Reiver

Chapter 8

Your wolf like ways so oft recurring

In my mind like mourning doves.

Lillia Talts Morrison.

The next few days passed in a blur for Annie. Work was as busy as usual and if she wanted any free time at the weekend then she was going to have to mark the finished assignments that had been submitted early. She would stay up late each night trying to get as far ahead as she could, it was better than sleeping anyway as she was still dreaming of Hugh every time she closed her eyes. Still, even though she felt tired, she was still happier than she had felt in ages, to the point that even her colleagues had noticed. By Wednesday night, Annie was already deciding what she was going to wear to dinner and she had managed to book a table at a little French restaurant by the river that she was particularly fond of.

Amelie phoned that evening to see how Annie and Sabine were doing.

“I’m fine Amelie, really I am. Erm...while we are chatting, did you give anyone my address when we were at Aimeé’s wedding?” asked Annie.

“No, I wouldn’t do that, why do you ask?”

“Well,” she began slowly, “The man from the wedding turned up here.”

“Oh My Goddess! Annie are you alright? I can come over for a few days it’s no pr...”

“No it’s fine”, Annie cut her off. “I’m just not sure how he got my address that’s all.”

“What did he want?” asked Amelie, fearful he had rejected her.

“To go to lunch.” replied Annie.

“Lunch?”

“Yeah, lunch.”

“So, did you go?”

“No, we went for a drink instead, talked a bit.”

“And?”

“He’s a bit old fashioned but it was ok, I guess. We are going out on Saturday for dinner.”

Annie could literally feel her sister’s excitement. “I’m so happy for you Annie,” then she paused. “What does he look like?” asked Amelie suddenly.

“Well, he’s got dark hair, slightly greying at the sides, tall, wide, you know, typical werewolf shape, why?”

“Hmm, well, when we were going to brunch with Ben’s parents, the usual omega didn’t show up to escort us, it was a tall, dark man. He asked if there was someone missing, even mentioned the dress you were wearing the night before, so we said you had left, he then literally marched us to the dining room and stalked off. I thought it was a little odd at the time. Do you think it was him?”

“Sounds like it, and you definitely didn’t give him my address?” asked Annie.

“No, and neither did Jacques. We wouldn’t Annie honestly.”

“It’s ok.” sighed Annie, “Not to worry, I’m just not sure how he found me that’s all.” said Annie, deciding to change the subject.

The rest of their chat was talking about how Annie had gone to Bleasdale and how well Sabine was doing as well as other mundane things, with Amelie dropping in sly questions about Hugh.

Annie laughed, “Honestly Amelie, I will tell you something when there’s something to tell.”

“I hope it goes well for you, I want you to be happy.” smiled Amelie.

“I am very happy as I am thank you, and don’t be buying a new hat, its only dinner.” laughed Annie.

“Yes, but it is a second date!” teased Amelie.

“Stop!” laughed Annie.

Their phone call finished with Annie promising to call the following week and then she went back to choosing an outfit for Saturday, a big smile on her face.

By Friday, Annie realised she had taken to picking up her phone every five minutes to see if there had been a call. Her old insecurities started to resurface once more and there was nothing she could do to control them. What if he doesn’t call, what if he didn’t like her and changed his mind, what if he found her a bit boring or plain? Annie looked down at the claret coloured wrap around dress and stilettos, maybe he preferred the flashiness of the Reiver women. They were all so curvy with ample breasts and she had the chest of a twelve-year-old boy, Annie found she was starting to hyperventilate.

“Annie, calm down,” panted Sabine. “You’re stressing me out.”

Annie took some slow breaths and had a stern word with the insecure part of her personality, telling it to pull itself together. Why did she give a damn what Hugh sodding Crozier thought anyway, stuffing her papers in her bag she was preparing to go home when her phone rang. Annie glanced at the screen,

UNKNOWN NUMBER

Annie almost dived on her phone, steadying herself with more slow breaths she answered.

“Hello, this is Professor Lovell.” she held her breath.

“Hi Annie, it’s Hugh.”

Annie’s heart skipped a beat. “Hello Hugh, how are you?” she cringed at how stiff she sounded.

“I’m great, just checking if we are still on for tomorrow night?”

“Yes, I booked a table at a French place for eight thirty, I hope that’s ok.” Little Miss Insecure was back and wondering if Hugh even liked French food.

“Perfect,” said the soft Scottish accent. “I’m actually driving down now, would you meet me for a drink tonight?”

