The Finding (20 page)

She yanked a
comb through her hair and pulled it back in a pony tail. This was
just great. She’d be their sole bread winner again. With only half
the income, how the hell were they supposed to pay rent and buy
groceries, let alone try to pay off the money he owed?

Shoving her
feet into her shoes, she headed to the kitchen, the smell of fresh
coffee doing little to sooth her spirit. Leaning her hip against
the counter, she sipped the bitter brew and scowled, contemplating
all the things she’d say to Kellen once she finally tracked him
down.

It was early to
leave for work, but she decided to go anyway. Staying at home would
only make her angrier. Maybe she’d even walk to the store, it might
help burn off some of the anger inside her.

Turning off the
coffee maker, she grabbed her purse and headed out the front door,
only to freeze on the front step. Something was different.
Narrowing her eyes, she looked around. It had rained last night; an
unusual event to be sure, but that wasn’t what had caught her
attention. A strange scent was assaulting her nose. The animal
inside her was instantly alert and pressing against its boundaries.
She could sense the change within her. Suddenly, her ears seemed
more attuned to the sounds around her, her skin seemed more
sensitive to the air pressure. Even though the light of dawn was
barely breaking, her eyesight was more acute than ever, catching
the minute movements of insects. Slowly she turned her head,
searching the shadows for anomalies.

Something was
here, something vaguely recognizable that called to the animal
within her. Slowly, she bent and set down her purse, keeping a
watchful eye on her surroundings. Instinct was telling her to be
cautious. There was danger nearby, but... She sniffed the air; it
was alluring too. Her heart was beating faster, her skin seemed to
tingle and warmth was pooling in her belly, stirring a memory.

She’d had the
dream last night. The wolf had chased her, caught her, and forced
her to the ground. It had been more realistic than ever; the feel
of his hot breath, the weight and power of his body pressed to
hers, his scent surrounding her...

Cassie’s eyes
widened when she realized it was the same scent. The one from her
dream was here, floating on the air around her house. Frightened,
yet inexplicably drawn to it, she stepped off the porch and began
to walk down the path that led to the driveway.

The scent was
getting stronger. Her breathing quickened as excitement raced
through her. The beast inside strained to reach the source. Pulled
by some instinct she didn’t understand, her feet unerringly led her
to the edge of the house. She turned the corner and...screamed!

The shadowy
figure of a man stood just at the edge of the building. Before she
could even think, he grabbed her, spinning her around and clamping
a hand over her mouth, effectively stifling her cry. Instinctively
she struggled, but he easily stilled her movements wrapping his arm
around her waist and pressing her back tightly to his chest.

“Shh! You’ll
wake the neighbours,”he scolded into her ear. His hot breath
tickled against her skin, sending shivers down her spine and she
froze, surprised by her own reaction., He used her momentary
stillness to his advantage, turning her face so that she was
looking over her shoulder and staring up into his eyes. Hazel eyes.
A thrill shot through her as their gazes locked and she found
herself unable to look away. They were so close, she could feel his
breath against her face, fill her lungs with his scent. There was a
compelling power about him that held her transfixed, unable to
think or move.

His mouth
quirked in a smile and amusement danced in his eyes. “That’s
better. Now, if I let you go, will you behave?”

Cassie found
herself nodding and wondered why. This man had no control over her
yet her free will seemed to be disappearing. Some part of herself
that she wasn’t even aware of was taking over, willingly bowing
down before him.

He released her
and stepped back, holding out his hand. “Hi! I’m Bryan.”

She stared down
at his hand for a moment, feeling dazed. The man had seemed to
appear out of nowhere, lurking around her house at an hour when
most people were just getting out of bed. The shock of him just
being there
,
when she hadn’t really expected to see
anyone, had made her scream and now he was holding out his hand
making polite introductions? And she was just standing there? Okay,
something was wrong with this picture.

He’s not a
threat to us
, the voice inside assured her.

