True Nature

by Jae

  Danny’s temples pounded. I’m a shape-shifter. Kelsey’s my aunt. And she’s here because of some self-fulfilling prophecy. A week ago, his biggest problem had been how to sneak out at night without Rue noticing. Now his life resembled a science fiction movie—one he didn’t understand because it had no closed captions. He pushed up from the bed and headed toward the door.

  The floor vibrated beneath him.

  When he turned, he saw that Rue was stomping to get his attention. “Wait,” she signed. “You can’t leave.”

  “You just watch me.”

  “No, I mean you can’t. The men outside…” Rue again glanced at Kelsey, who jumped in to explain.

  “They are Saru.” Kelsey finger-spelled the word, then added, “Soldiers. They’re guarding us to make sure we don’t escape and tell the world about the shape-shifters’ existence.”

  Danny’s skin itched as if he had rolled around in a patch of stinging nettle. His temples pounded. Too much. It was too much to take in. He wanted to cover his eyes with his hands as he had done when he was a little boy, refusing to listen to another word.

  Rue crossed the room toward him and directed his head up so he was looking at her. “We’ll leave you alone for a while to digest all of this. But please tell the Saru to come find me when you are ready to talk.”

  Danny wasn’t sure if he had nodded or not, but Rue finally slipped from the room with Kelsey following her, leaving him standing frozen in the middle of the room.

  Chapter 62

  Kelsey closed the fridge and peered out of the kitchen. Under the pretense of needing more food, she had sneaked out of the living room, where Tala wanted her to stay while she had sent Rue upstairs to the bedroom on the third floor, keeping them separated so they couldn’t hatch an escape plan.

  Rafael was standing guard in front of the barricaded front door. He allowed her to move around the ground floor freely but didn’t let her out of his sight.

  Maybe he doesn’t know Tala doesn’t want me upstairs with Rue. As inconspicuously as possible, Kelsey walked toward the spiral staircase.

  Footfalls sounded behind her. “Where are you going?” Rafael moved to block her way.

  “I...um...” Kelsey glanced up the stairs. “I just want to spend some time with Rue...in her bedroom. If the council orders us killed, it might be the last time we can be together.” She didn’t need to fake her fearful expression.

  Flushing, Rafael stared at her. “So my nose was right. I mean, you and the human...?” He shook himself. “That wasn’t just something you said to trick us.”

  “No,” Kelsey said. “I really slept with Rue.”

  “I don’t understand it. You’re nice and attractive.” His blush deepened, but he continued, “You could have any Syak you wanted. Why mate with a human?”

  Kelsey looked into his eyes. “It just… It feels right. I know it sounds weird, but Rue feels like a better match than any Syak I ever met. I guess sometimes, you find pack bonds where you least expect them.” She ducked her head and gazed at Rafael through half-lowered lashes. “Please. Can I go? I need to be with her one last time before you kill us.”

  After a few seconds’ hesitation, Rafael sighed. “I don’t understand it, but I’m not a heartless bastard.” He stepped aside.

  Quickly, before he could change his mind, Kelsey hurried up the stairs, past the bedroom on the second floor, where Danny was still brooding.

  When Kelsey entered, Rue looked up from ripping the bed sheet into long ribbons. She tried to hide them behind her back when the door opened, then relaxed as she realized it was just Kelsey entering. “Hey. I thought the watchdogs don’t like it when we’re up here, out of their sight, together.”

  “Yeah, but Rafael is on watch and he let me come up.” Kelsey knew she was blushing and hoped Rue wouldn’t ask. “What are you doing?”

  Rue tied long pieces of fabric together and wove them into an improvised rope. “There are no bars outside of the window in the guest bathroom up here. We might be able to squeeze through and climb down.”

  Kelsey eyed the improvised rope. “The rope is too short. Even if we make it out of the house, we can’t run from the Saru forever. They always catch their prey in the end.”

  “Then what else are we supposed to do?” Rue hurled the rope to the floor. “I’m not gonna sit around and wait for them to decide to kill us and steal my son! We’ll get out of here and take the next plane to Europe or—”

  “Rue, there are Saru in Europe too. If you run, they’ll think you’re condemning Danny to a life on the run. That’ll sway the council’s vote against us.”

