SCAR (LOST CREEK SHIFTERS NOVELLAS Book 2) Page 5

  She had changed and was ready to go, but something was holding her back and making her not want to leave her apartment. It was as if she knew the second she saw Arlo, she would have guilt written all over her face.

  “But I haven’t even done anything wrong,” she said aloud to herself as she rubbed her temples. “I only had coffee with the guy. And he found me. I didn’t go and find him.”

  But it didn’t matter how much she reasoned with herself, the guilt still crept back in, and by the time it came for her to leave the house, she felt full of nerves.

  She walked slowly down Main Street and took in the atmosphere of all of the people around her. They all seemed so carefree and happy, and overnight, Willow felt as if she was suddenly carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. She had always lived her life based on pleasing other people, now, maybe, the time had finally come when she was just going to have to go with what she wanted and please herself.

  Arlo’s looked quiet seeing as it was still early, and when she approached and opened the front door, she was both relieved and bothered that it wasn’t as packed as she had expected. She was relieved because she would have fewer people to deal with, but concerned because it meant she would have more time to think, and likely, more one on one time with Arlo.

  As she slid her bag behind the bar and pulled down an apron to fasten around her waist, she heard a door slam from somewhere out back and Arlo’s familiar whistle and heavy footsteps working their way toward her. He turned a corner and came into view from the back of the bar and when he saw Willow, he stopped in his tracks.

  “Hey,” he said, almost surprised, as if he hadn’t been expecting her.

  “Hey,” she smiled sheepishly.

  Arlo came closer and eyed her, as if he was trying to figure her out, but Willow tried to remain calm and natural. She hadn’t done anything wrong, and she was going to have to keep reminding herself of that.

  “I forgot you were in early,” he said, almost as a way of explanation.

  “Yeah, I swapped with Poppy,” she smiled. “You know, because she was in before me yesterday, so…” she shrugged and put her hands gently on her hips.

  “Well, I’m glad actually,” Arlo said as he pulled out one of the high stools and sat down. He leaned back in it and crossed his arms over his chest. “I wanted to talk to you anyway.”

  Her heart sank. She knew where this was going.

  “You do?” Willow asked, pretending to be none the wiser.

  “Well, yeah,” he half laughed. “Don’t you want to know what that was all about last night?”

  Willow chewed her bottom lip and twisted the tip of her shoe onto the ground. Now that it had come down to it, she didn’t know if she did. But she figured she didn’t have a choice.

  “That man,” she said. “I know it was Scar.”

  Arlo’s eyed widened slightly and then he nodded slowly, his face softening.

  “And how do you know that?” he asked gently.

  “Well,” Willow sighed, “I think it was kind of obvious and I heard you guys talking earlier in the night.”

  Arlo’s shoulders seemed to relax and he nodded and sighed.

  “I guess we weren’t exactly being discreet,” he laughed.

  “No,” Willow agreed. “You weren’t.”

  “I know we’ve never really spoken about everything that goes on around here, but I can tell you know a lot,” Arlo continued. And Willow nodded her head.

  “Yes,” she said. “I’ve got the gist. I’ve picked up on a lot during my time here.”

  “I saw the way he was looking at you,” Arlo said. “And I just wanted to tell you to be careful.” His voice hardened and his brow furrowed. “Scar and the rest of his crew, they’re dangerous, Willow.”

  She felt herself stiffen up. She had expected him to try and talk her out of any kind of friendship with him, but she hadn’t expected him to be so genuine about it.

  “Why?” she whispered as she moved closer and searched his eyes for an answer.

  Arlo looked away from her as if he couldn’t bear to even consider the truth.

  “Is it because of Thorben’s child?” she whispered so only he could hear. “Because I remember the rumors, but what if people got it all wrong?” She was feeling frantic, as if she wanted him to see that this could, indeed, be the case. From what she had heard, they had always professed their innocence.

  “They’re murderers, Willow,” he snarled. “And they’ll do anything to fuck things up for us over here. Just remember that when he’s charming you into bed.”

  His words were like venom and Willow felt herself back away. She had never seen Arlo so mean and angry, and she knew that she had overstepped a mark by just asking him whether he was sure of the convictions he had doled out.

  “I haven’t done anything,” she said defiantly. “But even if I did ̶ ”

  “I know,” Arlo interrupted her, “You’re a grown woman and I am nothing to you really, except your boss, so I can’t stop you. But I just wanted to give you a fair warning of what I know.”

  He got to his feet and rubbed the side of his head. He was clearly troubled by the whole thing.

  “You don’t understand what it’s like being a part of this way of life. Viewing it from the outside, from a distance, it may look like fun, but once you’re in it properly, things can get out of control very fast.”

  Willow’s skin tingled. She knew that she was potentially getting in too deep just by talking to Scar because he was such an unknown, but in a way, by Arlo telling her all of this, it was only making him more appealing.

  “The way he was looking at you,” Arlo said, “it was as if he wanted to make you his.”

  When he spoke the words, she felt as if she had been fired through the heart. They thundered through her and she felt her cheeks flushing red again.

