by Lisa Kessler
“I will handle my brother.” He got in the car and drove away, leaving me standing in my driveway.
Sebastian called his own mother a traitor. All she’d done was try to protect innocents. Could he seriously be so brainwashed he had no concept of right and wrong?
I couldn’t relate to a man who looked at life like a chess board and people as pieces to be used to reach a victorious end.
Crossing my arms, I stared into the darkness. Sebastian and his father believed Packs were only necessary because the individuals were weak. They had no idea surrounding yourself with people who loved you, who were willing to die for you, made you strong.
Chapter Thirty-One
Taryn
I took the pumpkin pie out of the refrigerator and grabbed the whipped cream. Anything to stay busy.
The past couple of weeks passed in a blur. We kept Charlie out of school just to be safe, while Jared and his brother made multiple trips to Lake Tahoe in search of any sign of Damian. Sebastian told Jared he’d take care of Damian and get him out of Tahoe, but Jared didn’t really trust Sebastian. After attending Ray’s memorial, I was fine with being cautious.
The police and the fire chief determined Ray died after losing control of his car. They found it wrapped around a tree and on fire. The blood on the note I received implied Damian must’ve hurt Ray first. I hugged his wife and wished it really had been an accident. Jared wasn’t kidding about the danger from Nero. It was very real now.
Since the Masquerade, my office had been hopping, and by now, I was itching to get back to work. Madison’s friend from college, Vivi, wrote a great article she got placed in both our little Tahoe paper and in the entertainment section of the Reno Gazette-Journal too. I didn’t know if it helped, but the publicity certainly didn’t hurt.
Sherri and Lorna came by a few days ago to visit and hang out with Charlie so I could get some shopping and errands done.
I’d never been introduced to a guy’s family before. Needless to say, I appreciated getting the alone time to get my hair trimmed and get all the supplies I needed to bake some killer pumpkin pies. Baking was my strong suit in the kitchen, and there was nothing wrong with playing to your strengths.
“Are there going to be other kids there?”
Jared nodded as he came around the island. “Yeah. Adam has twins, a boy and a girl.”
“Who is Adam?”
“He’s my…cousin.” Jared kissed my cheek. “About ready?”
“Yep.” I handed him a pie and the whipped cream.
“It looks delicious.” Jared grinned.
“How old are the twins?” Charlie tugged at the collar of his shirt. He looked adorable in his khaki pants with a dark green sweater over his white shirt, but he had been very vocal about his lack of comfort.
“They’re just over a year old.”
Charlie groaned. “They’re babies. I thought we’d get to play.”
Jared nudged him toward the door. “Malcolm and Madeleine will play with you. You’ll be surprised. They’re pretty advanced for their age.”
“I sure hope so. Mom promised this wouldn’t be boring.”
I laughed as Charlie went out to the SUV. Jared and I compromised. We’d take my car for the extra room to bring the pies, and he could drive with his window down.
“Sorry about that. We’ve never been to a big family holiday before. He doesn’t know what to expect.” I lowered my voice. “To be honest, I don’t either.”
“Come with me.” We opened the back door of the Escalade and placed the pies inside. He turned around and wrapped me in his arms. Pressing a kiss to my forehead, he whispered, “Everyone is going to love you and Charlie like I do. There’s nothing to be worried about.”
He pulled back, his gaze locked on mine. “And if the twins can keep Charlie busy for a little while, maybe we can get some private time to talk.”
I smiled. “I’d like that.”
When Jared parked at the Sloan cabin, there were already a few cars and a motorcycle. The last time I’d been here it was just Jared and me and a large pizza. This was where he told me about his car accident, about the claustrophobia. Where we first talked about Pyrokinesis.
My gut twisted. I tugged his arm, pulling him closer as Charlie raced for the door. “They don’t know, right?”
“About what ?”
“Me. The fire.”
