6. Sol
CHAPTER 6
Sol
T he next few days passed much the same as the first. I woke up to Orion pounding on my door, quickly dressed, and went downstairs to help with breakfast. After we ate, I followed them outside to shovel snow or shit or whatever Orion asked me to do. We mostly ignored each other, save for the few times I glanced up and found his gaze lingering on me. I figured I didn’t know the proper way to muck out a stall, but Lycan assured me there wasn’t much to it other than to get the shit in a wheelbarrow.
I fed the horses and snuggled the dogs, and at lunchtime, I went inside first to prepare the food Lycan or Poe had set aside that morning. My head continued to throb and my body still ached, but that must have been because I hadn’t fully recovered from my car wreck before being forced to work a ranch like I’d been doing it my whole life.
Secretly, I didn’t mind it so much. Yeah, I smelled like a barn animal at the end of the day, and I felt it in muscles I didn’t even know I had, but I’d never slept as well as I did those first few nights. I didn’t even need to read before bed, something I had done since I was a child. I loved books, and if I’d had my way in college, I would have studied writing instead of business. But I’d always thought I’d work for Vanderbilt Holdings one day, so for me and my siblings, there was no other choice. I didn’t know Father would die before I could.
The guys had started to warm up to me, or at least, Poe and Lycan had. One morning, I came downstairs to find Poe standing at the stove, stirring something in a pan that smelled delicious. I paused at the sight of Lycan behind him, arms wrapped around the younger man’s waist, scraping his teeth against Poe’s ear, exchanging hushed whispers and desperate giggles.
Oh…
I cleared my throat and walked forward, grinning when both men glanced up at me.
“Is there anything I can help with?” I asked, quickly adding, “For breakfast?”
Poe raised a skeptical eyebrow as Lycan stepped back and laughed.
“Do you know how to make bacon without burning the place down?” Poe asked.
“I can learn,” I said, hooking my hands together behind my back. Poe explained the basics and told me to keep an eye on the eggs while Lycan pulled him toward the bathroom and kicked the door shut behind them. I set the table and made myself as useful as I could until heavy footsteps came down the stairs and approached. When I looked over my shoulder, I found Orion in jeans, a T-shirt, and his flannel, leaning against the beam separating this part of the house from the living room and watching me.
I’d swear I saw his eyes flash blue before he blinked and they turned dark brown again.
I must be concussed . That was the only explanation. I obviously needed more rest.
“Are they like…together?” I nodded toward the bathroom, indicating Lycan and Poe by the sounds of laughter and moans echoing over the running water.
Orion pushed upright and shrugged, walking forward to the eggs. “No idea. It’s none of my business.”
“Oh, okay.” Certainly, it wasn’t any of mine, either.
“Why? Are you into one of them or something?” At the hint of a snarl in his tone, I straightened and turned to face him, bracing myself with my hands on the back of the chair in front of me.
“No, of course not,” I said, fighting a blush that echoed up my neck and into my cheeks. “I’m a Vanderbilt, remember?”
“Hmm,” Orion said, shifting around so he could lean against the counter and stare at me again. “How’s your head? Any better?”
“Not really,” I said. “It’s pounding, but I’ll be okay.”
A crease formed between his brows as he came closer, and I held my breath while the space between us closed to inches. Without asking, he grabbed my chin and forced my face up to his, his gaze zeroing in on the wound near my hairline. “You’ve got a nasty bruise. I shouldn’t have you working outside. You need rest.”
“It’s fine. If you’re going out, I’m going out.” I jerked out of his hold. For some stupid reason, I enjoyed being in the fresh air with them, I enjoyed doing my part to earn the few days I planned to be here.
He made another masculine sound low in his chest, and a tremble shot down my spine, pooling in parts that had no right forming an opinion. I clenched my thighs together, curling my fingers into fists to keep from pushing them through his thick hair.
“But maybe I should make it an early night,” I added, more as a reminder to myself.
He nodded and grunted a noise of agreement, taking a step away from me just as the bathroom door opened and Lycan appeared with a towel wrapped around his waist.
“Sorry to interrupt,” he said with a smile, glancing between the two of us as he padded upstairs. Poe followed closely behind him, and by the time we were alone again, whatever had happened between Orion and I had been quickly brushed under a rug.
Eventually, Lycan and Poe came back down, fully dressed, and we ate breakfast together before heading outside to work. Other than that one interaction, Orion remained grumpy and aloof, and when dinnertime came on day four of captivity, I figured there would be no breaking through to him. Which was fine with me. For as beautiful as he was, I needed to stay away from him. He made me feel things…inexplicable and undeniable things…that were better left unmentioned.
“All right,” Orion said at four thirty. “Let’s call it and head inside.”
“I’m famished,” I said, tossing the last little bit of feed out for the sheep. “But I think I’m getting better at this.”
Poe smirked while Lycan barked out a laugh and threw an arm over my shoulder. “We’ll make a ranch hand out of you yet.”
Orion glared at Lycan but said nothing, just nodded back toward the cabin. “Go gather more firewood from the pile out back, enough to keep us warm through the night.”
Lycan grumbled to himself but ultimately stuffed his hands into his gloves and walked around the house. Poe fell behind us, tending to a few things before closing the barn, and I nudged my shoulder into Orion’s arm, hoping for a playful grin on my frozen cheeks and wind-chapped nose.
“Not bad for a trust fund baby, huh?” I said, delight squeezing my heart when he set those predator eyes on me. They flashed a bright icy blue, there for a moment and gone in the next, just as they had that morning in the kitchen. I nearly stumbled over a snow pile from watching him instead of where I was walking.
