Taming the Wolf (Anna Avery #1) 1

“Everything will be fine, Anna. This isn’t my first battle, and it won’t be the last. It comes with being an alpha. I’m fighting for you…for us. The days will go by quick and then we’ll be together.” Adam tipped my chin up, studying my face. A smile spread across his lips. “Not too long ago you did everything you could to push me away. Now you’re begging to remain by my side. Wearing you down will be my biggest victory.”

I laughed awkwardly, wiping my eyes and nose. “You’ve ruined me,” I joked.

“Good,” Adam said, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “You’ve gotta go. Your flight takes off in a couple hours, and you have a long drive ahead of you.”

Just like that my smile fell from my lips. Reaching up, I clasped my hands around his neck and kissed him more fervently than I ever had before, tasting every inch of his mouth and claiming his attention. I trailed my hands up his neck and through his hair, inventorying the feel of it between my fingers. I paid closer attention to his taste, smell, and the feel of him. If tomorrow didn’t come for us, then I wanted to remember yesterday.

After a quickie with Adam, we made our way downstairs. The house was full of my pack and wolves I didn’t recognize, but assumed were reinforcements. I identified the large, bald man lounging on the couch. Puck caught my eye and bobbed his head in acknowledgement, a sickening smile forming on his lips. Taking a closer look at the new wolves, a few of them were at Wild Things that night.

“How many packs are in Wyoming?” I asked Adam over my shoulder.

“Three, but most of these people are rogues. They’re here as a favor to me and most don’t mind getting their hands a little dirty.”

I felt a little easier knowing the shady side of our kind were on our team. Even Ruth was here, her lady-of-the-night costume replaced with jeans and a fitted T-shirt. She winked when our eyes met.

“Should I even ask how you know those two?” Adam asked as we walked through the living room and into the kitchen.

“Wade took me to Wild Things. Ruth is a…um, hooker,” I whispered the word. “And Puck is the bouncer, I think.”

Adam laughed. “I know.”

I didn’t ask him how he knew. I had too much to deal with without worrying whether or not he’d been one of Ruth’s clients. The leaders were circled around the table, leaning forward as they looked over a large piece of paper. Adam leaned down and whispered in my ear.

“Wade told me what he had you do. Finding their blueprints of their territory has been very helpful.”

I’d forgotten I never told Adam what he wanted to know. I was so worried over his news that mine slipped my notice.

“We ready?” Elle said, coming to stand by me.

I glanced up at Adam and then at the leaders as they strategized. All of it was out of my control and I hated it. I hated not knowing what would happen.

With a deep breath I said, “I’m ready.”

Chapter Twenty-eight

“Adam’s a tough cookie, he’ll be fine,” Elle said.

I’d been staring out the window for twenty minutes, too zoned out to hear half of what she said. Elle didn’t share my disappointment with missing the fight. She talked about what stores she wanted to go into.

“Anna, are you even listening?”

I looked over at my optimistic friend, my eyes swollen from the tears that hadn’t stopped since I got in the car and watched Adam disappear in the rearview mirror.

“Yeah, shopping…fun fun!” My mock enthusiasm got me a nasty look from Elle.

“No, I said your phone beeped.”

I opened my purse and rummaged through gum wrappers, pens, and all the other junk that shouldn’t have been there to find my phone. Pressing the ON button, the LCD screen lit up and read: 1 new message.

If you want to save Chelsea, meet me at Crazy Woman Canyon.

Come alone or she becomes wolfy chow.

“What’s wrong? Who’s it from?” Elle asked panicky.

I stared at the screen, rereading the message three times. I didn’t recognize the number, but I didn’t have to. It was from either Eve or Anthony.

“We have to turn around,” I told Elle, dread overthrowing any logical thoughts.

“What? What for? Who was it from?”

In that moment I was angry with my friend: angry that I had to waste the time explaining and angry that she kept driving when she needed to head back to Buffalo. Taking a moment to rein in my anger, I said, “They’ve got my friend Chelsea. I saw her at Wal-Mart when Wade was doing his experiment to build up my tolerance to humans. They must have had spies watching us.”

Elle pulled onto the shoulder of the road instead of trying to talk me out of rescuing my friend. “Eve has her? What did she say?”

I handed the phone to Elle and she grimaced. “Call Adam. He’ll send someone to get her.”

“Did you not read the part about ‘coming alone’?”

“That’s bad guy 101. Of course they want you to come alone. The mistake people make in the movies is listening.”

“This isn’t a movie, Elle!”

