The Shadow Wolf (7 page)

“Just like it wasn't your fault when Amelia got hurt?” Jillian whispered.

Clenching his fists, he stared at her. Finally he muttered, “Not the same.”

“There are people out there who don't like you, Jilly and
Jenny. They want to see you gone because you're different. Even Draicon, with all the powers and shape-shifting, fear what's different, what they don't understand and can't control. Sometimes telling the truth isn't a good idea because they can use your honesty against you.”

“Then it's okay to lie?” Jillian asked.

Megan sucked in a breath.

“Not exactly.” He chose his words with care. “It means not telling the full truth to people you don't know, like that man back at the gas station. You know how when you first met me, you didn't know me and thought I'd hurt you? You didn't tell me much of anything, did you?”

Jillian looked thoughtful. “Megan doesn't like to lie and hates us to lie, too. But she did dye our hair so we could hide from people. I guess that's the same as hiding.”

“Hiding only until we reach a safe place,” Megan interjected.

“Which is necessary when lives are at stake,” he countered.

“Yes,” she agreed. “But between people who are supposed to be close, there should be only honesty. No secrets. Aren't you the same with your family?”

Gabriel narrowed his gaze. “My family is my own business.”

“And so is mine. The twins are my family and they need to know the truth about us, Gabriel.”

Shock filled him as she told the girls Gabriel was her destined mate. He wanted to hit his head against the steering wheel.

Was that necessary? he asked her mentally.

I told you, honesty is best with those close to me. I won't keep this a secret from them.

The twins looked delighted, then confused as he grunted and pulled back onto the road. He read the tension radiating in the van. Destined mates, but not happy about it.

Wasn't he a great role model?

To ease the friction, he broke into a Cajun song, coaxing the
twins to sing along. When he finished, Megan angled him a curious look.

“Sissy told me a little about Cajun Draicon. They were like us, forced to leave their homes in the north because they were driven out. My family was originally from Maine, but we moved to Shadow Island when I was very young because other Draicon made things difficult for my parents.”

He glanced at the mirror to see if anyone was following. Not yet.

“How old are you?” she asked.

“Over a hundred.”

“You're very experienced at shifting. I only shifted a few times into a wolf. It seems to come easily to you, like that day at the dock. How do you manage?”

He answered with a grunt.

Megan put her hand on his arm. He tensed at the softness of her palm, the temptation to cave into the wolf's howling lust to possess her in the flesh.

“Sometimes I wish I could blend in better, like a Normal. Like you do. Maybe then they wouldn't hunt me like I'm an animal. What kind of life is it for the girls? When every one of the Draicon race seems to hate them just for being Shadow? I don't want them to learn to hate back, Gabriel.”

“I know,” he quietly agreed. “Don't fret yourself,
chère.
They will not be outcast any longer. I'll set them up with a family who loves little ones, no matter where they come from.”

“They've been through too much. They need stability and guidance.”

“They need love and acceptance more, not treated like animals and caged just because they're different.” His fingers gripped the wheel.

Megan stole a glance at him. “You sound as if you're talking about yourself.”

He shrugged. “I come from a good family. Long line of proud
Cajuns. My granny taught me to cook good food and my Paw Paw, my grandfather, taught me to play the fiddle. My family is close to me.”

Even if they are afraid of me sometimes…

“I want the same for the girls. I have to believe someone will want them, even if they are Shadow.”

Gabriel tilted down his hat on his brow, caught sight of the backseat. Jillian hugged her sister for comfort. The girls seemed so young and fragile, just like Amelia.

And he had to get them to a safe place before they got caught.

As he pulled into the next lane, he caught a fleeting thought from Megan. It clenched his guts.

What secret from your past are you hiding, Gabriel? Can you ever trust me to tell me what's really going on?

E
ven though her insides quivered, Megan resolved to put on a brave front.

Gabriel had doubled back on their trail and now they headed north on the Florida Turnpike. But he said little about their destination.

He'd been terse since pulling off the road. She felt the cold distance grow between them, as if he desired acres of space inside the car's tight confines.

How could he expect them to be lovers if she knew nothing about him? He was reluctant to even tell her his age.

“One hundred ninety-one,” he said.

Megan shot him an accusing look. “You were prowling in my mind again.”

He shook his head. “No, darling, your question about my age was so loud, it was like a shout in
my
mind. Had I known you had a hang up about my age, I'd have told you sooner.” A slow, sexy wink. “How do you feel about older men?”

She smiled, glad he broke the ice. Draicon wolves aged very slowly. Gabriel was in his twenties by human standards. “As long as they're under 900, I'm fine.” She studied his long, leanly muscled body, wondering how many women he'd slept with.