“Yes, being covered in shit suits you.” His voice came out in a deep, sarcastic growl, nearly enough to raise the hairs on the back of my neck. “Wait until I have you shearing sheep and wrestling cattle.”
Certain I’d imagined the whole changing eye color thing, I clapped in excitement and jumped, thrilled I’d pleased him. I didn’t know why. It didn’t make any sense. I’d just met him four days ago, but everything in me wanted him to think I’d earned my place, that I’d done a good job. When did I become so desperate for his approval? And why did I care so much?
I don’t. I swear I don’t.
The guys walked ahead, but I realized I’d left my gloves in the barn, so I turned back to get them. I slid the door to the side and walked back to Nemesis’s stall, smiling as the mare came closer to the gate. She whinnied and nudged my shoulder in greeting, perking her ears toward me.
“Hi, girl,” I said, giving her a few quick scratches on her nose before I walked back toward the entrance, shutting the door and locking it like Poe showed me.
I took a step toward the house just as a crack in the woods came from my right. I froze and glanced in that direction. A chill skated down my spine that had nothing to do with the cold air as I thought I saw white fluff scurry by, moving against the snow.
“Hey!” I shouted toward the house, but the guys had already gone inside. I glanced back toward the woods, narrowing my gaze on the moving blob, almost certain now that it was a sheep.
Damn. Had I left the pen open?
No, I’d locked it up. This one must have gotten away while we were cleaning it earlier. I trudged toward the tree line, stomping in the thigh-high snow. Once I got into the forest, the snow drift lowered to my knees, but it was still a pain to chase an animal through the stuff.
“Hey, sheep,” I called, feeling like even more of an idiot when the beast kept bucking and kicking its way through the storm. I had half a mind to let it go, to let it get eaten by wolves or bears or whatever scavengers might be out in this mess.
But no. I’d just started getting the respect of the guys, Orion especially, so I kept going. I had to keep going. I could catch the damn thing and put it back in its pen and no one would be the wiser about my mistake in counting earlier.
I counted fifty-two, didn’t I? What the hell?
I didn’t know how it escaped, but I didn’t care. The only thing that mattered was getting it back.
As if sensing a game of chase, it sped up, hopping through this shit faster than I could walk. What seemed like centuries later, I finally gained on it, only to have it throw itself over a fallen log with a lingering, “Bahhh.”
The sun had started to set and the angry storm clouds made the natural shadows of the forest seem even more ominous, so when I hopped over that same log and lost my footing, I immediately buckled at the knees and rolled down a hill.
The world spun around me, making my apparently permanent headache more intense. I crashed into a thick oak tree with a resounding thump, aggravating every nerve in my body that was already sensitive from the wreck four days ago. Warm, sticky blood coated the side of my face from my head wound that had reopened on impact.
“Damn it,” I shouted, wincing as stars blinked in my eyes and a sharp stab went through the center of my skull.
All the air rushed out of my lungs, and I lay there for a moment, praying for the strength and the willpower to get back up.
“Bahhh,” said the sheep, practically mocking me from a few feet away. I hauled myself to my feet, my shame for having made a mistake turning into full-out rage. Now, I had to get the damned thing.
“I’m going to turn you into a tasty lamb chop,” I taunted, staring it down as it teased me. “And I’m going to take your wool and make it into a blanket for some rotten kid to snot all over. Would you like that?”
It only bayed at me again before turning and continuing its pursuit into the woods.
“No, you little asshole!” I chased after it, this time getting close enough to wrap my arms around its neck, halting its Houdini act. “Ha! I got you.”
It made another “Bahhh” at having been caught, but this time, a deep, rumbling growl punctuated the sound, carrying on the wind. I froze, glancing around at the icy forest ground and thick brown trees blocking my path. Rancid instinctual fear raced through my veins, telling me I wasn’t alone out here…and I was severely unarmed.
I straightened and wiped blood out of my eyes, blinking against my stinging vision as I kept one hand on the sheep so it didn’t run off again. Looking around, I grew desperate to find the source of the noise. Another threatening snarl echoed off the trees, interrupting the soft tinkling of snow falling around me. My heart pounded and the sickening curl of anxiety rolled in my gut as I struggled to stay calm and debated my options.
I could run. I could throw the sheep to whatever predator lurked in the woods and take off, but after falling down the hill, I had no idea which way to go. I was disoriented and the pounding between my temples had only intensified from the fall. All thoughts stopped when another gnarl accompanied two more, this time closer, seeming to come from all around me.
Oh no. I was surrounded, and this wasn’t just one predator. No…this was a pack.
Bright glowing eyes appeared a few feet in front of me, giving way to a long brown muzzle with lips pulled back on big, slimy teeth. It snapped at me, and every survival impulse I had told me to run! But I knew better. To run would initiate a chase, and their prey drive would take over. They wouldn’t stop until they had my throat in their jaws and their claws in my soft bits.
The ground was covered, so even if I thought I could fight them off with a large branch, I’d have to dig to find one that would work. No, I was absolutely screwed. There would be no getting out of this.
Deep in the part of my brain that operated on primal urges, I laughed. I’d been betrothed to a degenerate, forced to live with three Bastards, and this was the way I died? God had a funny way of showing irony.
“Well then,” I said, raising my voice as I stared down the biggest and the most hungry looking wolf. “Go on. Come and get me!” I let out a loud roar, seeming to come from the very pit of my soul. If I went down, at least I could say I went down fighting.