Black Orchid (6 page)

Adelaide
was up with the dawn. The sunlight streaming across her bed had woken her
despite having only a few hours of sleep. She’d failed in her first attempt to
morph, but she’d only tried for a little bit. Her fear of going dragon combined
with her lack of knowing how to shift into the falcon had worked against her.
And flapping her arms while jumping up and down like a Dumb Dora clearly hadn’t
been effective either. At least no one had been there to witness that
particular embarrassment.

So
she’d gone back inside to do some research. She’d looked through Selene’s books
to see if there was anything about how to morph. The Vyusher were wolf
metamorphs, after all, so it stood to reason they’d record something about that.
But after quite a bit of reading, the only information she’d found had to do
with relaxing and picturing.

Picturing,
she could do. Relaxing? That was harder. So then she’d gone through the books
on her own shelves, trying to find something to help her. She’d found one on
martial arts. She figured that if the applied movements didn’t help her relax,
the meditation might. But at the very least she’d be doing
something
.
And that was better than nothing.

For
the first time since she opened her eyes in the castle courtyard, Adelaide felt
eager to learn something new.

She
hopped out of bed and quickly dressed in the exercise gear Lila had included in
the clothing she’d sent along. At least, based on magazines of current fashion,
Adelaide assumed what she was wearing was exercise-related clothing. It was
comfy if nothing else.

She
headed outside and propped her book up against an old tree stump. After a few
minutes of studying, she started working on some of the moves. At first she
felt like a complete fool. Again, she thanked heaven no one was there to see
her. But as the motions came more easily, she settled into it. Even kind of
liked it. After a few hours, she had to admit that she at least felt a little
better.

Hands
on her hips, she said, “Well, I’m not sure I feel calmer, but at least I’m
controlling something. Even if it is just my body.”

Suddenly,
Adelaide caught the sound of a slight rustle behind her. A shiver of foreboding
raced up her spine.

Slowly,
her heart in her throat, she eased around to face the source. She sort of hoped
her ears were just playing tricks on her. But a guy stood on the edge of her
property, maybe about fifty feet away. Instinctively, she crouched into one of
the defensive poses she’d been practicing all morning.

“Stay
back!” she yelled in as commanding a voice as she could muster. “Who are you?”

He
said nothing and made no move to come closer. Adelaide eyed the stranger warily.
He couldn’t be more than sixteen at the most. Tall and lanky as only teen boys
could be, the kid had dark hair that hung in greasy clumps into his face.

Was
he lost?

Adelaide
dismissed the idea as quickly as she’d had it. The Outback was a huge place,
and, according to her parents, she was in one of the more remote areas where people
were few and far between. No chance in hell this guy had just stumbled across
her by accident.

But
she also couldn’t immediately act on her assumption that he was Svatura of some
sort either. She’d just decided to ask him if he needed help when a deep growl
ripped from his throat.

A
string of swear words that would do Lila proud sprang through Adelaide’s mind
as the hairs on her arms stood up. Definitely someone with powers of some kind.
And hostile.

Shit.
Shit. Shit.
What should she do? He was a wolf metamorph, based on that growl. Even if he
wasn’t wolf, he was some kind of deadly animal. She glanced toward the house
and immediately rejected the idea of making a run for it. No doubt his animal
form would beat her in a race. And running might trigger his predator instinct.

Likely,
he didn’t know that she was essentially useless when it came to her powers. The
shaking had started up the moment she’d seen him, but Adelaide held it in
check. If she had to, she’d let the dragon out. But she’d never come back from
it, so that was a last resort only.

The
boy lowered his chin, his hard gaze drilled into her, and something in his
expression turned predatory. God, this must be what it felt like to be an
antelope when a lion had it in its sights.

The
stranger took a single, menacing step forward.

Adelaide
held her ground, despite her instinct to run. She put her hands up. “Stop!” she
yelled. “Don’t come any closer. I don’t want to have to hurt you!”

His
lip curled into a sneer.

“Take
another step toward the lady, and I’ll do something about it.” Without any
other warning, another man stepped into view.

Adelaide
choked back the fear as well as the scream bubbling to the top of her throat.
What was going on here?

The
greasy kid didn’t take his eyes off her. “Not your fight, man.”

“I’m
making it my fight.”

Adelaide
gave the new arrival a swift look. His age was difficult to determine because
his face was hidden behind a long, scruffy beard, but she’d guess he was in his
early twenties at most. He looked pretty strong. But he was also just sort of
lounging where he stood. As if her life wasn’t in danger.

“Your
problem then. Cause I’m taking her out. I got orders.” The kid moved into a
crouch, ready to spring at her.

“Move
and you die. I’ll only tell you once,” her would-be protector said. And
Adelaide believed him.

With
not even a twitch of warning, the kid launched himself at Adelaide.
Instinctively she backed up, putting her hands up to ward off the impact.

But
he never reached her.

