Deadly Seduction (Feral Protectors 3) (8 page)

“It’s the same rib. Damn, I knew I should have made you stay in bed a few more days.”

“I insisted.”

“You’re so damn stubborn.”

“I’m an alpha.” He flashed a lopsided grin.

“Ugh.”

As she turned away, he grabbed her hand and pulled her back. “Don’t worry. I was on the mend before, I’ll be fine in another day or two.”

“You have to listen to me. You have to stay in bed.”

His tone dropped seductively. “Want to know what will make me feel better?”

Her lips parted to release a puff of air. She shook her head as if afraid of hearing his answer.

“You,” he whispered.

“Me?”

“Um, hum.” He pulled her closer.

She blushed. “You’re such a flirt.”

“You inspire me.”

“I need to make your tea.”

“Not yet. Just lay down with me for a second.”

“But—”

“Just a second.”

She smirked. “We both know it’s not going to be just one second.”

Chapter 8

Nosh watched the rise and fall of Gwen’s chest. She’d rolled onto her side to face him before falling into a deep sleep. Dark circles hung under her eyes. She didn’t sleep nearly enough. She’d confessed her fear of having another nightmare. So far, she’d only had the one from the other night. He wished there was a way to help keep the bad dreams at bay.

The curtain to the room moved to the side to reveal Lucian’s face. In a soft voice he said, “I didn’t want to wake you earlier.”

Nosh slowly slid his arm out from under Gwen’s head. She whimpered for a moment before settling her head onto the pillow. He climbed over her and went to stand by the fire.

Lucian joined him. “We have a problem.”

“What?”

“I sent a few guys up to check for loose boulders. They found something.”

A sliver of dread sliced through his belly. “This doesn’t sound good.”

“Fadian found several sets of rope and long branches wedged under some of the largest rocks overlooking the trail.”

The implication hit him square in the chest. “Shit.”

“Those rocks didn’t fall on their own. Someone set a trap.”

“Who would want to hurt us?”

“I don’t know. But whoever it was wanted to do more than hurt you. Getting hit by just one of the boulders would have been enough to kill you.”

“True.”

“And there’s something else.”

“What?”

“I’m starting to wonder if your fall off the mountain was really an accident.”

A flash of adrenaline coursed through his veins. “You’re thinking I had help going over the side?”

“It’s possible.”

Nosh frowned. “Do you think it’s a human trap?”

“No. We found paw prints in the area. It was a wolf.”

The muscles in Nosh’s jaw worked overtime. “Did you try scenting him?”

“We tried, but the scent was at least a week old. Too old to track.”

“It’s almost been a week since the first accident.”

“Which may not have been an accident.”

On the bed, Gwen stirred. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. “What’s going on?”

Nosh relayed the information from Lucian. As he finished he said, “I don’t want you going anywhere without a guard. Not even to the river to get water. Not until we figure out what’s going on.”

She paled. “Someone’s trying to kill us?”

He went to her and wrapped his arms around her trembling body. “I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

He angled his body back toward Lucian. “Round up all the wolves. I want to talk to everyone.”

Gwen said, “Are you sure that’s a good idea? Whoever set the trap could be in the den right now.”

Lucian nodded. “I agree. I think we should keep this quiet for a while. The element of surprise will help us.”

“What’s your plan for flushing out the person responsible for the attacks?”

“Attacks?” Gwen asked.

Lucian said, “We think his fall might not have been an accident. It’s too much of a coincidence.”

She looked up at Nosh with wide eyes. “You said it was safe here.”

“It is. No one would be bold enough to try anything in the den. There are too many other wolves around.”

“What if they already have?”

“What do you mean?”

Gwen said, “After I arrived, you were doing better, but then you suddenly took a turn for the worse. At the time, I chalked it up to a flare up with your fever. But what if it wasn’t? What if someone tried to poison you?”

Lucian frowned. “Are you sure?”

