Wolf Ties (A Rue Darrow Novel Book 2)

by Audrey Claire

  “Yes.”

  “You’re doubting my cuteness, Violet, and that’s a problem.”

  She grumbled. “Dalton was a lover, and my guess is when he wasn’t wining and dining his dates, he was at his apartment with them.”

  “Where did that leave Nathan? They were roommates.”

  Violet didn’t speculate.

  “My investigation into Dalton’s habits would be a lot easier if I had Nathan with me. I need to see him again, Violet.”

  “You know that’s impossible.”

  “We got in there the first time. What aren’t you telling me?”

  “Another doctor has been assigned to him, and he’s going to be evaluated tomorrow.”

  I dropped my voice low. “You know he can’t stay in there.”

  “We don’t have a choice. I’ll have to find a way to make sure no one sees him.”

  “For three days? What about you?”

  When she paused once again, I could almost feel her hesitance to admit anything to me. “I will stick around and not go away.”

  “That’s crazy, and dangerous. You of all people know that.”

  “I’ve done it before.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “Rue, I’m out of options, here! I already told my boss I won’t be going out, and they know to just leave me alone. My partner is working with someone else in the meantime.”

  I thought of the frail-looking human woman and figured that was a good idea. “How do you even get three days every month?”

  “I told him I have a disorder, and I have a doctor’s note to prove it. The time is put down as sick leave. The humans joke about how it’s always during the full moon, but since they can’t imagine a werewolf truly exists, I don’t let it bother me.”

  “Other than wanting to eat them once a month.”

  “Are you trying to provoke me?” More screeching of tires.

  “Yes and no.”

  Violet actually demonstrated greater control than all the other werewolves. I put it down to her not ever suppressing her anger all through the month, plus having a job where she jerked around bad guys. That released even more pent up energy.

  I made my decision. “Violet, I’m going to the facility. I’ll either break through security to get Nathan out, or you can help smooth the way. This is the only warning I’m going to give you.”

  “Rue!”

  I disconnected the call and began dressing for the occasion. With any luck, Nathan would breathe the night air walking with me within a couple hours. Decked in black from head to toe, I had the silly notion to use eyeliner and mark bold lines across my cheeks. Practicing birdcalls also popped into my head, but I didn’t have anyone to give these signals to, so I dismissed the idea.

  When I arrived at the facility where Nathan was being held, Violet was nowhere in sight. I heard my phone ding, and I pulled it from my pocket to find she had texted.

  Don’t destroy the walls or the locks.

  I grinned and typed back.

  Is that permission to break in?

  No.

  Sheesh. She was trying to cover her butt while encouraging me to do whatever I had to do to help Nathan. Just sending the text gave the impression she had knowledge of my intentions, but I wouldn’t tell her so. Violet knew, of course, but she had to stick with her own moral code. I did too, and it wasn’t until I became a vampire that I understood what Ian had tried to explain to me years ago. Each vampire had their own code of ethics, and more often than not it had nothing to do with human views. I hadn’t been a vampire long, but I saw truth in what he said.

  So I went in, or tried to. The front door was locked at that time of night. Through the glass, I spotted a guard, and he waved me away. I wished I had the ability Ian had to undo locks with my mind. I gave it the old college try and failed.

  “Ah well, showtime,” I muttered.

  Biting my lips, I hoped I had enough blood in me to get them to turn pinker, and I banged frantically on the glass. I glanced behind me as if I expected an assailant to jump out at any second. Basically, I tried my best to look cute and fragile, which wasn’t hard because I was cute and looked fragile until you got up close and realized I could drink away your soul.

  At last the human came over to the door, and as soon as he opened it, I leaped into his arms and gave a sweet little shiver and sniff. “Thank you so much.”

  “Shh,” he soothed. “Come in. What’s wrong? Is someone after you?”