With
inhuman speed, the scruffy man was suddenly across the yard. He slammed into
the boy midair. As they came down, he managed to get the kid’s head between his
hands. With a violent twist, he snapped the boy’s neck and then dropped his
limp body to the ground.

Adelaide
remained rooted to the spot where she stood, her mouth hanging open, her heart
pounding a mile a minute. As she watched, her savior crouched down beside his
victim’s still form and checked for a pulse.

After
a minute he lifted his eyes and pinned her with a searching gaze. Very slowly,
he stood up and then took a step forward. But he stopped when Adelaide skidded
back a few feet. Her mind was a jumble of everything that’d happened in the
last few minutes. But despite the fact that he’d helped her, this man was still
a stranger. Her gut was already telling her to trust him, but she didn’t know
if she could rely on her instincts at the moment.

He
held up his hands in a gesture of peace and made no move to come any closer.
“My name is Nate.”

Adelaide
licked her lips and glanced at the body at his feet. “What…?” She took a deep,
calming breath. “What was that all about?”

Nate
followed her gaze, his lips pressed tight. “I’ve been tracking this guy for
almost a week. He’s been trying to find you for a while, I gather. And,
apparently, he had orders to kill.”

Adelaide
looked down at her hands, which were balled into fists at her sides as she
struggled to process everything and control the beast inside her at the same
time.

She
glanced back up at Nate and gasped.

Before
her eyes, glittering, almost electrical, strands of light in different colors
crisscrossed the space between them. But what did it mean?

One
strand in particular caught her attention. It started from her heart and
reached out toward him but didn’t quite make it all the way. It was a color
she’d never seen before… a deep purple, and the ends were black and jagged,
almost as if it was dying. But that wasn’t all. A similar strand of light came
from his heart, reaching toward her. Only this line was shorter, and more of it
had turned black.

Adelaide
walked toward him as though pulled by gravity. She
had
to see what
happened when their lines crossed. She stopped a few feet away from him and
watched, fascinated, as the strands of light danced around each other. It
looked as though hers would reach for his, and his would push away. Like two
magnets repelling one another.

She
reached out to touch them. Maybe she could put them together. Just inches away
from his end, she felt warmth start to tingle up her hand. Adelaide yanked back
with another gasp. She felt the trembling start inside her and stumbled back a
few steps. Then she looked up to see his astonished frown.

What
have I done?
she thought wildly.

“You’re
Svatura, aren’t you?” he asked abruptly.

Adelaide
stumbled back from Nate as though the impact of his words had physically pushed
her.

When
she didn’t say anything, he repeated the question. “Are you Svatura?”

She
nodded abruptly. “Yes.”

Nate
held his breath. She couldn’t have given him a better opening. This was it. The
key moment when he had to gain her trust.

The
staged fight with Dave had gotten him in the door, so to speak. He glanced over
at Dave’s unconscious form. He hadn’t actually killed Dave. Just knocked him
out cold, as had been the plan. As soon as he could, he planned to pretend to
bury the guy. But it would be in a very shallow grave and with plenty of air to
breathe. A bit of a risk, but Nate doubted Adelaide would actually go check. Then
later, under the cover of night, Dave would return to Maddox.

Hopefully
he’d manage to bury Dave soon. He didn’t want Adelaide to look closely enough
to see him breathing or notice the guy twitching as he woke up. The entire
scene had one purpose: to get Nate in with Adelaide.

Now
it was up to him to win her over completely.

“You
have some kind of power, right? That’s why he was after you?” he asked.

Adelaide
looked down at the ground, scrunching her hands into fists so tightly her
knuckles turned white. She was taking this better than he’d expected. At least,
she appeared to be so far. He’d assumed there’d be screaming, that she might
even attack him. But so far she’d been fairly rational.

“You
can’t be here,” she said in a low, raspy voice.

“Don’t
be afraid. I won’t hurt you…. I just saved you!”

She
raised her gaze to his, and Nate was stunned to see that her green eyes were
now glowing bright yellow.

“You
don’t understand,” she whispered. “I could really hurt you. You need to leave.
Now
.”

Nate
took a step closer to her. He could see that her slender body was quaking from
head to toe.

Adelaide
held up both her hands. “I can’t hold it in much longer. You really need to
go.” The anguish in her voice concerned him. He could tell she was terrified.
But it seemed to be
for
him, not because of him. She bent over and put
her hands on her knees, sucking air into her lungs as fast as she could.

Nate
took a step closer and then hesitated.
She’s a con artist, don’t forget.

But
he also wasn’t exactly sure what was happening to her. As far as he knew, none
of her powers were actually dangerous.

Suddenly
Adelaide fell to her hands and knees. He could see her chest heaving as she
struggled for control. Nate acted on pure instinct. Tapping into his speed, he
was at her side in less than a blink. He wrapped his strong arms around her
from behind, sat down on the ground, and pulled her in tightly to his body.
Leaving one armed wrapped around her midriff, he started running his other hand
through her hair in a soothing gesture.

