The Shepard's Agony (14 page)

So much for pity.

“
Did you want to know the bad part?” Shepard
asked
. This
time
, he looked at her.

“
There’s more?”
she asked.

He let out a dark sort of laugh, shaking his head. “There’s always more
. If my father finds out about this,” he pointed to the long scratch on his arm. “He’s going to kill me rather than let me change because that’s how David died.”

Gwen’s mouth fell open and stayed that way. With the way he told the
story
, she was sure the poor boy would have bled to death before he could change. She’d watched as bitten children cried and screamed
until
,
finally
, they would stop screaming in some half
human
-half wolf state. It was horrifying, even to
her and
she knew what to expect. She was grateful she’d only seen it once in her life. Once was enough, hopefully she’d never see it again.

“But
, the thing is, he actually thinks I am David.”

What the—?
“You mean, the other David?”

Shepard nodded. “That’s the one. He likes to think I’m his reincarnation or something. When I was a kid and we’d go out hunting, I never knew why he’d tell me to get revenge for what they did to me. I still wouldn’t know if Jimmy hadn’t told me.”

Now Gwen was mortified. Not for herself or for Bill or even the rest of the pack, but for him. She couldn’t imagine what it must have been like to live in the image of a dead
sibling
; to be compared to someone who died so young and innocent for so many years was something she just couldn’t comprehend. It was no wonder Garrett Shepard was out to get werewolves. Watching a son die in the middle of a change would drive anyone to insanity.

He stood there tall and proud despite his
story
. Even with the hurt she could hear in his voice, she could see by his posture that his past hadn’t broken him. She not only saw it, she’d seen it previously when they were dating, when he laughed and kissed her. For a few seconds, she was proud of him and envious that he could be so strong and survive so much, but then she brought herself back to the topic at hand.

“And your brothers just let him think this? They don’t say anything?”

Shepard sighed. “They seem to think that it keeps him
sane. It is relatively harmless,” he said, sounding as though he were making excuses.

Gwen took his hand into hers and held on for
support
. Even when he tried to pull away again, she
just glared at him
and
held on
tighter. “Well, like it or not, you’re one of us now. I’ll be there for you when you have your first change.” She almost made herself believe
he
would survive.
Regardless
of
the
outcome, she meant what she
said
. When it came time for him to
change
, she would be there with him. She promised both herself and him that the last thing he saw before he changed would be her smiling face.
He’s a strong guy, he might survive.

That small thought gave her a hope she didn’t have since she found out he was turning. He was a hunter of strong body and mind, and as long as she was there to guide him through the
change
, he had a chance. She would see to it.

Gwen squeezed his hand a little tighter and leaned her head against his bare arm, reminding herself of her promise to him in the bathroom.

The thought made her shiver. It wasn’t the time for that.
Later,
she promised herself.
There’s going to be a later.

Shepard was surprised by the act and he looked down to see a content little smile on her lips. He couldn’t help but smile back at
her
. The urge to run his fingers through her beautiful white-blonde hair was strong, but he was having enough trouble having her so close and not being able to do more than just hold her hand.

Every time he was alone with her he needed to touch her, in the motel, the bathroom, and he wanted to finish what they’d started. He
’d even
thought of
where he could take
her
so that they could finish, but quickly pushed it out of his head when the images became so explicit that he had to shift his weight around to keep from becoming too uncomfortable.

He’d never been so glad to be wearing jeans before, and no matter how much he wanted her, Gwen wouldn’t likely appreciate it in the middle of a quiet moment.

They stayed like that for a time, long enough for Shepard’s body to calm down, until Evey walked up, licking her chops with a satisfied smile on her face.

Gwen was feeling too happy and lazy to want to pay the vampire any
attention
. She wanted nothing more than to fall asleep on David, but the pleased look on her face made her tense and suspicious.

“Where’d you go?” Gwen asked, one eye open and looking right at her. “You didn’t bite anyone did you?”

“
Of course not, it turns out this place has a lovely little blood bank,”
she said as
she lifted the side of a coat she’d stolen to reveal two more hidden bags of blood.

Shepard bit back a laugh, but Gwen groaned and shut her eyes again. She didn’t want to have to worry about this. “People here need that blood.”

“
I’m well aware of that. I didn’t take much, and none of the rare kinds
either
. Blood doesn’t taste good when it’s cold anyway,” she said, hiding the blood bags that she’d stolen when a patient in a wheelchair wheeled by, curiously staring at her white hair and pink eyes.

“
I wish I could make blood appear with
majick,” she said when he passed. “Then I wouldn’t have to go to so much trouble to get it all the time.”

Gwen watched the man wheel around a corner until a thought she’d previously forgotten came rushing back to
her
. Her eyes snapped wide open.

Oh
God
.

“David?”

He felt her tense and was concerned. “What is it?”

“Is Jacob that vampire who was at the cabin?”

Shepard blinked. “What?” How could she possibly know about him? Was he with Jimmy and Allen hunting her in the woods? Most likely not since the poor guy spent a majority of his time at camp. How could she know his name?

“
The vampire who was,” she hesitated, searching for the right
words
, “with your family at our Moon Night spot, was it him?”

“How do you know that?”

Gwen groaned. “I’m so sorry, I completely forgot with all the running and dodging I was doing.” She felt terrible, how could she forget something like that?

