Rhyannon Byrd - Primal Instinct 04 (28 page)

“I’ll get them back to the car,” he said in a low
voice, glancing at Noah. “You stay here. Try to get Morgan on the phone and let
her know what’s happened. Then wait for him to finish.”

As more guttural roars ripped through the forest,
Kellan lifted her and Jamie into his arms…then got them the hell out of there.

Iowa

Sunday night

STRANGE HOW ONE SMALL, innocuous event, like
overthrowing a ball, could lead to such terror. Olivia had never known fear
like she had in those minutes that she’d spent with the Casus—and she still
hadn’t managed to get over it. Even now, hours later, her hands continued to
shake.

By the time Kellan had carried her and Jamie through
the forest and back to the rest stop, Morgan Cantrell had arrived and was
waiting for them, having already spoken to Noah on her phone. She’d parked in
the far corner of the parking lot, and the falling twilight had offered a
measure of privacy as she’d used her well-stocked first aid kit to tend to
Olivia’s bleeding arm. After giving her a shot of antibiotics, the slender
shape-shifter had cleansed the wound, then used a row of small, neat stitches
to hold it together. Olivia had sat through the entire process in a numb state
of shock, while Kellan talked to Jamie, promising her that Aiden was going to
make it back safe and sound.

The instant Morgan was finished bandaging her arm,
they had quickly taken to the road. Olivia and Jamie had ridden with Kellan in
her car, and Morgan followed in a rental. When Noah finally called Kellan’s
cell phone, letting them know that the Casus was dead and that he and Aiden
were heading back to the truck, Olivia had nearly sobbed with relief. She’d
spent the next hour of the drive just talking to Jamie, and was immeasurably
thankful, if not a little surprised, to find that her niece was handling the
aftermath better than she was. Olivia didn’t know if it was Jamie’s Mallory
blood that enabled her to process the terrifying event so quickly and put it
behind her, or if the little girl was simply burying the trauma, but she
couldn’t argue the fact that Jamie appeared to feel safe and secure. When Jamie
had finally asked to watch a movie, Kellan had done his best to keep Olivia
occupied with conversation, probably so that she wouldn’t have time to think
about what had happened and freak out on him. But she’d been able to learn a
lot from their talks.

The first thing Kellan had done was explain about
Noah, and she’d winced every time she recalled how she’d reacted when the Casus
had revealed the truth about Noah’s bloodline. She’d asked questions about his
family, and had learned that he had several siblings back at home in
California. When he’d joined forces with their Watchmen unit and the Buchanans
to fight against the Casus, he’d left the running of his Bay Area bar in the
hands of his youngest brother, and had quickly proven himself a valuable
addition to their team. According to Kellan, Noah was determined to keep his
family from being used as “meat puppets” by the Casus, and Olivia didn’t blame
him.

They’d also talked about the search for the Markers,
and Kellan had explained why they couldn’t just use modern equipment, such as
metal detectors, to locate a cross once they had an idea of its location.
Apparently they’d run extensive tests back at Ravenswing on the first Marker
that Saige had found, and discovered that the crosses were made of some kind of
strange alloy they hadn’t been able to identify, almost as if the materials
used in their composition were “not of this earth.” In each of their tests,
technology had proven useless in the recovery of the crosses—which meant they
would just have to keep on digging for them the old-fashioned way.

Olivia had also asked about the mysterious maps Saige
Buchanan had found, and had been given a quick explanation regarding the
unusual powers that the Buchanan siblings possessed. She’d learned that Ian
sometimes had instances of precognition in his dreams, while Riley’s
telekinetic powers enabled him to control physical objects with his mind, and
Saige’s power made it possible for her to “hear” objects when she touched them.