Now
that he was touching her, Nate was amazed that her shaking wasn’t rattling her
very bones. It was that violent. Definitely not faking it.

“Breathe.”
Come on.

“I…
can’t,” she choked out. He knew that if he could see her face, there would be
tears streaming down her cheeks. And he didn’t like it. It reminded him way too
much of his dreams. But he couldn’t think about that right now.

“Focus
on me. Feel my chest against your back as I inhale. Breathe with me. In and
out. In and out…” He sucked in a loud breath and blew it out his mouth.

He
kept that up, and after a few heartbeats of time, she started to try it with
him. “That’s it. In and out. You’re okay.”

Even
after her body had stopped shivering and started to unclench, Nate kept it up.
He stroked her hair, took deep breaths, and spoke in a soothing voice. He
didn’t really think about what he said. He just knew that it seemed to be
helping her.

After
a while, her breathing was no longer labored, and her body had relaxed. Nate
was just starting to wonder if she’d fallen asleep on him when she suddenly
stirred.

“You
can let me go now.”

He
released her and watched closely as she sat up and moved away, refusing to look
at him. But her expressive face showed a host of emotions: confusion… fear…
curiosity… doubt.

“How’d
you do that?” she mumbled.

Nate
cocked his head. “What?”

“Calm
me down. You said you’re Svatura, like me. Is that your power?”

“Oh.
No. It just seemed like…” Come to think of it, how
had
he known what to
do? She’d panicked, and he’d reacted instinctively.

“Like
what?” she prompted, still not looking at him.

He
dragged his thoughts back to her and feigned a casual shrug. “Like the thing to
do.”

Adelaide
finally looked up at him with a confused frown. “Well… thank you.”

“Any
time.”

She
raised her eyebrows, and he grinned. “I guess a “you’re welcome” would make
more sense in this situation.”

Adelaide’s
lips twitched and then clamped tight. “I think you should start explaining.”

He
pointed at himself with a comically incredulous expression. “Me? How about you
and what just happened? Or almost happened?”

Adelaide
didn’t laugh though. After a moment she said, “This is
my
house. You
first.”

“Fair
point.”
She’s got spunk,
he thought grudgingly. Which was interesting
since what vague memories he had of her showed him that she was a little on the
shy side, although she could’ve been faking that too. Then she suddenly looked
down, unable to maintain eye contact, and started tracing a pattern in the red
dirt with her finger. He wasn’t sure what to believe. Adelaide Jenner was a
riddle.

He
decided, in the interest of gaining her trust, to answer her questions. At
least, he’d answer the ones he’d prepared for. The ones she was most likely to ask.
“Like I said, my name is Nate, and I am Svatura, like you. And I’ll be happy to
answer all the questions you want. But look… I think I should at least bury the
guy first.”

*****

Adelaide
blinked, and she glanced over to the dead body in her yard. How had she forgotten?
Even for a second?

“Do
you have a shovel?” he asked.

Swallowing,
she gave a jerky nod. “You… just stay where you are. I’ll go get it and put it
outside the door. Knock when you’re done.”

Nate
nodded.

Abruptly,
she jumped to her feet and hustled inside, surreptitiously keeping tabs on him
as she went. As soon as she was in the house, she locked the door and checked
all the windows. When she glanced outside, he was standing in the same place
where she’d left him. Seeing her peeking out, he gave a friendly wave.

Adelaide
ducked back inside and put her hands over her cheeks. Why the heck was she
blushing? After she’d secured the cabin, she grabbed the shovel from a utility
closet behind the kitchen. She stuck it outside the door before shutting and locking
it again.

Then
she went up to her window and sat down in her seat. But her little haven wasn’t
as peaceful as it had been yesterday. Now she felt as though the eyes had
walls. She didn’t feel safe here anymore. Maybe safety had always been an
illusion.

Nate
ambled into her field of vision, shovel in hand. He was a good distance from
the house but still visible from her window. He dropped the tool and proceeded
to strip off his shirt.

Adelaide’s
jaw dropped and then she swallowed.
Whoa.
She’d have to be dead not to
appreciate that mouthwatering piece of masculine beauty. Even from all the way
over here, she could see there wasn’t an ounce of fat on his body. Lean muscles
rippled under taut skin with every tiny movement. And he was hard everywhere.
His arms, his back, his abs, his tight tush and strong legs. Not that she could
see them, but she had an imagination.

Oh
my God, Adelaide. What are you thinking, ogling his body when he just killed
someone sent to murder you? He’s out there digging a grave!

Adelaide
felt a blush of embarrassment rising in her cheeks. Only now it spread over her
in a full body flush. And then he picked up the shovel and put those toned
muscles to work with an efficient swing.

“Oh
my,” she murmured.

Deliberately,
she turned away from the sight and from her completely ridiculous thoughts.
Briefly, she thought about sending Griffin a mental S.O.S. but put that idea on
hold for now. She’d wait and hear what Nate had to say first and then decide
what to do. With iron will Adelaide kept her back to the window and waited for Nate’s
knock.