He shook his head. “They all know I love you. My dad couldn’t keep that a secret. They also know you have a son, but that’s it. Don’t worry.” He kissed me, his lips lingering on mine. “It’s going to be okay. Plus Nadya and Gareth and Jason are in there. He brought Kilani too, so you already know some people.”
Heat licked up my neck as I blew out a slow breath. His eyes wandered over my face. “Talk to me. What’s happening?”
“Come on you guys!” Charlie groaned. “Enough kissing!”
“Just a second, buddy.” Jared called. He met my eyes again. “What’s wrong?”
“Kilani knows about my gift.”
He ran a cool finger down my hot cheek. “Jason said she’s excited to see you again.”
“If she sees Charlie’s burn…”
His rough fingertip traced along my lips. “No one is going to take Charlie. They’d have to get through me first, and that’s not happening, okay?”
I stared into his eyes, drinking in his strength. “I might need to go outside if I get hot.”
He nodded. “I’ll go with you.”
Jared took my hand and we went to the door. With each step the fire inside of me dwindled.
“Finally!” Charlie reached over to ring the bell.
Jared chuckled. “We’re not guests here, we’re family.”
He pushed the door open, and immediately all eyes were on us like time had stopped. My pulse raced.
Jared broke the silence. “Happy Thanksgiving. This is Charlie and Taryn.”
Instantly the room came to life. Adam and Lana introduced themselves, Aren and Sasha were next. How was I ever going to remember everyone’s names? The fact most of the men had an identical twin didn’t make it any easier.
Jason gave me a hug and stepped back revealing Kilani. Our eyes met, but neither of us moved. She was gorgeous, exactly as I remembered her. She’d come to Brightwood from the Hawaiian Islands. Her dark almond eyes, flawless skin, and long black hair hadn’t changed, but when she smiled, there was something new. A tenderness I’d never seen in her before.
“You look amazing, Taryn. I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”
I nodded. “Small world.” Shaking my head, I started to smile. “You haven’t aged a day.”
Kilani grinned. “I have, I just didn’t grow any taller.”
I laughed, surprising myself. Kilani’s gift had been catching glimpses of the future, but by the time I quit school, her powers had faded, or at least that’s what she wanted all of us to think. I wished I could ask her if she saw me burning the cabin down.
On second thought, maybe I didn’t want to know.
She came a step closer and opened her arms. When we knew each other in school, I couldn’t start fires. I embraced her, grateful all over again for Jared. If we’d never met, I’d still be keeping my distance from the world.
When we parted, two beautiful toddlers pushed through the crowd, arms wide. “Uncle Jared!”
He bent down and picked them up, one in each arm. He kissed both of their cheeks. “Malcolm and Madeleine, I want you to meet my girlfriend, Taryn.”
“Hi, Taryn.” They said in unison. These bright-eyed little ones reminded me of Charlie. He’d been advanced for his age too.
“Hi.” I turned Charlie by his shoulders. “This is my son, Charlie.”
Their eyes widened and they wriggled in Jared’s arms.
“We need down,” Madeleine whined.
Jared set their feet on the floor and the twins hugged Charlie without reservation. He put one arm around each one. “They’re only one year old?”
Jared glanced at Charlie. “Their birthday was a couple months ago.”
Madeleine’s nose crinkled a little as she stepped closer to Charlie. “You smell like my brother.”
Her brother, Malcolm, grinned. “You’re a werewolf!”
I frowned. “A what?”
Madeleine tipped her head back to meet my eyes. “I’m gonna shift into a big jaguar someday like my Mom, and my brother is gonna be a werewolf like my Dad. Charlie’s a wolf too, like Jared.” She sniffed. “But you’re not. You’re human.”
“I sure am.” Was this some strange version of pretend? I glanced around the room, but the shocked faces didn’t jibe with a cute children’s game. Fire bubbled in my gut as I stared at Jared. I thought I knew him.
This had to be a joke. I forced a weak smile. “You didn’t tell me you were a werewolf.”
