by Eve Langlais
Is Danita safe? He’d heard nothing since his arrest. Did Elanroux know to keep her safe?
Emerging from the holding cell section, he noted the gray hair of the man dressed in an elegant gray trench coat.
“What are you doing here?” Rory glared at Theo Elanroux.
“Helping.”
“The same way you helped my wife hide from me?”
“She requested aid. I gave it to her.”
“And neglected to tell me you had her.”
“You could have called.”
Rory blinked. “I could have called? How the fuck was I supposed to know you even had her?”
“Ahem.” The cleared throat turned him to the clerk, who had a manila envelope with his things.
Rory signed for them, grabbed the envelope, and stalked off. Theo followed.
“I didn’t know she was your wife when I found her.”
“Why were you looking for her?”
“I was asked to go after her by a friend of her father’s.”
“How did you know where she was?”
“The same friend.”
“And when did you know she was my wife?”
Theo’s lips pressed.
“You knew when you grabbed her.” Stated flatly.
“I did, but she assured me you had no interest in her. And she was frightened. I promised her help. I couldn’t say no.”
“Hiding her from me.”
“It was what she wanted at the time.”
Rory glared. “I want to hate you so much right now.”
“Understandable.”
“Are you the one who ratted me out?” Which he knew made no sense. Why have him arrested then released?
“I had nothing to do with that.”
“Someone told the cops I was here.”
“Someone did, but I assure you it wasn’t me or my staff.”
According to him. Rory still wasn’t sure of the truth. His wolf had nothing to say on this score. “Why did you come?”
“I thought you might need my help.”
“Not from you, I don’t.” Bitterness colored his words.
“Can’t a father try and do the right thing?”
“I have a father.”
At that, Theo’s lips turned down. “I know. And a fine man, too. A better one than me, apparently, but I’m hoping it’s not too late to make amends.”
“Bailing me out isn’t going to earn you forgiveness.”
“Having the charges dropped is a start, though.”
“You can’t make the charges go away.” Arson. Attempted murder. Assault. Rory might have reacted a tad strongly at the discovery he had a second father.
“And yet here you stand, a free man.”
Which made no sense. “Who did you bribe?”
“No one.”
“Then how? They have evidence.” Video footage. Eyewitness accounts. That was, if Bryce Elanroux and his paramour tattled.
“Funny thing about that. It seems they lost their evidence.” Theo’s lips quirked. “Small towns. Things have a tendency to get misplaced. Oftentimes permanently. No proof, no charges.”
The sidewalk outside the police station held pedestrians, walking quickly to their destinations, heads down against the icy wind. “What do you want from me?” Rory asked. Because he doubted Elanroux ever did anything without a motive.
“I want a chance for us to get to know each other.”
“What if I don’t want to?”
“I understand you’re angry right now. What I did to your mother—”
“Angry?” Rory whirled. “This isn’t about my mom and the fact you seduced her. Or the fact I now have two daddies. I’m pissed because you kept Danita away from me.” Therein lay his real simmering rage.
“I was trying to honor her wishes. She was so hurt when you pushed her away because of the baby.”
Rory’s lips flattened. “I never pushed. She ran.”
“With reason. She overheard you talking to a friend.”
She must have been awake in the car when he spoke to Connor. He could have groaned. “I was in shock at the time. I’d just found out about the pregnancy and was trying to process it. Yeah, maybe I didn’t immediately do fucking cartwheels, but I’ve had time since then to realize I don’t care who the father is. I just want her back.”
“I’m glad to hear that. And assumed you’d patched things up when you did your best to sneak into the house last night.”
“You knew I was breaking in?”
Elanroux smiled, and for an uncanny moment, Rory saw himself in the grin. “I’ve been keeping an eye on you.”
For a moment, Rory froze. “If you were, then you knew I was looking for Danita.” He also then realized. “You didn’t tell me on purpose. You were waiting for me to contact you.”
A slight nod.