“
Gwen, what happened?” Shepard demanded, praying that nothing had happened. He knew his brother’s had been acting more hostile than usual lately, but even if they were to try
something
, Jacob knew how to take care of himself.

Evey appeared both interested and concerned, probably because no vampire ever liked to hear that one of their own might be in danger, the same going for werewolves.

Gwen told them of how she was in the woods, running away into the shrubs and trying not to create a
noticeable trail for the hunters to follow.
Eventually
, both hunters stopped to rest, not realizing that she was right there watching them and listening to their conversation while keeping low to the ground to prevent them from catching sight of her noticeable white fur.

They were loudly complaining, frustrated they couldn’t catch her, but also that he wouldn’t be there to participate in Jacob’s death.

She didn’t get a chance to learn more since she accidentally stepped on a twig, alerting them to her presence.

Shepard couldn’t believe what he was hearing. They were going to kill him? For what?

“I need to go.”

Gwen blinked and grabbed his arm before he could go anywhere. “What? You can’t go! You need Doc to check you out!”

“
I can’t just let t
hem kill him,” he said, shrugging her off. He never knew why Jacob stayed and helped his family despite the hostility, but he was his friend and he wouldn’t let it happen.

“You can’t go back, you don’t even know if he’s still alive. Who is he anyway?”

“
I can’t leave him
there
,” Shepard growled through clenched
teeth
. Gwen drew back, shocked at the sound. He was becoming more and more a wolf by the minute.

“
He’s …
he helps us
on
our
hunts
, but only because my father’s holding something over his head. I don’t know what.”

“
I’ll go with
him
,” Evey volunteered.

“
I’ll go alone
,” Shepard said. He didn’t want to put anyone else in danger. He could handle his family on his own.

“
I’m a vampire, I can help you,” Evey argued. “Besides, if he’s
thirsty
, he can have my blood bags.”

It was a generous offer since vamps hated sharing their food.

“
I’ll go too
.” Gwen said, wanting to help in any way she could, but also not wanting to let him out of her sight. If he set the vampire free and decided not to
return
, she could live with
that
.
Actually
, she would prefer
it
; at least then he’d
be
out of the way of her father and
Bill
.
But
, at the same
time
, she wanted to be with him until his change like she promised.

Shepard hesitated. Jacob would be thirsty since his job rarely allowed him to drink. Evey was right, she would be needed, but Gwen …

Shepard went and cupped her cheeks; her skin was smooth under his rough touch, grey eyes afire with intensity. He didn’t want to hurt her
any more than he
already
had, but when he died,
if
he died, he could at least die knowing that she was his and his alone. Shepard covered her mouth with his own, pleased when she kissed him back, completely forgetting that they were putting on a show for Evey, who had enough decency to turn away, but not without a little smile on her lips.

Shepard’s hands roamed to the small of her back, and while he couldn’t hear her thoughts, he was far enough into the change to understand what she was thinking. She was thinking the exact same thing that he was.
She could hear his voice clearly inside of her head, even without practice.

Mine.

He nearly lost control of himself at that. The need to deepen the kiss was getting to him.

With regret and as much willpower as he could muster, he pulled away and looked her in the eyes, his hands coming up to her shoulders.

“Thank you.”

She opened her mouth to ask,
what for?
when a hard pressure in her neck suddenly made everything go black.

Gwen sunk in Shepard’s
arms
. He lifted her up and placed her gently onto the waiting bench she’d previously been sitting on.

“Was that really necessary?” Evey asked, the smile gone from her face.

Shepard made sure she would be as comfortable as possible
and
briefly touched her face before standing. “Yes, and you’re right, you need to come with me. You’ve got the blood. I don’t want to put her in anymore danger anyway.”

Evey nodded. “
And
, I don’t think you want the other wolves knowing where the Shepards are hiding either.”

“Well, that too,” he admitted sheepishly. They were still his family.

“So, where are they hiding?”

“Old barn just off the highway. It’s abandoned and nearly falling over. You know it?”

Evey nodded. “I know it. Let’s go, we have an hour and a half until the sun rises.”

Shepard didn’t notice Evey looking in the direction of the door where John was being treated, a door that had recently been cracked open for the person on the other side to listen to their conversation.

Chapter Nine

Gwen screamed when she woke up and found herself in a hospital bed, her father hovering over her. She screamed so loud that everyone
close
to her jumped back and covered their ears.

She le
apt from the bed and noted that she’d been put in the same room Bill was sleeping
in
. Thankfully her scream didn’t stir him, but she wasn’t sure she would have felt any remorse even if it did.

She zoomed in on John who stared wildly at her. He stepped toward her, his hands out and
questioning
. She attacked him. She punched him in the mouth, sending him stumbling backwards, stopping only because a blinding pain shot through her knuckles when they hit his teeth.

“
Ah! Damnit!”
she screeched, clutching her shaking fingers. John backed away, holding his bleeding mouth.

She wanted to jump at him again, but a pair of strong arms wrapped around her and held her back.

“
Let go! Let go of me!”
she yelled, fighting against whoever was holding her back when another pair of arms went to help the first.

Her father’s voice growled in her ear. “You will stop it this instant! Don’t start fights when Bill is lying right there!”

He was
right
. As angry as she
was
, picking fights could wait
until
another time.