Red and Her Wolf

A/N: Hey, sorry for the wait on this one. Was on a staycation and took a writing break. This one's less sexy but still hopefully interesting. Saving the naughty stuff for the next chapter.

Also, Angelwater is not a real place.

______

Kade

"Hey, big brother." Phoenix's voice punches through with more than a hint of sass. "You rang?"

"Where the hell have you been?" I snap, knowing full well it's probably not the best way to get her to follow my lead. "For a girl who's glued to her phone, you sure took your sweet time calling me back."

There's an excruciating pause. Phoenix inhales tightly before she says, "I'm at Jack's place."

"

Jack?

" I twist towards the night stand, my feet hitting the rough carpet. "Who the hell is

Jack?"

"Some dude I met at the farmer's market."

Memory elbows it's way to the forefront. A shaved head. Leather, metal and the clang of sparking steel. An obvious arrogance that leaves a bad taste in my mouth. "You mean, the blacksmith?"

I pray to the Gods that I'm wrong. There's already too much bullshit on my plate.

Phoenix's hesitance is palpable. "Yeah."

Here comes the rage, an electric current stabbing through every worn nerve. I knew my sister was young and- like all nineteen year olds- prone to stupidity, but this is a nauseating low. "He's

married

, Phoenix. What the fuck is going on?"

Why didn't I have a conversation with her about dealing with the opposite sex the moment she moved in? It's a real stressor that she had to grow up to be good looking

and

attention-seeking

and

conniving. A bad combo for a brother trying to be her guardian.

"Marissa's here too," Phoenix says lightly. "We're all hanging out, just having a few drinks. It's not a big deal."

I have a strong suspicion that her being there has nothing to do with getting to know Jack's wife. I activate my inner sight to check on her; easy enough to do through a phone. To my relief, the scene is G rated. Phoenix is sitting on a bar stool in a small apartment kitchen. Trap music thuds from large speakers. There's a couple laughing in the distance, far away from my sister. Thank god.

Yet, despite the casual nature of this, I can't dissolve the knowing that Phoenix is in over her head. Ready to ensnare her way into Jack's life. I can

feel

her obsession for him taking root, tainting her mind, spreading to her vulnerable heart.

How did I not see this? I've been so busy thinking about Emily that I overlooked an oncoming disaster.

I turn off my sight, massaging my scalp. Wired yet exhausted. "Well, you better cut that shit out right this second." The bed creaks as Emily shifts behind me, her fingers smoothing down my lower back. I take her hand without looking backwards, wrapping it around my waist. A radiant glow blooms in my chest, descends to my lower belly: a disorienting counterpoint to this serious conversation. "Get in your car and meet me at the motel. Do

not

go back to our place. It's happened."

"He's here?" Thankfully, she sounds at least

mildly

concerned.

"Yes, he is," I say slowly for emphasis. "We go with the plan."

"Are you...with our neighbor right now?"

I glance over my shoulder to see the beauty lying next to me. Red-gold waves spreading over white linen. Soft curves and even softer eyes, now brimming with concern. My hand instinctively caresses hers. "Yes."

"You fucked her." A smug laugh. "See? You're no better than me. No need to act so high and mighty."

Any lingering arousal that Emily caused disappears, replaced by blistering irritation. "It's none of your damn business what two consenting,

single

adults decide to do together," I seethe."Maybe you should start acting like one, instead of stalking married men like some lovesick idiot. He'll never love you back, Phoenix. Grow the fuck up."

The longest silence echoes. I can tell I've stunned her. Emily too, her fingers still and tense on my stomach.

"Jesus, Kade." Phoenix's voice trembles with a hurt so strong that even with my sight off I can see tears sparkling. "Sometimes I can't believe how much of an asshole you are."

I don't know how to respond to that so I dig my heels in, give her dry detachment. "So you're on your way then?"

"I

could be

." A loud sniff before she collects herself. "Or I could just stay here. Or maybe I'll finally go to New York like I wanted to."

"No. You're coming here.

Now.

"

"You know what? Just because you're being King Dickhead, I'm not telling you where I'm going." Her voice serrates my eardrum, a vindictive edge to it. "And if I die, you can blame yourself."

She hangs up. I stare at my phone, dumbfounded.

"

God-fucking-damnit.

