Sins of Long Ago

by Naomi Bellina

  Once her heart stopped pounding, Gen blew out a deep breath, forcing her mind to relax. A quick sideways glance showed Vincent staring straight ahead. Okay, what did he just blurt out? He let his guard down and a woman died. A lover? A pack member? Curiosity poked her, but damned if she would ask him. He’d probably snap her head off. Anyway, he just told her he didn’t want anything to do with her. Sort of. No, not true. He said he loved her, felt too much, didn’t want a relationship. How did she respond to those contradictory statements?

  All she knew, her heart ached thinking of losing him. What could she do or say to open up his heart? To make him see they belonged together, regardless of their crazy situation? Her phone pinged and she looked at the reminder she’d set. Answer Born Beautiful.

  An omen? Gen sighed and pulled her coat tighter around her. What were normal people doing today?

  * * * *

  Vincent tossed his bag in a corner of his living room and eyed the liquor cabinet. Too early in the day for a drink? Technically, he was still on his out-of-town trip. Roland had everything under control, apparently. No phone messages, no texts, and—booting up his computer—no emails that couldn’t wait.

  Hell with it. He grabbed a glass and poured a shot of whiskey. The car ride home had left his nerves raw. Genevieve’s pissed-off silence rang louder than most women’s shouting. Being here, in his own space with no one around, blessed relief. David’s car was gone, but a look in the spare bedroom showed his duffel bag still sat on the floor. His cousin knew, no matter how much they fought, he was always welcome in Vincent’s home.

  Seated at his computer, Vincent pushed thoughts of Genevieve from his mind. He’d worry about her later. Right now, his focus needed to be on the situation with Ethan Kern. Not on the scent of oil Gen had poured into the bath, still clinging to his skin. Not on how soft her leg felt when he’d wrapped his around it and dozed off last night. Definitely not on how hot her wet ass looked as he held it while fucking her.

  Damn it. This is why I don’t need a woman. Too distracting. Got to concentrate on the pack because if he didn’t, more weres would be harmed. He read through the files. Tried to read the files. Medical terminology, far out of his range of understanding. Morgan the vet could look at the notes. She’d have a better idea of what they meant. A few of the basic concepts he did get. Phase one of the Omega Experiment began with studying the effects of a drug on known weres. Phase two involved using the drug on human subjects. Phase three would be determined by the results of phase two.

  Known weres. That anyone even knew of them was bad. That someone had been watching them, monitoring their activity…really bad. What he should do, pick up the phone and contact the Regents. Go past Mathew, keep calling till he got an answer. Let them handle this. He’d get his ass chewed for not contacting them last month when the problems had first started, and they’d tell him to stand down and let them take over. Which would make sense. They had resources and connections to deal with this, better than him.

  But when would they get here? Probably this situation would rank high on their priorities, but in the meantime, Mark lay captive in a basement. Not exactly captive, but close enough. Vincent skimmed the notes again, searching for more information on Mark. There. Test subject one. Reading past the scientific jargon he stopped suddenly. Terminated. When sufficient results were obtained, test subject would be terminated. He’d suspected death would be the outcome, now there was no doubt.

  Had to get Mark out of there. Now. He’d find the drug they were giving him. It had to be on the premises somewhere. Morgan could figure out how to replicate it or come up with something else. And even if Mark did suffer consequences from withdrawal, he would be killed anyway. No telling how the schedule would change, since Kern was certainly now aware someone had been in his house. He could step up his security; he could pack up and move the whole operation.

  He had to go back. Had to tell Mark he was a dead man if he didn’t leave. The guy was there to help out his family but shit. Dead men didn’t do their families much good. While the flash drive downloaded, Vincent checked his supplies. Taser, charging, more cable ties loaded. Eat, take a shower, hit the road.

  Not think about Gen.

