The Gathering (14 page)

When he sat down and looked at her, Rayna
wanted to take a step back. His eyes were dark, near black in
color. There was nothing gentle about this man. She could tell by
the way he looked at everyone in the room. He was a Breed leader
and apparently had been for some time. He was probably used to
getting his way and she knew she was doomed. If this man wanted her
to show the world they existed, she’d do it. He’d see to it.

“So this is the girl?”

“Yes, Mr. Carroll.” Thaddeus grabbed Rayna’s
arm and pulled her closer. “Rayna Ford, this is Victor Carroll.
Breed leader for the wolves. Your Breed leader.”

Victor stared at her for long minutes, his
gaze sweeping over her from head to toe. She stared at him and
refused to be intimidated. She’d had enough of that with Malcolm.
She certainly wouldn’t let some old codger make her feel that way,
too.

When Victor had looked his fill, he turned
his head toward Sabriel. The smile he threw him was mocking and
Rayna raised an eyebrow at the expression on Sabriel’s face. The
man was still as death and his gaze was hard, those bright green
eyes filled with a deadly glint.

“Sabriel, its nice of you to join us,” Victor
said, his voice crackling. Sabriel didn’t reply. “You’ll be my
guest, along with the girl. Catherine has already set a room aside
for you.” He turned back to look at Rayna then. “The others will
join us tomorrow, Ms. Ford. We’ll go over the plan with you
then.”

“I can’t shift,” she blurted out. “There will
be no plan for tomorrow.”

Victor looked at her with disinterest. “Ah,
yes,” he said, waving a hand to dismiss her comment before
standing. “No worries. I can call the wolf.”

“Call the wolf?” A bad feeling settled in her
stomach. “What do you mean?”

He turned to look at her and smiled. “I’m two
hundred and four years old, Ms. Ford. I’m the most powerful wolf in
the country. I can call that wolf of yours and she will come. Don’t
worry about that.”

“You can make her come out?”

“Yes. It won’t be pleasant for you but we’ll
achieve our goal. The world will watch you shift tomorrow. Now, do
get some rest. Catherine will show you to your room.”

Rayna turned when Thaddeus motioned her out
into the hallway. A young girl stood there waiting. She was
smiling, a fall of blonde curls dangling over her shoulders. She
looked out of place in Victor’s tomblike home. Her dress was white,
with small blue ribbons threaded through the collar. She looked
young with large blue eyes that held a mischievous glint. Her
features were fair and dainty. She looked like a fairy from a
children’s book and raised more questions in Rayna than she knew
she’d get answers for.

“This way.” Rayna followed, trying to
remember which halls they passed through as she went. The entire
house was somber. They reached the foyer and Rayna looked toward
the front door. A man stood there, his beefy arms crossed over his
chest. The look in his eye told her leaving wasn’t an option. She
sighed and started for the stairs after Catherine.

The staircase twisted into a half circle,
leading up to the darkened second story of the house. Photographs
lined the wall as she climbed and Rayna stared at them as she
passed, wondering if those were the faces of werewolves staring
back at her.

At the top of the stairs, Rayna jumped,
startled, when she came face to face with a wolf. He was standing
against the wall, frozen. It took her a moment to realize it wasn’t
real. “Nice décor you have here,” she said, looking at what she
assumed was a replica of a werewolf.

Catherine laughed. The sound reminded Rayna
of tinkling bells. It was childlike in nature and she wondered
again at the girl’s true age. “That’s Artemis. He was a great
warrior.”

Rayna’s eyes widened. “That’s a real
wolf?”

“Was. He died nearly sixty years ago.”
Catherine stopped and looked up at Artemis and smiled before
sighing lightly. “He was a great Breed leader. More powerful than
Victor even.”

Something in Catherine’s voice, and the look
on her face as she looked at the wolf, led Rayna to believe the
girl may have known him while he lived. “He was Breed leader of
this region?”

Catherine shook her head, a look of sadness
now stealing over her features. “No. He ruled those in the south.
He and Victor hated each other. They both wanted control of the
entire east coast but neither would relent.” She smiled sadly, a
far off look in her eyes. “They fought many times but were never
able to best the other. When Artemis died, Victor had his body sent
to be ‘prepared.’” She ran a hand over Artemis’ arm and grinned.
“The taxidermist did a good job. He looks alive still, don’t you
think?”

