The Finding (29 page)

“I’m sorry.”
Bryan spoke from behind her, his breath softly caressing the side
of her neck, the weight of his hands comforting on her shoulders.
“It must have been hard to have a friend turn against you.”

A part of her
wanted to lean back against him and have his arms enfold her, but
she couldn’t give in to such weak thoughts. Despite what the
creature inside her might feel, Bryan was a virtual stranger. She
knew nothing about him except that he was a werewolf and wanted to
lay claim to her because of some legal clause. Well, his laws had
no bearing on her; she refused to acknowledge them, just as she
refused to give in to the animal within.

Smiling
tightly, she stepped away from his comforting hands. “From what I
overheard, Kellen was being threatened with bodily harm. I guess he
didn’t know what else to do.” Shoving her hands in her pockets, she
wondered why she was defending Kellen. Apparently her loyalty ran
deeper than his had.

“Friends don’t
sell each other out, no matter what. You’d never find a werewolf
betraying a pack member like your friend is doing to you. Pack
sticks together.” He tilted his head towards the front door. “Come
on. Let’s go.”

“Go where?”

“Back to my
motel room. I just need to grab my things and we can head to the
airport. If we’re lucky we’ll be able to get some stand-by seats
back to Canada.”

“Canada? I’m
not going to Canada with you.”

“Oh yes you
are. Lycan law clearly states—”

“I don’t give a
damn about Lycan law!” She stared at him in amazement. “Kellen’s
just been abducted by some goon and you think I’m going to just fly
off to Canada with you? You’re crazy. Hell, I don’t even know you
and even if I did, I wouldn’t abandon a friend.” She paused,
breathing heavily from the force of her emotion.

“He’s willing
to trade you for money. Why waste your time on him?” Bryan stood
before her, arms folded, looking and sounding annoyingly calm and
logical. It irritated her no end.

“Because he’s
my friend. F-r-i-e-n-d. Friend. Haven’t you ever come across the
word before?”

He narrowed his
eyes, seeming displeased. “I have, but I think we have different
definitions.”

She rolled her
eyes, not wanting to debate the matter further. “Whatever. The
thing is, I need to help him, no matter what he may or may not have
been planning on doing and nothing you say is going to make me
change my mind. Now as I see it, Hugh told his boss about me and
they decided to take Kellen, thinking I’ll trade myself in for his
safety.”

Bryan cocked
his head and looked at her quizzically. “And will you?”

“I...” Cassie
hesitated, biting her lip. Turning herself in meant going back to
Chicago, to her old way of life. Everyone she had cared about back
there was gone now, but then again, she had nothing here either.
Her relationship with Kellen was severely damaged by this incident;
staying with him as they were now didn’t seem possible. And she’d
bit Hugh—had he connected her sudden disappearance to the animal
that attacked him? He might, and that made remaining too dangerous.
She turned to stare blindly out the window. Where would she go? An
empty, lonely pit opened up inside her as, once again, she realized
she was all alone with no real home. There was just her, a big
empty house in Chicago and the hated creature inside her.

“Cassandra?”

“Hmm?” She
glanced behind her and saw Bryan watching her expectantly. What had
the question been? Would she turn herself over to save Kellen? “If
I have to, but if there’s another way, I’ll take it. Chicago has no
appeal to me anymore.”

“I was hoping
you’d say that.” Bryan seemed pleased by her answer and she idly
wondered why he cared. He rubbed his neck and looked around the
room. “Um... Do you have any idea where they might have taken your
friend?”

“No...” She
started to shake her head, then paused. “Oh, wait! Hugh—the
thug—mentioned taking me to someplace called Dollar Niche. I think
it’s where the boss, Eddie, might be.”

“Dollar Niche?
Okay. That’s a start. And I have the license plate number from the
van. Do you have internet?” She nodded. “Good, show me where it is.
I have a friend, Daniel—he’s a member of the pack—and he’s a major
computer geek. He’ll be able to find out who owns the van and where
Dollar Niche is located a lot faster than we’d be able to on our
own.”

“Why are you
doing this? Helping me find Kellen, that is. You don’t know
him.”

