The Swan Who Flew After a Wolf (16 page)

rude to just leave the party, not to mention that Anson and Reed

probably still had things to do. All these guests had come here for

Paris, and they needed to be catered to.

Paris gave Reed a questioning look. Swans had great hearing, so

Reed must have caught what Paris’s mother had said. After a brief

pause, Reed nodded. “Anson says it’s okay,” he mouthed. “We’ll go

see her after Anson lets Soren know.”

“All right, Mom,” Paris said into the phone. “We can meet you

somewhere. At Anson’s place?”

“I don’t really feel comfortable invading their privacy,” she

replied. “How about next to that big tree Jace showed us?”

It took a few moments for Paris to remember the tree in question.

During a large part of the tour, Paris had been too focused on taking

in the wonderful specimen of manhood acting as their guide to care

about the sights. But he did recall the tree. It was, apparently, the

oldest one on pack grounds. Jace had told them that, a long time ago,

werewolves all over the country came to register their matings here.

That tradition had slowly faded when the Agency had appeared, but

Paris thought it was really romantic. While Jace had been telling the

story, his eyes had met Paris’s, and something in that deep gaze had

made Paris yearn for forbidden things.

“Okay,” he told his mother, still half lost in his reverie. “We’ll be

there.”

“Excellent. I’ll be waiting.”

As they ended the call, Paris found Reed looking at him with a

smug expression. “So, as we were saying before that brief

interruption. Anyone you have in mind for the role of your mate?”

Paris moaned in distress. “I simply can’t win with you.”

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In response, Reed smiled gently. “Don’t worry about it. You don’t

have to tell me if you don’t want to. I can wait.” He paused and took

Paris’s hand. “I’m happy, though, happy that you’re here. I admit I

was a little upset in the beginning because I wanted a child with

Anson. Don’t get me wrong, I still do. But meeting you…It’s been a

life-changing experience to have you with us. And I really think we

can be a family.”

Touched, Paris hugged the swan-shifter. “Thanks, Reed. That

means a lot to me.”

As Reed hugged him back, Paris experienced a true sense of

peace. Now, if only his mother would see things their way. Then, they

could truly be happy.

* * * *

Reed walked by Anson and Paris’s side, desperately wishing he

was back at the party and not going to meet Aria. “So do you really

think she’ll stop causing trouble?” he asked as they made their way

through the forest.

“I hope so.” Paris shrugged. “I mean, I get that it’s not easy for

her to leave our former pack behind, but it’s not your fault.”

“Well, I’ll believe that when I see it.” Anson scrutinized the area

with keen eyes. “Where is she anyway?”

“She said she would be around here somewhere,” Paris said,

sounding puzzled. “How strange. Maybe she hasn’t gotten here yet.”

“Yes.” A feeling of apprehension gripped Reed. He could sense

someone in the area, but couldn’t detect the source. “Strange. Let’s go

back to the house, and we’ll call her again from there.”

He had barely finished the phrase when a huge log swept over

them. Reed was so shocked that he couldn’t even move. However, the

large tree trunk wasn’t even aimed at him. Instead, it hit Anson in the

chest, sending him flying back a couple of feet away.

Reed released a cry of panic. “Sonny!”

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His bond with the werewolf told him Anson was still alive. Even a

heavy blow like that couldn’t kill a shifter. But still, Reed couldn’t

contain his terror, not even out of the need for self-preservation. Both

he and Paris ran to Anson’s side. The werewolf was breathing, but

unconscious, a thin trickle of blood tainting his lips.

“We need to get him to a hospital,” Paris said.

“Not so fast,” a female voice came from behind them. Reed

turned, instinctively shielding his mate’s prone body with his own. He

watched as Aria emerged from the trees, a wicked-looking gun

pointed in their direction. “I give the orders now.”

“Are you crazy, Mom?” Paris asked, his eyes wide. “What do you

think you can possibly gain by killing Anson?”

“Oh, I don’t plan to kill Anson,” Aria replied. “He just needed to

be out of commission so that the three of us could have a little private

chat. After all, if he really is the swan’s mate, he might have seen

what I had planned, and that wouldn’t do.”

Reed couldn’t understand anything anymore. “What you have

planned?” he repeated numbly. “Look, just put down the gun. We’re

all rational people here. We can talk about this.”

Aria snorted. “Don’t think you can convince me with your little

ploys, whore. I’m not up to playing games.”

“Then what do you want?” Reed inquired in a mix of horror and

exasperation. His entire being ached to protect Anson, to do anything

Aria asked for as long as his mate lived. He clung to their bond, as

strong as ever, glowing at the back of his mind. They would get out of

this, somehow. He was sure of it.

Aria didn’t seem to care about anything he had to say or do.

“From you, I don’t want anything,” she said, shrugging. Then, she

turned toward her son, a strange little smirk on her face. “As for my

dear Paris, I want him to die.”

Time seemed to slow as Aria pressed the trigger. Reed didn’t even

know what propelled him into motion. Perhaps it was the knowledge

of how much Paris meant to Anson, or maybe the understanding of

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105

the fact that Paris deserved a chance at a real life, a happy one. It

could have also been the close bond they’d forged in spite of the little

time they’d spent together, and the deep way he empathized with

Paris. Reed himself had been taken in by his parents as an egg, and

that had saved him from a life of suffering that could have been

identical to Paris’s. Because of all that and many other reasons, Reed

threw himself in front of the bullet meant for Paris.

