Capturing Caroline (3 page)

“If we travel
the rest of the night, we should reach my village.” He returned to
his place and sank down to the ground. “That means we’re not far
from your sisters.”

Caroline jerked
with surprise and swallowed hard. “Really?”

He nodded. “I
will send a message telepathically to have them meet us.”

“Tele—never
mind.”

“We can press
on after you’ve eaten.”

“Don’t you need
to rest?”

“I’ll be fine.
I want you safely out of the reach of the Magica.”

“So, we’re not
safe right now?”

“Not as safe as
Id like us to be.”

She nodded and
went back to eating. He looked exhausted. Dark circles marked the
skin under his blue-gray eyes. In her twenty-four years she’d never
met a man as protective and self-sacrificing as this one. Sad, but
true.

“How are they?”
she asked between bites. “My sisters? I mean, I know you said
they’re happily mated shifters, but I’d love a few more
details.”

He shrugged one
broad shoulder. “Kaitlyn loves being a hawk, loves the freedom of
flying. She has a beautiful garden she tends in the warm months and
seems to really enjoy using vegetables from it in her meals. Paige
still dances. There’s a theater in the village and sometimes people
come to watch her perform. They are joyful. In love. Healthy. As
far as I know, in all ways they are good.”

She smiled.
“And…you and me…” She wasn’t sure she wanted to go there, but her
curiosity was powerful.

His eyes went
dark and he looked away from her, throwing a branch into the fire.
“You were not supposed to come here. I’d hoped—” He bit off the end
of his sentence with a word in a foreign language she guessed was a
curse.

“Hoped
what?”

“I’d hoped to
avoid this torment.”

“But you
escaped from the prison. Doesn’t that mean you’ve avoided the
prophecy?”

He shook his
head. “It means nothing. Prophecies can never be escaped.” He
lowered his voice and seemed to talk to himself. “The prophecy is
still to be fulfilled, I’m sure of it. I feel it.”

“Tell me more
about this…prophecy? In my world prophecies are only plot devices
in fantasy novels.”

He locked gazes
with her over the fire. “I am to die. My final act upon this world
will be to end the war between the Magica and the Lycaon, but my
fate is to find my eternal rest in the soil of my ancestors.”

“Oh.” She
swallowed her final bite and tossed the bone aside. A dark, sinking
feeling replaced the hunger in her belly.

He nodded.
“It’s even worse if I have a woman to love, isn’t it? Worse still
if she loves me back. Worse that we are fated to be together in
perfect love and trust, that the force of our perfectness brought
us together from two very different worlds only to have our
relationship torn asunder by my death.”

“When you put
it like that…”

“There is
nothing good about this situation.”

“Hey! Who says
I even want to be with you? Some force I can’t see or comprehend?
How do I know any of this is even real?” Anger jolted her to her
feet. “And if this unseen force is so powerful and wise, why the
hell did it bring me through if we’re doomed?”

“I’m doomed,
not you.”

“If I’m
supposed to be head-over-heels in love with you, if we’re fated to
be together for the rest of our lives. I’m just as doomed as
you.”

Torrent said
nothing in reply.

Fuming, she
stared at him, then stalked away from the fire, her voice rising.
“So, screw your invisible force or whatever it is that brought me
here. Screw your prophecy. Screw anyone or anything that tells me
who I’m going to be with. I’ll make that decision, thank you very—”
She turned and came nose to chest with Torrent, the end of her
sentence dying in her throat.

“You can
question our spirituality and curse our ways, you can condemn the
prophecy, but
never
question we were meant to be together.”
His husky, emotion filled voice rolled over her, lifting every hair
on her body. Then he pulled her up against his chest and covered
her mouth with his.

She jerked,
then melted as his lips skated over hers, exploring every crease
and smooth surface before leisurely slanting over and pressing his
tongue deep within. Shivers ran over her body at the heat of him
melting into her and the masterful way he possessed her mouth.
Every single female part of her sat up and took notice.

He broke the
kiss and she staggered back away from him on shaking legs. “Holy
shit!” Then she clapped a hand over her mouth. Had she just said
that out loud?

