It took less than ten minutes to locate the nature trails. On such a hot weekday, there were only a few other cars in the parking lot. A sign boasted acres of wooded trails.
Both smiling savagely, they got out of the car. It felt like the temperature might be a hundred degrees, but anticipating the cooler woods, she didn’t mind.
Holding hands, they started up the trail, looking for a perfect place to change.
As soon as they entered the forest, she felt a significant drop in temperature. “Amazing what some shade and damp earth will do to help you get through summer.”
He shot her a sideways look. “It might be cooler, but it feels twice as humid. We won’t notice it so much as wolves, though.”
As wolves. She felt almost giddy with the knowledge that in a few minutes she could let her lupine nature free. Though they’d shifted together before, this time, walking as humans hand in hand down the wooded path, there was an amazing sense of intimacy in the knowledge that they would share something so vital.
They were going to change together again, but this time with the full knowledge that they were a mated pair. As a child, she’d watched other couples lope side by side among the pack, hunt as a team and soak up the sun in dappled clearings. Though she’d been young, she’d yearned for the day when she’d have her own mate.
The day had finally arrived. Mac was her mate. She’d told him the truth and, while he hadn’t rejoiced at the news, he hadn’t rejected it outright, either.
Of course, what choice did he have? What choice did either of them have in the end?
Still, with her hand clasped firmly inside his large one and her wolf pacing inside, eager to break free, she felt a moment’s contentment.
Then she thought of his children and her family, and that feeling vanished. Suddenly, she realized what she must do. Once again, as seemed to happen so often in this life of hers, she really had no choice.
“Mac?” Squeezing his hand, she stopped and faced him, taking his other hand in hers. “I’ve been thinking and you’re right. After this, let’s tell Ian that you’ll trade me for your kids. As long as we have a good plan, I see no reason why we all won’t get out.”
He searched her face. “Are you sure?”
She wasn’t, but both for his sake and because destiny kept pushing them forward, testing their resolve, she managed a smile and nodded. “Very sure,” she lied.
The look of sheer joy that transformed his handsome face made it all worth it.
“We’ll work on a plan,” he promised, pulling her close and giving her a long, deep kiss that had her head spinning.
She nodded. “It’d better be a hell of a good one. Otherwise, we’re both as good as dead.”
His grim look let her know that he understood. “And my kids will be orphans.”
Though the presence of other cars in the parking lot told of humans, they didn’t run into anyone as they went deeper into the forest. Veering from the trail, Mac led her to a glade lit with dappled sunlight.
“Here,” he said simply.
Side by side, they began removing their clothes, folding them and stacking them neatly on a large rock.
When they were both completely naked, they faced each other. Kelly took note of the flare of desire in his eyes, felt her own need swell up, warring with that of her wolf.
Instead of giving in, she channeled that energy into the change. Across from her, Mac did the same.
Her own transformation was swift this time, fueled by her inner beast’s raging need to break free. Even so, when she opened her eyes as wolf, Wolf-Mac stood across from her, his fur burnished copper in the sun, his dark eyes gleaming.
And they were off running, side by side, tongues lolling. Only as wolf did Kelly feel so completely alive, free of human constraints like time and manners. Living fully through her senses, alive with a single-minded focus that mankind could never experience.
Wolves and their mates. Never before had she realized what it would be like, to run wild, free and unfettered, yet irrevocably tethered to another.
She felt liberated somehow, knowing he was with her, that he’d have her back. Her companion. Her mate.
Glancing at him, again she marveled at his sheer size, his strength. As wolf, her thought processes were completely different—no abstract thought or complicated equations. That was one of the things she loved about existing as her other self—she lived in the immediate here and now. Completely in the present, living moment by moment, no worries about past or future. Just now. With the virile male wolf running at her side.
Reveling in the sheer joy of being wolf, they ran. Each time they scented humans, they veered to another direction. Rabbits fled from them in a panic, and doves and mockingbirds took flight.
Side by side, they ran until spent, until they could run no more. Then, panting, they lay on their bellies in the damp wet earth and enjoyed simply existing in the here and now.
This day, they didn’t hunt, as having fed recently while human meant their wolf selves were not hungry. Instead, after a brief rest, they looked at each other and turned as one to return to the place where they’d left their clothing.
Then, flanks touching, they gazed deep into each other’s eyes and began the change back to human.
Bare seconds passed before she found herself on the ground, completely naked and fully aroused. One glance at Mac showed he was the same.
They came together, passion exploding. There in the forest where they felt most at home, with leaves and trees and wildlife all around them, they cemented their partnership, mating with more than just their bodies. They mated with their hearts and their minds, as well.
Afterward, fully spent, she lay in his arms and allowed herself to relish the moment. All too aware that in an instant they would have to go back to reality, and trying to deal with the awful situation.
Thinking of that, she rolled over, away from him, and retrieved her cell phone.
“One missed call,” she read out loud. Of course. “Ian.”
Mac jumped to his feet and began getting dressed. After a moment, she did the same. The knowledge that Ian had called, though not completely unexpected, put a damper on her mood. Actually, that was putting it mildly. It felt like the sun had gone out of the sky, the joy sucked from the air.
