Wild About You

“The werewolves in the media reported I was a vicious psychopath, but the mortal media, who didn’t care for the Bleddyns, made me into a hero.” Howard sighed. “I started getting more attention than Rhett.”

“Rhett’s father probably beat the crap out of him for that,” Phil muttered.

Howard nodded. “The media was eager to see us pitted against each other again, so they arranged for an all-star game at the end of the season. I was selected to play on one team. Rhett was named quarterback for the other. It was televised all over the state.”

“Did ye sack him again?” Ian asked.

“Twelve times. I was named MVP and won a trophy. Scholarship offers came in. I was considered a state hero.”

“And that honor was supposed to go to Rhett,” Dougal said.

“Right.” Howard shrugged. “I didn’t think about the consequences at the time. I was too excited about the future. My college expenses would be paid for. I was dating a mortal girl from high school, and I wanted to marry her. Carly was her name.”

“Did she know ye’re a were-bear?” Dougal asked.

Howard nodded. “She was okay with it. She spent a lot of time with me on Paw Island, and she liked the were-bear community. I was going to propose to her the night of the senior prom. I went to Anchorage to buy an engagement ring. While I was away, there was a full moon, and Rhett and some of his werewolf buddies went after Carly.”

“They attacked her?” Ian asked.

“They surrounded her.” Howard took a deep breath. “I assume it was Rhett who bit her. They didn’t have to do anything more than that. A simple bite, and she was lost to me forever.”

“She would become a werewolf instead of a were-bear,” Dougal said.

Howard nodded. “When I returned, I didn’t see her much. She was ill and missed a lot of school. Her parents thought she’d been bitten by a wild dog, so they took her to get shots. I never realized . . .”

He sighed. If only he had known, he could have prepared her. She could have lived. She’d be a werewolf, but she’d still be alive. “The senior prom took place in the school gym on the next full moon. I was ready to propose, when her body started wavering. She didn’t know what was happening. She ran from the school, screaming.”

“Puir lass,” Ian murmured.

“I followed her outside,” Howard continued. “I could tell she was shifting, but I didn’t know why. Then I saw Rhett and his buddies, waiting for her. Rhett laughed and said she would be his bitch.”

“The bastard,” Dougal muttered.

“Poor Carly was so terrified. She shifted and ran up the mountain. Rhett and his buddies shifted and chased after her.” Howard scowled. “I knew I had lost her as a bride, but I couldn’t let Rhett and his friends take her and abuse her. So I ran up the mountain to stop them.”

“The same place where we found you the other night?” Dougal asked.

“Yes. I found her on the cliff, surrounded by snarling werewolves. I told her to stay put, that I would help her. I shifted and started fighting my way through the wolves.” Howard rubbed his brow. “Two of Rhett’s minions attacked me, and I tossed them off the cliff. The other minions ran away, and Rhett howled with rage. He pushed Carly off the cliff, and when I rushed forward to try to save her, he attacked me. We fought for a little while before I managed to throw him off the cliff.”

“And that’s why ye thought ye’d killed him?” Ian asked.

Howard nodded. “The three werewolf guys, including Rhett, had turned back to human form, so I thought they were dead. Carly had turned back to human form, too. I shifted back and went to the police to report her murder. Her family thought I had killed her, since I was the last person seen with her. I was arrested that night.”

“You dinna tell the police about Rhett and his gang?” Dougal asked.

“Yeah, I said they had chased her off the cliff, but when the police checked the mountain, the werewolf bodies were gone. I figured Rhett’s minions had cleaned the place up right after I left.”

“But Rhett was still alive, the asshole,” Phil muttered.

Howard grunted in agreement. “I was never put on trial, for lack of evidence, but I was banished to keep Rhett’s father from declaring war on the were-bears. I was gone for years, so I never knew that Rhett had survived.”

“We heard in Wyoming that he was dead,” Phil said. “His father must have kept him hidden to make you look guilty.”

“And to keep my people afraid of retaliation,” Howard added. “Harry was the first were-bear to publicly challenge them in twenty years.”

Ian finished off his bottle of Bleer and clunked it down on the desk. “Rhett needs to die.”

Howard couldn’t agree more. In fact, if his friends hadn’t shown up, he might have given in to his berserker instincts and gone after Rhett. “I want him to suffer.”

Phil nodded. “From what I can tell, nothing bothers him more than public humiliation. Harry was humiliating him and became his number-one enemy.”

“And I humiliated him in high school,” Howard said. “He was too cowardly to go after me. He used Carly as a pawn to hurt me.”

“A pawn.” Ian stood and fumbled around in his sporran. “That reminds me. Tino wanted you to have this. I doona ken why, but he insisted I give it to you.” He handed a wad of napkins to Howard.

Howard unwrapped the napkins and found a chess piece inside. The white knight. Harry.

“An odd gift,” Phil murmured.

Howard swallowed hard. Tino must have taken the piece from his chess set in the office. The marble was smooth and cool against his fingers. Harry, what have I done? How could I lose you like this?

He curled his fist around the piece. “Tino asked me once if it was possible to win the game without losing any pieces.”

“Ye said nay?” Dougal asked.

Howard nodded slowly. Like a fool, he’d boasted that a player had to take his losses like a man and press on. His eyes grew moist, and he blinked. Tino was reminding him of his own advice. I’ll press on, Harry. I will avenge you.

Every tear that was silently shed by Harry’s mother felt like a knife thrust into his heart. Howard sat stiffly in a wooden church pew, his clenched hands resting on his knees, while the editor-in-chief of Northern Lights Sound Bites stood at the podium, talking about Harry’s bravery and persistence when it came to chasing down a story.

Several of Harry’s journalist friends had taken turns speaking at the memorial service, and they were all fighting back tears. Howard didn’t want to show any weakness, so he tried not to mourn but to focus more on his anger and need for vengeance.

The fact that he’d never met Harry’s friends before this service was a painful reminder of the long banishment he’d endured. Twenty years away from home, and it had all been based on a lie, for Rhett had been alive. Even so, the banishment had been easy to endure compared to the guilt he’d felt over Carly’s death.

Now he had more guilt. Harry. Howard pushed that thought aside. The guilt would cripple him, make him weak, and he needed to stay strong to avenge Harry.

He turned his thoughts back to the enemy, Rhett. Apparently, old man Bleddyn had punished his son, too, for Rhett had been forced to live in secret, his existence known only to other high-ranking werewolves. It wasn’t until the old Pack Master had died a year ago that Rhett had emerged into the public eye, making sure the media knew he was powerful and rich. Rhett’s history of embezzling from his father’s companies had probably been his way to repay his father’s cruelty. Like father, like son, Howard thought. The twisted Bleddyn family needed to end.

The pastor said a closing prayer, then mourners lined up to pass by the small wooden box that rested on a table, wreathed with flowers. Howard stood behind his grandfather, his cousins, Jesse and Jimmy, and Phil.

The editor-in-chief, Mr. West, stopped by Harry’s mother to convey his condolences, and lights flashed as several journalists snapped photos.

“Bastards,” Howard muttered.