Little Red and the Wolf

Anthony dropped the knife level with her kidney as they passed through the bedroom doorway. His hand slid to her shoulder, keeping the distance between them at arm’s length. They crept down the stairs, Anthony’s fingers digging in at the slightest sound.

Maizie jerked her shoulder, made him lose his grip, but she didn’t try to escape before he latched on again. She knew she could if she wanted to. That was enough. She was more desperate for time than freedom.

She stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Anthony leaned over her shoulder to look into the kitchen then the other way into the living room.

“My grandmother will be devastated once she realizes you tricked her into selling.”

“Ssshh. It’ll hear you,” he whispered. “Probably hears us thinkin’. I’ve never seen ears that big.”

The better to hear your lies, you heartless coward. Maizie jerked her shoulder and Anthony lost his grip again. She spun around, leaning out of reach of his groping hand. “Granny didn’t know what she was doing when she signed it. You had no right.”

“Ssshhh…ssshhh…” His eyes wide, Cadwick pressed a finger to his lips, then tried to cover her mouth.

Maizie flinched away. “Stop it.”

“Then keep your voice down.” He went to the door, palms flat, peering through the arched window at the top.

“What can I do to get my grandmother’s property back? How official have things gotten?”

Cadwick glanced over his shoulder, his dark brows tight. “She signed the deed.” He turned his attention back through the window. “It’s done. I’m taking it to the courthouse Monday.”

“You mean the papers in your pocket are the originals?” Could it really be that easy?

He looked at her again, eyes narrowing. “Whatever you’re thinking, Red, you can forget it. I’ve waited too long to get one over on Gray Lupo. I’m not turning back now.”

She heard something scratching and flicked her gaze toward the door. It was soft, like a padded foot in the gravel driveway. She could barely hear it. She looked back to Cadwick, still staring as though he might read her mind. He hadn’t heard anything at all.

The pack was outside. She could sense them-now that she knew to try. Maizie exhaled a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. She wasn’t alone. She closed her eyes for a minute, opening her mind to them. A deep breath brought the scents of the pack into her body, the musk of their fur, the earthy smell of the forest, the wild tang of their breath.

“What’s with you?” Cadwick said, and Maizie opened her eyes.

He straightened, turning his back to the door, studying her. “You look like…like you just got hugged or something.”

She couldn’t stop her smile if she’d wanted to. “I can’t let you leave here with those papers, Tony.”

His glower deepened. “It’s Anthony and I don’t know how you’re gonna stop me, Little Red.”

The door suddenly shook with a loud boom. They both jumped and turned in time to see the wolf charge again. His huge face snapped at the window, drool splattering the glass. His eyes flashed for an instant, big and furious, before he fell out of sight below the window.

“Shit.” Cadwick grabbed Maizie’s hand, yanked her along behind him. “Back door. Let’s go.”

Maizie could’ve pulled free, could’ve broken his arm if she wanted. She didn’t. She wanted those papers, so she went with him through the living room into the sunroom to the back door.

Cadwick crouched as he passed along the wall of windows, watching the darkness as he went. He pulled Maizie in front of him when he reached the door, slipped his arm around her waist and opened the lock.

“Go,” he said.

“What if that thing’s out there?” She knew he wasn’t. Ricky was still out front with Shelly and Joy. There was only one wolf waiting in back. But Cadwick didn’t know that.

“Guess we’ll find out. Now, go.” He brandished the knife at her and Maizie stumbled backward, narrowly avoiding the sharp point. She pushed through the door and made it beyond the arbor before Cadwick followed.

Movement to her left caught both their attention, a flash of blonde-tipped fur among the moonlit flowers. Poor Lynn, her dye job didn’t transfer forms the same.

A low growl raised the hairs at the back of her neck and had Cadwick scampering up beside Maizie. “You hear that?”

Maizie nodded, allowing Cadwick to cower behind her again. He held her above the elbows, using her body to shield against whatever watched from the high flowers.

“Christ, what kind of fucking beasts does Lupo keep in these woods?” He squinted into the darkness. “Not that it matters. They’ll all be roadkill once I get through with this land.”

Lynn’s growl went primal. She leapt from a patch of towering sunflowers, teeth bared. Cadwick’s girlish squeal deafened Maizie’s ears a split second before he pushed her into Lynn’s path.

It was too late for Lynn to stop. Her heavy furred body slammed into Maizie, chest to chest, knocking her off her feet, driving the air from her lungs. Maizie’s head smacked the patio brick, starbursts lit her eyes.

Lynn writhed on top of her, trying to find her footing. Her long wolf legs and sharp bones poked Maizie’s stomach as she launched into the chase. She followed Cadwick’s trail through the flowers in the opposite direction, her blonde-tipped fur disappearing in the thick foliage.

Shaking off the dizziness, Maizie followed, leaves and stems sticking to her clothes, smacking her face despite the shield of her hands. She broke through the edge of the garden at the corner of the house, already angling her body for the turn and nearly toppled over Gray before she could stop.

She threw her weight backward, landing hard on her ass, her feet sliding into Cadwick’s outstretched legs. He lay spread eagled on his back, Gray’s snarling face inches from his, one thick paw pressing his chest.

Maizie scrambled backward, got to her feet before Cadwick’s wide frightened eyes found her.

“Help me. Please. Help me.” His voice was breathy, panicked.

Lynn gave a hard snort from a few feet away, her tail snapping once against her rump. As if on cue, Ricky, Shelly, Joy and Shawn jogged around from the front of the house, forming a circle around Maizie, Gray and the pleading Cadwick.

Maizie threw a glance at Shawn, his darker fur and larger body a nice contrast with Lynn’s. He rubbed his muzzle along her neck, taking his place at her side. He was new to the pack, new to being a werewolf, but he seemed to fit seamlessly. Could it be that way for Maizie? Could she forgive and forget?

She stepped nearer to Gray, his low growl vibrating the silvery fur along his back. She dug her fingers in, closing her eyes at the luscious feel of his fleece. His scent filled her lungs, wild, earthy forest and the barest hint of sweet male cologne. Gray leaned into her touch, the shift almost imperceptible, but enough to send a warm shiver straight through Maizie, from her head to her toes.

She dropped her gaze to Cadwick. “Give me the deed.”

Chapter Fifteen

“You knew?” Maizie stared, dumbfounded by her grandmother’s cheek-pinching grin.

“Of course, dear,” Granny said. “How else would I know to crazy up my answers when the judge called?”

“Then why didn’t you go through with it?”

Granny gave a nod toward Gray beside her. “Lost his nerve.”

Gray’s stoic face flushed, the tightness around his eyes softening as well as the lines across his forehead. A smile flickered across his lips, but he spoke before it took control. “It was a last resort, and not a pleasant one.”

Maizie leaned back in her chair, folding her arms under her chest. “Especially if Granny decided she wanted to sell.”

Gray’s brows creased. “That was never her wish.”

“If it was? I mean, after you’d gotten control over everything. What if she decided she wanted to sell?” She wasn’t sure why she was testing him. She just had to be sure, had to hear it from his own lips.