“None quite as young as you,” he said, smiling at the telltale flush spreading over her cheeks. “I once liked older women.”

“How old were you when you lost…” Her voice dropped. “You know, your first.”

“Nineteen.”

“So young. And she was older?”

He fell silent a moment, then said, “She was ninety-five.”

Judging from his darkened expression, it was not a fond memory. “That makes her a cougar, not a wolf.”

A low chuckle sounded from beneath the tilted hat. “Were you in love with her?”

A brief nod. Megan pressed on.

“What happened?”

She caught a flash of thought.
Tamara saw my dark side.

Then he took back his hat, settled it squarely atop his head and tilted down the brim. Megan glanced out the window at the image of their car. Gabriel seemed to expel no energy holding up the illusion. His magick was powerful.

And dark, he'd hinted. She had no more answers than she'd had before.

Why did Gabriel insist he'd killed Amelia? What had he done?

 

An hour later, Megan drifted into a doze as the twins chattered, absorbed in their game of reading weathered billboards on Florida's Turnpike.

“Look, Gabriel! Disney! Mickey Mouse,” Jennifer pointed.

“Sorry, darling, maybe next time,” he told her. “Right now we have to get you to a safe house.”

“Is this a magick car that will fly us there?” Jillian asked.

If only, he thought. He accelerated and rubbed his right temple with his knuckles. A minute ago, he'd tried contacting Martin. Still no answer, but this time the answering machine picked up with a message stating Martin was away on a business trip and would return in two weeks.

Gabriel had hung up. Martin seldom made business trips.

Still, it was plausible. Martin's was not a safe house, but a backup known only to Gabriel. When something went wrong, the escaped Shadows went to Martin.

Maybe he should leave them with Martin until he could find them safe passage. Every instinct urged him to stick close to their side. Yet how could he guarantee their safety? Their welfare came before all else.

His didn't matter as much. He'd be willing to take risks alone, but not with them.

Beside him, Megan whimpered in her sleep. Gabriel touched her arm. She awoke with a small cry that twisted his heart.

“You were having a nightmare, darling. Bad one?”

She rubbed her eyes. “The same I've had for years. It's nothing.”

“Tell me,” he urged.

“It's nothing.”

Gabriel felt a small disappointment when she closed herself off. Maybe she was still too afraid. “You're safe with me,” he assured her in a quiet voice.

Megan gave him a sweet smile. “Thanks for not invading my mind and waking me up the old-fashioned way.”

Her honest gratitude lowered the defenses he used to shield himself against the world. Alarmed, he hid behind a cocky grin. “The old-fashioned way would be either through sex or an alarm clock.”

Heat suffused her cheeks, making them a delicate pink. Megan looked deliciously sexy, the blue of her eyes soft and welcoming. His gaze slid downward to her lips. A mouth sultry and lush enough to tempt a eunuch.

Which is what he'd become if the council discovered his true nature. The council didn't want to strip his gene pool for helping escapees. No one ever trusted his kind around women. He was far too lethal.

Megan tucked her feet beneath her. The move only made him think of how limber she was, and how flexible she'd be with those long, supple legs wrapped about his waist….

“Can we take a break and get out?” she asked.

He headed for the next exit. Gabriel turned down a country road. He parked the car, and he and Megan got out. She turned her sun-kissed face upward like a flower seeking warmth. Life sparkled in her blue eyes.

“I want to shift into my wolf form.”

Her abrupt confession startled him. “It's too dangerous to shift here.”

“There's no one around.”

“There could be. It's too risky here, Megan. Why the sudden urge?”

She bit the sweet, tempting curve of her bottom lip. “It's been a long, long time and I'm not sure I remember how to become a wolf. I have this crazy need to run as one, to be free and unrestricted. Be free to be myself instead of having to conform to rules and regulations slapped on my people to keep us in place. Too long I've lived in a cage of restrictions. You couldn't understand that.”

Gabriel swallowed hard. She was adventurous and brave, and comfortable in her own skin. His skin, wolf or otherwise, felt stretched tight over bone.

“I understand more than you think. I know all about cages and restrictions. When we get to our destination, there's a big backyard where you can shape-shift. Shifting will come back to you.”

“Are you sure?”

“You can run free and wild and never stop.”

She stretched her arms and the move shifted her shirt upward. He caught a glimpse of pale, creamy flesh on her belly. Suddenly he wanted her hot and naked beneath him. With considerable effort, Gabriel suppressed the beast that demanded he exercise his masculine rights as a bonded Draicon.

