Chapter Ten
Adam’s howl broke her heart and fired her protective instincts. “Let me go.” Vinnie fought against Josiah’s hold, but his hands were like manacles, his grip impossible to break. Cyrus’s betrayal was a knife to the heart. She’d trusted him.
“Stop it before you get one of them killed.” Josiah’s sharp reprimand cut through her terror like a knife.
“He’s hurting Adam.” There was blood on her son’s hand.
“That was to get the boy’s attention, to push him to shift. If he doesn’t, he’ll die. Is that what you want?”
The entire world seemed to close in around her, blackness filled her vision, and it became hard to breathe. She shook her head and forced herself to take a breath. “No.”
“Then get a grip on yourself.”
“I don’t like you.” She thought about kicking him, but figured he’d have no problem kicking her back.
“I don’t give a give a shit what you think of me.
I care about my nephew surviving the night.
” As blows went, it sent her to her knees.
Her legs went out from under her. Swearing, Josiah pulled her back upright.
“Do you think my brother wants to hurt his son, hurt either of you? He did this all the while knowing you might hate him when it was done, but he did it anyway, because that’s the kind of man he is.
He does the hard thing because it needs to be done.
You promised to trust him. That didn’t last long. Did it?”
He was right, but Cyrus’s attack had been swift and all too real. For a split-second, she’d thought she was dead, that all of this had been nothing more than a ruse to get them here and kill them both.
She looked to the clearing, heart in her throat. Until this moment, she’d clung to a tiny hope that somehow Cyrus was wrong, that their son wasn’t like him, that they could put all this behind them and go home. But it wasn’t to be. She bit her lip hard enough to draw blood.
Where her son had stood was now a black-eyed wolf. Adam was a smaller version of his father, his fur various shades of brown. The only hint of her to be found in his fur was a black streak between his eyes.
Her relief quickly morphed into growing concern.
The others remained motionless and alert.
Adam growled and prowled forward. Josiah’s fingers dug into her skin.
When she flinched, he released her. “What’s going on?
” she whispered. “Isn’t it over?” Adam had shifted.
That had been the biggest worry, hadn’t it?
“Wolf and boy need to come into balance.” Josiah’s tension fed hers.
“If they don’t?” Her fingernails dug into her palms. It was taking everything in her to stay where she was. She’d never felt so useless.
“The wolf will be wild, unable to control itself. The boy will be lost.”
“I have to do something.” Getting between two predators didn’t seem smart, but her son needed her.
Adam launched himself into the air straight at Cyrus. He grabbed the wolf out of the air, tossed him on the ground, and pinned him, as he had when their son had been human. He was asserting dominance.
“That’s enough, Adam. Don’t test me, boy. If you want to protect your mama, you best get control. Or maybe you’d rather I put you down and out of your misery.”
The cruel words lashed at her. It didn’t matter that they were meant to help.
They still struck hard. Adam hadn’t spent time with his father.
He’d believe every word and take it to heart.
Vinnie wasn’t totally convinced Cyrus didn’t mean them.
This world was so different from the one she’d grown up in.
It was downright scary, like something out of a horror film.
When the wolf snapped at him, Cyrus didn’t flinch but continued to stare into his eyes.
Vinnie took a tentative step forward. When Josiah didn’t try to stop her, she kept going, careful to not make any sudden moves.
She went to her knees beside them, careful to stay out of reach of sharp claws and fangs.
The lack of emotion on Cyrus’s face bothered her, but she focused on her son. “Adam.” When he didn’t respond, she raised her voice. “Adam Grant, I’m talking to you.” His head snapped around. There was intelligence in the wolf’s eyes. Her son was inside there somewhere.
She licked her dry lips, praying she wasn’t about to make things worse. “Listen to me. Stop fighting the wolf. You’re two sides of a coin. You’re both human and wolf.” If he understood she accepted him as he was, maybe he would too. “You’re special. I love both parts of you.”
Trusting her son not to hurt her, and Cyrus to stop him if he lost control and tried, Vinnie brushed her hand over the wolf’s head.
Adam had always loved having his hair stroked when he was younger.
The fur was thick and coarse on top and softer beneath.
