My Sister Is A Werewolf yb-4

by Kathy Love

  Even if he could accept the truth, how could she throw him into the middle of this? Brody wouldn’t stop. Not for long.

  She pulled a breath in slowly through her nose, then blew the air out from between her lips. She did it again, and again.

  All she needed was to hyperventilate on him. He was the one who deserved to be overwhelmed.

  It was… one day until the full moon. She had to tell him before then. He had to be prepared. He was going to hate her, but he had to know the truth.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the picture frame containing Jensen and the blonde, still facedown where it had been.

  She picked it up, staring at the pretty face of the blonde. Her straightforward smile and clear blue eyes. She’d never have hurt Jensen. She’d have been the perfect mate-wife for him. She’d been exactly what she’d appeared to be. A nice, sweet girl who loved Jensen.

  “Her name was Katie.”

  Elizabeth’s head snapped up. Jensen stood in the doorway with a huge plate loaded with toast and eggs and bacon and sliced fruit.

  When she just gaped at him, he seemed to think her shocked look was somehow related to the large quantity of food.

  “Granddad is feeling a little guilt, so he had this waiting to go for when you woke up.”

  She nodded, having no idea what to say to him. Tears choked her, but she managed to hold them back.

  Jensen crossed to the bed and set the tray on her lap. She glanced at it, but then her gaze returned to him.

  God, what did she say?

  Jensen pulled up the chair, his expression one of heartbreaking understanding. An expression she so didn’t deserve.

  “I’m so sorry I hurt you yesterday.”

  Elizabeth frowned, then shook her head. What could he possibly be apologizing for? She was the one who needed to apologize. She was the one who’d deceived him. Put him in terrible danger.

  “I didn’t want to tell you about Katie, but probably not for the reasons you think. In fact, definitely not for the reasons you think.”

  She stared at him. Had it only been yesterday that they’d talked about Katie? Now, that seemed like ages ago, and she felt like she had even less right to know about it.

  If anything, she wished Katie was still alive and that Jensen was with her now. Far from here, happy and safe.

  “Katie and I were high-school sweethearts,” he said slowly. “We started dating our sophomore year. We left together after high school so I could attend Cornell. You saw in the picture. Katie didn’t have money for college, so she took classes and we planned she’d go full-time once I finished. We were… we were serious. Engaged.”

  Even though she couldn’t put Jensen’s fate out of her mind, Elizabeth had to listen. She did want to know. She loved Jensen, she wanted to understand everything about him. Even though she knew that he would soon hate her.

  “Katie had a rough home life. Raised by a single mother, who wasn’t the best parent, she couldn’t wait to leave West Pines behind. She craved a new life. So, after my second year of college, she was not pleased when I told her that I thought I’d like to move back here and take over my granddad’s practice.” He shook his head as he remembered, obviously disgusted with his behavior.

  “But I was determined to do just that. She overheard me talking about my plan with some friends at a campus party. She was angry, because she felt like I’d betrayed her in a way. I was her escape route-she didn’t want to come back here. I knew that, yet I wanted what I wanted. We argued.”

  Dread filled Elizabeth again. She knew this story didn’t have a happy ending, and she didn’t want him to have to live it again. She started to reach for him, but he stopped her.

  “Please let me tell you.”

  She still wanted to say no. She didn’t deserve to know. Not when she hadn’t told him so many truths about herself. But instead of stopping him, she nodded.

  “I left the party to cool down, which I did. I don’t think I’d changed my mind, but I was calmer. So I decided to head back to the party to talk to Katie.

  “As I approached the party, I saw a car off the road. The front end was crushed, wrapped around a tree. I pulled over and ran to the car.”

  He shook his head again, his eyes distant like he was back there on that roadside.

  “I couldn’t believe it when I got to the driver’s side and saw Katie there in the driver’s seat. She was pinned, the engine block pushed back and crushing her legs.”

  This time Elizabeth did touch him, gripping his hand. Feeling sick for him. For that memory that had to be burned forever into his brain.

