York (7 page)

Chapter 12

Pulling on her shoes in the pre-dawn light, Sky eyed the bedroom door with regret.  She and York had made love all through the night until they’
d both finally passed out from sheer exhaustion.  He was a magnificent lover.  She almost regretted having to leave him, but she was done with the Philippines.  Shy was safe in Montana so that’s where Sky would go.  

Standing, she
picked her jacket up off the chair and slung it across her shoulder before she tiptoed to the fridge and quietly pulled out a bottle of water for the road.  Closing the door, the bottle hit the floor as Sky yelped at an enraged York who stood scowling down at her.

“Going somewhere?”

Shit!  Why didn’t I hear him?
  Her eyes sliced to the now open bedroom door as she stuttered. “Y-yes.  Out.”  

Reaching up, he pulled the jacket from her shoulder.  “No.  In!”
  He turned his back on her and strolled back toward the bedroom. 

“I hope you don’t seriously expect me to listen to you.”

“You don’t have a choice,”
he responded, struggling against the pain that sliced through him with the realization that she’d tried to sneak off while he’d slept after the glorious night they’d shared.

Sky
turned and headed for the door.

“
Touch that door and you’ll regret it!”

She spun on him angrily, “
Damn it, York!  You can’t keep me here.”

“I’m trying to be a good mate and grant you some leave, but you’re making it difficult,” he snarled.

“Leave!” Sky’s voice hitched in incredulity before her brows lowered in a fierce scowl.  “Grant me some
leave
?”  She stepped forward and jabbed him in the chest with a finger.  “You don’t
grant
me anything, York McDonnough!  I am my own woman, and I make my own decisions.”

Now it was York’s turn to scowl.  “Not where your safety is an issue!  I will let you do as you please, my heart, but
not
if it puts you in jeopardy.”

Sky snorted before smiling menacingly, “We’ll just see about that!”  She turned to head
for the door, but her feet left the ground when York’s large arm circled her waist.

“Damn it, York
!  Put me down!  I’m not a friggin’ baby!”

“You’re
my
baby,” he growled at her ear, “and I will take your wrath over your proximity to danger any day.” 

Sky struggled for a few moments before giving up with an exasperated sigh.  The big lug was just too damn strong for her.  Sighing dejectedly, she crossed
her arms over her chest.  “I don’t understand what the big deal is!  I just wanna go outside!”

“I said I’d bring you whatever you want.”
He carried her to the bedroom and kicked the door closed before setting her on her feet.

“It’s not the same!”
She pouted, her lips forming a moue of displeasure.  “I want to go
out
.  I’m tired of being holed up in here.”  She frowned up at him, “What’s so dangerous?  That guy from the bar?  I’m pretty sure I put him in his place.”

“You’re wrong, Sky.
”  How he longed to tell her of the Megalya.

“You can’t keep me here.”

“Wrong.” 

“I don’t belong to you!”

He was on her in a flash.  One second she was challenging him and the next she was pinned to the wall, with her arms held above her head and her legs spread by the knee that forced itself between them.  “Wrong again!”  His eyes glinted in warning.  “You
are
mine, Sky.  You always have been, and from the first time I drove into that tight little pussy, you always will be.”

“First time?” she scoffed.  “
Only
time.  That mistake won’t happen again.”

“Mistake?”

Sky swore she saw regret simmer beneath his expression as he stood over her, his face brooding.  She lowered her head, turning her face from him. “I’m not trying to bait you into a fight, York.”

“And I’m not trying to bite that bait, but you need to understand that you
are
mine, Sky, and I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe.  You can’t go out.”

Angry tears shimmered in her eyes.  “I want to leave.”

Fuck!
  “No.”

“I’m not asking you.” 
“I’m
telling
you that I’m leaving.”

Damn, is this it?
  He knew he’d have to tell her about Skin Walkers and Megalya eventually, he’d just hoped that he could wait to get her back to Montana first.

“I’m not yours!” 

It wasn’t a scream, but damn close, and he saw her eyes widen just ever so slightly at her slip of control.  He was getting to her in ways no one had before. 

Lowering her right
hand, he slowly lifted a hand to her hair and gently massaged several glossy strands between his fingers.  He wanted to declare his love for her, but knew the prematurity of it would frighten her.  She thought she didn’t believe in love, and she wore the fallacy like a coat of armor.  Worse, telling someone who thought she was immune to love that you loved her after knowing her a few short days would only disenchant her further.  He knew that humans felt they needed to build love.  To them, love was something that blossomed over time like a well nurtured flower.  How could he tell her that he was different?  That he loved her wholly the moment he saw her?  He couldn’t.  Not without explaining exactly what he was, and if he thought his declaration of love would scare her off, then him telling her that he was a shape shifter would send her over the edge.

