Chapter 23
“Oh no,” I murmured. Lorenzo had somehow found me again and wrapped me up in fur blankets. Although, they
No penthouse view. I noticed a poster of Led Zeppelin on the wall and my left arm was tucked around something soft, furry, and warm. When his head popped up and he growled, I was eye to eye with a wolf.
My heart skipped and I slowly retracted my arm. The wolf flipped onto his feet and stood over me, yawning. I curled my arms, instinctively covering my neck, and then it all came back.
Beckett choking me.
I threw my arms out and slapped at the wolf’s chest and head. In that moment, I didn’t see a wolf—I saw Beckett. My breath quickened, my legs kicked. He merely turned his head to the side and made a grunt, taking the full beating. My panic attack subsided and I threw my arms over my face, trying to catch my breath.
He was an impressive creature. Sable black fur with the iciest blue eyes I’d ever seen, rimmed in black and staring down like two glaciers. He stood astride me with his legs on either side, sniffing my nose. I would have been willing to bet he weighed more than I did.
“I have to pee.”
He seemed unconcerned with the current state of my bladder. The wolf lapped my cheek with his pink tongue. When I tried to push myself up, my weakened body refused. It was similar to the gravity you feel when you try to get out of a swimming pool after having spent over an hour in the water. I tried again and sighed in frustration.
The wolf rested his chin on my shoulder and snorted, making an impatient sound. Instinct took over and I did what might have been one of the dumbest things I’d ever done, and that was wrap my arms around a wolf’s neck.
He backed up, pulling me to a sitting position. There wasn’t much room on the bed, so he hopped on the floor and sat down. Thankfully, someone had dressed me in a long nightgown.
“Austin!” I called out.
The wolf barked.
“Austin!”
Then he howled. The door cracked open and Denver peered in. “What the fuck is going on in here?”
The wolf reared around and snapped at him, causing Denver to swing the door closed to just a crack.
“Denver, where’s Austin? Why am I locked up in here with a wolf?”
The animal delivered a death threat with a low, thrumming growl.
“Damn, girl. You really were knocked in the head. Austin won’t let anyone near you.”
“Where is he?”
“In front of you.”
The door slammed and my mouth opened. Austin had warned me about his wolf—how dangerous he was. I didn’t doubt it, either. He was always a tough guy growing up, but the past seven years had changed him from the person I once knew. He had a fierce animal with thick shoulders, sharp canines, and savage eyes.
“Uh, Austin?”
He lifted his eyes to mine and I blinked, looking away. Raw power emanated from his gaze, and while I’d never felt submissive in Austin’s presence before, I now understood why his brothers were so obedient. He truly was born to lead, in all forms.
I touched my throat and felt the back of my head. There wasn’t any bruising or pain, so I must have shifted to heal. I couldn’t remember.
A series of knocks sounded at the door and it swung open. “Lexi, honey, Denver told me you were awake,” Mom said, squeezing inside.
“Mom, no!”
She held a small plate of food and my eyes went wide.
“Oh, it’s okay, honey.”
Mom reached down and patted Austin on the head and I almost rolled right out of the bed when she walked past him and set the plate on my lap.
“Mom?” I asked in disbelief, having expected her to get mauled due to her careless behavior.
She smiled and kissed my forehead. “I don’t believe it, I don’t really understand it, but you’re still my daughter. It took them a while to pull me off you and then I had a long talk with Austin. Ivy made the most sense and I really like that young lady; she has a good head on her shoulders. I’ve seen it with my own eyes, so I can’t deny who you are.”
“You got near my wolf?”
My mother was truly a fearless woman.
She sighed and patted my leg, as if I had just asked the dumbest question on the planet. “Eat up and if you don’t feel like getting out of bed, then you stay here all day.” Her face tightened and she looked down. “I actually liked Beckett; I thought he was a nice young man. Obviously I have no sense when it comes to men.”
“It’s not your fault, Mom.”
Jericho slipped into the room and looked down at the wolf. “Austin, you need to come see this. Someone brought you a present.”
The way he said it rattled me, but Austin didn’t shift. I followed Jericho down the hall, the black wolf never leaving my side. He walked with the same stride, keeping his body pressed against mine.
Jericho and Denver were in the hall by the front door with their arms folded. I walked around them and to my left, two dead wolves lay side by side on the front porch.
“It’s a message,” Denver said. “A warning.”
Parked out front was Lorenzo, leaning against the grill of his truck with one hand tucked in his pocket and the other holding a cigarette. He took a long drag, watching me as I stood there in an ankle-length gown that belonged to my mom.
Austin growled when I got too close, but I knelt down and got a good look at one of the wolves. “It’s not a warning,” I said. “It’s an offering.” I didn’t know if Austin could understand me or not, but I turned and looked at him as if he could. “This was the dog that treed me in the cemetery. I don’t know who the other one is though. The warning is for Lorenzo’s pack, not yours. But this is a gift… for me.”
The message being that anyone who thought about hurting me would answer to him. I wondered who the second wolf was—maybe the one who was supposed to have been watching me that night. Lorenzo said he had a man following me at all times.
Somehow, a dead body was not a romantic gesture.
“Come away from there, Lexi,” Jericho said, stepping forward with his arm outstretched.
Austin snapped at him. Jericho turned his head and sighed through his nose in frustration. “Is he ever going to shift back?” he asked Denver. “’Cause that biting shit is starting to piss me off.”
“How long was I out? What time is it?”
“Two days,” Denver said. “Ivy and your mom took care of you; they were the only ones who could get near Austin.”
“He hasn’t shifted back?”
Denver strolled out of the room, hiking up his sweats. The motor fired up on Lorenzo’s truck and he slowly backed out.
“He’s been that way since he brought you in,” Jericho said, putting an unlit cigarette into his mouth. “All hell broke loose when your mom jumped on top of you. We tried to get her off and Austin suddenly shifted and guarded you two like his life depended on it. Between you and me, Austin’s wolf is one
“Where’s Ivy?”
Jericho stuffed his hands in the pockets of his black jeans, shredded from thigh to knee, biting down on the cigarette as if he hadn’t decided whether to light it or not. “Helping your friend at the store.”
“Do what?”
