by Bonnie Vanak
“Where?”
“First door on the left.”
“Stay here.” His gaze swept over the crowd. “Darcy, with me.”
Normally she’d protest his authoritarian attitude, but the sense of urgency overrode all else. Darcy scurried after him up the stairs.
Adrian paused at the first door. His dark gaze locked to hers. “Go after me, do not say anything and most of all, do not engage him. If he attempts to chase or attack you, back away and leave, closing the door behind you.”
Worry riddled her. “What about you?”
Adrian touched her cheek. “I am alpha. I will be fine. Ready?”
Taking a deep breath, she nodded.
Adrian opened the door.
Shock filled her, though she tried to conceal it. On the big king-sized bed in the room’s middle lay a female Lupine with gray streaks of hair, a thin sheet modestly draped over the middle of her naked body. She sobbed and writhed, in obvious pain. Around the bed’s edge paced the largest gray wolf Darcy had ever seen.
It had to weigh at least two hundred pounds. Snarling each time the woman screamed in pain, it seemed oblivious to everything.
And then it saw Adrian and growled, baring its teeth. Darcy’s heart skipped a beat. The wolf could easily tear him apart or shred him like paper.
But Adrian stood straight and tall, without fear. “Bryon, stop it. Now.”
Firm, quiet and lethal. Adrian went to the huge gray wolf as if it were a puppy and stared him down. When the wolf growled at him, he wrapped a hand around its muzzle.
And snarled back.
The wolf quieted, his gaze filled with fear, and backed away. Adrian released Bryon’s muzzle and spoke in a firm, commanding tone.
“I know you are afraid and seeing your mate in pain crazes you, but you will shift back into your human skin. You are not helping her, and with your behavior, you risk losing your beloved and your unborn child. The midwives cannot attend to her while you are in this form.”
The wolf backed away and sat, watching Adrian.
“Olivia,” Adrian called out. “Come here.”
Olivia rushed into the room and moved over to the pregnant woman’s side with a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff. Worry shadowed her features as she listened to the woman’s belly.
Another contraction seized Selina, and she screamed. The wolf howled, but Adrian gave him a stern look. “Quiet, Bryon,” he ordered.
Olivia shook her head. “Adrian, the fetal heartrate is much too fast. We need to calm them both down.”
She couldn’t help deliver a baby or calm a raging mad wolf. But she could assist.
Darcy shifted into a wolf, sprang up onto the bed and lay next to the moaning woman. Selina gripped her fur, yanking it. Damn it hurt, but she’d been wounded by pros. Darcy reached up and licked the woman’s face, tasting the salt of her tears.
Then she rested her head on the woman’s huge belly, feeling the baby move beneath her. Hearing the too-rapid heartbeat.
Adrian looked at her. “Darcy, the baby needs to hear your wolf voice. Bryon used to sing to the baby each night in wolf form. Sing, sweetheart. Sing, and it will calm the baby.”
Instinct drove her. Darcy began to howl deeply. She kept it up, her mind chanting over and over again, please be okay.
Gradually the baby’s heartbeat slowed down.
The midwife and her team prepared to deliver the baby. Darcy lifted her head from the woman’s belly as the midwife urged Selina to push.
A gush of blood and water, and the baby slid into the midwife’s waiting hands.
Wonder mingled with relief as the squalling newborn was washed off and dried. She had helped. Maybe not deliver the child, but she had helped.
Darcy leapt off the bed and shifted back, conjuring the clothing she’d worn when first entering the room. Surprise filled her as Olivia handed over the newborn to Adrian instead of the mother.
Olivia lowered her voice. “It is a mark of respect and high honor for a newborn to receive the alpha’s blessing soon as she comes into the light.”
Adrian cradled the baby, kissing her forehead. “Welcome to the world, little one,” he whispered.
Then he held the baby up to show to the wolf who’d finally transformed into a giant of a man, clothed in ordinary jeans, a polo shirt, sweat streaming down his forehead. “A girl?” he asked.
“Congratulations, you have a daughter.” Adrian carefully handed over the baby, who began to cry again.
