Outfoxed: A Zodiac Shifters Paranormal Romance: Gemini

by Melissa Snark

  "There's nothing to tell. We gave the dragon the genuine box. Once he had it, he decided to kill us anyway..." Silver clicked his tongue. "Damn dragons. You can't trust 'em any further than you can throw 'em."

  Stupefied, Branwen stared at him. Her eyes grew great and round, brimming with tears, and her lips trembled. "Thank you. That's so much kinder than I deserve. Can you forgive me?"

  "Yeah, I forgive you," Silver drawled. "Coyote knows, I've made plenty of mistakes in my time. Besides..." He smirked and conveyed a sideways glance on her, eyes narrowed with laughter. "I should a known better than to trust a raven with something shiny."

  "Hey, I resemble that." Branwen giggled, wavering at first, but then her mirth gained confidence. She offered him a real grin and landed a play punch on his arm. They shared a laugh, bonding over the stupid joke until Branwen grew serious again. She glanced about the room. "Where's Hannah? I owe her an apology, too."

  "Hannah's gone." His tone fell flat. His chin dropped against his chest, and he considered just dropping back onto the bed. It'd taken an hour for him to work up the motivation to get up in the first place, though, so he loathed the prospect of the wasted effort.

  "Gone where?" Branwen squawked.

  "Gone for good." At some point in the night, the comforter had slipped off the bed. It lay in a pool of fabric at the foot. Silver kicked it aside, uncovering his pants.

  "Why? You two were so great together."

  "She needed more than I could give her." Silver gathered his dirty clothes and dumped them in the hamper. He chose a clean set with the intention of showering.

  "And you just let her go?" Scowling Branwen scrutinized him, her intense gaze following him as he moved around the room. He glimpsed the storm gathering behind her dark eyes.

  "Letting her go was the only shot I had at keeping her, Branwen." He offered her a lopsided smile, hoping she'd get a clue and back off. He wasn't in the mood to deal with pressure or histrionics right then.

  "Oh, Silver. I'm sorry." Branwen's mouth bowed in sorrow. "What do you need me to do?"

  "Nothing." He shook his head. "I'm gonna shower, then check in with the others and see if we have a plan."

  "Oh yeah," Branwen said with the air of sudden recollection. "I was supposed to tell you. We have a gig tonight in Lincoln Heights. The Hiatus had a last-minute cancelation. The others are loading the van right now."

  "Great. Tell 'em I'll be out in a few." Silver mustered false enthusiasm, but he doubted he fooled Branwen. The Hiatus was a coveted gig; one of Lincoln Heights' best dive bars. He should've been thrilled, but at the moment, he lacked any desire to perform at all. He had no idea what he'd do once he got on stage. Could he fake that, too?

  Branwen took pity on him. She hustled out the door, leaving him alone to tend to his wounds in private. He cleaned up and dressed, and then made his way across the grounds. The pathway led him between the main house and the detached garage. Oddly, the van stood unattended with its rear and side doors open.

  Silver's coyote senses sharpened, picking up the tense verbal undertone that accompanied a confrontation. He sped his pace and rounded the corner of the garage, so the entire front yard came into view. He stopped dead in his tracks even as his heart rushed to make up for lost time.

  A few feet past the wrought iron gates, two groups squared off on the paved driveway. Disco served as the focal point of the defense; Oz flanked him to one side and Cheyenne the other. Hannah led the opposition, her sister and grandmother gathered about her in a cluster.

  Silver eased closer to eavesdrop. Cheyenne performed a quarter turn toward Silver. The big blond lifted his brow in a silent query. Silver shook his head and Cheyenne cleared out of his path.

  "...out of my way, Disco."

  "You should leave, Hannah. You've done enough damage already," Disco said.

  "Get out of my way, Disco, or I'm going to rip off that smirk and beat you to death with it." Hannah scowled. She opened and closed her hands, threatening to wring his throat.

  As much as he would've loved watching Disco get handed his ass, Silver decided it was time to step in. "She will, too."

  At the sound of Silver's soft statement, everyone swung around with reactions ranging from surprise to disapproval. Disco, in particular, looked fit to be tied. Oz, however, followed Cheyenne's lead and backed off. An audience consolidated out of the confusion, leaving Silver and Hannah at center stage. It didn't matter. Everyone else in the whole world ceased to exist for Silver.