Bryan studied
her for a moment before speaking. “I’m not helping Kellen; he’s not
my concern. I’m helping you and as for why... You’re pack and like
I said before, pack sticks together.”

She bristled at
what he was implying. “I’m not ‘pack’”

His face was
expressionless. “So you say.” His eyes seemed to bore into her and
she shifted uncomfortably, finally looking down at the ground.

“If you help
me, do I have to promise to go with you once we have Kellen
back?”

“That’s not how
I operate. When your friend is free, you and I will sit down and
discuss your future.”

He looked at
her unwaveringly and a funny feeling rose inside her. As much as
she wanted to continue arguing with him, she couldn’t seem to find
to the will to do so. Instead she changed topics.

“I’ll show you
the computer.” She led him to him to the little alcove off from the
living room and then left him to IM his friend while she began to
pick up the pieces of the coffee table.

It was broken
beyond repair and she sighed regretfully as she ran her hand over
the shattered wood. Not that it had been expensive—just a yard sale
special—but she’d polished it so the scratches weren’t as obvious.
It had looked quite nice, she’d thought. Of course, Kellen had only
seen the imperfections and bemoaned the fact that it wasn’t new...
Cassie tightened her lips and resolutely pushed Kellen’s failings
to the side; time enough for that once he was no longer in danger.
For now, she’d clean up the mess and then see what Bryan had come
up with in the way of a plan.

Cassie snuck a
peek at Bryan; he was tapping away on the keyboard and staring
intently at the computer monitor. She wasn’t exactly sure why she
was cooperating with him, especially since he was one of the
creatures she’d been hiding from for the past three years. Perhaps
it was because she didn’t feel she had any other option. There was
no one she could turn to. Not the girls at the grocery store or Mr.
Bartlett. Certainly not Mrs. Mitchell or any of her other elderly
customers. She didn’t really even know her neighbours. And as for
Kellen’s so-called friends—she scoffed at the misnomer—they were
the reason he was in debt to begin with!

So for the time
being, she’d have to rely on Bryan and accept his help, regardless
of why he was giving it. That didn’t mean she trusted him or
believed she was part of his pack, though. She’d watch his every
move and once Kellen was safe, she’d have to try to escape. Bryan
planned to force her to go to Canada and join his pack, she just
knew it. And that was something of which she wanted no part. While
he looked and acted human enough right now, she could just imagine
the way the beasts probably lived in the backwoods of Canada.

Uncivilized,
dirty... She grimaced in distaste at the very idea. Sure, on their
way back here, he’d told her about the werewolves Book of the Law
and how it guided them, ensuring they lived peacefully and
unobtrusively among humans. The very idea made her snort. She’d
seen werewolves in action. The man in the woods had been covered in
filth before shifting into a wolf and attacking.

According to
Bryan’s explanation, that same beast was the leader of his pack.
And simply because it had seen her that fateful night, some clause
called the Finding came into effect allowing the creature to
basically lay claim to her.

No. That wasn’t
going to happen. A few minutes ago after shifting, she’d been
feeling defeated, as if her fate was sealed, but she’d fight it.
She’d fight being a werewolf until the very end if need be.
Cassandra Greyson had been raised as a human being and that was
what she was. The animal inside her couldn’t be allowed to win.

*****

Marla paced the
length of her office, cradling a cup of coffee and considering her
options. The more she thought about it, the more she knew Sylvia
Robinson had to go. Aldrich had become more distant of late and she
was sure it was due to the nurse, though why she had no idea.
Sylvia was dumpy, dowdy, and dull. It made no sense for Aldrich to
be interested in her, yet it seemed the only plausible
explanation.

The man had
actually had the faintest hint of smile on his face when he stopped
in the office a few moments ago. He’d had ‘tea’ with Sylvia, he’d
announced. Unfortunately, his good mood hadn’t lasted. One of the
messages she’d handed him—some legal query about the Greyson estate
and probate—had quickly had him scowling again and dumping more
work on her desk, guaranteeing she’d have to work late.

Yes, Sylvia had
to go. A falsified letter of dismissal had gotten rid of Aldrich’s
previous secretary, but Marla couldn’t see that working with
Sylvia. The nurse talked to Aldrich several times a day; the letter
would definitely be questioned.

