"What I wouldn't do for a piece of that tail," the wolf said with a tilt of the head towards Pinky.
Rafael narrowed his eyes at the wolf as he held back his anger. Shifters were always looking for humans to screw around with. In general, male shifters believed humans were more sexually adventurous than their counterparts and that female shifters just wanted a mate. A lot of male shifters were idiots, Rafael thought.
Rafael grabbed another frosted mug to fill and switched to another tap, but the wolf moved in front of Rafael again. The shifter grinned at him and a flash of recognition drifted through Rafael's mind, but he pushed it away.
"I bet she tastes sweet," the wolf said. "Like Clare."
Rafael crushed the mug in his hand and grabbed the wolf by his neck, pulling him over the bar.
"Don't you ever breathe her name again!" he roared.
The other shifters at the bar turned, stunned by Rafael's outburst. As calmly as he could, he set the wolf back down. The wolf grinned as fur sprouted through his skin and his teeth grew longer.
"I'll make that human scream like your sister's dying breath."
Rafael jumped onto the bar and pounced onto the wolf, tackling him to the ground. He brought his fist back and connected with his jaw before the wolf changed into his full animal form and slipped out from under him.
With a quick swipe, Rafael knocked the wolf's hind quarters, sending him skidding into a nearby table. Bubbles charged from the entrance and stood between them.
"Take it outside," Bubbles said through clenched teeth.
The wolf shifted back, grabbing his nearby jeans as he kept his eyes firmly locked on Rafael's cold stare. They followed Bubbles out the door and into the bright moonlit night.
The wolf dashed into the parking lot. He turned to flash Rafael a sinister smile before shifting back into a wolf and disappearing for the night.
"You're not going after him?" Bubbles asked, his brows raised.
"Not now," Rafael said. "This isn't the time for vengeance."
"But after what he said about your sister–."
"No, it's exactly what he wants. He turns up dead or hurt now after what just happened in front of everyone, and I'll end up in jail. They won't care that I'm an Alpha or a member of the Council. Plus I'm more concerned about what he said about Pinky. Nothing will bring Clare back."
Rafael gritted his teeth. It had been ten years since his sister Clare was murdered by the wolf shifter she thought was her boyfriend, Sean Ames. Clare was a half-breed, part human and part bear. Rafael's mother passed away when he was young, leaving him and his father alone. Years later, Rafael's father married a human and Clare was born. Even though they were eight years apart, they were very close.
"Why do you think he's here?" Bubbles asked.
"I'm going to find out," Rafael said as he stormed off into the parking lot.
Clare was sixteen when she started dating Sean, and Rafael never approved. He knew his type and he tried protecting Clare from him, but it only made her that much more interested in the wolf. When she didn't come home one night, Rafael feared the worst and was right.
After a decade of hoping that asshole would be brought to justice, Rafael was ready to put it behind him. He knew Sean killed her, but there was never enough evidence. His father had made him promise to not take matters into his own hands, and it was then that Pinky entered his life.
Pinky first appeared in his dreams. He couldn't explain it and he didn't care to. When his life was the darkest it had ever been, he counted on those dreams about the girl with the constantly changing hair color to make it better.
I just need to keep my temper in check, he thought. Rafael followed the trail of Sean's scent, which was stronger where he shifted back into wolf form. As he came to the edge of the parking lot, he lost the scent in the mixture of charcoal and propane from the summer BBQs.
For the moment he was defeated, but he knew Sean wouldn't stay away. The cocky look in his eyes, the way he spoke about Pinky, Rafael knew he needed to protect her even more. Even if she wouldn't let him.
As Rafael walked to his car, he spotted a note on the windshield and groaned. Did someone hit his car? He tugged the note out from under the wiper blade, keeping it folded as he looked over his sleek black '67 Camaro SS under the flickering street light.
The classic car looked as perfect as the day his father gave it to him for his high school graduation. Confused, Rafael unfolded the note.