He opened his mouth and closed it again.
Charlie spun around to face me. “I know it sounds crazy Mom, but that’s why I can hear things and smell things. My dad must’ve been a werewolf, too.”
There was no way Noah was a werewolf. They were fictional. What was wrong with these people?
Tears stung my eyes. “Charlie, none of this is true. Werewolves are make-believe.” I cleared my throat to keep from choking. “We need to go.”
Charlie shook his head, emphatic. “No Mom, it’s all real. Tonight is the full moon. Jared can shift into a wolf and show you.”
My eyes widened. “Oh, my God. You’ve brainwashed my son.” I tightened my grip on Charlie, taking a step back from Jared. “You made him believe he’s an animal.”
“Come outside with me.” Jared held out his hand. “I’ll explain everything.”
“I think you’ve explained more than enough already.” A tear rolled down my cheek, drying almost as fast as the fire blossomed across my skin. “Charlie, we’re leaving. Now.”
Adam stepped a little closer. “Taryn, I’m sorry. Malcolm and Madeleine didn’t mean to upset you.”
Upset was an understatement. I spent many years in a school for kids with psychic abilities. I’d seen plenty of “impossible” gifts, but werewolves were straight out of horror movies. Fiction.
But during the last full moon, the brown wolf looked at me.
I gripped Charlie’s shoulder a little tighter, backing toward the door. “We need to go.”
I reached for the door and Jared touched my hand. He jerked back quickly. “Please, Taryn. Let me explain.”
“There’s nothing to explain. My son isn’t a werewolf. Even if I believed a person could turn into an animal, my son has never been bitten…” I shook my head. “I can’t believe I’m even discussing this.” I yanked the door open and walked out with Charlie in tow.
Outside in the snow, I remembered Jared came in my car.
He could get a ride home from his brother.
“Mom, Jared’s not lying. I smelled him the night the wolves came to the deck. He was the brown wolf protecting us.”
The brown wolf that stared into my eyes. The one I knew would protect us. Impossible.
“Stop it, Charlie.” I popped the locks on the SUV. “Werewolves are a myth. Having great hearing doesn’t make you an animal.”
He sighed, but he did as he was told and got in the car. As I walked around to the driver’s side, the front door closed behind me.
“Taryn, wait.”
His deep voice stopped me in my tracks.
Jared came up beside me. “This isn’t how I planned for you to find out.”
“Find out what?” I glared up at him. “That you’re a liar? That you’re insane?” I gestured to Charlie. “You’ve pulled my son into…whatever this is…your delusion.” Another tear rolled down my cheek. “I must’ve been an easy mark for you. I practically had lonely and abandoned tattooed on my forehead.”
He shook his head. Hurt shone in his eyes and part of me was glad. I wanted him to feel some of the pain I did.
“None of this is a lie. Charlie’s right, if you’ll stay until the moon rises, I’ll be able to show you.”
“At this point, I don’t want to know. My son is not going to eat people under a full moon, and screw you for making him believe otherwise.”
“That’s not fair. We’re not like that.” A muscle in his cheek flinched. “Just let me explain about the Pack. I love you, Taryn.”
His words cut like a knife. “Don’t. Even if you convinced me, all this time you’ve been lying to me. Everyone you’ve introduced me to has been covering for you.” I swiped the tear away and lifted my gaze to meet his. “You kept me in the dark. You trusted everyone, even my own son, more than me.” My heart ached and my chest tightened. “Just leave us alone.”
I walked to the SUV and got in. Behind Jared, Kilani and Nadya came out of the house. They escaped from Brightwood only to fall into a Pack of…werewolves?
Not my concern.
“Buckle up, Charlie.”
He wiped his cheek and did as he was told. “Please, Mom. Stay so he can show us.”
I started the engine. “Charlie, we could wait and he’d probably even send out real wolves. That still doesn’t make what he told you true. People do not turn into animals.”
