by Roxy Wilson
Rather than take a walk, she went to the far side of the garden to the same spot where she saw the wolf. No paw prints marred the grass, and yet she was positive she’d seen him. The animal was real. What was it doing within the boundaries of the wall? Where did it come from? She’d seen the creature, and it seemed very alert, domesticated even. With all that happened between her and Keran, she totally forgot to mention it to him. Generally, Devyn was afraid of all animals, but with the wolf, she’d felt at ease. It wasn’t a savage creature that would have attacked. Even though she saw it from far, Devyn was sure even if she ventured near, it wouldn’t have hurt her.
Odd, how she could feel such strong affinity with such an animal?
Devyn sat on the grass as she contemplated all that was going on in her life. Everything seemed like a new adventure, and she was game for it because it brought her closer to the ultimate happiness of living with Justin and Keran. They were the two big loves of her life now and she didn’t want to lose them. Not at any cost. Suddenly, she was startled by Keran’s presence. He walked under the trees. From the way his eyes glittered and his hands clenched tight by his sides, she could tell something was wrong. Devyn sprang to her feet. “What happened? Did you get any news? Is Justin okay?”
He stopped a few feet away from her.
Ordinarily, she would have covered the distance between them without a second thought but for some reason, the way he stared at her made her stomach churn. Something was seriously amiss. She’d never seen him look so grim before, not even when he came inside the house and confronted her for the first time after Justin’s kidnapping.
“Where is he?”
“Who?” she asked.
“Justin? Where is my son?”
Devyn stared blankly at him. What was he talking about? If she had any idea where Justin was, would she have kept that secret from him? Hell no! “What are you talking about?”
Keran curled his lips and bared his teeth.
She fought hard to hold back the scream that threatened to escape her lips. This wasn’t a man of reason. He was blinded by some kind of rage. She had no idea what brought this on, but she was quite aware that right now she was at the receiving end of this storm and if she didn’t take care, she might get swept away, hurt.
“You know where he is,” he snapped out the words as if they were bullets he was launching towards her. “That man was known to you. It was you who helped them plan this. How else would they have known that I wasn’t in town?” Keran’s nostrils flared. “Someone, you, gave them all the information. Like an idiot, I left my child with you, thinking you would protect him. That’s why you wanted me to go alone. This was your plan all along.”
His words washed over her and she damned near drowned in the sea of hatred he directed towards her. The things he said, she wished she was dead before she heard them. How could he accuse her of conspiring with the kidnappers?
Had he gone mad?
Did the grief drive him to this state?
Even though she was hurt beyond measure by his baseless accusations, Devyn felt strongly enough about him to give him the benefit of doubt. Surely, he would realize soon enough that he was on the wrong track. She wouldn’t ever do anything to hurt Justin. The mere idea of it was ridiculous. Devyn cleared her throat. “Keran, I don’t really know what you’re talking about. I had nothing to do with the kidnapping. Why would I do such a thing?”
“For money,” he spat out the words. His eyes narrowed. “Or perhaps you’re involved with them in some other way.”
The hot licks of panic burned her skin. “Them? Who are them?”
“The kidnappers. They aren’t in it for the money. We’ve received the first message, as you knew we would. That is why you reassured me Justin would be home soon. You were perfectly aware they would make the first contact before long. My God! And I was lured by your innocent face and those big, dark eyes.” Keran pounded his fists against his thighs. “Did you come here to seduce me, so you could find a way to make me leave my son in your care?”
She’d heard enough. Moments earlier, she was contemplating the depths of her feelings for Keran. How could she have considered that she ever loved this man? He didn’t have any redeeming qualities. How could he stand there and accuse her of all manner of things when she’d done all she could to help him? He wasn’t reasonable right now. There would be no point talking to him. Whatever she said would fall on deaf ears. It was better to put some distance between them, so he had time to think about what he was saying.
Devyn spun around and dashed towards the house. She heard a ferocious growl behind her. The sound made her blood freeze in her veins. If she was in the forest, and she heard this noise, she would have assumed she was being chased by an animal. But of course, she was on safe ground. No danger lurked behind her.
Then suddenly, a massive, monstrous wolf leapt over her head and blocked her path.
The scream that burst out of her mouth reverberated in the garden.
What the hell?
Where did the animal come from?
She shuffled back and nearly fell. Was it the same animal she saw that night? Was it hiding in the grove of trees all along? Did it hurt Keran? Even though she was scared, Devyn whipped her head around to look for Keran but he was nowhere to be seen. She turned back to face the animal. “Keran!” she screamed out his name.
Had the wolf dragged him behind the trees?
Was he hurt?
Was he alive?
Much to her shock, the wolf suddenly shuddered. Every muscle in its body shook and trembled and then it changed. There were just no words adequate enough to describe the transformation she witnessed. The muscles stretched and expanded. The sleek gray fur changed into clothes and skin. Then, right before her stood Keran in the same place where the wolf was. Her limbs shook. It was only a matter of time before she collapsed on the ground with the shock of this revelation. She’d seen enough science fiction and fantasy movies, but nothing in her life ever prepared her to witness this event.
Who is he?
What is he?
“Keran, y-you—”
“Oh, please. Don’t pretend you didn’t know I was a shape-shifter. You’re working for the other guys,” he snarled.
“What other guys?” she screamed even though nothing made sense any more. The man she loved, the man whom she nearly worshipped, wasn’t nearly as normal as she thought.
“They sent an email today to my personal account. How did they know what it was? You knew it and gave it to them. They have my son, and they want to exchange him.”
She had no clue what he was talking about. Who were they? And what did they want in exchange for Justin? Devyn didn’t know what to say. She was incapable of speech. All the breath seemed to have left her body. She couldn’t concentrate on what he said. The man was insane. He isn’t human.
