Wicked Cowboy Wolf Read online

  It was a sheer numbers game. Rogue knew that firsthand. Rogue wolves were loners by either birth or circumstance, and the numbers weren’t on their side. They were outcasts, misfits, the vagabonds of their world. Pack wolves like Mae would never understand. She would never know what it was like to go hungry, to not have a home, to be a pariah among both wolves and humanity.

  “I’ve never done anything to the rogues,” she said.

  “Exactly.” He sneered. “Let them eat cake.”

  Just like the rest of them. He’d do well to remember that. She’d done nothing, said nothing, while those without a pack lived a life harder than she’d ever know. He’d come to expect it by now. They all did, yet she disappointed him more than most.

  Because he’d once thought her better than that.

  He scowled. They were the ignorant dreams of a silly boy.

  She’s not for you, and she never will be…

  Mae’s hands balled into fists. “My cage may be different from yours, but it’s still a cage.”

  He tilted his head. That’s what she thought of the privileged life he’d given her?

  He shouldn’t have been surprised. They both had something the other wanted. She had the protection of the Seven Range Pact for her family. He had true freedom, what she’d wanted ever since they were children all those years ago. Freedom she’d never known, and from the desire in her eyes, freedom she still wanted—badly.

  What he wouldn’t give to see her enjoy just a taste of it.

  “And what about you? What saint are you to point out my flaws?” she asked. “How are my sins any worse than yours?” She counted off his crimes on her fingers. “Thievery, bribery, extortion, breaking and entering… I’m sure I’m missing some.”

  “You forgot grand larceny, but I’ll excuse it this time.” He grinned. Her list only touched the tip of the iceberg, but the challenge in her eyes stirred something low in his belly. He rose to his feet. “But there’s one key difference between you and me, Princess.”

  She bristled at the nickname again.

  Slowly, he stepped toward her, lowering his voice into a conspiratorial whisper. “I don’t pretend to be the good guy.”

  Her eyes flashed to her wolf. She was a spitfire, and he liked that more than he cared to admit.

  “If you didn’t come for my brother, then who? What shifter of the Seven Range Pact are you here to extort, or do you just enjoy taunting me?” Her words were spit like venom, but he’d been bitten by worse vipers.

  “I have no interest in the Seven Range Pact.”

  Her eyes narrowed as if she didn’t believe him. “But why the risk then? I could have exposed you.”

  “We both knew you wouldn’t. I walked straight into that reception and practically served myself up on a platter for your brother and the Pact, yet you didn’t so much as utter a word.”

  “Of course I didn’t,” she snapped. “We had a deal.”

  “You’re a woman of your word, Maeve Grey. I knew that from the start. But even for an honest woman like you, a promise to an enemy is fool’s gold in the face of protecting your pack. It’s not the deal we struck that made me trust in your silence. It’s more than that.”

  “I kept my word. That’s all.”

  “Don’t lie, Mae. Not to me.”

  “You need to leave.” Her mouth drew into that angry, delicious pucker that made him envision what would happen if he pressed his lips against hers. He’d make her melt against him, part those tightened lips with ease.

  “Tell me the true reason you didn’t expose me, and I’m gone.”

  And there it was, the challenge sparked in her eyes, and before she could think better of it, she was squaring off with him. “I didn’t tell them because I didn’t want to.” She said the words as if she hated it, as if the truth angered her. “I wanted to keep it my secret. Make my own choice for once.”

  So Maeve Grey wanted to emerge from beneath the pressure of her brother’s thumb, and he was her means to do it.

  “That, I believe,” he purred. This was the Maeve he knew. She might not have recognized who he truly was, but she was still intrigued…by him, by the darkness, by everything that was forbidden to her. She always had been. He’d known that from the start.

  “Now go,” she said, pointing toward the door again. “I won’t let you ruin our chances with Alexander. My packmates depend on it.” From the fire in her eyes, she’d do anything to protect those she cared for.

  Their goals were more alike than she knew.

  “Don’t worry, Princess. I already have what I need.”

  She frowned. “And what is that exactly?”

  A devious grin crossed his lips. “You.”

  “Me?” Slowly, she backed away. “You said you would leave.”

  He grinned. “Fool’s gold, remember?”

  A look of panic came over her. She hadn’t been afraid before, but she was now. Good. Let her see the real him. Nothing deserving her intrigue. He was the monster in the darkness, the wolf hidden in the shadows. Everything she should stay away from.

  Without warning, she darted past him, but he didn’t try to stop her. She wouldn’t go far. She ran to the kitchen and grabbed a massive butcher knife from the knife block, wielding it like a weapon. At least it was better than a book.

  He sauntered in after her. “Does brandishing cutlery make you feel better?”

  Her gaze darted between him and the blade. “Yes.”

  “Then by all means.” He leaned against her granite countertop, ignoring the knife. He knew she wouldn’t dare use it. Not this time. “Don’t worry, Princess. I’m not going to hurt you.”