  He squeezed her fingers back, then continued, “I couldn’t get her out. And I knew from the color of her skin, she didn’t have long. She was totally gray. I remember that. And I remember I just kept chanting, “I’m sorry. Oh, I’m sorry,” over and over again. But she never heard my apology. She never revived, and I could do nothing but hold her through the shattered window.”

  “Oh, Jensen,” Elizabeth leaned forward and touched his face, his hair.

  “I knew she’d hated this town. That she wanted nothing more than to leave and never look back. But I let my own dreams destroy hers.”

  “It isn’t your fault,” Elizabeth assured him. “It was an accident.”

  “I shouldn’t have been so selfish.”

  His words hit her, reflecting her own feelings.

  “You weren’t being selfish. You wanted something different. It could have been talked through, worked out. She was the one who chose to drive while she was upset. You can’t take that burden.” Elizabeth caught his face between her hands, forcing him to look at her. “I can’t tell you why it happened. But I know it wasn’t your fault. We all make mistakes, but the accident was not your fault.”

  He stared into her eyes, then he kissed her. All his pain, all his guilt and regret in his harsh kiss. And she let him take his anguish out on her, feeling terrible anguish of her own.

  Finally, his mouth gentled and he caressed her ravaged lips with so much tenderness that her eyes welled with tears. When he tasted the saltiness, he pulled back.

  “Elizabeth?” His eyes roamed her face, trying to understand her tears.

  She again held his face so she could look in his eyes.

  “You mustn’t believe it was your fault. Please do that for me. You are too good and kind to carry that kind of guilt any longer. And Katie knew that. Why do you think she was in love with you? She knew. She did.”

  CHAPTER 22

  Jensen wasn’t sure of that, but when he looked in Elizabeth’s beautiful eyes, he wanted to believe it. For her as much as for Katie, he wanted to believe.

  He nodded slightly, and she pressed her lips softly to his, a whispering, sweet kiss.

  When they parted, they just stared at each other, both of them visibly shaken. But even as painful as it had been for him to tell her about Katie, he did feel somehow purged. Elizabeth now knew him. She understood.

  And he wanted to know her. Whatever she was hiding, and he knew she was hiding something. She had been from the moment they met.

  He offered her a weak smile. “You are squishing your food.” He gestured to the tray she still had on her lap. They’d gotten butter from the toast and a bit of egg on the sheets, but overall the meal still looked edible.

  “You try and eat,” he told her. “I’m going to go down and get a cup of coffee.” He needed a moment to gather himself after that. And to figure out how to get her to talk in the same candid way.

  He looked at Elizabeth, also realizing half the reason he was so shaken was because he loved her. He loved her madly. He needed a moment to deal with exactly how much.

  “Do you want some?”

  Elizabeth shook her head.

  “I’ll be right back.”

  She nodded, and again he noticed her eyes looked a little glassy from tears. He should stay, he realized, but he just needed a moment.

  He glanced at her again, then left the room.


  Elizabeth set aside the tray and scrambled as quietly as she could from the bed. She had to save Jensen. She had to stop Brody. And she only had two choices. She had to contact her old pack-they could control Brody. And she had to pray that Dr. Fowler had figured out her serum. That was the only way to free herself.

  She crept over to Jensen’s door and locked it. Then she tiptoed to the window, and carefully and quietly pulled it open. Looking out, she gauged that she could easily climb out onto the porch roof and then jump. At least she could in her wolf form.

  She pulled in a deep breath. Then she willed herself to shift. She made a slight growl as her cells snapped and reformed. As her joints popped and reshifted.

  Once in her wolf form, she paused, listening for Jensen or Granddad. She could hear them in the kitchen, although she didn’t listen to what they said. No time to eavesdrop.

  She leapt through the window out onto the roof, then jumped down to the ground, her thick wolf muscles and bones easily taking the jar of hitting the ground. Without looking back at the house, she ran for the woods. She knew Jensen would come looking for her, but hopefully, by the time he did, she’d have contacted those she needed to. And maybe, just maybe, the serum could cure her.