“Tonight?” Annie almost squeaked, regaining her composure she asked “Sure, what time and where?”

“Meet me at The Stag again at eight?”

“Ok, I’ll see you then.”

They said their goodbyes and hung up and Annie bolted for the bus. She had originally planned on marking as many assignments as she could get through tonight before meeting Hugh tomorrow. She checked the time, three thirty, she ought to be able to get through a couple before grabbing a shower and heading out if she got a move on. Annie squeezed herself on the first bus that arrived, it was so packed she could hardly breathe but she didn’t want to waste any time waiting for the next one. Getting off in town, she walked as quickly as she could back home, grabbing a coffee and heading straight to her office to start marking. By seven she had managed to mark three assignments and shove a sandwich down her throat before diving into the shower and quickly dressing. She chose tight black jeans, a thin loose cashmere jumper and black ankle boots. Shaking her hair out of the loose bun she had tied it in, she applied light make-up and checked herself out in the full-length mirror.

“Not bad.” Sabine said encouragingly.

“It will have to do,” said Annie flustered, “we’re running out of time.”

Annie could feel how Sabine was longing to meet with Hugh again, Annie was looking forward to seeing him again but she still had her reservations about how any potential relationship might progress. There were so many complications that could trip them up. Would she really give up everything, could she do that? Annie didn’t think so. Well, if this relationship was going to go anywhere, they were going to have to find a way. She wondered how Reivers felt about compromise, then she shuddered, how would she fair in negotiations with a Reiver? Well, they were going to have to think of something if this was going to work. Annie put on her long coat, took one last look in the hallway mirror and headed out the door.

Knox had been a pain all week, constantly pining for Annie and his incessant whining was giving Hugh a headache. Hugh had tried to distract himself with work but his thoughts were always dragged towards his mate and the fact they were meeting that weekend. He had considered ringing her every day but he didn’t want to come across as needy or creepy so he had somehow resisted. He had spent the week torn between happiness and nagging worry. He was ecstatic they had met the weekend before and had started to get to know each other. He was overjoyed that his pups knew about Annie and were supporting him, he had never had secrets from them, well, except the one that would go with him to his grave, and he didn’t want to keep things from them now. He was glad he and Annie were going to meet again and truly hoped they would somehow be able to forge out some happiness, they had both been through hard times and he hoped they could make each other happy. As glad as he was to find her, his worries always seemed to resurface when he thought about their possible future together.

He was concerned that even if she did agree to be his mate, what would happen then? She had made it perfectly clear that she didn’t want to move to be with him and he found to his surprise that he didn’t want to force her either. He knew she would struggle to fit in with his pack as she was so different from the Reiver women, she was strong and smart and she had a point when she asked what he would have her do up here. She was used to being independent and having a purpose in life. What was there for someone like her here? Not much unfortunately, the Reiver territory was in the middle of nowhere, not even a city nearby where she could work. The Reivers had schools on the territory of course but only up to high school level, any Reiver male who wanted to go engage in further education would go and study at a human university in the lowlands and as for the she-wolves, it would have been frowned upon for them to go to university at all. Hugh felt Annie would feel stifled by the Reivers and he began to realise that he really didn’t have much to offer her and it wasn’t a good feeling. In the short meeting he’d had with Annie, and with the information he had gleaned on her from G.M.I., he had discovered that despite it being drummed into him from being a young pup that he lived in the most superior pack, the envy of all other wolf packs with all the material possessions he could dream of, that actually there were other kinds of life which also offered fulfilment which didn’t have anything to do with being rich or having more than others. This was a revelation to Hugh and he wondered how he had been so blinkered, after all, he was one of the few wolves who left the territory and interacted with humans on a regular basis. He had always been taught that wolves were the superior species and humans were primitive, but after meeting Annie who had lived among them for twenty years, he thought that perhaps the two species weren’t so different.