  That wasn’t a part of the plan. Even he didn’t prey on the vulnerable. He’d caused trouble for the Grey Wolves more than once, but he had every intention of protecting Mae, even with his life if necessary. It was a shame she had no idea what she was worth or the power she held. Any of the leaders at that reception earlier would have fought any battle, shed any amount of blood, if they knew her true value like he did. But they didn’t. Not yet.

  A life as a criminal had its perks.

  He slid his hand over the granite countertop as he moved toward her. The onyx rings on his fingers flashed in the dim glow. “You wanted to make your own choices, and I’m offering you your first one.”

  He watched with a grin as she lowered the knife ever so slightly. He saw right through her. She’d made her choice the moment she’d chosen not to expose him to the Pact.

  If she knew what was good for her, she’d never make a deal with a wolf like him, but Mae had never been afraid, even when they’d been children and he’d been a scared, mean little boy without a friend in the world.

  He was no longer that scared little boy who could save her from the darkness, because he was the darkness. And if Maeve Grey wanted the freedom of life lived in the shadows…well, then he’d give it to her.

  Chapter 3

  Mae held the blade steady. “What are you offering?” she asked.

  Apparently, she hadn’t learned her lesson after making a deal with him the first time. She watched the Rogue with wary eyes, careful of any sudden movement he made. She didn’t think he was here to hurt her, but she was smart enough not to fully trust him either.

  She wasn’t about to underestimate a wolf like him.

  He straightened from where he leaned against the counter to his full height until he towered over her. All long limbs corded with muscle. He moved with the languid grace of a predator. She’d only seen that kind of movement from a handful of the strongest Grey Wolf alpha warriors. The warriors with the darkest pasts and the most enemy deaths to their name.

  “The kind of deal that gets you allies far more powerful than Alexander,” he answered.

  He stepped into the dim glow of the moonlight streaming through the kitchen window and Mae ga
sped. Up close in the vampire cells, she’d noticed his scars, a sharp contrast to the intact side of his face, which revealed a chiseled chin, sharp cheekbones, and a regal blade of a nose. But in the cells, his scars had been cast in fiery dungeon shadows. Now, as he prowled closer, his full features emerged. The moonlight highlighted his past wounds in stark relief. Several large scars marred the right side, stretching from above his brow all the way to his chin. They gnarled and puckered the smooth skin, showing clear evidence of the dark life he lived.

  For a wolf not to heal, even from a wound like that, the blade that cut him had to have been drenched in liquid silver. Once the metal particles entered the bloodstream, a shifter’s healing ability was stunted and functioned little better than that of a human. It was a cruel, vile technique meant to maim and destroy, practiced only among the worst of their kind.

  Whoever had done that to him had intended to kill him and failed…

  Mae’s heart pounded in her chest as she struggled to draw breath. He was as intimidating as he was beautiful. The scars were horrifying, and they should have made him alarming to look at, terrifying even, but they only made him breathtaking somehow. Powerful. She couldn’t bring herself to look away.

  What she wouldn’t give to be able to capture his likeness. To have him sit for her as she replicated the challenging planes of his face in graphite. He’d be a difficult but worthwhile subject. Carefully, she studied his face, the sharp caverns of his cheekbones and the coldness of his icy blue eyes. There was something so familiar about that wicked gaze that stopped her breath short.

  A dark smirk crossed his lips, the one that both irked her and did unimaginable things between her legs. To think he’d just watched as she’d…

  Another blush flooded her cheeks.

  His mischievous grin widened as if he caught her thoughts.

  “Do you know anything about snake venom, Mae?” he asked, catching her off guard.

  She gave him a once-over. “No, but I imagine you do.” She’d never met another wolf who reminded her more of a coiled viper prepared to strike. It was as intriguing as it was unnerving.

  “You can’t make antivenom without the original source. The venom is the base of the antidote.” Those cold eyes raked over her. “And right now, you’re the vampires’ perfect kind of poison.”

  Mae stiffened. “What do you mean?”

  “There’s a bloodsucker, one of the vampires’ scientists. He was one of the key developers in creating the vampires’ serum.”

  “The serum from my blood?”

  “None other. Ever since I learned what those bloodsuckers were up to, I’ve been tracking him, but he’s gone off the grid. Vanished. Likely on his coven leader’s orders. To protect their secrets.”

  “And how do you know this?”

  “I’m a dealer in secrets and favors, Mae. You know that well, and when you’re a wolf like me, you know the right questions to ask from the right sources.”

  His answer was more cryptic than she cared for, but she didn’t press further. “And what does that have to do with me?” she asked.

  “Everything.” He eased closer. “Before he vanished, this bloodsucker was tasked with finding a way to make the serum he’d created from your blood foolproof, perfect for widespread use against shifters, but word on the street is he found a way to counteract the serum. There’s only one antidote, a counterinjection that reverses the effects of the serum…”

  Mae’s breath caught. An antidote to the vampires’ serum would be the Grey Wolves’ saving grace. Everything they’d needed from Alexander and more.

