TwistedRevenge (5 page)

Luc lay awake, stroking Rowan’s hair. The day was not
supposed to go the way it had. There was no complaining about what had just
happened but he feared he had put her in more danger by bringing her to the
forest.

When he had first laid eyes on her in the museum, he felt a
spark ignite. As if his soul had found its mate. He had a feeling then that she
was the one in red his father had told him about. He had decided in the museum
to make sure she had every reason to stay far away from him. It had to be the
best way to protect her, but he felt compelled to follow her. Maybe it was in
his blood to stalk his prey, but when he decided to knock on her door and
protect her, he knew there would be no going back.

His thoughts turned to his father but he shook them aside.
He had to stay focused. Tomorrow he would have to train this city girl how to
fight wolves and the other dangers lurking in the forest. He was sure she would
go at it like a trooper but the odds of her succeeding and taking down the Big
Bad Wolf were slim to none, which meant he would have to fight as well. It didn’t
bother him. After all these years putting distance between himself and the
forest, killing anyone who tried to hurt Rowan wouldn’t be an issue for him,
but trying to keep his secret from her—that was another set of problems.

How could he tell her he was helping her to take down his
own father? How would she react when she found out he was not a man but a wolf,
a beast from the same line of beasts that had hunted and killed her family? He
rubbed the bridge of his nose. He’d have to find a way to help her and keep his
identity a secret. He could stand to lose his father, the wolf was clearly
insane, but he had a sudden urge to protect Rowan and he knew beyond a doubt
that it would shatter him to lose her.

There was a knock at the door. He cursed as he silently
slipped out of bed and pulled on his leather breeches. Bracing the door with
his foot, he opened it enough to see who was on the other side. An older lady
who just happened to be the owner of the Rotten Apple stood holding a bundle of
clothes. Some whispered she was a witch but Luc knew the truth—she was a
princess cursed to look like a hag. Her prince had been shallow and turned away
from her and so she resigned herself to this life, waiting on people, caring
for the downtrodden. He nodded his head toward the bundle. “What’s this for,
Lily?”

Her voice was barely a whisper. “‘Tis for your traveling
companion. She looks a little out of place in a frilly dress. She sticks out
like a sore thumb.”

He laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, she kinda
does, doesn’t she?”

The look on Lily’s face told him all he needed to know. She
would always help him, but she was also curious about the girl. “Is she from
the other side of the Arch?”

“Yep.”

“Is she really the one in red?”

Luc let out a sigh and nodded again. “Most definitely.”

Lily narrowed her eyes. “You know what this means for you. Will
you really go against your father?”

“I have to. She is my destiny.”

A soft smile touched the old woman’s lips. “You are a good
wolf and a great man. Get some sleep. Everything she might need is in the
bundle.”

“Thank you for this.”

She waved her hand and sighed. “You’re welcome. Just do me a
favor and leave the inn early. I hear whispers that wolves have been spotted on
the pathway from the west.”

Luc blinked. “They’re heading here? Already?”

“Aye, it seems we have an informant in the inn. They won’t
make it here until midday. Leaving at sunrise will give you time to make a
plan. Good luck.”

She handed him the bundle and then scurried down the
hallway. He shut the door and grabbed a chair to brace under the handle just in
case. Stripping down again, he climbed back into the straw bed and wrapped his
arms around Rowan.

She stirred next to him, muttering in her sleep. He slid farther
down in the bed and held her tight, finally letting his eyes close and his
muscles relax. The warmth from her naked body soothed him as he drifted off to
sleep.

Morning came sooner than Rowan had expected. She sat up and
stretched, her body aching from a hard night’s sleep in a straw bed. She was
just about to move out of the bed when she spotted Luc at the window. He was
standing there, elbow braced on the glass pane. The rising sun glinted off his
bare chest. Her cheeks warmed thinking about how she had fallen asleep with him
last night. He looked deep in thought and she hated to interrupt so she grasped
the sheet around her naked body and slid as quietly out of bed as possible. As
soon as her feet hit the floor, he snapped his head around. “Sleep well?”