  The bed bounced as Rue dropped down on it and clutched her head. “Christ. Then what do you suggest?”

  Kelsey sat next to her and leaned against Rue’s knee, needing the physical connection. “I don’t know. But the situation isn’t totally hopeless. Griffin’s sister is a member of the council. She will vote in our favor. And I’m sure Jorie found out what happened by now and is working on convincing the council to let us live.”

  Rue took Kelsey’s hand and pulled her around so they were facing each other on the bed. “Tell me the truth. How likely is it that Jorie and Griffin will manage to sway enough votes in our favor?”

  Kelsey couldn’t look into the desperate blue eyes. She hung her head. “Not very likely,” she admitted to Rue and to herself. She clutched Rue’s hand with both of hers. “We’re changing our ways of thinking, but it’s not fast enough. That centuries-old fear about what will happen once humans find out we exist is hard to overcome.”

  They sat together with their foreheads touching for a long time.

  Then Rue’s fingers flexed around Kelsey’s. She leaned back and looked at Kelsey. “The council wants us dead because they’re afraid I’ll reveal their existence to my fellow humans, right?”

  “Right.”

  “What if we take away that reason?”

  “You can’t take away their fear. It’s too deeply ingrained within some of us. Even if you swear on Danny’s life that you’ll never say a word to anyone, they won’t trust you.” Kelsey could no longer be proud to be a Saru and a Wrasa.

  “That’s not what I mean.” A steely glint of gray darkened Rue’s normally blue eyes. “What if humans already know about the shape-shifters? Then the council wouldn’t have a reason to kill us anymore.”

  “But humans don’t know—except for Jorie, Nyla, and you.”

  Rue got to her feet and started to pace. “Then we’ll have to change that. We’d have to tell a lot of humans at the same time so that the Saru can’t possibly kill all of them.” She stopped abruptly. “If we could somehow get Paula and her girlfriend in here to record a video of you shifting and then air it on the primetime news…”

  Kelsey’s heartbeat thumped through her ears. She stared at Rue. “You don’t know what you’re suggesting. Outing us to the world…” The thought made her head spin.

  “If Wrasa politicians are anything like human ones, we’ll be long dead by the time they decide to reveal themselves to the world. We can’t rely on them. We have to take matters into our own hands.”

  Sadly, Rue was right when it came to the speed of political decision-making. “There has to be another way. The ramifications of what you’re planning are too big. Humans will instantly start to protect themselves against us—by restrictive laws or by using violence. Or they’ll want to benefit, running medical experiments or trying to use us as super-soldiers.”

  “And you think that won’t happen if you reveal yourself to humans in your own time? If you want to wait until humans are morally evolved enough that none of that will happen, you’ll be waiting for a very long time—maybe forever.”

  Kelsey squeezed her eyes shut. “You’re right, but…”

  Rue knelt in front of the bed and took Kelsey’s hands in hers. “I know this is big.” She exhaled sharply. “I’m not sure either if it’s really the right thing to do, but it’s the only thing I can think of that would sav
e us. But you know the Wrasa better than I do. If you think it’s better to just wait and hope for the best…”

  The weight of her responsibility pressed Kelsey down. She fell back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. She longed to hand the responsibility over to Rue and let her make the decision, but she had promised herself to never do that again. Not when it counted.

  Rue’s scent surrounded her, and she shook her head to clear it. It’s too big a risk. I don’t want to be the one making the decision that could impact so many lives. But maybe it was selfish to think like that. She might be ready to become a martyr for the good of her people, but was Rue? And Danny?

  Kelsey swallowed. “Even if we wanted to do what you suggested, the Saru will never let Paula and Brooke in here to film a transformation.”

  Rue dropped onto the bed next to Kelsey. “Too bad they took our phones. I could have filmed you with my smartphone.”

  Danny’s iPhone seemed to burn Kelsey’s skin through the pocket of her pants. Hesitantly, she moved her hand down until it rested on the phone. Maybe with the right alpha, handing over responsibility wasn’t such a bad thing. Her fingers shook as she pulled the phone from her pocket and handed it to Rue.

