by Kate Douglas
He was speaking as if at some point he expected not to have this opportunity. It was a totally logical summation since she lived in San Francisco and he in Montana. Not to mention the fact that they weren’t really in a relationship together, no matter how much this situation seemed to contradict that. Once Davis was found this would all be over.
She would never see Phelan again.
He’d moved so that she was now standing, water cascading down the front of her body while his soapy hands ran down her back and over her ass. She was glad for this position, not because she liked how it felt when his hand went between her crease and even farther until he was once again touching her pussy, but because she didn’t want him to see how disappointed she was at the realization that she may never see him again.
Thirty minutes later they were walking out the back door, taking the wooden steps from the porch and heading down the now-familiar trek across the length of the grassy property until they entered the thick brush of trees. Marena had been used to walking around the office, around the courthouse when she was in trial, and even a few occasions when she’d allowed Gail to drag her to the gym. She’d never walked through a forest with its uneven terrain, twigs, and leaves and rocks and tree branches hanging low enough to smack her in the face a few times. Nor had she packed for such an endeavor. Phelan hadn’t seemed to mind and had immediately ordered her tennis shoes and a number of outfits made of spandex that gripped every ounce of her thick physique. She’d seen the way he looked at her each morning when she’d dressed in one of the outfits, so she knew they’d been selected because he liked them. That made it much easier to put them on each day and she hadn’t realized that until this morning.
She liked that Phelan enjoyed what she was wearing. The way he looked at her appreciatively had also put a smile on her face. Albeit a temporary one.
What she still hadn’t come around to liking was this walking along the steep inclines and trekking over rocks to cross the creek. It was the same path she’d traveled for days now, and while she’d become accustomed to the sounds of the many animals that Phelan had described as living in this area, she wasn’t any more comfortable about being so close to them.
“It’s a black swift,” Phelan said when she jumped once again at a sound from above.
“A what?” Marena asked, folding her arms over her head, wishing she’d had the good sense to wear a hat. She had no idea what a black swift was or whether it would peck the head of or poop on the intruder making noise so early in the morning.
“It’s a bird. There’s probably a nest back there behind the waterfall.” He was pointing straight ahead to where Marena knew the jagged rocks would drop down about thirty to forty feet into rolling water that poured from the beautiful waterfall above.
“I’m not a fan of birds,” she admitted just as another squawking sound ripped through the air.
This time Phelan stopped. Marena would have bumped into him if she hadn’t felt the immediate tension ripple through his body. So she stopped as well, looking up in the direction where she knew she’d heard the noise. For endless moments there was nothing else, not one sound at all, which itself was strange.
“We’re not alone,” Phelan announced in a tone lower than he had been using.
“More birds?” she whispered as over her head the tallest of the trees swayed.
Any bird or other creature that may have been resting in said trees was now fleeing, without making a sound. Amidst the silence was a quick gust of wind and Phelan moved closer to where Marena stood, reaching out a hand to touch her arm. She looked to him in question, quickly noting the seriousness and also the warning in his gaze.
“The realms are open,” he said, seconds before they heard the heavy footsteps coming toward them.
Marena only had a split second to react as through the trees to her right came a loud noise. She had no idea what the noise was or who or what was making it; all she knew was that she needed to move. With speed and agility she’d never known she possessed, Marena sidestepped and watched in awe as a huge spike-edged club slammed into the ground, spitting dirt and leaves into the air.
Her heart thumped wildly as she followed the beefy hand that held the club upward, tilting her neck until she stared into the eyes of a man with long dark hair and a wicked scowl. He was clearly angry that he’d missed his target. He was also very tall and part horse.
“Run!” Phelan yelled when the creature had turned his attention fully on Marena.
She heard Phelan’s words and knew they made perfect sense. This was one big bad monster and he was coming right for her. She should run, scream, get the hell out of Dodge. But she didn’t.
Instead, something along her spine shifted and tingled. She moved her head, rolling her neck until it cracked, and this time when the creature lifted his arm, yelling some hideous-sounding battle cry as he once again aimed that deadly looking club at her, Marena opened her mouth and growled right back.
She had no idea where the sound came from but felt it vibrating through her entire body. Still, it did not stop the creature from proceeding with his assault, but this time as the heavy club came barreling toward her Marena lifted her arm, folding it over to block the horrific blow. Her body jolted with the contact, but she did not fall to the ground and she was not clobbered by the club. Instead, she pushed back with another vicious growl sounding through the air.
Above, she saw Phelan in his lycan form jumping down onto the creature’s back, straddling him as a man would a normal horse. With his mouth open, sharp teeth protruding, Phelan lifted his arms, bringing both his hands and those long claws down to sink into the creature’s flesh. He roared and reared back, but Phelan held on tight.
