Un.Bridled (Claimed Series #2) (22 page)

“And our sanctuary?”
Hayden inquired.

He looked up at her. “Come here.”

His face was unreadable, and without her wolf to give her assurance, Hayden’s approach was slow and hesitant. She tried to keep her own expression schooled, but she had a feeling her reluctance was broadcasted doubtless.

Once she was within distance, Cole merely motioned to the water. “You need to drink. I gave you water when you were unconscious, but you should continue washing the toxins through your body.” 

Hayden kneeled next to the stream and took a handful of water. Immediately, her fingers froze and her attempt to drink proved futile. Cole watched all the while, his eyes flashing in humor.

“You might be part wolf now,” he started, “but you will always be a city dweller.” He held out his palms to her, a perfect pool of water between them, most likely warmed as a result of his high body temperature. “In light of recent events, it appears as if you’ll need to learn how to live outdoors.”

Her cheeks flushed and her eyes narrowed as he continued to hold the water out to her. If he thought she would
lap
up the water from his hands, he had another thing coming.

Much to his amusement, she waved him off casually and tried to fish out an appropriate amount of water again. “Does that mean our new sanctuary is outdoors someplace?”

“No. It’s a cabin my father had partial ownership in with a few others. Its north of here, a few days travel on foot. But the situation is unstable and we may find ourselves living in the wilderness.” He paused and watched as she failed in holding the water for a second time. “If you’d rather, we can transfer the water using mouth to mouth.”

Hayden started at the comment, not accustomed to Cole making lewd jokes. His expression was blank, as if it had been a serious suggestion. Only, the small spark of humor in his eyes proved otherwise.

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

He didn’t deny it.

* * *

Cole hadn’t wanted to move so soon, but Hayden had insisted, eager to get back to the pack and stop dwelling in the same location as Rachel’s corpse.

The first few hours of their travel had been difficult for Hayden, as she was still partially human. Walking in the undisturbed snow, which came up to her calves, had been a harrowing experience. Though boots fitted her feet, her toes still grew cold and her movements turned sluggish.

Although he could have been miles ahead of her, Cole kept pace with Hayden. More than once, he offered to carry her, but he eventually stopped asking when Hayden simply turned a stubborn cheek.

Fortunately, the longer they traveled, the easier it became. As they trudged up a steep, snowy incline, Hayden gained a sudden burst of adrenaline and climbed up effortlessly. Her limbs were no longer heavy, but strong and robust. Her senses were no longer clouded, but honed and sensitive. The early onset of frostbite she’d felt on her toes and fingers suddenly warmed. She knew her wolf was making a comeback, deeming it safe enough to come out.

“You’re eyes are back to amber.” Cole appeared at her shoulder. “Judging from your exuberant climb up the hill, I’m assuming you feel better.”

Hayden smiled thinly and nodded in response. As she stood at the top of the hill, she inhaled and closed her eyes in pleasure. As human, she had never felt incomplete. But now that she was a werewolf, she couldn’t imagine living for a prolonged time without her other half, without her wolf half.

“We should make camp for the night. We both need to eat and sleep.”

Her eyes abruptly opened. “I thought we would try to make it without stopping.”

Cole, who was currently scouting the area, turned to look at her suspiciously. “It could be another ten hours from here, probably more. You may be feeling better, but you are still recovering.” He smiled wolfishly. “Are you afraid to spend the night alone with me, Hayden?”

“No,” she said quickly, too quickly. “Am I hunting with you?”

He granted her a reprieve from their earlier topic and continued his scouting. “You have natural predatory instincts, but there are still things you must know about hunting. I will teach you how to hunt properly, but not tonight. You gather wood for a fire.”

“We’re starting a fire?” she asked stupidly. “But what about attracting attention?”

“Frankly, I welcome the opportunity of someone being stupid enough to try to catch me off guard. I haven’t slept or eaten in over twenty four hours.” His eyes riveted towards her. “You should be more concerned for whoever comes up here.”

He was either arrogant or truly confident in his own abilities. Hayden figured it was the latter. While she had only seen glimpses of Cole at his best, she knew he was a legendary fighter among the werewolf community. As others would say, he was a
Slayter
. He probably learned to fight at a young age from his father and older brother.

Hayden watched him retreat from their designated resting area, his movements silent and undetectable. For being such a broad-shouldered and muscular man, he moved ridiculously stealthy.

She scoffed and began her task of gathering wood.

After collecting a sizeable amount of branches and timber, Cole came back with a few rabbits. He taught her how to make a fire and how to skin and prepare the rabbit. Hayden watched closely, determined to learn how to survive in the wilderness, especially after Cole’s jab about her being a city dweller.

Cole informed her that they could eat raw meat. However, even if they could safely consume raw animals, in wolf form
and
human form, it didn’t necessarily agree with them all the time. Ultimately, it was preferable to cook their game.

“Where did you learn all this?” Hayden asked him after they finished their makeshift dinner. “While Albertville isn’t technically a city, it isn’t in the wilderness either.”

The black-haired Alpha sat down next to her after adding more wood to the fire. “My father used to take us hunting and camping at least twice a month.”

“The whole pack?”

Cole’s lips twitched before they settled into a formidable line. “No. Just Nicolas and myself. Addie and my mother convinced Xavier he needed to spend time with his children. Looking back on it now, I think they were just trying to avoid going themselves.”

Hayden stared at the fire, tense at the mention of Nicolas. She knew Cole didn’t like talking about his brother. She couldn’t blame him. Nicolas had killed their mother, and by default, their father.
Recollecting the ‘good times’ was probably painful for Cole.

“Were you close with Nicolas?” she ventured hesitantly, ready for a rebuff.