“Why are you looking at me like that? What are you thinking about?”

He glanced into the backseat. The twins had stopped watch
ing the movie and were dozing off. “You. What I want to do with you,” he said softly.

A pink flush ignited her cheeks. “What do you want, Gabriel?”

Gabriel touched her cheek. Thought about how she'd look beneath him as he took her, her lovely blue eyes dazed with passion, her soft curves pressed against his hard body.

“Right now all I can think about is getting you naked.”

Megan moistened her lips as a pulse beat wildly at the base of her throat. His body tightened as he stared at her wet, delectable mouth.

“H-here?” Her melodious voice dropped to a sultry whisper. “What would you do?”

He could scent her arousal and it inflamed his own. “I'd put my mouth between your legs. I can't wait to have the taste of you beneath my tongue. I'd make you beg me to stop,
chère.
Beg me because you couldn't handle it anymore.”

This was dangerous, this little fantasy. It invoked an image of her spreading out her arms in welcome for him and watching the dazed pleasure on her face as he brought her to orgasm.

“Oh!”

“I'd take it real slow, and gentle, and let you know what passion is. Kisses all over your sweet skin, marking every inch of you so you'll know you are mine and you'll never forget your first time. Then…when I was sure you were ready, I'd…”

His voice trailed off. Gabriel bit back a moan as she unbuttoned his shirt and slid her palm over his bare skin. The feel of her hand across the thick muscles of his chest made his body clench.

She snatched off his hat and hooked her hands through his thick hair as he pulled her into his arms. Warmth spread through him as he kissed her deeply, her mouth parting as she returned his passion. His tongue stroked long and deep, letting her know what lay ahead, mimicking how his body would thrust into hers.

When they broke apart, her cheeks flushed and her eyes darkened with need. He ran a thumb tenderly over her jaw.

“We need to get going, darling. As much as I want to stay here, and finish this.”

“Can't we stay here? It feels safe and no one's following us.”

He smiled in understanding, smoothing back her hair. Megan's mouth was pouty and swollen from his hungry kiss. “Not now,
chère.
It's too risky. When the time is right, I'll make you mine.”

If only he dared trust her, she wouldn't race away screaming once she knew all his secrets.

T
he deep-seated desire between them didn't mean more openness on Gabriel's part. She couldn't even get him to tell her the full truth about where they were going.

The GPS device chimed their location. Megan turned her attention from the electronic map and gave him an accusing look.

“You said we were headed to Orlando. Why are we going west toward Tampa?”

He inclined his head at the still-sleeping girls. “We were headed to Orlando. That's the truth. I didn't want the twins to know our exact location. Just in case they told someone by accident like they did at the gas station. Safer that way.”

“I get it. Now can you tell me where we're going?”

He pressed a button on the GPS. “A little town called Burnside. Martin's new safe house is there. Not far from the Orlando safe house.”

“New house?”

“I move him around as needed. Less chance of someone fishing out the location.”

“I thought there was only one refuge in Central Florida,” she told him.

“No one knows about Martin except me. It's a refuge of last resort.” His jaw tightened. “The Orlando house may have been compromised.”

“How? I thought the network was foolproof. Who would have betrayed us?”

“It's not necessary for you to know.”

“And what if something happens and we're stuck or you can't help us?”

A low growl rumbled from his throat. “Are you saying I can't do my job?”

“No, I'm saying I need to know what I'm getting into. This is a little scary for me, running into the unknown. What's going on?”

Gabriel tilted the hat down. “I have no proof, but something's gone bad, I can sense it. The Friend who was to escort you from Naples to Orlando never showed up and his cell goes unanswered. No one answers at the Orlando house, either. So I'm taking you to Martin's. Last resort to keep you and the girls protected, while I find out what the hell is going on.”

A heavy weight settled on her chest. She'd thought they'd be okay before the gas station fiasco. Now she knew they'd been endangered all along. Gabriel took enormous risks to protect them.

“Why didn't you say so before?”

“Natural caution. Compromising my own safety is one thing. But I'll be damned if I risk anyone under my care.”

“Thank you,” she said, touched by his loyalty. “Why are you doing this for Shadows?”

Pain flashed in his dark eyes. “I used to do it because it
was
risky. For the kicks, the thrills and adventure. No one should be discriminated against just because they're different. My Paw Paw taught me that.”

“
Now
why do you do it?”

For a minute, she thought he would not answer. “Because of what happened to Amelia.”

He looked away.

“She must have been so special to you. I can't imagine your pain. But I can let you know I'm here for you, if you need me.”