Torrent was
stalking back around the fire. “We leave in five minutes.” He
sounded pissed. Was he mad because she’d dared doubt their link?
Well, he’d need to get over that. Not even the best kiss in the
world—and that definitely had been—would be enough for her to
decide to spend her life with a man right after she’d met him. Not
even if that man was a guy like Torrent. Not even if his life was
fated to be short.

She rubbed her
mouth with her hand. That kiss…..

“Are you
ready?”

She gave a bark
of laughter. She was
so
not ready for any of this. “Am I
ready for you to transform into a giant wolf and ride you through
the forest?”

“Yes.”

She laughed
again. She couldn’t think of any other response. “But I’m supposed
to be a dire wolf, too, right?”

“You could be
one of many different things, a bear, a hawk, a—”

“Well, let’s
find out what I am, shall we? It would be easier for me to travel
as an animal, wouldn’t it?”

Torrent looked
doubtful. “Caroline, normally the mate bond needs to be fully
forged for a mostly-human to shift to her animal.”

“Is it
always
that way?”

Torrent
shrugged one shoulder. “Most always, yes.”

“Well, you
don’t know me very well yet, Torrent. I can be pretty
determined.”

“I suspected,”
he answered wryly.

She stood,
shaking her arms and bouncing on the balls of her feet. “Okay, what
do I?”

“It’s not
something you
do
. It’s something you feel. Close your eyes
and feel your beast. Let it rise to the surface.”

“That sounds
easy, but I bet it’s hard.”

“Try it.” His
tone of voice clearly let her know that he expected failure. He
crossed his muscled arms across his massive chest.

She closed her
eyes and dug deep; entering the unfathomable stream of
consciousness she dived into while she meditated at home. In her
mind, images of animals flitted. A rabbit, a cougar, a bear, an
eagle…a dire wolf with dark fur.

The dire wolf
stood in the middle of a clearing, staring at her with
caramel-colored eyes. She felt close to this animal, a deep
bond.

Tingling began
in her arms and legs. The sensation intensified, radiating out
through her body and enveloping her. She let out a surprised cry,
as her body stretched, growing smaller and then larger. A flash of
pain bowed her spine.

She blacked out
and woke closer to the ground. Had she collapsed? No…wait…. She
stood at an abnormal height. She opened her mouth to speak and a
low growl came out.

Stepping
backward, she looked down and saw she had paws instead of feet.

Holy
hell!
She was a dire wolf! By the looks of it, she’d
transformed into the dark wolf she’d seen in her vision.

Looking up, she
saw Torrent staring at her with an amazed expression on his face.
His mouth broke into a smile—a rare occurrence, she suspected.

“You are
incredible,” he murmured, shaking his head.

A moment later
and he had also transformed into the sleek silver dire wolf of his
other self.

Together, they
bounded into the trees. Muscles stretching, fur rippling, Caroline
knew joy like never before.

Utter
freedom.

* * * *

Dawn had just
begun to lighten the horizon when they trotted into the yard of a
well-maintained two-story house in a clearing.

Caroline
thought about being a human again and shifted immediately. Naked,
she stumbled forward, exhausted from the trip.

A woman wearing
a long flowing skirt burst from the front door of the house and ran
across the dewy grass toward her. She carried a large blanket.

Another woman
ran at her heels. Caroline squinted her exhausted, bleary eyes and
recognized her sisters. Tears clogged her throat as she tried to
call their names.

Kaitlyn
practically tackled her, catching her up in her arms and enfolding
her in the soft blanket she carried. Paige wrapped both them in her
embrace. All three women could do nothing but sob. Finally, they
were reunited. The three of them tipped over as one into the grass,
crying and hugging.

Dimly she was
aware of a group of men talking in low tones near them. They were
undoubtedly her sister's mates. Torrent's voice was lower and
louder than the others. He sounded weary. A part of her wanted
nothing but to see him somewhere warm, get food into him and let
him sleep—to protect and take care of him the way he had of
her.

Kaitlyn cupped
her face in her hands. "I can't believe you're really here."