“Hayden,” Cole called lowly, sensing her unease. “You can ask me anything you’d like. You don’t need to feel as if you’re imposing.” He waited until she nodded before answering. “Nicolas and I were close, yes, although our age difference kept us from being inseparable. By the time I was born, Nicolas was already an adult. He was another set of parental eyes more than a friendly companion.”

“I always thought you two were close in age.” It seemed like that anyway, but maybe that was Hayden’s human mentality getting in the way again. Physical age certainly wasn’t the same as actual age in the werewolf community.

“My mother had trouble conceiving children. Nicolas was well over thirty before I was born.” He tore his eyes from the fire and scrutinized Hayden’s pensive expression. “I know that face. What are you thinking?”

She shifted on the packed snow and leaned into the fire’s heat. In order to avoid Cole’s eyes, she focused on extending her hands toward the flames. “It just seems odd, that’s all. He was thirty-years-old by the time you were born. He killed your mother out of petty revenge for Xavier choosing
you
as his beta. But why wasn’t Nicolas Xavier’s beta before you were born? He was old enough.”

“Another man, William, was my father’s beta during that time. He was incredibly loyal to Xavier and to the pack. When I was born, Will decided he wanted to branch out and become his own Alpha.” Cole inclined his head. “In order to give both Nicolas and I a fair shot, Xavier decided to wait until I was older to declare his beta.”

“Do you ever think…” Hayden trailed off with a scowl. She had to spit it out, least Cole get impatient. “Do you ever think Xavier’s decision to wait so long was intentional? Like you did with Nathan. Even though he isn’t particularly skilled in combat, you saw something in him that would make him an accomplished Alpha. You didn’t stop him when he decided to leave and become Alpha to Falco’s pack.”

“You think my father refused to name Nicolas his beta in order to drive him out of the pack and become his own Alpha?” Cole’s powerful shoulders gave a jerk, a sort of indifferent shrug. “No matter what Xavier’s reasons were, it doesn’t change the fact that Nicolas killed our mother.”

There was an edge to his tone, a signal that he didn’t want to continue the conversation. Hayden was surprised it hadn’t appeared earlier. Any other werewolf would cease their questioning, but Hayden was too stubborn to heed that warning.

Turning her hands around, Hayden opened her palms in a gesture of submission. “I understand that,” she consoled softly. “But something doesn’t add up. You know him better than I do, but he
doesn’t seem like a man who would kill over something as juvenile as not being named beta. He seemed to have understood Xavier’s reasons for not naming him his second-in-command.”

“His motives aside, he still killed our mother.”

There was no mistaking the growl this time and Cole’s anger tunneled through their link, flushing Hayden with the intensity. It was like a warm breeze, somehow more concrete than the heat from the fire.

She reared her head stubbornly and glowered at his side profile. “Joseph and Devan had a gun loaded with silver bullets when they kidnapped me. Nicolas took it and had it in his possession the whole time while he was fighting with you. If he truly wanted to kill you, he could have shot you—”

“Nicolas is a sadist!” Cole snarled. “He enjoys playing cat and mouse.”

Hayden turned away from him and squinted into the fire. Her jaw clenched at
his own stubbornness. For a moment, Hayden wondered how they could ever coexist in a healthy relationship. They were both stubborn, both unrelenting. Whenever their opinions clashed, there would be a battle of wills.

When an unnatural silence and stillness came from the body next to her, Hayden looked his way. Her pulse thudded unevenly when she noticed he was watching her. With the hard angles of his face highlighted by fire, and the rest of his face cast in total darkness, he resembled a motionless beast, patiently waiting in anticipation of lunging at his unaware prey.

Despite the odd lighting across his face, his eyes possessed an unnatural gleam, making them appear far brighter than ordinary. “Why are you so determined to see Nicolas in a good light?”

Noticing he was reaching for her neck, Nicolas’ mating mark in particular, Hayden lifted her lip and growled lowly. “It’s not like that!” She knocked his hand off course and sent it flying in the opposite direction.

At the physical challenge, Cole’s eyes brightened further and he reached for her throat again. Hayden’s hackles rose at the man’s audacity. As she moved to intercept his hand again, he met her reflexes with his own and clasped her wrist, stopping her from swiping his arm away a second time.

Before she had a chance to swipe at him with her left hand, he clasped that too. She found herself locked into another power play with a male, a scenario that reminded her of the rogue encounter yesterday. Despite the similarities in situations, Cole made the struggle unthreatening and only frustrating.

She struggled against his hold, first trying to tug her wrists from his fingers and then switching tactics and trying to get close enough to his face in order to use her claws. He only continued to hold her wrists in place, his force unrelenting.

The males she fought against were strong, but somehow, Cole was in an entirely different league when it came to raw strength. He didn’t even move an inch despite her best efforts to stir him.

When a roguish smirk lifted Cole’s lips, Hayden hissed in anger and increased her efforts to claw at him. Before she could consider something as self-harming as a head-butt, Cole leaned his forehead against Hayden’s and began using his body weight to press her back into the ground.

Not knowing when it had happened, Hayden realized Cole’s anger had turned into playful arousal. His scent of frost and earth, along with the sharp tang of masculinity, was intoxicating, having increased in potency after a day in the wilderness. It smothered her, covered her, and claimed her, seemingly masking any sort of self-identity she may have possessed.

With their eyes challenging the other, Cole abruptly crashed his lips against hers, every bit possessive. Their teeth clashed in the bruising kiss and Hayden closed her eyes, intrigued despite her better judgment. Her wrists were pinned above her head, still held captive by Cole, who had straddled her for a better angle to her mouth.

The weight above her was almost crushing, but somehow, it only fueled her excitement. She tugged once at her wrists. When they remained firmly in Cole’s hands, Hayden channeled her frustration through the kiss, pressing against his mouth dominantly. His lips quirked against
hers, obviously amused at her predicament.