“And what? Were you going to use her as a bargaining chip to force a relationship?”
“Actually, I was more concerned about my grandchild in her belly.”
Rory kept his mouth shut rather than tattle the fact that it might not be his.
Elanroux snorted. “I can read your face, son. Like a younger version of myself. The baby is yours. I even had a test done since I figured you wouldn’t believe it.”
“Mine.” Fuck me, Danita carries my child! Now, more than ever, he needed to return to her side. “Tell you what. How about I don’t kick your old-man ass for being a manipulative bastard and you take me to Danita now.”
“I left her at the house.”
Elanroux repeated that several times, rather disbelievingly, over the next hour as they searched the place and couldn’t find her. The alarm system was disabled. Kendrick knocked unconscious. And Bryce was off with Melanie on a cruise.
“I can’t believe you fucking lost her.” Rory’s accusation wasn’t exactly fair. He didn’t care.
“I didn’t lose her. Someone stole her.” They were in the garden, where the smell of cat still lingered. The fucker had marked the lettuce patch.
“You should have had more guards.” Dogs. Real ones. The kind that tore the legs off strangers. A cannon, to blow his fucking nuts off. “You knew she was in danger from Kelso.”
“He knows who I am.” Elanroux puffed his chest. “I didn’t think he’d have the balls to come into my territory.”
A valid assumption, given Elanroux was on the Chimera Council—the ruling group that kept all shapeshifters from all walks of life in line—as an elder member. Most people accorded them extra respect.
“Yeah, well, think again. Kelso has already crossed a few lines. What’s a few more?”
“I noticed. And believe me, this upsets me as much as you.”
Doubtful. His bio father didn’t have a wolf pacing inside, growling and snapping, ready to draw blood. Rory scrubbed a hand over his face, feeling the rough scrape of his bristles. “I’ll have to make some calls. Figure out where she is.” Because no way was he letting Kelso put a dirty paw on her.
“No need. I know where he is hiding. She told me about the cabin he kept her prisoner in. I know that cabin, and I’ll bet it’s where he took her.”
Which was how, less than a day later, Rory found himself outside a log cabin in the middle of fucking nowhere surrounded by way too many trees. What the fuck was it with Canada and trees? Everywhere he went, tall ones, fat ones, skinny trunks, fir needles. Give him the wide-open views of the ocean where a man could see for miles. He couldn’t wait to go home, but not until he’d found Danita.
And this time, he was in the right place. He could smell not only the man he hunted, but…my woman.
Planting his hands on his hips, he opened his mouth and bellowed, “Darling, if you’re in there, I’m coming for you!” Perhaps not the most brilliant way of announcing his presence, but he didn’t see a doorbell. It worked, though.
Movement at a second-floor window caught his attention. A moment later, a sash shoved open and she appeared, pressing against the bug screen.
>
The widest smile stretched his lips, especially since she looked unharmed if pale. “Hey, darling, you okay?”
“Are you insane?” she hissed. “Leave before he hears you.”
But the whole point of being loud was drawing Kelso’s attention. “Like hell I’m leaving. I came to get you.” Because, today, Rory got to be a hero—and it felt fucking great.
“I appreciate it, really I do, but it’s too dangerous.”
“Yeah, those back-country roads are killer on a vehicle’s suspension. Good thing I didn’t come in the Beemer.”
“Rory, don’t joke about this. I am talking about real danger. Leave now, please. If you don’t, I’m afraid Kelso will kill you.”
“He can try.”
She growled, and pretty darned well for a human. “Would you stop that? This is not a game. Kelso. Will. Murder. You.”
“Do you have so little faith in my abilities, darling?”
He probably shouldn’t tease her. He knew her well enough now to realize she’d yet to figure out his furry secret. She wouldn’t be in the dark much longer.
“You stupid man. Listen to me,” she snapped. “Kelso will tear you apart. He’s not normal.”