Elle held up a finger in the universal sign to “hold on” while she punched a number into her cell phone. Elle relayed the message to whoever was on the other end. She’d just sealed the coffin for Chelsea. The only hope I had at saving her was if I got there before the cavalry. Elle looked out the window, too focused on her conversation to watch what I was doing. Curling my fingers around the door handle, I pushed it open and leaped out. Elle cursed, but I didn’t stop. I took off in a sprint, calling my wolf forward. My skin prickled and my muscles stretched as she took over. One minute I was running on two legs and then I was on four. Normal wolves can run up to 45mph. Werewolves can run at least 65mph. In this form, it’d take me about twenty minutes to reach Crazy Woman Canyon.

My claws dug into the asphalt as I fled as far away from Elle’s car as my legs would carry me. I pushed my wolf hard, urging her faster, ignoring the car honking behind me. I knew it was Elle, and there was no way she was going to talk me out of what I had to do. Adam’s orders be damned.

There were many legends about how Crazy Woman Canyon got its name. The one I heard was of an Indian woman who’d been left behind after her village was pillaged. Driven to insanity, she lived out her life alone in the canyon. The setting was fitting—Eve was one crazy woman.

Mountains rose up from the earth on either side of the dirt road. A roaring creek traveled through the rocky place, echoing against the large boulders that’d fallen against the road. It used to be my favorite area. I’d gone there countless times to hike and jog, but the day Eve attacked me ruined its beauty. It would not be Chelsea’s final resting place.

I padded up the road with caution. She didn’t tell me where to meet her, and she wouldn’t be waiting in the middle of the street. Eve liked theatrics. I didn’t see any of our wolves present, and I didn’t hear any type of fighting which meant they weren’t here yet. The road got steeper the longer I traveled it. Thunder rumbled in the distance, the night darker with the clouds blocking out the stars and moon. It was like the weather mimicked my mood—angry and ready to let loose.

A branch snapped five feet away, followed by the sounds of whimpering. My ears perked up trying to catch any other telling sounds. My hackles raised, my lip curled over my sharp canine teeth as Eve stepped out of the tree line with Chelsea in tow. Her wavy brown hair was soaking wet, hanging against her slumped shoulders. Her almond-shaped blue eyes shot wider at seeing a large white wolf. She didn’t know I was her savor and the real monster was the one holding her wrist.

“I knew you’d come,” Eve said with a sardonic smile.

I growled in response, and Chelsea’s entire body shook. If I remembered right, she’d been attacked by a dog when she was twelve and hated canines ever since. The poor girl was frightened beyond belief.

“How about we end this once and for all?”

I stepped forward, snapping and growling in agreement. Eve was the first person I’d ever wanted to kill, literally kill. I didn’t worry about her being an alpha or purebred. My hatred was so strong all I saw was red.

“But first,” Eve said cheerfully. “How about we have some fun?”

A man I didn’t recognize stepped out of the brush. He stood around five-foot-eleven and had jet black hair and golden eyes. Eve shoved Chelsea into his arms and he tied her against a tree, wrapping rope around her abdomen. Chelsea sobbed, tears flowing freely against her red cheeks as the man restrained her. Eve kept eye contact with me the entire time, her smile never faltering. Once Chelsea was secure, the man stepped off to the side and transformed into a large brown wolf. Chelsea screamed, her pleas bouncing off of the canyon walls and haunting my ears.

“I told you we would have it out one way or another,” Eve said. “For every blow I give you, Jeremy here will bite the human. I wonder how many it’ll take before she dies.”

Anna, don’t do it. Adam’s voice penetrated my red haze. I needed to ignore him as best as I could. I wouldn’t be able to concentrate if he was speaking to me through telepathy. There was no way I was backing down.

Eve shifted and sauntered over to Chelsea. She growled, snapping just inches from her legs. Chelsea screamed as she tried to kick at Eve to no avail. I couldn’t watch Eve’s games anymore. Charging forward, I leaped for Eve’s back, but was thrown back when Jeremy jumped into the air, his body crashing with mine and knocking the wind out of my lungs. I should’ve known Eve wouldn’t play fair.

Getting to my feet, I was hit again, this time by Eve. We rolled a few feet before she jumped off and skittered backwards. I lunged forward, gnashing my teeth and looking for my opening. As Eve sprang at me, I stepped to the side, burying my teeth into her shoulder. She let out a deep growl and shook her body from side to side to break the hold. Rolling on her back, she took me down with her and I released my bite.

Jumping up quicker than me, Eve stood over me ready to strike. As her canines sunk into my hind leg, I yelped, kicking out violently. Releasing her grip, Eve took a few steps backward and looked to Jeremy. Leaning his head forward, he clasped Chelsea’s leg and bit down. A bloodcurdling scream echoed through the mountain. Blood seeped through Chelsea’s jeans, trailing down her leg and dripping onto the ground. She cried so hard that she coughed to catch her breath. I couldn’t allow this to happen again.