  When Hannah looked up and first saw him, joy lit her from within, transformed her before his eyes. It only lasted a few seconds before worry dimmed her smile. She frowned and fidgeted. Silver's spirits soared on the wings of optimism. It didn't matter if Hannah still harbored reservations. She'd come back to him. Any other issues they might have could be worked out.

  "Did you come back to gloat?" Silver sported a cocky grin and rode the momentum of a tsunami of confidence as it gathered beneath him. He sauntered to her.

  "You have something that belongs to me." His green-eyed vixen froze him with a stare. Her beautiful features set in a hard mask.

  "What's that?" Silver narrowed his eyes to cover his fear. Doubt assailed him. Had she only come back because she'd forgotten something? Maybe he should've trusted Disco's jackass attempt to protect him for his own good.

  Hannah sashayed right up to him and placed her hand flat against his chest. "My heart. You stole it while I wasn't looking."

  "Do you mean that?" He closed his eyes, weak with relief and elation. When his hands rose, Hannah caught them.

  "I mean it. I love you." She clung to him for support, and they propped each other up: stronger together than as individuals.

  "What happened to needing your freedom?" He opened his eyes again, not waiting to miss even a moment of their reunion.

  She pressed her mouth to his and whispered, "It took an hour of being free to make me realize the only prison holding me was the one I put around myself."

  "Don't ever do that to me again."

  "I won't. Promise." Hannah crossed her heart.

  "You were gone two hours," he said, arched with gentle sarcasm.

  "We hit traffic." Hannah smiled, but then grew serious. "Silver, you are my freedom. I don't have your talent with words, so I don't how to say this so you'll understand. When I'm with you, all the hurt and loneliness stop. I want to be a part of your song."

  "You said it perfectly. You are a part of my song." Overwhelmed, Silver lost himself in her heat and the taste of her. The kiss, a true union, went on forever and only the two of them existed.

  Suddenly Silver and Hannah found themselves crushed between the other Kelly women: Fiona on one side, Bonita on the other. "Help," Silver muttered, smothered beneath feminine tears and laughter. All three women were talking all at once and he doubted anyone heard him.

  "Better get used to it. Me and my family are sorta a package deal," Hannah said with a grin. "Think you can handle us?"

  "Piece of cake. How can you even ask—you're mine, right?" He locked his arms around her waist and spun them around, dancing to the music in his heart.

  The future was bright.

  Chapter Nineteen

  After dark, Las Vegas threw on a sparkly dress and cheap cologne for a night on the town. Drunken tourists guzzled booze from plastic containers and kamikaze taxicabs whizzed through the streets. Glitz and glamour formed a thin veneer of flash over the sticky base of tackiness and desperation.

  Silver settled his hands on his hips and allowed his gaze to frolic across the Strip packed with crowds and heavy traffic. He spread his arms wide as though to embrace the city and strolled along the street.

  "I fucking love Vegas."

  A throaty chuckle emanated from behind Silver. "Thanks," Coyote said with a snicker. "This city is some of my best work, if I do say so myself."

  Silver came to a full stop. The pit of his stomach dropped out, but there was no sense in delaying the inevitable. Time to pa
y the piper. Slowly, he pivoted on his heel to face his god. He took a deep breath and spread empty hands.

  "You're here for the box. I don't have it."

  Coyote cocked his head. "I know."

  "Guess I still own you that favor," Silver said with a thin sigh. "Are you here to call in the marker?" Again...

  "Nah, we can call it even," Coyote said with a laconic smile. "Consider it a wedding present to you and Hannah. Speaking of, where is your better half?"

  "Bachelorette party," Silver supplied with a smile. He'd evaded his own bachelor party by the skin of his teeth. No doubt, a posse led by Oz was hunting for him now.

  "Ah, bachelorettes..." Coyote leered. "Tempting."

  Silver refused to take the bait.

  "You're joking about us being even. You don't mean that." Steeped in suspicion, Silver studied his god, waiting for the sucker punch to land. In his experience, the Trickster didn't do anything out of charity or generosity. He always had an ulterior motive.