The thought flickered like a neon light struggling to stay lit.

I can't have need of you, or anyone. You wouldn't understand how it is.

“If you let me try, I could,” she told him.

Using their unique telepathic connection, she touched her mind to his. Searching for clues, like groping for a light switch in a dark room: a laughing girl with blond hair, riding on Gabriel's shoulders at a Mardi Gras parade. Gabriel polishing the chrome on a sleek new Harley. A beautiful woman reaching out to him in affection…then backing away in horror…

A steel shutter slammed down. Megan winced and rubbed the spike of pain in her head.

“Sorry. But stay out of my mind. You wouldn't like seeing what's inside of me,” he said darkly.

If she pushed her right as his destined mate, he'd shut her out even more. “I didn't mean to pry,” she began.

At his level look, she admitted. “Okay, I did. What can I say? It's a female thing.”

A low chuckle rumbled from his deep chest. Encouraged, she took a chance. “We're mates, Gabriel, and I want to know you better. I've been on my own so long, surviving on instinct, moving from place to place to stay alive. My life has been a minefield, and each step could blow up in my face. This is hard for me, putting our lives in your hands.”

“I told you, I won't hurt you or the twins. You need to learn to trust me on this.”

“I will, if you learn to trust me, as well.”

Tension tightened his chiseled jaw. Gabriel scowled at the road. “Hang on.”

He glanced at the side mirror, then did a sudden U-turn. The abrupt move woke the girls and they cried out. While she reassured them, Gabriel made another series of turns that would
confuse anyone following them. Finally he guided the car down a dirt road.

It ended before a white cottage with green shutters. Palm trees and sun-dappled oaks ringed the property. The house was remote, but she heard a dog barking in the distance.

“Stay here,” he ordered, swinging his long legs out as he opened the door.

Megan watched as he scanned the property. When he told them to follow him, caution returned. Nothing was normal in her crazy world, but something about this place seemed off.

The cottage's concrete steps led to a small, algae-covered porch. A hedge looked sadly lopsided and overgrown, and the grass was brown and patchy.

Gabriel rapped hard five times on the door jamb. A plump, middle-aged woman in a floral dress opened the door.

This was Martin?

“I've come to inquire about the tractor you have for sale. Is it running smoothly?” Gabriel asked.

A sudden gleam sparked the woman's eyes. “It runs as smooth as it must.”

She opened the front door wide. “Welcome. All who seek refuge are safe here.”

The refuge doesn't look too welcoming, Megan thought as she escorted the girls inside. They sat on a battered leather couch. When the woman went into the kitchen to fetch them something cool to drink, Megan leaned over and whispered to Gabriel.

“Martin is a woman?”

“The code name is Martin. Martin can be any of the retired Friends who no longer help Shadows full-time. They take turns being Martin.”

“Who is this then?”

“Angie. I've known her for years. It's okay,
chère.
She's cool.”

Megan studied the cheap prints on the yellowed walls, the stained carpet and the thick dust layering the coffee table. Angie
wasn't much of a housekeeper. That didn't bother her, but the putrid smell underlying the house did.

“This is all wrong,” she said in a low voice as the twins looked around curiously.

Gabriel frowned. “I sense it, as well. But it's part of the cover to keep away intruders. Tell me. You have a gift for using your instinct.”

His confidence warmed her. “It's as if you purposely drabbed down the house to make it inconspicuous. But the algae out front, the hedges and this furniture, there's an odor that doesn't belong. New, fresh. It smells like…blood.”

Gabriel's nostrils flared. He looked around. “Angie might have scented the house to ward off strangers. I need to check things out.”

“Let me. I'll be less conspicuous. I can turn into Shadow.”

Doubt flared on his face. Gabriel rubbed a hand over the dark bristles shadowing his angular jaw. “It's risky.”

“I'll be careful.”

They fell silent as Angie returned bearing a wooden tray and four tall glasses of iced tea. She sat as they helped themselves.

“I hope y'all are hungry. I just prepared rare meat for you, one of the chickens I keep out back,” Angie told them.

It would explain the scent of blood, but she didn't trust the woman's look. Neither did Gabriel, his cowboy hat tilted back as if to better view their hostess.

Gabriel was good, Megan admitted. He engaged Angie in small talk, saying nothing using a lot of words. Angie seemed restless, but responded politely to Gabriel's questions about the weather.

Now. Pretend you're sleepy.

The direct command inside her mind startled her a moment. Megan covered her mouth as she yawned widely. Gabriel glanced at her. “Angie, mind if she takes a short nap? It's been a long drive.”