  Rue stared at the iPhone, then at Kelsey. Her fingers curled around the phone. “How did you…?”

  “It’s Danny’s,” Kelsey said. “Rafael had it in my coat.”

  They both looked down at the phone in Rue’s hand. Finally, Rue pressed the button to turn on the phone. “Damn. The battery is down to eight percent. If we’re going to do this, we’ve got just one try.”

  Kelsey hesitated for a moment longer before she sat up. “Okay, then let’s do it before I freak out and change my mind. How do you want to do this?”

  “Well…” Rue licked her lips. “I guess for people to believe it, they’ll have to see it with their own eyes, so I should film you in your human form first.”

  Great. Stripping on national TV… My parents will be so proud. But that was the least of Kelsey’s problems right now. Very aware of Rue’s gaze resting on her, she took up position at the foot of the bed and slid off her shoes and socks. Next, she opened her belt. The pants she had taken from Rafael dropped to the floor, and she stepped out of them.

  Rue’s gaze slid up her bare legs, making Kelsey’s skin heat up and tingle.

  Stop it. This isn’t the time for erotic thoughts. Kelsey opened the first button on her blouse, then the second and the third until the halves of the shirt parted. They had found a top and even a pair of panties, but no bra for Kelsey in the safe house, so as the blouse slid down her arms, she stood in front of Rue in only her panties.

  “Ready?” Rue asked, her voice hoarse, and lifted the iPhone.

  Before Kelsey could nod, voices drifted up from the bottom of the stairs.

  “Where are Kelsey and the human?” Tala asked. “I told you to keep an eye on them.”

  “They’re…um…in the bedroom to…reconnect one last time,” Rafael said.

  “And you believed that? They’re tricking you, moron!” Steps thumped up the stairs in a rapid staccato.

  Kelsey wrenched the iPhone from Rue’s hands and hid it beneath the pillow. She reached for Rue’s sweater and pulled it over her head in one quick move.

  “Oww!” Rue clutched one of her ears. “Kelsey! What the hell are you doing? As tempting as you are, this isn’t the right time to—”

  “Sssh!” No time for long explanations. Kelsey tackled Rue to the bed.

  “Wha—?”

  Kelsey covered Rue’s mouth with her own.

  After a moment, Rue relaxed and kissed her back. She palmed Kelsey’s ass and pulled her closer just as Tala wrenched open the door.

  In the sudden silence, Kelsey fought not to lose herself in the taste and scent of Rue and the slender body beneath hers, but Rue wasn’t making it easy.

  Rue’s tongue slid hotly against hers.

  Kelsey nearly forgot the intruders. She couldn’t help moaning into Rue’s mouth.

  The door clicked shut. Tala’s and Rafael’s footsteps retreated. “Okay,” Tala said on the way down the stairs. “Guess you were right. It wasn’t a trick. But when they…finish, bring them to the living room. I want to keep an eye on them.”

  Their voices slowly faded away, leaving Kelsey behind wrapped in Rue’s arms and the dizzying scent of her arousal. I should really—

  But when Rue rolled them around and intensified their kiss, all rational thought fled Kelsey’s mind. She slipped her hands beneath Rue’s undershirt, clutched the damp muscles on both sides of her spine, and wrapped her legs around Rue’s hips, wanting her as close as possible.

  With a sensual moan, Rue pressed against her.

  Oh, Great Hunter. Kelsey turned her head and wrenched her lips away from Rue’s before she could completely forget herself. “I’m sorry for ambushing you. I told Rafael I was going upstairs to…you know.”

  Flushed and breathing heavily, Rue leaned over her. Her now cherry-red lips lifted into a smile. “I’m not complaining.” She trailed her thumb across Kelsey’s bottom lip.

  The touch sent shivers through the rest of Kelsey’s body. She lay still and peered up at Rue, hypnotized by the intense blue eyes.

