Page 7 of The Alpha’s Seer (The Shifters of Stormhollow #1)

Chapter Seven

LEON

Ilet Blair down.

My beautiful, innocent, caring sister was attacked while I was drinking.

I slam my hand on the steering wheel and stare into the darkness of the road stretching ahead of me, wondering whether I should just drive the fucking truck off the road and end the constant pain and agony that torment me every day.

I drink to numb the pain, but it doesn’t always work. Sometimes, I have to get so drunk I pass out, and that makes me feel a hell of a lot worse in the morning when I’m late for work or Blair is staring down at me with pity, offering me painkillers and water.

I should be the one looking out for her, but I’m fucking it up daily. My head throbs with the beginning of a hangover, and my body craves beer like I’m dehydrated. Which I probably am, but beer won’t cure that, and I don’t want water.

“Fuck!” I roar, my foot weighing heavily on the accelerator.

When I arrive back in town, it’s deserted. The bars are empty, and the streetlights are casting a dim glow down the empty streets. It’s like the town knows something is wrong with it, and it’s trying to stay quiet and unseen.

Hmm.

There’s no sign of Billy Marshall and his punk-ass friends, but I drive around long enough to make sure he isn’t hiding anywhere. I even drive to his house, which is in darkness, and fight the urge to batter down the door and demand he face me.

But Blair said a wolf saved her… and there’s only one I know of that would scare three men horny and stupid enough to try to rape my sister.

It’s a hazy memory, that’s all, but even though I was drunk, I know what I saw that night.

A pack of wolves howled at the moon before disappearing into the woods like their tails were on fire. I’ve never seen animals move so fast, but a large silver one stayed behind, and I swear he changed into a human right before my eyes.

Into Calix.

Then he turned and took in the sight of me gawping at him, watching as my beer bottle slipped from my fingers and hit the ground, the moonlight highlighting the shiny shards of glass.

I stared at Calix, and he stared back, his chest heaving, as naked as the day he was born.

“You’re pretty drunk, right?”

That was all he said, all he had to say before turning and strolling into the woods without looking back.

I blinked and laughed nervously, wondering if he was right. Maybe I’d drunk too much. But I know what I’d seen.

Calix isn’t human. He is a wolf.

And he saved my sister.

Not only that—he’d saved me that night when I’d tried to drive home drunk.

He’d thrown me into the back of my truck and driven me home, muttering about my responsibilities.

When I woke up the next day, and Blair described who’d brought me home, I knew it was Calix.

He knew I’d kept his secret, and maybe he felt he owed me.

No one would believe me if I told them, anyway. I’m a drunk, and no one believes a drunk.

But I know what I saw.

I consider driving to the mountains and asking him outright if he’d saved Blair tonight, and maybe offering him my loyalty or whatever the fuck he wanted, but I think of Blair and how worried she’d be.

If I see Billy, then I’ll stop the truck and beat him to death, but I need to get Blair some clothes and other stuff. She needs to be my priority right now, and once I know she’s alright, I can drive home and drink until I can’t see.

What would I have done if three local boys had raped and murdered my sister?

I shudder and let out a moan.

I can’t entertain that thought.

I drive to our home, my eyes still wide and alert as I pray Billy Marshall stumbles into my path and I can run him the fuck over, but there’s no such luck. I kill the engine and jump out of the truck, heading into our house and grabbing whatever I think Blair might need.

Her books are stacked on her bedside table, and I grab a handful, suddenly feeling overwhelmed with guilt for not knowing what books she likes. I make a point of glancing at the book’s title before chucking it into the backpack in my hands, regretting it immediately.

The Vampire’s Vixen.

The image on the front is of a scantily clad woman being held by a vampire with blood-red eyes, his hand down her panties.

Great, so my sister reads porn.

I jog downstairs, my head aching and my body crying for a drink. I hover by the door and eye the fridge before muttering, “Fuck it.”

I reach in and pull out a six-pack of beer. I won’t drink them all but need one or two to steady my nerves. My heart is racing like a track star on steroids, and I can’t breathe. I bust the lid off a bottle and down it almost instantly, and my body sags with relief.

I’m addicted.

I’m an alcoholic, and I don’t give a fuck.

I really don’t.

So when I step outside, the air hits me so hard I gasp, but it’s not that that makes me stop.

It’s the hulking figure resting on the hood of my truck, his arms crossed and eyes burning into me.

“Calix.”

I need another beer.

“Where is she?” Calix rasps, barely blinking as I uncap another beer and drain as much as I can before answering him.

“Why?”

His head cocks to the side, and he shakes it slowly. “Where is she?”

He rolls his lips back and pushes off the hood, stalking toward me as I try my best to puff my chest out. I can’t show him I’m afraid, but I fucking am. This fucker could rip me apart in human form or as a wolf.

“My sister is safe. She’s staying with family.” I stare at him as his nostrils flare, his fingers moving to pinch the bridge of his nose. He’s angry, but there’s something else: concern? “She…she’s okay.”

Calix stares down at the backpack in my hand and scowls. “Is that for Blair?”

My fingers tighten around the strap, and I nod.

“You can’t drive in this state, Leon,” Calix states, his eyes meeting mine.

I search for the disgust in them, but all I see is indifference.

“I’ll take it to her.”

“Why?” I find the courage to ask, clearing my throat. “Why do you care? You saved her, didn’t you?”

I notice four figures in the woods behind Calix coming into focus, and my heart drops through my feet when I see they are wolves. I gulp and glance back at Calix, who is still studying me with interest.

“You never told my secret,” Calix remarks, watching me with interest. “Why?”

The wolves move closer, and I back away instinctively.

“I don’t know,” I admit, swallowing more of the beer in my hand. “I guess it wasn’t my secret to tell. Look, Blair is my sister. I need to protect her.”

Calix nods but strokes his chin thoughtfully before sighing. “You can’t protect her, Leon. Not from these kinds of monsters.”

But he can.

My blood runs cold, and he extends his hand, curving his fingers towards him repeatedly. “Give me your keys; you aren’t driving to Blair like this.”

I don’t know why I give him my keys or jump in the passenger seat beside him, but it probably has to do with the four wolves circling the truck.

“Are they human too?” I ask Calix as he reverses from the driveway. “Like you?”

Calix shoots me a glare and grunts at me before asking for Blair’s address.

“Seriously, Calix, why did you save her?”

Calix lets out a low growl, and I sink back into my seat, finishing the bottle of beer before reaching for another.

He’s a fucking animal. He’s a wolf.

“They were going to do disgusting things to her,” Calix mutters, his jaw tense. The veins in his arms seem to enlarge as he hunches over the wheel, his jaw sharpening as I gulp at my beer.

Is he going to change into a wolf while driving? I can’t fucking handle that.

My heart leaps off a cliff at the thought, but then he seems to calm, his body sagging slightly.

“But they didn’t.”

I nod, sinking into euphoria as the beer works its magic, relaxing every muscle with that warm, familiar glow.

I smile at him. “Thanks to you.”

“No thanks to you.” Calix side-eyes me and nods at the beer. “It’s killing you.”

I turn and stare out the window even though I can’t see anything and shrug. “Death doesn’t scare me.”

Calix says nothing, and we continue the journey in silence, both lost in our thoughts.