  "Course I mean it. Hell, Silver, didn't anyone ever tell you not to look a gift horse in the mouth?" Coyote shook his head in exaggerated dismay. "All our accounts are settled. We're even. Now say thank you."

  "Thank you," Silver said, still tied up in misgivings. He tried not to ask but failed. "Why?"

  Coyote eyed him and for a second, Silver expected the god to shoot back a glib "Why what?" as the opening move in a word game. True to his reputation, however, Coyote defied expectations and predictability. "Because I like you, kid. I love your music, and I even admire that misguided honor thing you've got going. The fact is, you delivered on the real favor I wanted. The box was just a ploy."

  "I don't understand." Silver eased back off his hardened suspicion because Coyote sounded sincere. From personal experience, Silver knew what it was like to always be judged and to have the worst assumed about you. If Hannah could overcome her prejudices against coyotes, especially given her history of abuse, then Silver wanted to pay that forward.

  "Hannah. She prayed for help," Coyote coughed up the truth like a cat with a hairball—a disagreeable show for both the feline and its audience.

  "Hannah prayed to you?" Silver retreated toward skepticism again.

  "Not to me, per se," Coyote said with a sly smile. "It may've been more along the lines of 'If anyone is listening, I sure could use some help.' It just so happened I was tuned in to the right prayer station... and foxes are my children, too."

  "So, you helped her out of the kindness of your heart..."

  "What can I say? I've always been a sucker for beautiful women. One look into those big green eyes and I was a goner." Coyote's glib façade slipped, and the god's eyes shone with a feral gleam. "It was an opportunity to take care of Nick, too. I'm all for my children being enterprising. Rules are made to be broken except for the ones I give you. We don't abuse or enslave our own."

  "Thank you." Silver bowed his head. He'd needed an explanation to understand and dispel his doubts. The long shadow of shame hung over him, too, doubtless as Coyote had intended. Thanks to the god's meddling, Hannah and her family were safe and Silver had found his mate. Silver owed Coyote more than he could ever repay in this lifetime.

  "Do you get it?" Coyote asked.

  "Yeah, I get it." Silver grimaced, and ran a hand through his long hair. "When I set out to make a better man of myself, I thought I had to distance myself from you. You taught me to lie and steal—"

  "I taught you the skills you needed to survive, kid. You were almost dead when I hauled you out of that ditch. I didn't want you to wind up back there. But I never told you it was who you had to be. Fact is, I look out for my children."

  "You have every right to call me an ingrate." Silver hung his head.

  "I don't have to. I've made my point." Coyote grinned, gloating a bit, even as he laid a fatherly hand on Silver's shoulder. "I'm all about freedom and adaptation. I'm the wandering wind, the ever-changing moon. Reinvent yourself, if that's what you must do to be happy, but don't leave me. I'd miss you. Now chin up. Coyotes don't kowtow... unless it's a con, your life is at stake, or your mate is pissed. Then, grovel away."

  "Thank you." Silver laughed and smacked Coyote's shoulder. He needed the horseplay, or he was going to break down and hug the god, embarrassing them both.

  "Hold onto that." Coyote grasped Silver's forearm and pulled him into a man-hug. The god whacked Silver on the back a couple times, and then spun him around. "I've got one more life lesson for you."

  "What's that?" At the one-eighty mark, Silver pulled himself to a stop.

  His band mates stood before him, shoulder to shoulder, a living wall. Oz at the center, Disco and Cheyenne flanked the Aussie to either side. Their united stance was stern and disapproving.

  "Don't skip out on your bachelor party."

  * * *

  The Lucky Little Chapel served as the venue for Silver and Hannah's Las Vegas wedding. They only had a few guests in attendance. Everyone important to them made it, from Silver's entire band to Hannah's grandmother and sister. Fiona was her maid of honor. Silver asked Disco to be his best man, a choice Hannah initially found odd given how the two men clashed, but then it occurred to her—they quarreled like brothers, much the same way she fought with her sister, and after that it made perfect sense.

  Hannah wore a simple dress she’d bought off the rack. They exchanged gold bands. In lieu of his vows, Silver sang another song written just for her. The outrageously romantic gesture reduced Hannah to tears and then giggles, and when her turn rolled around she had forgotten what she planned to say.