Bryon sat on the bed with the baby, giving her over to the eager Selina. Adrian nodded at Darcy.
When they were downstairs, Adrian sent the children upstairs to see their new sister. “Tell your father I want to see him immediately.”
As they waited, Adrian paced the living room. Suddenly he turned and lightly gripped her shoulders.
“Thank you,” Adrian said quietly, his gaze filled with sincerity. “You helped to save her. You helped to calm her with your wolf song.”
Pride filled her at his words. Darcy concealed her feelings with a mild shrug. “I only did what anyone would.”
“Anyone? Doubtful. Most Lupines would be too fearful of Bryon. Ah, here he is.”
As the Lupine came forward, Darcy gulped. In wolf form he was intimidating, but as a Skin he was awe-inspiring. Almost seven feet tall, big and bulky with muscle, he stood taller than Adrian.
Adrian held all the power though. It showed in his carriage and his quiet voice.
He turned to Bryon. “You have your daughter. No more young. That’s an order. The next time your mate gets pregnant, I’m kicking you out. Not your mate or your young. Only you. You will not endanger her life any more. Do you understand?”
Bryon dropped his head. “Yes, my alpha.”
Wow. Ordering a Lupine not to breed? It was like commanding a bird not to fly. As they left the house and headed to the golf car, Darcy whistled. “Talk about controlling. How can you ask him to not have sex with his mate? It’s their life, their family.”
Adrian stopped in midstride. “I did not ask them to stop having sex. That would be cruel. I ordered him to stop having children. Selina is in delicate health. The Lupine physician said another child could kill her. This was a pregnancy that she was not happy about. But Bryon wanted to try for a girl.”
Darcy lifted her chin. “And that gives you the right to interfere? What about ’Selina’s choice?”
“Her choice was to cease bearing young, but she wished to please her mate. This is why I had to step in now. When it comes to keeping my people safe and healthy as possible, I will do anything. Including ordering a stubborn, sometimes selfish male to stop breeding.”
Back at his house, he told her to help herself to breakfast, for he needed a shower.
Darcy watched him bound up the stairs. In the kitchen, the cook was preparing bacon and eggs.
“Breakfast will be served in about fifteen minutes,” the cheerful, robust Lupine informed Darcy.
Well then. What else to do? She should inform Adrian.
Telling herself it was the polite thing to do, Darcy headed into his bedroom. Sounds of the shower shut off.
Adrian emerged into the room, toweling his hair.
Stark naked.
Wow. She gawked at him. Hard not to do. Water slicked his golden skin, beaded in the dark hairs on his chest, dripping down the line of hair marching past the indentation of his belly button to the thicker swatch at his groin.
At her fascinated stare, his penis gave an interested twitch and then flared to full erection.
Adrian showed no shame. Instead, he threw back his shoulders and met her gaze, as if daring her to look her fill.
Daring her to do more.
“Yes?” he inquired.
“Ah, um, I came to tell you breakfast will be ready in fifteen minutes.” She licked her mouth. Damn, her throat was dry.
“Fifteen minutes,” he murmured. “Unfortunately, not enough time to do with you what I wish.”
Her ey
es nearly popped out. “What?”
“For that, I will require plenty of time and privacy.” His wicked smile widened. “And perhaps a few ropes and some oil.”
Was that a squeak fleeing her? Adrian chuckled.
Sucking in a breath, Darcy turned around and fled. She wasn’t ready to play this particular game. As much as she desired him, wanted him sexually, she feared what would happen.
Because once Adrian took her into his arms to make love to her, she wasn’t certain she’d ever want him to let her go.
5
Even though she could turn into a bird and wing her way across the country, Darcy chose to accompany Adrian on an airplane ride to Colorado two days later.
She’d spent most of her time avoiding Adrian. Oddly, it was easy enough, for the alpha had responsibilities that had most of his time booked. So she’d spent her days helping the elderly Peggy and Peggy’s daughter, Mara. Peggy enjoyed being outside and gardening but was too weak. Instead, Darcy had put her in a chair near the flower beds and solicited her advice as she weeded and planted.
