Embracing the Wolf - Book #2 (Anna Avery) Page 11

  “This is the infamous Anna Avery,” Elle said, holding her hands out in her best Vanna White impression.

  I was standing in the middle of a medium-sized crowd, all eyes on me. I smiled nervously and held up my hand in a small wave. Being on display wasn’t as fun as it sounded.

  “Anna, it’s such a pleasure to meet you,” a young man said. “My name’s Leif. I’m the brother of Sage.”

  I thought for a minute and then briefly remembered meeting Sage back at the house. Now that he mentioned it, I could see the resemblance. Where Sage had long hair like an oil slick, Leif’s hair was cut short. Both siblings were of Native American descent and absolutely beautiful. Leif’s big brown eyes smiled back at me, and a dimple dented his cheek when he grinned. I’d guess he was in his teens. Once he got older, the ladies would be banging down his door.

  “It’s very nice to meet you too, Leif.” That caused him to smile wider.

  “You’ve met Jill,” Elle said, pointing to the enthusiastic woman I’d met the other day. I smiled, but made sure not to engage her. I wasn’t in the mood to discuss my relationship with Adam.

  Elle rambled off names, pointing to faces as she did. I nodded and smiled politely, all the while wanting to just blend in with the crowd. I didn’t see what the fuss was about. So, I was a mutt who’d bonded with an alpha. Was that so gossip worthy?

  Elle nudged me in the ribs. I scowled at her, and she widened her eyes for me to pay attention. Apparently someone was talking to me, and I hadn’t noticed. I looked up to find the face of a very handsome man. My wolf perked up and took notice, too.

  “The ceremony was beautiful,” the man was saying. “You were beautiful. It’s such a shame it was ruined. I was very much looking forward to Adam pledging himself to you.” The man winked, and a slight tremor ran through my legs. His eyes were the color of arctic ice, though there was nothing cold about the way he was looking at me.

  “Anna, this is Ben Jenkins,” Elle said.

  Ben Jenkins. Why did that name sound familiar?

  “Alpha of the Idaho pack,” Ben supplied and held out his hand.

  I had an ah-ha moment, the name clicking in my brain. So this was the man the Leaders planned to send me to just a couple weeks ago when they accused me of Eve’s murders. I reached out and shook his hand, and my body instantly grew hot. My stomach clenched, and my breasts strained against the cotton of my tank top.

  What the hell? I dropped his hand and took a step back. Maybe he had a seductive power like Nicholas and was forcing his influence onto me.

  Ben smirked, holding my eyes. “I hear you almost became a member of my pack.” His eyes raked up the length of my body before they connected with mine again. “I would have loved to have you.”

  “Ben Jenkins,” a deep voice said behind me, and I visibly relaxed. Adam moved past me so that his body shielded mine. “I heard you wouldn’t be able to make it.”

  I moved so I could see what was going on. Adam’s possessiveness could get a little overbearing at times.

  “I rearranged some things,” Ben said. “I couldn’t miss the opportunity to meet the woman who captured Adam Everwood, the notorious womanizer.”

  Womanizer? Adam?

  “That was a long time ago, Ben, and none of them had what Anna does.”

  Nice save, playboy.

  Ben rubbed his chin and shook his head back and forth as though thinking about something. “I don’t know,” he said. “You and Chloe looked pretty cozy earlier.”

  Red. I saw nothing but red, or maybe it was green?

  Adam snorted in disgust. “I see you’re still up to your old ways, causing trouble for entertainment. It’s not going to work this time. You see this?” Adam held his hand up, branded palm facing Ben. “Nothing you say will disprove what this woman means to me.”

  Adam lowered his hand and grabbed mine. “Come on, Anna.”

  “It was nice meeting all of you,” I said to the group. They nodded and smiled, turning their attention back to the wolfy games.

  Adam and I walked to the sidelines, far enough away from Ben, and stopped. Whoever built the obstacle course had done a great job. There was a climbing wall, something that looked like monkey bars, and a lot of other things built to test their endurance.

  Adam stood behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. Leaning down, he rested his chin on my shoulder. I inhaled his scent, closing my eyes as I allowed it to comfort me.