Marena wasn’t certain how long he’d be able to hold on that tight and knew she needed to do something to help him. Without another thought she charged forward, coming to a stop just as the creature’s front hooves came stomping down. She was beneath him now and he turned his human head to see where she’d gone. Feeling a sting in her own fingers, Marena looked down quickly, saw that her own set of vicious claws had sprung free. They looked surreal, like a manicure gone hideously wrong, but she didn’t think on that too long. Instead, she followed Phelan’s lead and lifted her arms, thrusting them deep into the creature’s underbelly. When he roared again, coming up on his hind legs, Phelan growled from above. Marena growled as well, sinking her nails into the creature again and this time pulling back so that she was creating long and jagged cuts that bled ferociously.
In the next moments there was more growling and footsteps. Marena couldn’t see what was going on from where she still stood beneath the beast, but she’d felt a growing warmth inside of her as the growling had continued. It was a comfortable and expectant feeling. Yet she had no idea why she was feeling it in the first place.
The creature began to wobble and Marena knew he was going to fall. He would land directly on her when he did. She pulled her claws from the beast one last time and turned to see which way she could run, but it was too late; the creature was already going down, his dark shadow covering Marena completely.
She screamed when it felt like her arm was being pulled out of its socket, her body sliding roughly over the ground, dirt flying up into her face and mouth. Then she was moving upward, being lifted into strong arms and cradled like a baby.
“I told you to run,” Phelan said, his chin resting on the top of her head. “‘Run’ means ‘run,’ dammit! It does not mean ‘stay’!”
He continued to talk, his arms around her tightly, his head holding hers down against his chest as they moved.
“You weren’t ready for that. None of us were, but especially not you,” he continued. “You should have run! Hell, you shouldn’t have been there. That’s my fault. I shouldn’t have taken you out. I should have known they’d be watching. That they would eventually come. Fuck! I should have protected you!”
They were moving fast, so fast Marena only felt the brush of wind on her cheeks. E
ven when she tried to open her eyes she didn’t see anything but a blur of movement. Seconds later—or at least that’s what it felt like to her—his booted feet sounded on the planked steps and then they were inside. She recognized the scent immediately. They were in Phelan’s room.
It smelled like him in here, rich, exotic, masculine. As she inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, still cradled in his arms, Marena realized with a start that it also smelled like her. The sweet floral scent of her lotion was in the air, and the scent of her clothes, of her body when she stripped naked, it was all here, all circulating, blending to become one heady aroma that had her body immediately reacting.
She squirmed in his arms then, struggling to get free, to stand on her own two feet so that she could think clearly.
“I won’t let it happen again,” Phelan said, holding her even tighter. “I swear I won’t let anything happen to you again.”
“Stop,” she said, too softly at first, because Phelan simply continued.
He moved until finally he sat on the edge of the bed, adjusting her on his lap. Marena pushed away, using more strength than she knew she had until she was on her feet. She stumbled so that she wouldn’t fall on her ass. Righting herself, Marena pushed back the thick strands of hair that had fallen in her face. Her legs were steady almost immediately, her body extending until she was standing straight up, her gaze zeroing in on Phelan quickly.
“What was that out there?” she asked, her fingers still running through her hair, trying to untangle it.
Phelan looked at her oddly for a few seconds. He was back to his human form, his eyes green again, not that glowing blue she’d seen in the forest. His teeth and nails and the rest of his face were normal. No, she thought with a start, nothing about him was normal.
And now, she thought with a start, neither was she.
“That was a centaur. Most likely sent by Zeus to hunt and kill our pack. He knows that Blaez is close, that we’re all protecting him,” Phelan said with a shake of his head. “He knows.”
Marena shook her head.
“No. I meant what was it that happened to me?” Her hair was fine, Marena decided, and dropped her hands to her sides. “What did I do and how was I able to do it?”
Saying the words emphasized the memory and Marena looked down at herself. She saw the blood from the centaur on her clothes, her arms, her hands. She should be repelled, should run into the bathroom in a hurry to shower, but she did not. Instead, she stood perfectly still, lifting her head to Phelan, the one she knew had answers, once more.
He took a deep breath, his hands and arms covered in blood as well, and leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees.
“The pain you felt this morning was the last of the physical change your body will make to accept lycan DNA. Your bones, muscles, every ligament and cell in your body, are now lycan. The first shift will come in the next twenty-four hours, on the night of the full moon. But for now, the strength, the sight, the hearing, everything, will begin to fall into place.” He’d been looking down at the floor as he spoke, but now he lifted his head and gaze to her.
“You were able to fight the centaur as a partial lycan using your claws and your strength. Even when Blaez and the others arrived you continued to fight, along with us, against the hideous beast. This is your life now, Marena. This is who and what you are.”
She didn’t shake her head even though a part of her screamed the word “no” as loudly as it could. Only Marena knew the truth. She knew it because she felt it, moving just beneath her skin, slithering along her spine, and opening her eyes. Phelan was right: she could see differently now, more clearly.
“I am a lycan,” she said, tasting the words for the first time.
“You are a lycan,” he repeated, and came to stand in front of her.
“I fought as a lycan with you and the others,” she said. “Just as I was supposed to because I am—”
“You,” Phelan said, catching her chin between his fingers, “are a gorgeous and fearless Devoted lycan. There is no doubt in my mind of that fact now. Not one damned doubt.”