She stopped mid-stretch and yawned. “Yeah.”

“You’re a terrible liar.”

Rowan laughed. “True. I slept like crap. How do you people
get any rest on these beds?”

His bare shoulders shrugged. “Like I said, I prefer the
other side of the Arch.”

She wrapped the sheet around herself and rummaged through
her bag, pulling out a brush and running it through her blonde locks. “Why
would anyone stay on this side? No plumbing, no soft, formfitting mattresses,
no Egyptian cotton sheets…” She paused and looked up at him with eyes as wide
as saucers. “No Starbucks?”

Luc tapped his finger to his nose and laughed. “Bingo, no
Starbucks.”

“What the hell? I can’t even get a decent cup of coffee?”

“Actually Lily makes a better cup of coffee than any coffee
shop. Trust me.”

“Lily? Who’s that?”

“She’s the owner. Everyone else here calls her Hag. She has
her own fairytale curse to deal with.” He motioned toward a bundle on the
rickety old dresser. “She brought you some clothes last night. You’ll probably
like them more than you did the dress.”

Rowan dropped the brush on the bed and crossed the room to
the dresser. Her hand hovered over the bundle. “Why would she do that?”

“I told you. If you fail, the entire Black Forest suffers.
These people live in fear of Ulric and his pack, so they want you to succeed.
You’ll find that you are a symbol to them of freedom.”

She dropped her hand to her side and breathed out a heavy
sigh. “Jeez, no pressure there or anything.”

He was behind her before she realized it, his strong arms
hooked around her waist to give her a squeeze. He rested his chin on her shoulder
and whispered, “You’ll do fine. I won’t let you fail.”

“Why don’t you just do it yourself? That way you know it
will get done. I mean you seem determined enough, surely you are more adept at
killing than me. I can barely squish a spider let alone take out a human-beast
thing.”

“I can’t kill him.”

“Why?”

Luc pulled back and sat at the edge of the bed. He picked up
her brush and twirled it in his large hands. “I just can’t. I can’t be the one
to kill him. His madness wouldn’t be stopped. I have my own role to play in all
this but I can’t kill him.” He looked up and the look in his eyes told her he
was done talking about it. “It’s complicated.”

She nodded. “Okay, I’ll do my best.”

His grin warmed her heart. “You’ll do great. But you better
dress and gather your stuff. We need to head out soon. Ulric’s wolves were
spotted heading here last night.”

Her pulse began to pound, a whooshing sound of blood pumping
filled her ears. “Here? Already?”

“It’ll be okay. They won’t arrive here until midday, but the
sun is already rising. We can leave here and make our way deeper into the
forest and they’ll have a harder time catching up. I’ll have time to start
training you before we have to face them.”

Her stomach knotted. As much as her fear was building, she
trusted his words. She turned her attention back to the bundle, unwrapping it
and pulling out the new clothes. “Oh my.” She unfurled a pair of soft leather
pants. They looked as if the supple leather would fit her like a glove. Luc
made a soft growl from across the room and her cheeks reddened. She could feel
his eyes on her and from the sound he’d made, she figured he liked the idea of
her wearing them. Heat coursed through her body. She squeezed her thighs
together to try to stop it from spreading.

Luc stood. “I’m going to wait downstairs for you.”

There was a strain in his voice. She frowned wondering what
she’d done wrong. “Is everything okay?”

He chuckled. “Yeah, but I can scent your arousal in the air
and mine will be hard to rein in if I stay here and watch you pour yourself
into those leather pants. I can’t promise we’ll make it to the forest in time.”
She could feel her cheeks growing redder as Luc nodded. “You might like the
idea of that, but trust me, we need to stay focused.”

Rowan giggled. “Okay, go. Hurry, so I can get dressed.” She
swept her hand toward the door. “Go.”

Luc shrugged on his sweater and headed toward the door. “Meet
me at the entrance. I’m going to find some supplies and see if the kitchen can
spare some food for us.”