Why she
believed the voice, she didn’t know. It wasn’t like she and the
creature were on speaking terms. The thought crossed her mind that
she should be running and calling for help. Men with honourable
intentions didn’t lurk outside your home in the early morning
hours. Her brain acknowledged the facts, but seemed to just stand
back and blithely watch as she responded to the man’s greeting.

“Um... Hi!” She
brushed a few strands of stray hair from her face and then slowly
took his hand. Heat rushed up her arm at the contact and she broke
free quickly, flexing her fingers and frowning at the unusual
reaction.

“You’re Sandy,
right?”

She looked up
at him warily, wondering how he knew her name. Then the sun’s rays
broke over the roof tops and his face was suddenly illuminated
clearly. A gasp escaped her lips as she realized she had seen him
before. He was the man from the store!.

Fear rushed
through her, breaking through the strange calm that had washed over
her. Her mind raced as she stared at him with increasing
trepidation. Oh, this was not good. It couldn’t be a coincidence
that he ended up outside her house after watching her so intently
in the grocery store. And how had he found out where she lived
anyway? Her human logic told her he was probably some kind of
stalker. The animal inside whined in protest at the idea, but she
managed to ignore it.

“Er... Nice to
meet you, but I have to go now...” Cassie started to back up and
the man—he’d called himself Bryan—frowned at her, possibly
realizing she’d recognized him.

He took a step
closer to her. “There’s no need to be afraid—”

The thought
flitted through her mind that those were the words every psycho
used just before attacking. Giving no warning, she pivoted and ran
back towards the front door.

“Hey!” The
man—Bryan—shouted and followed her.

She could hear
his steps close behind her, sensed him reaching, trying to catch
her. Panic began to rise inside of her and she urged her legs to
move even faster. His fingers fumbled, then clamped around her
upper arm. Her body spun around as her forward momentum reacted to
the sudden tug on her arm. A feral sound, half scream, half growl,
ripped from her throat. His hands grabbed at her. She started to
struggle, her vision blurred. Her whole body seemed to vibrate with
a strange energy as survival instincts kicked in.

“Oh no you
don’t.” Bryan’s voice growled in her ear, but she had difficulty
focussing. Everything felt so strange, as if her body wasn’t quite
her own. “Changing into a wolf won’t help you escape me. Not that I
wouldn’t enjoy a good hunt—I could easily outrun you and take you
down—but that might not go over so well here in the suburbs. So
let’s just make things simple. I’m your Beta and I’m ordering you
to not change.”

As if someone
had pulled a plug, the strange feeling began to subside, but she
paid little attention to the fact. His words rang ominously in her
head.

“Beta? Wolf?
What are you talking about?” She stared at him, frozen in horror.
He knew! Somehow he knew! How had she been discovered? Her heart
was pounding so hard she was sure he must be able to hear it. This
was her worst nightmare. He couldn’t know. No one knew, just
herself and her uncle. Not even Kellen was privy to her secret;
she’d taken great pains to ensure that fact. Besides, she’d never
actually transformed completely so no one could have seen her; she
stayed locked in her room, drugged almost out her mind during the
dangerous phases of the moon...

It couldn’t be
true. The only way he could know she was werewolf was if he were
somehow connected to the incident in Chicago. She shook her head in
denial. No! It couldn’t be happening. Not now after all these
years. Suddenly the frozen state she was in disappeared and she
began to kick and squirm. She had to get away. Her very survival
depended on it.

His fingers bit
into her arms even more tightly as she struggled and she winced at
the controlled strength she felt emanating from him. Her dreams had
never been this real... She looked around frantically. Where were
the neighbours? Why wasn’t someone outside and coming to her
rescue? Perhaps, it was all a bad dream. Surely, she’d wake up any
minute and find out it was just a new twist on the dream she
frequently had.

“Cassandra,
behave!” He growled the words at her as he thwarted all her
attempts to free herself. “You know exactly what I’m talking about.
I’m the Beta of our werewolf pack and you’re coming with me.”

“Werewolf pack?
Going with you?” Her voice rose as terror gripped her. He was one
of them! Oh God, no! She couldn’t go with him. Werewolves were
monsters. They murdered people. She’d seen it with her own eyes.
She wasn’t like that! She’d never be one of them. Never!

