Harlequin Nocturne March 2014 Bundle: Shadowmaster\Running with Wolves (30 page)

Shay gasped a breath and held it to keep from calling out a warning. Very slowly and deliberately, Jason closed the distance to his truck and opened the driver's door. She didn't let loose the air burning inside her chest until he climbed inside the truck and slammed the door shut.

“Buddy.” Instantly, he was by her side. A low growl rumbled in his throat as another two wolves stepped into the clearing and moved toward them. She leaned down and grabbed ahold of Buddy's collar. They had to get back in the house. But before she could take a step, Jason's truck roared to life. He flipped on the headlights and, in the dimming light of dusk, lit up the yard. The wolves turned and faced him, their eyes glowing greenish-gold in the headlight's reflection.

The truck inched forward, moving close to the porch, one tire riding up the bottom step. Jason pushed open the back door of the crew cab and yelled, “Come on, Buddy!”

In a flash, Buddy yanked out of her grasp and jumped into the backseat of the truck then slid between the bucket seats up front and positioned himself in the passenger's seat. Amazement surged through her at how easily and quickly Buddy obeyed him, which quickly turned to annoyance. She had no choice now. There was no going back.

“Come on, Shay,” Jason yelled.

Before she could move, another wolf appeared on the porch from the side of the house not ten feet away from her. Without a second thought, she ran and jumped into the backseat of the crew cab, slamming the door shut behind her. Jason made a wide turn and carefully drove down the road as even more wolves stepped out from between the redwoods to watch them pass, their dark eyes following them.

Buddy whined and Shay repositioned herself, squeezing up into the front seat next to him. She put her arm around his trembling body. Though she suspected she was getting more comfort from his soft warm fur than he was getting from her. She laid her cheek against him and tried not to cry. More wolves stepped forward, flanking the road as they drove away from her home.

“Look at them all. In all the years I've lived here, I've never seen a single wolf. Now they're everywhere.”

“They've come from far away, tracking the scent.”

“What if they get into the house?” She turned around and watched them move toward her home.

“It doesn't matter. Not anymore.”

Disbelief filled and angered her. “Yes, it does. How can you say that? They'll ruin everything. That is my home.” As she thought of the damage they could do, to the antique sofa, the leather of the chairs, the wool rugs, she felt her control over her emotions slipping as tears spilled onto her cheeks.

“Did you shut the door?”

“Yes, but what if they break a window? We have to go back. We have to do something, call someone.”

“We can't, Shay. I'm sorry. There's nothing we can do. No one we can call.”

“Yes, we can! That is my home.”

“No it's not. Not anymore.”

She glared at him, feeling the hatred burning through her eyes.

“I'm sorry. That came out harsher than I'd intended. You have to trust me, Shay. As hard as it is to accept, life as you know it is over. You have no choice but to move on.”

“That's not true. We always have choices.”

“But not always good ones. I know it sounds insensitive, but—”

“You're damn right it does. I will never forgive you for this, for taking me away from my home. For not calling someone, for not helping me save...” And then it broke loose, all the fear and the anger she was trying to keep at bay. It filled her heart and overflowed, expanding into her throat. Gulping, painful sobs wrenched her chest, and tears flooded her eyes, scorching her cheeks.

Embarrassment engulfed her, merging with the fear and anger and the deep sadness. Everyone in her family was dead and everything she had left to remind her of them was still in that house. And yet, she'd chosen to go with him, to turn from her home and get into his truck.
Fool.

But what choice had she had? She thought again of the years, the memories with her grandmother. They were all she had left of her family. There was nothing else. No one else. But now the house was riddled with cracks, and foul-smelling odors and...wolves.

She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the window.

“I'm sorry,” he said again.

“You already said that. It doesn't matter. It doesn't help.”

“It does matter, Shay, because you're alive. If I hadn't come today, if I'd waited one more night...”

