Книга - Lying with Wolves

Lying with Wolves
Cynthia Cooke


Only she can save them…Following a betrayal, Celia Lawson, the last of a pre-eminent magical bloodline, tries to rebuild her life outside the Colony. But, when demon raiders breach the compound, threatening everyone she loves, she races home to mount a magical offensive… and finds comfort in the arms of the shifter who broke her heart!Risking exposure, Malcolm Daniels wants only to redeem himself with the pack and win back Celia’s trust. But, as demon forces invade, Celia’s magic – and her conflicted feelings for Malcolm – will be tested in ways neither of them ever would have imagined…







“You need to come back to the Colony. Now.”

There was no use fighting it. Celia looked around the shop that she’d worked so hard to create, and fresh tears filled her eyes.

“Don’t you see, Malcolm? I finally got away. I made my escape from the Colony. This shop you’re standing in is my new life. For the first time ever I’m on my own, discovering who I am, without you. Without the other shifters. Without my—”

She paused as the finality of her words set in. Without my mother.

Fresh pain seared her insides.

“I like it here, Malcolm,” she said, pushing through the words. “No, I love it here. And here you’ve come, riding back into my life, trying to take it all away from me.”

“I don’t want to take anything from you,” he said. “I wish I didn’t have to. But you don’t belong here in this dry desert. You belong at home.” With me.


Many years ago, CYNTHIA COOKE lived a quiet, idyllic life caring for her beautiful eighteen-month-old daughter. Then peace gave way to chaos with the birth of her boy/girl twins. She kept her sanity by reading romance novels and dreaming of someday writing one. With the help of Romance Writers of America and wonderfully supportive friends, she fulfilled her dreams. Now, many moons later, Cynthia is an award-winning author.




Lying With Wolves

Cynthia Cooke







www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)


I’d like to dedicate this book to my husband, Dale, who has taken this crazy journey with me, loving and laughing all the way.


Contents

Cover (#uaf4b4088-fd94-5298-a232-bd0e363efd71)

Excerpt (#uec8e4e73-eb2e-50c2-8a93-1af20000fb4b)

About the Author (#u05597070-db1e-55ee-b5e6-401153273831)

Title Page (#u106d6165-e669-5203-8339-9f8e41072a2b)

Dedication (#u0e482a88-ba2c-588f-9b59-45fdad05b803)

Chapter 1 (#ulink_5d965c53-490b-515b-afe3-2feeb134e2bd)

Chapter 2 (#ulink_9a086b5a-e814-5517-983a-e4d0f951235e)

Chapter 3 (#ulink_ea6a4ec0-9912-5342-8ddf-3f08b552c45e)

Chapter 4 (#ulink_3cb20165-1c3f-5575-b11f-8942a9e5d986)

Chapter 5 (#ulink_c0757330-bcff-5fa0-89f5-ed3b05d88312)

Chapter 6 (#ulink_7fec5f61-2cc1-5994-9d0b-cd7eaab4f731)

Chapter 7 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 8 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 9 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 10 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 11 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 12 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 13 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 14 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 15 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 16 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 17 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 18 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 19 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 20 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 21 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 22 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 23 (#litres_trial_promo)

Extract (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)


Chapter 1 (#ulink_25c492cc-833f-5fc2-bcc9-e9201c4ab05b)

As the first streaks of dawn lit the horizon, she ran. Her paws scraped along the fine red dust of the desert floor as she dashed through creosote bushes, snakeweed and prickly pear cacti, her nose filling with the honey scent of graythorn.

She paused, catching a different scent—the tangy musk of fear. Her sharp eyes scanned the area in the lingering darkness as she searched the desert floor for shadows, for movement, for something to chase. And there it was, frozen next to a sage bush, impossibly large ears twitching, its round eyes wide with fear. A jackrabbit.

She gave chase—the rabbit’s scent filling her nose, the rapid pounding of its small heart thumping in her ears. The rabbit jumped, launching itself at least ten feet, its long legs propelling it at impossibly fast speeds as it zigzagged through yucca and agave.

Exaltation urged Celia faster. She chased the little creature while the sun, cresting beyond the stark canyons, lit the sky in an explosion of color. Power pulsed through her body, with each step rejoicing in her freedom as she raced through the morning air. She wished she could run like this all day but knew it would be too risky here in the Arizona desert, where people rose with the sun.

Then she heard the sound she’d been so afraid would come.

Just a murmur at first, far in the distance, but then the sound grew louder. Closer.

Humans.

Warily she paused, letting the rabbit get away. Early-morning campers were up ahead in the canyon. She spun, racing away. Too late. Someone yelled a warning to the others. A commotion sounded. The parking lot was just ahead. Her legs, pumping hard, carried her quickly to her car. In the lightening sky, she deftly changed back to her human form, standing naked in the cool morning air until she could reach her clothes inside.

A wolf living among humans was a bad idea. And this was only one of the reasons why. Striking out on her own, leaving the safety of the Colony, was not going to be easy. But for her, freedom from the Colony was worth the price.

Freedom from seeing Malcolm every day, from hearing his voice or sensing him in the forest when she ran, knowing he’d be sleeping with her every night—a woman who would give him the control he so desperately craved. Freedom from that was worth any price she had to pay.

Even if she had to live each and every moment hiding her true self from humans and from the demons who were determined to hunt her down and kill her.

* * *

Celia Lawson’s nerves bunched as she gazed out the large picture window at the red rock mountains. It had been almost two weeks since she was able to transform, to stretch her legs and run. To feel the sweet night air against her face, to chase rabbits and run free. She was trapped in this shop of soaps, lotions and scented candles. Transforming here put her at risk of discovery. Humans were a concern, but the bigger threat were the Gauliacho. The demons in shadow form had hunted the shifters for a millennium. They wouldn’t overlook her.

She ran her finger across the large red crystal in front of her. The only protection she had from the demons were the crystals composed of dark energy that negated the shifter’s energy signature, effectively hiding them from the Gauliacho and the lost humans they possessed—the Abatu.

The irony wasn’t lost on Celia that even though she was free of the Colony, from Malcolm, by leaving the safety of the Colony’s borders, she was now trapped in a prison of the shop’s four walls, hiding behind the energy of the crystals. Energy only she as the Keeper of the crystals had the power to rejuvenate.

She looked longingly at the mountains one last time. She couldn’t take the chance, even if her skin felt as if it were on fire. She bounced up and down on her feet, anxiety growing within her by the minute. She had never gone this long without making the change to her natural state. Was it the need to run free that had her so wound up or something else?

Something coming.

Abatu? A lost human soul with no will of his own, who didn’t have the strength of character to keep the Gauliacho from latching on and hitching a ride. Abatu were rudderless and easily manipulated and gave the Gauliacho a physical form to track the shifters. To search them out and destroy them one by one. There were more of them around lately, almost as if they had her scent but couldn’t quite find her.

But as frightening as the Abatu could be, it was the Gauliacho themselves in their shadow form that struck terror into Celia’s heart. She’d dreamed about them as a child, their insidious whispering, the way they’d get inside her mind and stop her cold, turning her muscles to water.

Throngs of people crowded the busy Sedona Street. She should open the door and welcome them into Desert Winds. Thanks to her cousin’s recipes of organic soaps and lotions, they were doing a quick and steady business. And she would invite the shoppers in. She just needed...a minute. Pressure built inside her chest, squeezed her lungs and made it difficult to breathe. She needed to run, to escape the walls of the shop, if only for an hour.

Tonight, she promised herself, when the moon was high in the sky, she would drive deep into the desert where only the coyotes dared roam. She stretched her arms high above her head and turned her shoulders, left, then right until the bones in her back popped. It was times like this that she missed the redwood forests of home, the wide-open meadows and majestic peaks of the jagged, soaring mountains. But when she thought of home, a deep ache settled within her, a longing that twisted and pulled with a sharpness that shredded her insides. Longing for what should have been, and pain for what wasn’t.

Pain caused by Malcolm.

Malcolm. His name whispered across her mind, conjured eyes of forest-green and a smile that could melt the coldest ice-covered peaks that surrounded her home at the Colony. She pushed his image away. She would not think of him. She deserved better. Here in this red desert so far from the lush green forests of home was her chance to start over.

The tinkling of the Kokopelli chimes rang as her twin cousins, Ruby and Jade James, burst into the shop. Celia had come to Sedona specifically to find them. She’d grown up hearing about her crazy aunt who’d left the Colony to find adventure and had fallen in love with a human. Together they’d had twin baby girls. She wondered for years what her human cousins were like and if they would they make the change, too.

“You like them?” Ruby asked, pointing to the peacock feathers in her hair. “I loved your eagle feather so much I had to get a feather for myself. Not too many eagle feathers lying around on the ground here, though. But I thought this was real pretty.”

Celia smiled and ran her fingertips along the smooth feather twined in her hair. “My mother said this feather would be perfect for me, since I’ve always wanted to fly away from home and be free.”

Ruby laughed. “Really? I can’t imagine why. How beautiful your home in the mountains must be. You have to take me there sometime to see it. Plus, I’m dying to meet my aunt Jaya.”

“Absolutely,” Celia enthused, but she knew she wouldn’t. Humans were not allowed into the Colony. Not even if they were married to a shifter, or were a shifter’s offspring. Unless those offspring made the change. But with half-breeds, no one ever knew if they would or even when. Ruby and Jade hadn’t, and because their mother had died when they were so young, they were completely unaware that the possibility for them to transform into shifters even existed. Which, she supposed, was for the best.

But the reminder of her mother sent a pang of homesickness echoing through her. Celia wished she could see her again or even talk to her. But her mother refused to use modern contraptions, referring to them as the downfall of humanity. Celia sighed. Malcolm believed the exact opposite and filled the village with as many computers and telephones and televisions as he could.

“You are going to love this new concoction we came up with for our lotions,” Ruby said, dropping her natural hemp bag on a nearby table with a loud thud. “Not only does it feel incredible, but we’ve added sandalwood oil, a natural aphrodisiac. Now not only will the wearer feel silky smooth—”

“And relaxed,” Jade interceded.

“But it will make them in the mood for love,” Ruby said in a singsong voice while holding the lotion under Celia’s nose. “Smell.”