Then Kellan had gone back to the topic of the maps,
explaining that Westmore had actually managed to steal them during Saige’s
awakening, though Aiden and his friends had eventually gotten them back. And
even though the Watchmen were sure that Westmore had made copies of the maps
while they were in his possession, they were holding on to the hope that it
would take him a long time to crack the complicated code they were written in,
the way Saige had done with the use of her power. But Kellan also admitted that
there was something more about the situation that bothered them. According to
the Watchman, Westmore had actually tried to kidnap him while they were
searching for the third Marker in Washington, in hopes that he could exchange
Kellan for the key to the code. But since that time, no other attempts had been
made to take any hostages from their unit, which raised the question of why.
One of the obvious conclusions was that Westmore no longer felt he needed to
make the exchange, which meant that he was more than likely on to the way to
decoding the maps himself.

The last question she’d asked the Watchman, just
before they’d stopped for the night, was why he hadn’t shot the Casus when he’d
had the chance, and Kellan had responded with a wry, gruff bark of laughter,
saying, “I wanted to drill the ugly son of a bitch with a bullet so bad I could
taste it, but Aiden had made it clear that he wanted the bastard for himself.
Still, I’d have taken the shot there at the end, if Ade hadn’t been about to
make his move.”

It was after ten now, and Olivia found herself sitting
at a kitchen table in yet another hotel suite, surrounded by calming shades of
blue and cream, while inside her head everything was still flashing with
bright, chaotic streaks of orange and red and yellow. Noah and Aiden had
arrived not long after them, but she hadn’t had a chance to talk to Aiden. He’d
headed straight for one of the rooms, not even making eye contact with her, though
he’d stopped long enough to lean down and give Jamie a fierce hug that had
nearly brought tears to Olivia’s eyes.

After Aiden had locked himself away, Olivia had pulled
Noah aside and apologized profusely for her earlier behavior, admitting that
she had no excuse for reacting the way she had. He’d accepted her apology with
an easy smile and told her not to worry about it, claiming he would have done
the same in her situation. Undone by his kindness, Olivia had started crying
again as she argued that he was letting her off far too easily, and he’d
laughed as he’d given her a brotherly hug, promising her that his feelings
weren’t hurt—then teasingly accused her of trying to ruin his tough-guy
reputation by insinuating that he had feelings to begin with.

Seeing as it had been hours since any of them had
eaten, they’d ordered in room service, no one up to heading over to the hotel’s
restaurant, and then Jamie had cuddled up on the sofa and quickly fallen
asleep. Despite the stormy weather, Kellan and Noah had gone out to run patrol,
and Olivia had a feeling they’d asked the female Watchman to keep an eye on her
while they were gone. Not that she minded. She actually liked Morgan, and found
her easy to get along with. Though the woman was incredibly beautiful—tall and
slender, with shadowy gray eyes and a heart-shaped face—she had a friendly,
comfortable way about her that made her seem like one of those people you’d
known forever, even when you’d only just met.

They’d been sharing some quiet conversation about
little things, from movies to music to their favorite drinks at Starbucks, but
no matter how hard Olivia tried, she couldn’t keep her eyes off Aiden’s bedroom
door. Couldn’t stop remembering how he’d looked when he’d faced off against the
Casus that afternoon. He’d been vicious and violent in his fury, but
breathtaking, too, in a beautiful, visceral way. She desperately wanted to go
to him, but feared his rejection. He hadn’t even spared her a glance when he’d
come in, making it clear that he wanted nothing to do with her. When Kellan had
caught her shattered expression, he’d told her not to worry about it, claiming
that Aiden was just crashing after the adrenaline high. But she wasn’t
convinced.

She hadn’t forgotten the look in his eyes when he’d
slid that last dark glance toward her and Jamie, before dragging the Casus away
to kill him. There’d been fury there, as well as something more. Something that
had reached into her chest and fisted around her heart like a physical pain.

And it was still hurting. Aching.

Carefully lifting the mug that Morgan had set in front
of her, Olivia took a sip of tea and winced from the throbbing in her wounded
arm…then winced again as a muted crash came from behind Aiden’s door, a
strange, almost animal-like sound bleeding through the walls. “Something’s
wrong with him,” she whispered, tightening her fingers around the warm mug.

Morgan gave a delicate snort. “Yeah. He had the crap
scared out of him today. As far as wake-up calls go, this one was probably like
a knife in the ribs.”