“I don’t know for sure. But…”

Nosh said, “Since we can’t confirm whether or not I was poisoned, let’s just focus on what we do know. I was pretty out of it for the first few days. Who would’ve had access?”

Lucian said, “Someone in really good condition. You have to scale the mountain to get to the ledge you were on when you fell.”

“No one’s supposed to travel through that area. It’s sacred space for my family,” Nosh said.

“But everyone knows you go up there on the anniversary of your parent’s death.”

Gwen flinched. “I’m sorry about your parents.”

Nosh nodded and bit back the emotion rising in his chest. “It’s been six years. I was up on the mountain mourning.”

She squeezed his forearm. “Whoever caused the first accident should be ashamed. Interrupting a private memorial is disgraceful.”

Lucian said, “And dangerous. Do you remember anything from the day you feel off the cliff? Anything at all? An impression, a glimpse of someone? The sensation of not being alone on the mountain?”

Nosh released Gwen. He paced the length of the room. “I keep wracking my brain trying to figure out what happened that day but I can’t remember anything.”

“Keep trying. Right now we have nothing to go on and we need something.”

“Okay.”

Lucian said, “I’m going to tell a few of the wolves we know we can trust.”

“Who?”

“Fadian, Mazus—”

“Mazus!” Gwen’s gaze whipped from one man to the other.

Nosh froze. “What?”

She bit the edge of her lip. “Well… it’s just…”

“Spit it out.” Nosh instantly regretted snapping at her, but her hesitation grated on his already frayed nerves. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to yell.”

“I just don’t want to accuse someone who may be innocent,” she said.

Lucian said, “Why would you think Mazus is behind this?”

“A few days ago, I went up to the stream to gather water. I had told Mazus to stay and tend to Nosh but he followed me. I didn’t even realize he was behind me until I heard a branch snap. It scared the hell out of me. Why would he do that? Why would he sneak up on me?”

Nosh cocked his head to one side. It was strange that Mazus would follow her instead of just offer to go with her. But he was an odd guy.

Lucian said, “Maybe he didn’t know better. Mazus had opposed Nosh’s appointment as alpha, but he’s been loyal to Nosh ever since. He’s a little weird and awkward, but harmless.”

Gwen dropped her gaze to the floor. “You’re probably right. I do tend to get jumpy around people I don’t know very well, especially when I’m in the forest alone.”

Lucian said, “I’m sure that’s all it was. But just to be on the safe side, I’ll keep this between me and Fadian.”

“And the guys who went up the mountain to check its stability,” Nosh reminded him.

“Right. I guess it’s not going to be much of a secret.”

Gwen said, “Maybe we should leave for a while and go back to my den.”

“No, I can’t leave my pack.”

“But it’s not safe here,” she said.

“I’m not going to let someone run me out of my home. I’ll be careful, but in the meantime, I want everyone who knows about this to be on alert.”

Lucian said, “We can’t risk another accident, so stay put. Only let Gwen gather water and food. That will keep whoever’s trying to harm you from having easy access.”

“I want her to have a guard when she goes outside,” Nosh said.

“I’ll take her myself.”

“Good. Well, get some rest. We’ll figure this out,” Lucian said as he walked toward the door.

“Will do.”

After Lucian left, Nosh turned to Gwen. The fear that had been gone from her eyes for the last few days had returned. His heart clenched.

“If you want to return home, I can have Lucian escort you.”

She sat on the edge of the bed. “I’d rather stay here right now. Who knows what other traps have been set in the forest.”

***

Hours later, Gwen stood at the threshold of Nosh’s room. He slept soundly, so she didn’t want to wake him. She carried an empty water bucket in each hand. He’d need more tea when he woke, so she needed to take a trip to the stream.

After leaving Nosh, she searched the den for Lucian. He’d made her promise not to go anywhere without him. But she also couldn’t wait around for him every time she needed to get water.

She found one of the older wolves at the entrance to the den. “Have you seen Lucian?”

The grey-haired man shook his head. “Not since he left with the hunting party. Why?”