He was also worried about what Alpha Armstrong would do once he found out about Annie. Most Reivers didn’t leave the territory if they could possibly avoid it, they shunned human contact and they weren’t particularly friendly with any of the surrounding wolf packs. Most of this unfriendliness came from the Clan Wars which happened so long ago that no one could even remember how they begun, but the Wars had left a deep inbred mistrust of anyone, even if they were a Reiver. The pack members knew they were safe inside the borders, they were taught from being young pups that life outside could be dangerous which most likely came from a more lawless time when packs would openly attack each other. He knew the Alpha would see Annie as a weak link because she lived outside the territory which left her vulnerable to anyone who decided to target her in order to attack the pack. Since the beginning of time, Reiver enemies had always been looking for a way into the closed ranks of the pack, and a way to hurt them. The enemies were numerous, historically they were mostly wolf packs but now they were mainly humans who had been swindled somehow in business deals, especially that tenement business in Edinburgh he mused. How there had never been repercussions from that, Hugh never knew as not only had G.M.I. found out about the young lover, they had also discovered links to organised crime that ran right through the public services at all levels. The Reivers had kept this nugget of information to themselves however, in case they found a reason to use it at a later time.

What was worrying Hugh more than anything else, was if Alpha Armstrong gave him an order to bring Annie here he would have no choice but to obey, and she would hate him for it. Even if all Hugh’s wishes came true and Annie accepted him as her mate and came to live in the Highlands, he believed that Alpha Armstrong would find it hard to accept someone like Annie. She would be too outspoken and opinionated for his liking, he wouldn’t want her influencing the other she-wolves into thinking that they could have an education and a life doing anything other than producing pups for the good of the pack. The Reivers were an ancient pack with long established beliefs when it came to traditional male/female roles, he didn’t think that Alpha Armstrong would appreciate the presence of someone like Annie who could unconsciously rock the boat, so to speak.

Hugh shook himself out of his reverie, it was Friday afternoon and only one day left until he saw her again. His work for the day was almost done as he had passed more work than usual on to Lennox, he checked his watch, it was three o’clock. Suddenly, pushed by Knox and his need to look into those eyes again, he tidied his desk and walked to his car. He called his valet and asked him to pack a bag for the weekend and headed home. He didn’t want to wait another day, he had decided to drive to her right now and he hoped she would be free to meet up with him that evening. By three thirty he was on the road heading south, he tapped his hands free and called Annie. She confirmed she was free and agreed to meet him for drinks, Hugh hung up smiling to himself, somehow, they were going to have to find a way.

Annie walked towards The Stag to see Hugh sitting outside waiting for her. She had to smile, he was wearing an overcoat and leather gloves.

“He’s learning.” commented Sabine, who was pushed forward, looking for her mate. Annie could feel Sabine’s longing and she didn’t know how long she would be able to hold out against Hugh if she had to fight her wolf as well. Hugh smiled as he spotted her crossing the cobbles of the square. He stood up waiting for her to reach him. He took the opportunity to stare at her, she looked beautiful as ever, her hair flowing out behind her as she walked. As she reached him he stood to kiss her cheek but she stayed out of reach. Annie felt a bit overwhelmed seeing him again these feelings were not helped by Sabine pining for him, things were starting to feel a bit out of control. She didn’t want to rush this, she needed it to be right. Annie wasn’t one for just blindly jumping into relationships, protecting her heart was at the forefront of her mind. Hugh invited her to sit, sliding a glass towards her.

“I took the liberty of getting a drink for you, it’s very crowded in there so I thought it would be easier to get them on my way out.” he said.

“Yeah, that’s a university town on a Friday night,” replied Annie. “It’s always busy at the weekends, we could always find somewhere quieter.” she added.

Hugh nodded, “That would be great, but I’d like to see some of your city first if you wouldn’t mind.”

“Oh, sure, ok, if you’d like.” said Annie, surprised. “We have a castle, looks great when it’s lit up at night.” suggested Annie.

They finished their drinks and Annie led the way across the square. To get to the castle, they had to walk through the bustling town centre crowded with both students and locals celebrating the end of the working week. There was a group of students dressed up as characters from Mario Kart, stumbling about in their cars which they had made out of cardboard and another group dressed as kangaroos which made them both laugh. As they passed the market square Annie told Hugh about the annual music festival and further up the high street, was an old-looking pub with a beautiful bay window made of stained glass which had acoustic music floating out from it. Finally, they crossed the ring road at the edge of the city centre dodging the taxis that flitted around the city bringing people for a night out. Annie pointed out an old pub that was built into the hillside, it had been a storage building for wine back in Edwardian times when the city still had a working port and the whole pub was still shaped like a wine cellar, complete with four tunnels where tables and chairs were now placed. They turned right here and Hugh could see a grand castle entrance at the top of the cobbled slope complete with a portcullis.

