“Or not so clearly,” she pointed out, her tone wry.
Eric smirked as he glanced her way again, unable to keep his damn eyes off her. “You just weren’t paying attention.”
“This isn’t getting us anywhere,” she said, the husky sound of her laughter making him hot. But then, he was still so wound up from their time together in the kitchen, he figured she could blow him a kiss and he’d probably lose it. “So tell me something else about your...people.”
Taking it as a good sign that she wanted to know more about him, Eric braced his elbow on the door, his fingers stroking the stubble on his chin, and gave her some facts. “Well, we’re good at blending in when we have to, and we all have driver’s licenses and Social Security numbers, so we have no problem moving around in the human world. Even our genetic makeup cloaks what we really are, so there’s nothing in our DNA to alert a doctor if one of us ends up in the hospital. The only real threat to our secret and our way of life are the rogues.”
“The ones who...hunt humans?”
“Yeah. And then there are the other packs. They could become a serious problem for the Silvercrest.”
“You mean like the Whiteclaw?” she asked, shifting around a bit in her seat so that she could face him.
With another nod, he said, “We have three packs who border our land, on the north, west and south. After what happened five months ago, they see us as weak.”
“What happened five months ago?”
Since there was a chance she might hear something about his father while they were in town—though he didn’t plan on taking her around anyone but Elise—Eric figured it was time to tell her about what had happened. He just hoped like hell that it didn’t blow up in his face.
Shoving his fingers back through his hair, he tried not to snarl as he said, “We, uh, had a bit of an uprising.”
Silence followed, and then she gave a soft, confused laugh. “That’s it, Eric? That’s all you’re going to tell me?”
His throat worked on a hard swallow. “Actually, there are some things that I need to explain before we get there.”
Another pause, as if she could sense his tension. And then a simple, encouraging, “Okay.”
Pulling in a deep breath, Eric finally bit the bullet and told her about his father’s maniacal plan to take over the Silvercrest. A bloodthirsty plan that had resulted in a significant loss of life, had shattered the pack’s sense of safety and left an entire group of teens...as well as most of the residents in Shadow Peak...emotionally traumatized. As a result, the town had been left without its leaders, and he described how he’d been trying to set up an interim government based on free election. He also explained that the Runners were now handling all elements of security for the pack, though a few of the residents had set up an auxiliary security unit inside the town itself, since there were still Lycans who were too biased to go to the Runners if there was an issue they needed help with.
Then he told her about Elise’s history, so that she would understand what they were heading into. It wasn’t easy to convey the brutal story of how his sister had been raped by three Lycan males several years ago, the trauma of the nightmare still affecting her today. He told her about Eli, as well, and how his older brother had been banished from the pack after managing to track down and kill one of the wolves involved in the rape. Because the League of Elders who had governed the pack at the time hadn’t sanctioned the kill, Eli had been exiled. The other two Lycans who had attacked Elise had never been found.
“Torrance told me that Lycans are incredible trackers,” she said when he was done, her quiet voice thick with emotion. “Why couldn’t the pack find the ones who were responsible?”
“The night Elise was attacked, it was storming. The rains washed any traces of scent away, and there was nothing to track. It was just pure luck that Eli managed to find one of them.”
“Was he one of the Silvercrest?”
Working his jaw, he said, “No. He was from some pack out in Wyoming. We never could find any connection to any of the packs around here to explain what he was doing in the area.”
“So the trail stopped cold.” She reached out, placing a comforting hand on his rigid shoulder, rubbing a little at the knotted muscle. It felt so good, he wanted to demand she put it back when she took her hand away. Wanted to insist she keep touching him. But she wrapped her arms around herself, as if she was cold, and added, “No wonder Elise lives on edge. I would, too.”
