Wild Heart - C.R. Jane Page 0,2

furious at both of them really, I found myself craving both of their touches.

It’s just because of the situation, I told myself, unable to admit anything else…even in my own head.

I jerked my hand away from Daxon, and in a blink, he was next to Eve’s body. With a gentleness that surprised me, he softly stroked Eve’s cheek and closed her eyes. He then sprung up and let out the most mournful howl I’d ever heard. It was the sound of pure heartbreak. The three others echoed his howls, and then I heard more sound in the distance where I assumed a large crowd of people were gathered for the picnic. A tear slid down my cheek as more people appeared around the corner, pure devastation present in all of them.

Daxon’s howls quieted, and his whole body quivered. I heard him let out a long exhale like he was trying to get ahold of himself. As the crowd grew, just a few feet away from me, their murmurs grew louder. Their eyes flicked from Eve to my blood-covered form, accusations in their eyes that were hard to bear.

Another loud cry ripped through the crowd, the sound somehow filled with even more pain than the others I’d heard. A woman pushed her way through the crowd, her eyes the same color and shape as Eve’s. She let out an inhuman wail as she collapsed to Eve’s side, burying her face in Eve’s chest as giant sobs wracked her body.

She must have been Eve’s mother. Shame that I shouldn’t have felt coursed through me. It was like everyone’s accusations and assumptions were sinking into me…making me feel like I’d somehow done something wrong.

Daxon snapped his finger at one of the men in the crowd, and he came and comforted the weeping, raging woman as Daxon turned his attention back to me.

“Rune,” he said softly, the words heavy in the air. I let out a hiccuped sob.

“I was just coming to deliver the food,” I whispered, half-heartedly gesturing to somewhere behind me where the tray of steak bites was still strewn across the path. Wilder had now stepped up right behind me until his body was practically cradling mine. I shivered despite his warmth. “She was lying here, already dead.” I took a deep breath, trying to get ahold of myself. “There was something in the woods, a creature. I’d never seen anything like it. It was right over there,” I explained, pointing to where the shadow thing had been.

Wilder moved away from me in an instant, stalking his way towards where I’d pointed. I wondered how long it was going to take for me to get used to how fast he and Daxon moved. No one in my old pack, including Alistair, had shown that kind of speed. Wilder sniffed the air and crinkled up his nose in disgust. “It smells like sulfur and smoke,” he commented as he moved deeper into the woods. My stomach rolled in worry as I watched him, sure that the shadow thing was going to make an appearance at any moment. Daxon hadn’t moved from in front of me. He was watching the crowd with hard eyes, as if he was daring them to keep talking about me. I probably should have sent him after Wilder, who’d just disappeared from sight, but I had a sinking suspicion that Daxon’s presence was the only thing keeping the crowd from coming at me. “Is that Eve’s mother?” I asked softly, resisting the urge to go to the woman and comfort her. That obviously wouldn’t go over well.

“Yes,” Daxon whispered just as softly. “That was her only child. They’d been having trouble lately, fighting more and more. I guess Eve had been acting strange.” He sighed and ran an anxious hand through his tousled golden locks. “Lydia’s never going to recover from this.”

I thought of Eve’s secret relationship with Daniel. I was sure it was behind Eve’s strange behavior.

Daniel. My heart thudded with the reminder that he still had to find out about this. He’d been crazy about Eve. I could tell. What was this going to do to him?

Wilder appeared from behind a tree, and I let out a sigh of relief. He shook his head at Daxon, answering an unspoken question.

“You did this,” Eve’s mother suddenly screamed. Her nails sharped into short, ferociously sharp claws as she lunged towards me. Daxon caught her before she could reach me, and she began to beat against his chest, snarling