  Rue stared back into Kelsey’s eyes. Then she blinked, sighed, and got off the bed. “As much as I’d like to continue this, we should get the video done while the Saru think we’re still otherwise occupied.”

  Kelsey stood on shaky legs, hoping she would be able to call up a mental image of her wolf now that the only images flashing through her mind were of her and Rue making love.

  Chapter 63

  The iPhone’s battery was down to four percent. Come on, Paula. Pick up. Listening to the phone ring, Rue stared at Kelsey, who lay on the bed, exhausted from shifting into wolf form and back in quick succession. She pulled the covers up over Kelsey with one hand and stroked her cheek.

  Finally, just before the call would have gone to voice mail, Paula’s exhausted voice came through the phone, “Rue! Did you find—?”

  “Yes, we found him.”

  “Oh thank God! Is he okay? Can I see—?”

  “He’s fine. I promise you can see him soon, but first I need your help.” Rue swallowed her pride and added, “And Brooke’s.”

  Silence answered.

  Shit, shit, shit! Is the battery dead? Rue moved the phone away from her ear to glance at the screen. Still working. Phew.

  “Wow, I think hell just froze over,” Paula said.

  Rue didn’t have time for snarky comments. “Hopefully, hell doesn’t exist, but a lot of other things you never imagined do. I just sent a video to your cell phone.”

  “I know. I watched the first ten seconds before you called. What the fuck, Rue? You should focus on Danny right now, not come up with sick ways to get back at me by sending me videos of your naked girlfriend.”

  “That’s not what this is. I swear.”

  The phone beeped, warning Rue that the battery was almost empty.

  Rue’s already too rapid pulse accelerated even more. The now constant beeping of the phone echoed her hammering heartbeat. “I don’t have time to explain. I need you to watch the video. It will look like something crazy or a cheap trick, but I swear on Danny’s life it’s not. This is real. Our lives depend on you finding a way to air the video on the news tonight.”

  “Your lives? Rue! What the hell is going on?”

  “Kelsey and I are in the hands of people who’ll kill us to protect their secret. The only way to stop them is to make their secret public by showing the video on TV.”

  “It’s not that easy. The news segments for tonight’s news show are already set, and I can’t just—”

  “Brooke can,” Rue said. “She’s an executive producer. She has to find a way. And please make the Wrasa look like good guys, not monsters, okay? Kelsey was the one who found Danny.”

  “Wrasa? Monsters? What the heck are you talking ab—”

  With a humming
sound, the phone turned itself off.

  Chapter 64

  I’m going to throw up. Kelsey pressed her hands to her stomach and watched Zoe flick through the channels and then finally stop on the evening news.

  WNY-TV’s anchor, a serious-looking man in a gray suit, appeared on the screen.

  This is him. The man who’ll tell the world about the Wrasa on national TV. If he didn’t, the phone could ring any moment and the council could order her and Rue, maybe even Danny, killed.

  Tala, who was curled up in an easy chair, watching her prisoners, tilted her head and eyed first Kelsey, then Rue. “Why are you so nervous?”

  “You’d be nervous too if you were waiting for the council to determine your fate,” Rue said.

  “Probably,” Tala said, a hint of compassion glittering in her golden fox eyes. “For what it’s worth, I hope they’ll spare you. But if not, I promise to make it painless. I’m good at what I do.”

  Great. Not exactly a soothing thought. Kelsey licked her lips and tried not to be obvious about glancing at the TV.

  Danny looked up from the PlayStation someone had procured to keep him entertained. His nostrils flared, probably taking in the scent of Kelsey’s cold sweat. He hadn’t spoken to her since finding out he was a Wrasa and she was his aunt. “You all right?” he signed reluctantly.

  Kelsey nodded, afraid that her hands would tremble if she signed.

  Danny looked at her for a moment longer before he went back to his game.

  Another minute ticked by. Then another. The anchor was talking about a deadly helicopter crash in Chicago.

  Why is he talking about helicopters? Frowning, Kelsey peered at the clock above the mantle.

  Danny put down his game again and gazed back and forth between her and Rue, probably smelling their anxiety. He bounced his knees up and down and scratched his arms. “What’s going on?”