  He stuck in his ear buds and cranked up one of his favorite playlists. Get in the mood to kick some ass and forget about that hot woman. She was out of the picture now, anyway. He’d all but told her to leave. Good timing on her job offer. She should grab it, should try for a better life, one with more security. All he could give her was a small part of his time, the leftovers from when his pack and business didn’t have him running. She’d always be in danger. Always have the threat of being killed if for some reason she opened her mouth and let anyone else know about werewolves. Genevieve deserved better.

  Anyway, she wasn’t that big of a deal. Just another woman.

  Liar. Making love with Gen…the nearest he’d ever been to heaven. He slammed a closet door shut. Didn’t matter. He had to keep her safe. His desires were not important.

  He’d text Roland after he got on the road, let him know what was up. Taking the other man with him would make the most sense, but Vincent would not put Roland in an awkward position. He wouldn’t ask his second-in-command, or anyone else, to pay the consequences for his decision. When the shit hit the fan with the Regents, as it would when they found out what he’d done, Vincent had to be alone in taking the blame.

  A half hour later, Vincent stepped off his porch. The afternoon sun warmed the air a little, but the wind blew cold. The sooner he got going, the better. Music still cranked, he loaded his Jeep until a movement from the corner of his eye stopped him in his tracks. At the edge of his tree line, a blur of red. He grabbed his pistol from the front seat and whirled around, pulling the buds from his ears as he did.

  Gen. Her hands flew into the air, and her eyes opened wide. “Hey there. Don’t shoot, okay?”

  “Holy freakin’ shit! Do not sneak up on me like that. What the fuck are you doing here?”

  “I’m going with you.”

  “The hell you are. You don’t even know where I’m going. What’s the matter with you? I could have shot you.”

  “You have better control over your trigger finger. And yes, I do know where you’re going. You’re headed back to The Woods. To get Mark.”

  “What makes you think so?”

  “Lucky guess. Okay, not lucky, smart guess. I could see in your eyes you didn’t want to leave that guy in the basement. Can I put my hands down now?”

  He lowered the gun.

  “I came here to talk to you, saw you loading up your Jeep. I figured out what you’re up to. Damn, it’s cold. How about we go into your house and talk?”

  “No. I’m leaving now. Where’s your car?”

  “Right there.” She pointed.

  “How did I not hear you drive up?”

  “I did a shielding spell. Which is what I want to talk to you about. When we go to get Mark. That is where you’re headed, right? I thought you said he didn’t want to leave.”

  “They’re going to kill him. No matter the results of the experiment. I’ve got to get him out. And you’re not coming with me.”

  “But I've got an idea. How do you think you’re going to get back into that place?” She hugged her arms around herself.

  “I’ll go in through the broken window.”

  “Don’t you suppose they’ve got more security on him now? Probably Ethan Kern is there himself, after last night.”

  “I’ll come up with something. Didn’t you hear me this morning? I won’t risk your safety. I can’t do my job when I’m out of my mind worrying about you.”

  “There’s no way you’re going to get back into that house and not get caught. I have a plan. Instead of worrying about me, why don’t you let me help you?” Now her teeth chattered as she talked.

  “I said I’ll come up with something. It’s what I do. You need to get out of here. If you want to be useful, tell Morgan and Dylan what happene
d and let Morgan know I’ll be bringing her a patient.”

  “If you don’t take me with you, I’ll put a spell on your Jeep so the electrical system cuts out when you’re ten miles from here.”

  “You can’t do that. Can you?”

  Gen stomped her feet, to keep warm partly but also from frustration, he suspected. “How about listening to my idea, before you go all Neanderthal man on me?”

  “All right, get in.”

  They climbed inside his vehicle, and he turned on the heater.

  “You’ve got two minutes. Talk.”

  “We go see Sally, use her glamour magic to change your appearance. You disguise yourself as Colin Sysco.”

  “He’s dead.”

  “Exactly! The perfect disguise. If Kern is there, he’ll be so blown away to see you, you can probably get past him. If he’s got more guards, you can bullshit your way past them. And I can do one of my shielding spells to help us stay hidden.”

  “Does Sally know about me? What I am?” Great. One more human involved.