For a few moments, Reed actually thought Aria had missed. Then,

piercing, agonizing pain struck him, crushing his chest. He couldn’t

breathe, and his vision went blurry. A distant part of his mind heard

Paris call out his name, and then everything went black.

* * * *

Alpha Haloran Marrow paced through his office, more agitated

than he’d ever been in his life. He held the phone in his hand so

tightly that the device was moments away from being crushed. But

the damn thing refused to connect, and Hal was running out of time.

With an angry roar, Hal threw the phone against the wall. It

shattered into a million pieces, but it hardly made Hal feel better.

When his former wife had told him about her plan, he’d known

that he could not persuade her that he truly didn’t want Paris dead.

His only chance was to warn the Wades before disaster struck. But

Soren Wade had not taken his calls, and Hal’s attempts to reach the

werewolf elder had resulted in failure as well. Most everyone was

focused on the Tyrell issue, while Paris and Aria were just a dot on

the map.

Hal took a deep breath. This was his fault. He should have dealt

with Aria when he’d first realized she wasn’t exactly sane. He’d let

his own vapid concerns rule over his reasons, and he was paying for

that.

True enough, Hal had never seen Paris as his son. Years ago, he

had realized the young wolf was not his blood. He’d kept up the

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façade, as he had not wanted to shame himself in front of the pack.

Alas, he’d underestimated and misjudged Aria. While in the

beginning, she had been cold and harsh only with Paris, she had soon

started doing the same thing to Hal’s sons. By the time he’d truly

understood that, the damage had already been done.

Hal realized now that he was paying the price for allowing an

innocent boy to suffer out of sheer arrogance. But regrets were

pointless now, and losing his temper wouldn’t help him. He needed to

keep trying to contact Soren.

Since his cell was broken, Hal chose the landline instead. He

dialed the number he knew by memory after the numerous times he’d

tried it. To his surprise, someone finally answered. “Finally!” Hal

said. “Where are you people?”

“Alpha Marrow,” Soren Wade greeted him coldly. “If you must

know, we’re at a celebration for the boy you called a son in the past

twenty years.”

“Is Paris there?” Hal inquired, praying that he wasn’t too late.

Soren released a sigh of exasperation. “What is it that you want,

Alpha Marrow? You must know that Paris’s accusations against you

are quite severe. Is that what you want to talk about?”

“No. Look, we don’t have time for this. Aria is insane. She

decided that she wants to come back to me and the only way to do

that is to kill Paris. She’s going to kill that boy.”

There was a long pause at the other side of the connection. “Paris,

Anson, and Anson’s mate, Reed, left to meet her a little while back,”

Soren said at last. “Are you sure about this?”

“Positive. Go after them, Soren. Go before it is too late.”

The dial tone was his only reply. Hal collapsed on his office

couch, feeling very old and tired. He only hoped Soren and his people

reached Paris in time. If not, Hal would carry this regret and remorse

to his grave.

* * * *

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107

Crimson. Coppery. Hot and, oh God, nauseating. Paris’s hands

were slick with Reed’s blood as he tried to block the wound

somehow, to stem the flow. There was just so much of it. Paris had

never seen so much blood in his life. Choking noises signaled that

Reed was having trouble breathing. And in all this, there was nothing,

absolutely nothing Paris could do to help.

There were few things that could kill a shifter, but like all living

creatures, they had vulnerable spots, too. And then, there was the

bullet. Paris would bet money that the one that had struck Reed was

made out of silver. It must still be inside Reed, as had it passed

straight through, it would have hit Paris, too. Since the intent had been

to kill Paris, it must also have been made out of silver. To Paris’s

knowledge, swans didn’t share the werewolves’ vulnerability to the

precious metal, but that wouldn’t help Reed if the bullet wasn’t

removed.

“Oh, this is interesting,” he heard his mother say. “Not exactly

what I had in mind, but oh well. I guess I’ll just have to kill you all

and make you disappear. No one would be able to blame me or Hal if

you vanished into thin air.”

“You’re insane,” Paris shouted at her. He knew he shouldn’t

antagonize her, but he couldn’t help it. His vision went blurry with

tears he could do nothing against. “You’ll never get away with this.”

They had told Soren they were going to meet up with Aria. If

nothing else, the Alpha would suspect she’d been involved in hurting

them. But then again, by that time, Paris, Reed, and Anson would

likely be dead.

As if guessing his thoughts, Aria laughed. “Oh, don’t you worry

about that. I know how to handle myself. I can play the heartbroken

mother like the best of them.”

By now, Paris could have tried to escape many times, but he

couldn’t just leave his dad and Reed here. Reed’s condition was

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severe and getting worse by the second, though, and Paris prayed that

someone would come to save them.

All of a sudden, Paris sensed a familiar, comforting presence

nearby. There were more people around, but one particular individual

stood out. Aria must have felt it as well since her attention turned

from Paris to the new arrivals.

Before she could do anything about it, though, a large wolf

emerged from the bushes. It, or rather he, landed on Aria, sending her

gun flying through the air. Aria screamed, and that shout turned into a

howl as she shifted into her wolf form as well.

The battle turned into a flurry of fangs and claws. In spite of her

experience and obvious insanity, Aria was losing. But it didn’t take