  “So …” I said. “You were a ladies man, huh?” I tried to sound nonchalant, but the thought of Adam with another woman made me almost nauseous. I wasn’t a fool; I knew he had been with other women, and it was silly to get upset over it, but when it came to Adam, I was sometimes irrational.

  “That was before I was an alpha of my own pack,” Adam said, kissing the side of my neck. “Every teenage wolf goes through a period like that.”

  I was silent as I thought about what it would have been like to see Adam in his teen years. Did werewolves go to normal schools? There was still so much I didn’t know.

  “Are you jealous, Chante?” Adam wiggled his fingers against my stomach, and I laughed.

  “Stop it.”

  Adam tickled me again. “Not until you tell me you understand that there is no other woman for me.”

  I doubled over, held in place by Adam’s strong arms. I was laughing so hard people were starting to stare.

  “O … okay,” I said through a giggle.

  “Okay what?” He eased up his torture.

  “I understand that I’m the only woman for you,” I said over my shoulder. “Though Chloe is trying her damnedest to change that.”

  Adam turned me around and cupped my face. He stared into my eyes, a sad smile on his face. “It bothers me that you don’t trust me, Anna. I don’t know what I can do to prove to you that you are the only woman I desire.” He leaned down and brushed his lips against mine. “Your body is the only one I want to kiss.” He pressed a kiss to my lips again. “To taste.” He pinned me with his eyes. “To make love to. Understand?”

  I was breathless and on fire for him. I nodded, my lips parted. Reaching up, I ran my hands across the span of his broad shoulders and lifted myself up on my tiptoes to reach his mouth. Adam entrapped my body in his arms, yanking me against his hard body. A moan slipped out when his tongue slipped between my lips. The hardness of his erection pressed against his jeans and stoked the fire raging between my legs.

  Then everything disappeared.

  I was no longer in Adam’s arms or standing in the field by our house. I was in a meadow, surrounded by tall pine trees, and Adam was lying in a pool of blood at my feet. I fell to my knees, a scream ripping from my throat. I grasped for Adam, my fingers curling into his shirt as I fell upon him. Blood seeped through his shirt, turning white to red. His head lolled to the side, his blue eyes wide and full of disbelief.

  “Adam,” I whispered, my lips trembling. “Adam!” I screamed, clutching onto his shoulders. I shook him, guiding his face to mine so I could look into those fading eyes. It was either raining, or I was crying—I couldn’t be sure. All I could focus on was Adam.

  “Please don’t do this,” I pleaded, leaning down and resting my forehead against his. I leaned back and kissed his lips. “You’re going to be fine. Just hold on.”

  “Chante,” he whispered, and then his eyes fell shut.

  “Adam?” I shook his shoulders frantically. “Adam.”

  I came back to the now, my eyes now focusing on the obstacle course.

  “I think we’ll do that tomorrow,” Adam was saying. I must have missed the other part of the conversation. My vision must not have been long enough for him to notice. I whipped around in his arms and hugged him tight, squeezing his neck.

  “Hey,” Adam soothed, his hands rubbing my back. “What’s wrong, Anna? You’re shaking.”

  I leaned back and cupped his face.

  “Why are you crying?”

  “It was horrible, Adam. I …”


  “What? Was it a vision?”

  I nodded, though I couldn’t put to words what I’d seen. I couldn’t voice that nightmare. I kept seeing the blood and the light fading from those beautiful blue eyes. Tears continued to stream down my face.

  “I need to talk to Wade.” I began to walk away when Adam gripped my arm to stop me.

  “Tell me what you saw.”

  I stopped and wiped a hand across my cheeks to erase the tears. When I met Adam’s eyes, another round of fresh tears dampened my face.

  “Your death.”

  I found Wade around the back of house with Chelsea. They both looked up when Adam and I approached. Adam wouldn’t let me talk to Wade alone. I couldn’t blame him; the vision affected him more than anyone.

  “I need to talk to you,” I told Wade.