Celia took a whiff and smiled. “It does smell good.” She pulled away. “But since love is not something I’m looking for, I don’t think I’ll put any on.”

“Smart move,” Jade said. “Especially after the incantation she put on it.”

Celia smiled. She didn’t doubt it. She might be able to wield the energy in the crystals, but her cousins could work magic with herbs, oils and spells.

Jade opened a box and handed the bottles to her sister, who strategically arranged them in the window. “Ruby was up half the night practicing—”

Celia flinched as Ruby picked up the dark red crystal Celia had placed in the center of the windowsill facing due north, and moved toward the counter.

Celia lurched forward to stop her. “That can’t be moved,” she said, and snatched the crystal out of her hand.

Ruby looked up at her, startled. “Why not?” she asked, sounding surprised and a touch confused. She took a step back from the crystal, rubbing her hands across her jeans.

Celia cringed at her too-sharp tone. “I’m sorry.” She smiled and tried to soften her words. “I have four of them placed at each compass point of the room for protection. They can’t be moved.”

“Protection from what?” Jade asked, her icicle-blue eyes narrowing as she studied her.

From the Gauliacho, who want to kill me. But Celia couldn’t tell them that. She could never reveal the truth of who and what she was. Not even to them. It was better they didn’t know the horrific details of how their mother died, or how easily she could just disappear one day. Even though her aunt, like Celia and her mother, had been a Keeper, the crystals’ power hadn’t been able to protect her from the demons.

As Keepers, they alone had the gift to rejuvenate the dark energy of the stones and keep the protective force field strong. But as her mother had warned, she couldn’t stay away from the Colony for too long. Keeper or not, she would be safe only in the Colony. Aunt Sue’s death had been proof of that.

“I’m sorry. Old Native American folklore.” Celia forced a smile and spun to place the crystal back in the window.

“No problem,” Ruby said, continuing to rub her hands across her jeans. She began rearranging her bottles again. But the happy mood had been broken.

Celia glanced out the window again as an uncomfortable skittering raced once more along her nerves.

Something was definitely coming. Something or someone.

* * *

Malcolm Daniels sped along the winding desert road through mountains unlike any he’d seen before. And completely unlike the towering ragged granite peaks he’d left behind at the Colony. The deep red of the rocks of the Arizona desert were stunning against the backdrop of blue sky, but the sparse trees and wide-openness of the land left little room for cover against prying eyes. Here there was nowhere to run without being seen. No way to hide.

How could Celia stand it?

He was getting closer to her now. He could feel her—a wave of warmth in the pit of his stomach that spread out to encompass him. Their connection was strong. She might think she could run away from him, but there was no running from the bond they shared. He would find her and he’d make her come back to the Colony. She had to return to rejuvenate the boundary stones. If she didn’t, if he couldn’t bring her back to the Colony in time, the shifters would die.

He would find her.

Even if she hated him for it.

He touched the string of stones on his wrist, running his finger over the black-and-red crystals that offered protection for three days. Day three was here, and if he didn’t find Celia soon, his presence would become known to every demon out there. In physical form and in shadow.

He slowed his truck as he turned the bend on 89A and the town came into view. Small eclectic shops and restaurants lined either side of the highway displaying woodcarvings, paintings, crystals, beads and palm readings in this metaphysical mecca.

He crawled past several stores, each quaint and unique with outdoor tables and pots overflowing with bright flowers. His gaze shot to a storefront displaying an abundance of beauty products. Copper vortexes spun outside the large picture window, but his eyes fixated on the large red crystal sitting on the sill.

A crystal from the Colony.

This was it. Finally!

A quarter mile down the street, he found a parking place and pulled into it. His heart was pounding. He rubbed his damp palm on his jeans. He’d wanted to see her. Had thought of nothing else during his three-day journey, but now that he’d found her... How was he going to tell her what had happened to Jaya?

He walked slowly toward the shop, trying to think of words that should never have to be said or heard. What was the best way to break someone’s heart?

“I’m sorry...I don’t know where to start,” he said, practicing, not paying attention when a large man stepped out of a restaurant directly in front of him. Almost plowing into him, Malcolm sidestepped the man, stiffening, his eyes widening. Malevolence, thick and rancid, rolled off the man. An Abatu.

Dammit! Malcolm kept his head down and kept going, adrenaline surging through him, kicking up his heartbeat. The Abatu hesitated on the curb. Malcolm continued forward, hoping there was still enough energy in the stones on his wrist to keep him shielded.

Through the reflection in the restaurant’s large picture window, Malcolm saw the Abatu turn toward him, confusion tightening his face for a long moment before he finally spun around and walked away. Malcolm let out a relieved breath. He got by him. This time.

If he was going to find Celia and get his crystals regenerated, he’d better do it soon.


Chapter 2 (#ulink_f8b6cd13-bec7-5326-89a1-917ac3b32c35)

The pressure in Celia’s chest was unbearable. Malcolm was here. She could feel him. Close. The shop’s walls closed in on her as she circled the room. She couldn’t face him. Not yet. Damn, why was he here?

Concern widened Jade’s all-seeing blue eyes as she watched her pacing from behind the counter. “What is it?” she asked.

“I—” Celia didn’t know what to say. How she could explain? The man who broke my heart into a million pieces is here, and I’m too much of a coward to face him? Yep, that would sit well. Hell, she wasn’t a baby; it was high time she stopped acting like one.

And then she saw him through the window, and her heart leaped into her throat and strangled her.

Jade followed her gaze, then turned back to her, a smile twisting her lips. “Is that Malcolm?”

Malcolm. The one Celia could barely think about, let alone talk about. The man who had carelessly ripped out her heart and fed it to the buzzards. How could he still affect her so deeply? She backed away from the window. “Tell him I’m not here.”

“What?” Jade blurted, astonished.

“I know, I’m the biggest kind of coward. And I will deal with him. Just...not...yet. Tell him I’m gone. Anywhere. The store. The moon. Please.”

“But, Celia, he came all this way. Don’t you at least want to know why?”

“No. Not really.” Whatever it was, it couldn’t be good. Not for her. She shook her head as she backed through the door at the rear of the shop that led into a storage room.

“You can’t keep running,” Jade said, her voice annoyingly maternal. “One of these days you’re going to have to face—” Her words broke off as the bells chimed above the door.

Maybe, but not today. Celia shrank back into the darkness behind the door.

“Hi,” Malcolm said to Jade, the warm timbre of his voice reaching inside Celia, twisting and turning, and slicing her heart to shreds.

What was wrong with her? Why was she hiding in the closet like a coward after everything he’d done to her? She’d given him her heart, given him everything she’d had, and he’d tossed it away to marry another woman in his pursuit of power and greed. An arranged marriage in name only, he’d said. As if she’d be okay with that? As if she’d be his “plaything” on the side after all their years together? Anger fueled her once more, reminding her why she fled, why it had been so important to rebuild her life in Sedona. So she could discover who she was, alone, without him, without the influence of the other shifters.

She should go out there. Face him.

“She’s hiking,” Jade said to him. “In the canyon. She goes there to collect wild herbs for our products. Would you like to try—”

“Are you sure?” he asked. “I could have sworn—”

Celia took a step forward, her hand on the knob ready to pull it open.

“Positive! Really. Here—” Jade picked up the notepad and quickly wrote something down. “Here’s a map to where she likes to hike, but I’ll be happy to tell her you stopped by. Are you sure you wouldn’t like to try—”

“Yes, I’m sure.” Impatience rang thick in his voice. “Tell her it’s Malcolm and tell her it’s important. Critical, in fact. Now, if you could give me directions to this canyon...?”

Celia opened the door enough to peer through and sucked in her breath. How could just the sight of him, his thick dark hair, his muscular frame, that tight butt, still do things to her? It wasn’t fair. The universe was testing her, that was all. Jade pointed out the window toward the canyons in the distance and Celia pushed out a relieved breath. He was leaving.

The canyons should keep him busy for at least a few hours. She leaned her head against the doorjamb. She had only a few hours to pull herself together before he came back. And he would come back. The crystals’ dark energy in his bracelet was no longer forming a protective field around him.

* * *

Heat seeped into Malcolm’s skin and red dirt filled his nose. He’d been walking around this dry dust bowl for more than an hour and had seen no sign of Celia, nor had he felt her anywhere. The longer he looked, the more miserable he’d become. He hated the scruffy bushes and sparse trees of the desert. The mountains, if you could call them that, looked more like deformed fingers pushing up through the earth than actual mountains.

How could Celia stand it here? This dry, barren land couldn’t compare to the lushness of their forests back home. Towering cedars and redwoods laced the air with the scent of pinecones and the richness of evergreen. Here all he could smell was dry, dusty dirt.

Perhaps it wouldn’t be so hard to convince her to come home after all. Once he found her. If only he could transform and run free. He’d be able to use his wolf senses and cover more ground. But there was nowhere to hide in this large expanse of open land void of thick bushes or large trees. Out here in the open, he could be seen by anyone passing by.

He continued walking down the trail, searching the canyon for another twenty minutes, but still no sign of her. He stared down at the crudely drawn map the girl from the shop had made him. He was where he was supposed to be. Celia wasn’t here.

As he looked at the barren land around him, he realized she probably never had been here. He’d been duped. Anger tightened his fists, crumpling the paper clutched in his hand. Time was running out for the shifters at the Colony, and for him. The crystals protecting the Colony needed to be rejuvenated, and she was the only one who could do it. He didn’t have time for lies and games. He spun round and stormed back down the path toward his truck. They couldn’t waste time like this. He had to get her back to the Colony. He started to run, down one path after another, skirting around a large boulder. He almost plowed into another Abatu.

Damn. They were everywhere.

He hurried past, aware of the black shadows surrounding the man’s head and what was moving within them. A beefy hand clamped down on his shoulder. Malcolm’s eyes squeezed shut. He didn’t have time for this. He had to find Celia. He had to tell her the truth about her mother, and about what was happening back home. If he didn’t, none of them stood a chance. He jerked out of the man’s grasp, turned and crouched down just as the man swung at him. And missed. The second swing didn’t. Malcolm felt the blow to his head, like a hammer pounding against a nail. The ping echoed through his brain, sending a spray of white dots behind his eyes.

