Saving Autumn (5 page)

Mia had been able to talk to the girl on her level and coaxed out the truth. The young couple would meet in an old cottage on the outskirts of some woods, but the boy hadn’t turned up. After searching  the area, she’d discovered the well and found the boy, unconscious and wedged on the wooden slats which had been used to cover the top of the well to prevent such an accident happening. The wood broke when the boy unknowingly stood on the boards, and they split, but wedged half way down, catching him. He’d been lucky that they had. He’d knocked his head as he’d fallen. If the boards had not wedged, he would have drowned in the water at the bottom.

Yes, she was smart, and she tended to look into situations deeper than others. She got the feeling this was one of those situations.

“Autumn is involved in this as more than just a scientist, isn’t she? Is that the reason Blake took her away?”

Peter hesitated, and then nodded. “Yes, she is. Do you know about the job she was working on, the reason for her being employed by Dumas?”

Mia shook her head. “She said it was confidential, which is pretty normal. But she was excited about the job.”

“The project was about finding a way to increase the power of the United States military. Dumas wanted to find a way to turn regular soldiers into shifters, to use their powers of strength,
healing, and foresight to create a super army. He wanted Autumn to replicate the genetic shift of shifters in human cells.”

“And was she able to?”

“Yes, but only with the addition of her blood acting as a kind of catalyst.”

“Couldn’t it just have been blood in general?”

“Possibly. That’s what Autumn thought might be happening, too. But plenty of geneticists had worked on the project before her. I’m sure that would have already been tested, but we didn’t have access to the files to find that out.”

“We do now,” interrupted Toby.

Peter glanced at Mia. “We need to call Blake. He needs to see this.”

Chapter Five

CHOGAN WOKE WITH the taste of blood and fury thick on his tongue.

From the quality of the light drifting through the slats of the cheap motel blinds, he guessed he’d slept right through morning and into the afternoon. The lateness of the hour didn’t surprise him. He’d not gotten to bed until dawn, and, even then, he’d been unable to sleep, tossing and turning on the thin mattress as he ran the events of the night over in his head.

Who were the people who had attacked them?

The thing bothering him the most was how they’d learned about where to find the gathering of shifters. He’d been careful not to tell anyone other than shifters
about the meeting, using coded online message boards only other shifters would know about, so it only made sense to assume that either a fellow shifter was plotting against them, or someone close to another shifter had betrayed them. He swore he’d find out who was behind the attack and make them pay.

Chogan sat up and ran a hand through his hair. The strands were matted and encrusted with blood. Dark streaks, almost appearing black, marked his nut-brown skin, and slightly lighter streaks dirtied the stiff, off-white sheets on the bed. The cut on his shoulder had healed by the time he’d reached the motel, but the blood of the men he’d been forced to kill still covered his skin.

If he didn’t want to end up locked in a cell, he’d need to rid himself of any evidence that he’d been involved in the fight last night. Though he wanted to be able to go to the cops and explain how they were the victims, not the aggressors, he would never be believed.

This was the whole reason for the revolution, he reasoned to himself. He should be able to go to the police. If he and the others hadn’t been forced to take things into their own hands, those people would have got away with ambushing them simply because shifters were currently forced to keep themselves hidden. Once they were mainstream, they wouldn’t be able to be attacked while their attackers went on their way, safe in the knowledge that they would never be prosecuted. He wanted spirit shifters to be treated as equals to regular humans. No lies or blended truths or hiding in the shadows.

Chogan climbed out of bed and stood naked. It took him a moment to remember that he’d shifted back to wolf form to make the journey back from the warehouse to this nasty motel on the outskirts of the city. Thankfully, he’d rented the room and paid upfront for several nights before the meeting. Even though this was the sort of place that only accepted cash and didn’t ask too many questions, he didn’t think he’d have gotten away with trying to rent a room both naked and covered in blood. He’d not been able to afford much. The job he did on the reservation didn’t pay a lot—working on peoples’ cars and motorbikes when needed, fixing up houses that had seen better days. Was his life on the reservation over? Would he ever be able to go back to a simple life … a life a long way from Autumn?

He pushed the thought from his head and strode across the room and entered the bathroom. A small frosted window had been placed high in the wall, positioned as if deliberately trying to deter errant lovers from making an escape that way. A grubby shower curtain hung from cheap plastic rings and a dirty line of grime traversed the rim of the bath.