As soon as he was gone, she made sure the door was locked, unwrapped
the sheet from her body and let it pool on the floor at her feet. The feel of
the leather sliding over her skin was divine. It was the softest material she’d
ever felt, not like the fake leather pants she’d seen in store windows. She
shimmied them over her hips and looked down at the thin leather laces. “No
zippers? Of course not.” She quickly tied the laces, dove back into the bundle
and pulled out the matching top. She narrowed her eyes. The top was more like a
bustier. Her nostrils flared. “I’m not wearing that.”

A howl broke through the silence, she stiffened, her heart
pounding again. She ran to the window eyeing the ground below. An older man
stood with a dog at his side. The beast threw its head back and howled. She
shivered but started to relax. “Okay, girl. Pull it together. Put on the damn
top and let’s roll. You have some wolves to kill and…” Her words trailed off as
her thoughts went to Luc and what they had shared the previous night. Rushing
back to the dresser, she slipped the bustier on, pulling on the laces. She
sucked in a deep breath and gave the laces one last tug to secure it. She ran
her hands down the soft leather, taking a minute to look over her reflection in
the window. She’d never seen herself looking like this. She looked strong and
for a moment, she allowed herself to believe she could actually do this. Take
on a crazy wolf and win.

After finding her boots from yesterday and gathering up all
of her belongings in her bag, she threw the red cloak over her shoulders and
pulled the hood up over her head as she left the room.

Luc was waiting for her at the desk. His pack looked full
now and he was holding out an apple to her. “Eat something.”

She nodded and took a bite out of the sweet fruit. “Are we
headed out now?”

He steered her toward the door, holding it open as he waited
for her pass by him. Once they were on the front steps of the inn, he held out
something in his hand. Rowan arched a brow before taking the lump of black from
his palm. The lump turned out to be a pair of leather gloves. She gave a little
laugh. “Fashion accessory?”

“Protection.”

“Protection? From what?”

“Blisters.”

“You know your one-word answers make having a conversation
with you very one sided.” She ran to keep up with his quick pace.

“Sorry.” He turned his attention toward her. “Protection
from blisters. You’ll be learning to use your daggers today and Hag thought you’d
like to have a pair of gloves. Although if you aren’t interested, you can
suffer through blisters and scabs.”

“Um, no thanks.” She slipped her hands into the gloves and
held them up to admire the craftsmanship.

He led her down the path. She trailed only a few steps behind
him. She was sure he knew where he was going so interrupting his concentration
with chatter seemed like a bad idea. Instead she lost herself to the beauty of
this new world. She’d been raised in the city. Cars, buses, pedestrians,
buildings, that was her forest. Muggers, catcalling construction workers, and
sleazy bosses trying to cop a feel were her wolves. She was at home in the city
but out here in the wild, she was scared of her own shadow. Worse yet, she
still knew nothing of this world, for all she knew her shadow could be
dangerous.

“What’s on your mind, Red? You’re awfully quiet back there.”
Luc glanced over his shoulder to lock eyes with her for a moment before turning
his attention back to the path.

“Just wondering what else I have to worry about here. You
know, other than the pack of wolves hell-bent on killing me.”

“Technically, it’s just the one wolf. The others only follow
because he is the alpha. Once you kill him, they will have to bow to the will
of a new leader.”

She was almost out of breath trying to catch up with him,
tired of taking up the rear. “Who will be the new alpha?” Did she just imagine
Luc’s shoulders tensing and the sideways glance he gave her? After several
seconds, she prodded him more. “Luc? Who takes Ulric’s place?”

He gave a nonchalant shrug. “I guess his next of kin.”

“He has children?” She shouldn’t be shocked but she was. “Are
they… You know, sane?”

An uncomfortable laugh escaped from him. “Yeah, as sane as
one can be, I suppose.”

“Hmmm, so I’m killing one crazy wolf only to have him
replaced by another wolf who might or might not be just as crazy as his father?”
Luc gave a sharp nod as she breathed out a sigh. “Lovely.” He suddenly veered
off the well-worn path and headed toward the sound of flowing water. Panic filled
her voice. “Why are we leaving the path? Isn’t that the safest route to take?”