  “When a wolf wants something, it rarely stops until it gets it.” He tapped her lightly on the shoulder and then he walked past her and made his way toward the stock room at the back of the bar.

  Willow didn’t realize, until she was alone again, that she was shaking. Her conversation with Arlo had aroused even more questions. If he was so sure that Scar was guilty, then surely, he would have hammered the point home to her. Surely, he would have forbidden her to both work in the bar and spend time with him. And yet, he hadn’t. He had only been full of cryptic warnings.

  Now I feel even more lost, she thought as she scratched the side of her neck and swallowed down her fear.

  But it wasn’t a fear she disliked. The fear that was growing inside of her was one of curiosity and longing and her need for the unknown. It was a fear that was driving her forward and keeping her hungry for more.

  8.

  The clock hands seemed to tick relentlessly slow as she approached the end of her shift. Poppy had joined her around ten PM and she was going to take over once Willow left and work up until closing time.

  The bar had become busier over the passing hours and drunks were propping up against the bar and slurring their words. It was the first time, in many shifts, that Willow hadn’t had at least one beer to take the edge off all of the hedonism that was going on around her, but tonight, she knew she needed a clear head. She needed to be on the ball. Nothing could slip past her.

  She undid her apron and hung it up on her hook on the tall wooden beam that ran the length of the back bar and then she picked up her purse.

  “Night all,” she said as she waved to Poppy, and she noticed that Arlo was watching her from the corner. His eyes were heavy and dark. He looked like he was brooding and contemplative and it made her want to run even further away from him. She didn’t like that he was trying to control her movements. She wasn’t his girlfriend. And as she kept telling herself, she had nothing to be sorry for.

  As she pushed open the door to the bar, she stopped in her tracks immediately. Right there in front of her, on the back of a gleaming gunmetal motorcycle, was Scar. He revved the engine and pulled
it around in a spray of dust to park alongside her and then he motioned for her to go over to him with his head.

  “Well, well, well…” she said with a giggle.

  “Get on,” he said. “We better get out of here before I get you into trouble.”

  Willow looked back over her shoulder and could see that the door had closed behind her and Arlo was nowhere in sight. She trotted over to Scar and took hold of his shoulder as she cocked her leg around the back of him and then held onto his waist as she pulled herself up against him. He revved the engine again and then he pulled out into the traffic of Main Street and thundered toward the other side of town.

  They flew past the intersection where The Nowhere Bar was, loads of people were outside smoking and blaring rock music filtered out from deep within. Scar lifted his hand and waved to some of the guys standing on the corner and Willow recognized them from around town. He slowed slightly but carried on going, and when they found themselves leaving Main Street and heading on up toward one of the lakes, Willow felt herself become uneasy.

  “Where are we going?” she asked and Scar just looked down at her and smiled.

  He pulled off the main road and headed into a patch of woodland. The moon was high in the trees overhead and she couldn’t help but breathe in his intoxicating scent. He smelled of cigarettes, cologne and pine needles, as if he had spent the entire day in the forest working amongst the trees.

  When he finally slowed and stopped the bike, the cold was biting at Willow’s fingers and as he helped her down, he rubbed her hands between his to warm them before he pulled off his leather jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders.

  “Thank you,” she smiled.

  He took hold of her hand and they began walking. The sun was down, but the night was still light and she could see in front of her. They moved deeper into the forest and the trees became thicker. Her heart had picked up its pace, but somewhere inside of her, she knew that she was going to be okay. He wasn’t going to hurt her, she could feel it.

  They rounded a corner and Scar stopped, he smiled as he looked out ahead of them and nodded his head toward a clearing in the trees. Beyond the evergreens, Willow could see the white glinting back at her and she squinted as she took a step forward to try and get a closer look. The outline of the building was much smaller than she had remembered, but the second she saw it, the memories came flooding back.

  “The house,” she gasped as she looked up at him with excitement. “It’s my dream house. It really does exist…”

  She was beaming from ear to ear. This was the house she had always hoped she would have, the one she had aspired to own and live in with her future husband, and yet, here it was in her little town, hidden away under her very nose. And now she was standing with Scar looking at it, she remembered it all, and why he was so familiar.

  “It was you,” she smiled, almost in disbelief. “We played here when we were kids?”

  And Scar nodded.

  “I can’t believe you had to see it to remember,” he said.

  “You have no idea…” Willow trailed off as she moved closer to the house still, her eyes wide and her mouth gaping open.

  For years on end, for as long as she could remember, she thought that she had pulled this house directly from her own imagination. And all along, it had been real. She had spent time there when she was a young child. She had spent time there with Scar. They had played in it when they were four years old and they had run from room to room. And now here it was… And he had remembered and she had forgotten.

  “How could I have forgotten?” she asked, embarrassed. “I’ve done nothing but think of this house ever since…”

  “People don’t always have the best memories,” he laughed. “I can forgive you for not remembering, don’t worry.”