" I dial her number again, unsurprised when she doesn't answer. I dial again, knowing she won't pick up. Knowing I just screwed myself over by letting my temper get the best of me as usual. Doesn't matter how true my words were. That was shortsighted of me.

After she predictably doesn't answer, I set my phone on the bedside table with an agitated flourish before I sink back into the mattress. Emily nestles up flush against my chest and without thinking, I melt into the the sensual balm that her presence seems to so easily provide.

A satisfied grunt escapes me when our bodies lock tighter. I brush my lips against the center of her forehead, trying to ignore the dread simultaneously locking around my throat.

"She's not coming," I finally say. It's not up for debate. I know Phoenix, her stubbornness an equal match to my own. "Shouldn't have gotten mad at her. Wasn't thinking." I try to iron out the frown contorting my mouth. "Wish you didn't have to hear that."

I search Emily's face for judgement but instead, I find sympathy. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with it.

"Is she going to be okay?" Emily slowly cups my face, her thumb ghosting up my cheekbone. A cautious tenderness in her touch, her eyes. Our gazes don't pull away, and there's a strange yet exhilarating quality in that. Brave, even. I want to live in it yet I also want nothing to do with it: this exploratory freshness, this weird familiarity that shouldn't make any sense. I can't handle the contradiction of it all.

I stare at her, unable to form words for a few seconds. "She should be fine." Nothing more than a small hope if I'm being honest with myself. I look away to examine a crack in the ceiling. "She's got good instincts. Well- most of the time. Plus, I don't even think Asher knows that she's living with me. He would have made it known if he did."

Maybe that's also just hope.

"That's good." White teeth dig into her plump lower lip, brows creasing. A perfect picture of nervousness.

Unable to help myself, I plant a quick kiss on that inviting, rose-pink mouth. Becoming increasingly distracted by her lush femininity, the slopes and valleys of her visible through the sheets. The sprinkle of freckles across her nose. It's embarrassing how intoxicated I am by her.

Just one more look. One more touch. One more kiss before this ends.

Shit, I don't know if I'm ready for this to end. My dick certainly isn't, from the way it's stirring now. Nor are those short-sighted impulses of mine, already drumming up ways to keep this connection afloat.

But reality doesn't care about my desires, my hopes and pointless dreams. It'll ruin everything either way, rub it in for good measure. I don't

get

to be happy. Life has repeatedly taught me that. The only way through for me is with my nose to the grindstone, labor after labor. Atoning for my years of being a mindless thug, the chemistry that keeps me feral. No use in pretending otherwise.

She deserves better. Deserves someone that won't put her in danger just by being near them. Someone

human

. No complications. No peril. Just a happy, normal, relationship with date nights and laughter and commitment and shared dreams. All that good, clean, wholesome shit. I want that for her. I really do.

Except, it kind of makes my blood boil that I can't be the one to give it to her.

Emily notices I'm staring a hole through her head. "What?" Her nose crinkles before she laughs.

"Nothing." I trace my fingers down her cheek, over her smooth lips. Marvelling at the supple softness of her. "I'm just gonna miss this."

You. I'm going to miss

you.

Her dreamy expression vanishes. Goes cold. She glances away, mouth turning downward as she looks at the wall. "It's been alright, I guess."

Why am I so good at saying the wrong thing? "

Red

..."

"What?" I'm now presented with the back of her head, her entire body facing away from me.

"We agreed this was a one time thing." I inch nearer to press my chest against her back, circling an arm around her, a helpless queasiness in my gut. Last thing I want is for her to resent me too. "It was a mutual agreement, right?"

Emily turns in my arms to face me again and she looks so fucking miserable, it's almost unbearable."So you're taking me back to Seattle." Her voice cracks on the last word. "And then it's over forever?"

That concept stings something awful. This was all more abstract before we slept together, before she said the reality of it out loud. Now there's this heavy pressure in my chest. Cement crushing me from the inside out, stealing my breath.

"I don't know." Yes, that answer feels better. Preferable to

over forever

. "I had an escape plan set up for Phoenix and I if Asher ever found me. I wasn't expecting to have you roped into the situation so I'm making everything up on the fly." I stop, questioning how soft my tone is getting. "But yeah, I'm taking you back. Can't risk you staying in Dream Hill alone."

"I don't want to go back to the city." She pushes her fingers between mine, our palms tight together. "Why can't I go with you?"