  If this were a private house, the man would have sealed his doom. Thankfully, him inviting me into the facility wasn’t necessary. I followed him to the lobby and waited for him to relock the doors and then glamoured him into forgetting I’d ever been there.

  “Go sit down at your desk, and don’t notice if you see me on the monitor.”

  He mumbled my order as he carried it out.

  I paused. “Wait, is the video recorded?”

  “Yes.”

  “Show me.”

  We went through the hassle of finding the video and pausing it. I wondered if there might be other recordings offsite, but I couldn’t let it stop me. If only I could cloak, then the video would mean nothing. Oh well, I needed to keep going. The second guard was again more of a breeze than the first. I was getting better at glamouring, and desperation kept me from stumbling over word choices. When I reached the room where Nathan was being held, I discovered they had turned the lights down low, and a bed had been put into the room. Nathan crouched on the bed, fully awake and eyes reflecting the dim lighting.

  I unlocked the door, and when I opened it, he stood on the other side.

  “Rue.”

  “I’ve come to take you home, Nathan. Will you stay calm and come along?”

  “Of course.” He spoke the word matter-of-factly, but I felt the simmering anger. I worried I wouldn’t be able to control him, but I refused to leave him there.

  I extended a hand to him. “Let’s go.”

  He stepped forward and put his hand in mine. We left using the route I came. I made extra sure the guards didn’t remember anything after I secured fresh clothing for Nathan from one of them. Unfortunately, the day staff couldn’t be glamoured, nor the doctor who was on his way from wherever. I didn’t care. I had Nathan.

  We were soon outside and walking along the street. If I could catch the wind, I’d be home in no time, but Nathan couldn’t move at my speed, not in his human form. I hesitated to push him because he might change or get worked up. We moved in silence, but there was so much I wanted to ask him, starting with Dalton and what happened that day he found him. From what I could sense from Nathan, he seemed confused, almost disconnected from what we were doing. Was this the result of my previous talk with him, or was it his way of coping?

  “We can go to your apartment,” I suggested, and he pulled his hand from mine. “Nathan?”

  He didn’t look at me. “No, not there. I can’t. Maybe not until after the full moon.”

  I glanced up at the sky toward the pale orb. Nathan seemed to avoid doing the same as if he couldn’t allow his gaze even a glimpse of the moon. We were running out of time. “Is it making it harder for you to grieve?”

  “The moon makes every emotion a thousand times stronger.”

  Days before a full moon he finds a man who is like his brother murdered, and it brings him to the brink of losing his mind. The worst possible experience happened to Nathan at the worst possible time. I found myself grieving with him.

  I stopped moving and stood in front of him, a hand on his chest. Nathan looked straight into my eyes. An odd feeling came over me on that dark road, and I searched my mind for a connection to Ian. As before, there was nothing, just empty space. I called to him, but I knew it was useless. He had cut me off.

  “Ian, I don’t know if you can hear me, but it’s over. We’re done.”

  No response. My heart broke, but I had already accepted it, sometime after I discovered the truth. He could have no explanation as far as I was co
ncerned, and I didn’t owe him one in return. Nathan needed me, and to be honest I needed him as well. I loved Ian still, but I had also come to care for Nathan, more than I realized.

  “We’ll find somewhere,” I said, taking his hand.

  Chapter Eleven

  I ran a hand through my hair to assist the suds to rinse away. After a few more minutes of enjoying the warmth, I turned off the tap and slid the shower curtain aside. Nathan stood in the doorway leaning against the jamb. He’d folded his arms over his chest and watched me as I climbed out of the shower.

  “Was it pity?” he said.

  I reached for a towel and held it up to myself. “What?”

  He snatched the towel away. “You heard me. Was it pity that made you sleep with me?”

  “No, of course not. You know me better than that.” I strode closer to him, and he captured me with a hand at either side of my waist and raised me off my feet. When he kissed me, I shut my eyes and tilted my head back, allowing him to explore my mouth. I did a little exploring of my own and tangled my fingers in his hair.