  Brody growled, the sound rough and raw. But goddamn he hurt. Between the two bullets still lodged in him, one in his side and the other in his shoulder, and the stab wound that was nearly healed but just pissed him off, he was a hurting unit.

  He lay in the far stall of Elizabeth’s barn, where he planned to wait until that stupid bitch returned. And she would have to eventually.

  He needed to get these bullets out of him. The lead was making him weaker. But he couldn’t leave now-not that he had anywhere to go. He couldn’t go back to the pack. Not without her. He was taking her back.

  And then, once the pack saw he deserved their respect, he was going to kill the bitch.

  She’d long since lost her usefulness, anyway. In fact, given her current state, she was a damned detriment.

  He licked his wounds as well as he could. Oh yeah, she was going to die. And he still planned to kill her real mate, too.

  Jensen knocked on the door to his bedroom for the third time.

  “Elizabeth?” He tried the door handle again. It was definitely locked. He jiggled the handle. “Elizabeth?”

  Worry twisted in his chest. Had she tried to get dressed or something and passed out?

  He paused, debating what to do, when suddenly he was hit with an absolute certainty that she was gone.

  He tilted his head, wondering at the strange knowledge. But it was a certainty. No doubt about it.

  Without another thought, he shouldered the door open, the wood cracking loudly under his blow.

  Even though he already knew what he would find, his gaze went from the empty bed to the open window. The blue tie-back curtains fluttered in the breeze, the only traces of Elizabeth her faint scent on the sheets.

  Elizabeth ran up the stairs to her bedroom. She threw open the door to her closet, rooting through the darkness until she found a large knapsack. It was times like this when having only a motorcycle to ride was a real hindrance.

  She unzipped the canvas sack, debating if she would have enough room for everything she needed to bring. After a second, she realized she was just going to have to make it work.

  Slinging the empty bag over her shoulder, she rushed back down the steps. She checked her messages, praying Dr. Fowler had called. No.

  She grabbed her cell phone and dashed out the front door. The sun had gone down quickly, casting the yard in an eerie grayness, not quite light and not quite dark.

  She picked up her speed, realizing that it wouldn’t take Jensen long to figure out she was gone and where she’d come. In fact, she was shocked he wasn’t here yet. Truck almost always beat four paws.

  But he hadn’t been here, she could sense that. Tugging open the barn door, she didn’t bother with the overhead light and hurried right to her makeshift lab.

  As she reached for the flap of plastic, she paused. Something wasn’t right. She glanced around, her eyes adjusting easily to the darkness. She lifted her nose, breathing in deeply. All the scents were normal. Old, moldy hay, weathered wood, musty…

  Then she paused. There was no musky scent of the skunk. No smell of the owls.

  She looked up to the rafters. The owls were gone. What did that mean?

  “Well, hey, Lizzie.”

  Elizabeth spun to see a dark figure lumbering toward her, the movements unnatural, awkward. But she recognized the voice. She tried to focus, realizing her best bet was to shift.

  But before she could change, Brody was on top of her, his weight driving away both her focus and her breath. She tried to struggle, but his sheer size made it virtually impossible, even with her preternatural strength.

  “There’s no point fighting,” he said, his breath hot on her face. “But if it’s a fight you want… ”

  The last thing she remembered was a thundering blow to the side of her face.

  CHAPTER 23

  Jensen wheeled into Elizabeth’s driveway, the tires skidding as he braked sharply to a stop. He jammed the gearshift into Park, and jumped out of the truck without bothering to turn off the ignition.

  Again, even though it wasn’t possible, he sensed that she was here-or had been here. How she could have beaten him was a mystery. Even with the time wasted, while his grandfather grilled him about how an injured woman could have escaped from his second-floor window.

  Which was a mystery, he had to admit. Although there were a lot of implausible, mysterious things about her. But she had escaped. And she had been here.