Sky
pulled back and eyed the door.  Sidestepping, he blocked the door from her view.  His voice was gentle, “My heart.”

“Don’t call me that,” she snapped and crossed her arms over her chest before turning and stalking to the window
.

He watched her standing there looking out at the world.  Waves of anguish and loneliness were rolling off her.  She needed something…
someone
, and he was here.

“I’m
…I’m a Skin Walker, Sky.” 

Whatever
reaction he thought the announcement would garner, it wasn’t her immobile non-response.  He knew she’d heard him.  “We’re a rare breed and Shy’s mate, Leto, is one as well.”

She didn’t turn from the window, but he could see
the interest that sparked to life in her reflection.  “What are you?  Some kind of gang?”

He smirked. 
A gang?  I wish!
  “No, my heart.  We’re…”  He took a step, planting himself more fully in front of the door, in case she made a run for it.  “We’re shape shifters.”  Eyes riveted on her reflection in the large window, he saw her expression blank before her fine brows speared down, and she spun on him with vehemence.

“Are you fucking kidding?”  Her hands dropped
to her sides to ball into tiny fists.  “You’re a
nut job
?”  She eyed the room frantically and rushed to one of the small coffee tables to jerk a lamp free, holding it up like a baseball bat.  “I’ve been holed up here with you, and you’re some fucking crazy lunatic?  Get away from the door.”

“Sky, I’m not…”

“GET AWAY FROM THE DOOR!”

Okay, she was screaming now.  “
Shhhh,” he soothed, holding out his hands.  “It’s okay, my heart. It’s alright.  You’re safe.  I’m not crazy.”

She eyed the door and then him.  “I-I
wanna leave.  Please move.”

He scented her fear.  She actually thought he was a lunatic.
  Dropping his hands he looked at her softly.  “Don’t scream.”  Then, he shifted.  He tried to think of a form that wouldn’t be too intimidating.  He morphed down to a sleek red wolf and watched as the lamp slipped from her fingers and crashed to the floor as she fainted. 

Racing forward, he was able to take the brunt of her weight on his wolf’s back before he shifted back to his true form
, lifting her into his arms as he did so.  He placed her gently on the bed and then hurried to the bathroom to wet a cloth for her head.

Chapter
13

Sky came to with York leaning over
her, concern reflecting in the green pools of his eyes.  “My heart,” he whispered. 

She swallowed hard.  Had she really seen…  She pushed his hand away and sat up to stare at her knees as she processed what she’d just learned about him.

Drawing in a shaky breath, she looked at him.  “Is Shy okay?”

Typical.  Her first concern wasn’t for herself but for her twin. “Yes.”  

One hand spread over her thigh, and her eyes rounded in fear.  She stammered, “Is-is anything going to happen to me?”

He knew what she was asking.  She wanted to know if she’d be changed because they’d made love. 
Baby steps,
he cautioned himself and lied. “No.”  She visibly relaxed, and he was glad for it. 

“
W-what else do I need to know?”

Good girl.
  She was taking it much better than he’d expected.  Now, he just had to convince her that she needed to stay with him.  “That man from the bar wasn’t alone, Sky.  When I retrieved you from your motel, he had someone with him.  Some
thing!
”

Her expression grew wary.  “What do you mean some
‘thing’?”

“I know this is a lot to take in right now, but I don’t have the time I’d like to ease you into this.  The creature with the man is called a
Megalya.  They are an enemy to my kind, Skin Walkers.”

“Are the
y shifters?”

“No, but they want to be.  They hunt us in hopes of
taking our abilities.”

“Take your abilities?”  She ran her eyes over his body.  “How?  Can you give them away?”  She inched a little further from him.

“No.”  He didn’t want to have to tell her, but knew it’d incite the respect she needed to survive the situation they were in.  “They drink our blood.”

“Vampires?” she gasped.

“No.  Worse.”  He grabbed her hand.  “They kill us and drain our bodies.”  He lifted a hand to the band around his throat. “They take our halos as trophies.  They are pure evil, Sky, and they’re after you.” 

“Me!”  A slender hand collared her throat.  “
Why would they want…” her eyes darted back and forth, and then she blinked and looked up at him.  “Skin Walker procreation.”  She jumped up from the bed to pace furiously, sorting out loud.  “They think I’m the key to Skin Walker procreation.  You’re a Skin Walker and we…”  She stopped pacing.  “Shy’s had a child from your brother.  A Skin Walker.”  She felt all the blood drain from her face.  “They want me because I can get pregnant by one of you and give them a…”  She didn’t finish.  She couldn’t.  The thought of a beast taking a baby,
her
baby, to feed from it had her racing to the bathroom and dropping to her knees in front of the toilet.