  Fiona rode to the rescue, placed her cupped hands against Hannah's ear, and whispered, "I promise to love you, honor you..."

  "I promise to love you, honor you..." Hannah parroted.

  "But not obey, because that's creepy," Fiona concluded.

  "I'm not saying that!" Hannah jerked away and gave her sister the side-eye, a look that promised revenge. All around, the others dissolved into laughter, including the groom. The only exception was the poor middle-aged pastor who knit a perplexed brow. Hannah mustered a chagrined smile and said, "And cherish."

  During the kiss, she apologized against Silver's lips. "I'm sorry. Your song was beautiful and I couldn't even get my vows right."

  "I loved it. It was perfect," Silver said, laughing. He smoothed his hands over her bare shoulders and stroked toward her elbows. He seduced her with a touch; she sighed and melted into him.

  Only the two bachelorettes, Fiona and Branwen, gathered for a chance to catch Hannah's wildflower bouquet. They tried to persuade Ursula to join in, but the bear abstained with a wave of her hand. "No, I've had more than enough husbands for one lifetime."

  Deliberately, Hannah slow-tossed the bouquet and spun fast. She completed her turn in time to watch Fiona snatch the prize from the air. Branwen made a grab for it, but to Hannah it looked like the raven-shifter missed on purpose. She didn't give it more than a moment's consideration, though. Everything happened too fast and the next thing Hannah knew, she was outside bidding goodbye to her sister and grandmother.

  "Call me as soon as you get home or I'll be calling you." Hannah hugged Bonita and helped her settle in the passenger seat of the rental vehicle.

  "Hush. I'd better not be hearing from you! This is your honeymoon! Enjoy!" Bonita's scolding continued after Hannah shoved the door shut.

  Arms open, Hannah turned to bid her twin goodbye. The sisters embraced, clinging to each other. Fiona still clutched the bouquet, and the fragrant floral scent surrounded them.

  "When I get back to LA, I'm going after Marcus," Fiona confessed against Hannah's throat. "If that stubborn man won't see reason... Well, I'll just have to bash him over the head, haul him off to the woods, and have my way with him."

  "That's insane." Hannah said, snickering at the mental image of her tiny sister abducting a big, bad Russian mobster. In fact, once she got it in her head, she only laughed harder and couldn't stop.

  "Maybe so, but he's mine
and I love him," Fiona said with a teary smile.

  "He'll never know what hit him. Marcus doesn't stand a chance. Good luck, sis." Hannah crossed her fingers and composed a mental prayer, wishing Fiona happiness. She deserved it.

  "That damn coyote had better treat you like a goddess or I'll come for him." Fiona drew back, her green eyes gleaming.

  The sisters laughed and hugged again.

  Chapter Twenty

  The roaring bonfire cast a shower of embers that rose into the Nevada night sky only to be carried away on the wind. The conflagration cast heat and light, a blazing corona that reached the circle of people gathered about it. The band members of Coyote Hustle, friends and lovers, lounged in camping chairs while a portable stereo pumped out music.

  Silver extended his long legs and wrapped his arms around Hannah's luscious body, holding her close. She sat astride his lap, her hands hooked behind his neck. The firelight backlit her so her red tresses turned into a fiery nimbus about her lovely face. Her green eyes glowed with mystic brightness.

  "Are you sure about this? Because I can wait if you need more time." Silver fingered the string laces at the throat of her blouse, batting at them in catlike fashion. The knotted ends returned, dangling before his eyes, and he quelled the impulse to strike again. A slight shift of his gaze put him level with the valley between the sweet curve of her breasts. Oh yeah... much better.

  "I'm sure." Hannah grasped the back of his shirt and yanked, tugging it over his head. Obligingly, he raised his arms and she stripped it off.

  "Absolutely positively?" Silver removed the silver necklace he wore and dropped it onto his discarded shirt.

  They were already legally married under Nevada state law, courtesy of a Vegas wedding chapel. Human marriage, however was only a transitory arrangement. Easily entered into and easily ended... Tonight they intended to seal a mate bond—the spiritual forever union between shifters.

  "Absolutely, positively." Hannah pressed a quick kiss to his mouth, stealing a lick and a nibble. "One hundred percent."