N. Walters - Legacy Found

Shelley followed Alex around the compound. She toured the woodshed and various storage sheds. There was also a woodworking studio where both Micah and Levi were currently working. The sweet scent of cedar tickled her nose as they stepped inside.

Both men smiled in greeting. Already, Shelley could tell the men apart. It had more to do with the look in their eyes, the way they held their bodies. Micah smiled more freely, seemed more open, while Levi was more cautious.

“Hey, ladies.” Micah put aside the hand sander he was using and brushed at the sawdust on his hands and clothing.

“What are you working on?” Alex went to Micah and he leaned down and kissed her cheek.

A pang of jealousy hit Shelley hard. They might be her brothers, but she didn’t feel as though she could approach them.

Levi stepped up beside her and gave her a sad smile. “Would you like to see what I’m making?”

His offer soothed some of the bitterness. “I’d like that.”

She spent the next ten minutes examining a table Levi was making. It was intricately carved. Beauty mixed with function. Then Micah wanted to show her the shelf he was sanding. Again it was a simple design, but the craftsmanship was incredible.

“There’s no electricity out here.” Shelley frowned as she looked around.

“Nope. We do all our work by hand.” Levi pointed to the cast-iron woodstove in the corner. “That keeps us warm on cold days.”

“And if we really need electricity, we run an extension cord from the house.”

Shelley hadn’t thought about the logistics of living in the middle of nowhere. “The houses are all wired though.”

Levi nodded. “A combination of solar panels on all the rooftops and power we generate from harnessing the wind and Wolf Creek itself.”

“Wow.” They were really self-sufficient here.

“And if that fails, we’ve got gas-powered generators and plenty of fuel.” Micah leaned against the workbench and crossed his feet at the ankles.

“You also build your own furniture.” Shelley motioned to several other pieces in progress.

“We sell what we don’t need.” Levi brushed his hand over several pieces. “It’s how we make our living.”

“And speaking of making a living,” Alex interjected. “We should let you boys get back to it.”

Shelley was glad to step outside. It was incredible to spend time with her brothers, but they were still little more than handsome strangers to her. She still felt no connection to them, not in her heart where it mattered. Maybe in time that would change. But time was something she had little of.

Shaking off her mood, she took another deep breath and followed Alex. It was a beautiful morning even though there was a slight chill to the air. Neither of them had a coat, but they were both wearing sweaters. Still, Shelley rubbed her hands up and down her arms to help stay warm.

Alex glanced back and noticed. “We should go to my place. I can make us some more coffee or hot chocolate if you’d like, and we can get warm. I never meant to keep you outside so long.”

Shelley smiled. “I don’t mind. I’m enjoying it.” And she was. The younger woman was good company. And being outside, free to do whatever she wanted was invigorating.

She felt someone watching her and swiveled her head around. James was standing on his porch talking with Joshua, but his eyes were on her. Shelley couldn’t look away. There was something about James that tugged at her on an elemental basis. There was no understanding it. No explaining it. It simply was.

Macmillan checked his binoculars again. He held up two fingers and pointed to the women. Then he pointed to the porch. He did it again and pointed to the smaller building behind one of the houses. That accounted for six of the seven.

Quinn and Mitch were on the right. Jessup and Amos on the left. Red was beside him. They moved in slowly, not wanting to alert anyone to their presence. It took them fifteen long minutes to get into position.

He took a deep breath and released it slowly. This was the moment he’d been waiting for since he found out about his father’s death. Shelley was down there. Soon she’d be in his hands. And he planned to make her pay for what she’d done. By the time he was done with her she’d wish she’d jammed that knife into her own heart instead of his father’s.

He raised his hand and brought it down sharply. A second passed. Then a shot rang out. The fight was on.

James’s head jerked up. There was something wrong. The forest was quiet. He raised his head and sniffed the air. A loud crack exploded into the silence.

“Get down!” Head bent, he sprinted across the clearing toward Shelley and Alex with Joshua racing behind him. The women were out in the open. Vulnerable. His heart pounded as he threw himself at them, knocking both to the ground just as another shot ran out.

A low howl broke from behind him. Quickly followed by another.

“Are you okay?” Joshua was dragging Alex to safety so James grabbed Shelley and pulled her closer to the cover of the house.

“I’m fine. What’s going on?” Twigs and grass were tangled in her hair and her face was smudged with dirt where he’d tackled her.

“We’re under attack. Get inside.” James was already stripping his shirt and kicking off his boots. Within seconds he was naked. He shifted without thought, ready to fight and defend his pack. His woman.

Shelley scrambled away from him, her back hitting the side of the house as he shifted. Bones cracked. Limbs reformed. Thick fur covered his body as he went from man to wolf.

He was magnificent. Majestic. Powerful. Shelley had never seen a wolf like him. He leaned in and licked her face before spinning around and sprinting to the entrance of the compound to meet their attackers head on.

Shelley couldn’t believe what was happening. One minute she’d been enjoying the cool spring morning with Alex, the next someone was shooting at them. She still couldn’t believe how fast James had moved. He’d saved both her and Alex from serious injury or possibly even being killed.

Shots continued to rain down on them. She scooted closer to the building. A bullet ricocheted off the wall behind her, sending large splinters of wood flying. Several hit her face and stung her cheek.

The smart thing would be to crawl inside the house where it was safer. But she couldn’t do that. Not when James was fighting for his life. For their lives.

She knew she was still in shock. Watching James change from man to wolf had left her slightly stunned. Intellectually, she knew he was a werewolf. But the only person she’d ever seen change was herself. It had taken her off-guard.

James was a big man, but he was huge in wolf form, his fur a silvery gray much like the hair at his temples. His eyes were still the familiar golden-brown. In them, she recognized intelligence and understanding. He wasn’t James, but he was. He and the wolf were one and the same.

It wasn’t monstrous to watch, as Tom had always claimed. It was beautiful. He was beautiful. His tongue was slightly rough but she’d felt comforted, felt his promise of protection when he’d licked her.

“Shelley,” Alex hissed off to her left. “Can you shoot a rifle?” Alex was about twenty feet away, hunkered down just outside her house. She had two rifles beside her.

“No.” That was something else she’d never learned how to do.

“Damn,” Alex muttered. She grabbed up one of the rifles and raised it, ready to shoot.

Around them, chaos had broken out in the compound. Joshua had also shifted and was heading toward the wide-open gate. She instantly recognized the large black wolf as her brother.

Levi and Micah were working their way toward the entrance, rifles in hand.