He turned off the cold air blowing in from the vents, and heard himself telling her things that he’d only ever discussed with Jillian—and only then because they’d been in the middle of the nightmare with his father. But he wanted Chelsea to know. Knew, without any doubt, that she would understand. “When she was raped, my father told Elise that it was her fault for being weaker than they were. Then he went and used her in his twisted games, breaking her down even more. If I didn’t already hate him for what he did to the pack, I’d despise him for how he treated Elise. For what he put her through.”
As they pulled into the town, she said, “I’d feel the same way, Eric.”
“So that’s the whole ugly story,” he grated, scrubbing his hand over his mouth as if he could somehow wipe away the taste of bitterness that still lingered. “My father wreaked havoc on this place, and the pack is still trying to piece itself back together. The teens who were targeted are still going through a rough time, but Max, Michaela’s brother, has been doing a great job of working with them.”
“She told me about how he was turned and is going to train to be a Runner along with his friend Elliot.”
“Yeah, they’re some good guys. Since they spend more time in town nowadays than I do, they’ve been keeping an eye on Elise for me.” He steered the truck into a small alley between two closed offices, and turned off the engine. “But from her text, it sounds like neither of them was able to follow her home from work today.”
He took his gun out of the glove box, where he’d stowed it before paying a visit to Casey’s asshole husband, and then they climbed out of the truck, meeting up at the tailgate. Looking around, she said, “I thought we were going to Elise’s house.”
“We are. She’s just a few blocks over.” As they started down the sidewalk, he added, “I thought it might be better if I didn’t draw any attention to the fact that I’m in town.” At least not when Chelsea was with him. The last thing he wanted was her having to listen to some of the bullshit that got tossed his way these days.
The walk took only a few minutes, the streets thankfully quiet. They made their way up Elise’s front steps, but before Eric even had the chance to knock, his sister opened the door, looking as beautiful as ever, though it was clear she was upset. Her dark red hair, which had come from their mother, looked as if it had been combed with nervous fingers, her pale face tight with strain, her scent a heartbreaking mixture of rage and fear that made Eric want to destroy whoever was responsible.
For so many years, he’d put up with his father’s bullshit to protect her, make things easier for her, and look where it’d gotten them. If she wasn’t hiding out at her office, she was hiding here in her home, both of them now treated with suspicion by the townspeople who had once been their friends.
Damn it, he should have gutted his old man when he had the chance.
Elise stepped aside to let them into the house, managing a small smile for Chelsea, who Eric knew she’d heard about from Jillian. “Hey, El. I’ve brought someone with me.” He took Chelsea’s hand, pulling her to his side. “Elise, this is Chelsea. Chelsea, my sister, Elise.”
Chelsea said that it was nice to have the chance to meet her, and his sister’s smile got a little brighter. “It’s nice to meet you, too.”
“What exactly happened?” he asked, shutting the door behind them as Chelsea followed Elise into her living room.
Perching on the arm of a loveseat, Elise clutched a throw pillow against her chest and slid him an apologetic look. “Eric, I’m sorry
I texted you. I just got a little...spooked. But I’m fine now.”
Preferring to stay on his feet, he pushed his hands in his pockets. “You don’t need to be sorry, El. Just tell me what happened.”
Elise explained how she came home from work to find her back door ajar, when she was certain she’d locked it before leaving. Not wanting to check the house by herself, she tried to get someone from the new security service in town to come over, but they refused, which had Eric saying a few choice things under his breath. He told her that if something like that happened again, she was to call him first, then Max or Elliot, since the younger men were usually close by. Then he asked why the hell she hadn’t gotten out of the house. Lifting her chin in a way that reminded him of Chelsea, she told him that she did call Max, but wasn’t able to get in touch with him. While she was explaining that her neighbor Eddie came home just as she was getting ready to leave and did a walkthrough to make sure no one was inside, Max showed up at the front door and Eric let him in. The two men searched the house themselves, taking different routes, then met up in the living room, where his sister and Chelsea were quietly talking.
“I didn’t pick up the scent of another male,” Eric said, scraping his palm over his jaw as he stood near the fireplace. “Just Max and Eddie.”