“I know. Don’t worry, darling. I’ve got this covered. And I know I should have done this better, but we don’t have time. So, just remember. No matter what you see, I’d never hurt you.” With the promise uttered, Rory cupped his hands to his mouth, but rather than bellow, he howled. A long, drawn-out call to action aimed at a cowardly cat.
He ignored Dani’s soft and confused “Rory?” to focus on the front door that opened. Out sauntered Kelso, thumbs looped in his pants, a sneer on his face. He wouldn’t be smirking for long. Rory planned to rearrange his features.
“Stupid dumb dog. You should have walked away.”
“No, you should have walked away. Danita’s mine.”
“Are you still yapping about that pesky marriage thing? Don’t worry. She’ll be a widow before long.” Kelso beckoned, and men piled onto the porch behind him, the same scruffy crew as before.
“Is that all you got?”
“I’d say we’re plenty enough to handle one mangy cur.” Kelso’s grin oozed of confidence. Rory couldn’t wait to knock it off.
He allowed his own smirk of triumph to appear. “Did you really think I came alone?” Rory whistled and from the woods emerged his backup, an eclectic mix that would have made a certain nature photographer cream his pants.
First emerged a big beast of a moose—cousin Bryce who grumbled about helping Rory, a man he hated, until his mate, Melanie, slugged him in the gut and told him he should be happy to have family.
Next, out stepped a grizzled lynx—Uncle Kieran, Melanie’s father, who’d been too late to stop Rory from making a fool of himself the last time he visited his bio father.
If that weren’t odd enough, accompanying them were wolves, including Rory’s father. A man who’d finally come to his senses and realized that handing Dani over, any woman for that matter, was just fucking wrong.
Lastly, his best friend, Connor—who’d crossed the border illegally—and another buddy of his, Wesley. When they’d heard what happened, they volunteered to help. Theo did, too, but Bryce threatened to put him back in the hospital if he didn’t follow the doctor’s orders.
“You bastard. You dare think to attack me,” Kelso growled.
“You shouldn’t have taken what was mine.” Rory unbuttoned his shirt.
Kelso tore his right off. “You’ll have to fight me if you want her.”
“With pleasure.”
Kelso jumped down from the porch, his skin rippling with the change. His remaining clothes tearing as his limbs contorted and his body bulked. Fur sprouted from his skin, a light tawny color. Mountain cat claws sprang from his paws as they hit the ground. The feline snarled.
Overhead in the window still, Danita cried out, “Oh my God, I told you he wasn’t normal. Run before he eats you. Run!”
Except Rory wasn’t about to run. “Remember what I said,” he replied. Only now did he wish he’d had an earlier chance to warn Danita about the fact that Kelso wasn’t the only one with a furry personality. She was about to find out.
Shifters were just people who had better control of the switch to change their shape into something else. Those who claimed they really were two separate entities? Deluding themselves. His multiple personalities were all about him.
But would Danita recognize that?
Or call him a monster, too?
Come out, come out, wherever you are, he mentally hummed to his wolf. It didn’t need any urging. His beast, that primal part of him, rose to the surface, not so much a separate entity as a control over his own biology.
He closed his ears to her sobbed gasp of shock as he finally revealed his wolf.
No need for a mirror. His appearance wouldn’t have changed since the last time. Bigger than your average wolf. Tawnier haired, too. No one talked about the two horns on his forehead. Short nubs that gave him a rather fierce appearance.
He stood without moving, head canted toward the window. Danita was gone.
Something he couldn’t worry about because the battle was on! Kelso, a mountain cougar, sprang at him with powerful hind legs, his claws slashing. Rory knew to steer clear of those razor-sharp blades. He liked his guts inside his body, thank you. When it came to slashing claws versus his nails meant more for running, Kelso had a clear advantage, which was why Theo had suggested bringing a gun to the fight—because those mountain cats fight dirty. But Rory had heard enough old stories to have a certain distaste when it came to firearms. It seemed like cheating somehow. What he didn’t have a problem with was a helping hand or—in this case—a helping rack. Bryce—whom he had a hard time thinking of as a nephew because they were of a similar age—came at the cougar with tines lowered. With a snarl to keep Kelso distracted, Rory watched as Bryce charged in and scooped the big kitty. A toss of his head and Kelso flew, hitting the ground hard on his side. So much for the always-land-on-four-feet rule.