“You have a stripe of black between your eyes. Like my hair color. Otherwise, you look like your dad.” When Adam growled, she tapped him lightly on the forehead with her index finger.
“Enough of that. I love you. I need you to love yourself enough to be who you’re meant to be. ”
Taking a chance, she motioned the others closer. “These are your uncles. They all came to help you. You’re not alone in this. Not now. Not ever.” Please hear me. If he didn’t, she wasn’t sure what else to do. “Please, Adam. Come back to me.” A lone tear slipped down her cheek.
The wolf began to tremble, and the entire process began in reverse. Only this time it went faster. Fur receded, limbs reshaped, and his face reformed. The wolf vanished, leaving her frightened and confused son behind. She broke out in a cold sweat, relief flooding her.
Cyrus immediately moved aside and Adam lunged at her. “Mom.” He wrapped his arms around her, clinging tight, his entire body shaking.
She held and rocked him, much as she had when he was a child. It wasn’t fair that he had to endure something so traumatic at such a tender age, but life was rarely fair. He was strong. He’d get through it, with help.
“I’ve got you,” she murmured. “You’re safe.”
“Here.” Dressed once again, Cyrus crouched beside them and held out Adam’s jeans. “Figured you’d rather not lie around naked in the dirt.”
Adam’s head snapped up. His tears dried up and he emitted a low growl that raised goose bumps on her arms.
Rather than be upset by the obvious aggression, Cyrus rubbed his son’s hair. “It’s good to want to protect your mama, but that’s my job, not yours. No one here will hurt either one of you.” He pushed the pants at him again. “Get dressed. We’ll go up to the house. You must be starving.”
They both needed some normalcy to come to grips with what just happened.
Ignoring the fine tremors of her limbs and the summersaults in her stomach, Vinnie rubbed her hand over her son’s back.
“I don’t know about you, but I could eat.
” In truth, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to hold anything down.
Her stomach was too queasy. But coffee would hit the spot.
Without a word, Adam hauled on his jeans and grabbed his shirt when one of Cyrus’s brothers held it out to him.
Other than Josiah, she had no idea who was who, but there was no mistaking their relationship, even if she hadn’t known who they were.
And her son fit right in. He might be shorter than the rest, but he was still growing.
With his rangy build, black eyes, and shaggy brown hair, there wasn’t a shred of doubt they were related.
She wished she knew what to say or do to ease his discomfort, but she was totally out of her element.
When she went to hug him, Adam ducked away and walked to the SUV without making eye contact with anyone. He climbed in the back seat and closed the door. She huffed out a breath and combed her fingers through her hair. “Right, what comes next?”
“We go to the house, eat, get cleaned up, sleep, and figure it out in the morning.”
“I planned on leaving tomorrow morning.” There was still a mess to be sorted out back home. The longer they waited to do that, the worse it would be. She had no doubt Wilkes would carry some tale to the sheriff as soon as he realized they were gone.
Cyrus shook his head. “Adam needs time around all of us. He needs to practice shifting and figuring out who he is.”
He was right, but it complicated her already complicated life. “Then I’m staying.” She faced him, hands on her hips and chin thrust out, daring him to suggest otherwise.
He frowned and tilted his head to one side. “Of course you are.”
Of course you are. She’d expected him to be combative, but that was her insecurities coming to the fore. Too used to having male authority figures and contemporaries, hell, even subordinates, ordering her about and questioning her every move.
“I’m going to have to contact Sheriff Kingman. Figure out something to tell him if I hope to have a job when I get back to West Virginia.”
A muscle jerked in his jaw, but he gave a curt nod. “Tomorrow is soon enough. Wilkes won’t make it out of the woods until later tonight at the earliest, if not tomorrow morning.”
Cyrus was right. Wilkes couldn’t move nearly as efficiently as he and Adam had. He’d be stuck hiking at a much slower pace. Tomorrow would be soon enough. Truthfully, she’d put it off forever, if she could. It was not going to be pleasant.
The three large wolves and other men had disappeared while they’d been talking, vanishing without a sound. “We should go.” She didn’t like that Adam was alone in the vehicle. For a second, she thought Cyrus might say something else, but he waved her ahead of him.