“I must have just forgotten to shut the door behind me this morning,” Elise murmured, sounding as if she was trying to convince herself it was true.
“Did you tell him about the calls?” Max asked, which earned him a glare from Elise.
Getting the feeling he wasn’t being told the whole story, Eric struggled to hold on to his temper. “What calls?”
Elise shook her head, then nervously tucked a dark strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s nothing, Eric.”
Frustration roughened his tone. “Damn it, El. I can’t help you if you won’t be honest with me.”
“It was just some asshole trying to scare me,” she burst out, surging to her feet with the pillow still clutched against her chest. “It’s nothing new. After everything that’s happened, we’ve been expecting it.”
“That doesn’t make it right,” he growled.
The conversation went downhill from there, with Eric trying to convince her to come back to the Alley with him and Chelsea, and Elise firmly refusing, saying that she wasn’t going to be scared out of her home. Both of them refused to back down, until Max offered another solution, saying that he could crash there for the night so she wouldn’t be alone.
Eric shot his sister a look that said she’d either accept Max’s offer or get dragged down to the Alley with him, so she did. After cutting a hostile glare toward Eric, she gave Michaela’s brother a tight smile. “Thanks, Max. I really appreciate it.”
“Guys, I hate to interrupt,” Chelsea said, leaning forward in the chair near the window, her attention focused on something outside, “but it looks like there’s a crowd gathering in front of the house.”
Hell, Eric thought, rubbing his eyes. This was all they needed. “Wait here.” He looked at both women. “I mean it. The last thing I need is the two of you getting caught in the middle of whatever’s going on.” Then he told Max to keep an eye on them, and walked outside, shutting the front door behind him.
There were about twenty people gathered in the street, and in the front of the group, standing on the sidewalk, was Glenn Farrow. Glenn had been petitioning for Eric and Elise’s banishment ever since their father had gone all apocalyptic on the pack. He was a social climber of the worst sort, and he’d zeroed in on Eric’s bloodline and his tie with the Runners as a platform he could use to gain attention. He spouted nothing but a load of bullshit—and yet, there were those in town who were listening.
Wearing a smarmy smile that matched the slicked-back style of his thinning hair, Glenn locked his pale gaze with Eric’s. “Your sister really has to stop bothering our security officers here in town, Drake. You and the Runners might patrol our borders, but the private security team we’ve put together is out of your control.”
Eric kept his hands loose at his sides as he came to a stop a few feet away from the Lycan, wanting to be ready in case the idiot tried anything. Farrow was shorter than Eric by a good five inches, and scrawny as a sapling—but he wouldn’t put it past the guy to fight dirty. “You need to mind your own business, Glenn. This has nothing to do with you—unless you’re the one causing the trouble.”
“Trouble? What trouble?” the Lycan sneered. “You know she’s making it all up.”
Beyond Glenn’s shoulders, Eric saw several of those in the crowd nodding their heads in agreement. Once, these people had looked up to him—but now he was a prime example of just how far someone could fall in their eyes. There was a time when it would have bothered him greatly, but that was no longer the case. With a sharp little jolt, he realized that the only opinions that mattered to him these days were his own...Chelsea’s...Eli’s and Elise’s...and those of his friends in the Alley. The rest, he was starting to feel, could all go to hell.
He wasn’t looking for a fight with Glenn and his cronies. But he wasn’t going to let them drag Elise’s name through the mud, either. “You need to watch your mouth, Glenn.”
“I’m only saying what a bunch of us are thinking.”
“I won’t tell you again,” he warned in a chilling tone. “Get your ass out of here.”
“Make me,” the Lycan shot back as if they were school kids facing off on a playground. Shaking his head at the pathetic loser, Eric started to turn and head back inside, knowing the last thing he needed to do in front of so many witnesses was give in to his need to knock Glenn on his skinny backside. But the idiot didn’t know when to leave well enough alone. Drunk on his little power play, the jackass came up behind him and shoved Eric in the shoulder. “You runnin’ now, Drake?”