Olivia chewed on the corner of her mouth as another
strange sound reached their ears, this one pitched low, as if something were in
pain. She couldn’t help but wonder what had happened when he’d been alone with
the Casus. Had something been said that upset him? Something about her sisters?
Or Jamie?

Morgan leaned forward in her chair, bracing her
crossed arms on the pine tabletop. “You should go to him, Liv. I’m sure today
was rough on him. Ade doesn’t handle things very well that have to do with
kids.”

Her gaze flew toward the other woman, wide with
curiosity. “What do you mean?”

“He tends to lose it when he sees a child hurt or in
danger. I know any sane person would, but it gets to him in a way that’s hard
to explain.”

Olivia recalled touching his scarred wrist in the
truck and how he’d said the marks were made when he was young, as well as his
claim to have killed the ones responsible, and though she’d been doing her best
to fight it, an idea began to take form in her mind. One that was too horrific
to even contemplate. But she couldn’t stop herself from asking, “What happened
to him?”

Morgan leaned back in her chair, clutching her tea
against her chest, her eyes sad as she stared at the red poppies decorating the
mug’s surface. “It’s Aiden’s story to tell. But he’s more than just a pretty
face and a smart-ass attitude.” She lifted her gaze, her mouth curling in a
lopsided smile. “If you want my opinion, he’s used a long list of nameless
bimbos over the years to try and help him forget, but it hasn’t worked. He
locks it down, but eventually something happens that makes it all come bubbling
back to the surface. Something like today.”

“Used them? You mean for sex?”

Morgan gave another soft, feminine snort. “You know
how guys think, as if the answer to everything is hanging between their legs.
And for a Prime, like Aiden, it’s even worse. Their sex drives are legendary
among the clans, rivaling even that of the Merrick and the Deschanel.”

So many questions rushed through her mind, tripping
over themselves in their eagerness to be answered. What was a Prime? Why did it
make his sexual needs so intense? But the one Olivia found herself asking was
“Are you saying that he needs sex tonight?” The words came out shaky and low, her
mind suddenly filling with the memory of how easily he’d dragged the Casus out
of the clearing that afternoon. Shuddering, she broke out in a piercing wave of
chills. She knew that Aiden would never hurt her, but she couldn’t help
wondering what it would be like to experience even a fraction of the power he
was capable of.

“I’m saying that he needs you.”

Knowing Morgan could probably read every ounce of
longing on her face, she looked toward his door again, then back toward the
sofa where Jamie was cuddled up sucking her thumb, her small arm strangling the
teddy bear Aiden had bought for her.

“Go on,” Morgan said in a soft voice. “I’ll stay here
and keep an eye on Jamie for you.”

“Thanks,” she whispered, her heart beating like a
hummingbird’s wings as she pushed back her chair and stood up. One more
question lingered on the tip of her tongue, since she still wasn’t sure exactly
what kind of animal Aiden carried inside him. But she was too nervous to get
the words out. The Casus had called him “kitty,” but that still left open a
world of head-spinning possibilities. Lions. Tigers. Leopards. Jaguars and
pumas and panthers.

As if reading her mind, Morgan said, “Whatever you
find in there, don’t be scared. Sometimes, after a fight, it’s necessary for
our kind to unwind a bit. But it’s still Aiden, and you know he’d rather die
than hurt you.”

Olivia gave a slow nod as she moved across the room on
trembling legs, wondering exactly what Morgan meant by “unwind.” Without giving
herself time to worry about it, she took hold of the doorknob, twisted and
walked into his room. Darkness stole her sight, but she pushed the door shut
behind her. Pale slivers of moonlight peeked from around the edges of the
drapes, and as she waited, her eyes slowly began to make sense of the shadows.
She could hear the harsh, heavy staccato of Aiden’s breathing on the other side
of the room, but couldn’t see him. Not yet. Then he stalked forward, moving
into one of the milky streams of light, and a massive orange-and-black-striped
tiger filled her vision, its huge paws padding silently over the carpeted
floor.