  “Can it wait?” Wade slid a sidelong glance toward Chelsea. I understood he liked her, and she probably liked him, but now was not the time to lay the groundwork for a relationship when there was something wonky going on with my visions.

  “No,” I said sternly.

  Wade leaned back in his chair, his arm draped over the back of Chelsea’s. My visions weren’t a secret so I didn’t mind discussing them in front of her, but I also didn’t know whom I could trust. Chelsea and I might have been friends in high school, but she hadn’t been shy in letting me know she blamed me for her change. I didn’t expect her to come to terms with it this soon. I sure as hell didn’t.

  I sat at the table, and Adam took the chair beside me. I explained the vision, making sure not to look at Adam. I could feel his unease through our bond. I couldn’t imagine the look on his face. Once I was done explaining, I stared at Wade expectantly.

  “So?”

  “There’s not much to go off of,” Wade said. “Did you see how he died? Who attacked him?”

  I thought for a second. “No, just what I told you. You said a seer saw the past, not the future. Why am I all of a sudden seeing it?”

  Wade sat up and tilted his head. He ran a hand over his buzzed head and then rested his fisted hands under his chin.

  “You’re still a new werewolf, Anna. Our gifts are not set in stone; they’re constantly changing and developing. The good news is, now that you saw it, we can do something to stop it.”

  “How?” I pounded my fist against the wood table. I couldn’t get the look of Adam’s dying eyes out of my mind, and it had me on edge. I could not stand by and wait while someone was out there scheming to kill my mate.

  I stood up and paced the deck, enraged and frightened at the same time. I felt strong hands come around my shoulders. Adam’s fingers squeezed, and then I felt his hot breath against my neck.

  “It hasn’t happened yet, which means we can do something to make sure it doesn’t.”

  “How?” I asked, turning to face him. “How am I supposed to figure out who wants to kill you when I didn’t see that part? There are over two hundred wolves here, Adam. Any one of them could be responsible.”

  “I say you start living up to your name, alpha,” Wade said. When Adam and I looked at him, he explained, “You’re a made wolf and the new alpha female of one of most prestigious packs. You may not have noticed yet, but a lot of wolves here are curious to meet you. A pureblood has never took a mutt—no offense—as their mate. Add to the fact that you guys bonded.”

  I flicked my eyes to Chelsea’s face. Wade’s comment about purebreds not mating with mutts didn’t go unnoticed by her. Her pink lips turned down, and she kept her gaze on the table instead of Wade. I slid my eyes to Wade and motioned toward Chelsea. When he looked over, he realized what’d he’d said.

  “But not because purebreds don’t want to,” he said. “I mean, they sleep with non-purebreds all the time …”

  I shook my head and Chelsea stood. I’d never seen anyone put their foot into their mouth as much as I did. Wade was doing a pretty good job of it.

  “I have some chores to do,” Chelsea said.

  “I didn’t mean you guys are only good for sex. I just meant politics always get in the way.”

  Chelsea shook her head, bouncing brown curls around her head. “I gotta go.”

  Wade stood, but she was already opening the sliding glass door and heading inside. He let out a defeated sigh, sitting back down.

  “Now it’s not such a mystery as to why I’m single, huh?”

  “Smooth, you are not,” I said in agreement.

  “So, getting back on track,” Adam said. “You want Anna to walk around and meet the visiting wolves in hopes of what, getting another vision?”

  Wade stared at the door Chelsea had disappeared through for a second before bringing his attention back to us. I’d make sure to smooth things over with Chelsea. I’d be helping Wade out, and it’d give me a chance to connect with her again. I hated how awkward things were between us.

  “Anna’s power is linked through touch,” Wade said. “All she has to do is go around and shake people’s hands. Maybe she’ll get something that will give us a lead.”

  I imagined walking around shaking two hundred hands, and I instantly felt like a slimy politician, smiling on the outside all the while scheming on the inside. If it helped saved Adam’s life, though, I’d do anything.

  “Do you think …” I began, exchanging a glance with Adam. “Do you think someone wants to kill you because they know I weaken you?” I kept my eyes anywhere but on Adam’s face. Maggie’s earlier pleads resounded in my head. As much as I hated to admit it, there was more truth to her words than I wanted to acknowledge. What if I was the reason for the horrid vision I’d had?