“Safe if you want to get eaten quicker.”

“Well, um, not to split hairs but that sounds like the
opposite of ‘safe’, you know?”

He motioned for her to keep walking and snorted. “Kinda the
point, Red.”

“I see you’re back to being Captain Sarcasm again? Is that
your super power?”

“I thought you said being a smart-ass was my super power.”

She groaned and held her hand to her head. “You give me such
a headache.” Stomping through the underbrush after him, she wondered how her
heavy footsteps weren’t attracting predators from miles around, but she tried
to push the thought from her mind. Being scared wouldn’t help anything right
now. “Do you ever have a serious moment?”

“I was very serious last night.” He looked over at her and
grinned. “Wouldn’t you agree?”

Her stomach clenched, thinking about the feel of his lips
and hands exploring her. Shaking her head, she quickly changed the topic. “When
do we start training?”

“Up ahead. There is a clearing where we can practice.” He
led the way, holding low-hanging branches out of her way as she made her way
into the clearing.

She let out a low whistle. “Wow, this is beautiful.” Slowly
she approached the center of the clearing, turning in a circle to take in the
ethereal sight around her. The clearing was more like a meadow, dotted with
wildflowers. Thick trees lined the border, lush green grass carpeted the ground
and little dots of light danced in the air. The lights flickered and circulated
color. They held her mesmerized until Luc barked, “Ignore the fairies! They’re
trying to lull you into a trance.” He gave another snarl and all the little
lights swarmed off to the edge of the meadow.

Rowan frowned. “Why’d you do that? They weren’t hurting
anything.”

“They are pests of our world, Red. Like cockroaches are to
your world. Would you just be okay with thousands of cockroaches buzzing all
around you, trying to hypnotize you?”

“But they aren’t cockroaches, they are fairies.”

He dropped his pack and started unloading items, finally
pulling out her box of daggers. “Let’s agree to disagree for now and get to
work.”

She dropped her bag and pulled the cloak off, setting it on
the grass next to her bag, “Okay, I’m ready. What are we doing?”

He handed her two daggers and took a step back. “You are
going to attack me. Ready?”

Ready? Was he insane? She wasn’t a fighter. She’d had a few
scraps in her youth but never with weapons and never against someone who looked
as if they were built for both death and sex all wrapped up in the perfect
package. Her stomach knotted again. Damn him. Damn her for being so damn
attracted to him.

His head snapped up as if he’d heard her thoughts and the
wicked grin he wore made her even more sure that he had some special mind-reading
abilities. She clenched the daggers in her hands and clenched her teeth. “Ready.”
She ground out the words and then attacked. It was clumsy. She just leapt
forward and started swinging the blades wildly. Luc jumped back and expertly deflected
the awkward blows with blades of his own. She cursed and stumbled to the side,
as one of her heels got stuck in the soft dirt. “Shit!” She yelped as she
landed on the ground with a thud.

Luc was bent over laughing, which made her even angrier. She
buried her daggers in the grass and pushed herself to her feet.

“Your approach might need some work, Red.”

“Screw you.”

“Such language.”

She ground her teeth in frustration. “I need help, Luc. I
don’t need to be teased.”

A sudden realization flashed in his eyes. He gave a slow
thoughtful nod. “You’re right. I apologize. Pick up your blades, we’ll try this
again.”

Rowan wrinkled her nose but did as he said and pulled her
daggers out of the ground. “Fine. Ready?”

Luc shook his head. “This time, I want you try to read my
movements. You’ve got this in your blood. Once you let yourself go, it will all
come naturally.” She gave him a look of disbelief. Luc raised his eyebrow and
added, “Remember back in your apartment when you caught the blade?”

“Yes.”

“You did it then, you can do it now. I might be an ass but…”

“But what?”

“But I believe in you.”

Her breath caught in her throat. He believed in her.
Something about those words resonated deep inside her. No one had believed in
her in such a long time. Her grip tightened on the dagger hilts. She gave him a
quick nod and focused her thoughts. “Okay, I’ll try.”