by Неизвестный
“What’s that? I can’t understand you.” So far, so good.
Malcolm opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
“Maybe you shouldn’t have had a drink. Looks like we’ll have to find a place for you to sleep it off.” Malcolm’s eyelids fluttered and then closed for good. His breathing became shallow. Frank picked up the phone and made a quick call. Ten minutes later, he heard Glenn’s unique knock at the door. “Come on in.”
The deputy stepped in and nodded at Malcolm sprawled in the chair. “Is he out?”
Frank chuckled. “Yeah. The man can’t hold his liquor for shit.” Glenn perched on the side of the desk and gestured to the bottle of scotch.
Frank poured him a drink. “This is gonna be perfect. Another dead body will convince the feds we don’t need these dangerous predators here. It’s our best chance to get rid of the black wolf and the pack.”
“And your rival.”
“You’re crazy.”
“I’m not blind. I see the way him and Karin ogle each other. You want him out of the way.”
“Karin has nothing to do with this.” Christ, he was sick of Glenn’s endless needling.
“Whatever.” Glenn shrugged.
“Enough talk.” He grabbed Malcolm by the hair and shook his head. “Let’s get this over with. He’s out cold. He might be dead already. I gave him enough to kill a wolf.”
“All right, what do you want me to do?”
“Tie him up, just in case, and we’ll lock him in the bathroom.” Frank tossed Glenn a roll of duct tape. “After dark, we’ll put him in my truck. You can follow me in his Jeep. We’ll park it at his place and then pay a visit to our four-footed friend.”
* * * *
Frank turned the motor off and they sat in darkness for a minute. The one-room cabin sat on a small clearing of gravel. At one time, Glenn and his dad had made good use of it. Since Glenn Senior died, it had sat empty.
Frank finally broke the silence. “Well, are we gonna do this?”
“I’m ready.” Glenn grabbed the dart gun and jumped out of the truck. Frank followed.
“Put the gun down and help me get him out of the back.”
“Damn he’s heavy, dead weight.”
“He should be so lucky. I wouldn’t want to be him and wake up to see a wolf chewing on my balls.”
“Not a pretty picture.” Grimacing, Glenn cupped his crotch. “Why didn’t we just kill him outright to begin with? Then we wouldn’t have to worry about drugging him and tying him up.”
“And how would we explain it, you idiot? There’ll be an autopsy, and it has to look like a wolf kill.”
“What’s to explain? The wolf is gonna finish him off. She must be starved by now. I bet she doesn’t leave enough to even have an autopsy.”
“And what if she doesn’t? I’m not taking any chances. He could have taken a sleeping pill, but he wouldn’t have shot himself. Let’s make this look good.” Frank pulled the tarp off Malcolm, and they lifted his body out of the truck. “We’ll give her some time to feed. Then we’ll come back and shoot her.”
They dropped Malcolm’s body by the front door. Frank looked at Glenn and waited.
“Well, whatta ya waiting for?” Glenn motioned toward the cabin door with the dart gun. “Go ahead. I’ll cover you.”
“You think I’m going in first?”
“Why the hell not? It’s safe. I did my part. I came out here early this morning, pulled a board off the window, and shot her full of tranquilizers. She could be out till tomorrow. Lock your buddy in there and let’s get the hell out of here. In a day or two we’ll come back, shoot her, and move the whole mess to the gorge.”
A tic worked in Frank’s jaw. Fear immobilized him. “Well, if you’re so sure, you go in first.”
“Fuck!” Glenn shook his head, disgusted. “Take the damn gun and cover me.”
Frank exchanged the keys for the gun. He waited anxiously while Glenn unlocked the door, hooked his arms under Malcolm’s upper body, and pulled him over the threshold.
He squinted and peered inside. His heart hammered enough to bruise his ribs, but he wouldn’t let Glenn show him up for a coward. He held the gun in one hand, groped for the flashlight with the other, and stepped inside.
“Holy Jesus! Umphf.”
“Glenn!”
After the heavy thud, he heard a crack like bone snapping.