Rayna stared at those amber wolf eyes, the
lips curled back to reveal teeth that still gleamed white. The arms
were raised, claws extended. A shiver raced up her spine. “Yeah. He
does look alive.”

She wondered why he’d remained in wolf form
after death. That wasn’t how it happened in the movies. Werewolves
shifted back to human at death. She’d have to ask Garrett. Assuming
she ever saw him again.

They moved on, down a series of halls until
they reached the room she would be staying in. Catherine opened the
door for her.

The interior was dark and tomblike, just like
the rest of the house. “I wouldn’t suggest exploring. The mansion
is very large and can be confusing. Getting lost would be
unfortunate.” Catherine smiled and looked around Rayna’s new
prison. “Is there anything I can get for you?”

“A phone would be nice,” Rayna mumbled as she
walked through the doorway.

That tinkling laughter was heard again. “The
only phone in the house is in Victor’s study but I wouldn’t suggest
going in there. He rarely leaves his sanctuary.”

Rayna turned to look at her. “And where is
the study?”

Catherine grinned. “On the main floor, down
the hall from the main staircase. Third door on the left.” They
exchanged a look before Catherine said, “I also wouldn’t suggest
trying to leave the house. Victor has the grounds securely
monitored. The things that stalk the forest aren’t creatures you’d
want to find yourself face to face with. They eat first and wonder
who you were later.” She gave Rayna a pointed look and backed out
of the room, pulling the door shut behind her.

“Great,” Rayna said. “I can’t stay but I’ll
get eaten if I try to leave.” Walking to the window, she looked
toward the forest wondering exactly what Victor had patrolling his
property. She couldn’t imagine it was rogue wolves. They were hard
to control. It’s why they were considered rogue to begin with. It
wasn’t dark enough for vampires to be out so that left something
she didn’t want to contemplate.

Things Judith had mentioned briefly before
turning ghastly white and leaving the room. Demons. A shiver raced
up Rayna’s spine and she dropped the curtain. She’d never seen a
demon but from Judith’s account of them, she didn’t want to.
Ever.

Turning, she gave the room a critical look.
It was dark. Just like the rest of the house. Dark walls, dark
furnishings. Depressing. If Victor wanted her to go stir crazy,
locking her up in this room would do it.

The thought sent her across the room to the
door. It opened without resistance. Why hadn’t Catherine locked her
in? Did Victor trust her to stay put or had Catherine done it on
purpose?

Thinking of the girl, Rayna knew by her
behavior she’d purposely left the door unlocked. Something about
Catherine seemed very vindictive where Victor was concerned. She
may have looked like a soft-spoken fairy but Rayna could tell she
wasn’t.

She’d told her where a phone was and how to
get there. For whatever reason Catherine had to give her that bit
of information, Rayna wouldn’t ignore it. There was a phone in the
house, a means to contact Garrett, and she’d be damned if she let
the opportunity pass her by.

The question was, how did she make it to the
study without someone noticing her and where did she tell Garrett
she was?

* * * *

Garrett slipped twice on the way down the
mountain and if it hadn’t been for the rope, he’d be nothing but a
smear at the bottom of the ravine by now. His chest was rubbed raw
from rope burns but when his foot hit the back of the car, he
wanted to cry in relief.

He tested the cars hold on the trees before
putting his entire weight on it. It never moved and after long
minutes of waiting to see if it would hold him, he climbed onto the
back of it and crawled to the window. He didn’t see Rayna but that
didn’t mean she wasn’t in there.

Sliding around to the back door, he opened it
and carefully maneuvered himself inside. The car shifted then and
he sucked in a breath as it slid a few inches. When it settled
again, he breathed a sigh of relief.

As his heart pounded, he noticed Rayna’s
suitcase in the back floorboard before he leaned over the front
seat.

She wasn’t there.

The keys were still in the ignition, her
purse lying on the floorboard, and next to her bag was an item he
knew didn’t belong to her. A hat. A brown “cowboy” hat, to be
exact. He stared at it for long moments before climbing over the
seat and grabbing it. His pulse leaped when he picked up a scent on
it. A scent he couldn’t distinguish.