I gently squeeze her palm back. "Because it's not safe."

"Wouldn't it be better to be with the one man that's actually capable of protecting me in this situation instead of my parents who would probably let Asher into their house with open arms?" An auburn brow raises at me, and I can tell she thinks this is a checkmate. "My parents tend to like men that flaunt their money."

I'll admit, the thought did cross my mind more than once. And again, hearing her say it aloud makes it seem far more real. However, I

did

come up with a plan. "That's why I'm not letting you go back to Seattle without a bunch of wards. It's doubtful he'd find you if you installed them and carried one around."

Her hopeful look fades. "Where are you going in Mississippi anyway?"

"My mama's house in Angelwater." I reach for my hand-made cigarettes: homegrown tobacco tucked in an old Marlboro pack. I retrieve one that's crooked, straightening it before I spark up with a lighter on it's last legs.

"I've never been to Mississippi." Emily skims her fingers over the treasure trail at my stomach. "I've always wanted to go down South." My cock jumps as she paints a figure eight below my navel. I know what she's doing, trying to change my mind with coy seduction, her perfect pouting lips.

And, horny fool that I am, it might be working.

"I don't know how long I'll be there." I inhale deeply, relishing the nicotine high as it trails through my bloodstream, eases the tension in my body. "And I don't know where life will take me afterwards."

"Why are you going back home?"

"Asher said he was able to cover his scent with Mama's help." I exhale thick, white smoke over my head. "If I'm going to be battling it out with him, which seems likely, I need to get on his level. See what other things she can help me with. Also, it's the last place he would expect me to go."

"Why's that?" Her fingers keep circling, tracing light patterns.

I take a breath, convictions loosening and dick hardening with every passing second."Haven't been back home in nearly a decade."

Her hand stops moving."Why not?"

"I don't want to be anywhere near where my father raised me." The way the truth spews from my lips startles me, making the hairs on my arms and neck stand to attention.

Alright, that's enough vulnerability for one day.

"That's all I'm gonna say about it," I finish.

"So, you don't

really

want to go home."

"No." I shake my head, nearly laughing at just how much I don't want to. "But life ain't a bed of roses, is it?"

Silence envelops us before she wraps her entire body around me, pressing into my chest with her floral-fresh scent and plush breasts and satin skin. "Please take me with you," she murmurs tragically. "

Please.

If you don't like it once I'm there, I'll take a plane back to Seattle. Promise."

"I dunno, Red-"

"And what about my abilities? What am I supposed to do with them now that you've told me all of this? Just figure it out all by myself? I want someone to teach me more. I want to get better. I think I

need

to get better." She looks up at me with pleading eyes, now on the brink of overflowing. "Please?"

She has a good point. All that latent talent, all that untapped potential. It would be a shame if it was kept stunted. I can't deny my own curiosity about how good she might become if she honed her gift. How fascinating that process of unfolding would be for me as well.

Then as Emily compacts our bodies even closer, I know fully, profoundly, that I am nowhere near done with her. The thought of dropping her off in Seattle where I have no physical access to her, sleeping alone again, not seeing her freckled face for god knows how long...well, it aches down to my marrow.

"If I take you, will you do exactly what I tell you to?" I tamp out my cigarette in the plastic motel ashtray. "And I do mean

exactly.

"

Doubt crosses her features. "If we're in active danger or for safety protocols, sure. But I'll assess each direction as it comes."

"You will, will you?" A short power struggle ensues as we mutually frown at each other.

I cave first.

"Alright, you can come." That weight in my chest disintegrates and suddenly I can breathe again. At the same time, my mind spins into overdrive, wondering if I just made a mistake that could hurt us both.

Kill

us both.

A smile lights her face up. "Awesome."

Thrown off balance, I scramble to slap down some boundaries as I've already broken far more than I'm comfortable with. "But I still don't know how much time I'm spending there, or where I'm going next. I can't promise that you'll stay long or that I'll bring you with me wherever I go after. Got it?"

"That's fine."

"And I won't hesitate to put your ass on a plane if you annoy me."

Her smile doesn't falter. "It's a deal." She stretches, flips over onto her other side again with a yawn, that lustrous mane of fire facing me, her hips and bottom beckoning me closer from their shape alone. "Goodnight, Mr. Wolfe."

I hear her soft snore a minute later.