And even if they could, nothing would erase the fact that he never trusted me. And why? Because of the god damn fire.
The tires spun on the ice as I backed out of the driveway.
Charlie pulled off his sweater. “It’s hot in here.”
I lowered the window, praying we’d make it home before I lost what little control I had left over the inferno brewing inside me.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Jared
“Shit.” I shouted as she drove away. Nadya and Kilani came up beside me. “I need to go after her.”
Nadya shook her head. “Not a good idea right now. She’s barely holding it together.”
“That’s why I have to find her. I can talk her down. I’ve done it before.”
Nadya laid a hand on my arm. “Jared, look at me.”
I ground my teeth and forced myself to make eye contact.
“Her emotions were so strong just now, she came right through my mental shields. She’s feeling betrayed, scared, and heartbroken. And it’s all focused on you. If her hold over her gift is faltering, you are the last person she needs to see at the moment.”
The truth of her words, the honesty in her eyes, stabbed my heart like a dagger to the chest. I did this. Taryn was in pain because of me.
“Damn it. I thought this was going to work. Tonight I was going to tell her and show her, and she’d accept it. It’s all fucked up now because of me.”
Kilani shook her head. “You can’t take all the blame. Lana’s still inside trying to explain to the twins why they can’t say werewolf in front of new people.”
I groaned. “It’s not their fault. I should’ve told her sooner. I tried. I just…I was afraid this would happen.”
“She’ll come around,” Kilani said.
I turned her way. “Did you see that? Like one of your visions? It’s going to be okay?”
“Not a vision of the future, but she and Charlie love you.”
“She did.” I clenched my fists. “Now she thinks I’m an insane liar who brainwashed her son.”
Nadya sighed. “Just let her calm down. Give her some space, and then try to talk again without your entire family watching.” She gripped my shoulder. “At least you and Sebastian got Damian out of her life. This will all work out…eventually.”
Jason and I had searched multiple times over the past two weeks for any sign or scent of Damian in Lake Tahoe. Taryn’s office said Sebastian had picked up the keys to the new property, but other than that, it was as if he and his brother never existed. The house Damian bought remained empty, and the rented place we’d discovered on Halloween was back on the market.
“I can’t just sit here and do nothing. I want to make this
right. She’s my mate. I didn’t even get a chance to tell her that yet.”
Kilani raised a brow. “Finding out your wolf recognized her as your mate is probably the last thing she wants to hear right now.”
Adam came out. I smelled him before I heard his voice. “Can I get a minute with Jared?”
Kilani and Nadya headed back to the cabin, and Adam walked up to stand beside me. “You know, I told Lana I was a werewolf right off the bat because she was a jaguar, so I figured she already knew about us. It would’ve been perfect except she had no idea jaguar shifters and werewolves existed, let alone that she was one.” He clasped my shoulder. “I’m trying to say, there is no perfect or easy way to bring a woman into our world.”
“Yeah, but what just happened was a total clusterfuck, and I have no one to blame but myself.”
He shook his head. “It could’ve been worse, she could’ve set the house on fire.”
“She was barely containing it when she drove away.”
“She’ll be okay.” He turned toward the cabin. “Come inside and eat before we shift, okay? Give her a night to sleep on it and try again tomorrow.”
I let him lead me back, but I had one thing in mind. I was going to shift, and then I was going to find her.
Charlie could help me. We’d make Taryn believe.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Taryn
Driving into the late afternoon sun was treacherous on a normal day, having it reflecting off the snow made the icy road even more dangerous. The cold gusts of wind coming through my window helped me focus and contain the fire. Barely.
Charlie had his sweater back on with his arms crossed.
“I’m sorry I didn’t protect you from this. I should’ve been more careful. I had no idea Jared had such crazy ideas.”
“They’re not crazy, Mom.”
I sighed. “We’re not discussing this anymore. I’m your Mom. I’m supposed to keep you safe. I had no business bringing him into our lives.”