  He paused at the fact that he kept thinking had been. She had to be here-where else would she go?

  He ran up to the house, not bothering to knock.

  “Elizabeth?”

  He checked the kitchen, then bounded up the stairs. Before he even checked the second bedroom, he knew the house was empty. Again, he didn’t question how, he didn’t waste his time.

  He raced back downstairs, heading to the only other place she could be. The barn.

  But he hadn’t even stepped into the old building before he realized she was not there, either.

  Shit. Where was she? He knew she’d been there. Her smell still hung faintly in the air.

  Again he wondered how the hell he knew these things, but he also had the very unnerving feeling that he didn’t have time to question them.

  Elizabeth was in terrible trouble. Images of that beast from last night flashed in his mind.

  He ran back to his truck, ramming the gearshift into reverse, a spray of gravel flying as he whipped the truck around and raced to the only other place he could think to look for her. Leo’s.

  Jensen strode into the bar, scanning the room for long, dark hair and pale eyes. She wasn’t there. Again, that certainty filled him. Along with complete fear. He needed to protect her, and he didn’t even know where to find her.

  “Jensen?”

  He turned to see Christian approaching him.

  “Hey. Have you seen Elizabeth tonight?” He knew the answer already, but he had to ask. Her trail couldn’t just disappear.

  “No.” Christian immediately looked very concerned. “Why? What happened?”

  Jensen tried to find the best way to start. Given what he’d already experienced of Christian’s temper, he decided it wasn’t wise to mention the shooting. In fact, he had no idea where to start. Jumping out his bedroom window didn’t sound particularly great, either.

  “Hey, Jensen, where’s Elizabeth?” Sebastian strolled up, only to stop a few feet from him, eyes widening as if he’d just witnessed something shocking about Jensen’s appearance.

  He suspected he looked pretty damned frazzled. He sure as hell felt frazzled. Hell, he was scared. Bone-deep scared, and he couldn’t even say why, exactly.

  “What’s going on?” Sebastian frowned.

  “I can’t find Elizabeth. She disapp
eared from my house and when I went to hers, she was missing. And I have a really, really bad feeling about it.”

  “That’s not good,” Sebastian stated, looking worried himself.

  “No, it’s not,” Christian agreed. “Did she say anything to you before she disappeared?”

  “No. She didn’t. Do you have any idea where she might have gone?” Jensen again got a strange vibe, but this time not from the brothers. He glanced at the door in time to see three large biker-types walk through the door. He instantly recognized them from the other night. Jensen noticed that Christian and Sebastian also watched them as they approached the bar.

  “Interesting,” Sebastian said.

  “Do you know them?” Jensen asked.

  “No,” Sebastian said. “But I’m willing to bet they might know Elizabeth.”

  Jensen frowned, wondering why that would be the case. But at this point, he was willing to go with any idea the strange brothers had.

  Still, he couldn’t help asking, “Why do you think they would know her?”

  But the brothers didn’t answer; instead, Christian headed back to the bar to take their drink orders. Jensen walked to the bar, too, but took a bar stool one seat down from the biker guys. The one closest to Jensen was liberally tattooed in an image of a full moon with clouds and a moonlit landscape.

  For some reason, Jensen found the image enthralling.

  “Stop staring at him,” Sebastian hissed as he took the stool beside Jensen.

  Jensen started, but did as Sebastian said, realizing it was probably a very bad idea to stare at a guy like that.

  Christian returned to the bikers, placing mugs of beer in front of them. The men just nodded their thanks.

  “Chatty,” Sebastian commented quietly.

  Jensen nodded. Yeah, they needed to be a lot more forthcoming if they had any hope of getting any information. He frowned. As if these guys would know anything about Elizabeth.

  “Why, again, do we think these people know Elizabeth?” Jensen was really wondering about these brothers.

  “Because they are-wearing-biker clothes. And Elizabeth-used to-travel with a biker-crowd.”