  Nathan’s mouth was hot, in fact his whole body was, and all through the night until dawn, we made love. I sensed his continued anger, but his touch never ceased to be gentle. When it had come time for me to rest, we stripped the bed and hung all the lining over the hotel room window to block out the sun. After that, Nathan held me in his arms until night fell again.

  At last, he set me on my feet, and I snatched my towel back from him to dry what water hadn’t evaporated from the heat of his body.

  “Rue.”

  “Yes?”

  He stirred from the doorway and walked in the room. I followed.

  “I’m going to the others, and we’re going to hunt down and kill the cat shifters.” He said it so calmly one would think he felt no emotion at all. I sensed he was wound tight.

  “Nathan, no, please wait.” I grabbed his arm, but he shook me off.

  His gaze burned into mine, the rage surfacing again. All he needed was a push from the others, and I knew Nathan would snap. “You weren’t there. I saw him.”

  “I know. Can you tell me about it?” Time. If I could get him to give me just a pinch more, an idea was forming in my head, but I hadn’t yet gotten the pieces to come together. I needed information. “What were you doing in that empty house?”

  He glanced at me with suspicion in his gaze and then sank to the side of the bed. “I was there because I tracked him. He wasn’t answering his cell, and I needed to talk to him about a few things. I figured he was wooing a woman, and patience and me don’t go well during this time of the month.”

  “Does it ever?” I teased. No one I knew was as enthusiastic and gung-ho as Nathan. I missed that in him. Right now, he was broody.

  “Because I had already been looking for him, I was real close when it happened. I should have caught the one that did it, but when I saw Dalton, I lost my mind, Rue.”

  “I know.” I sat down beside him and wrapped both arms around his broad torso. He hung his head, and the pain that radiated from him overwhelmed me. Still, I refused to let go.

  Horror filled Nathan’s eyes as he stared at the floor. “He… He was gone. I sensed no life, no regeneration, just death, and there was blood everywhere. I thought if I could put him back together…”

  The image he drew made me wince, but I encouraged him to keep going, to get it all out. I knew it helped to talk to someone else.

  “I have the cat shifter’s scent, Rue,” he said, “and we’re going to destroy them all. Don’t try to stand in my way.”

  “I won’t, but you should know I’ve been investigating this thing while you were locked in that facility. The shifter who killed Dalton is nowhere to be found.”

  “I’ll find him!”

  “No, you won’t.”

  He narrowed his eyes at me.

  “Not during a full moon,” I hurried to say.

  “This is the best time. My senses are at their sharpest.”

  “And your aggression at its wildest.”

  He rose to his feet and started toward the bathroom. “Stop worrying about me. I’m in my right mind now. I can take care of this, and it’s my right being wolf to avenge Dalton. This situation doesn’t concern you.”

  I stood up, hands on my hips. “Because I’m vampire?”

  He stopped walking and faced me. “Yes, actually. Your kind joins covens for advantage, not because you care about the people who stand with you. We are family the instant we join hands, and we will die for one another.”

  I couldn’t believe Nathan of all people was calling me a cold-blooded vampire. I thought he wouldn’t judge me like the others. “You weren’t a part of the pack!”

  “Because I couldn’t be, not because I didn’t want to.”

  I blinked. “What?”

  He ran a hand over his hair. “I’m a stronger alpha than Dalton was.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “No, I’m not. It’s not that alphas can’t be a part of the same pack. The problem is joining with them heightens and strengthens everything we are. Think about it. I more than any of the others have a problem with my anger. I’m over the top. I know that, and joining the pack would be like egging me on. Eventually, I would have challenged Dalton for leadership, and one of us would die, most likely him.”

  Nathan said all of this without sounding like he thought too much of himself. That alone made it clear what he said was simple truth. He would rather have stayed friends with Dalton and remained outside of the “family” than to end up fighting and killing him.