Autumn wasn’t the reason he’d hung around, he told himself. He had bigger issues to worry about than a woman, especially a woman who was already taken.

He worried that he might have said too much last night in regards to her. He’d gotten carried away, desperately wanting to get everyone on his side. Of course, there was no way any of the shifters present could know who he’d been talking about, and even if they pinned him down and tortured him, he’d never give up her identity. Even so, it concerned him.

Chogan switched on the shower and waited for the water to heat up. He stepped beneath the flow, not quite hot or strong enough, and tipped his head back to wash the last residues of blood from his long black hair. Using the small square of soap in the dish, he ran suds through his hair and across his body.

As he stepped from the tub, a loud rap of knuckles against his door grabbed his attention. He wrapped the small, threadbare towel provided by the motel around his narrow waist, wet tendrils of hair still dripping down his back and chest, and went to open the door.

Without saying a word, Tala pushed past him and into the room like a gust of wind from a hurricane. She spun to face him, her hands on her hips. “You have to tell me who she is.”

Chogan glanced down at her empty hands and raised his eyebrows. “You come bursting in here and you don’t even bring me coffee?”

“Don’t give me that. Who the hell is she?”

He went unfazed. He’d grown up with
Tala and was used to her dramatics. “Who the hell is who?”

“This person you say is able to change humans into shifters. You know how badly I’ve wanted this, Chogan. My whole damn life! And now you’re telling me there’s someone who can do it!”

“Whoa, slow down. I never said I knew their identity.”

She stared at him, her dark eyes hard as two pieces of flint. “Don’t bullshit me. We grew up together. How could you even consider keeping this from me?”

He ran a hand through his still dripping hair and shook his head. “Jesus, Tala. Don’t be so fucking selfish. Didn’t you see what happened last night? Shifters were hurt. People died! Isn’t it about time you looked at the bigger picture?”

His cousin scowled. “That’s fine for you to say. You’ve already got what I want.” She paused and added, “Anyway, I
am
thinking of the bigger picture. You need shifters who will support you. I could be one of those shifters.”

Tala
had a point. Apart from Enyeto and a few others, he didn’t have a whole heap of supporters behind his plans. Even those who had appeared to support him last night after the attack happened may have grown spooked this morning and changed their minds. Getting behind a revolution when a person’s system was filled with anger and adrenaline was easy. Still supporting the cause in the cold light of day was a whole other matter. He needed more people who wanted to normalize what they were. Eventually, he planned to campaign government to recognize shifters as individuals in their own right and equals to any other humans, but first he needed people to simply acknowledge their existence. Hopefully, getting equality with the rest of humanity would only be the start. In Chogan’s mind, the final goal would be shifters ruling the humans and humans acknowledging their superiority.

“What about my brother?” she said. “Does he know who this person is who can change humans to shifters?”

“I don’t want Blake involved.”

She sneered. “Why not? Don’t tell me you’re afraid of him?”

Chogan scowled. “Don’t be ridiculous. But your brother can be very persuasive. He’s made it clear that he doesn’t think shifters should be mainstream. I don’t want him showing up every place I go and undoing all my hard work.”

“Is that why you’re hiding from him?”

“I don’t exactly see you knocking down his door,” he snapped.

Tala
folded her arms, shifting her weight to one leg so her hip jutted out. “I don’t even know where he lives.”

“I’ll be happy to give you his address, but something tells me you won’t be paying him a visit any time soon.” Chogan had had enough of this bullshit. He still stood with nothing but a small, threadbare towel around his waist, and while nudity was something he was used to, he didn’t appreciate being quite so underdressed in a motel room in front of his cousin. “Let me get dressed. I’ll take you to Blake myself. I’ll be happy for him to take you off my hands.”

At this, Tala lost some of her swagger, her shoulders slumping. “I’m not scared of my brother, if that’s what you mean. Blake is a coward. Look at how he ran away from all of us!”

“There’s more to that than you know,
Tala,” he said, making his tone a warning for her to back off.

