Read Online Wolf at the Door by Rebecca Brochu - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Rebecca Brochu
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flashes briefly across Raylan’s warm gaze.
“I need you to pack, just what you need and anything you absolutely must have because we’re going to have to move quickly, and we can’t be weighted down anymore than necessary. I’m strong and fast, but we have to be cautious and not take unnecessary risks. Still you’re going to need things, and I refuse to let you go without.”
Darin doesn’t waste a moment. He’s moving around his room in a flurry, grabbing clothes and the extra fully stocked first aid kit from the back of his closet. He even sends Raylan to the kitchen to grab a few things like a flashlight, some packets of trail mix, and the protein bars he always keeps for his hikes.
Raylan’s voice comes to him again when he’s double checking the pack, tightening straps and snapping buckles to make sure everything’s secure. He sounds almost hesitant, unsure of himself or Darin one, and the sound makes Darin’s heart stutter and his eyes almost prickle with tears.
“I’m telling the truth, you know, about the fact that I’d leave if I could, if it was what you wanted me to do. I’d walk out and take this all with me and never darken your doorstep again, but I can’t. There’s no guarantee that there’s only one Huntsman around here, that the one that’s hunting me hasn’t called for backup or is part of a band, and I don’t want to leave you defenseless. These people, they don’t draw the line at my kind. They believe anyone who willingly consorts with us is equally guilty, and they’ll go after a claimed or mated human first and above all else. I’ll be damned before I leave you here to be slaughtered.”
Darin stops him with a firm hand to the back of his neck as he goes up onto his toes and claims Raylan’s mouth in short brutal kiss that makes Raylan blink and fall silent. Darin starts to tell him to shut up, that he’s done more than enough apologizing and that he’s happy to follow him wherever he has to when a thought stops him in his tracks. He rocks back onto his heels and takes a step away from Raylan as he stares into the middle distance, mind whirling at a million miles an hour.
“Raylan, is there any way to distinguish a Huntsman from everyone else? I mean, how are we going to know if we’re ever safe if there’s no way to tell who is really who?” The thought of a future filled with endless running and endless fear isn’t appealing to Darin. He wants to stay with Raylan, to be with him and run with him if necessary, but it would go a long way towards Darin’s peace of mind if he could at least know who he was running from. That there’s a chance of maybe stopping one day, that they won’t always be back to back in a crowd where everyone is a potential threat that they won’t be able to identify until it’s too late.
Raylan snatches up an abandoned notepad from the bedside table and then searches through the drawer until he finds a pen. He starts to sketch quickly, roughly, and after only a few moments he seems to regain control of himself because he’s staring directly at Darin even as his hands continue to draw.
“They have a tattoo, all of the Huntsmen my family has ever seen, all of them bear the same mark, the same design. It’s a pledge, a sign of loyalty to their cause and a sign of warning to my people. It never changes except for maybe the size or the location. It’s normally somewhere important, somewhere vital.” Raylan throws the pen to the side and flips the notebook around so that Darin can see. “This is what it looks like.”
It’s a coat of arms, done in impressive detail for such rushed work, an ornate shield with a wolf howling at the moon decorating the front.
“They wear it almost like an insult. They think it’s funny that their symbol is the very creature they’ve sworn to eradicate.”
Raylan’s voice is low and dark and vicious, but Darin can barely hear him, can barely make out
“I need you to pack, just what you need and anything you absolutely must have because we’re going to have to move quickly, and we can’t be weighted down anymore than necessary. I’m strong and fast, but we have to be cautious and not take unnecessary risks. Still you’re going to need things, and I refuse to let you go without.”
Darin doesn’t waste a moment. He’s moving around his room in a flurry, grabbing clothes and the extra fully stocked first aid kit from the back of his closet. He even sends Raylan to the kitchen to grab a few things like a flashlight, some packets of trail mix, and the protein bars he always keeps for his hikes.
Raylan’s voice comes to him again when he’s double checking the pack, tightening straps and snapping buckles to make sure everything’s secure. He sounds almost hesitant, unsure of himself or Darin one, and the sound makes Darin’s heart stutter and his eyes almost prickle with tears.
“I’m telling the truth, you know, about the fact that I’d leave if I could, if it was what you wanted me to do. I’d walk out and take this all with me and never darken your doorstep again, but I can’t. There’s no guarantee that there’s only one Huntsman around here, that the one that’s hunting me hasn’t called for backup or is part of a band, and I don’t want to leave you defenseless. These people, they don’t draw the line at my kind. They believe anyone who willingly consorts with us is equally guilty, and they’ll go after a claimed or mated human first and above all else. I’ll be damned before I leave you here to be slaughtered.”
Darin stops him with a firm hand to the back of his neck as he goes up onto his toes and claims Raylan’s mouth in short brutal kiss that makes Raylan blink and fall silent. Darin starts to tell him to shut up, that he’s done more than enough apologizing and that he’s happy to follow him wherever he has to when a thought stops him in his tracks. He rocks back onto his heels and takes a step away from Raylan as he stares into the middle distance, mind whirling at a million miles an hour.
“Raylan, is there any way to distinguish a Huntsman from everyone else? I mean, how are we going to know if we’re ever safe if there’s no way to tell who is really who?” The thought of a future filled with endless running and endless fear isn’t appealing to Darin. He wants to stay with Raylan, to be with him and run with him if necessary, but it would go a long way towards Darin’s peace of mind if he could at least know who he was running from. That there’s a chance of maybe stopping one day, that they won’t always be back to back in a crowd where everyone is a potential threat that they won’t be able to identify until it’s too late.
Raylan snatches up an abandoned notepad from the bedside table and then searches through the drawer until he finds a pen. He starts to sketch quickly, roughly, and after only a few moments he seems to regain control of himself because he’s staring directly at Darin even as his hands continue to draw.
“They have a tattoo, all of the Huntsmen my family has ever seen, all of them bear the same mark, the same design. It’s a pledge, a sign of loyalty to their cause and a sign of warning to my people. It never changes except for maybe the size or the location. It’s normally somewhere important, somewhere vital.” Raylan throws the pen to the side and flips the notebook around so that Darin can see. “This is what it looks like.”
It’s a coat of arms, done in impressive detail for such rushed work, an ornate shield with a wolf howling at the moon decorating the front.
“They wear it almost like an insult. They think it’s funny that their symbol is the very creature they’ve sworn to eradicate.”
Raylan’s voice is low and dark and vicious, but Darin can barely hear him, can barely make out
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