Beauty and the Brute [Werescape III] (8 page)

The fluid heat held a beauty all its own.

Silently bending and uncurling. Like a ballet I'd seen two years ago when the wandering troupe stayed for two months in Pittsburgh. But they moved on. Fortunately for them. On to live another day. Or year.

I want to live. My gut keeps pushing me in the right direction. And for some reason, Brutus kept me alive. Safe. Yes. Safe. Just go to sleep. I closed my eyes.

Luckily, I'd learned how to sleep sitting many years ago, even without a surface to lean against. After Beauty's heart had finally quieted and she had drifted off to sleep, I then allowed myself the luxury. Some sleep was better than no sleep. Especially when a man had to keep his carcass and a clueless female alive as well as ignore her wiles.

Yes. She had to be seducing me. For what? She obviously knew who I was.

The dawn's intensifying sunlight caused the cave's entrance to glow with pale light.

She rustled to life near the glowing coals and shoved up with one arm and shot me a questioning look.

Time to go. “Let's go.” I rose.

We rode Trance west. Into the darker interior of what used to be the United States where the once easily-defined states had merged into not-so-clear-cut Territories and their small pockets of human refugees. Civilization? Maybe to some. Snake pits to others. But there was no avoiding the evil Normals committed against one another if a person wanted to reach the farthest most remote reaches of The Wild. Areas west of the Mississippi. So remote the extraterrestrials didn't bother wasting time in monitoring the scant Normal and Shifter populations scattered across that expanse of the wilderness. Desolate to those who couldn't fend for themselves. Sanctuary to others who banded together to ward off Bounder attacks at

nightfall. Places men would fight one another for a chance to have a woman like Beauty. I'd be wise to leave her at any of the sanctuaries run by Shifter clans.

Mine, Wolf growled.

Before Wolf sank his fangs into her. The last thing a wise warrior wanted was to be mated to a Normal.

Mine.

One more mistake like last night in the cave with her soft skin and curves pressed against a wall and I'd become a Normal's conquest. A pawn in a game Shifters couldn't afford to lose in a world humans desperately struggled to hang onto. I should have never touched her skin.

Never pulled her onto my horse. Never allowed her to wrap those arms around my chest. She was trouble.

Mine. Wolf snorted and began clawing the underside of my ribs.

Her grip loosened around my chest. Her head touched then pressed into my shoulder blade.

Almost sagged. Beauty hadn't slept much last night. I glanced over my shoulder.

She was asleep, her cheek lodged against my back.

Exhausted from last night's senseless fear. Unable to fend for herself. Hell, I even had to give her a pistol. A weapon she almost wouldn't touch. She left Yale's with a tin of crackers. Not a knife or pack of matches on her. Absolutely defenseless. And Wolf licked his chops to take a bite out of her.

Protect, Wolf snapped.

I'd really wedged myself into a tight spot this time. I should have stayed in Canada. A lot could be said about jerking meat and pouring bullets. But I had to set off as usual, on my own little journey. Save a woman who feared crickets. I glanced at her slumped form once more.

Beauty needed me. By the look on her face when I stopped her in the maze of corridors in

Yale's basement, I was the last Shifter she expected to find intervening. The last. Her last hope. A man couldn't hold that against her. Couldn't find her anything but innocent of seduction. She just wanted to live. And she was Gods-be-damned fortunate Wolf intended on saving her.

The scent of smoke and something far more cozy rocked Lorelei gently awake. Smack dab nestled into the camouflage of Brutus’ back. His smell. A mixture of muscles and strength.

Brutus. Against my cheek.

Lord, I was all over him. And the way his arms held mine curled around his lap, meant he knew those arms kept me from toppling off the horse. Should I pretend to continue to sleep?

Or just rise from my embarrassing situation and act like all is well?

Like I had much of a choice. It's best to just get on with life. I shoved my cheek into him and sat up.

He just kept steering his mount into the forest.

Good. “Where are we?” Maybe he'd talk. Change the subject from my hug to our direction.