She turned to him. He was serious. He really believed she'd been in danger. She thought of the voices in her wall, of the feverish eyes of the wolves outside her door, and a shudder tore through her. Was he right? Was she that close to death?

If I'd waited one more night...

Chapter 4

S
hay must have fallen asleep. She woke with her head pressed against the glass and Buddy's big body splayed across her lap. She dug her fingers into his fur, finding comfort in his softness. He was all she had left now. She looked out the windshield at the dark empty highway looming ahead of them.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“To the most beautiful spot on earth. You and Buddy will love it.”

Maybe. But they'd loved it where they were. Buddy had tons of empty forest to roam. They were a breath away from the beautiful blue Pacific with its soaring cliffs and giant black rocks. There were people she knew back there, people who knew her. She sighed. Who knew where she was going now? What it would be like. Why hadn't her parents told her about this place?

Would she ever be able to go back home? She had to. She'd take out a loan, make the repairs on the house, call wildlife control and take back her life. Running off with a stranger was beyond foolish and it wasn't like her. She was practical. Logical. She didn't let her emotions rule her actions. She didn't operate on instinct. She was a planner, so she was making a plan.

Except how could she plan for demons? She shook her head. Crazy. They were just cracks in the wall.
Cracks that whisper?
The question taunted her.

“Will we get there soon?” she asked, trying to stretch the kinks out of her neck and back. How long had she been sleeping? She looked at the radio's clock. Almost midnight!

“Not tonight. We will stop at a motel a few miles up the road.”

She nodded, rethinking her plan. Perhaps she wouldn't have to go all the way to this colony. She was starving, and she had to use the restroom. First thing in the morning, she would call a car-rental place and take back control of her life. She didn't know who this man was, anything about him or where he was taking her. There was no reason she had to stay with him.

Except he had the tattoo.

But if it was so important that she trust him, go with him, then why hadn't anyone told her about this colony?

“Great. While I appreciate all you've done today to help us, this motel will be the end of the line for me and Buddy.”

Jason turned and looked at her, his face unreadable in the dim light from the dash.

“Just because you have a tattoo that matches my necklace doesn't mean I'm going to give up my life and run off with you. I know nothing about you. Nothing about where you're taking me, or why I'm suddenly in so much danger.”

“Fair enough,” he said, his voice tense as he pulled into an old fifties-style motel. “But will you let me tell you more over dinner? Perhaps fill in some of the holes?”

“Those are some pretty big holes to fill,” she muttered. She stared skeptically out of the window at the bright neon vacancy sign. “Blue Moon?”

“It doesn't look like much but it's clean and the cheeseburgers are to die for.”

She sighed as her stomach rumbled and, with a pat on Buddy's head, climbed out of the truck. Jason ordered for them while she took Buddy to do his business then put him back in the truck. “We won't be long,” she promised. “Then you can sleep with me. It's a pet-friendly motel.”

Buddy barked once, then whined and dropped his head onto his paws. She filled up his bowl, which she'd found shoved into his bag of food, smiled at him and shut the door.

Jason was right. The cheeseburger was better than she'd expected, especially since she didn't usually eat meat, but suddenly she seemed to be craving it. She scarfed down the burger quicker than she would have imagined possible then picked at her salad.

“I can't believe how fast I ate that,” she said, a little embarrassed. “I can't remember the last time I was this hungry.”

He smiled. “I like girls with healthy appetites.”

It was a nice smile, a charming smile. But it wouldn't work on her. Not anymore. She looked back down at her plate and speared a tomato. “So, what you said earlier...about my dad.”

He looked up, his pale bluish-gray eyes catching hers, and she was almost afraid to continue, to know. “It almost sounded like you knew him.”

“I did know him.”

She stared at him, her salad forgotten. “When? How?”

“The Colony is a small town. Everyone knows everybody. Your dad was... He was the leader of our village. You would be, too—as his daughter it's your blood right.”