“I just wondered if he was around.” She didn’t want to admit she needed a guard for something as simple as gathering water. They were probably being too cautious.

The man shrugged. “I’m sure he’ll be back in a few hours.”

“Okay, thanks.”

She contemplated waiting for Lucian to return. But he wouldn’t be back for hours and she needed the water now. She could probably get any of the wolves to accompany her, but was that any safer than traveling alone? Any one of them could be the person trying to kill Nosh. What if she chose the wrong person?

No, it would be better if she went alone. She couldn’t expect someone to hold her hand every time she needed something.

She hurried through the front gate and quickly walked up the trail. The faster she got this over with, the better. She’d be back in the den before Nosh could wake up and worry. When she reached the stream she breathed a sigh of relief. See, it wasn’t so bad.

She quickly filled the first bucket. But as she bent to scoop another bucket of water from the stream, a dark shadow stretched to block the sunlight. She dropped the bucket and whirled to face the person standing over her.

“Mazus, what the hell? Why do you keep doing that?”

“Doing what?”

He offered his hand to help her up, but she avoided it. She brushed at the muddy water which clung to her butt.

“You can’t keep sneaking up on me like this.”

“You’re so jumpy.”

“I’m cautious,” she bristled.

Mazus smiled with his mouth but the gesture didn’t reach his eyes. The cold brown pools of darkness swept across her form in a way that made her shiver. Even the hot summer sun couldn’t keep her warm.

She wrapped her arms around her chest. “What do you want?”

“Nothing. I just happened to come up to the river while you were here.” He waded into the water and retrieved the bucket.

As he handed it to her, she snatched it away. “Thanks.”

“You should be more careful when you come up here. The forest can be… dangerous.”

He stepped toward her. She backed up into the stream. Icy water swirled around her ankles, but it did nothing to stop her racing heart. Her gaze darted around the forest. Someone had to come by soon, right? This was the closest water source to the den. One of the other wolves would have to come up eventually, right?

The muscles in her legs tensed with the urge to run. But she didn’t want to look like a frightened rabbit. This was Mazus, not some stranger in the woods. Yes, he was a little weird… okay, really weird, but that wasn’t a good enough reason to go screaming and flailing into the woods. She’d just started feeling comfortable around men again. She wasn’t willing to give up what little progress she’d made just because Mazus was a little off.

But her resolve faded when he took another step forward. She held the bucket up as if to ward him off. “Stay away.”

He chuckled. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“I don’t trust you.”

“I’m one of Nosh’s best friends.”

“I just want to get some water and leave.”

“I’m not stopping you.”

She didn’t want to turn her back on him for a second. The water would have to wait. She eyed the path behind Mazus. He stood between her and the trail.

Mazus said, “You should go home. Nosh is back on his feet and he doesn’t need you anymore.”

“I’m not leaving until he sends me away.”

“I heard about the accident with the loose rocks.”

“There have been a lot of accidents around here recently.”

His eyebrows slashed down. “I’ve only heard about one.”

“Nosh isn’t so sure that he fell off that cliff.”

Mazus’s hands fisted at his sides. “Why would he think that?”

“It’s just not like him. He’s been to that cliff hundreds of times. He wouldn’t have just fallen. And the boulders were set to fall. It wasn’t an accident.”

He lunged forward and viciously grabbed her wrist. She shrieked and dropped the bucket.

Mazus snarled, “It was an accident. You better not be putting other ideas in his head.”

A bolt of panic rose up in the form of a scream and blasted from her throat. The frantic cry of sheer terror echoed through the forest scaring a flock of black birds from the trees. In a cacophony of flapping wings, they took flight.

She couldn’t stop screaming even when Mazus released her. She wanted to run, but her feet wouldn’t cooperate. She wanted to punch and kick him, but her body froze. The only thing that worked was her voice.

She dropped to her hands and knees. The entire world closed in on her with enough force to steal her breath. She couldn’t think. She couldn’t move. All she could do was scream.