I will destroy whoever you love.
It didn't need a signature for Rafael to know who wrote it. Sniffing the paper, Rafael caught a whiff of the salty sea air. Sean was close, but not that close. He didn't know why he was doing this, but Rafael knew he had to stop him.
The vibration of his phone broke his concentration. Rafael pulled it out of his pocket and read a text from Erich. Going away with Pinky tomorrow was perfect timing. Hopefully they'd be able to leave without Sean knowing where they went.
As Rafael got into his car, he knew that was impossible. Sean was relentless, but Rafael was smarter. Sean threatening Pinky was the final straw in a decade-long wait to make things right. He had already lost his sister. There was no way Rafael would let Sean get anywhere near Pinky.
Chapter Four
The house was quiet. Too quiet, Pinky thought as she stood in her bedroom looking at the clothing choices she had piled onto her bed. She had dropped the twins off at their friend's house to spend the weekend, but it wasn't just the silence in the house, there was something else, a feeling she couldn't explain.
"Mom?" Pinky called out more out of habit than anything.
She peeked her head out into the hall, but no one was there. Thinking she heard a noise in her father's office, she went down the stairs to the first floor. In the office, her mother was emptying files out of the cabinet.
"What are you doing?" Pinky said as she rushed into the room and began grabbing discarded files off the desk and the floor.
"She knows where he is," her mother said. "You need to find her. I know she'll know, she always knows."
"Mom, who? Please calm down," Pinky said as she put her arm around her mother's shoulder and tried to steer her into the large desk chair. "Sit, please. You've been…are you alright?"
Pinky felt the room closing in on her as she tried to calm her mother. She had never seen her mother like this before and after her mother had been in her own world for weeks, Pinky didn't know what to do.
"You have to find her, she'll talk to you. I know she'll tell you everything. She'll find him. He's alive, I know he is. But he needs your help."
"Mom, please settle down. Sit. Of course he's still alive," she said, unsure if she was lying. "I need you to calm down, okay? Listen to me. Remember I told you earlier that I'm going away? I'm driving out to Pennsylvania and I'll be back in a few days. Hannah is coming to stay with you."
"Find her," she said, her eyes wide and glassy as she grasped Pinky by the shoulders. "She has a file, it'll have her address. She was always very connected to him. Too connected. She'll know where he is."
"Who, Mom? Who do you want me to talk to?"
"Pinky."
"Huh? Mom?"
"You have to find Pinky."
"But I am Pinky."
Pinky bit her lip as she tried to keep the tears back from her eyes. She didn't realize how bad her mother had gotten. Was that her fault, too? She knew blaming herself for everything wasn't going to get her anywhere, but it all seemed to point back to her.
The doorbell rang, then there were two knocks at the door, just like Hannah always did. Pinky kissed her mother's forehead as she continued muttering before racing to the front door as her oldest friend let herself in.
Hannah looked even prettier than usual. Since Hannah had completed her transition into a full wolf shifter, everything about her became even more stunning. Her auburn hair had an unnatural gloss to it that Pinky envied. Her emerald green eyes sparkled magically as if being a wolf heightened her being a witc
h. If Pinky didn't love her like a sister, she'd have to hate her.
"Thanks for coming," Pinky said as she hugged Hannah. Her hands brushed against her hair, which felt softer and silkier than ever. "Seriously, I'm going to have to start hating you. Maybe even just for five minutes."
Hannah laughed. "Whatever, you're just jealous of how stunning I am now," she said jokingly.
"Wow, that was so Pea," Pinky said, speaking about Hannah's grandmother. "Have you seen her lately?"
Hannah's face fell, and Pinky wished she hadn't asked her about her grandmother at all.
"I went to the clearing last night. You know it had been a while, but even though I don't understand why she did those things to my mom and Aunt Faith, I really miss her," Hannah said. "Anyway it was a full moon last night, really bright so I figured I'd go and visit, but it didn't work. I couldn't get her to come. This is the second full moon this has happened."