Blood right?
What was that supposed to mean? Suspicion wormed its way through her, leaving a trail of unsettling wariness. What kind of town had leaders based on blood rights?

“My dad died ten years ago. And we have never lived anywhere called The Colony.”

“I know. He left shortly before marrying your mother.”

“Okay, well, that had to have been twenty-three years ago. And you can't be a day over thirty. So how do you remember my dad?”

“He was a great man. He had a way of making an impression.”

She leaned back into the red vinyl seat and stared around the fifties diner, the long row of booths lining the wall of windows, while trying to wrap her mind around this. Something just didn't sound right. Hell, none of it sounded right.

“Maybe you should tell me why you came for me. The real reason, because obviously you didn't just happen to bump into me in the grocery store.”

“No, you're right about that.” He swiped a handful of fries through a mound of ketchup and stuffed them into his mouth.

She waited, watching, her impatience growing by the second.

He swallowed, took a deep sip of his Coke and then smiled, a devastatingly charming smile meant to knock her off her feet. It wasn't working. Not even a little.

“I came to find you.”

“Yes, I figured. Why?”

“To save you.” He leaned back with a self-satisfied grin, obviously pleased with his accomplishment.

“Thank you,” she gritted through a jaw growing tenser by the second.

“You're welcome.”

“Why did I need saving?” She gripped the edge of the aluminum table to keep herself from jumping across the smooth surface and throttling him.

He looked around the room at the few other patrons scattered throughout the small diner then leaned in toward her. “It's the demons. They're after you.”

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was sitting in the middle of God knew where with an insane man. How had her life gotten so screwed up? “Fine, I'll bite. Why? Why do they live in my walls? Why do they want me? And why were there wolves surrounding my house?”

“I told you earlier, the wolves can smell the demons. But not only that—they can smell you.”

Shock intensified her annoyance, and she wasn't sure how much longer she could hold on to her temper.

“It's not like that,” he said quickly. “It's because of your transformation. They can smell the change coming. Once you've made the transition, once we get you to The Colony, you'll be safe. From them and from the demons, I promise.”

Anxiety burned in her chest. “What change? What transition?”

He took another long swig of Coke and suddenly she could see it for the diversion technique it was. He didn't want to tell her. He was stalling! Because it was all lies.

“You have about thirty seconds to explain everything before I walk.” The urge to give him a swift kick under the table was almost overwhelming, and she held on to her leg with both hands cupped around her knee. God, what was happening to her? She was so keyed up, so frustrated and angry, she felt like she could jump right out of her own skin.

He took a deep prolonged breath. “Your father, like all of us at The Colony, was...different.”

“How?”

“Well, for instance, you've been seeing colors around people.”

“Yes,” she said, still surprised that he knew that.

“They are people's auras. By now you should also be hearing the energy coming from their brains.”

The buzzing.
“Yes...” But how did he know? “So, it's not a tumor?” she asked, giving voice to her biggest fear.

“Nope. We all went through it.”

“And the people with the black auras, like that man at the store earlier?”

“He is a lost man, someone who doesn't know who he is or what he values. He's weak, and weak humans are easy vessels for demons to catch a ride in. We call them the
Abatu.
”

“Demons again.”

“Yes. But, one-on-one, you can fight them. Easy. Please tell me your dad at least taught you how to fight.”

“Of course he did,” she snapped, not liking the reference that her dad was some kind of slacker. “So, my dad could see auras, too?”

“Yes. Once. Before he went through the change. And after, I think. Though he never really talked about it much.”

“So, this change, whatever it is, why would that make us targets for demons?” She felt ridiculous even asking the question.

“Because the dimension where the demons come from, the place where the cracks in your wall lead to, is where our ancestors came from. Long ago. Our ancestors were sent here by the
Gauliacho
to spread fear through humans, to conquer and destroy them. They took the shapes of animals then transformed into humans, terrorizing the natives.