“Jesus Christ! Glenn, what the fuck—”
The feeble beam of the flashlight spotlighted a tableau that made his skin crawl. The black wolf stood astride Glenn’s body. Garbled sounds came from the man’s ruined throat and then silence. The wolf lifted her head and fixed her yellow eyes on him. Her nostrils flared, her lips drew back, revealing sharp-pointed fangs stained crimson.
“Dear God,” Frank moaned.
She snarled and shifted position, ready to spring. Another warning wasn’t necessary. He backed away and almost fell out the door, firing off a wild shot in his haste. The good Lord must have been watching out for him because the wolf didn’t follow. He ran like a bat out of hell for the truck. Shaking like a leaf in a gale, he drove halfway back to town before he remembered he hadn’t locked the door. At that point, he didn’t give a shit. There was no way in hell he wanted to see that wolf again. If his luck held out, she would be long gone before he came back to move what was left of the bodies.
Chapter Twenty
The coppery smell of blood assaulted his senses, and his nostrils flared, the only part of his leaden body he could move. It wasn’t his blood, but he wondered if he was responsible for it. He knew if he lost control to his wolf he’d be capable of killing someone without a second thought. He didn’t want to open his eyes and discover he’d committed some violent act.
He felt awful, like he’d been on an all night bender. What the hell happened to him? Karin! Suddenly it all came back in a rush. He remembered making love to Karin and telling her he had to see Frank. She begged him not to leave, but he’d gone anyway. He should have listened. The prick drugged him. Shit! Frank set him up, and he played right into his hands. He never thought he’d try something in the middle of the day in his office. How had he been so fucking stupid?
He flapped his arms and legs as if making a snow angel. Relief flooded through him when he realized he wasn’t tied down.
A warm, wet tongue lapped at his crusted eyes, then retreated. He managed a feeble whisper through his parched lips. “Ralf?” It couldn’t be. It wasn’t even Ralf’s scent, but it smelled familiar.
His eyes still burned. Opening them sent sparkles of confetti across his vision. He waited for the metallic colors to disperse. The darkness cast everything in a dreamlike aspect. Through a hazy imprecision he saw the face of a black wolf looking down at him. It morphed into his dead wife. Either Frank killed him and he’d gone to heaven or he must be hallucinating.
He blinked, but she didn’t disappear. “Am I dead?”
“No.” She laughed. “They drugged you, same as me. Lay still. It will wear off.” She sat with her arms wrapped around her knees and watched him like a snake charmer fixed on a cobra.
“Ahh.” He groaned. Whatever Frank had used to knock him out did its job and then some. “No, I don’t want to wake up yet. I like this dream.”
“I’m glad, but you’re not dreaming. I’m as real as you are.” She moved closer. “Feel me.” He couldn’t deny the warm, solid pressure of her hand on his bare thigh or the heavy curtain of black hair that tickled his chest when she leaned over him. He reached out for the silky strands and let them slide through his fingers. She closed her eyes, tilted her head into his hand, and kissed his palm. His fingers traced her nose, narrow and straight, a perfect Grecian nose, but not Mia’s. He pulled his hand back.
“Who are you?”
“You really don’t know?” Hurt shone in her eyes.
He sat up and waited a minute until the room stopped spinning. The truth hit him like a tidal wave. “Sable?” Mia’s little sister. His sworn
sister, as precious to him as his own blood sibling. She’d been much younger the last time he saw her, but there could be no mistake.
“Yes, it’s me,” she said in an injured tone. She tossed her hair back over her shoulders, revealing large firm breasts with brown areolas, the nipples already hard with arousal.
Her flawless body, so much like Mia’s, sent chills through him. It hurt to look at her. He forced himself to face her. “How is it possible?” He wanted to believe she was real, but he had no faith in miracles. He shook his head in amazement. “I looked for you, for everyone. They were all dead.”