Angie showed her to a back bedroom. The same musty smell pervaded here. Megan thanked her, and Angie scurried back to the living room.

“Where did y'all start out your journey?” she heard Angie ask.

“South,” Gabriel said.

She slipped into Shadow and stepped into the hallway.

The small kitchen was neat and tidy. No scent of fresh blood. Angie lied about killing a chicken. Still invisible, she quietly opened the back door and went outside.

As she reached the forest, the stench of spilled blood thickened the air.

She stubbed her toe on something and looked down. Protruding from the undergrowth was the tip of something round and blue. She touched it.

A woman's leather shoe.

Her heart pounded as she swept aside dead leaves and pine needles. The body had been hastily buried. Swallowing revulsion, she scraped at earth and leaves until her fingers struck flesh.

The round, plump face of a middle-aged woman stared sightlessly, her mouth frozen in horrified shock. She'd been strangled.

Megan sat back on her haunches, her body shaking. Cold dread pitted in her stomach. This was the real Angie.

That thing back in the living room, alone now with Gabriel and the twins, what was it?

I found a body out back. It's the real Angie. Get the girls out now.

Racing toward the house, her breath violent sobs, she sent the message over and over, hoping it wasn't too late.

 

Slamming down his anger and worry, Gabriel opened all his Draicon senses. The cold stench of rotting garbage leaked through this Angie's scent. Flatness showed in her hard gaze.

He glanced at the girls, wondering how the hell to get them out without endangering them. If he used his powers…

Jennifer stared at the woman. “What's wrong with your eyes?”

Gabriel suppressed a groan. The guilelessness of the young.

Angie gave a motherly smile. Then she showed all her teeth.

Her yellowed, pointed teeth.

The face shifted to a shade of mottled gray. “I've been waiting for you,” grated the cold, dead voice.

Jillian and Jennifer screamed. Megan spoke into his mind.
Get the girls out now.

Bounding off the sofa, Gabriel scooped up a twin in each arm. “Dammit,” he exploded. “It's a setup. Get out!”

As he dumped them outside the porch, the twins ran for the van, their hands fumbling at the door handle.

Who was the plant? Who had betrayed him?

His heart dropped to his stomach as he heard the familiar click of a weapon cocked back. He raised his hands to call forth his powers and destroy the entity who was on the front porch.

Megan rounded the corner.

Stay there, I'm coming for you. Don't move,
he ordered.

Shadow replaced Megan's form. Tracking her scent, he sensed her dancing from tree to tree. Gabriel thrust all his powers into the Morph, but the creature resisted his efforts. The Morph raised the gun. Bullets popped and splintered the ground. Gabriel cursed and ran towards Megan as she stepped behind a tree, her form flickering. He pushed her aside and dove forward in the line of fire. The smell of cordite filled the air. A bullet tore through his lower torso. Two more hit his side.

He put a hand to his belly, agony exploding through his side, warmth spreading through his parted fingers. A groan rumbled deep in his chest. He'd survive.

He saw the fake Angie point the weapon toward him. Suddenly, it jerked out of her hands. She gave a loud shriek as it danced in the air.

Jennifer.

Pain and rage roared, bringing out the beast. Gabriel held his stomach, fighting down the instinct to shift and fight. He had to look after Megan and the twins.

Instead he hurled all his magick at the fake Angie, barreling into her head with the force of a tractor trailer.
You have a brain aneurysm rupturing. Your head is exploding in pain. You will die.

A shrill scream came from near the house. He dragged him self to the van, knowing what would happen. In minutes, the fake Angie would be dead from the power of suggestion.

He crawled into the van as Megan scrambled into the driver's side. She cranked the ignition and hit the gas pedal.

A white-hot razor sliced through his belly. Gabriel bit back a rich curse as he peeled off his shirt. He glanced downward at the blood pumping through his splayed fingers.

Mixed in with the crimson of his life's blood was a sluggish silver liquid.

Megan looked in horror at his wound. “Silver bullets?”

“Worse.” He struggled to speak through the pain. “Hollow bullets…liquid silver.”

The surest and most painful way to kill him. He slumped on the seat, his guts on fire.

“How bad is it?” Megan gunned the engine.

“Bad enough.” He lifted his wet hand. Blood gushed from the wound.

“We have to get you to a hospital.” She shot through a stop sign.

“Too dangerous. Be okay. Can't let them get to you.”

Then he quieted, because it hurt too much to talk, and he needed to reserve the last of his precious energy. Because he'd be damned if he'd die now that the last safe place had been compromised, leaving Megan and the twins on their own.