“Myths and legends were born. But our ancestors liked it here. They liked running free. They even liked the humans. After a while, they didn't want to go back. In their human forms, they mated, started families, creating lives apart from the Demon dimension they came from. We are their offspring. We are the hated ones, the defiant ones. The abominations.”

Her heart gave a little hiccup as he said the word. This couldn't be real, couldn't be true. “I, uh, I'm not sure I'm following. Are you saying we
are
demons?”

“Not demon, not human, either, but a little of both. Your dad wasn't human, Shay. Not completely. But your mom was. Once she became pregnant with you, your dad wanted to marry her. In order to do that, he had to leave the protection of The Colony.”

She stared at him wide-eyed and stunned. “Why? I thought he was in charge. Your leader or something.”

“He was. But your mother wasn't like us, and we couldn't know if you would go through the change or not. If you'd be more like her than him. Sometimes half-breed offspring do, sometimes they don't. But either way, humans must never know about us. As each year passes, as populations grow, our secret has become harder to keep. If human offspring were allowed to grow up in The Colony, it would be impossible.

“That's why it's imperative that we never mate outside The Colony. Your dad broke that rule. He saw your mom in a bordering town and fell instantly in love. He was lost from that moment forward. I promised him the day he left that if you changed, if you started your transformation, I would find you and I would bring you home safely.”

She leaned back in the booth. “You realize how crazy all this sounds, right?”

“Yes.”

“So according to you, I'm changing into some kind of demon hybrid and soon I will no longer be human?”

He nodded. “That's about it in a nutshell.”

She slid out of the booth and stood. “Great meeting you, Jason.”

“I understand how this all sounds.”

“Do you?” She leaned in close to him. “And what about you, Jason? Are you some kind of demon? Are you not human, too?”

He placed a room key on the table and slid it toward her. “We're both tired. Get some rest. We'll talk more in the morning. You're in room fifteen. I'll be right next door if you need me.”

“Don't worry,” she said, snatching up the key. “I won't.”

* * *

Shay put on her jammies and climbed into bed as Buddy settled himself onto the floor next to her. “Everything is going to be all right,” she whispered to her dog. But was it? She had no clue what she was going to do. How could she believe a word Jason had said? It was crazy, and yet, somehow everything he'd said fit. He knew what she'd been going through with the colors and the sounds, and he'd said she wasn't the only one. The burden lifted off her by his words was substantial. She didn't have a tumor, benign or otherwise. She wasn't going crazy. She was just going through some kind of change.

But into a demon? How could he expect her to believe that? She switched off the light and touched the necklace around her neck. If any of this was true, why hadn't her father told her? Why hadn't her mother? Both had died when she was so young. First her father from a freak accident in which he'd fallen off the cliffs into the Pacific, and then her mother, killed by a drunk driver. Maybe they meant to tell her, but never got the chance. Maybe there was nothing to tell because it was all crazy.

She had no idea how much time had passed when she woke to darkness. She was dripping with sweat and wrapped in a wet sheet. Pain sliced across her middle. She groaned, bending over, cradling her stomach as images of the forest flashed through her mind. She could smell the damp earth, thick and musky in her nose, could feel the power in her legs stretching out beneath her, carrying her fast through the night as she chased after the acrid scent of fear from a scurrying rabbit.

She screamed as another sharp pain sliced through her insides. The images came quicker, the outlines of the ferns and the Douglas firs were easy to distinguish by the light of the moon. Even though it was dark, details were so much easier to see as her vision sharpened into focus.

Her breathing, rough and ragged, scraped across the inside of her throat. She moaned, curling up into a ball, bunching the damp sheets in her sweaty palms. The door connecting her room with the one next door burst open. On the outskirts of her peripheral vision she saw Jason hurry toward her. The bed sagged as he sat next to her.

“Here, eat this,” he said, thrusting a large piece of jerky into her hand. “It's venison.”