Malcolm wasn’t a big man, but he was agile and quick on his feet. He managed to avert the third blow and the fourth, jumping to one side and then the next. The man swung again, this time landing the blow, knocking Malcolm flat on his back.

The Abatu fell on top of Malcolm, pushing the air from his chest in a painful whoosh. He hit him again, a series of blows, pummeling his face. A burning pain stitched his face as his eyebrow split and blood poured into his eyes. He had to get away. He reached forward blindly, searching for the man’s eyes, hoping if he could just grab hold, push his fingers deep enough, he could get the beast off him.

The pressure on his chest from the man’s knees was becoming unbearable. He felt a rib snap as the man pushed down, leaning forward, using his bulk, his weight, as a weapon. Pain screaming through his system, Malcolm jerked up, snapping his head forward, smacking it into the man’s cheekbone and nose with a dull, squishy thud.

The sound of crunching bone was immensely satisfying. He rolled quickly, jumped to his feet, then attacked the Abatu viciously with his feet, kicking him over and over until finally he had the upper hand. The demon lay on the ground, groaning in pain and clutching his middle. Knowing he wouldn’t be down for long, Malcolm turned and ran back down the hill and toward his truck. He glanced over his shoulder and couldn’t believe the Abatu was back on his feet, chasing after him. What the hell?

Malcolm reached his truck and unlocked the door, the Abatu almost on him. He could practically feel the big man’s hot breath rushing down his neck. Without looking, Malcolm jumped inside his truck, slammed and locked the door and turned over the engine. The Abatu slapped a meaty hand against the side of the truck with a loud thunk as Malcolm peeled off down the road.

He’d made it maybe a mile when he caught sight of his wrist. Staring in disbelief, he hit the brakes and the truck screeched to a stop. The string of crystals, his protection against the Gauliacho, was gone. Should he go back and try to find it? Would the Abatu still be there? Could he make it all the way home without it? No! Every Abatu for miles around would be coming for him, and if they didn’t get him, the Gauliacho would.

He would have to go back.

* * *

Like a bug trapped in a jar, Celia paced the small shop. She had to run. But where? This was her home. Her shop. Her new life. She wasn’t going to let Malcolm chase her out of it. Besides, she couldn’t disappear without rejuvenating his crystals. If she did...well, that was more than she wanted to be responsible for. She didn’t want anything to happen to him. She just wanted never to have to see him again. Why couldn’t he have just stayed where he was?

“It’s going to be all right,” Ruby said, patting Celia’s back.

“I know,” she whispered. But she didn’t know.

“You want us to stay?” Jade asked.

Celia shook her head, though part of her wanted to say yes. To have them as a buffer. But she had to face Malcolm on her own. They couldn’t hear that conversation. “No, thanks.” Celia watched her cousins walk out the door and was sorely tempted to call them back. But she didn’t. Instead she squared her shoulders, lifted her chin and sat back down behind the counter to wait for Malcolm to arrive.

* * *

By the time Malcolm pulled to a stop in front of the shop, he was furious and hurt everywhere. He was still bleeding, and worse, he’d never found the stones. He was working on borrowed time. Time he couldn’t afford to lose. He jumped out of the truck, wincing at the arc of pain slicing through his ribs, and hurried toward the shop.

He pulled open the door, cringing as the bells pierced his throbbing brain. “Celia!” he bellowed.

Silence greeted him. He was about to call her again when the door to the back room opened and she stepped into the doorway. His breath caught in this throat, strangling the yell that had been perched on his tongue.

“Hello, Malcolm,” she said, her warm, brandy-laced voice washing over him. She walked into the room. As if nothing had happened. As if he weren’t covered in red dirt and blood.

“Celia,” he said, not trusting himself to say more.

She walked forward, her long, gorgeous legs hidden beneath a gauzy dark blue skirt. Graceful. Elegant. And yet, as her chocolate-brown eyes caught his, they were filled with wariness. He’d done that to her. Her eyes used to be wide-open and filled with joy. Now they were guarded and hard.

“It’s good to see you,” he said. She looked beautiful, her copper hair a wild mane bouncing around her shoulders. How he’d missed that hair tickling his skin. How he missed her.

“What are you doing here, Malcolm?” A note of coldness entered her voice, and she clasped her hands tightly in front of her.

“I needed to see you—”

“That’s not a good enough reason to intrude on my life. I don’t want to see you. To have anything to do with you. Not now. Not ever.” Fire flashed amber in her dark eyes as they took in the cut on his brow, the blood on his face. “I would have thought your little field trip into the canyons had made that clear.”

Anger fired like a .22 bullet ricocheting off his insides, bouncing within him. “You sent me there on purpose?”

“Of course.”

What had happened to her? The Celia he knew never... “You could have got me killed,” he said evenly.

“Oh, please, men like you don’t die, Malcolm. They live on to make everyone else suffer.”

Her sharp words cut him deep. “My protection is gone. I lost the bracelet of crystals in the canyon when I was attacked by an Abatu.”

“Then you’re in a helluva lot of trouble, aren’t you?”

He sucked in a quick breath, disbelief thick in his throat. “What are you saying?”

“Get out, Malcolm. And don’t ever come back.”

He stared at the hard, cold fury in her eyes and wondered what had happened to the soft, caring woman he loved.

He was what happened. He’d made her like this. “Do you really hate me that much?” he asked, his voice breaking over the words.

“Yes,” she said without missing a beat.

He didn’t believe it. He couldn’t. She was being absurd. Childish. “I made some mistakes...some misjudgments—”

“Don’t kid yourself, Malcolm. You are a coldhearted, self-absorbed, power-hungry ass, and as far as I’m concerned, I don’t ever want to see you again. So I’ll tell you what. I will find your bracelet. I will rejuvenate your crystals. I will do whatever it takes to get you out of here. To go back to the Colony and never return. Is that clear?”

He took in the stiffness in her spine, the hardness in her jaw, the white knuckles of her clenched fingers, and knew there would be nothing he could say or do that would get through to her. And right then, he wished he could leave. Wished he could turn around and not have to face her, not have to break her heart any further. But he couldn’t. The Colony needed her. And they needed him to bring her to them.

“I’m sorry, Celia, but I can’t leave without you.” He took a step toward her, his hand outstretched.

She backed away. “Stay away from me,” she warned. “I will hurt you.”

“I know that I deserve your anger. I would leave you here in peace, if I could, but I can’t.”

Uncertainty and fear flashed through her eyes.

“I have to take you back to the Colony.”

“Why?” she asked, her voice rising in pitch. She could tell something was wrong; he could see it in the fear creeping into her face. But she didn’t want to face it. Didn’t want to know. And he wished like hell he didn’t have to tell her.

“The Colony needs you,” he said, his voice not much louder than a whisper.

She shook her head. “I won’t go back. I can’t,” she insisted, and turned away from him.

He took a deep steadying breath, steeling himself. “You have to, Celia. And not just for me, but for everyone. The stones surrounding the Colony need to be rejuvenated. There isn’t much time....”

She was still shaking her head. Her anger and bravado were gone now, replaced by something desperate. Something afraid. “Why can’t my mother—” She stopped midsentence as her eyes widened with a whisper of understanding.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out Jaya’s necklace, the long purple crystal hanging from a silver chain, and held it out to her. Guilt and shame burned through him. How would he say the words that would shatter her world? How could he confess the ugly truth of what he’d done?

He didn’t have to. He knew it was written all over his face.

Her head started swinging violently back and forth as a low keening wail broke free from somewhere deep inside her. The sound exploded into the air, filling the room. “Tell me!” she insisted, her hot, shimmering gaze glued to the purple stone dangling from his hand. “What happened to my mother?”

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered, stepping toward her. “She’s...she’s dead, Celia.”

Her loud cry ripped his soul apart. Her knees buckled and she collapsed, slowly falling to the floor. He caught her in his arms and together they fell as she cried heart-wrenching sobs, her hands clutching his shirt as she tried desperately to hang on even as her grief overwhelmed her, pulling her under.

He had done this to her. To her mother, Jaya. To them all.

None of this should have happened. He’d still be Pack leader. Jason would still be his best friend and right-hand man. Jaya would still be alive and regenerating the Colony’s crystals and Celia would still be in his house. In his bed. He wouldn’t be sitting in a heap on the floor far from home holding the woman he loved while she broke into a million pieces, shattering in his arms. Knowing he’d broken her, and there was no way he’d be able to put it all back to together again. No matter how he wished he could.

Some mistakes could never be fixed.


Chapter 3 (#ulink_7305d902-5527-5d3b-a8ed-5306c2f9feb0)

Celia’s sobs racked her chest, making each breath a painful gulp, as if she were trapped deep under the ocean, drowning on her tears. Wave after wave of debilitating pain crashed over her then, like the tide, rolling out, allowing denial to roll in.

This wasn’t right. Couldn’t be right. Her mother couldn’t be dead.

Awareness hit her and she found herself on the floor, clutching Malcolm, her face pressed against his chest, his shirt clutched in her fists, his scent in her nose. Furious, she tried to push him away, but he held her even tighter as she beat against his chest.

“Get out!” she blurted, and tried to stand, to put as much distance between him and herself as she could. “Get away from me.”

“Celia—”

She didn’t want to see him, didn’t want him to see her like this. He released her and she pushed away from him, quickly getting to her feet. “Don’t start. Just leave. Now.”

“I can’t. I won’t leave you. Not like this.”

“I don’t believe anything you’re saying. You’re lying. Trying to manipulate me. Trying once more to maneuver everyone around you. I’m not falling for it, Malcolm. I’m over you.”

His dark eyes widened with shock. “Do you really think I’d lie about something like this? How could you think that about me? After all we’ve been through?” He took a step toward her, his hands outstretched.

She backed away from him, brushing up against the counter as her mind finally came to accept what her heart already knew to be true. A fresh wave of pain washed over her. She wrapped her hands around her middle, grasping for something, anything that could explain the unexplainable.

That could make sense of the nonsensical.

“How?” she asked.

“Accident,” he murmured. “In the woods.”

She heard his words but couldn’t fathom them. Couldn’t wrap her mind around the possibility. “What am I supposed to do now?” Her kind, their kind, lived a long time. They didn’t have accidents. They didn’t just die.

Unless the demons...