“My parents saved me,” she recited in a dull, emotionless voice. “They saw the men coming, and they hid me in the crawl space under the kitchen. I begged them to come with me, but only one more could fit, and they wouldn’t leave each other. When the screams stopped, I knew they were dead, but I stayed hidden for days, afraid to come out. Finally, I had no choice. I could hardly move my legs when I crawled out.”
“My God.” All the horror came flooding back. She told the tale with no tears, but he knew she had pushed it to the back of her mind like he had. “You were only a child. How did you survive?”
“Our house didn’t burn, but I couldn’t stay there. I did what I had to. I ran. When I went to the city, the police picked me up and put me in foster care. I didn’t shift until I ran away. After that, I kept moving. I always looked for someone else who might have escaped.” Her face softened. “I never thought I would find you. I thought you died with the others.”
“I should have,” he said brokenly.
“No. We survived for a reason.” She ran a hand over his scarred legs. “I untied you and took off your clothes. I wanted to see if they hurt you.” She looked at him, questions in her eyes.
“The scars are old and not as bad as the ones in here.” He put a hand over his heart. “I got caught in a trap and I couldn’t save your sister.” The guilt and shame flayed him raw. “I’ll never forgive myself. I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. You’re lucky to be alive.”
“Lucky?” he asked bitterly. “I’ve spent years missing all that I had.”
“You have me now. We have each other, and we can start over.” She rubbed at the blood on her face.
“You’re hurt?” Worried, he scrutinized her closely.
“No,” she remarked matter-of-factly. “It’s not my blood.” She gestured at the body lying in a crumpled heap on the dirt floor. “He’s dead. I had no choice. They wanted me to kill you. It was them or us.”
He reached out and caught her hands. “Who?”
“The deputy. The sheriff ran away.”
“Son of a bitch!”
“I didn’t want to hurt them.” A single tear rolled down her cheek. She moved closer, and he pulled her onto his lap.
“It’s not your fault. You only defended yourself.”
She wrapped her arms around him. “I did it for us.”
“I won’t let him hurt you again,” he promised vehemently.
“When I saw you from my cage, I thought you would help me,” she sobbed.
“I’m so sorry. I knew you were different the first time I saw you. I should have realized.” Guilt and remorse overwhelmed him. “I promise I’ll never let anyone hurt you again.” If only he’d recognized her in the beginning, he could have prevented all this. He’d been so sure they were all dead. He had escaped. Why hadn’t he believed there might be others? He pulled her close. “You’ve been through hell.”
She clung to him. “I’ve been so scared, so alone.”
“You have me now.” He buried his face in her hair. She smelled like Mia, felt like her. He remembered the joy of sharing his life with his mate. Time and space shifted. He found himself in another world, lost in Mia’s arms. When her bare chest pressed against his, her fierce heat stirred a vague yearning inside him. His wolf responded and woke hungry for sex. Her warm breath fanned his face. Her fingers on the back of his neck tangled in his hair. He closed his eyes, and she kissed him. When she slipped her tongue in his mouth, he reluctantly pulled back, reminding himself she wasn’t Mia.
“Mmm,” she murmured. “You taste so good.”
“No more,” he warned huskily.
“Yes, more. It’s been so long.” She started moving against him and reached down to caress his growing erection.
“This is wrong,” he warned and grabbed her wrist.
“No.” she moaned in protest.
“Sable,” he said gently. “We have to get out of here.”
“Please,” she whimpered. “I’ve been alone so long. I had nobody.” Her slim fingers stroked up and down his length.
This was wrong on so many levels. Sable was family, not a lover. And even though a future with Karin remained an impossible fantasy, he didn’t want anyone else. They had something special. Something he didn’t feel with Sable. He didn’t believe Sable felt it either. She really didn’t want this. Alone and afraid, she needed proof that he wouldn’t leave her again and physical reassurance was all she knew. He’d find another way to convince her that he wouldn’t abandon her.
“Malcolm.” She whispered his name and leaned forward to kiss him.
“No, Sable,” he said, a gentle warning in his voice. Gripping her shoulders, he held her still. Her amber eyes, wide-spaced and slanted, were Mia’s eyes. Looking into them made this so much harder. He resisted the invitation in their smoldering depths. “I’m not your mate.”
