AMAZON KINDLE VERSION A Siberian Werewolf In London EDITED 3 9 2012 (17 page)

Valerii. Wake-up!

Grigori?

Sorry to wake you. Rosie’s child, little Joe, is at the back gate. Brencis will bring him to the kitchen. I’ll need you to take over guard duty while we deal with whatever problem has come up.

We need a wolf door installed. It would be easier going in and out.

We won’t be staying here long enough to add conveniences. Meet me in the kitchen, and I will let you out.

Before leaving the room, Grigori pulled the covers up around Meli’s naked form and kissed her on the forehead. He was so thankful she was his. Then, sighing, he headed downstairs to the back door.

A soft knock heralded Joe and Brencis’ arrival. Grigori opened the door and ushered them in. Brencis sat down in his wolf form, his ears perked, while Joe shifted from foot to foot, staring at the floor.

“It’s all right, Joe. Don’t be nervous. Is something wrong?” Grigori asked, keeping his voice low so as not to startle the poor child.

“Rosie’s missing!” Joe blurted out. “I didn’t know what else to do. She heard a little one, a wolf pup crying, and went out to find it. But that was hours ago, and she hasn’t returned. I’m afraid something happened to her.”

“What do you mean she
heard
a wolf pup?” Grigori asked, more confused than ever.

“She hears them in her head. She hears them calling to her.”

“You mean telepathically? Can she speak to you in your mind?” Grigori asked. Is that how Rosie found these children? Did she hear their thoughts?

“Not exactly. She’s like a lycan compass where pups are concerned, but only if they are hurt or scared. She hears them crying, howling for help. That’s how she found the twins, Donny and Adam, in a circus cage. Then later she found Jeremy in a petting zoo.”

Grigori didn’t know what to think. Rosie must be psychic and picking up on the children’s fear and panic. Did that mean she was a telepath, empath, or something else entirely?

“All right, Joe. We’ll help you find her. Brencis, go change and dress. Where is your older brother Seth?”

“He changed and went out to track her,” Joe replied.

“He’s running around London as a wolf?”

“Most people think he’s a dog. At this time of night, there aren’t many people on the streets.”

Grigori shook his head in disbelief. These lycan children needed to be taken in hand at once. Keeping the secret of their existence was the pack’s number one law, and having a youngster wandering the streets in wolf form was asking for trouble.

Brencis, hurry. We’ve got to get these children to safety and find their mother.

On my way now.

“Joe, I’ll be right back. I’ve got to tell Melisande we’re leaving.” Grigori headed out of the kitchen and with lycan speed rushed up the stairs and past Brencis.

Get the car. I’ll be down in a moment.
Grigori sent his thoughts to Brencis.

He rushed into the master bedroom and patted Melisande on the shoulder.

“Detka
, wake up. We have a situation, and I need to go out.”

Melisande opened her eyes. Grigori leaned over her.

“Grigori, what’s the matter?” she asked concerned.

“Rosie is missing, and we must find her.”

“I’ll get dressed and come with you,” Melisande replied, starting to rise.

“We’ve got to hurry. Seth is wandering the streets in his wolf form,” Grigori said agitated. He wasn’t sure bringing Melisande was a good idea. But he knew she would fight to come, and it would be faster to let her. Then there was little Joe, who might feel better if Melisande came with them. Joe was very timid and skittish. Grigori didn’t want to scare the child. Having a woman around might make Joe more comfortable.

“I’ll be only a moment.” Melisande grabbed her clothes and threw them on. Grigori watched as she slipped on a pair of jeans over pink silk panties and pulled a lightweight sweater over her head. She smiled provocatively as she saw him watching. Knowing she was braless beneath the sweater made his hands itch to slip inside and fondle her. How was he going to concentrate on finding Seth and Rosie?

Then she slipped her feet into a pair of loafers, snatched up her purse, and walked over and put her arms around Grigori’s neck. Her breasts brushed against his chest, soft and warm beneath the sweater. His hands swept around her and he pulled her closer, letting her feel the hardness in his pants. After a quick kiss, she said, “Aren’t we in a hurry?”

“If we weren’t, I’d be stripping that sweater off.” Sighing, Grigori brushed a stray lock of Melisande’s hair from her cheek. He would always want her like this. Needing her close, he would want to join their bodies as well as their souls. But now wasn’t a good time. He took her hand in his and led the way down the hall to the back door.

The car stood idling in the drive with Brencis and Joe in the front seat. Grigori proceeded to the automobile and held the door open for Meli to get in.

“Where’s Valerii? Isn’t he coming?” Melisande asked.

“No, he will stay here and guard the house. All right, Joe, can you speak to Seth mind-to-mind?”

“Seth is telepathic. He speaks to me. I can hear him, but I can’t send to him,” Joe said apologetically.

“Where is he? How do we find him?” Grigori asked. He wasn’t sure he could reach Seth with his telepathy, since they had no pack connection and had met only once. Plus there were the problems of distance and of not knowing where Seth might be.

“He headed into Bow in Tower Hamlets right before I got to your house,” Joe said.