But that wasn’t possible. The Gauliacho couldn’t get into the Colony; they couldn’t get past the crystals. She started walking around the shop, pacing, moving faster and faster. “I have to get out of here.” She swept her hands through her hair. Moving round and round. Back and forth. Muttering to herself.

“We need to go back to the Colony,” Malcolm said, his voice calm. Authoritative.

“No. I won’t.”

“The crystals need to be rejuvenated. It’s already been four days since... We need you.”

She stopped pacing and looked at him, her eyes narrowing. “Go without me. I will be there when I can. I can’t just up and leave right now.”

“Celia. You can’t send me away.”

“Really? You mean like you did to me?”

He stilled, distress crumpling his face.

“Why can’t I?” she demanded, not wanting to hear his excuses, his denials.

“I told you. I lost my bracelet in the canyon when an Abatu attacked me.” He touched the wound on his head. “They’ve already got my scent. I’m afraid I led them right to you. There will be more coming soon. Coming here. We need to leave now or we’ll be trapped in this store.” He gestured toward the crystals, their protective force field shielding their presence the only thing keeping them safe at the moment.

What he said was true. Soon the Abatu would be congregating right outside the door, walking up and down the street, knowing they were close but not knowing where.

“You did this to me,” she said, her voice low and deadly. “They didn’t know I was here. They wouldn’t have known had you not come.”

He hesitated a brief moment as guilt flashed through his eyes. “How could I have not come? I wanted to be the one—”

“The one to break my heart all over again? You like seeing me in pain, Malcolm?” She heard the shrill tone to her voice and knew she was being unreasonable and impossibly unfair, but she didn’t care. Hot fury was burning a large path swiftly through her, and he made such a damned good target.

“I love you,” he whispered. “I wanted to be here for you.”

Her eyes narrowed at his audacity. “You don’t know what love is. You’re not capable of feeling love.”

He took a step back as if she’d physically hit him. “Fine. I guess I deserve that. But you’re wrong about me. I only hope one day I can prove it to you.”

She looked at him then, really looked at him. At the sincerity in his eyes and the heartbreak and desperation in his voice. Something inside her softened, cooling the anger that had been burning for so long. She turned away. “I can’t do this right now.”

“I get that. But we have to. We have no choice. You need to come back to the Colony and we need to go together. Now.”

There was no use fighting it. She couldn’t let everyone back home die at the hands of the Gauliacho just because she couldn’t stand the idea of spending the next three days trapped in a truck with the man. She looked around the shop that she’d worked so hard to create, that she was so damned proud of, and fresh tears filled her eyes.

“Don’t you see, Malcolm? I finally got away. I made my escape from the Colony. This shop—” she gestured wide “—you’re standing in is my new life. For the first time ever I’m on my own, discovering who I am, without you. Without the other shifters. Without my—”

She paused as the finality of her words set in. Without my mother.

Now she was forced to find her way alone. Without her guidance, no matter how overwhelming it had sometimes been. Fresh pain seared her insides.

“I like it here, Malcolm,” she said, pushing through the words. “No, I love it here. And here you’ve come, riding back into my life, trying to take it all away from me.”

“I don’t want to take anything from you. I wish I didn’t have to. But you don’t belong here in this dry desert. You belong at home.” With me.

He didn’t say the final words, but she heard them anyway. She knew him well enough to know what he was thinking. What he was feeling.

“I know I hurt you,” he said. “I made you doubt who you are and drove you away. But it’s time to come home. I’m sorry about so many things, more than you’ll ever know. I just hope I will have the chance to make it up to you. To show you I’ve changed.”

“Malcolm, I don’t care if you’ve changed.” Finally her shoulders slumped and she exhaled a breath tasting of defeat and sorrow. As much as she hated to accept it, she would have to go. After a few minutes of silence, she turned back to him.

“I want to know what happened to my mother.”

He stilled.

“What kind of accident? We don’t have accidents.”

He just stood there, his face losing its color.

“Malcolm, what aren’t you telling me?”

She could see his pain visibly racking his face. It scared her. “What?”

“Your mom was shot.”

His words reverberated around the room.

“Shot? How? Who?”

“Scott. We think. We don’t know for sure.”

She faltered, leaning against the counter.

“It was an accident.”

“How do you accidently shoot someone? I didn’t even think... Why would he even have a gun?”

“He was aiming for someone else and missed.”

“Who? This is crazy.”

“I know.”

She looked up at him. “Who could he have wanted to kill so badly, Malcolm?”

And then she thought she knew. It was him. It had to be him. That was why he looked so damned guilty.

“Shay.”

She looked up sharply. “Who the hell is Shay?”

“Dean Mallory’s daughter.”

“You mean your wife?” she said. The caustic taste of her words burned her throat. He actually had the audacity to look confused. His stupidity enraged her all over again. “The woman you threw our lives away for? The woman you’d never met but insisted you must marry? The woman who was supposed to solidify your leadership of the Pack and to hell with everyone else?” She pushed her lips together, refusing to rehash the devastation he’d reaped on her life.

“I’m not married to her.”

The softly spoken words ricocheted through her mind. She stared at him as fury hardened her eyes and trapped her tongue.

“She fell in love with Jason before she ever got to the Colony. They’re probably married by now and leading the Pack together.”

Disbelief overcame her bitterness and broke something loose within her. “But you sacrificed everything, threw everything we had away, just so you could marry this woman and maintain your position of power leading the Pack. And you lost it all anyway?”

“I was an idiot. I know that.” His eyes locked on hers. “I am so full of regret and remorse, I doubt I’ll ever recover.”

“And my mother died because of this woman?”

“Your mother died because Scott or someone in his group wanted Shay dead. They fired, they missed. And now we’re all going to pay the price. But you’re right, I sent Jason to get Shay, I brought her to the Colony. My plans, my scheming set all this in motion. Help me make amends to you, and to the people of the Colony. Come home, Celia.”

She shook her head in disbelief. After all she’d been through, after all he’d put her through, now she had to go back and help him make amends. Every fiber within her rebelled bitterly at the thought. More than anything, she wanted to throw him out, to throw him to the Abatu, but she couldn’t. The other shifters needed her. If she didn’t go, if she didn’t rejuvenate the crystals around the Colony’s perimeter, then within days everyone she knew would be dead.

She couldn’t let that happen. She had to go back.

Even if she had to go back with him.

* * *

Malcolm’s stomach folded in on itself as he watched Celia fall apart and desperately try to pull herself back together again. He longed to reach out and hold her, to comfort her and somehow make it all better again. But there was no way he could do that.

No way he could fix this.

He was a man who got things done, who made things happen. Standing on the sidelines helpless was not something he knew how to do. All he did know was that she was the best thing that had ever happened to him, and he’d been lost without her. She grounded him and kept him sane. Kept the shadows at bay. And he’d screwed that up, too. But he’d learned his lesson. Somehow he had to make her see that. And then maybe she just might be able to love him again.

A passerby stopped in front of the large picture window, looked in at them and then hesitated.

An Abatu.

“Celia, we really need to go. Now.”

Her gaze followed his. She saw the man, and then looked around the shop, her eyes desperately flitting this way and that. “I can’t just pick up and leave without notice. I have a business here. I have partners. My cousins.”

“You have to. There’s already one out there.”

“They can’t see us beyond the crystals.”

“Maybe not. But they know we’re around here somewhere. I was still bleeding when I got here. They can smell my blood. Soon there will be more. Then what will we do? Never leave again? Stay in this shop for the next year?”

“I still have my bracelet.”

He stared at her, then sat in a corner chair. “You’re right. You can leave. This isn’t your problem. I’ll move in until you’re ready to go. Do you have somewhere for me to sleep?”

Her gaze hardened. “Fine. I’ll call the twins.”

He smiled. “I thought you’d come around to my way of thinking.”

“Don’t kid yourself, Malcolm. I’m not doing this for you. I couldn’t care less what happens to you. I’m doing this for the others. And I will come back one way or another. My life is here.”

Was here. He’d make her see that, because if there was one thing Malcolm was good at, it was getting people to come around to his way of thinking.

* * *

Celia climbed the stairs to her bedroom above the shop. Unfortunately Malcolm was right on her heels.

“There is no reason for you to come up here,” she called behind her.

“Call it curiosity,” Malcolm said, suddenly too close for comfort.

“We both know what that did to the cat.”

He smiled at her. That wide, charming smile of his that had made her fall in love with him in the first place. She took a deeply annoyed breath and stepped into her small one-bedroom apartment.

“Wait here,” she muttered, and went into her bedroom and pulled down an overnight bag from the top of her closet.

“Nice place,” he called from the front room.

It wasn’t nice; it wasn’t not nice. It was convenient.

She stepped into the bathroom, collecting her makeup and toothbrush. When she walked back into the living room, Malcolm was standing by the window, his smile replaced with worry.

“There are three more.”

“Surely not hovering in front of the shop.”

“No. Walking up and down the street. They know I’m here, they just don’t know where.”

“It’s the blood on your clothes. Here, take that shirt off.”

“What will I wear?”

She hurried back into her closet and pulled his T-shirt down off the shelf.

“You kept one of my shirts?” he asked, surprise lifting his voice.

“It was an accident. Don’t read anything into it,” she said drily.

But he wasn’t buying it. A huge smile filled his face as he took the shirt. He stripped out of the dirty one and she couldn’t help staring. She’d always loved his chest, sculptured and bronzed. She knew every plane, every soft spot, intimately.

And dammit if a part of her didn’t still long to reach out and touch him once again. To run her fingers over the hard ridges of his muscles and feel them flex beneath her touch. He might be an ass, but he was a damned good lover. And they had been real good together.

She looked up and his eyes caught and held hers. He knew what she’d been thinking. He knew her that well. Too well. She might be a fool where Malcolm was concerned, but she wasn’t a pushover. “Just because things didn’t work out for you with that woman doesn’t mean you can come running back to me and I’ll take you back.”

“Never thought you would,” he said, then broke into that easy smile. “Though a man can hope.”

“Are you ready?” she asked, losing her patience.

“Baby, I was born ready.”

“Then let’s go.”

With his dirty shirt in her hand, they went back down the stairs and into the shop. Even more men were in the street. Malcolm hovered by the window. “Any chance you have another bracelet?”

