In Rapture (Destined) (17 page)

“Shhh.
It’s okay.”

“I
never knew who it was, Grant. She lost all the power to live the moment he
left. If it weren’t for my grandparents she would have died long before I was
born. Cursed blood of Lena; she should have been stronger, much stronger. Love
makes you weak.”

“Love
does have that effect on people.”

Malinda
backed away from him, hoping above all else that he was not about to make some
confession of love to her. She enjoyed being his wife, learning about the world
around her, and exploring her sexuality with him, but she refused to fall into
love’s trap. She would not. Not now, not ever.

“I
had much the same problem with my first wife, Malinda. She made me fall in love
so easily with her that I overlooked the darkness that festered within her. I
have promised myself I will never love anyone like that again.”

While
she should have been ecstatic at his words they seemed to clamp frozen chains
to her heart, and her head swarmed in confusion. She warded away her thoughts
and looked into his eyes. “We are on the same page then.”

They
sat in silence for a few moments before Malinda spoke again. “Grant?”

“Yes,
Malinda?”

“Why
are you fighting against the Lair?”

Grant
let out a deep breath of air at her question. “It’s a long story.”

“I
need to know, Grant.”

“Yes,
I suppose you do need to know. Do you know anything of the Lair?”

“Yes.
Werewolves that rape, pillage, and plunder anything in their paths as long as
it will further their power. My grandfather made sure I was well-informed of
the dangers lurking out there. We were fortunate that they never reached the
hills of Tinley Faire.”

“If
you know these things, than understanding why we fight against them is not
something you should question.”

Malinda
knew he was trying to expertly dart the question, but she was not about to let
that happen. “Tell me about Maria, Grant.” It could have been her imagination,
but she swore that his face suddenly became paler.

“She
was filled with melancholy right after the birth of Sophia. Maria snuck out of
the manor to clear her head and walked much further than she should have. They
attacked her in every vile way known to man and some unknown, but not enough to
kill her. That would have been too easy.”

“What
happened to her, Grant?”

“She
made her way home as fast as her battered body would allow. She had lost a lot
of blood, but she was still fighting to live. In a few weeks she was able to
walk, to do the things she had before, but she was forever scarred from one
werewolf’s bite. He had made damn sure that she remembered him for the rest of
her life, this Seamus Finnigan. She fought against the darkness racing through
her blood every month when the full moon rose in the sky, but even the best
restraints could not keep her in line. After two years of torturing her with
her bonds, I set her free. That was the last time I saw her alive. Her body was
brought to me later.”

“Oh,
Grant. I’m so sorry. I cannot even begin to imagine the hell you have lived
through.”

“He
has it out for me, Malinda. From when it started, I have no idea how, but he
knew she was mine. He will destroy any light that touches my life. You must
take great care with yourself and Sophia while I am away.”

“How
long will you be gone?”

“I
don’t know.”

“How
will I know you are safe? How is this army you ride with going to protect you
from these beasts?”

“Because
the army is one and the same. We have men who have the very same abilities that
the Lair seeks, but we refuse to live our lives in their darkness.”

“We?”

Grant
took a deep breath and looked deeply into her eyes. He wanted nothing else than
to bare his soul to her and, while he knew he must, part of him was worried
that she would turn from him in disgust. “Do you trust me?”

Malinda
saw the soul-searching gaze that met hers. She knew what it was like to want
others to understand who you were…how could she not trust what he was about to
tell her? “Yes. I trust you.”

Grant
stood up and moved a few feet away from her. The light around him sparkled like
fireflies as his image changed shape before her. It happened in an instant, so
fast that Malinda would barely have noticed. A small rabbit now lay where Grant
once stood. Malinda almost chuckled at the sight, but captured the sound in a
smile before it could leave her mouth. The light sparkled around him once more
and Grant was standing there. “So, you are what? A shifter?” He was obviously
more than a werewolf, for werewolves had only one distinct form to change into,
their wolf counterparts. She had heard about shifters before, but she had never
dreamed she would one day meet one, much less find out that she had married
one.

“I
can take the shape of any animal of my choosing.” Grant searched her face
looking for the disgust that had flashed across Maria’s face when she had
learned about his abilities. He stared long and hard into her green eyes, but
they never faltered, never changed to the derision he had expected to see.

“I
see.” She saw his eyes turn wary before her and decided perhaps it was time to
let him off the hook. “Well, is that all, then?”

“Is
that all? I just told you I am a shifter, and your response is to ask me is
that all?” He shook his head in disbelief. She was an enigma to him at every
turn, and certainly was nothing like any other woman he had known before.

Malinda
giggled out loud. “Oh dear. I should explain, Grant. I’m not normal either.”
She took a deep breath and conjured a ball of energy in her hands. She
contained it in her left hand before casting it to the nearest tree. The tree
shook from the exertion, its leaves trembling in the aftershock.

“What
the….”

“See.
My secret is better.” A mischievous smile slid across her face.

“What
else can you do?” The corners of his mouth turned up into a slightly
inquisitive smile as he shook his head in amazement.

“Well,
while I cannot claim the art of shifting, as sad as that makes me, I have
visions, manipulate the energy around me, and can speak to animals. The women
of Lena are multifaceted like that.” She could not believe this conversation
was so matter of fact. She had never envisioned a time or place that would have
made it easy to bare her secret without feeling shame or recriminations. The
words seemed to flow from her so easily, that Malinda had no intention of taking
them back. This was how it was supposed to be when you met the mate you were
destined to be with.

Grant’s
laughter shook the air around them. “Oh, that’s just rich. I’m married to one
of
those
.”