*

I wander the dingy motel lobby, unable to sleep as predicted. Thinking of Phoenix and Emily. Especially Emily. Thinking of how I'm going to pull this whole thing off. Of how on earth I'm going to protect us both when I'm ridiculously outnumbered. The thousands-to-one kind of outnumbered. Not exactly promising.

Asher was right. I don't have much besides my wards and my small handful of powers and my ability to run away and disappear for years, if needed.

I've counted on that last one for a long time. Being a hermit, isolated and wary. Living like a snake in the ground. Stay still and dark and low enough and no one can sniff you out. Not even the wolves.

It was all so much easier before she came along. Just a few weeks of knowing her and I can't imagine being that alone and sexless again. Shocked that I was able to do it at all. Already I'm fantasizing about the next time I'll get to be inside her, kiss her mouth and breasts, make her writhe underneath me. My infatuation was bad enough to begin with but it's all gotten so much worse now that we made lov-

Fucked. We fucked. Jesus, let's not get this twisted.

I nod to the receptionist: an older, beer-bellied gentleman who's squinting at me with distrust. I can't blame him. I probably look like some strung-out biker with my leather jacket and dark circles. I haven't eaten since breakfast yesterday so I decide to peruse the vending machine. Get some granola or something and ditch those suspicious eyes on me.

Then, as I cross by the bulletin board next to the water cooler, I see something that sets all my psychic nerve endings on fire.

A missing sign. The title font a bold and bloody red.

I peer closer, and see a young boy. Daniel Meyers, gone for a little over a week. Thirteen years old. Brown hair, brown eyes, five-foot-seven. Last seen hitchhiking not far from here. A runaway.

A vision sears behind my skull: Daniel, with his Swiss Army knife, a duffel bag over his shoulder, and a pocketful of stolen cash from his mother's purse. Escaping a broken home where his father's fists flew. Unreasonably hopeful, he saw a bright future for himself. Wanted to fight for it. An optimistic kid despite his broken nose and bruised jaw.

I see myself in him. A path that I might have taken if I had been more reckless, less resigned to my fate.

Then a dark car pulls up to him, with a dark soul inside. One dazzling smile and an easy

Get in, kid

later and all that's left is a stain of crimson. A scream swallowed by ancient woodland, his skinny carcass buried under centuries of bones.

It told me it wanted blood, so I gave it to them.

God, no.

Guess who the forest likes more? You or the one who gave it a whole human?

Asher, you psychotic piece of shit.

I can't believe I let Emily get in a car with him. How phenomenally stupid could I possibly be? I should be kissing the ground now with how lucky I am she's still alive. Lucky that Asher used her to bring me to him. That he took some kind of demented liking to her, falling for her beauty and sweetness in his own fucked up way. Wanted to toy with her, play with her, instead of raping her right on the spot.

It doesn't matter that I initially wasn't sure if it was him or not. I should have trusted my instincts

all

the way. Not just thrown her a ward in case I was wrong. I was foolish to think I could navigate this with a light hand, hoping for the best.

Never again. He'll never get close to her again. Not while I'm still living and breathing. Right here, right now, I claim full responsibility. I will never let her out of my sight until he's one hundred percent dead. However doomed our connection is, I owe her my protection. I'll never forgive myself otherwise.

And with that, I return to my motel room to keep watch.

*

Emily

The drive to Mississippi from Washington is a long one. Fortunately, Kade doesn't seem to require sleep nor rest like most people, making stops purely for my benefit. I bet if I weren't here he would've driven without a break, only stopping for gas. We sleep at another dingy motel, and this time he requests

one

bed. Unfortunately, I'm still feeling so run down from the mind control that I go to sleep for twelve hours straight instead of jumping him.

We cruise down Highway 61, which Kade tells me is mentioned in plenty of old blues songs. Then it's a stretch of backwoods. Magnolia trees and sun-washed greenery. Sagging boughs of Weeping Willows. Muggy, liquid heat, so different to the biting chill that Dream Hill somehow features year-round.

"We're officially in Angelwater now. The boonies part of it anyway." He turns a right and then we're completely surrounded- the sky nearly blacked out by oak trees. The road turns bumpy before I finally see our destination: a ranch-house, faded, peeling white. Kade parks and when my feet touch earth, I stretch my cramped body towards the sky, bones cracking on a groan.