  Adam gripped my face and forced me to look at him. “Anna, there will always be a power hungry wolf ready to take over what is not his. It’s our nature to want to grow our packs for the stability it offers. You do not weaken me, understand?” He paused and waited for me to nod. I didn’t. He just didn’t want to believe that I did and was hoping to convince me. Pressure weighed on my chest from the responsibility of our relationship. I’d never been good with responsibility. I’d quit more jobs than I could count because of it. My entire life I’d been searching for something, anything that would make sense. Now that I’d found it, it was on the verge of slipping through my fingers.

  “Anna, tell me you know that. Don’t let our enemies trick you into thinking otherwise.”

  “Can we talk about this later?” I glanced at Wade, uncomfortable having such a personal discussion in front of him.

  Adam dropped his hands and took a step back. “Yeah, later.”

  “Okay then,” Wade said, standing. “You should start socializing as soon as possible and if you feel or see anything, let us know right away.”

  I’d spent the entire day introducing myself to any wolf I laid eyes on. At one point, I introduced myself to one of my own pack mates. Needless to say, I did not have one vision. By the time the sun started descending, I was beyond frustrated. I viewed our visitors as potential enemies, studying them like criminals in a lineup. If someone approached Adam, I was right there by his side. If someone even mentioned his name, I was butting into his or her conversation to figure out why. I ignored the odd looks and hushed whispers. As long as Adam was safe, I couldn’t give a fuck what our guests thought about me. The vision of Adam dying plagued me all day. It drove me to find the person responsible.

  I was heading over to another group of wolves when someone’s fingers curled around my forearm. Whirling around, a growl vibrated up my throat. I blinked, noticing Elle was my captor. Taking a ragged breath, my shoulders slumped.

  “What’s up, wild woman?”

  “What?” I asked, though my eyes were searching the surrounding crowds. My gaze traveled to the nearby tree line in search for any movement that would alert me to a coming attack.

  “Anna?” Elle shook my shoulders, snapping my attention back to her.

  “What?” I snapped.

  She let go and took a step back, holding her hands up in surrender. Guilt instantly consumed
me.

  “Shit, Elle, I’m sorry. It’s just … I’m flippin’ the fuck out.”

  “I see,” she said with a small smile. “What’s going on?”

  I proceeded to tell her about the vision and what I was doing. By the end, Elle frowned and searched the crowds with her eyes, too.

  “See why I’m freaking out?”

  “Yeah, that’s …” She shook her head, letting the sentence trail off. “But, it doesn’t mean it will happen, right?” At my confused look, she continued, “Visions aren’t set in stone. It’s a possibility, but the future is constantly changing, which means it might not happen.”

  “The only way it won’t happen, is if I find the person responsible and stop it. Any one of these people could be the one who kills Adam, and I can’t make any visions appear. I have been walking around all day touching and talking to people and nothing. How am I supposed to stop it if my power only works every so often? If he dies and there was something I could do to—”

  “Anna,” Elle said, gripping my hand. “Working yourself up isn’t going to help anyone. You need to take a couple deep breaths and calm down. We’ll figure this out, and you forget one very important thing.”

  “What?”

  “Adam is one of the few undefeated wolves around. He’s dealt with men trying to take his position, and none of them are here to try again. I know you’re protective of him, but he’s pretty bad ass.”

  “He wasn’t that bad ass at the ceremony when he was shot with a silver tipped arrow. I had the vision for a reason, Elle. He can’t protect himself if he doesn’t see the attack coming.”

  Elle released my hand and shook her head. I knew I was being bitchy but the fate of your mate can do that to a woman.

  “Being negative about it isn’t going to help is all I was saying.”

  Elle and I had hit it off from the start. We never fought, and she’d always been there for me, but in that moment I was beyond frustrated with her. I admit, I was a little crazed and not thinking clearly. After being haunted by the vision all day, I figured I was entitled to freak out. Silver linings are great, but I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to look for one.