“Nope. There weren’t a lot of them to begin with. Besides, honestly, with that many out there, I’m not sure how well the bracelet will work.”

“What are you saying?”

“We’re going to have to make the change. They can’t smell us in our true from. We can run out the back, down the road to the hills beyond.”

“But it’s only dusk and there are people everywhere. We will be seen.”

“What choice do we have? If we wait any longer, as soon as we walk out the door they’ll pounce.”

“Have you changed here before?” he asked.

“No.”

“Have you hiked up into those hills? Are they very secluded?”

“No, and I don’t know.”

“Well, we can’t very well run all the way back to the Colony.”

“I’ll have Jade meet us in the canyon with your truck.”

“What about your car?”

“I’ll leave it here. I’m coming back, Malcolm. This is my life now. This is where I belong, and you and the others are just going to have to accept that.”

He nodded, but she could see in the stubborn glint in his eyes that he wasn’t accepting anything. She picked up the phone and called Jade, telling her what she needed her to do.

“Does she know about us?” Malcolm asked.

“No.”

“Then how are you going to explain this?”

“I have no idea. We’ll need to put our clothes in a bag on the counter next to your keys and my overnight bag. She’ll take them and drive your truck into the canyon and leave it there for us. Her sister, Ruby, will follow her and bring her back.”

“What if they hang around and wait for us? What if they see us?”

“We’ll just have to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

He glanced once more out the window at the growing number of Abatu walking up and down the street. “You realize there are a million ways this can go wrong.”

“Yep. But we only need one way for it to go right.”

* * *

“Here, give me the shirt,” Malcolm said, and dumped the trash out of the metal trash can onto the floor. Celia threw the shirt inside the can and then he doused it with the oil from her oil lamp on a nearby table and set the shirt ablaze.

“Make sure you don’t burn my shop down,” she said.

“You just get undressed and leave this to me.”

“Fine,” Celia said, but she wasn’t fine. She didn’t want to do this. She didn’t want to leave and she certainly didn’t want to strip in front of him. It was stupid, she knew that. She’d undressed in front of Malcolm a hundred times before, and yet this time it was so much harder.

She tried to be nonchalant, to act as if it were nothing as her fingers fumbled over that first button of her shirt. But it wasn’t. Without looking at him, she pulled her shirt off, folded it and placed it in the bag. Next came her skirt. This was no big deal, she told herself, even though she knew it was a lie.

Malcolm’s eyes were on her. She could feel his gaze boring into her skin as he watched her every movement. “Do you mind?” Her eyes narrowed with annoyance.

“You’re a beautiful woman, Celia. You can’t blame a man for wishing.”

“Turn around,” she snapped.

“Fine.”

He did, and within seconds her clothes were in the paper sack, and her purse and keys were lying on the counter next to her overnight bag. They were lined up and ready for the twins, who should be here within a matter of minutes.

She unlocked the back door, opened it a crack and hoped, not only for herself and Malcolm, but for the whole Pack that her plan would work. She began walking around the room, concentrating on the feel of her steps, the wood beneath her feet, her breath deep and steady, the pattering of her heartbeat, the pulsing of her blood. Each part of her, changing, transforming.

Her vision sharpened in the semidarkness until she could see clearly into each dark corner. She smelled the subtle differences in the hundreds of delicate scents used in the products they sold—the candles, the incense, the lotions and oils.

And the Abatu outside.

She dropped down onto all fours. Malcolm was beside her, his powerful energy filling her. It had been a long time since they’d run together, since she’d felt the tenuous strings connecting them. As they drew her to him, to his power and strength, she felt compelled to lean into him. To let him guide her. She fought the pull. She wouldn’t fall for it again.

With her nose, she nudged open the back door and left the shop, walking onto the narrow street behind it. Malcolm was close on her heels. They moved slowly at first, getting a feel for their surroundings, the scents and sounds around them. The location of every Abatu and each human. There were so many.

They moved steadily down the alley behind the shops, sticking to the shadows, their nails clicking against the asphalt. They passed cautiously by a large Dumpster behind a busy restaurant halfway down the alley. A man reeking of alcohol and body sweat was sprawled next to it. His eyes opened as they passed, saw them and started to scream.

Spotted. Celia cringed. Back doors opened. Blinds lifted, curtains moved. Abatu were everywhere. Moving toward them, trying to capture their scent. They ran down the alley toward the hills and safety.

People were pointing. Staring. Some with amazement. Some with disbelief. Some with horror. They moved quickly, not wanting to burst out into a full run in front of everyone, but the time for not drawing attention to themselves was over.

A police cruiser turned down the alley, a mounted spotlight capturing them in its hundred-watt halogen glow. This was it. Their only chance. They took off running, fast and hard. Sounds of people screaming as they scampered away filled the air, boots slapping against pavement behind them, the squeal of tires, the burning smell of rubber.

Finally they reached the end of the street and tore up the side of the hill, bolting up the embankment. Running hard. Running fast. There were a million ways for this to go wrong. They’d only just begun, and Celia wasn’t sure they were going to be able to make it.

Below them on the highway, people stopped their cars and stared at them, two wolves racing up the hill, chased by the police. Their shouts filled the night air, some with excitement, others of fear. Soon there would be a party of men with guns searching for them, not because of what they’d done, but because of what people were afraid they would do.

When they crested the top of the hill, Celia stopped and turned back, taking one last look at the cop car parked at the bottom of the hill, the cops on their radios calling for backup, the rear door of her shop swinging wide-open as Abatu filed inside, tracking their scent.

She hoped and prayed they wouldn’t touch Ruby when she arrived to pick up the keys to Malcolm’s truck and their clothes. If only she could warn her somehow. But then she saw a cop go into the shop, and she hoped he’d take care of them and lock up behind him. Though that was probably too much to hope for.

She heard a bark behind her, turned and saw Malcolm waiting impatiently for her at the top of the ridge. He was right; they still had a long way to go before reaching the rendezvous point. Reluctantly she pulled her gaze away from the shop. It wouldn’t be the last time she saw it, she promised herself, then tore off after Malcolm into the night.

They crested the next hill and disappeared into the mountains, running fast and free. Sand shifted beneath her feet as she bolted up the mountainside. Small animals froze in fear or scurried from their path. They ran through the canyons, around, up and over mountains, following the moon as it rose higher and higher in the sky. Finally she was running free, stretching her muscles, breathing deep the sweet desert air. And all she wished was that she was back in her shop, not having to face the horrors to come. The thought that she could be trapped in the Colony; the fact that her mother was dead.

She pushed the thoughts from her mind as they dropped down into a dry riverbed traveling its meandering path up to the red rock canyon, where hopefully by now Ruby had already left Malcolm’s truck and was long gone.

Malcolm.

She didn’t have to look to see if he was there; she could feel him next to her. His emotions were wide-open and easy to read in a way they hadn’t been in a long time. Their connection was stronger than ever. She tried to block it. She didn’t want to feel him, even if he had changed. Even if he really was sincere about wanting to make amends.

Even if he really did love her.

So what? It didn’t matter if he loved her or not. Some love wasn’t worth having. It was too late for them. There was too much damage between them. Too much to forget or forgive. What she needed to focus on now was her future, and how she could save the Colony without becoming trapped there.


Chapter 4 (#ulink_ef939ab8-930c-51df-80d0-c583f57d3fed)

“Did you see that?”

Ruby’s eyes popped open as her sister, Jade, pushed on her shoulder. It was the middle of the night and a chill had seeped into the air and under her skin. They’d dropped off the truck as their cousin Celia had asked but then parked out of sight down the road and walked back up the hill to keep an eye on the truck. Something was wrong with their cousin, and Ruby knew Celia wouldn’t let them help her. She was hiding something from them, something big.

Ruby shook herself fully awake and yawned. “What?” she asked.

“I saw something,” Jade whispered.

She stared into the darkness and repositioned against the boulder, trying to find a smooth spot. “Where?”

“There.” Jade pointed.

Ruby peered into the darkness lit only by the blue glow of a full moon. “Are those wolves?”

“Or very big dogs.”

“Shit.” Ruby rubbed her arms. “We’ve been out here a long time. Who knows what kinds of animals roam the desert at night? What is taking Celia so long?”

“Who knows?” Jade said. “She was too cryptic on the phone. I hope she’s okay.”

“Me, too. She’s in some kind of trouble, I just know it,” Ruby said. “My scalp has been prickling all day, and you know that only happens when something bad is about to happen.”

“I know, I know,” Jade said. “But after that huge mess at the shop, why do we have to be so sneaky? Someone broke in and trashed the place, and her apartment upstairs, too. Add that to her phone call to bring her a vehicle and clothes in the desert, well, it would be very logical for us to stay and tell her about the shop and demand some answers.”

“True,” Ruby agreed, and sighed. “But if she wanted us to know about it, she would have told us already.”

“Maybe we should respect that and wait for her to tell us what she’s hiding instead of spying on her.”

“I would, if it wasn’t for what happened at the shop,” Ruby whispered. “That and the fact that my scalp is dancing all over my head. As long as she doesn’t find out we’re spying, no harm, no foul, right?”

“I suppose. She’s definitely been hiding something. Even I could tell that, and my scalp doesn’t dance.”

“Look!” Ruby gestured into the dark ahead.

Celia and the man they had seen in the shop earlier walked out from behind a large outcropping of rocks. Naked!

“Well, would you look at that?” Jade whispered, amazement ringing in her voice.

“They don’t even have a blanket or anything,” Ruby added.

“That is weird.”

“Doubly weird.”

Celia opened the back door of the truck, took out the sack of clothes and quickly dressed, glancing around her as she did.

“What in the world is going on?” Ruby whispered. “How did they get here? They aren’t even wearing shoes.”

“And it’s not as if they look all that...friendly to me. If you know what I mean,” Jade said, her eyebrows raised in that knowing look.

“I know,” Ruby agreed. “I thought she couldn’t stand that guy. She didn’t even want to see him. Hmm. Something weird is definitely going on.”

Celia and her man friend climbed into the truck and drove away.

“Is that it?” Ruby asked as they hurried back down the road toward their car.

“Well, what did you expect?”

“I don’t know. An answer or something. We’ve been here for hours.”

“But they never even saw us.”

“True,” Ruby agreed, and sighed. “Now what? Did we spend all night out in the desert for nothing? What do we do now?”

