Read Online Wolf at the Door by Rebecca Brochu - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Rebecca Brochu
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leaping and tearing into something. Frozen in shock, Darin can almost swear that he can see something rippling just beneath Raylan’s skin.
“Raylan?” He keeps his voice low and soft. He’s almost surprised by how even it comes out, but he knows without a shadow of a doubt that he’s safe. Something deep inside of him whispers that even at his worst Raylan would never harm him.
Raylan seems to gather himself with difficulty, eyes locked on the box behind Darin even as he takes a few steps back and away. When he speaks his voice is low and gruff, part growl with that same slurring hint of fangs from before.
“Wolfsbane.”
Horror ramps through Darin as the suspicions the small card had set to churning in his brain are validated. The Huntsman, the person who’d managed to wound Raylan, who has been trying so hard to kill him has found them. What is worse is the fact that they’d been close enough to leave that package, that box of poison and the taunting card, and they’d both been completely unaware.
“Shit!”
“Get rid of it, Darin.”
Darin whirls back around, slams the lid of the box closed and scoops it and the wrapping paper up in his arms and then races for his front door. He wrenches it open and stumbles down the steps and across his yard, skidding to a halt by his trashcans where he’s quick to throw box and all inside and slam the top back down. He’s moving back towards the house almost before he realizes it, and Raylan catches him up in his arms as soon as he’s inside and the door is closed and locked behind them.
“They’ve found us. They’ve found us, haven’t they, Raylan?” He knows there’s panic in his voice, in the way his heart is racing, his breath catching in his chest. Raylan tightens his arms around Darin’s waist and hugs him to his chest. Darin’s wound too tight to really relax, but the reassuring feel of Raylan’s strong arms around him helps him breathe a bit easier.
“Did you tell anyone, Darin? Did you tell anyone about seeing me, about the woods and meeting the wolf? Was there anyone who was too interested? Too invested? Think carefully.” Raylan’s voice is low and steady, almost as gentle as his hands feel, but Darin can hear the tension in the tone, the urgency.
“It’s a small town and word got out easily, Raylan. There was, I mean, everyone heard about the animals and the flowers and everyone was interested. Especially when tests said wolf, but I never told anyone about you. Even then, before this, I knew better somehow than to mention the wolf.”
Raylan looks pleased for a moment and then he’s moving, letting Darin go and ushering him back towards the bedroom with a wide palm on his lower back. Raylan’s quick to usher Darin into sturdier clothes and a pair of solid hiking boots and then he throws one of the backpacks from the top of the closet down on the bed and turns towards Darin. His eyes are serious and his hands are firm when they wrap themselves over the curve of his shoulder so they can look one another in the eye.
“I’m sorry for this, Darin. I didn’t mean for it to happen this way. If I could, I’d leave and deal with this alone. I wouldn’t drag you into it any further than I already have with the stupid fucking mistakes I’ve made fumbling around like a newborn pup. That box was a calling card, a warning of sorts. The Huntsman knows I’m here, knows that you’re involved somehow.”
Darin’s almost not surprised anymore by how steady he feels. Looking into Raylan’s warm eyes, feeling his hands on his shoulders and remembering the gaping wound that had slashed across Raylan’s side earlier almost makes it easier. There’s no fucking way he’s going to let Raylan handle this shit on his own.
“What do you need me to do?”
For a moment Raylan freezes and his hands tighten almost painfully before they loosen abruptly. Darin recognizes the way triumph
“Raylan?” He keeps his voice low and soft. He’s almost surprised by how even it comes out, but he knows without a shadow of a doubt that he’s safe. Something deep inside of him whispers that even at his worst Raylan would never harm him.
Raylan seems to gather himself with difficulty, eyes locked on the box behind Darin even as he takes a few steps back and away. When he speaks his voice is low and gruff, part growl with that same slurring hint of fangs from before.
“Wolfsbane.”
Horror ramps through Darin as the suspicions the small card had set to churning in his brain are validated. The Huntsman, the person who’d managed to wound Raylan, who has been trying so hard to kill him has found them. What is worse is the fact that they’d been close enough to leave that package, that box of poison and the taunting card, and they’d both been completely unaware.
“Shit!”
“Get rid of it, Darin.”
Darin whirls back around, slams the lid of the box closed and scoops it and the wrapping paper up in his arms and then races for his front door. He wrenches it open and stumbles down the steps and across his yard, skidding to a halt by his trashcans where he’s quick to throw box and all inside and slam the top back down. He’s moving back towards the house almost before he realizes it, and Raylan catches him up in his arms as soon as he’s inside and the door is closed and locked behind them.
“They’ve found us. They’ve found us, haven’t they, Raylan?” He knows there’s panic in his voice, in the way his heart is racing, his breath catching in his chest. Raylan tightens his arms around Darin’s waist and hugs him to his chest. Darin’s wound too tight to really relax, but the reassuring feel of Raylan’s strong arms around him helps him breathe a bit easier.
“Did you tell anyone, Darin? Did you tell anyone about seeing me, about the woods and meeting the wolf? Was there anyone who was too interested? Too invested? Think carefully.” Raylan’s voice is low and steady, almost as gentle as his hands feel, but Darin can hear the tension in the tone, the urgency.
“It’s a small town and word got out easily, Raylan. There was, I mean, everyone heard about the animals and the flowers and everyone was interested. Especially when tests said wolf, but I never told anyone about you. Even then, before this, I knew better somehow than to mention the wolf.”
Raylan looks pleased for a moment and then he’s moving, letting Darin go and ushering him back towards the bedroom with a wide palm on his lower back. Raylan’s quick to usher Darin into sturdier clothes and a pair of solid hiking boots and then he throws one of the backpacks from the top of the closet down on the bed and turns towards Darin. His eyes are serious and his hands are firm when they wrap themselves over the curve of his shoulder so they can look one another in the eye.
“I’m sorry for this, Darin. I didn’t mean for it to happen this way. If I could, I’d leave and deal with this alone. I wouldn’t drag you into it any further than I already have with the stupid fucking mistakes I’ve made fumbling around like a newborn pup. That box was a calling card, a warning of sorts. The Huntsman knows I’m here, knows that you’re involved somehow.”
Darin’s almost not surprised anymore by how steady he feels. Looking into Raylan’s warm eyes, feeling his hands on his shoulders and remembering the gaping wound that had slashed across Raylan’s side earlier almost makes it easier. There’s no fucking way he’s going to let Raylan handle this shit on his own.
“What do you need me to do?”
For a moment Raylan freezes and his hands tighten almost painfully before they loosen abruptly. Darin recognizes the way triumph
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