His fingertips burned as deadly claws pricked just beneath the surface of his skin, but he fought back the urge to release them. Glenn was just looking for a way to add more fuel to the fire, and Eric was damned if he was going to give it to him.
Rubbing his tongue over his teeth, Eric slowly turned around and regarded the Lycan with a look of disgust.
“You and your friends can’t keep running things,” Glenn snarled, his voice rising. “The pack doesn’t want their help.”
“Maybe a few bigots feel that way. But I think the majority are finally seeing the Runners for what they are.” It was ironic, really. In his bid to destroy the Runners forever, his father had brought the pack closer to acceptance of the half Lycan, half human hunters than they’d ever been before, since it was the Runners who had saved the town from Stefan Drake’s psychotic plans. Yeah, there was still a lot of progress to be made, but at least the lines that separated the Runners and the pack were starting to blur.
“What they are,” Glenn echoed with a gritty laugh. “You mean a bunch of embarrassing half-breeds?”
“More like heroes!” someone called out from the crowd.
“They’re mongrels!” Glenn shouted, turning red in the face. Then he took a deep breath, regrouping, and slid Eric a taunting leer. “There might be a few who misguidedly support the Runners, but you should know that there are a lot of us who will do whatever it takes to stop them from assuming control here.” His voice got lower. “And there are a lot of us who believe that your family will finally get what it deserves. Including your sister.”
It took no more than a second for Eric to have Glenn’s throat in his grip, then slam him down backward on the hood of the nearest parked car with a bone-jarring thud. “You so much as even look at my sister,” he said in a low, deadly rasp, leaning over and getting right in the bastard’s face, “and I’ll take your fucking head off. We clear on that?”
He didn’t wait for an answer. He just left Glenn sprawled on the hood, turning back toward the house just in time to catch Chelsea and Elise rushing down the front steps, their expressions of worry nearly identical.
“Sorry!” Max called out, following after
them. “I tried to keep them inside, but your woman kneed me.” Judging by the way Max was walking, Eric had a good idea of where Chelsea had landed the blow, and he was privately thankful he hadn’t been the one trying to stop her. She fought dirty!
“Are you okay?” she called out, running up to him.
“I’m fine,” he told her just as Crissy Cowell came around the edge of the crowd, a derisive look on her face when she spotted Chelsea.
“A human, Eric? Are you kidding me?”
He cut the female Lycan a dark look from beneath his brows. “Stay out of it, Crissy.”
Laughing, showing a catty side of her personality that Eric must have been blind to miss, she asked, “Isn’t she a little too much like prey for a guy like you?”
“I’d watch what you say, bitch.” The snarled words came from Elise.
Crissy smirked. “So the little human doesn’t mind that he likes to use his fangs and claws in the sack?”
Chelsea might have paled, but she didn’t cower. “Do you have any idea how jealous you sound right now?” she snapped.
The Lycan looked at Eric, her rouged lips curled in a sneer. “Dark wolves and humans don’t mix.”
“For the last time,” he growled, wondering how he’d ever been stupid enough to get involved with this woman, “mind your own damn business.”
“But she’s right!” Glenn shouted, pressing one hand against the back of his head as he staggered away from the car where Eric had flattened him. “You’re threatening this whole community by bringing her here!”
Everyone started shouting at the same time, his supporters well outnumbered by those who were quickly jumping on Farrow’s bandwagon. “When they find her body, he’ll bring the cops down on us!...He was just fooling us for years!...He’s just like his father!...This is going to end in another catastrophe!” In the middle of it all, someone threw a clump of mud at his chest, splattering his T-shirt and arms. Eric growled, scanning the crowd for the guilty party, but all he saw was a sea of angry faces.
Dark Wolf Rising (Bloodrunners) Page 18