York hurried after her and dropped to a knee
at her side.  He tucked her hair behind her ears and rubbed gently at her back as she retched.  When she stopped he wet a cloth and rubbed it at her mouth before sitting on the floor and pulling her into his arms.  The scent of her fear and distress was gut wrenching.  He hated that the Megalya could affect her so without even being near her.  He’d kill them all for that fact alone. His expression darkened, radiating sheer power.  “I’ll protect you with my life,” he promised, “but I will not permit you to leave.  When my mission’s up I’ll take you home, but for now, you have to trust me and stay with me.  I can and will protect you.”

What could she say?  There was no other choice.  She certainly wasn’t going to face some
cannibalistic monsters on her own.  She might be a badass, but even she knew she wasn’t
that
tough.  “Why do we have to stay?” She couldn’t help but ask, even knowing how cowardly it sounded.  “Why can’t we just go back to America now and leave them here?”

He hated to have to tell her the truth.  “There are
Megalya in the States as well.”

“No,” she whimpered and curled a hand in the front of his shirt.

“Don’t worry.  We live at Apex.  There are no Megalya there.”

Apex?
 
She’d never heard of it.  Was it a town?  It didn’t really matter. 
He
lived at Apex.  When she went back to her life, back to her own apartment, she’d be alone.  “What about Shy?” she asked.  “Is she safe at Apex?”

“
Shy’s not at Apex.  She and Leto reside at StoneCrow.”

She shook her
head.  “I don’t know where that is.”

“It’s in Montana as well.  Walkers have two strongholds.  Apex and
StoneCrow.  Monroe StoneCrow rules where Shy and Leto are.  At Apex, we answer to Tyce Steele. 

She’d read her fair share of werewolf novels.  “Are they the Alphas?”

York smiled softly.  “Yes, they are what you would recognize as Alphas.”

“What are you?”  She studied him knowing that his strength and power must give him a prominent role.  “Are you a Beta?”

“No,” he smiled.  “Our leaders are called Dominants.  I am a Sentry.  We are the enforcers.  The soldiers.
Skin Walkers exist in five differing stages; each stage is more skilled and powerful than the next.  Like our ancestors, all Walkers have the ability to shape-shift, but we do so in varying degrees. 

“
Stage one Walkers are typically the extremely young Walkers, children and teens who aren’t yet versed in their heritage and abilities.  Stage two Walkers are slightly more advanced.  They are able to shift to the form of one animal, but only for a limited amount of time.  Stage three Walkers, like myself, can shift freely to a few different animal forms.

“
Stage four Walkers, like Monroe and his Chief of Security, King, are much more advanced.  They possess the ability to shift to any form of animal for any length of time.  Some think that Stage four Walkers are psychic; but it’s simply their keen sense of smell that allows them to detect other’s emotions.  Dominants, like StoneCrow and Tyce, my boss, are our leaders. 

“
The rarest of us all are known as Indigenous Walkers.  Our history and beliefs say that they are descendants of ancient Anasazi Walkers.  They can shift to any animal form, for any length of time, but they also possess the keenest senses of all Walkers.  There is even a belief that Indigenous Walkers possess the ability to control the elements.” 

It made sense.  It was weird, but it made sense.  “Tell me about where Shy is.”

“
StoneCrow,” he reminded her.  “It’s a fortified manor.  It looks like a castle really.  It’s built into the mountainside.  It’s four stories tall and has several cabins on the grounds as well.  The entire estate is surrounded by a wall.  No one gets in or out without permission.  She’s safe, my heart.”

Sitting quietly, she processed all the information.  To his credit, York didn’t push her.  He simply held her and waited.

“You didn’t answer me,” she peeked up.  “When are we leaving?”

“Soon, love.  Trust
me; I don’t want you here any longer than necessary.  Monroe has asked me to track the Megalya that are here.  We have to keep tabs on them, so we know where our enemies are.  If they’re going to build a hive here, I’ve got to report it.”

“Hive?”

They congregate in underground facilities.  We call them hives.  It’s where they take their victims, and…  He let his words die off.

“I want to go home,” she moaned.
  For the first time in her life, she missed her crappy little apartment back in Washington State.

“Soon,” he promised pulling her into him and bending to kiss the top of her head.  “Soon.”