  “And the bloodsucker scientist who created it can only create an antidote injection for widespread use by obtaining further blood samples from the original source of the serum,” Rogue finished.

  From the original source…

  “Me.” It was a statement, not a question.

  “None other.”

  Mae gaped. Her blood had been used to create the injectable serum that could be the downfall of her species, but it could also be used as a cure for that same injection.

  Her mouth went dry. “But the vampires don’t want an antidote for widespread use,” she breathed.

  The Rogue gave a single tilt of his head. “Precisely.”

  “Which means…” Her voice trailed off.

  Something darkened in his icy blue eyes, sending a chill down her spine. “Which means the vampires want you dead,” he finished.

  Mae was shaking her head. This couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t. “No, they already took what they needed from me. They created their serum injection. They got what they wanted.”

  He quirked a single brow. His Stetson dipped low over his eyes, covering his scars. Even with them, he was entirely too handsome. Why did the devil come in such an appealing package? “And you think that’ll stop them?” he asked. “Their serum injection means nothing so long as there is the possibility of counteracting it by creating an antidote. So long as you live and breathe, you’re a threat to their plan. Whoever has both their scientist and you could stop them in their tracks.”

  Mae didn’t respond. If what he said was true, she needed to confess everything to Maverick, and fast. Maverick would be angry—furious even—but he would be fair and forgiving. Even on his worst days, he was a model older brother. He’d always found a way to make time for her as his little sister, and she knew he had always cared deeply for her well-being, starting long before their parents had passed years ago, leaving only the two of them behind. He would be angry with her, but this was bigger than her. She could trust Maverick to handle the situation, and while the Rogue might have saved her life once before, she couldn’t trust him. He was a known criminal. Hell, she didn’t even know his real name.

  His predatory gaze followed her every move, waiting for her reaction. His stare made her feel naked, laid bare. And that was saying something, considering he’d already seen her do…that.

  She cleared her throat, putting on her sternest secretary voice, the one she reserved for when one of their ranching business associates was giving her flak or trying to undercut them on a deal. “This has all been very intriguing, but you need to go.”

  He chuckled as he eased closer, forcing her to step back. “I’m not leaving until you hear my offer.”

  “What could you possibly have to offer me?”

  “Everything you wish,” he countered.

  Mae laughed. She didn’t believe him for a second. “Sure you can.”

  “What makes you think I can’t?” he asked.

  She hesitated as her laughter cut short. She supposed that was a good question. She knew how powerful he was. In some ways, not even her brother could rival him. Not when it came to navigating the supernatural underworld. Maverick had to make the honorable choice—always—to play by the pack’s rules and traditions.

  She shook her head. Something still wasn’t adding up. “Why me? Why bring this to me and not Maverick?”

  From the quirk of his lips, that question seemed to amuse him. “Why not you?”

  Mae blinked. His answer caught her off guard. She served this pack every day, cared about them as her family. She’d sacrificed so many choices for them, no less than Maverick, and yet she didn’t even have the title or the power of being packmaster in return. All because he’d been born first? Because he was an alpha male? She would never begrudge her brother his role as packmaster—he’d more than earned her and the pack’s respect over the years—but the pack’s inheritance traditions weren’t exactly progressive.

  This concerned her directly, so hell, Rogue was right. Why not her? Why wasn’t it her place to make a deal with this devil if it would save her pack?

  “Once word spreads, not even your brother will be able to protect you, Maeve. Not only will the vampires want to destroy you, but you think none of the Seven Range Pact will double-cross the
Grey Wolves to get the antidote first? Think again.”

  The hairs on the back of Mae’s neck prickled. Of course. If further blood samples from her were the key to creating an antidote for widespread use, she’d become sought after like a commodity. A tool used for power. It would be a race to the proverbial finish line. Whatever pack had access to blood samples from her would need only find the scientist who knew how to re-create the antidote for mass production—and having the solution to counteract the vampire’s serum would give any pack unprecedented power.

  “The only way you get out of this alive is if you disappear,” he continued. “If no one is able to find you.” His implication was clear.

  Who better to help her disappear than him?

  “But what do you get out of this?” she asked. “Rogue wolves don’t have a side in this war.”

  “Think again, Princess. When the vampires wanted test subjects, who do you think they targeted? A missing pack member draws far too much notice. Involved or not, they’ll make us their victims again. We need that antidote as much as you do. Our lives depend on it.”

  He drew closer.

  She tried to move, but he blocked her path.

  He wouldn’t let her walk away that easily. And he’d already tipped his hand when he said he’d come for her.

  She brandished the knife again, but he suddenly had hold of her wrist, disarming her within seconds. He slammed the blade onto the granite countertop. She had nowhere to go. No escape.

  This close to him, she should have been scared, but she wasn’t.

  She felt the heat radiating from him. He didn’t touch her, but somehow he didn’t have to. Her nipples tightened in anticipation, betraying her, and her breath quickened. She’d never reacted this way to another male before. Having him close like this was visceral, primal.