Possibly a car
accident? That trick had worked when Marla killed the Alpha of her
own pack. She knew how to sever a brake line and tamper with
steering, but Sylvia only drove in town. The mountain roads had
been key to the success of that scheme.

Wrong, so
wrong.
The wolf inside her growled in anger, still not
forgiving or forgetting how she’d dispatched Zack.
He was our
Alpha. He cared for us. Protected us.
Its ire rising, the
creature pushed against the constraints she placed on it, trying to
come to the fore.

No! You have no
place here. Angrily Marla pushed the creature down and returned to
her plotting. She nibbled on her lip as she thought, wincing
slightly when she accidentally nipped herself with her canine.
Hmm... She could always dispatch Sylvia the old fashioned way. It
had been years since she’d allowed her wolf out. The idea had
merit, but there were certain drawbacks, too. For one thing, her
wolf was decidedly contrary as of late. If she let it free, would
it follow commands or try to take over?

The animal
inside her stirred, excited at the prospect of being given some
freedom. Marla rubbed her hands up and down her arms, feeling the
energy coursing through her veins. It had been so long since she’d
experienced a change and a full moon was approaching, too. Did she
dare...?

Cold logic told
her to not chance it for several reasons. The creature inside her
was growing unstable. It would be hard to explain away Sylvia’s
death without drawing attention and she might expose herself to
other werewolves. True she had her perfume, but the formula might
not be as effective if she was in her wolf form and being
discovered by her own kind was dangerous...

Marla stared
unseeingly across the room, recalling the events of three years
ago. She’d been left for dead, her body battered and bleeding.
Unwilling to give in to the darkness that had threatened, knowing
it would’ve been the end of her if she had, she’d dragged herself
through the woods by sheer force of will.

Once she’d
reached her car, she’d used the last of her energy to pull herself
into the vehicle. How she’d managed to drive the back roads without
incident was a fact she still marvelled at to this day. When
exhaustion and blood loss had finally made her stop, she’d pulled
into a wood lot and slumped sideways in the seat. Her last clear
thought had been that she’d have a better chance of surviving in
her wolf form and had transformed just before blacking out.

Hours had
passed as she’d laid there, hovering on the brink of death,
drifting in and out of consciousness. When she’d finally come to,
her mind clear for the first time in over a day, her wounds had
been almost healed. Of course, changing while seriously wounded and
lying there untreated had resulted in some permanent damage. The
scar on her side and a slight limp constantly reminded her of what
she had survived.

Pursing her
lips, she pondered if ripping Sylvia to shreds was worth the risk
and decided it probably wasn’t. True, the presence of other
werewolves in the area didn’t mean they were actually looking for
her; there could be other reasons. In fact, it was quite likely
she’d been forgotten after all this time. Still, if ever she were
discovered, word might get back to Kane and Ryne. Did she want to
chance that? Not likely!

Years ago,
sentimentality and a misplaced sense of guilt had attached Kane to
her, but once he’d mated with Elise he’d switched allegiance. Marla
sneered. The girl Kane fell in love with had been insufferably
sweet and naive; it had almost been too easy to fool her. Too bad
Elise had finally found some gumption that last day. If not for
that fact, Marla’s plan to kill Elise, mate with Kane and then
bleed the pack dry of funds might have worked.

As for Ryne...
Well, the man was arrogant and sexy as hell, but quick tempered
too. She’d managed to string him along for a while before he’d
finally grown wise to her game. Ryne was furious over how she’d
duped him out of money and arranged that he take the blame for
attempted murder and sabotaging the pack. No, he wasn’t the type to
let go of a grudge easily.

Moving to the
doorway of her office, she watched Sylvia move about the penthouse,
humming softly to herself as she tidied up from the afternoon
‘tea.’ Marla narrowed her eyes, recalling Aldrich’s smile, the
laughter she’d heard drifting down the hallway...

Stepping back
into her office, she closed the door and leaned back against the
wooden panel. Her fingers clenched, the nails digging into her
palms. Yes. Sylvia Robinson must go. It was just a question of
how.