“No!” A rush of
energy such as she’d never felt before burst from her and she
ripped herself from his arms, stumbling backwards. As if in slow
motion she felt herself falling, the impact of the cement rippling
up her spine as her rear end struck the ground. Then the rest of
her body tipped back and she caught a glimpse of Bryan’s shocked
face, followed by a view of the sky as she continued to be
propelled backwards. Finally pain exploded in her head as her skull
struck the edge of the step and then...darkness.

Chapter 9

Kellen sat
nursing a cup of coffee in his favourite restaurant. It wasn’t an
expensive place, more of a diner than an actual restaurant, but the
food was good, and the prices weren’t inflated.

He rubbed his
chin, a slight smile playing over his lips. Expense might not be a
problem in the near future. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out
a piece of paper and stared at it; one hundred thousand dollars for
information leading to the whereabouts of Cassandra Greyson. It was
a staggering sum of money and who knows, he might even get more
since he not only had information. He had the actual girl!

This was a turn
of fortune that he’d never foreseen. As a matter of habit, he never
looked at the bits of paper posted on bulletin boards. Sandy’s
picture might have been posted for ages and he would never have
seen it. Apparently Lady Luck was back on his side. Why else would
she have put him in a hallway directly across from Sandy’s picture?
To think he’d been shaking in his boots, when the answer to all his
problems was already with him. He laughed softly and leaned back in
his seat to stare out the window, dreaming of the future.

What would he
do with the left over money, once he’d paid off Dollar Niche? Move
to a bigger house? Take a vacation? Fix his motorcycle? Sandy would
tell him to save it for a rainy day; she was always so practical,
scrimping and saving. Sandy... Hmm...

Raising his cup
to his mouth, he fixed his gaze on an alley a short distance away.
That’s where he’d met her. And the table he was at was the one
they’d shared during their first meal together. An image of her
frightened face flashed in his mind. She’d been wary of him, but
eventually had learned she could trust him, that he wasn’t about to
attack her or murder her in her sleep.

Not that he
hadn’t been tempted—well, not to attack or murder—but to make some
form of advances towards her. He’d immediately noticed her physical
appearance though she’d seemed unaware of it; the fact that she
hadn’t been flirty or obvious had been rather sexy to his way of
thinking. Then, as he got to know her, he’d discovered she had a
mischievous streak and a quirky sense of humour, that she was eager
to learn about the world and willing to tackle any task be it
learning to cook or mastering public transit. She’d been an
intriguing mix of child and unawakened woman.

Often he’d find
himself staring at her, looking for some hint that she was aware of
him as a man; that she returned his interest, but it never
happened. Well, there’d been that one inexplicable yet amazing time
when she’d crawled into his bed, but beyond that...nothing.

Instead, he’d
had to content himself with her friendship and the vague hope that
maybe someday she’d change her mind. It was foolish of course.
Obviously, the spark wasn’t there for her and now, perhaps he knew
why.

Given the size
of the reward, it was obvious she came from a wealthy background
and probably was used to rubbing elbows with the rich and famous.
Why would she be interested in him? Kellen Anderson was a nobody;
kicked out of home and forsaken by his family because of his
gambling. He hadn’t talked to his parents in years, not since
they’d had to re-mortgage their house to get him out of debt. And
all the friends he’d grown up with... Well, he owed them tons of
money too, and they’d likely string him up if their paths ever
crossed.

A wry chuckle
escaped his lips. Here he was, right back where he started; in debt
up to his ears with threats being made against his personal safety.
At least this time, he’d be able to get out of the mess on his own.
The ticket was right here in his hand or, more exactly, in his
house.

Kellen stroked
a finger over Sandy’s image. She was laughing in the photo and he
smiled in response. It would be good for her to be back where she
belonged; life here wasn’t caviar and silver spoons. He shook his
head, wondering how she had ever put up with their pokey house and
the monotony of working at a grocery store when she could be living
in the lap of luxury. If he were in her shoes, nothing could have
convinced him to leave all that wealth behind.