“We have to deal with him sooner or later,” Mac said, fully dressed. He held out his hand for her to take. “Let’s find a bench somewhere and start making phone calls. Maybe you can find someone willing to talk.”
She nodded, slipping her fingers into his. “Maybe,” she said. But now she didn’t really believe it.
They located a bench in a sunny spot near the trailhead. Taking a seat, she pulled out her phone and scrolled through her contacts.
“I’m just going to go alphabetically,” she told him. “The first one willing to talk to me will be the one.”
The first three numbers rang, then went to a generic, computer-generated voice mail, per protocol. The fourth went to a recording that stated the number was not a working number, which sent a chill up her spine.
Finally, on the fifth attempt, her second cousin Siobhan answered, her voice hushed.
“Who is this?” she whispered. “If you think you can find me, you’ve got another thought coming.”
Then, before Kelly could speak and identify herself, Siobhan disconnected the call.
“She hung up on me!” Kelly told Mac, immediately pushing redial. This time, the phone rang three times before going to voice mail. Shaking her head, she closed the phone. “She thinks someone is after her.” She repeated what Siobhan had said.
She’d barely finished when her phone rang.
“Ian again?”
Glancing at caller ID, her heart leapt. “No. It’s Siobhan, calling me back.”
“Hello?” Barely had Kelly gotten the single word out when Siobhan began to speak, rapid-fire.
“Kelly, if this is you, you’d better hide. Danny and Ian have gone crazy and they’re t
rying to make their own harem or something. From what I hear, they’ve got some sort of compound out in west Texas. So far they’ve impregnated ten or more women, including both our sisters.”
Kelly gasped, shocked. “I didn’t know they’d gone that far.” She swallowed. “Where are you, Siobhan? Wait, don’t answer that. Just tell me, are you safe?”
“As safe as I can be for the moment.” Siobhan sounded weary and far older than her twenty-three years. “This constantly being on the run is exhausting. I don’t understand why the men won’t get together and stand up against Danny and Ian.”
“I think it’s because of the way he’s presenting this. Everyone believed outsiders were taking the girls. We thought my sister, Bonnie, had been kidnapped. Until yesterday, no one even realized what Danny and Ian were doing.”
“I did,” Siobhan said darkly. “Ever since Ian tried to force himself on me. What do you mean? What happened yesterday?”
Kelly filled her in on the big gathering. Siobhan groaned. “So right now they have everyone held at gunpoint. That makes no sense.”
Suddenly realizing what Siobhan meant, Kelly’s heart dropped into her stomach. “You don’t think they’ll…?” She couldn’t complete the sentence.
“I hope not. But Kelly, how did you escape?”
Again, Kelly gave her the details. Hanging up, Siobhan promised to pass on any new information she learned.
Once Kelly told Mac everything, he sat silently, lost in thought. “Everything is beginning to make sense. Even the attack with the silver bullets when I first met you.”
She crossed her arms. “Yes, but if they were coming to capture me, which I’m assuming they were, why the silver bullets?”
“Because that’s the only thing that can make you weak. Especially since it won’t kill you, but it’s usually enough to bring your kind down for an hour or two. Long enough for them to subdue you and get you transported.”
“And the fact that they shot you?”
“Incidental. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I got in their way, so they killed me.”
“And now I’m of no use to them.” Now the time had come to tell him the rest of what their binding meant. “Since you and I are mated, my body will accept no other seed. I cannot get pregnant, except by you.”
He stared at her, his gaze narrow. “In other words…”
“I’m completely useless to Danny and Ian. The only reason they could want me is to make an example of me, to punish me for what I’ve done—mated with an outsider.”
“You mean they’ll—”
“Kill me. I think so. Yes.”
“I won’t let that happen.” As he looked away, she could see from his stunned expression that another thought had occurred to him. “What about Maggie?” he said, his voice low with pain. “She and I never spoke the words of binding. Does that mean Isobel and Caleb aren’t really mine?”
He deserved an honest answer, but she couldn’t bring herself to destroy what little he had left. “Until we take the vow, we can get pregnant by any man of our choice, human or shifter or Tearlach. It’s only after we do so that our bodies will accept only one man.”
For the space of a heartbeat he continued to stare at her and she thought he might challenge her. Then, jaw tight, he nodded and she almost let herself sag with relief.
“There are DNA tests, you know,” he said, almost to himself. “I could find out the truth about their paternity and settle things once and for all.”
“Would that really matter to you?” she asked gently, touching his arm, relieved when he didn’t jerk away.
“No.” His rough voice was laced with pain. “I don’t think Maggie would have done that to me. And even if she did, this is not about her. I love them. They’re all I have left of their mother and they’re a very real part of me. Regardless of biology, Isobel and Caleb are mine.”
Tears pricked her eyes at his words and she nodded. She suddenly realized exactly how much she loved this man.
He leaned over and kissed her. “Come on. We already know more than we did yesterday.”
She allowed him to pull her to her feet. Side by side they walked the path back to the parking lot and their truck. “Now what?” she asked.
