Read Online Between Two Wolves and a Hard Place by Cassie Wright - Free Book Online
Authors: Cassie Wright
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steep. Sunlight spears down through the canopy. I smell loam, rotting leaves, the last dank traces of winter, and the bright, clear energy of spring. Up I run, up the steep trail, pushing myself, forcing my muscles harder and harder.
I can hear Dean behind me. He's growling low, not liking being pushed this hard, resenting me, but refusing to be left behind. Up we race, faster and faster, till my breath is coming in ragged gasps, my lungs heaving, my muscles burning. Finally I burst out of the tree line and come to the top of the mountain, emerging into the sunlight at the top of a cliff.
Dean emerges from the shadows a moment later, and stalks in front of me, his body tense, his tail stiff, ears low on his skull. All warning language. Before he can go any further, I shift back up to my human form. Dean stares at me a moment longer with his gold eyes, and then does the same.
We stand facing each other at the top of the cliff, the sunlight bright on our skin, our hands knotted into fists.
"What the hell, Drake?" His voice is low and surly.
"That's my question, Dean. What the hell? Where are you? Who are you?"
He narrows his eyes. "I'm me. What are you talking about?"
"Oh, yeah? Since when do you sleep till the middle of the day? Since when do you drink every night?"
"What? You my mother now?"
I step right up into his face. "She's changing you, man, trying to drive us apart."
He doesn't back away. Simply stares me right in the eyes. "Nobody's changing me."
"I know you. I know you better than the back of my hand. She is. You're growing dark, Dean. Angry. She's pulling at you, twisting you. Manipulating you."
He grows and shoves at me, but I expect the blow and side-step it. That only provokes him further. "Maybe she just sees the real me."
"No," I say. "She sees what you could become. Angry, bitter, mean. She likes that, for some fucked-up reason. She knows how to push your buttons. What to say. How to provoke you. Tell me. Last night when you mated. Was it good? Pure? Did you feel joy?"
He narrows his eyes, but doesn't answer.
I shake my head. "I know how you felt. Used. Angry. Bitter at yourself. Has she asked you to hurt her yet?" No answer. "Have you? Hurt her?"
"Fuck you," says Dean, and turns away.
"Dean." Something in my voice stops him from leaving. "I love you, man. You're like my own brother. Listen to me. We don't have to walk this road. We don't have to let Leena divide us. We don't have to give in to our darker urges. There's a different option."
He stands there, head bowed, his back to me. "There is no other option. Six years we looked for a mate, and found nobody. Leena's our last chance. If we don't take a mate, our pack will fall apart. We'll be lone wolves."
"No," I say. "There is another option. Kiera."
He spins then, faster than is humanly possible. "What? You're kidding me." There's such anger and spite in his voice that I take a step back.
"She's here. She's back. She's staying at least a couple of weeks."
"So? She left, man. She abandoned us. She dropped us cold. Now that she's back, you want to go crawling to her and ask for a second chance?" His eyes are on fire.
"No," I say.
"Did she come back for us?" He searches my face. "She didn't, did she? She doesn't want us, Drake. Stop acting the fool."
This is it. The crucial moment. Make or break. I've always been better with words than Dean, but right now, I despair of finding the right ones. "Dean. Stop. Listen. She didn't come back for us. Yes, she left. But she had good reason. We scared her. Shit, we terrified ourselves. But everything's changed. We're not kids anymore. We're men."
I step up to him. He's listening. Suspicious, still angry, but he's listening.
"We're men. We don't need our mate to make the first move. We don't need to be chosen. We can do the choosing. We can tell her we want her. That we've always wanted her. That nothing has been right since she left."
Dean opens his mouth to protest, and then shakes his head
I can hear Dean behind me. He's growling low, not liking being pushed this hard, resenting me, but refusing to be left behind. Up we race, faster and faster, till my breath is coming in ragged gasps, my lungs heaving, my muscles burning. Finally I burst out of the tree line and come to the top of the mountain, emerging into the sunlight at the top of a cliff.
Dean emerges from the shadows a moment later, and stalks in front of me, his body tense, his tail stiff, ears low on his skull. All warning language. Before he can go any further, I shift back up to my human form. Dean stares at me a moment longer with his gold eyes, and then does the same.
We stand facing each other at the top of the cliff, the sunlight bright on our skin, our hands knotted into fists.
"What the hell, Drake?" His voice is low and surly.
"That's my question, Dean. What the hell? Where are you? Who are you?"
He narrows his eyes. "I'm me. What are you talking about?"
"Oh, yeah? Since when do you sleep till the middle of the day? Since when do you drink every night?"
"What? You my mother now?"
I step right up into his face. "She's changing you, man, trying to drive us apart."
He doesn't back away. Simply stares me right in the eyes. "Nobody's changing me."
"I know you. I know you better than the back of my hand. She is. You're growing dark, Dean. Angry. She's pulling at you, twisting you. Manipulating you."
He grows and shoves at me, but I expect the blow and side-step it. That only provokes him further. "Maybe she just sees the real me."
"No," I say. "She sees what you could become. Angry, bitter, mean. She likes that, for some fucked-up reason. She knows how to push your buttons. What to say. How to provoke you. Tell me. Last night when you mated. Was it good? Pure? Did you feel joy?"
He narrows his eyes, but doesn't answer.
I shake my head. "I know how you felt. Used. Angry. Bitter at yourself. Has she asked you to hurt her yet?" No answer. "Have you? Hurt her?"
"Fuck you," says Dean, and turns away.
"Dean." Something in my voice stops him from leaving. "I love you, man. You're like my own brother. Listen to me. We don't have to walk this road. We don't have to let Leena divide us. We don't have to give in to our darker urges. There's a different option."
He stands there, head bowed, his back to me. "There is no other option. Six years we looked for a mate, and found nobody. Leena's our last chance. If we don't take a mate, our pack will fall apart. We'll be lone wolves."
"No," I say. "There is another option. Kiera."
He spins then, faster than is humanly possible. "What? You're kidding me." There's such anger and spite in his voice that I take a step back.
"She's here. She's back. She's staying at least a couple of weeks."
"So? She left, man. She abandoned us. She dropped us cold. Now that she's back, you want to go crawling to her and ask for a second chance?" His eyes are on fire.
"No," I say.
"Did she come back for us?" He searches my face. "She didn't, did she? She doesn't want us, Drake. Stop acting the fool."
This is it. The crucial moment. Make or break. I've always been better with words than Dean, but right now, I despair of finding the right ones. "Dean. Stop. Listen. She didn't come back for us. Yes, she left. But she had good reason. We scared her. Shit, we terrified ourselves. But everything's changed. We're not kids anymore. We're men."
I step up to him. He's listening. Suspicious, still angry, but he's listening.
"We're men. We don't need our mate to make the first move. We don't need to be chosen. We can do the choosing. We can tell her we want her. That we've always wanted her. That nothing has been right since she left."
Dean opens his mouth to protest, and then shakes his head
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