After a minute, the old, grisly man grunted then turned toward Taggert, his faded eyes glowing a pale blue. “Show me.”
Taggert’s wolf leapt toward the surface, barely contained by his body, and all the hair on her arms rose at the unbridled wildness.
Rogue.
Her throat closed at the implications. If anyone mistook him for a rogue, they’d be well within their rights to kill him on sight and ask questions later. She stepped closer, ready to protect him if anyone dared to lift a hand against him. While the dragon wanted to revel in his wildness, the human side of her just wanted to ease him. To have their animal so close to the surface was painful, even more so when they couldn’t shift like Taggert. It was all she could do not to run her hand down his back and soothe the wildness, even if everyone discovered that she wasn’t exactly human.
Her hackles rose as the old man continued to stare. It was a clear challenge, and she narrowed her eyes, struggling to hold back her dragon as it raged inside her body, wanting to rip the toady little man to shreds for the disrespect. “Everything all right?”
Her words were a demand.
A second passed in painful silence, and Raven feared she’d messed up when he finally spoke.
“One hundred and fifty.” The man slid over two wristbands, one black and one white. She grabbed the one placed in front of her, slipping the white plastic over her wrist, watching Taggert from under her lashes. He appeared calm, as if nothing had happened. That was when she realized it was normal for him to be treated as a second-class citizen. She hurt for him and the unfairness of it all. Taggert donned the black band, and then paid the fee.
Raven was surprised at the amount of cash he carried. “So much?”
The man answered before Taggert could speak. “We charge extra for the human gawkers.”
There was no heat or bitterness in his derision, just pure dislike for humans, so Raven brushed it off. “Taggert?”
He grabbed her arm and steered her away, raising his chin a little in defiance. “I took all the ready cash you had on hand and put a portion of it in each of our to-go bags.”
“Smart.” But that wasn’t what she wanted to say. A slight blush highlighted his cheeks, charming her into almost forgetting. “You can’t call your wolf anymore. It’s too dangerous.”
He’d stepped in front of a bomb to protect her, taking so much damage that his body had been riddled with shrapnel … what was left of it anyway. She’d slowly watched his life fade from his eyes. In an attempt to save him, she’d called his wolf to the surface. Forced him to heal. She’d never expected the situation to be permanent. He’d risked his life to save hers, and in return, she’d cursed him to live in constant pain.
“Stop.” Taggert grabbed her chin and lifted her face to his. “You gave me my wolf. Don’t feel guilty. You saved my life, and I will forever be grateful. I’m stronger now because of you, strong enough to be a member of your pack, and I wouldn’t change that for anything. Look for yourself if you don’t believe me.”
He wanted her to use her senses and see that he was telling the truth.
She inhaled deeply, his woodsy smell seeping into her senses.
Clean.
Fresh.
He gazed at her, both fierce and gentle, and … telling the truth.
Raven glanced away.
“Raven.” It was a warning. “Stop trying to fix me. I’m not broken. You have to forgive yourself.”
She shivered at his gruff voice, goose flesh chasing across her skin at his intimate tone. He sounded so delighted and sure of himself, it would destroy him if she tried to change him back. And despite everything, her beast was pleased with the changes. No one would hurt him or take him from her, not with his wolf. “Fine.”
And she meant it.
Given the option of changing him or letting him die, there had been no choice. The brutal truth eased the heavy weight of guilt she carried. “Now why don’t you show me this circus?”
Taggert’s smile was blinding, and her breath caught at the way he went from young surfer to sexy playboy in two seconds flat. He guided her forward, her hand tingling where it was tucked against his arm, and she wanted to draw him closer, craving more of his attention.
A shriek caused her to whirl and magic rippled under her skin, reacting to her alarm.
Only to see a child scooped up in his father’s arms and tickled.
Her lips curled at the sweet laughter, not able to remember such things from when she was a child.
Large tents were set up at the outskirts of the circus like a perimeter, the place cordoned off by the placement of booths and fences. Lights were strung between tents on string, the big bulbs lighting up the sky, leaving only a faint glow to disguise the dinginess. A number of rides were scattered at the far end of the tents. Dozens of game and food stands were strewn about in a way that directed people around the fairground in a sort of maze.
The children were not afraid, and she noted most of the others wore red tags.
Taggert followed her line of sight. “They don’t know the circus is run by shifters, while those who wear the black or white bands came for the novelty of seeing shifters.”
One thought came to her mind as she watched the crowd.
Easy prey.
Shame immediately heated her face, and she avoided glancing too closely at the people again.
All the lights, smells and the press of people quickly grew overwhelming, the festive air leaving her off balance.
She wasn’t used to the press of people. Her dragon liked the solitude and hungered down to observe. People were oddities to her. She’d spend most of her life as seeing them as the enemy. She tried to follow Taggert’s lead, not wanting to misstep and draw attention to them.
Sensing her distress, Taggert pressed closer, standing slightly in front of her, giving her breathing room to recover. The dragon huffed, wanting to stride forward and force everyone to move out of their way. It was all she could do to curb the impulse.