The impressive building was lit from the ground by huge spotlights which gave it an eerie look and the trees had shed their leaves so they were greeted with a carpet of red, orange and yellow as they started to walk round its leafy tree-lined perimeter. Hugh asked about the castle’s history, she had stopped talking and he liked hearing her voice so Annie gave a potted history starting from when it was a wooden fort during the Roman times and through each stage of its development to the present day, explaining how most recently it had been a prison until its closure some twelve years previously and now was open for tourists. They had reached the back of the castle by now and Annie was embarrassed to realise she had been talking non- stop since they had left The Stag. They reached the castle church with its impressive tower and golden clock and walking alongside the church, they descended the stone steps that brought them back to the cobbled street in front of the castle.

“There are quieter pubs on the old quay,” suggested Annie, “The students don’t usually make it out that far.”

“Lead the way.” smiled Hugh, and Annie led them down a sloping cobbled hill with handsome Edwardian houses lining either side. She took him to one of the oldest pubs in North Lancashire, with its low ceilings and even lower beams that had Hugh squeezing himself into one of the booths whilst Annie went to the bar. Hugh looked around, this pub had a nice cosy feel to it, the log burner was lit and the lighting kept low adding to the ambience. Hugh watched his mate as she effortlessly engaged with the staff and came back from the bar with two pints of real ale which, she informed him, this particular pub was famous for. Due to the size of the booth, Annie found she had to sit quite close to Hugh, closer than she would have liked. His scent was overwhelming her senses and she could feel the heat radiating off his body and along with Sabine, who was putting erotic images of herself and Hugh in her head, Annie was beginning to wish they had gone somewhere else.

Annie finally began to relax as they continued chatting and Hugh could feel how thrilled Knox was to have his mate sitting so close. He asked her about her work, her family, what her life was like growing up, he seemed to want to know everything. He told her about his childhood, he was an only child, unusual for werewolves, how he studied in Glasgow before graduating and eventually taking over from his father.

Annie was surprised how at ease she started to feel. She knew she was going to have to drop the walls she had built around herself at some point and Hugh, without knowing it, was chipping away at the foundations with every minute she spent with him. To end the night, they walked down by the river. It had been high tide and they watched as water now rushed its way back to the sea. As they were watching the water, a noxious odour hit their nostrils, turning to see where the offending smell was coming from they were confronted by a young skinny youth, his tracksuit hood pulled over his head and low over his face to hide his features. In one hand he had a spliff and in the other, a kitchen knife. Neither of them moved.

“Give me the wallet or I’ll cut your slut.” he drawled, attempting to sound like a gangster whilst waving the knife vaguely in Annie’s direction.

Annie heard a growl erupt from Hugh’s chest, the boy, startled, started backing off at the sound and at the murderous look on Hugh’s face. Taking a quick look around to check they were not being observed, Annie laid a hand gently on Hugh’s arm.

“Remember where we are dear, blending in, remember?” she said to him cheerfully, Hugh nodded once, keeping his eyes fixed on the boy.

This was clearly not the reaction the thug had been expecting, he started to look confused, he could tell that they weren’t scared at all and was the man was actually growling at him? In fact, they weren’t just not scared, they looked amused, especially the woman. He tried waving the knife again but it just made the man growl even more, and while the man didn’t move to attack, he didn’t back down either.

“Shall I take care of this?” Annie asked Hugh, gesturing towards the boy.

The thug opened his mouth to threaten her again but by the time he had formed the words in his skunk addled brain, Annie had sped to his side, bent his wrist up painfully making him drop the knife and snatched the spliff out of his other hand.

“These are bad for you.” Annie said to the boy as she showed him both the items before pointedly dropping them into the river. “Now, you were saying?” she smiled as she turned back to face the would-be attacker.

Hugh took one step forward baring his elongated canines, his growl growing more menacing until the youth spun on his heels and ran for his life. Hugh ran after him just long enough to make the- would –be- mugger not stop running for at least an hour.

“Not bad moves Miss Lovell.” grinned Hugh as he wandered back to Annie.

“You’re not the only one who is trained you know, although I think I should have thrown the little prick in the river too.” Annie grinned back making doubly sure they hadn’t been seen.

“Thought you’d be angry about the fangs, you know, the blending in thing you were talking about.” said Hugh.

“If he tells anyone, no one is going to believe him anyway.” shrugged Annie. “He’s so stoned, I’m not even sure he will believe it when he sobers up.” she smiled at Hugh, “Shall we go?” she said, indicating the direction of her house with her head.

Hugh held his arm out and Annie linked her arm in his as they continued their walk to her house.