Now, flying next to Adrian, she wished she could have shifted into a bird and flown west. Impossible.
For one, she was too damn tired. Energy levels low after fighting to help Ella, her last assignment, and even lower after turning into a snake, she’d failed to replenish her magick in the usual way.
It would have taken too long, and if she’d defied Adrian’s order to appear before him soon as her assignment with Ella finished, he’d have grown suspicious. Sent his Lupines to find her, ask questions she didn’t dare answer.
Adrian’s assistant booked them on a direct flight, first class. Darcy took advantage of the time to sleep. Last night she’d tossed and turned, dreaming of a wicked smile and Adrian’s hands roaming over her naked body.
The dream she fell into now was far different. Memories of her family assaulted her, the disappointed and condemning looks on her parents’ faces when Darcy had announced she was leaving to use her skills to aid Others.
The hurt that scored her deep inside when her parents renounced her for failing to live up to their expectations.
Darcy dreamed of a life where she could settle down, have a real family. Adrian was there, rocking their baby, much as Bryon rocked his new daughter.
Tears spilled down her cheeks when she finally awoke, groggy and heartsick.
A soft linen cloth pressed into her hand. She wiped her face.
“Bad dream?” he softly inquired.
“Stupid one.” Darcy wiped her face. “More like a nightmare. You were in it.”
His gaze turned thoughtful. “Oh?”
Not about to give details, she handed him back the monogramed cloth. “Here. I need to get to the bathroom before we land. I look a fright.”
“You look lovely,” he told her. “Always. Keep it, Darcy. A token from me.”
Rolling her eyes, she stuffed the handkerchief into the bag beneath her seat.
When she emerged from the bathroom, the flight attendant announced they were landing shortly in Denver.
“What did you dream about with me?” Adrian’s deep, sexy voice murmured into her ear as she buckled her seat belt.
“I forget, but it probably wasn’t good.”
A smooth chuckle. “I can do better in real life, sweetheart. Although you wouldn’t be rested. Satisfied, dazed with pleasure, but not rested.”
“Will you keep your voice down?” she hissed, glancing at the passengers sitting across from them.
“Why?” Adrian dropped his voice. “No one is paying attention to us. I could seduce you here, and no one would see.”
“Right.” Darcy yawned. “Very romantic. Sex on an airplane.”
He placed her hand over his crotch, and her cheeks burned. Adrian’s erection was hard as a steel pipe. “You intrigue and tantalize me, Darcy. And you are sweetly innocent when you sleep. You turn me on every waking, and sleeping, minute.”
How could she respond to such boldness? Never had any man expressed such rapt interest in her. Most males were afraid of her powers or intimidated by strong women.
“You’re a charmer, Adrian. But I’m not interested.” Liar, her conscience sang out.
“Oh?” He arched a brow. “Have your other lovers ever made you feel like this?”
Darcy removed her hand. “As if I’m the star attraction in a low budget porn movie?” No.”
“Do not insult what exists between us, Darcy.” Adrian leaned forward, his gaze locked to hers. “This is not mere sexual chemistry but something deeper. You know it. You cannot deny it.”
Denial was better than admitting the truth. Darcy could never fit into his lifestyle or become part of his pack. Attachments weren’t easy for her. Each time the goddess sent her to a new one to help an Other or guard them as she had Ella, saying goodbye hurt.
Better to say goodbye than to have someone she cared about discover her true origins.
Leaving Adrian would hurt the worst. Better to keep him at a distance than dream they had a shot at making a life together.
She removed his hand, dropping it into his lap. “We’re too different, Adrian. You’re a wolf, and I’m a shifter who can’t remain in one form for long.”
“Unless you remain in that form for longer than ninety-six hours straight. Then you lose your magick necessary to changing into other animal and insect forms.”
Surely the airplane dipping low was the reason her stomach pitched. Nausea rose up. “How did you find out?”
Unsmiling, he regarded her. “I did some studying on Changeling Shifters. I needed to know the parameters of what I was dealing with.”