“Now we follow them.”

“What?”

“Obviously something is going on here, something wrong. Celia’s in trouble,” Jade said. “If we don’t help her, who will?”

“You’re right. Let’s do it.”

* * *

Several hours later, Celia woke to Malcolm’s hand softly stroking hers. In the haze of half sleep a feeling of warm contentment spread through her at the feel of his touch. She started to reach for him, but then the haze cleared and the memory of why he was there surfaced, bringing with it the shadows of regret and pain.

She opened her eyes and the wide expanse of freeway greeted her as she stared out the windshield. They were barreling through the desert, heading north toward home.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, the warm tendrils of his voice reaching deep within her.

“Tired,” she admitted, though she didn’t know how that was possible considering all she’d done was sleep since she climbed inside his truck the night before. “Where are we?”

“California. You’ve been out for seven hours. You hungry?”

“A little,” she admitted.

“I was hoping you’d say that.” He smiled and, for a second, it was hard not to want to smile with him. To just let go of the anger and the darkness growing within her. To succumb to the comfort she knew he could offer. But she wouldn’t. She had to be strong. If she let him in, even for a second, he’d only hurt her again. All she had to do was get back to the Colony without letting him back under her skin. Two days. Three at the most. She could do this.

And then what? The stones surrounding the Colony had to be rejuvenated every two weeks. If they didn’t find someone else who could do it, she would be stuck there. Always.

“There’s a truck stop a few miles up ahead.”

“Sounds good.” She grabbed a book out of her bag, hoping the story would absorb her and draw her attention away from him. As long as he didn’t talk to her. Look at her. Touch her. She would be fine. A few minutes later, she threw the book back in her bag. It was no use. She could smell him. His rich, spicy scent reached inside her and settled in. She could feel him, his warmth, his strong presence even from across the cab. It made her want to touch him. Obviously she was a lost cause. Pathetic. Hopeless. And when it came to Malcolm Daniels, she always had been.

“Things are going to be a little different when we get back home,” he said, thankfully breaking into her thoughts.

“Why’s that?”

“Jason is the Pack leader now. Losing you wasn’t the only mistake I made. Things got a little out of hand. I made some really bad—”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” she said, interrupting him. She was curious and tempted to let him finish, to sit there and let him ramble on about his mistakes and how sorry he was. To find out what he’d done. But did she really want to know? All that mattered was Scott had shot her mother and she would make sure he paid for it. She needed to focus on that and finding another Keeper, so she could get back to her new home. And that meant not getting embroiled in Malcolm’s life again. So instead of letting him finish, she pointed at the diner up ahead. “Is that it?”

“Yes,” he said, obviously confused and a touch... what? She looked at the sadness on his face. Disappointed? Yeah, she knew that feeling well.

“Good, I’m starving.”

* * *

A few minutes later, Malcolm watched Celia from across the small laminated table, trying valiantly to ignore him. She was determined not to make eye contact or even to speak. He could see how much pain she was in, and it was killing him. He brought this on her with his stupidity and greed. And he’d lost everything because of it. Somehow he had to make things right. He could live without being Pack leader, but he couldn’t live without her. He wouldn’t. But how could he get her back?

“So tell me about Sedona?” he asked, breaking the painful silence growing between them.

She glanced up at him, her eyes filled with indifference. “It’s beautiful.”

“Sparse.”

“And yet incredible with the red rock mountains and canyons. I never knew a place like that existed. So different from home, and yet so beautiful in its own way.”

Their food arrived—two plates heaping with thick slices of bacon, fluffy eggs and fried potatoes that were actually quite good. Silence grew once more between them as they ate. A wide chasm he didn’t know how to cross.

As he finished his food, fatigue fell over him, pulling him down. He wanted to tell her about the Colony, about his role in what had happened to her mother. He should be the one to tell her. But she wasn’t making it easy on him. And he supposed he shouldn’t start a conversation like that now. Not when he hadn’t slept for almost twenty-four hours. For that he’d need all his wits about him. But he also knew that as soon as she stepped foot inside the Colony’s borders, someone would tell her. He sighed and his eyes drifted closed.

“So how did Jason become Pack leader?” she asked, her tone hesitant.

His eyes popped open. He groaned inwardly and took a deep slug off his coffee. “I’ve made more than a few mistakes,” he began. “Starting with wanting to marry Shay.”

“It was a stupid plan,” she interrupted. “And one I still haven’t forgiven you for. But I’m glad it happened.”

“You are?” he asked, stunned. “Why?”

“Because it pushed me out of my comfort zone and out of the Colony. I love Sedona. I love my new life and I’m not going to give it up. I’ll rejuvenate the stones, but you are going to have to find another Keeper. I’m not staying there. Make no mistake.”

A chill filled him at her words. “There is no one else. You know that.”

“There could be. We will need to test everyone now, just to be certain.”

He watched her as he finished his coffee. She was so sure, so determined, and he knew that even as a Keeper she couldn’t survive outside the Colony on her own. Not for long. It wasn’t just the crystals that protected them; it was something with the magnetic pull of the mountains surrounding them. There was nowhere else like it.

He scraped his hand across his face. “I want you to be happy, Celia, I really do. But I’m concerned about your safety. You can’t stay—”

“I can make it work.”

Steely determination filled her eyes. He decided not to push it. Not now. Instead he placed his hand over his mouth as he yawned. “Honestly, I’m not sure how things got so off track.”

“Oh, really?” she said drily.

“Everything was going so well...but then you left, and it all just snowballed after that. I wish...” He couldn’t say how he wished everything could go back to the way it was before he screwed it all up. “I just don’t know how it all went so wrong,” he said finally.

She stared at him, her gaze hard. “I do. Scott started making noises—criticisms and complaints—and as his number of followers grew you got scared and made some really stupid decisions.”

He looked at her, his eyebrows raised.

“Hard to imagine, I know. But you’re not infallible, Malcolm. You’re not perfect.”

Frustration surged through his veins. “Why couldn’t Scott and the others see that bringing technology to the Colony—computers, telephone, TVs, the internet, all these fabulous changes the rest of the world takes for granted—has helped everyone? The economy in the Colony is thriving. People have opened online businesses—we know more now about the outside world than we ever have before. We had become stagnated and inflexible, but with my changes, my vision, all that has changed. Look how much we’ve grown in just the past year.”

“True, Malcolm. But the downside is people can now see what it’s like on the outside. They know what they’re missing—places they will never be able to visit, jobs they will never be able to have. What once was a sanctuary now feels like a prison. Our window to the outside world, the internet, the television, did that to us.”

“I’ve heard that before, but I don’t get it.” He pushed out a clipped breath. “I’ve been out here and I can’t wait to get back home. It’s dirty. There are people everywhere, and frankly, they’re rude with no respect for their surroundings or each other. How could you stand living with them? Living on the outside for so long?”

Finally she brightened. A sparkle entered her eyes and his insides twisted at the sight of it. “It was unbelievable, Malcolm. I loved it. The freedom. The energy. The artistic expression through everything from clothes to food. I saw things I’d never seen before, hell, never even imagined before. Movie theaters! They’re amazing and breathtaking. Giant TV screens with sound so loud it moves right through you.

“Foods like you’ve never dreamed of. And you should see some of the houses, boats and cars. Unbelievable. The excitement, innovation and enthusiasm are intoxicating. People can cut loose and let their guard down and do things they might not usually do when they’re at home because they can actually go out to a restaurant or nightclub and not see a single person they know. Can you imagine how freeing that is? To be able to go out to dinner with a friend and not have everyone in town know who that person was and what you were talking about.”

“No,” he said, and couldn’t help the bitterness in his voice. That was the one thing he hated about the Colony—the total and complete lack of privacy. Not only did everyone in town know who he was with and what he was doing, but hell, they were certain they knew what he was thinking. “I can’t imagine.”

“I really love it and I will go back. That, I can assure you.”

At that moment, he believed she would. And it scared the hell out of him. “But wasn’t it hard? Always hiding who you are? Never having anyone to run with, to talk to about...things with?”

She hesitated a moment, then looked him square in the eye. “Not at all.”

She was lying. He knew her well enough to see that. A yawn overtook him once more. His lack of sleep was finally catching up to him. “We should get going,” he said. “We’re going to need to drive in shifts so we can get back as soon as possible.”

“No problem.”

He handed her the keys and paid the bill. They left the restaurant. As they approached his truck, he climbed into the back and stretched out on the seat. “Wake me up in six hours,” he said as sleep reached for him. Had she really loved the outside world that much? Would she risk her life to stay out here? Jaya had warned her. He’d warned her. And if anything happened to her because he’d driven her away...

He shook off the thought. The Colony was not a prison. And it didn’t feel that way. Her words echoed through his fuzzy mind. Our window to the outside world, the internet, the television, did that to us. You did that to us. The words she did not say but meant. He honestly thought what he’d been doing for the Colony had been the best for all of them. Was it possible he’d been that wrong?

He thought of Jaya begging him not to bring the internet into the Colony. The people of the Colony, and especially Jaya, didn’t understand or appreciate that he’d done it all for them.

Only now Jaya was dead because of his feud with Scott—the man who had tried to boot him out and take over the leadership of the Pack for himself. They’d both gone too far and made mistakes that could never be undone.

* * *

Jade and Ruby dipped farther into the booth behind Celia, listening to their conversation, waiting until they both got up to go.

“Did you hear that?” Ruby asked.

“She is going to kill us,” Jade added.

“It was as though she knew we were here or something. It was creepy.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. She didn’t know. We should have announced ourselves.”

“What? And pop up like a demented jack-in-the-box stalker and say, ‘Surprise! We’ve been following you, spying on you, listening to you talk about how much you like going into restaurants and not seeing a single soul you know.’” Ruby covered her face with her hands.

“Okay, so now what?”

“Now we should go home. Leave them alone. You heard her. She’s going to come back to us.”

“Yeah, as soon as they find a Keeper, whatever the hell that is. We don’t even know where they’re going. What if she never comes back? How will we find her?”

Ruby sighed. “I don’t know. She never really said where ‘home’ was, did she?”

“The mountains.”

“Well, that narrows it down,” Ruby said, not bothering to hide her sarcasm.