Her eyes clouded with hurt. She blinked back tears.
Gods, he hated this. Another time, another place and he might have believed they belonged together. But being with Karin had reminded him what a real bond felt like. Settling for less wouldn’t be fair to either one of them.
“I won’t abandon you. You’ll never be alone again.”
She frowned like a petulant child. “You’ll change your—”
“Shh,” he cautioned. Neither one moved.
“I hear it too,” she whispered.
The car was still a distance off but moving at a steady pace. “Shift. Now.” He started changing as he pushed her off.
She growled a low warning, the sound of an unsatisfied she-wolf, but she did as he told her.
Chapter Twenty-one
In a matter of minutes Malcolm and Sable left the cabin far behind. Malcolm led her back to his house. He leaped through the window and initiated his change. An image of his human body took form in his mind and regeneration took form in his flesh. A sharp prickling of pins and needles scattered over his body, not unlike the feeling of returning circulation.
The warmth increased as one being merged into another. Bones realigned, fur receded, and his physical structure became more hominid. His black-and-white world turned colorful like Dorothy’s first glimpse of Oz. A last low growl escaped from his retracting muzzle as the wolf balked, and he sat on the floor, once again a man.
He shrugged off the letdown that always followed his change to his human body. Shifting was a miraculous escape from the pain of looking like the men who destroyed his life. He always savored his time as a four-footed creature.
Sable sat watching him, her sleek muscular wolf so like Mia’s it made his heart twist. Her eyes, bright as new copper pennies, focused on him, and he buried a hand in her thick midnight blue fur, marveling at the velvety feel. It retreated, slipping through his fingers like sand in an hourglass. Sable’s smooth, tanned skin appeared where the dark fur receded, and in a few minutes, her human body sat next to him on the floor. His hand remained on her shoulder, and she put hers over it.
“No one saw us.”
“Good. For now we’re out of danger.”
“I would have found your house on my own if I hadn’t been captured so quickly.”
“How long were you here before they caught you?”
“Not long.” She shrugged and looked away.
“Did anyone see your human form?” He hesitated to ask about the hiker, hoping she would voluntee
r whatever she knew.
“I’m always careful to hide what I am from humans. I could have shifted when I saw you at the refuge, but you might have revealed yourself. I couldn’t take the chance.”
His heart went out to her. After what she’d gone through, her biggest concern was protecting him.
“I never thought about traps—” She broke off with a cry.
“You’re safe here.” Feeling like a monster for interrogating her, he pulled her in for a hug. His people only killed in defense. Sable was the victim, not the villain.
“Being caged like some wild animal terrified me.” Her warm tears wet his cheek. “I wanted to kill myself.”
His heart twisted. He couldn’t stand to see her cry. Being imprisoned in a cage was a fate worse than death for a wolf-shifter. She must have lost all hope when she watched him walk away. She thought he abandoned her. If only he’d known, he could have done something and released her before Frank got his hands on her. After all she’d gone through she deserved to feel safe. He vowed to take care of her.
“I won’t let it happen again. I promise.” He wiped tears from her face with his thumb. “You must be thirsty and hungry.”
“Yes.” She ran a hand through the hair on his chest. “I’m hungry.” Her hand slid lower, and she wrapped her fingers around his shaft. He grew hard and hot in her hand.
He groaned and grabbed her wrist. This couldn’t go on. He needed to think with his head, not his cock.
“What’s wrong?” She pouted.
“We need to get you cleaned up and fed. Then we’ll talk. You can have my bed in the loft.”
Her face lit up and he realized his mistake. “Only until I get the spare room fixed up.”
The smile disappeared, but she kept her silence and followed him up the stairs. He left her in the bathroom and went back down to see about dinner. When he returned, he heard the shower shut off.
Sable came out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her hips. Drops of water ran from her hair over her breasts. “I need help.” She stood in front of him and cupped the heavy globes.