“Brencis head toward the East End. I’ll try to connect with Seth as we get closer.”

It took half an hour to get to Bow. Luckily, traffic was minimal at this time of night. Brencis followed little Joe’s directions about where to turn. Grigori sat in the back seat with Melisande snuggled in his arms. The area they entered was not like the pristine neighborhood they lived in. Buildings looked rundown or empty; dented and abused old cars sat along the street or parked on long cracked and broken driveways. Lots that should have been covered with nice lawns were nothing but dirt and weeds. Trash littered the streets.

Just then a young wolf darted between two cars and ran into the path of their automobile.

“
Govno
!” Brencis swore as he slammed on the breaks and swerved to avoid hitting the animal. Little Joe threw open the front passenger door and rushed up to the wolf who was standing in the headlights. She wrapped her arms around the wolf and hugged his neck.

Grigori undid his seat belt. He got out of the car and walked up to the pair.

“That was a stupid trick, Seth. You might have been killed,” Grigori chastised the young wolf, his heart still thumping because of the near miss. Kneeling down, Grigori gazed into Seth’s wolf eyes. A connection was made between the two lycans, and Grigori was able to touch Seth’s mind with his thoughts.

Did you find Rosie?
Grigori asked.

Yes, one block down is a house with a fenced yard. Rosie’s trail leads into the yard. But there are three blokes sitting on the front stoop drinking, and I didn’t know how to get around them,
Seth replied.

All right, Seth. I’m granting you the job of guarding Melisande and little Joe. Brencis and I will take it from here. Stay in the car with the doors locked. We’ll return as soon as we can,
Grigori sent to the young wolf while rubbing the fur around his ears.

Seth wagged his tail and, with little Joe trailing after, went over to the car and climbed in the front seat. Grigori walked up to Melisande’s window. He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss.

“Watch the young ones. Brencis and I will find Rosie and be back in a bit. If you see anything or feel threatened in any way, reach for me. I will return to you immediately.”

“Don’t worry. We can handle being alone for a little while. Just be careful and come back to me.”

“Always,
lyubov moya,
” Grigori assured her.

“Let’s go, before someone gets curious,” Brencis said.

“Right behind you.”

Grigori and Brencis took a deep breath, letting their wolf senses come to the surface and sharpen their perceptions. Quickly picking up Rosie’s scent trail, they headed up the street, using a burst of preternatural speed.

At the gate to the property, Grigori signaled a stop. He could hear three men talking on the front porch. Rosie’s scent trail led through the gate and to the right of the building. Was she in the house or somewhere outside? Grigori signaled to Brencis to loop around the property and look for another way in. Brencis nodded and started making his way around. Grigori listened to the men’s conversation.

They never mentioned seeing Rosie and Grigori wondered if she was still here.When another man came out of the building carrying a bundle of rope.

“Come on. Let’s go tie up that busybody we clunked on the head. We don’t want her waking up and screaming for the police.”

“What are we going to do with her? Maybe we should take her down to the river and let her sink,” said one of the men, a beer bottle dangling from his fingers.

“I’ve got a better idea,” a second man said, grabbing his crotch. “She’s not too old for a little fun, and I kinda like my women with some meat on im. Did you see those knockers? I sure could use a nip of those.”

“You couldn’t handle a woman like her. She nearly castrated me before I could knock her out. She’d remove your package before you mounted her,” the leader said, fingering the rope.

Grigori felt his wolf rise to the surface with his rage. He was tempted to shift and tear the men’s throats out for talking about messing with Rosie. He subdued his wolf spirit and wondered briefly how hurt Rosie was from her struggle with the men. Would she need to go to the human hospital?

He reached for Brencis with his mind.
Did you find anything?

There’s an old wooden shack in the back. I can hear the sounds of a pup coming from inside. There’s no gate, but I can probably jump the fence.

All right, check the shed, while I take care of these louts in the front.

Grigori strolled into the yard and up to the four men. He knew he should use his telepathy to mesmerize the men and put them to sleep. But he itched for a fight and hoped the men would instigate an altercation. They deserved so much more than a beating for hurting Rosie.

“Good evening, gentlemen,” Grigori greeted the men who sat in lawn chairs and on top of crates. Beer bottles littered the ground around their feet.

“You lost, mister? Cause there ‘er no gentlemen here,” the apparent leader of the group said, still holding the rope in his hands.

“Yes, I can see that. It looks like there are a bunch of drunks here,” Grigori answered, flexing his fists.

“Nothing wrong with being a drunk. More fun than being a chump like you.”

Grigori, stop playing around. Rosie’s hurt, and there is a lycan pup with her. I need a hand. The pup is feral, and I’m afraid of hurting her,
came Brencis’ mental call.

Grigori looked at the men and swore. They all sat there in their numb state, too lazy to do anything but look at the stranger in their midst. Reaching for their minds, he shuffled through their memories. Only the leader knew about the wolf pup. With a telepathic command, he put them all to sleep. The men all slumped down in their chairs or onto the ground. Grigori wished he could leave a few bruises on them, but his honor demanded he leave the louts be.