“Okay, so again, what now?”

“Let’s just follow them a little farther. Just until we’re sure.”

“Sure of what?”

“I don’t know, but we’ve come so far already, and I still can’t shake the feeling that something’s wrong.”

Jade sighed. “All right. But let’s run into the gas station next door, use the facilities and grab some doughnuts.”

“Doughnuts?” Ruby said with a crinkled nose.

“Fine, you grab a whole-grain muffin. I’m grabbing doughnuts. I’m starving.”

“One day all that sugar is going to catch up with you and then you’ll be sorry.”

“Ha! Fine, I’ll deal with it then, but look how much enjoyment I’m getting in the meantime.”

Ten minutes later they were back in the car, loaded up with food, drinks, extra T-shirts, ball caps—everything they needed to keep an eye on their cousin. They tore out of the parking lot and down the highway looking for that old pickup truck. But before they could find it, Ruby’s phone rang.

“Ruby, where are you?”

Ruby turned to Jade, placing her hand over the receiver. “It’s Mark,” she whispered, her stomach doing a massive flip-flop.

“What does he want?” Jade demanded under her breath.

Ruby shrugged. “Jade and I are taking a little vacation,” she said, forcing lightness into her voice. “Why?”

“Someone broke into your shop last night,” Mark said. “I’m afraid there is quite a bit of damage.”

“Oh, no,” she said, feigning shock.

“It doesn’t look as if anything was taken, but there is stuff everywhere.”

“All right. Thanks, Mark, for letting me know.”

“When will you be back?”

Ruby looked at Jade. “Oh, I don’t know. We’re taking a much-needed break.”

“I think you should come back now. You need to file a report. Where are you?”

“Honestly, Mark, we’re in Vegas. Just for a few days. We’ll be back as soon as we can. Can you lock up for me and keep an eye on the place?”

He hesitated. “Sure.”

“Thanks, Mark. I really appreciate it. Thanks for calling.” She disconnected the line.

“Vegas?” Jade asked.

“A girl can dream, can’t she? Besides, that should keep him from calling me for at least a day or two.”

“You are way too nice to that guy,” Jade said. “You should have given him the old heave-ho a long time ago.”

“I’ve tried. You know that. He just doesn’t take a hint.”

“Perhaps a two-by-four?”

Ruby smiled. “I would, but he’s a cop. He can and does invent any reason to come by and see me. All the time.”

“I’m just worried about you. That guy is freaky.”

“I know,” Ruby admitted as anxiety skittered along her nerves. “But no matter how distant I am, even rude sometimes, he just won’t go away. I’ve turned down his past three dinner invitations, and yet he still keeps coming around.”

“All right. Once we get back we’ll have to work on that. No more being nice.”

Ruby nodded. “I know, and you’re right. Sometimes guys like that do need a two-by-four.”

* * *

One of the best investments Mark Goodwin had made was the GPS tracker he’d installed under the dash of Ruby’s car. For the past three months, he had known everywhere she had gone, and how long she’d stayed there. And right now, by accessing the web through his phone, he’d tracked their location all the way into California.

He smiled as he pulled up behind the sisters on the freeway. He watched Ruby as she talked to him on the phone, as she lied to him. Rage lit a fuse inside him. What, did she think he was stupid? A lovesick puppy panting at her feet? Vegas! She was up to something, and it looked as though he was finally going to be able to prove what he’d always suspected about her.

Last night when the call had come in about the wolves behind the complex her shop was in, he’d known this was the chance he’d been waiting for. But by the time he’d got to the shop, he only caught a glimpse of the wolves high up on the hill with the Wildlife and Animal Control officers pursuing them through the canyons.

The back door of Ruby’s shop had been wide-open. The place had been trashed, but the cash register hadn’t been touched. Obviously someone had been after something. More secrets. He’d finished his shift and gone after her. He had done everything he could to insinuate himself into her life, knowing Ruby wouldn’t be able to keep her mouth shut for long, and here she was lying to him. Anger tightened his knuckles around the steering wheel. But he knew it wasn’t her fault, knew Ruby would be so much more manageable if it wasn’t for that overbearing and controlling sister of hers. He had to do something about that.


Chapter 5 (#ulink_64e7e6dc-1b0f-5dd0-93af-84f8b8e31e0a)

For hours Celia drove down the long freeway, trying to pretend she was alone. That she wasn’t going home to bury her mother. That her life hadn’t got so terribly off course. Every now and then her gaze would move to the rearview mirror and she’d catch a glimpse of Malcolm sleeping. Was he truly sorry? Maybe he had changed. He seemed to be different somehow. Not so on edge and more relaxed and comfortable with himself. Was it possible that no longer being Pack leader had freed him?

He’d always taken his responsibilities too seriously. People thought he was an egomaniac, but the truth was, he cared too much. He had grandiose ideas for the Colony and moved heaven and earth to implement them, no matter who he hurt. But now that he was no longer in charge, perhaps he could use his ambitions to contribute instead of letting them destroy his life.

She shook her head and focused back on the road. There was a rest stop a mile ahead. She would stop. Get a soda. Stretch her legs and take a break. She had to stop thinking this way. She was on a slippery slope and falling fast. He was the enemy. He’d turned his back on her and threw away their life together for a woman he’d never met. For his zealous need to be in control. The moment she started excusing what he’d done would be the second she let him back into her heart and the instant when she’d be lost. Once more, she’d be living for Malcolm and what Malcolm wanted, putting her own dreams for a family on a back burner. Losing what she wanted and who she was in her desire to make him happy. She wouldn’t fall into that trap again.

She parked the truck and walked into the bathrooms. She was stiff and sore, and they still had a long way to go. When she came back out, a car was parked next to them. Two men were circling Malcolm’s truck, peering into the windows at Malcolm sleeping in the backseat. She froze.

Abatus.

“Blazes,” she whispered under her breath. She looked around the parking lot. There was a large semitruck, the driver nowhere in sight. A station wagon filled with kids, and a couple of young girls sitting on the grass playing with a puppy. All of them oblivious of the men pulling on the truck’s door handles and knocking on the windows.

Malcolm sat up in the backseat rubbing his eyes, shock filling his face as he realized where he was and what was happening. He climbed into the front seat and got behind the wheel, fumbling for the keys in the ignition. But they weren’t there. They were in her pocket. His troubled gaze met hers through the windshield.

He was worried. He might try to hide it, but she could read it as plain as day. She walked purposefully toward the men. “Excuse me,” she said loudly, hoping to draw as much attention as she could. “Can I help you?”

Surprised, the men turned to her, gave her the once-over and then dismissed her, turning back to the truck. They tried once more to get in, pulling on the doors, pushing on the cracked windows. “Like a dog with a bone,” she called out. “Would you mind stepping away from my truck?”

After being ignored once more, she bolted forward, knowing with her bracelet they would not see her as a threat or a target. She used that to her advantage as she scooted right up to the first guy, the smallest guy, with an unkempt beard and long unruly gray hair, and kicked him hard in his oversize gut.

He doubled over with a loud grunt. Celia kicked him again, using all her force to knock him to the ground, hoping the truck blocked what she was doing to him from the eyes of the young girls on the grass. The second man came running around the front of the truck toward her. Malcolm opened the door, jumped out and joined the fight.

He took a swing at the much-bigger second man, but suddenly the first man was up and back in the game. He was strong, and even though she got in the first kick, the Abatu soon had the upper hand. Malcolm was doing his best, but soon they were both taking a beating. Celia hit the ground, landing hard on her butt, when out of nowhere Ruby was there, baseball bat in her hand and Jade right behind her.

Ruby swung the bat, hitting the Abatu hard across the shoulders, giving Celia the leverage she needed to volley a new attack. With the help of the twins, soon both men were lying on the ground, groaning.

“Are you okay?” Ruby asked, out of breath, her face flushed with her exertion.

Celia threw her arms around her cousin. She was never so thankful to see anyone in her life. “Where did you come from?” she asked, astonished that they were even there.

“From right over there,” Ruby said, and pointed to her old maroon sedan on the other side of the parking lot.

Celia laughed. “I see that, but what are you doing here?”

“We were worried about you,” Jade said, stepping forward and wiping her hands on her jeans. “And with good cause, too, from the looks of things. What are you doing way out here? And why were these men attacking you?”

Celia’s gaze slid away. “I don’t know. But I have to go home. My mom...” She couldn’t finish. Couldn’t say the awful truth. She glanced over at Malcolm, who was watching the two men on the ground, waiting for them to get back up and go at them again. “She died.”

“Oh, no! Celia, why didn’t you tell us?” Ruby enveloped her in a big hug. Her embrace and concern had Celia’s tears threatening to fall all over again.

“I don’t know,” Celia admitted. “Everything just happened so fast. I...I just can’t believe you are here.”

“Us, either,” Ruby said. “But it’s a good thing we were. What was with these thugs? Why would they attack you out the blue like that?”

“I have no idea,” Celia lied, with an uneven breath.

“Maybe we should call the police,” Jade suggested.

“No,” Ruby and Celia both said in unison.

Surprised, Celia turned to Ruby. Her eyebrows rose questioningly.

“I don’t want Mark to hear about it,” Ruby admitted on a deep breath.

“Your stalker cop?” Celia didn’t like the sound of that. “Is that guy still causing you trouble?”

Jade nodded. “He just called a little while ago. There is something seriously wrong with that man.”

“That may be true. Okay, that is true,” Ruby corrected after noticing the look Jade was giving her, “but he called to tell us that someone broke into the shop. Messed it up quite a bit. So it’s actually a good thing he called. For once. He locked it up for us. I’m sorry to dump more bad news on you, Celia.”

Celia sighed, not in the least surprised. She’d seen the Abatu enter through the back door and just hoped they hadn’t caused too much damage. “I supposed you’d better get back, then.”

“No way. We’re coming with you. Obviously you need us.” Ruby looked pointedly at the two men on the ground.

Celia glanced at the troubled look on Malcolm’s face and knew he had cause to be concerned. No matter how much she might welcome her cousins’ company right then, humans were not welcomed in the Colony. They couldn’t be. The Colony couldn’t take the chance that anyone would discover their secret, and a whole town full of wolves was a big secret to keep.

