Silverbow (23 page)

I heard the door jam splinter and the door slammed against the wall as Greyden burst through it. His eyes searched franticly over the room until he found me standing at the busted window with my gun in hand.

“For fuck’s sake! I thought you tried to kill yourself!” He rushed across the tile floor and pulled the gun from my hand and held me tight to his chest. “What happened?”

“He showed up.” I sighed heavily and turned my face so I could look out the window again. Looking back at Greyden I wrinkled my brow and shook my head. “I’d never pull some shit like that! You should know me better than that!”

He nodded and looked out the window as I pulled away from him and went to turn the shower and radio off.

“Did you shoot him,” he asked and glanced back at me. I nodded and shrugged.

“He will heal in an hour but I wanted to make a point,” I said and moved to sit on the closed toilet. “We are bound. I understand that. But I don’t want him and I don’t want him around.”

“You sure know how to chase them off. If I see him you do know that I will kill him or die trying, right?”

“Yes, I know.” I smiled at him and walked out of the bathroom. I had a mess to clean up.

I put the last of the glass in a big trashcan and pulled off my gloves. Greyden stood close by in the yard complaining about how I didn’t alert him when I knew Murphy was in the house. In one ear and out the other. Dressed in my red coveralls and boots, I tossed the lid on the trashcan and started dragging it to the back of the house.

“Stay armed,” he told me and I glanced him over.

“I was. I took care of it.”

“We need to get you silver bullets!” He said on my heels. “That way if any of these guys show up you can at least paralyze them!”

“Calm down or I will shoot you too,” I barked and headed inside through the back door.

“So what’s next?” He closed the door behind us and entered the kitchen while I unzipped my coveralls and slid out of them. Dressed in a black tank top and black shorts, I kicked my boots off and padded across the kitchen towards the hallway to the stairs.

“I’m getting dressed and I am going into town. I want to learn as much as I can about my father and maybe my mom too.”

“Dakota, I don’t know how much people are going to want to talk about. This town is pretty tight lipped. You should know this,” he warned me.

I tugged off my shorts and slipped on a pair of jeans. A green shirt hugged my bust snuggly and my holster made me feel a little safer. Greyden collected my jacket for me and tossed it to me.

“Thanks,” I said as I slipped into it and stuffed my feet into my boots.

“Where are you going first?” I was sure he was going to tag along.

“Hines. I have a few more questions for him.” Greyden nodded and joined me on my way back down the stairs and right out the front door to my truck.

As we drove through town I eyed every building as if I were new to this place. I felt as though I were.

The late morning light highlighted a “Help Wanted” sign in the window of the store Mrs. Yates had once worked. I was sure that Darius had come back to tie up that loos
e end as well. My mind jumped to the comforting heat that the Weres seem to give off and the way they can touch you without actual physical contact. This curse came with some heavy duty Jedi mind tricks. I felt myself smirk against the fact that there was nothing to laugh about.

Hines was outside of the school unloading a box from the back of his jeep. I parked and headed in his direction. Looking up from the box of miscellaneous science materials he grinned at us. I had a feeling he was tickled that I was in need of his smarts now.

“Good morning, you two. I’m needed back inside but my lunch hour is in thirty minutes. Meet me at Shady’s.” He turned towards the school’s double doors and didn’t even look back over his shoulder. I wrinkled my nose and sighed. I turned on heel to grab Greyden’s hand and lead him a block down to Shady’s diner. We had been there together many times in our youth.

The gold bell above the door jingled to life as Greyden opened the door for me. Shady’s looked like it was plucked right out of Grease. I kept waiting for Frenchie to come take our order. Greyden slid into an old red booth beside me and reached across the table for a menu. My stomach growled at the smell of bacon and burgers. Maybe I would find a way to be normal. Thinking of the bloodshed already weighing on my conscience was enough to make me want to go vegan. However, I was sure my new nature would never allow it.

“How rare do you think they will make my burger,” I teased. Greyden just shook his head and turned his eyes to the window. An ash colored Toyota Tacoma drove into view slowly and then parked out front. I watched with slight curiosity. It was not a truck that belonged to any customer of mine. A tall woman slid down from the driver’s side, collected her purse and walked in the door. Standing about 5’9” with crimson locks pulled high and big black sunglasses; she stepped in and glanced around. Her well manicured hands reached up to lift her glasses as she looked out way.

The hair on the back of my neck stood up as a warm wash of static hit the air around me. My nails bit down into the cushion of the booth and the fabric tore. Greyden turned to look at me and panic hit his eyes.

“Dakota, relax. Your eyes,” he warned me and then turned to look at the newcomer. “It’s her isn’t it,” he asked.

“Yes,” I spit and tried my best to put a lid on the anger that was about to boil over. The sound of her boots clicking on the black and white tiled floor grated my every nerve. With her sunglasses now being tucked in her purse, her jade eyes fell on me. A soft and slightly wary smile touched her coral painted lips.

“Dakota,” she asked with nearly a sob. Her voice was soothing like that of a tender mother, but there were no loving thoughts dancing through my mind at that moment. “Dakota, may we please talk,” she begged quietly. Her jade eyes rimmed with tears and I watched her hands tremble around her purse. Greyden took my hand and squeezed it tight to reassure me he had my back.