  He wrapped his arm around her and she felt all of her childhood come flooding back. The way the house had been occupied by a little old lady. A lady who must now be long dead.

  “Why did we play here?” she asked. “How did we become friends?”

  Scar shrugged and looked up at the darkened windows.

  “I can’t even remember that,” he half laughed. “All I know is that we did. You and I and a guy called Blu.”

  Blu… The name sent a shiver down her spine.

  And she knew then that she wasn’t going to be able to ignore the facts any longer. She was going to have to ask him. Was he guilty, like they all said he was? Or had it all been some terrible mistake?

  “Arlo told me some things tonight,” she blurted out. She looked up to him and he was looking down at her with disappointment. “I didn’t want to have to ask, but with you bringing Blu into this conversation, and the fact that I have only really just met you again after all of these years, I have to know.”

  Scar’s demeanor didn’t falter and he looked at her sternly.

  “Did you… Did you…” but she couldn’t bring herself to ask.

  “Arlo and Thorben, and the rest of those bears… They all think Blu and I did something terrible,” he said.

  And then he took hold of her by the shoulders and turned her to face him.

  “But I promise you, Willow, that isn’t true.” His eyes were searing into her. “I have no reason to lie to you, I have nothing to lose or gain based on whether you decide to believe me or not. But I will always be honest with you, just like I am being right now. I did not have anything to do with that accident.”

  He stopped and released his grip. He seemed so passionate and sincere, she didn’t see how he could possibly be faking.

  “Why did you leave?” she asked him.

  Scar shrugged.

  “I don’t think you were around here at the time,” he said. “But things were pretty bad.” He sighed and rubbed his temples. “Blu and I had been wanting out for a while. And then all of this happened and it all kicked off so much, it just seemed like the right thing to do.”

  He seemed to be releasing the weight of the world from his shoulders.

  “Things were so crazy, a war was starting. The bears and wolves had lived side by side for so long and then suddenly, things were all about to come crashing down. Blu and I figured that if we left like they wanted, then things would go back to normal. Peace would be restored. We didn’t want to be here anyway. It was our own way out.”

  He blinked away a lone tear and then looked down to her again. The memories were obviously a painful reminder of all of the heartache that had occurred. Even if they hadn’t been responsible, a child had still died, and it had clearly shaken him.

  “So then,” she whispered, “why come back now?”

  And then the shadows clouded over Scar’s face again. He sucked in a lungful of air and nodded his head slowly.

  “We had to,” he said sternly. “We had to come back because one of the elder members of our pack is very sick.”

  She could see the sadness in his eyes and the way that this piece of information was laying heavy on his heart.

  “We could have kept running forever, but once word reached us of Magnus and his decline, we couldn’t stay away from Lost Creek any longer. We had to come back and support him and the rest of our pack in this terrible time.”

  Willow reached out and rested her hand lightly on his shoulder. From what she had learned from Scar in the short time she had been getting to know him again, she could tell that his life had been full of ups and down, setbacks and twists that had left him uprooted and unsettled.

  “I’m sorry,” she said.

  “The bears don’t want us here,” Scar said. “They don’t want us back because it will bring change and they don’t like the idea because they’re used to being in charge.”

  “And what does that mean?” she asked cautiously.

  “Just that things may have to be shaken up a bit. But it doesn’t mean anyone’s noses need to be put out of joint,” he clicked his teeth.

  “And Blu?” she asked. “Where is he?”

  “He ain’t back yet,” Sca
r sighed. “But he will be once I give him the green light. Folks always believed it was him that killed that boy. I just happened to be with him at the wrong time.”

  “And did he?” she asked nervously.

  “Hell no,” Scar snorted. “He and I left the lake and went and smoked some blow in Blu’s truck. Hell, we were pretty much just kids ourselves,” he trailed off and looked into the distance as if the memories of his time growing up in Lost Creek were as fond as Willow’s had been.

  She still couldn’t believe that she had never remembered the house or the fact that he and she had played together on those long summer days when school was out all those years before.

  “Come on,” he said as he turned and began to walk back to his bike. “I just wanted to show you and be honest with you before Arlo and his crew got into your head. The moment I saw you again last night, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to stay away. I know what I want, Willow. Because I’ve always wanted it. When I met you as a kid, I claimed you then and there… And I’ve never forgotten you since.”

  His words were powerful and resonated with her more than she ever thought possible. The previous night, when she had seen him again for the first time, she had felt the pull to him in a way that she could never explain. Willow turned back to him and smiled. She had never felt so grateful for another person in her entire life. He was genuine and kind, and she knew that letting herself get close to him could easily cause her no end of trouble, but she had to follow her heart. It seemed to be that they had always had a connection, he had wanted to make her his since the moment they had met. One that to her had been long forgotten in history, but nevertheless, had always been there.

  She took hold of his hand and pulled him closer to her and when he wrapped his strong arm around her waist and pulled her flat against him, she could feel his heavy and intense body heat firing through her.

  She bit her bottom lip and looked deeply into his eyes. They were so clear and so blue; it was as if they couldn’t possibly be real.