“One
of what?” She chose her words carefully, for while she had felt so at ease in
letting him in on her secret, she suddenly felt like warts had sprung up on the
tip of her nose. She shivered as a cold wind chilled her. She turned away from
him cautiously.

Grant
stopped laughing and looked at her seriously. “You know.”

“No,
I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?” When her wariness attempted to beat her
into submission, anger soon followed, creeping upon her so quickly that she was
almost caught unawares. She had no idea what he was implying. How dare he cast
judgment on her, make her feel like an oddball when he was a shifter, for
crying out loud?

“Well,
most people call them troublemakers who stir up the world around them.” Grant
knew he was having entirely too much fun with torturing her, but he just could
not help it.

“And
what does a
shifter
call them?”

“I
call her my wife.”

Malinda
saw the small teasing grin that sat just above his beard. She sniffed in
annoyance and started to stalk away. He had purposefully goaded her. The cretin!
When Grant turned her around to face him, she refused to look him in the eye. “Stop.”

“Never.”

He
picked her up in the air deftly and held her over his shoulders in a grip so
tight that she looked like a flour sack dangling over his back. The air was
filled with the sounds of Malinda’s shrieks, as her arms and legs flailed in
protest. “Put me down!”

Malinda
had not been paying attention to where he was carrying her, but when he put her
down, she realized they were in the stables. He wrapped his hand in her long
black hair and pulled her closer to him. When her body collided with his she
felt the product of his desire through the many layers of clothing that
separated them. In moments he had assisted her to the ground, set her on top of
him, and his hands went underneath her skirts. Malinda tensed when she felt him
enter her, for she had not expected him to come at her so quickly. He must have
pulled his breeches down just low enough to penetrate her. Their lovemaking
usually lasted much, much longer, but today he seemed rushed. She felt his
energy move through her and soon she felt the fevered pitch that controlled
him. Malinda let herself slide up and down, matching every thrust of his hips
until the entire length of him quivered inside her. She did not have the same
completion that she normally had, but she trembled from the impact when he
spilled his seed deep within her. She lowered herself down into his arms and
found comfort in his embrace for a few moments before they headed back to the
manor.

Chapter 22

Grant
left the next morning. Malinda had chosen to eat in her room that night for
fear that she would run into Marshal Madigan again. She had not been ready to
face the demons from her mother’s past. How was she supposed to react to him?
He was the reason her mother had lost heart, wanting to die rather than live a
life without his love. Why had he not come looking for Andraya? Would he have
come to her mother had he known she was carrying his child? These were all
questions that deserved an answer, but she had not felt courageous enough to
ask them.

The
days seemed to flow into each other the first week that Grant was gone with
Madigan’s Army, and soon the weeks turned into months that seemed to be covered
in lonely shadows. Malinda spent a few days with the people of Wickford. She
made it a point to learn everything she could about their values and customs,
for she knew this was an expectation for any lady. She still had trouble
referring to herself as lady, but the people seemed to do so with an ease that
was completely unexpected. With every minute of time she spent with them she
learned more of the intricacies of how the whole community ran. The people
adored their lord and they were happy to see Sophia out and about, and Malinda
had made it a point to bring Sophia with her as much as possible when she
traveled to visit with the people. These were Sophia’s people too, and since
she would be the heir to Wickford it was only right that the child acquaint
herself with the people she would serve.

Today
they were making their way back to the manor with a small horse cart that was
attached to a sorrel horse. While Malinda had talked the stable hands into
getting the cart ready for her, she had lied about her driving skills. She had
never driven a cart before and, although it may have seemed like a daunting
task for someone so inexperienced, she had actually been able to use her
Adrianic skills to communicate with the sorrel that was pulling them around. It
had taken a few minutes to get her point across to the horse, but once they had
come to an understanding it had gone pretty easily. All she had to do was
promise to let the sorrel run free in the corral for the rest of the afternoon,
and the horse happily acquiesced to her demands.

Malinda
was teaching Sophia new words as the cart’s wheels skipped carelessly over the
tiny pebbles that lined the small road. “Do you hear that, Sophia? That is the
sound of a whippoorwill. It has the most beautiful voice, but you will have
trouble finding him. He’s the best at hiding among the leaves in the trees, for
his body blends in his surroundings.”

“Whiwill?”

“That’s
really close, Sophia. Whippoorwill.”

“Whiwill!
Whiwill!” Sophia clapped her hands and started to sing about the tiny bird with
the pretty voice.

Malinda
felt the air shift around her, heard the voices whispering on the wind, and
knew that something bad was soon to come. She hugged Sophia closer to her,
snapped the reins in her hands, and did her best to communicate urgency to the
horse that was guiding them home. The horse nickered softly to her and started
to pick up the pace, but Malinda knew that was not going to be enough. When
they reached the fork in the road they were no longer alone. When Malinda
turned around, two black wolves were following closely behind them. True wolves
were wild and unruly perhaps, but also very wary of any kind of altercation
with humans. No, these were not wolves, not at all; they were werewolves, men
who changed shape into their wild counterparts. Considering there was no full
moon they were a special breed with some magical powers that Malinda did not
quite understand.

When
Malinda turned around she found that not only were two wolves behind her, there
were now three more grey wolves in front of her cart. The horse started to buck
against its confinements as it desired nothing more than to escape the danger
before it. Malinda summoned all the courage she could in order to face the
werewolves that surrounded them. She stopped the horse and stared down the
black wolf that sauntered closer to the wagon. Malinda gathered every inch of
energy she could, borrowing a little from the earth around her, and created a
small ball of energy. The energy ball grew swiftly, and by the time another
wolf reached the cart it was completely covered in a bright golden light that
protected them from the world around them.