  “Uh, yeah. She picked it up the night you came to my shop. Don’t worry, she’s good about keeping secrets.”

  Vincent folded his arms across his chest. “Why are you even doing this?”

  “I’m not real happy about leaving Mark there either. I don’t sleep well knowing guys are tied up and being tortured. And I’m also doing this for you. I know your pack is important to you. They’re your family, and you have to take care of them. I get that.”

  “You don’t have to do this, to prove anything to me.”

  “I’m not trying to prove anything. Okay, maybe I am. Look, Vincent, I have to try. You and me, I want it. You’re important to me. I’m not going to live without love, and I think what we have is love. I’m willing to take a risk for that. How about you?”

  Well, hell. Looking into Genevieve’s eyes he saw truth mixed with pain. She did love him, and if he’d take the time to look into his heart, if all this shit wasn’t hitting the fan, he’d probably find he felt the same. He did use the L word last night, when he’d let his defenses down and said what was in his soul.

  But he couldn’t. Not right now. He had to get Mark, had to focus on his job, his pack. Gen was right. Getting back into that house would require some strategy. Much as he despised putting her in danger, her idea had merit.

  “Tell me more about your plan.”

  * * * *

  Sally welcomed them both into her home. Gen had called and given her the basics of their mission, and Sally promised to do her best to get Vincent to look like Colin Sysco.

  “It’s not an exact science,” she explained as they stood in her kitchen. “I’m not sure I can replicate a face exactly. I don’t want to screw it up. I don’t use this little tool much. Just sometimes when Greg and I do some role-playing stuff. You know.”

  Vincent had pulled up the man’s picture from his company website, and now Sally studied it, a slight frown on her face.

  “Uh, yeah, we know. Do the best you can,” Gen said. “It only has to fool this guy for a minute or two.”

  Taking a deep breath, Sally put her fingertips on Vincent’s face and closed her eyes. Shivers of magic power swirled around them, making the hair on Gen’s arm stand up. Almost imperceptibly, Vincent’s face changed, reforming to look like Colin Sysco.

  “Holy shit, that’s amazing,” Vincent said, looking into a mirror in the hallway. He touched his forehead and ran his hand over his cheeks and chin.

  “It is, isn’t it?” Sally beamed. “One of my better pieces of work, if I do say so myself.”

  “Do you think this will hold if I shift?”

  “I have no idea. I’ve never tried with a werewolf before. I’ve never even met a werewolf before.”

  Vincent turned from the mirror. “You have to keep absolutely quiet about me and everything we’ve told you.”

  “I know. Truly I do. I have my secrets too. Why don’t you step outside, try shifting, and see what happens?”

  “Good idea.” Vincent headed for the door.

  “We’ll watch and make sure you’re okay.” Gen started to follow him.

  “Nope. You stay right here. I’ll only be a few minutes.”

  Gen opened her mouth to argue, then stopped. Vincent probably didn’t want to be treated like a sideshow attraction. Maybe he was even shy shifting in front of strangers. She chatted with Sally instead, filling her in on their adventures in The Woods. Vincent returned less than ten minutes later and went straight to the mirror.

  “Still looks fine.”

  “Good. Now listen—you don’t have long with this guy’s face. Because it’s so detailed and precise, it will dissipate even faster than normal. Promise to be careful, please?”

  “We will. And we’ll all be talking together when we get back, I promise that too. Now do me. I’m thinking, a classic, someone who will throw everyone off. Marilyn Monroe, maybe?”

  * * * *

  “Don’t even think about arguing with me. If anything goes wrong, I need you back here, to notify Roland.”

  On the ride, Vincent had shared his story of April, briefly. How horrible, to have someone in your care be killed. Of course it would make anyone overprotective and drive someone like Vincent mad. Though it wasn’t his fault, and Gen knew others had told him this, he would blame himself for the young woman’s death. Gen listened quietly and didn’t say anything when he finished, just took his hand and squeezed it.

  “Thank you for sharing.”