“Now we’ve just got to find out where in west Texas they are. That’s a vast area, so we need to narrow it down some.”
“How do you propose to do that?”
Opening the driver’s-side door, he got in, waiting while she did the same. Once she’d buckled in, he turned the key in the ignition and started the truck. “I think it’s time for me to call Ian and up the stakes a little.”
Chapter 14
Her eyes widened, but she nodded. Pleased that she agreed, Mac held out his hand, waiting patiently while Kelly dug out her phone.
When she handed it to him, her fingers trembled. He wanted to hold her and tell her everything would be all right, but he couldn’t lie. And, he reflected wryly, even if he could have, she’d know. Right now he had his own doubts. About everything, including the very foundation he’d built his entire existence on. He couldn’t help but wonder if his whole life had been based on a completely false premise. If everything he’d believed in and fought for was nothing but an illusion.
He thought back to something Ian had said the first time they met, back in Fort Worth. He’d asked why Mac was still alive. A horrible thought occurred to him. Though he tried to shake it off, it just wouldn’t go.
“Kelly?” He touched her shoulder, needing the contact for support. “Do you think it’s possible that Danny and Ian had something to do with Maggie’s death?” he asked. “That they could have killed her as punishment for mating with me?”
Once the ugly words were out in the open, he almost wanted to take them back. But he couldn’t. The possibility was just too real. He had to know, even if it ripped his heart from his chest.
Expression miserable, Kelly met his gaze. “Maybe. I don’t know. But it’s entirely possible, knowing what Ian and Danny are up to. They would have had no way of knowing you and she hadn’t spoken the words of binding. By killing her, they would have believed they were killing you, too.”
“And leaving my children alone, ripe for the plucking.” He swore, a string of virulent curses that he’d learned in the first year of Protector Academy. Maybe that was why Maggie had refused to speak the damned words with him. She hadn’t wanted to leave their children alone, as unprotected orphans. The back of his throat ached with emotion, though he’d be damned if he’d cry. He’d only cried a few times in his life—on the day his wife was killed, and then when he’d returned home to find his babysitter unconscious and his children missing. Most recently, the sound of his daughter’s voice had brought him to tears.
No, he wouldn’t cry now. He’d vent his rage instead. Looking about him wildly, needing to punch something, hit something, destroy something, he found nothing but the interior of their stolen pickup and Kelly. Sweet, patient Kelly, watching him with sympathy in her lovely green eyes.
So he swore some more, though mere words were an inadequate substitute for a punching bag.
When he finally wound down, she reached for him and wrapped her arms around him, holding on tight. Her scent, light and feminine, smelling faintly like roses, calmed him.
They sat together like that for a moment, unmoving. He felt a faint flicker of desire, which he ruthlessly quashed. Despite that, as she held him, he welcomed the warmth that flooded him, making him feel alive and giving him hope. Maybe, despite his pessimistic estimate of their chances of success, things would work out. He’d rescue the twins and together with Kelly, they’d become a happy family.
He decided he’d cling to that hope and use it to propel him through what was to come.
“Thank you,” he murmured against the fragrant skin of her neck.
When she raised her head, her gaze was troubled. “You and Maggie had something special, didn’t you?”
Realizing her fear, he kissed her che
ek. “We did. But I have room in my life for you, I promise. We’re mates, for better or for worse.”
If she noticed he made no mention of love, she didn’t comment.
Pulling away from her, he connected his own seat belt. He hesitated before he put the shifter in Drive, though he kept his foot on the brake.
She watched silently while he studied her phone. Though he sensed the questions in her eyes, he didn’t raise his head. Instead, he punched the button to redial the last missed call.
Ian answered on the second ring. “Talk to me.”
Finding this ironic and amusing, Mac had to bite his tongue to keep from popping off with a remark about Ian having watched too many detective shows. Instead, he made his tone cautiously civil.
“I want to meet,” he said. “As soon as possible.”
“Have you considered my proposal?” Ian asked, his voice an odd combination of jovial and guarded.
“Yes.” Mac glanced at Kelly, sitting ramrod straight in the seat next to him, her eyes troubled and still full of questions. “I’m thinking it’s a go.”
Ian made a rude sound. “I don’t believe you. Does she know?” His voice rose, became sharper. “Have you told Kelly about my offer?”
“Of course not.” Mac didn’t have to fake his disdain. “Stupid question. Now, do you want to meet or not?”
After a thoughtful pause, Ian chuckled. “Point taken. I’d say the sooner we can make this exchange, the better. Are you available this afternoon?”
Something in the smoothness of his tone told Mac that Ian was lying. He had no intention of trading anyone for anything. The bastard probably didn’t even know where the twins were being held.
Wishing he could take hunches as truth, Mac grimaced. On the off chance that he was wrong, they would have to go through with this charade. “Where and when?”
“I’m no longer in Fort Worth.” Ian sounded pleased. “I have a vacation home on the shores of Richland Chambers Reservoir. It’s isolated and heavily guarded, just in case you’re planning on pulling anything. Meet me there at four o’clock. Come alone, you and Kelly and no one else.”
Pack 11 - Wolf Whisperer Page 18