked suggestively and his meaning couldn’t have been any clearer. “I took the pictures of Emily but this is going to be so much better. She could never know that I was taking pictures of her but I can do this properly with you. Now hurry up and get changed.” She didn’t move. “If you don’t get changed I won’t say a word about what’s happening with my eyes.” She resisted for a moment before her natural curiosity won out. Wyatt smiled. He was slowly but surely learning about his mate and now he knew that she couldn't stand for her questions to go unanswered. He’d make sure that he took advantage of that in the future.

Spurred into action, Kass turned to leave before remembering something important. “I don’t have any clothes. These were all I had and they’re ruined.”

He rubbed her shoulders gently, turning her towards the bedroom. “Do you really think that I wouldn’t take care of your needs?”

“You seem to be forgetting that I’ve only known you for a few days. I have no idea what you think about my needs.”

“Well we’re both learning something today then. I’ll always take care of your needs even before mine. I got you new clothes yesterday after….” He coughed. “The incident. They’re in the wardrobe. I cleaned up the bedroom while you were making breakfast so no more excuses. Hurry up.” Taking care to rein in his monstrous strength he pushed her towards the bedroom and waited. He didn’t have to wait long. Within minutes Kass was dressed and ready to go.

“I thought you would have taken a lot longer to get dressed,” he mused aloud as he led her out of the house, his camera swinging from around his neck. “My sister, Dylan, takes an age to get ready to go anywhere.”

Turning her head up towards the warm rays of the sun, Kass soaked in the beauty of the world around her. “I’m not like other women. I’ve had to learn how to get ready quickly. When your life is on the line you can get dressed pretty quickly.”

The casual way she spoke about threats to her life made his hackles rise but Wyatt fought to keep his tone neutral. She wouldn’t tell him anything if she thought he was going to go out and murder the asshole. No, it was better that she thought he was more in control of the animalistic urges that were racking his body than he actually was. She’d seen enough to know that he was capable of violence, there was no need to expose her to anymore. “Are you going to tell me about him? This man that you’ve been running from?”

“Ethan. His name is Ethan. I’ve already told you about him, why would you want to hear more?”

His eyes fell to her feet. There were scars on the soles, marks on her calves and he had a feeling that Ethan was responsible. How did he explain to her that he needed to know every crime this Ethan had committed against her so that he could pay the bastard back in full? “It never hurts to know more about your enemy,” he answered, hoping that his non-committal answer was enough to satisfy her.

“I can see your point but don’t think I’ve forgotten that you promised to answer my question before we even came out here. So let’s make a deal. You ask a question and I’ll give you an answer and the same applies to me. Deal?”

“Deal.”

“Right so you tell me about your eyes and then I’ll answer one of your questions about Ethan. What’s going on with your eyes? Why are they changing colour?” He smirked, the simple movement of his mouth sending butterflies into Kass’ stomach. His smile was a devastating weapon and she feared that he was going to use it often against her.

“That’s two questions,” Wyatt pointed out casually as he snapped another photo. “But because I’m a generous mate I’ll answer them.” Wyatt was sure that the scowl on her face was meant to be menacing but it wasn’t frightening in the least. In fact it was rather cute but he refrained from telling her that, she didn’t look like she would take the news well. “My eyes weren’t always amber, they’re meant to be brown. They used to be brown….before I lost Emily. I became so consumed by grief that I couldn’t function without my wolf and I let him have control. I spent years as a wolf and kept my contact with people to the bare minimum but one day Dylan came to find me and she noticed that even when I was in my human form my eyes wouldn't change. They’ve been this way for years. If they’re changing colour then it must mean that I’m getting better.” His fingers curled around the nape of her neck, the heat of his palm searing against her skin. “You’re changing me. I’m regaining my humanity and it’s all thanks to you. Dylan is going to want to get you a medal.”

Turning away from his blistering intensity Kass took a deep breath. It was heady stuff to find out that you were responsible for bringing someone back from the brink.

“My turn,” Wyatt beamed. “Back to the fucker.” He paused for a minute trying to think of the best way to word his question so that he would get the most information out of his mate. She was tricky and he had no way of knowing just how long she was going to want to play this game. “What’s your earliest memory of him?”

Her smile faded as she was drawn into memories of the past. “I was eight. I remember being strapped down to a table with him looming over me. The look in his eyes….” She shuddered at the memory. “He looked at me like I was less than human, like I didn’t matter because he just wanted what was inside me. I was terrified. He told me what he was going to do to me in detail, he didn’t leave anything out. I still remember seeing the things that they were going to use to cut my chest open. I was lucky that time. One of his men was a smoker and I managed to steal his lighter. I set the building on fire.”

His heart stopped as quickly as his steps. “When you were outside I presume?”

His voice was cold, the lack of his normal warmth making the hairs on the back of Kass’ neck stand up in warning. He wasn’t going to like the answer to his question. She shook her head sadly. The memory was a vivid one but that didn’t mean it was a pleasant one. “Nope, I was inside. I remember having the lighter in my hand and trying hard to light it against the sheets. My fingers were so cold that they were pretty much useless but I knew that it was the only chance I was going to get. I lit the sheets on fire and the mattress followed pretty quickly after that. Without the bed to hold me down I managed to get up and made sure that the fire spread. I got outside and ran for as long as I could. I made sure that I took the most difficult path because I didn’t want to be followed. That’s where I got some of the scars from. I crawled over wire and ran over glass to escape.”

“You set yourself on fire?” he asked hardly believing that he was having to even ask such a question.

“It was the only way I was getting out of there. Desperate times make people do desperate things.” She cocked an eyebrow at his slack jawed expression. “Don’t tell me that you’ve never done anything that other people would have thought was madness in a moment of desperation?” Even as she said the words she knew the answer. The madness was returning to his gaze, the warm brown disappearing under the feral amber. “Wyatt?” she squeaked. He was changing right before her eyes, the funny man that she had been talking to mere moments ago disappearing as a predator took his place. Unnerved by the sudden change in his behaviour Kass backed away from him unsure of what it was he was planning on doing and their mental connection did nothing to ease her fears. His mind was a mess, his thoughts disjointed and becoming more and more chaotic.

He stalked towards her, there was no other way to describe the way he moved and Kass had never felt more like prey than she did in that moment. Carefully, she backed away, her hands behind her back feeling for anything that might stop her from making a quick get away. She knew it was never wise to run from a predator but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to try if the need arose. “Wyatt?” she tried again, hoping to get through to whatever was left of his humanity.

Whatever chance she had at escape was scuppered when her back hit a tree and all air fled her lungs. “Wyatt?” she croaked, unsure of what he was planning on doing.

“Desperate times don’t just make people do desperate things they make them do stupid things.”

“Really?” Pushing her back harder into the tree’s bark she tried to make herself seem as small and unthreatening as possible but Wyatt was quickly closing any distance she managed to put between them.

“Yeah. After losing Emily I lost my mind as well and I let my grief make me do something inexcusable.”

His eyes were burning holes into hers, forcing her to look at him even though his intensity was scary. “What did you do?” Even as the question left her mouth she wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer. Wyatt had hurt her when they’d first met and he seemed to think he’d mellowed with time. If he’d been much worse than their first encounters there was no limit to the atrocities he could have committed. Suddenly it seemed like a very bad idea to be walking in the woods with a wolf who could have killed people. Warmth suddenly flooded her body and left her boneless, perfectly happy to radiate in the glow and she knew exactly where it was coming from. Wyatt was many things but he’d never been anything but honest with her and there was no way she’d feel so strongly about him if he’d done any of the things that her imagination had conjured up.