Read Online Wolf's Vengeance (After the Crash) by Maddy Barone - Free Book Online
Authors: Maddy Barone
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clouds to the north promised rain soon. She hoped Snake found a good place to stop for the night, where they could have a fire to cook supper and sleep out of the rain.
A gray smudge against the golden brown of the grass signaled her husband’s return. The wolf was half hidden behind his horse, so she didn’t see him go from wolf to man, but when he stepped around to take his clothes from the saddlebag, she saw enough of his bare brown body to make her breath shaky. The pressure of her groin against her saddle was almost painful. It was a pleasurable pain, one that wet her panties in an embarrassing way. Mel nodded to him quickly and resolutely turned her face forward.
Snake smiled at her as he trotted past her to Mike. “There’s a barn about three miles ahead. It’s still pretty sturdy, but no one has been there for a long time. Years, probably. With the rain coming on, it would be a good place to stay for the night.”
When they reached the barn, Mel agreed it looked to be long abandoned. The tall double doors were permanently rusted half open. The siding was bleached gray by time and weather. The house standing a hundred yards away looked equally run down, but it appeared sound. “Why not stay in the house?” she asked Snake.
“The dead are there,” he said briefly, unsaddling his horse.
“Dead? What do you mean?”
He lifted a shoulder, a faint frown putting a line between his eyebrows. “Whoever lived there is dead. Their remains are in the beds and on the floor in the kitchen. No one buried them.”
Mel suppressed a shudder. “When did they die? I mean, was it recently?”
He shook his head. “It’s been years. Since the Plague went through this region, I suppose. Four bodies, two men and two women. At least, by the shreds of clothes hanging on to the bones, I think two were women. Hard to tell. Not much left but bones. The bodies weren’t disturbed, so the animals haven’t been at them. They probably smelled off.”
Off? How else did the dead smell? “Is that part of your wolf smelling magic? Don’t all dead bodies smell?”
“Well, yeah.” He set the saddle aside. “But the Woman Killer Plague smells really bad. Most animals are too smart to eat meat diseased like that.” He hunched a shoulder, casting a glance toward the house. “Or maybe their spirits kept the predators away.”
“Spirits? I don’t believe in ghosts. Do you?”
He took his time answering, concentrating on setting the hobbles on their horses’ legs so they could graze. He stood up and gazed at her out of solemn eyes. “I believe in the spirit. If the spirit isn’t released, it sticks around. I don’t want to mess with that.”
She suppressed a smile. “I wouldn’t have thought you’d be superstitious.”
He paused in turning to the barn. “Not superstition. It’s a Lakota thing.”
First Mike, now Snake. Mel followed him to the fire ring just inside the barn where Stone was unpacking the supper. She smothered a chuckle. Her fierce werewolf husband, who had no trouble tearing rapists apart, was afraid of ghosts.
* * * *
Snake stood at the half open barn door, listening to the rain lash the earth. After Mel put away the remains of supper, she went out to attend to what she called girl business. The barn was big enough for her to do her business in a corner, but he supposed she was worried about modesty. The horses, bunched in the front corner of the barn, would have been a perfectly good privacy screen. Stone stood beside him, staring out at the silvery curtains coming down, the scent of his melancholy a light tinge in the cooling air.
“What has your tail in a knot?” Snake asked.
Stone shrugged. “Just missing my mate,” he said in a voice so low even Snake’s wolf hearing almost didn’t catch it.
Mike hunched over the fire ring near the door. “I’ll take the first watch,” he offered.
Snake nodded. “I’ll cover second watch. Stone, you have third.”
“I better get some sleep now,
A gray smudge against the golden brown of the grass signaled her husband’s return. The wolf was half hidden behind his horse, so she didn’t see him go from wolf to man, but when he stepped around to take his clothes from the saddlebag, she saw enough of his bare brown body to make her breath shaky. The pressure of her groin against her saddle was almost painful. It was a pleasurable pain, one that wet her panties in an embarrassing way. Mel nodded to him quickly and resolutely turned her face forward.
Snake smiled at her as he trotted past her to Mike. “There’s a barn about three miles ahead. It’s still pretty sturdy, but no one has been there for a long time. Years, probably. With the rain coming on, it would be a good place to stay for the night.”
When they reached the barn, Mel agreed it looked to be long abandoned. The tall double doors were permanently rusted half open. The siding was bleached gray by time and weather. The house standing a hundred yards away looked equally run down, but it appeared sound. “Why not stay in the house?” she asked Snake.
“The dead are there,” he said briefly, unsaddling his horse.
“Dead? What do you mean?”
He lifted a shoulder, a faint frown putting a line between his eyebrows. “Whoever lived there is dead. Their remains are in the beds and on the floor in the kitchen. No one buried them.”
Mel suppressed a shudder. “When did they die? I mean, was it recently?”
He shook his head. “It’s been years. Since the Plague went through this region, I suppose. Four bodies, two men and two women. At least, by the shreds of clothes hanging on to the bones, I think two were women. Hard to tell. Not much left but bones. The bodies weren’t disturbed, so the animals haven’t been at them. They probably smelled off.”
Off? How else did the dead smell? “Is that part of your wolf smelling magic? Don’t all dead bodies smell?”
“Well, yeah.” He set the saddle aside. “But the Woman Killer Plague smells really bad. Most animals are too smart to eat meat diseased like that.” He hunched a shoulder, casting a glance toward the house. “Or maybe their spirits kept the predators away.”
“Spirits? I don’t believe in ghosts. Do you?”
He took his time answering, concentrating on setting the hobbles on their horses’ legs so they could graze. He stood up and gazed at her out of solemn eyes. “I believe in the spirit. If the spirit isn’t released, it sticks around. I don’t want to mess with that.”
She suppressed a smile. “I wouldn’t have thought you’d be superstitious.”
He paused in turning to the barn. “Not superstition. It’s a Lakota thing.”
First Mike, now Snake. Mel followed him to the fire ring just inside the barn where Stone was unpacking the supper. She smothered a chuckle. Her fierce werewolf husband, who had no trouble tearing rapists apart, was afraid of ghosts.
* * * *
Snake stood at the half open barn door, listening to the rain lash the earth. After Mel put away the remains of supper, she went out to attend to what she called girl business. The barn was big enough for her to do her business in a corner, but he supposed she was worried about modesty. The horses, bunched in the front corner of the barn, would have been a perfectly good privacy screen. Stone stood beside him, staring out at the silvery curtains coming down, the scent of his melancholy a light tinge in the cooling air.
“What has your tail in a knot?” Snake asked.
Stone shrugged. “Just missing my mate,” he said in a voice so low even Snake’s wolf hearing almost didn’t catch it.
Mike hunched over the fire ring near the door. “I’ll take the first watch,” he offered.
Snake nodded. “I’ll cover second watch. Stone, you have third.”
“I better get some sleep now,
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