“Your alphaness is showing.” Taggert gave her a worried look, a deep line between his brows. “You must try to keep hidden as much as possible. You have to try to pass for human.”
Raven understood, her whole body practically humming with adrenaline, but she had no idea how to shut it off. The beast was too curious, busy filtering and cataloging thousands of smells. Savory cooked meat, spicy deep fried foods, overly sweet sugar and the sweat of too many people floated on the air.
Everything was fine for the first few minutes, but then something illusive and dangerous spoiled the scents, giving them an almost rotten smell.
Instead of tracking the threat, her creature froze and just shut down from one second to the next.
It shouldn’t have been a big deal. She’d been without her animal for most her of her life, but the instant the creature vanished, she tripped over her own feet. She and the dragon had become so integrated that all her senses became dulled by the loss of connection. As if she were drugged.
The loss devastated her.
Though she fought it, she’d grown comfortable with the beast’s constant presence the last few weeks, and couldn’t be more surprised to find that she actually missed the dragon.
A swirl of magic flared in her gut, seeping from her skin to snap into the air. At the return of her magic, pleasure thrummed in her veins, only to dull when the electricity continued to swell without the dragon there to regulate it. People glanced at her as they passed, the static jumping into them with enough strength to lift every hair on their bodies. She felt like part of the act—a freak.
Worse, she stood out like a beacon to the shifters. Cold panic slammed into her, and she shut down hard and fast, scorching her insides in her haste to shove the magic back down. Her bones felt brittle and embedded with barbed wire by the time she was done.
When the last of magic vanished, she swayed under the strain.
Taggert pulled her so close, plastering her up against his side. No longer under th
e influence of her beast or magic, she had no filters to protect her from the outside world.
Sensations immediately overwhelmed her.
To save her sanity, she focused on the one thing sure to ground her in the real world.
Taggert.
She set her hand on his chest, and lust exploded through her at the feel of all those tightly packed muscles he kept hidden under his shirt. She practically melted as his heat soaked into her skin.
He inhaled deeply, his whiskey-colored eyes splintering green with his emotions. People swerved to get around them, and he drew her out of the crowd, saving her from being trampled.
She’d been using her guilt to keep her distance from him, but she could no longer remember why it had been such a bad idea to get close to him in the first place.
The last thing she expected was for him to release her and set her on her feet. She deflated in disappointment.
“You all right?”
Raven avoided his gaze and ran a nervous hand down her shirt, smoothing out the wrinkles as her swinging emotions scaled back to more manageable levels. Without the dragon, she felt stripped bare and exposed, and she didn’t care for it at all. “Fine.”
“Mind telling me what happened?” Concern coated his words, and he scanned the crowd, searching for danger.
Feeling foolish, Raven shrugged. “My animal disappeared.”
Taggert’s head snapped toward her. “You’re not suppressing it?”
“No, it smelled something that disturbed it, and just shut down.”
Taggert tensed, completely wigged out as he stared down at her, which didn’t bode well for her peace of mind, and her heart bounced to her knees at his reaction.
“Why is that wrong?” Raven was completely confused. “You told me to suppress it. I think it disappeared to escape detection. Just like you wanted.”
“If threatened, our beasts would never hide. Being an alpha only makes it doubly true.” Then he relaxed, his rigidness easing as he reached out to brush a strand of hair from her face. “So you don’t think it sensed a threat?”
Raven didn’t answer right away, struggling to remain unaffected by his casual touch. But he was right about one thing—her beast would never back down from a fight. “I didn’t feel anything force her away, no spells or any power at all.”
The skin on the back of her neck tightened, and she felt vulnerable without her beast. Her attention fell onto a closed booth in the distance, disturbed by it for some reason. Though she couldn’t pick up any overt threat, no smell of blood, something was definitely wrong. “It must have something to do with the circus. Tell me why it’s so special.”
They began moving again, Taggert watching the crowd for any sign of trouble, walking just a little bit too close, distracting her when his arm brushed against her with every step. It was a relief when he began speaking, sidetracking her from the totally inappropriate impulse to wrap herself around him.
“The circus is considered its own pack. They’re not restricted to territory, and they can go anywhere, even travel into other territories without being challenged. To attack them is considered a crime to be brought before the council.” Taggert paused, watching a young couple ten feet ahead of them. The guy had his arm wrapped around the girl’s shoulder, hugging her close.
He wasn’t jealous or angry, they were human and didn’t pose any danger, but he couldn’t seem to tear his gaze away. All emotions vanished when the young couple became lost in the crowd. Only then did she recognize the expression. Yearning.
An irrational need to give him the night he dreamed of, a night without worry or fear, pierced her.
It wasn’t smart, it would only cause more trouble, but after all they’ve been through, she didn’t understand why she couldn’t have what she wanted if only for one evening. Feeling bold and daring, she snaked her arm around his waist.
It was Taggert’s turn to nearly stumble. His whole body stiffened, his eyes practically glowing when he gazed down her with a question in his splintered green-and-brown eyes.