"Ohio Territory. You sleep much more, you won't sleep tonight."

Well, there. We have his slant on things. I'm annoying.

The horse snorted.

And the horse agrees. At least they didn't dump my body and make a run for it while I slept.

This ride to wherever would be the longest miserably boring ride anyone ever had to take.

"So, why do you hate Normals so much?"

The question earned me a glance capable of making a starving Bounder wince and run the other direction.

"I'm in a fairly decent mood. I'll humor you,” he announced.

The horse took two more steps.

"Normals captured my parents and traded them to the extraterrestrials."

That was sufficient reason. But Brutus’ reputation sent Normals scattering. There had to be more to the story. I slid my arms back around his lean solid waist, avoiding his lap. And anything else lurking there. “How old were you?"

He shot me a mask of disbelief over his shoulder and turned back to the trees.

Maybe I shouldn't have been so nosy. But far worse things could happen than Brutus clam up.

"Thirteen."

Another answer. Maybe the future's endless trip wouldn't be so boring after all.

"Nobody ever saw my parents again. I swore I'd make the Normals who captured them pay."

And he had. He was legendary. “So you did and continue to mete out justice."

"Some call it that. Others say I'm insane."

He didn't have to tell me. I'd heard the tales when elders spoke to children who needed a strong dose of coercion to modify their behavior. But what about my situation brought Brutus to my aid? “Why are you helping me?"

His unreadable stare locked on me for a moment then turned back to observe the stallion's progress.

The ground continued rolling beneath us.

Nothing. Not one grunt. Not him groaning from my obviously redundant question I'd uttered.

We just moved forward. Me stuck behind his saddle, gripping the most gorgeous man I'd ever seen, who couldn't stand me. The highlight of the day's westward effort occurred around two in the afternoon. Long after passing individual looted homes set in the middle of nowhere.

Homes with gaping holes for windows. Each remnant structure's paint had been gnawed away by fifty years worth of summer's baking sun and searing cold of winter snow.

Just where were we? And why did the horizon look like rows of manmade peaks marched toward it? I'd never been out this far from civilization. I'd never seen a subdivision. Never even heard of one until Brutus stopped his horse short of the outer row of houses.

Did anyone live here?

Could they be trusted? I leaned a forward a little to whisper. “Does anybody live here?

"I don't know,” he whispered again.

The last thing I want to do is find out. I shoved up to the back of his ear. “Can we go around?"

I whispered.

"Less time to cut through."

Was he crazy? “What do I do if we're separated?"

"We won't be.” He kicked the horse into a walk.

Forcing my butt back on the horse's rocking rump.

The hairs on my neck jumped to chilly attention.

Not good. This was a big mistake. Extremely wrong according to my intuition. Couldn't he sense it with those Wolf senses? I could tell him I feel these things. Sense things in my own way. Although he probably would appreciate my intuition as much as Normals. But this venture across an ancient village could go bad. Very bad.

But how did you argue your point with a guy who held the reins and was a hell of a lot bigger?

Maybe he knew what he was doing. Yes. He did. And he'd save my ass. But what if his foolish decision landed me in the clutches of another male? I wasn't ready to just hand my virginity over to the first disgusting bastard who pinned me against the ground. Not because Brutus decided to take a shortcut.

The horse stepped between the first two houses.

The skin on my arms began to crawl.

Why? Overgrown with shrubs, vines, and trees who had managed to snag a foothold and bully their way toward the sky, the dead village looked like a sea of rotted boxes. Decomposing with time like the houses we passed on our way to this place. Homes so many people chose to occupy so very long ago.

So terminally deceased. Or more like crypts. Homes for the dead.

The horse halted.

Something niggled in the back of my mind, so deeply, my gut somersaulted.

Another warning. Someone watched from the buildings. “This is wrong, Brutus. Please, let's go back,” I whispered.

He turned the horse in a blink.

Not one word. Not one second of hesitation. Before we passed the second row of houses. I

couldn't help but watch behind us. Watch for any movement supporting my fears. Wise elders always said it's better to be safe than sorry.