“This is my life now,” she said, licking her lips and shifting from one foot to the other.
“Your life is what you make of it,” Phelan told her. “I could stand here and tell you that only the lycan matters, but I know that’s not true for you. I’ve accepted who and what I am and now you must do the same. If you’re an attorney and a lycan, that’s your choice. But there is no more room for denial, Marena. No more time for questions and guesses. Zeus knows we’re here. He won’t be thwarted again.”
“Phelan’s right,” Blaez said, walking into the bedroom where they stood. “He knew exactly where we were almost as if he’d been tipped off.”
The others filed into the room after Blaez, all eyes on Marena.
“She’s been right here with us . . . with me this entire time,” Phelan said as he moved to stand in front of her, separating her from them.
“But he knows her scent; his DNA is inside her. He would know how to find her wherever she went,” Malec stated sternly with his arms folded over his chest.
“Did you know what was coming?” Caroline asked her. “Did you feel it ahead of time, Marena?”
“No,” she instantly replied, then frowned as she stepped from behind Phelan. “I did not know who or what was coming and I resent being accused of doing something I wouldn’t have known how to do in the first place.”
“No one is accusing you of anything,” Kira said from beside Blaez. Her hair had been pulled back from her face, her shirtsleeves pushed up over her elbows.
“Bullshit!” Marena snapped back. “You’re all standing here accusing me of telling Davis where you were and who you were hiding. It’s taken me weeks to wrap my head around all that is going on here and you think the first thing I’d do was run and tell that bastard something like this?”
“We think that we’ve been safe here in this forest for over a year and now, when you’ve been here for just about three weeks, the centaur appears,” Channing said. “Coincidence?”
It was Marena’s turn to stand with one hip jutting forward, arms folded over her chest. “Call it what you want, but if I’m not mistaken, before I arrived—hell, before I was even bitten—a Solo was here and before that her old pack came calling for a fight, so don’t act like my appearance is the only questionable one here. Besides, I didn’t come here on my own; I was brought here,” Marena finished.
“She’s right. I found her and I brought her here. This could not have been a setup,” Phelan said.
“It wasn’t,” Kira added. “Not in that way.”
Marena and the others looked to her for a more detailed explanation.
“You didn’t know she was going to get bitten or that you were going to be the one to find her,” Kira said, “but that act alone proved to be the perfect opportunity for someone.”
“The harpy,” Phelan mumbled, and then cursed. “She set us up. Eureka,” Phelan mumbled. “That bitch.”
“You think she’s somehow involved?” Blaez asked Phelan.
“She has to be,” he replied, clenching his fists. “Her allegiance is to Zeus. It always has been. Dammit!”
Marena shook her head, quickly digesting everything that was being said. “Eureka being the one that put those scars on your face? The one that’s probably still in love with you?”
Caroline made a sound but quickly clapped a hand over her mouth, while Kira stared at Phelan with an expectant look on her face. Marena frowned because if anyone expected an answer from Phelan, it was her. Not because they were committed to each other or anything like that, but because she’d been sharing a bed with him and having sex with him; if his ex was about to make some violent comeback into his life, she damn sure had a right to know.
“I can’t prove it,” Phelan said tightly. “I just have a feeling.”
“A feeling?” Marena asked, not liking the fact that Eureka could still illicit “a feeling” in him.
>
“We need to figure out if that feeling is true or not,” Malec said as if Marena hadn’t just asked a question. “Because if it is and she knows of our location, we need to be prepared to fight back when the next bounty hunter shows up.”
Blaez nodded, extending his arm so that Kira immediately laced her fingers with his. “We’re going to be prepared regardless. We’ll go and make plans. Malec and Channing will try to figure out which bounty hunters might likely appear next. You,” he said nodding to Phelan, “get cleaned up and figure out Eureka’s involvement, if any. We need to eliminate her from the situation if she’s not a threat and look in other directions.”
“Like toward Davis,” Marena added since they’d all been acting as if she weren’t standing right there. It was one thing when they weren’t including her in their conversations because they thought she hadn’t fully accepted her lycan status, but now, after she’d almost been killed by a beast she was still reeling from seeing right here on earth, she wasn’t going to be ignored. She was a part of this battle, whether she wanted to believe or was ready to accept it or not.
“What if he is using his DNA lingering in my body to track me down? Why wouldn’t he simply show up at the door? How or why would he summon that thing that was out there? It doesn’t make any sense,” she said.
They all looked at her then and Marena continued.
“He has to have a stake in this. What is it? Why me? I didn’t know any of you before Phelan came into my room at the B and B that night.”
“She’s right,” Kira said, speaking slowly as she continued to stare at Marena. “Why did he bite her now? She said she’s known him for years and he’s kept his distance? There was no way that anybody could have known that she would end up here, nobody but . . . another being with the power of sight.”
The room grew quiet, until Marena asked the question she figured might be on the rest of their minds.
“Who else would have this power? I thought the Moon Goddess gave it to you specifically?” she asked.