"Maybe you're out of practice?"
"No. I mean, sure I haven't done it in a couple of months now, but it's not like that's something I'm going to forget how to do. I know I did everything right. And I really felt like she was there, but she never appeared."
"I'm sorry, Hannah."
"It's okay. It's just…I'm really feeling like she's gone now. Anyway, enough about that. How's your mom doing?"
"I don't know. I think she's getting worse. I don't think she knew who I was. She was just telling me to find Pinky because she'll know where my dad is. I told her I am Pinky, but she didn't even react."
"Sorry, things have been really tough on you lately. Add to it that you have to worry about the twins, too. Your mom's a strong woman though. I'm sure she'll pull out of this soon."
Pinky shook her head. "I don't know. I've never seen her like this. What if we never find my dad? Or what if he's dead?"
"Don't think like that. Look at it this way, she's off the couch and talking. That has to be a step in the right direction."
Pinky hoped Hannah was right. Hannah followed her down the hall to her bedroom. As they walked in, Hannah burst into laughter.
"What?" Pinky said, looking at her like she lost her mind.
"What's with all the clothing? I thought it was just for a few days max," she said, still laughing. "Never mind, you don't need to answer. I know what this is."
Pinky's cheeks burned from embarrassment. Hannah knew her better than anyone, of course she'd realize what Pinky was doing before she even realized it herself.
"I know I keep pushing him away, but…just look at him! We're going to be away together for a few days and I can't honestly say I'll be able to keep saying no. Hell, I saw him last night and practically jumped over the bar to get him. So I have several piles of clothing here. This one is my ratty boring stuff. You know, the cotton panties and stuff. And this one—"
"Is your sexy pile," Hannah said, laughing as she picked up a satin Victoria's Secret bra with lace accents.
"Yes," Pinky said, unable to hold back her grin. "So I can bring the old cotton stuff and that'll help me push him away because I don't want him to see me in those. Or I can be prepared, just in case…"
"In case you're a slut!"
Pinky laughed. "I am not a slut. I just feel life is too short to not follow your heart and do what makes you happy."
"Heart, crotch, whatever," Hannah said, laughing.
"No, seriously, Hannah. There's something about him. Even when he flirts with me, I don't know. It just feels special, like he thinks I'm special. He could be it, like the one. But if he isn't, he could really break my heart. I don't think I could handle that."
"And so you keep pushing him away."
"Listen, you know he just showed up here one day a couple years ago. And from the start, he was giving me the hard sell. He says he just wants a date, but I know he wants more. I'm not stupid."
"You might not be stupid, but maybe you're being dumb. I think you need to give him a chance. I've seen the way he looks at you. Even that first time you brought me to Night Shift and he gave you a peck on your lips, I saw the look in both your eyes. I'm surprised you didn't just melt into a puddle on the floor that night. Instead you started talking to some other shifter."
"Oh yeah, Cade. He was pretty hot."
"See, you're dumb."
"Okay, okay. I know you're right. Well, I guess this is Rafael's big chance anyway. I've never given in to going on a date with him, but now we're going away together."
"Where are you going?" Hannah asked.
Pinky pulled a slip of paper out of her pocket and handed it to Hannah.
"Luckily I don't throw anything away. My dad gave me that weeks ago when he first asked me to visit."
"Stephen Brightside. That's familiar."
"You might've heard his name from Caleb. He was one of the dead wolves found in Abel's catacombs. The only one not from the Leeds Point area. So apparently I'm driving to Milford."
"I've heard it's pretty out there."
"Yeah well, this won't be a social visit. I'll be spending time consoling his wife and kid, I guess. They don't even know I'm coming. All dad gave me was an address."
"I hope they're still there."
"I have a feeling they are. Either way, I have to make this trip. I let my dad down and because of that, he's missing. I need to make it up to him. Even if he's not around to know."