“Are you all
right?" asked Paige. "Did those bastards hurt you?"

She shook her
head. "I'm okay. Just really tired, dirty and hungry."

Kaitlyn smiled.
"We can fix all that."

Torrent walked
over to her and held out his hand. Someone had brought him a pair
of trousers, leaving his powerful upper body bare. "Let get you
inside."

"We're safe
now?" she asked, taking his hand and allowing him to pull her to
her feet. She pulled the blanket more securely around her.

"We're in the
safe boundaries of Lycaon territory," answered a tall man with
dusky blond hair and almond shaped eyes standing near Torrent. She
glanced around at the four strange men. So these were her sister's
mates.... She'd need to get her mind around the plural part of that
of truth.

"That's
Rafian," said Kaitlyn at her side. "My husband." She nodded to a
dark haired man with tribal tattoos snaking over one arm and up his
throat. "And that's Lucas, my other husband." She gave a nervous
laugh. "We probably have a lot to talk about."

"And that's
Kaiden and Jarek," Paige cut in. "The two best men I've ever
known." Pride and happiness clearly rang through her sister's
voice.

Caroline bobbed
her head at them. "It's nice to meet you. Sorry I couldn't be at
the weddings but I was in a different dimension."

Everyone
laughed. Well, they all seemed nice enough.

Torrent took
her by the arm and led her toward the house. "You can relax now.
We're at my home." He led her within the magnificent log house that
appeared to be part of the forest surrounding it. Once inside, she
gave a small gasp of appreciation. She’d been a real estate agent
once, before the economic recession had forced her to take an
office job editing a database, and she'd seen plenty of homes, but
none as beautiful as this one. To make the place even more
spectacular, she could tell that no construction company had built
this place. Lycaon hands had constructed this house.

The floor of
the small foyer was made from smooth, polished stones that ended
where a gorgeous wood floor began. The walls had been constructed
from rough-hewn logs. The floor plan was open, with a vast sitting
room opening up from the foyer. A dining room and kitchen lay to
her left. A flight of stairs led up to a loft, where she bet
Torrent's bedroom was located.

“Oh, wow,” she
exclaimed, stepping forth into the living room. “This is amazing!”
Towering, majestic trees had been incorporated into the design of
the house. Their trunks rose up through the roof, which was spotted
with skylights. An immense river stone fireplace dominated the
living room, which was decorated with comfortable looking couches
and chairs.

She walked over
to one of the trees and looked up into the branches, which started
about four feet above her head. She expected to hear the twittering
of birds at any moment, but it looked like the place was wildlife
free. "This place is amazing," she breathed.

"I'm glad you
like it. It’s not an easy design to maintain. The places where the
roof meets the trees are in regular need of alteration to prevent
leaks, but I love the work. It's not a very human house style, much
more Lycaon. I never expected to bring my human mate here or I
would have made a few changes."

It was perfect
the way it was. She shot him a sidelong glance. "You keep using
that word."

"What word?
Mate?”

“Yes.”

“I use it
because you
are
my mate." Torrent moved away from her,
denying her chance to retort.

Her sisters and
their husbands had hung around outside, presumably to give Torrent
a chance to bring her into the house with some privacy. Now they
came in and led her to the kitchen where food was already set out
on the table. Her mouth watered at the sight of it. The rabbit
they'd had the night before hadn't lasted all that long.

"We made food
for you both," said Kaitlyn. "Eat, bathe, sleep. We’ll come back
this evening. I know you must have questions."

Panic erupted.
"Wait. What? Don't leave!"

"You need to
relax," answered Paige, taking her by the shoulders. "Don't worry.
There's nowhere you could be safer than with Torrent."

Caroline didn't
doubt that.

Her sisters
each kissed the top of her dirty head and then moved to the door
with their spouses. "We'll see you in a few hours, Caroline.
Okay?"

She stared at
them glumly as they turned to leave, the heavy wood door closing
behind with a final sounding snick. Her sisters looked amazingly
happy and healthy. All this time she'd been worried about them,
they'd been here living dream lives with gorgeous men. She shook
her head. It was still hard to believe any of this was
happening.