  “You’re right, Nathan. I don’t know what you werewolves feel and how intensely you feel it. Every day, I sense I’m losing a little of my old self. However, what keeps me from panicking as these changes happen is the one thing that has stayed the same. My love.”

  I approached him and stood close but didn’t touch him.

  “I love my son with all my heart and soul, if I still have a soul that is. I would kill for him in a heart beat. That hasn’t changed, and I know it won’t. I love Ian.”

  At my mention of my sire and now ex-boyfriend, who I had told Nathan about on a previous occasion, he bared his teeth and brought his hands down on my shoulders to drag me closer to his chest. The move was a possessive one if ever I saw it. I didn’t mind.

  “And I love you, Nathan. I would kill for you. Do you understand that?”

  A fleeting smile appeared on his face, reminding me of the carefree man I cared for, but then it was gone. “Then come with us and fight by my side.”

  I pulled out of his hold. “No. If you love me, give me two days. That’s all I ask. Stay away from the wolves, and let me find the person responsible. I’ve been to see the cat shifters, and I assure you that person is not there among them.”

  “My sense of smell is better than yours. I’ll go, and if it’s the way you say it is, I’ll beat a name and location out of Hyatt.” This time he did sound arrogant.

  “Oh, really? Well what happens when he doesn’t tell you because he doesn’t know?”

  Nathan frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean Hyatt doesn’t know where the killer is.”

  “Did you go see him? If he told you that, he’s lying.” He pounded one meaty fist into the other palm. “I’ll get him to tell.”

  I shook my head. “Nathan, he doesn’t know.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “Because I read his mind.”

  He went still, eyes widening. “You read minds now? You’re growing, little vampire.”

  “Don’t call me that. I’m aware everyone thinks I’m a baby who doesn’t know anything—oh, wait, a cold-blooded baby, but—”

  He kissed me and stroked my cheek. “I’m sorry. I don’t think of you as cold-blooded even if I do think you don’t fully understand us. I trust you, Rue. You have one night, tonight. I’ll stay out of the way, but tomorrow night, we hunt. Got it?”

  One night to save everyone.
Wonderful.

  * * * *

  Nathan and I went our separate ways, him to get far enough that the other wolves wouldn’t realize he was out of the institution. I trusted him enough to believe he would give me time. However, being away from me his mind might cloud again, and he could sink into that abyss of despair. At that point, he might even forget he had made me a promise and just hunt the cats on his own.

  Tonight, he had said. I had to get to the library. When I arrived, I shouted, “Bill!” No answer. I tried Lily, but she didn’t appear either. The place looked deserted. For someone who claimed such a devotion to his work, Bill sure was absent a lot, at least he was whenever I came by. Of course, our session wasn’t until later. Maybe that’s why he’d taken the time. Bill kept others from visiting the library when the dreaded vampire presented herself.

  I scanned the library to find only a few stacks visible. Walking along one, fingering the various volumes, I didn’t find any that came even close to the subject I needed. What was I going to do?

  “Bill, where are you?” I shouted again. “I need a book on werewolf weaknesses.”

  I tensed when the stacks on both sides of me shifted. They disappeared and reappeared, but I was pretty sure the books that lined them were not the same ones from a second ago. Investigating closer, I discovered all of those on the left were books written in the twenty-first century. The stacks on my right contained older volumes dating back several centuries and included reference books at least four inches thick. I chose one at random from this group and read the title.

  “Known Strengths and Weaknesses of Nonhumans.”

  Jeez, this must be what it meant to be impartial. Knowing my own weaknesses were included for any visitor to the library didn’t sit right with me, but there was nothing I could do about it.

  When I flipped the cover open, I came to the table of contents and glided my finger down the list. I came to vampires and paused, tempted beyond reason, but then I forced myself to move on. Time was of the essence. Near the end, just after vampires was what I was looking for—werewolves.