Giving the interior of the car one last look,
he grabbed Rayna’s purse and turned, making his way back out of the
car and started up the ravine. The hat got in his way and placing
it on his head, had the others start pulling him up.

When he was on the edge, his chest and arms
aching from rope burns, he pulled the hat from his head and lifted
it. “Do any of you recognize the scent of the person who wore
this?”

Ethan was the only one who did. “It smells a
whole lot like, Stan, to me. Looks like his, too.”

“Stan?” Garrett said.

“Yeah. He always wore a hat, even in the
summer.”

Garrett stared at the hat and didn’t dare get
his hopes up. But what if Stan had been the one to drive over the
edge of the cliff? He looked back down at the car. Rayna wasn’t
there and none of the windows were broken. She hadn’t fallen out,
so where was she?

“What was Rayna doing way up here anyway?”
Gavin asked.

Bryce took the hat from Ethan. “What do you
mean?”

“Well, town is in the other direction. If she
was leaving, why would she drive up the mountain?”

Garrett’s gaze was still fixed on the car.
“She wouldn’t.” Relief swept through him to the point he wanted to
cry but worry settled in soon after. If Rayna didn’t leave in
Mitch’s car, then where was she?

He untied the rope before standing. “Rayna’s
still here. She’s not in the car, which means someone wanted to
make us think she’d left. If she’s on this mountain there’s only
one person I can think of that would have her.”

The others said, “Carmen,” at the same
time.

Garrett nodded before scooping up the ropes
and Rayna’s purse. “Let’s get back to the house and round up the
others. I want this mountain searched from one end to the other
before nightfall.”

* * * *

Rayna paced the floor of the bedroom she’d
been sequestered in trying to think of a way to let Garrett know
where she was. The phone in Victor’s study was too tempting to pass
up but what did she tell Garrett when she called? She didn’t know
where she was. Somewhere in New York but that bit of information
would be useless.

Getting inside the study was another problem.
If Victor rarely left his private sanctuary, how would she get in
to even use the phone?

She was running out of time. The other Breed
leaders would be there soon to discuss their plan with her. The
plan brought the sickening dread back again. Victor was going to
force the wolf, whatever that meant, and the thought alone caused
her to break out into a cold sweat.

Someone knocked on the door and she hesitated
before opening it, blowing out a breath when she saw Sabriel.
“Please tell me you’re here on a rescue mission.”

He smiled and walked into the room. “If
circumstances were different,” he said. “But, since nothing has
changed, the answer is no.”

“So you’re here to taunt me instead?” Rayna
shut the door and crossed her arms under her breasts.

“No. I thought maybe you’d enjoy a bit of
company.”

He wasn’t entirely wrong. A friendly chat
hadn’t been on Rayna’s list of things she wanted at the moment but
staring at the same four walls for the last several hours was
beginning to make her feel claustrophobic.

She sighed and leaned back against the door.
“I normally don’t make it a habit of making nice with the
enemy.”

“I’m not your enemy.”

She raised an eyebrow at him. “Really?
Because I remember you putting me in a car, driving several hundred
miles from my home, and then doing some fancy mind-meld thing so I
wouldn’t leave once you crawled into your coffin.”

Sabriel laughed. His features softened, his
eyes sparkling with a pale light she was sure had to be another of
his little vampire magic tricks. He was almost too beautiful to
look at when he smiled. She wondered if that was a vampire trick
too or if he was just naturally that good looking.

Whatever it was, enemy or not, Sabriel made
her want to forget he was one of the bad guys.

He tilted his head to one side as he looked
at her and Rayna’s pulse did that funny little dance it was known
to do around him. Her skin heated, her heart raced and things low
in her belly began to ache.

She looked away, confused. She didn’t
understand her attraction to him. Well, that wasn’t true. The man
was gorgeous. Mysterious and sexy in that bad-boy way all girls
found intoxicating but she was in love with Garrett. How could the
sight of Sabriel make her pulse leap when she looked at him if she
loved Garrett? She’d seen many nice looking men in her life but
they didn’t cause her body to respond the way it did with Garrett
or Sabriel. She had no feelings for Sabriel other than friendship
and that was shaky at best. She still didn’t trust him but at the
moment, he was the only thing she had.