  He’d squeezed back then pulled away. Though she wanted more details, today wasn’t the time to dig up old wounds. They had to stay focused on the job at hand. Now Vincent lowered his binoculars. From where they crouched behind a rocky wall, they could observe the house, barely.

  “There are three cars in the driveway, so at least three people in the house.” He passed her the binoculars. “I’m going to shift, go down there and take a look around and get the scent. Do absolutely nothing except get the hell out of here if anything goes wrong.”

  He stood and stripped as she watched, hardly able to believe her eyes at the contrast between his face and body. It might be another man’s image but still Vincent’s gorgeous physique making her heart speed up and warmth rush between her thighs. Then he shifted.

  Trying to keep from yelping out loud, Gen put her hand over her mouth. OMG. How freaking cool was this? Like watching one of those speeded-up motion nature films, showing a butterfly burst from a cocoon. Fur grew over his skin, claws replaced his fingers and toes; his face and body reformed as he dropped to all fours. The whole process only took five minutes while she watched in awe. How could all this amazing magic be going on in her world and she’d never seen it? Because no matter what Vincent thought, it was magic and it was incredible.

  He approached her, hesitantly, as though sensing her slight fear. Gen held out her hand, and he nudged it with his nose.

  “You are one good-looking wolf, you know that?” He moved his head up and down, and she laughed. “Of course you do. Go on, I’ll be right here. Be careful.”

  She watched through the binoculars as he approached the house. When he disappeared around the back she looked at her phone. If he hadn’t returned in ten minutes, she would call Roland. Or head down to the house. She hadn’t made up her mind yet. Gen put one gloved finger into her mouth, attempting to chew a nail. Is this what it would be like all the time, waiting for Vincent and wondering if he was okay? Hoping he came back alive? He didn’t engage in dangerous activity like this on a normal basis, she was pretty sure, but his life could be changing in light of recent events.

  Leaves crunched behind her, and she whirled around. Naked human Vincent hurried to her side. Damn, he had stealth down to a science. He dug into his backpack and pulled on a pair of sweat pants.

  “What are those? Are you hot?”

  “I am warmer when I change, yes, but these are my throwaway clothes. If I think I’m going to shift, I wear them.”

  Throwaway
clothes. Life as a werewolf had a whole new terminology. “What’s going on down there?”

  “A man, a doctor, I think, is with Mark in the basement. I could hear a conversation, barely. He’s not doing too well. Ethan Kern and another guy are upstairs.”

  “So let’s use our disguises. I’ll go to the door and freak out whoever answers. Give me one of those stun guns. I can hit him with that, you knock him all the way out. At least one person will be out of commission.”

  “I don’t want to put you in danger.”

  “Vincent, come on. The point of me here is to help you.”

  Vincent blew out a breath then reached into his backpack again, pulling out several more objects including a knife, a sheath, and an odd-looking gun. He crouched down closer to her. “Here. This is a new weapon, not even on the market yet. A Terminator. It will render your victim unconscious for about twenty minutes. Whoever opens the door, let ’em have it. Hold it like this, put it anywhere on his body, push this button.”

  Seriously? Terminator? Gen took the instrument and held it gingerly. “Guess I can’t test it on you. What exactly is going to happen after I zap him?”

  “He’ll fall, so step out of the way.

  “How did you come by this fun little toy? If you tell me, will you have to kill me?”

  Vincent arched an eyebrow.

  “Yeah, okay, forget I asked.”

  “If you feel, for even one moment, you can’t do this, step back and yell. I’m going to be right behind you with my Taser to get the next guy, but I can take out the first one too.”

  “I can do it. The guy opening the door is going to be so surprised to see Marilyn Monroe, he’s just going to stand there and let me do whatever I want.”

  Vincent stood and stomped his feet. “I don’t like this. They could see you coming and be ready.”

  “Which is the whole point. They see me. They think, ‘WTF?’ They open the door. No one expects Marilyn to be packing a weapon. From what you’ve told me, Ethan Kern isn’t stupid. He’s not going to shoot a strange woman.”