Parameters? As if she were a science experiment he could manipulate. “Study this. I’m unique, Adrian. There’s no textbook rules, so get it out of your handsome head that you think you know how to control me.”
He wagged his thick eyebrows. “Handsome, eh? I knew you harbored a secret admiration for me, Darcy. It means we are meant to be together”
“I can admire an ice cream sundae, but that doesn’t mean I want to sleep with it, or marry it.”
He looked out the window at the flat plains below them, the jagged sweep of the Rocky Mountains in the distance. “Ice cream,” he muttered.
Was that a sudden shiver she detected? Odd.
“I loathe the cold,” he said absently, almost talking more to himself.
“Is that why you moved the entire pack from North Carolina to Florida?”
Adrian glanced at her, his gaze expressionless. “Perhaps. The elder ones cannot get comfortable in the winter snows. Old bones need warmth and sunshine.”
The answer surprised her. He’d moved to keep the senior Lupines comfortable? Then again, Adrian was filled with surprises. And however he’d treated her, he’d been nothing but considerate and tender with the elderly and the frail in his pack.
It was the main reason she respected him. He might be a scoundrel and annoying as hell, but no one could accuse him of mistreating anyone in the pack. Darcy understood an alpha had to rule with a strong hand. She’d seen other packs that fell apart when the alpha was too weak, too accommodating to try to please everyone.
Darcy reached for the nuts the flight attendant had left on the tray. Goddess, she was starving. She’d slept through the meal and regretted it, although her body required sleep more than food.
His gaze sharpened. “Are you feeling up to this assignment? Do you have sufficient strength to shift into another form?”
The wolf was far too observant. She nodded. “I’m fine.”
Another white lie.
Darcy changed the subject. “Why the urgency to find this snow crystal? And what exactly is it we’re searching for? What does it do? Is it worth a lot of money, or does it have powerful magick?”
Adrian dug into the backpack in front of his seat, withdrew an energy bar. He handed it to her. “Here. This will ease your hunger until we can get raw meat into you.”
In her eagerness to ri
p the covering, her fingers trembled. Hunger gnawed at her, the ache in her belly growing each minute. Never had she felt this drained from her shifting.
Darcy wolfed down the snack in three short bites. She gulped down water and instantly felt a little more relieved and clearheaded.
He stared out the window. “The crystal is important to me because it belongs to a member of my pack who needs it.”
Turning in his seat, his dark gaze piercing, he tightened his grip on the armrest. “It can infuse you with power and the ability to heal. It is priceless to the greedy, who would sell it for the wealth it could bring them.”
Darcy’s breath hitched. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “A diamond.”
Surprise flickered in Adrian’s eyes. He gave the barest nod. “A blue one.”
Rarest of the rare, with powers to endow Lupines and Others, but Skins would see only the gemstone’s brilliance and the monetary worth.
“The Hope Diamond was a snow crystal,” he murmured. “But it fell into the hands of Skins before Lupines could retrieve it. You know the curse?”
“Everyone does. Are all snow crystals cursed?”
“The oldest and the rarest ones are. This one we seek is quite old, more than four hundred years old. It carries with it a special curse for anyone seeking to use it to gain riches.” The corners of Adrian’s sensual mouth tipped up. “It gives it a special zing.”
“But why hide it in the mine? Why not take it with you when you left Colorado with your pack?”
“We were in a bit of a hurry to leave.” Adrian stopped talking for a minute as he handed the empty nut container to the flight attendant. When she headed into the galley, he continued. “We had to pack light. The owner of the crystal hid it in the mine, the safest and most secretive spot she could find. Unfortunately, she didn’t tell me about it until long after we’d left Colorado.”
“And you had sealed Lars inside the mine.” Darcy began to understand the danger behind retrieving the gemstone. “When did you realize Lars was losing his mind?”
“He’d always been aggressive but balanced. That changed when I was nineteen. Shortly before Lars became…insane…with power, I realized I had a few skills. I can read a person’s aura and foresee if they are planning to commit a crime or turn violent.”