She almost lost her nerve, almost pulled back. “Jackson said we should act like I’m human. Like you said, we blend in better if we pretend to be a couple.”
As if sensing her withdrawal, he quickly wrapped his arm around her shoulders and settled her close. His heart thundered against his ribs, her nearness pushing his tenuous control, and disappointment crushed her chest. “Maybe this wasn’t such a good id—”
His arm tightened possessively, cutting off what she was going to say. Even if she wanted to get away, she very much doubted that he’d allow it without causing a scene. She ran her hand along his side to ease him, and the tiny bit of current trickling along her fingers and soaked into his body.
Horror slashed inside her when a string of wild, tainted magic began to rise. Her breath caught in her throat when her lungs refused to work.
She tensed to throw herself out of his arms, but knew it was much too late to protect him. If the tainted magic so much as brushed against him, he could turn feral and be taken firmly beyond her reach.
She grabbed for the wild magic and did her best to crush it. The sentient magic stopped dead, sensing Taggert was important to her, guessing correctly that she’d rip herself apart to destroy it if anything happened to her pack. The red taint slowly reabsorbed back into her body, the action not without pain. It was as if her veins were being bitten from the inside by thousands of fire ants, the agony taking its own sweet time to dissipate.
Punishing her.
It took a few seconds to become aware of her surroundings. The first thing that registered was the delicious heat.
It could only come from one place … Taggert.
A woodsy smell wrapped around her, and she hated the thin fabric of his shirt that separated them. She could almost swear she felt a brush of fur from his wolf.
All the tension eased out of Taggert when she buried her nose in his chest and inhaled. Realizing what she’d done, she jerked away and met his gaze to find a small smile played about his lips.
Cocky.
Suddenly embarrassed, she pulled away and poked him in the rib, pretending nothing happened. “Now finish telling me about this freak show.”
“In the old times, it was imperative that the pack remain hidden from humans. The shifters that got into trouble and came too close to being discovered were sent to the circus.” Taggert steered them toward one of the booths, watching a teenage boy throw a ball at a stack of bottles. As one bottle fell, the crowd around the kid cheered. Taggert appeared fascinated by the whole process.
“Banishment seems like a harsh punishment.” Raven couldn’t take her gaze away from him and the excitement that shimmered just under the surface.
Taggert shrugged, completely absorbed as he watched the kid pick up another ball. “It was better than being killed or forced to turn rogue.”
That shut her up. He said it casually, as if it were no big deal, but she suspected it couldn’t be further from the truth, not when he fought so hard to be a part of her pack.
The kid threw another ball but missed, and the crowd groaned.
“It’s not really banishment. Most went willingly to keep the pack safe. Others would even run away to join the circus.”
“Why?” Raven didn’t understand how anyone could abandon their pack. They were family. If one of her men disappeared, it would shatter her. She clamped her hand possessively around Taggert’s arm, knowing she’d move heaven and earth to claim them again.
“Not all packs…” He hesitated as if searching for the right word. “…value their members equally. If the circus granted them asylum, the alpha would have no choice but leave off the hunt, the runaways considered part of a new pack.”
“I bet that went over well with the alphas. Not only do they lose a member, they gain nothing in return.” Alphas were possessive and most would rather kill one of their own than be forced to give up a member of their pack. Raven could understand the need to escape abuse, bu
t she also saw the potential danger a circus posed. “With the ability to enter any territory they want, a circus would be the perfect spies.”
“That’s why they are so rare. The council understood the need for them, but has never granted permission to form another in decades. They were initially created to take care of troublesome pack members that drew too much attention.” Taggert inched forward as the kid picked up the third and last ball.
“More like smuggling them away from too curious humans.”
“If a human discovered us, we had no choice but kill them. A few would escape our hunt, but without proof that shifters are real, their own kind considered them insane and usually had them committed.”
“And the pack secrets remained safe.” It sounded like a harsh punishment.
“Drastic but necessary. We couldn’t let the truth be revealed. Humans outnumber us even back then. A hunt could’ve eradicated us all. Even decades later, the balance remains precarious. The paranormal wars proved that to us.”
It was frightening how clever the council was back then, how far-reaching their decisions. “So, the rest of the packs agreed, allowed the circus into their territory by choice. Now that the humans know about the paranormal world, I bet they aren’t so happy with that concession.”
“The old ways are still upheld, but freak shows are very rare. To own the show is a privilege, not a thing to be taken lightly.” Taggert studied the kid as he wound up and tossed his last ball.
It hit true.
The remaining two bottles wobbled before ultimately toppling over. Everyone jumped and cheered, and the man behind the counter took down a stuffed animal from the shelves and tossed it to the kid.
The teenager turned and proudly presented it to a girl in the crowd and received a kiss in return.
Before she knew it, Taggert grabbed her arm and dragged her forward.
She tried to tug out of his hold, but without her dragon or using her power, she was as weak as any human. “What are you doing?”
Electric series- Raven Investigations BoxSet Page 3