She didn’t know about the secret he’d hidden his whole life from everyone except Blake’s father and Sian’s family. In a way, he’d been thankful for Blake leaving. How could he have seen him every day with the secret that his cousin would have been a father dancing on his tongue? Yet, at the same time, the loss of both Sian and Blake had left a huge hole in his life. As children and growing up together, the three of
them had been so close, even after it became obvious Blake and Sian were meant to be together. He hadn’t been jealous, not really. The two of them had always seemed made for each other and he’d taken it for granted that their union was as good as written in stone. He’d not asked for the secret he’d been forced to keep.

“Fine. Let me prove myself to you,” she said. “I think you know who this person is—why else would you have mentioned her existence last night—but if you don’t want to tell me, I will respect your decision. Let me show you that you need me on your side. Give me something to do, to work toward your cause with you. You and I want the same thing, for shifters to be acknowledged as the superior species. Let me work for you and then, if you think I’m worthy, make me what you are.”

He stared at her, trying to figure out if he could trust her. Tala was the sort of woman you wanted on your side, not against you.

“Okay,” he relented. Then he quickly added, “Not that I’m saying I know who this person is, but I do have a way you can make yourself useful. I want to find out who those people are … were … who attacked us last night. Whoever they are, they must have some connection to the shifter community. One of our people must have let it slip about the meeting. I want to find out who.”

Tala gave a brisk nod and tossed her sheet of shiny black hair over one shoulder. “Consider it done.” She picked up a pair of jeans hanging on the back of a hardback chair and flung them at him. “Now, for God’s sake, put on some clothes.”

He only just remembered not to let go of his towel, and used the other hand to snag the pants from the air.

She turned on her heel and stalked from the motel room.

With
Tala gone, Chogan got dressed. He needed to find something to eat and drink. He didn’t think the old vending machine standing outside of reception would cut it, especially considering the contents looked like they’d been encased behind the grubby glass since the eighties.

Tala’s
interest in being turned had him worried. She wasn’t stupid and she’d already met Autumn, except at that point she hadn’t yet discovered about the existence of a descendant of the originals. His own big mouth had put him in this difficult situation. Now Tala knew the person she wanted was a woman, it wouldn’t take much to put two and two together, especially considering her brother’s interest in Autumn.

He wondered if he should go and warn Autumn about people asking questions. He wasn’t sure how he felt about her abilities himself yet—though
Tala did have a good point about the benefits of creating shifters who would be on his side. Loyalty in exchange for supernatural powers. He was sure that he wanted control over Autumn’s abilities, even if that meant needing to control Autumn.

His one big problem was Blake. His cousin would be protecting Autumn with his life. If he were in Blake’s position, he wouldn’t leave her side for a moment. So how
could he get to Autumn without his cousin interfering? If he got too close to Blake, he ran the risk of being sensed by his wolf, even if he was a couple of blocks away.

Chogan thought for a moment. He remembered bumping into Autumn in the street near her father’s house—a moment he’d orchestrated himself to get near her—and figured he could try to pull the same trick twice. Or perhaps her father would know if Blake was still staying with Autumn, or Autumn with Blake?

He told himself this was something he needed to do. It wasn’t just that he wanted to see Autumn again. He hated how she remained on his mind, how wrapped up she was in this whole thing. It would be easier if he never had to see her again. Instead, he found she constantly occupied his thoughts and would catch himself daydreaming, lost in the times when he’d held her close—when he carried her through the forest on his back in the shape of a wolf, when he’d found her crying in Blake’s childhood bedroom.

But she’s chosen Blake,
he chided himself for the thousandth time.
She didn’t want you. You weren’t even in the running.

Yet
part of him knew that wasn’t true. Something had existed between them—a little spark that had never got the chance to burst into flame. If the flicker were nurtured, perhaps it would flourish. After all, fires started with a single spark and had the power to raze whole cities to the ground.

He’d bought a disposable cell a couple of days ago and now had the numbers of those supporting him programmed in. He wouldn’t be able to use the warehouse as a meeting point again, but would need to find somewhere similar. A large number of people meeting was bound to draw attention, and he certainly didn’t want a repeat of the previous night. He’d always known what he was doing wouldn’t be achieved without a fight, but he’d imagined the fight would have been with the good old United States Government, not with other citizens.

On his run through the forests bordering the city, he’d passed an old cabin, an abandoned lodge he could break into without too much trouble. That would have to do as a new rendezvous point. He just hoped he could trust everyone on his phone, especially the were-tiger; something about the big tattooed man got his back up.