Before the cougar could fully recover his wits, Rory tore into him, snarling and snapping, doing his best to avoid those deadly claws. Cats were nimble fuckers, though. A slash across Rory’s shoulder left a burning gouge that bled.
Bryce returned to help, taking his turn against Kelso, who spat and hissed and slashed.
When Bryce took a nasty slash to the leg, Rory finally could jump in for a turn. They wrestled, locked in a furry battle of gnashing teeth and flying fur.
Kelso wriggled free and bolted for the house. Made it to the open door and… Boom!
A gunshot took off his head.
For a moment, everything paused, a silent moment with eyes trained on Kelso’s body. It sank in slow motion to the ground, the neck bubbling hotly. The bloodlust ran hot, as hot as the coppery blood spilled. There were still a few cats standing. Rory helped take care of them before he took a paw toward the cabin. The front door loomed open. The window overhead bare.
He took a second step and paused. He lifted his nose for a sniff. A true inhalation that let him taste every scent. Blood, animal musk, and fear. Human fear.
His mate’s fear. She wasn’t inside the house.
Rory trotted around the side of the building, moving faster as he left the scene of the battle, and her scent became clearer. She’d bolted from the house, and now that he knew that, he ran.
Four paws moving in synchronicity meant he covered the ground more quickly than she. It wasn’t long before he heard her panting gasps. The gap between them closed, and she turned to look over her shoulder, eyes wide with fear.
Dammit, don’t be scared of me, darling.
She wasn’t watching where she ran and tripped over a rock. Her entire body jerked. Her arms flailed. She didn’t catch her balance. Toppling forward, she barely managed to get her hands out to break her fall.
He wasn’t in time to catch her, even though, moments later, he knelt beside her. As a man.
She cringed from him. “Stay away from me!”
No ignoring the fear in her eyes. Then again, what did he expect? He was covered in blood and naked. Probably not something she’d ever had to deal with before. What he could show her, though, was he meant her no harm. “Don’t be scared, darling. It’s just me.”
“You’re one of them.”
Not the most auspicious inflection. “I’m a Lycan.”
“Which is a werewolf.”
“Yes.”
“Like Kelso.”
“Nothing like that asshole,” he said most vehemently. The sharp bite of his words had her flinching. He softened them. “I might be a shapeshifter, but you have to believe me when I say I’d never hurt you.”
“But I saw you. Fighting.”
“To save you. Because you and I both know Kelso wasn’t about to hand you over.”
“I know. It’s why I shot him.”
He’d wondered when the shot came from the house. The courage it must have taken to step up and do what had to be done. “He can’t ever hurt you again.”
“Can’t he? When the police find out what I did—”
“They won’t find out. There’s a reason you were surprised we really existed, and that’s because we know how to wipe our tracks. Which means don’t worry about Kelso. No one will ever know what happened.”
“Is that what happened to my dad? Did Kelso kill him?”
An intriguing question. “We will have to look for the answer. I’m just happy you and the baby are safe. My baby.”
“Yours...” Her face blanched. “Will the baby be—”
“Special? Possibly. Although it remains to be seen whether that will be moose or wolf.”
“Moose?” she squeaked.
“Blame my paternal line for that.”
She licked her lips before asking, “That was Theo outside?”
“No, my nephew Bryce. Which makes you that moose’s aunt.”
She closed her eyes. “This is insane.”
“You’ll get used to it.”
“What if I don’t want to?”
“You will because you love me.” He lifted her in his arms.
“Says who?”
“Says me. The man who loves you, too.”
Her nose wrinkled. “You do?”
“More than you can imagine.”