“I have nothing to say to you,” I quipped. I tore my eyes away from her and looked back out the window at her truck. Without invitation she slid into the seat across the table from us.

“But I have much to say to you,” she answered. Her scent blanketed the air around me. Rose and jasmine, warm but not suffocating. I took a deep breath and cursed the tears that threatened my eyes. “I’m so sorry I didn’t stay with you. I’m so sorry that I ever hurt you and your father. I loved him. I love you. More than you will ever know.” It all sounded like a typical sob story and even though I was sure she meant it…I didn’t care.

“I don’t know the depths of our nature yet. I’m sure this Darius has some soul damning pull on you, but you deserted me, your own flesh and blood. You left me with a heartbroken father and a curse. The man you ran back to…he killed the only parent in my life and now he has come for me. This is your fault. People around here are dying left and right because of these men and I…blame you.”

“I know. Tell me what you want me to do, Dakota. I am so sorry,” she pleaded. She reached for my hand that Greyden was holding on the tabletop and Greyden gracefully pulled our hands from her reach. “I stayed up the road and kept an eye on the house, waiting for you to come out. I followed you here, I’m sorry. Darius would be so upset with me if he knew I came. I’m begging you to please trust me…don’t fight them.”

“Vivianna, I suggest you return to your pack and call them off. Dakota has done no wrong to them,” he began and I cleared my throat. I had shot one in the head and another in the foot after all. “What did you think you would accomplish by coming here today,” he asked.

“Dakota, you must know they mean you no harm. He just wanted to see,” she began to sob. The bell chimed behind her and derailed her train of thought. Hines walked in and she quickly stood. Folding her hands over her purse in front of her she turned to look back at me and sighed through her tears. “I’ll go. Please don’t fight them, Dakota. I can’t lose you too.”

“You never had me,” I hissed and she turned to make a quick exit. I watched as she quickly loaded back into her truck, paused for a moment and then squealed out of the strip. Hines turned from the door with huge eyes and glanced at Greyden and I.

“Your mom,” he whispered and then joined us. “Never a dull moment!”

We ordered a lunch and I managed to keep down a rare burger. Hines told me that my diet would pretty much remain the same but I would like things a little more on the bloody side. My hunger for humans would only be severe if I let it or if I frenzied out of pure rage. I would have to learn how to keep my feelings in check if I wanted to tame my beast. That was going to be a major test with everything going on around me.

I found out that Laney and her husband were both Were natured and that the Dehaven family was also. Greyden was right, nearly every family was Were. I sighed and mentally beat myself up for not catching on after all this time. Hines, however, warned me that most families did not care to discuss it with others. Packs stayed pretty private about their “Were-affairs”. I could respect that. I would try my best to not behave any differently now that I knew the town’s deepest secret. Hines promised to answer any other questions I might have about my new way of life and then hurried off back to work.

After paying for our lunch we headed to the house. Greyden had to report to the fence line for duty. I sulked off to the shop thinking about my mother’s face. Had she been a blonde there would have been no denying that we were related. I imagined her and my father happy in the past and that just caused me to send a toolbox sailing across the shop. I sat in the office for over an hour after cleaning up my mess and turned to look at the clock. It was almost seven and I growled that I had more questions than answers after an eventful morning.

I eyed the drawer where I knew Viv’s phone number was. I slowly opened it and pulled it out. My fingertips traced my Pop’s handwriting. I recalled being told that she and my father had kept in touch through out the years. I wondered if he told her all about my accomplishments as I grew up. I wondered how she reacted to the news of my Pop’s death. Suddenly I felt bold enough and grabbed the phone.

As I turned it on, there was no dial tone.

“Hello? D,” I heard from the other end. It always creeped me out when someone would call as you were about to call out. The voice on the other end disturbed me more.

“What do you want,” I asked Murphy. His heavy breath on the other end of the line was intoxicating. I sighed heavily and started to hang up.

“D, don’t hang up. I know your mother came today.” I paused, sure he was stalking me. “I called her. I told her to go see you. You need answers.”

“Stay out of my business, Murphy.”

“You know I can’t,” he replied. My gut twisted and I found myself searching for how deep this bond truly ran. If my mother was in the same bond with Darius then how could she love my father? The way I love Greyden? I hung up without warning and tossed the phone on the desk.

CHAPTER 20

A knock at my door startled me awake. My hand shot under my pillow to grab my gun as I peeled the sheets off my legs and crept down the stairs. Greyden was still at work and I had gone to bed early, mentally exhausted. A glance at the clock in the kitchen told me it was half past ten. I wasn’t expecting any company.

Grabbing my cell phone I quickly dialed Greyden. Voicemail. Damn. I could see a tall man’s silhouette through the drapes of the living room window. Another loud knock at the door made me jump and slip to the back door. I could hear footsteps at the back of the house, boots scraping the sandy lot by my clothes line. I froze and listened as my front door knob began to turn. They were testing my locks. For fucks sake!