Devyn stepped back as he stalked towards her. She’d never thought she would ever feel scared of him, but she was. He was dangerous. She could see that, and in the mood he was in, he would likely hurt her. Kill her? She couldn’t discount the possibility. “Keran, please. I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
“The new gang that came into our territory. You’re working for them. It’s obvious. Their presence coincided with yours for a reason, and I was stupid enough not to see it. Are you involved with one of them? Is that why you weren’t scared of me last night when you saw me in the garden?” He shook his head. “And you had me convinced you were scared of animals. Please! I was a blind fool when it came to you. And how you must have laughed. I made love to you. Oh, God! Where is my son?” he demanded to know again.
It seemed impossible to reason with him when he was in this mood. Devyn had never been as afraid as she was now. He would kill her. She could see that. There was something wrong with him. His eyes glittered like hard stones. If she wasn’t careful, he might hit her, hurt her. If he turned into a wolf again, he might maim her.
Damn it! What had she gott
en herself into?
It felt as if she was trapped in a bad nightmare from which there was no escape. She wanted to open her eyes and find the man she loved beside her. But there was no possibility of that. He was here with her, but he hated her, and he wasn’t human. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about. Please listen to me.” The growl he let out actually made her shudder. She shivered as he came closer to her. If she’d known he wasn’t human, she wouldn’t have taken this job. Now, he revealed all this after she was already emotionally invested in him and his son. Her instinct was to run away, but she had a bad feeling about that idea. He would chase her, and there was no way she would win if he changed into his wolf form again.
“I’m done listening to you,” he said.
“I had nothing to do with the kidnapping!” she yelled.
“Why were you planning to leave then? We saw the plane bookings. You’re scheduled to leave tonight.”
Damn it! After all that had happened, she’d forgotten that Keran’s actual return date was supposed to be tonight. She’d intended to leave right after he came home. When he left, she’d made up her mind she couldn’t deal with this intense attraction she felt for him. Her gut reaction was to put as much distance between them as possible. If she got involved with him, she was fairly certain Justin would get hurt. She never wanted that. It’d been her decision to leave the house after he came back, so that there wasn’t any time for him to convince her to change her mind, but after Justin was kidnapped, she forgot about her plane booking and earlier plans.
“I did that before Justin was kidnapped.”
“Lies, all lies. You haven’t told me a single truth since you came here. Who are you, really? Who hired you? What did they tell you? And where have they kept my son?”
If there was anything she could do to get Justin back, she would do it, but this was way beyond her control. She didn’t really have any idea as to what he talked about. “I don’t know anything!” Devyn screamed. She’d had enough of this nonsense. Even though she was scared of what he might do, she was more incensed with the realization that he actually believed this crap. She loved this man, and he didn’t even respect her enough to consider her words and realize she was telling the truth.
“I don’t believe you.”
“It doesn’t matter what you believe or not. The truth is I intended to leave here as soon as you got back. That’s why I got the booking done. When Justin was kidnapped, I forgot about it. After last night—I didn’t have any intention of leaving…until now. Obviously, I wasted my time with the wrong man. If you think I’m capable of cold-bloodedly kidnapping a child, then you’re not the man I thought you were. And you’re wasting your time because the longer you look at me as a suspect, the greater the chance that the real culprits will get away.”
“I’ll find my son.”
“And I hope you do, because maybe that will convince you I’m innocent.”
He reached her before she had a chance to step back. His hands gripped her arms and his nails dug into her flesh. She felt the hot burn of them, but more than that she was hurt by the hatred she saw in his eyes. He didn’t believe her. While she’d been spinning dreams about the two of them, he listened to nonsense about her and believed it, without giving her a chance to explain. Devyn opened her mouth to give him a piece of her mind, but the shock of what she saw and heard proved to be too much. She actually felt dizzy. The rush of blood to her head made her sway. As she collapsed into his arms, her last thought was that she loved the wrong man.
It was her loss—and hers only.
Now, she wouldn’t ever be able to trust another man. That is, if she got out of this situation alive. The future was now too uncertain, and it was with some blissful relief that she finally allowed her mind to blank out.
Tomorrow would take care of itself.
***STAY TUNED FOR VOLUME 2***
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Books by Roxy Wilson
Newest Releases:
This Time, Baby (A Bundle of Joy, Book 5)
My Guardian Vampire, Volume 1
Just Gettin’ Started: BWWM Interracial Cowboy/Western Romance (Westbury Ranch, Book 1)
Stay With Me: BWWM Interracial Cowboy/Western Romance (Westbury Ranch Book 2)
Ms. Perfectly Imperfect
Other Books -
Baby Wanted (A Bundle of Joy, Book 1)
The Baby Proposal (A Bundle of Joy, Book 2)
Baby, You’re Mine (A Bundle of Joy, Book 3)
Secret Baby Seduction (A Bundle of Joy, Book 4)
A Christmas Kiss (Holiday Happiness, Book 1)
Second Chance Christmas (Holiday Happiness, Book 2)
The Christmas Cupid (Holiday Happiness, Book 3)
Mistletoe Miracles
Loving St. Nick
Work It Out
The Right Kind of Love
He’s So Into You
Love in Black and White (Sam Crescent, Jamallah Bergman, Roxy Wilson, et al)
About the Author
Roxy Wilson, a self-professed book junkie, was born and bred in a beautiful island in the Caribbean.
When Roxy isn’t reading or writing, she spends her time trying out recipes with her daughter, designing and dress making, listening to music of the 80’s and 90’s or engaging in her favorite workout routine, which is 1-clicking a new book to read, to her heart’s content.
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