Chapter Five
Pinky was ready to hit the road, but Rafael wasn't there yet. She didn't need a babysitter for the trip and for all she knew, he wasn't coming. With a three-hour drive ahead of her, Pinky was ready to go so she carried her bag out to her car.
A classic black Camaro pulled up in front of her house as Pinky got into her car. Pinky shifted into reverse and looked in the rearview mirror as Rafael came into view walking up her driveway. She couldn't take her eyes off him. There was something about the way his clothes hugged his body that made her want to peel them off him.
"Hope you weren't planning to leave without me," he said, opening her car door.
"It's not like I need a chaperone."
"Come on. Let's go," he said, holding his hand out to her. "I'm not going in this yellow thing, I'll drive."
Pinky's instinct was to defend her car and put her foot down about driving, but as she looked into his eyes, the corners wrinkled a little from his smirk, her defenses melted. She pulled the key out of the ignition and put her hand in his.
His mouth upturned more as his smirk grew into a smile. Pinky tried not to seem too obvious with how struck by him she was. She couldn't breathe, but somehow she didn't have to. He pulled her up to her feet and she stumbled into his chest. Pinky put her hands up to catch herself, and they fell onto his brawny pectorals.
"Wow," she whispered, feeling like the wind was knocked out of her.
Rafael laughed as he looked at her. Neither of them moved for a minute, and Pinky wished time would stand still. But then Rafael stepped away and grabbed her things out of her car and carried them to his.
"You coming?" he asked.
Pinky blinked, feeling as if she was coming out of a dream. She looked up at her house and saw Hannah peeking out the window with a big grin. In a seamless move, she closed her car door and walked down the driveway where Rafael stood by his car.
He stood by the passenger side door and waited as she got in before closing her door. Pinky couldn't stop smiling. When he got into the car, he turned it on and glanced at her from the corner of his eye.
"What is it?" he asked. "I've never seen that look before."
"It's been a long time since a man closed my car door."
"Well, it's been a long time since I had a beautiful woman in my car."
"Oh? When was the last time?" Pinky asked, unable to control her growing jealousy.
"About ten years ago," he said. "My sister."
He shifted into gear and his face hardened. She wanted to know why it had been so long, but his expression told her not to ask. Looking out the window, she looked back at her house aga
in before he turned the corner.
Before she left, her mother had gone back to the spot on the couch she had occupied for weeks. Once again she was silent as she stared off into nothing. Pinky couldn't help but worry about her. She was glad Hannah would keep an eye on her, but she really hated to leave her like this. She didn't have a choice though. She had to somehow make it up to her father.
"Get on the Parkway, we're going up to Milford, Pennsylvania," she said as Rafael drove out of her neighborhood.
Chapter Six
The dark green trees along the Parkway were a blur as Rafael drove north towards Pennsylvania. He didn't pay attention to his speed or how many cars he passed, he was too busy checking the rearview mirror.
Pinky sitting in her car ready to leave was perfect timing. He would have waited forever for her, but he didn't want to be at her house for long. Sean could be anywhere and he had to assume he was following him.
As he looked through the rearview mirror again, Pinky touched his arm. It was such a slight, minor gesture, yet Rafael felt a calm flow through his body.
He glanced over at her. Her wide brown eyes were highlighted by an arched brow. She smiled tentatively and gave his arm a gentle squeeze.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to act weird. I'm still sensitive about my sister. We were very close."
"I didn't know you had a sister. I guess I don't know much about you at all. You just showed up here one day and—"
"And you thought you knew all about me," he said, interrupting her.
She bobbed her head softly. "You're right. I really never gave you a chance, and I'm sorry about that. You know how it is for humans being around a shifter. I love them, I can't help it."
"Let me guess. You met a few shifters who weren't as gentlemanly as they should have been."
"That's a nice way of putting it," she scoffed.
The Crane Curse Series Complete Boxed Set (Shape Shifter Romance) Page 21