Skirting the suburb's rows of boxy hills, Brutus kept us hidden among the trees. Good thing because when we turned the corner of the enormous village, we saw what must have bothered me. Fields. Row after row of low green plants growing in tilled soil.

Planted fields meant people.

People meant the fear of death conveniently relabeled survival.

We sat a moment, studying the view from deep within the tree line.

"More than a ghost town,” he mumbled.

The horse shifted its footing.

"How did you know?” he asked, not looking away from the view.

"It just felt like we were being watched."

"Probably so. That means we need to get as far from here as possible before nightfall."

The presence Beauty had felt probably was a sentry. One Wolf should have detected. The useless animal needed to focus on protecting the female it wanted instead of panting at her ear. The whole Normal community had to know we were here by now. They probably didn't have the forces to send out a party to take what they wanted. Still, they had some kind of animals capable of pulling a plow. Anything could happen. And where was Wolf?

"You're quiet,” she said.

Feeling a little too confident in herself. I'm running this operation. No Normal will be telling me what to do. “Like you need to be."

She didn't budge.

Smart Normal. We had to go. Move quickly but not too fast in case the forest was filled with traps. No telling how many hungry mouths lived in this community. I turned Trance away from the fields.

We stopped once so Beauty could tend to her business but kept moving until the sun ripened like an orange in the distant canopies. At an old house. Who called the monstrosity of walls riddled with bullet holes and the solid door partially hanging on its hinge home? Hopefully, no one. I drew Wolf into my head and used his senses to scan the area.

Only a raccoon's scent, the distant chirp of a nest full of baby robins, and the drumming of

Beauty's heart noted anything's presence.

Her fingers dug into my shirt and clinched two fistfuls, including a few stinging chest hairs.

Before we'd enter the building, I'd check around back.

Trance didn't shy away from where I tugged the reins. Not one ear flinch. Not one sideways step. All was well. And a small structure like a roof with a back and two side walls looked even more promising than the house. All I needed was a place for Trance. I slid from the saddle and handed the reins to Beauty.

Her eyes widening, her heart thrashing into full speed. She could handle staying put for five minutes. I turned to the open building.

"Brutus?"

The sun set. We had little time for female needs. I turned to meet her worried stare.

"Be careful,” she said.

Not exactly what I expected. Better than a scold. I nodded and went back to the shadows beneath the metal roof.

Nothing but a hard concrete slab. Manmade. Long ago. The back of the square space had a long solid wall. And a door. Shut. Anything could be inside. But my Wolf radar wasn't detecting any sounds or odors. I tried twisting the cold dark metal knob.

The door popped free of the doorframe.

Into a long empty space about three feet wide. Wide enough for Trance if I could get his gut through the doorway. A window in the middle sported a bunch of boards nailed to the window frame. Not a spot of light penetrated the room. But my night vision revealed nothing in the darkness. Maybe too small for Trance. Hopefully, there would be a storage building out back.

Sure enough. I led Trance and Beauty to a partially-open garage lacking doors.

Now to find a place off the ground for Beauty and I.

The peaked roof hinted a space hid above the flat ceiling. Hopefully enough room for her and

I to hold up for the night. Unless there were crickets. I just didn't want to be on the ground with Beauty if Bounders showed. But crickets could prove deadlier than Bounders. I gulped down a chuckle and scanned the ceiling.

On the far end, an opening. Square. Most likely used by others moving west like us. I jumped up and grabbed the edge, kicking, pulling myself into the barely-lit space. Someone somewhat barred the small round attic's window with more two-by-fours. Orange sunlight burned through the cracks, lighting the space enough for Beauty to wait up here while I

tucked Trance away for bed.

As long as there weren't any bugs, we were in business.

Beauty looked as green as ever when I stopped at her knee. “Don't worry, Lorelei. We'll be safe here."

She nodded, surveying the quiet forest from her vantage point.

That little heart of hers raced.

She should trust me to protect her by now. I grabbed her tiny waist and lowered her to the ground beside me.