“I really appreciate that,” Celia said honestly. “But I don’t know how long I’ll be. There’s a...a lot to do. If you could just get the shop back in shape and opened for when I get back, that would be awesome.”

Ruby opened her mouth to protest, but Jade stepped forward and placed a hand on her sister’s arm. “We totally understand. You can count on us.”

Celia sagged with relief. “Thanks, guys. I really appreciate it.”

“But what about these two?” Ruby asked. “Who are they? Why would they attack you, and why would someone break into our shop to begin with?”

“I have no idea, and I really can’t think about that now.” Celia gave them each a big hug, holding on a little tighter and a little longer than she should. “I’ve really got to get going.”

“All right, if you’re sure,” Ruby said, hesitation ringing loud in her voice.

“I’m sure. I’ll see you soon.” Celia kissed them both on the cheek, then handed Malcolm the keys. They got into the truck and Celia waved goodbye as they drove out of the parking lot and hoped with all her might that it wouldn’t be the last time she saw her cousins.

“You think they’ll go back to Sedona?” Malcolm asked, his voice sounding doubtful.

“Why wouldn’t they?” Celia said, watching them until they were out of sight.

“Because obviously they followed us here from the canyon.”

Celia felt her eyes widen as the implications of his words set in. “You think they saw us?” she asked at length.

“I think they saw something or they wouldn’t be here now.”

“Blazes!” Celia thought about her and Malcolm walking out of the canyon without a stitch on. How was she going to explain that?

“I must admit, though,” Malcolm said with a grin. “I sure am glad they were here.”

“Me, too. Truthfully, I wish they could come back with us,” she said, her chin lifting. “They’re my family. They mean a lot to me, and I hate lying to them.”

“You know that could never happen,” he said evenly.

“Why not?” she shot back, her temper flaring. “Their mother was my aunt. They have just as much right to be there as any of the rest of us. They have shifter blood in them. They could change at any time. And then what? Who would be there to protect them from the Gauliacho?”

“I understand your argument. But we can’t have humans in the Colony. If word got out... If people knew... There’d be no place for us. You know that.”

She flinched and went stony faced, then turned toward the window. She did know. And she understood. But that didn’t mean she had to like it. “They’re the only family I have left now, Malcolm.”

“Come here,” he said softly.

“What?”

He patted his shoulder. “Lean on me. You always can no matter how much you hate me. We’ve been friends forever and I’ll always be there for you. I may not be blood, but I am your family.”

Against her better judgment, she rested her head on his shoulder. And he was right, she did feel better. And no matter how much they hurt each other, they had loved each other since they were kids. They always would be family.

But sometimes even that wasn’t enough.

* * *

From his vantage point in the rest-stop parking lot, Mark watched Ruby’s cousin drive away and Ruby and Jade follow not long after. Why were they following her? And way the hell out here? He hadn’t had the chance to meet Celia, but from what he’d observed, there was something off with her from the start. He drove past the shop several times during his shifts, and the woman never seemed to leave the place. Over and over, he would see her standing at the window, staring out at the canyons. She was creepy.

The two men picked themselves up off the ground and got back into their car. Mark had to admit watching Ruby slam that guy with the baseball bat was pretty impressive. He didn’t know she had it in her. He pulled his car behind the two men’s vehicle, effectively blocking them in. He flipped open his badge and approached the driver’s side of the car. He knocked on the window with two knuckles.

“You mind telling me what all that was about?”

They didn’t answer. Didn’t move. Just stared straight ahead.

He knocked again. Harder. Finally the window came down an inch. Again, no answer.

“I asked you a question,” Mark said through gritted teeth, trying to contain his annoyance.

The driver turned to him, his black eyes suddenly clearing to a bright blue. What the hell? Mark took a quick step back. A shiver tore through him, raising the small hairs on his arms and neck.

“Can I help you, sir?” the driver asked.

“I...uh...” Mark gathered his resolve and stepped back up to the car. “I asked what in the hell was going on here?” He flashed his badge once again, then quickly stuck it back on his belt. No reason to point out he wasn’t a cop in this state and had absolutely no authority here.

“I don’t know what you mean,” the man said, looking very confused.

“You attacked those people.”

“What people?”

Mark stared at him. He hadn’t really said that. “The man and the woman in the truck. I saw you, both of you.” His eyes flickered to the man in the passenger’s seat, whose mouth was hanging open in shock. “Yes. Both of you. I should haul you both in for assault right now.”

“What people?” the man in the passenger seat echoed with disbelief thick in his voice. He glanced furtively around the parking lot, searching.

Their audacity was annoying the shit out of Mark, but the unbelievable part was that they actually seemed sincere. He talked to a lot of people, some good, some bad, some just out-and-out stupid, and his liar meter was top-notch. And these guys weren’t tripping it in the least bit.

“What about the cuts and bruises on your face and hands?” he demanded.

The driver held his hands out in front of him as if seeing them for the first time. “I don’t know, Officer. Really, I don’t. We just stopped for a bathroom break. Honest.”

Mark didn’t have time for this shit. “For both your sakes, I’d better not see either of you again.”

“Yes, sir,” the driver said.

“Yes, thank you,” his partner echoed, his relief thick in his voice.

Disgusted, Mark turned, got into his car and drove away. They were acting just like that one guy he’d managed to catch leaving Ruby’s shop the other night. Denied having been in there, denied having touched a thing.

What in the hell was going on around there?

* * *

Malcolm drove the next shift while Celia slept. In his mind, he kept running over and over what had happened at the rest stop. Together, he and Celia should have been able to take two Abatu. But they hadn’t. He was getting weaker and so was she. Other than last night, it had been too long since he’d changed. As he tried to recall the last time he’d run through the forest, he realized he couldn’t. A few sporadic changes here and there in so many months were not enough to maintain his strength. He knew that, and yet he’d let himself grow weak.

He’d been too caught up with the problems of the Pack, fighting with Scott and Jason. Working his schemes, setting traps, being a complete all-around idiot. Now he was paying the price in more ways than one. Without transforming, his body was losing power and he had started to age again, the process resuming where it had cut off the first time he’d changed as a young adult. He was becoming more human and losing the magic of the wolf. He only hoped Celia hadn’t been as foolish.

She looked like an angel as she slept, her face soft and worry-free. He used to love to watch her sleep. It had been the only time her defenses were down and her watchful all-seeing eyes weren’t upon him. She knew him so well, his passions and strengths, but now she couldn’t see past his flaws.

If only he’d married her long ago when she still loved him, when she still saw the best in him. But that chance had long since passed him by. He’d managed to destroy her trust and all that had been good between them. He remembered when they’d been teenagers. She’d stolen his breath, sapping it up with her energy and excitement. She’d had a wild streak that burned bright in her eyes and kept him chasing after her from one end of the Colony to the other. He’d tried to tire her out, to see how far she could really go. She’d not only kept up with him but pushed him even harder.

She’d been amazing. They’d made their transformation together and had been connected physically and spiritually ever since. Back then, they’d burned so hot, he was surprised they hadn’t self-combusted. But then suddenly he hadn’t been enough for her. She’d broken his heart and moved on without him.

He’d hardened after that, wrapping a shell around himself and never letting her or anyone else get that close to him again. They’d grown up. Life went on. And somehow they’d found their way back to each other. Lessons were learned and lost the hard way, but through it all they’d never stopped having that connection to each other.

Until she’d gone away to Sedona.

Not feeling her or sensing her near after all these years was something he didn’t know he’d miss. Now he understood what his heart had always known, what he’d been so certain of way back when. She was the one for him. The one he couldn’t live without. The only thing that mattered in his life.

Only once again, she wouldn’t have anything to do with him. She didn’t feel the same as he did; she didn’t mind being away from him. From all of them. In fact, she preferred it. Tension squeezed his insides. She wanted to live without him, and now that she’d walked out of his life for good, he had no one.

The thought was sobering and hard to admit, but the truth was he’d pushed her away. He’d make it up to her. He’d make it up to everyone for all his scheming, for the ridiculous plot and warring with Scott that had got Jaya killed and put the Pack in danger. He scraped a hand across his face as he realized none of it would matter if they didn’t make it back to regenerate the crystals. The fate of all the shifters rested on them, and they still had so far to go.

Celia sat up in the backseat, her hair a mess and her eyes droopy with sleep, and still she’d never looked more beautiful.

“How are you doing?” he asked.

“All right, I suppose,” she said, and stretched. “Stiff.”

“You’ve been asleep for a long time.”

She looked around her. “It’s good to see all the trees.”

He grinned. “We’ve been pretty much alone on this highway for a while now, and I was thinking once the moon rose higher in the sky...”

“Yeah?” she asked, interest gleaming in her beautiful dark eyes.

“That maybe you’d like to go for a run with me.”

She looked around her, weighing his words. “You think it’s safe?”

“There is no one around. And the truth is, it’s been a long time since I’ve changed. Since I’ve run. I think that’s why the Abatu got the better of me today. We can’t take that chance again. We have to strengthen ourselves.”

She gave him a wry smile. “I could tell.”

He turned to her, his eyes locking on hers. “Yeah?”

“You’re going gray.”

“I am not.” He leaned forward and peered into the rearview mirror. But she was right. There were thin streaks of gray at his temples. How long had he been aging? How much time had he lost?

“Run with me,” he said as desperation tore at him. “Last night was the first time I’ve changed since...” Since the night Jaya died. “Since I don’t know when.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know where my head was,” he said quietly, but it wasn’t true. He knew too well.

“Hmm, I don’t know, Malcolm, but taking a guess, I’d say headstrong, unrelenting ambition got in your way. You could have been a great Pack leader.”

He smiled. That wide, charming smile that he wore like a protective shield. “Tell me what you really think, babe.”

“Harsh, I know, but you need to hear it.”

“Trust me, it’s not anything I haven’t heard before, but that doesn’t matter to me now. Being Pack leader doesn’t matter to me now.”

Her face filled with surprise. “Then what does?”

“Rebuilding my life in the Colony with you.”


Chapter 6 (#ulink_0d238355-250c-5fd8-b2df-4e90cc72a3c4)

As the moon rose high in the sky above them, Celia wanted out of the truck. She wanted to run, to process what Malcolm had just said to her. Could it be true? Was his obsession with leading the Pack finally over? She hoped so, for both their sakes, but couldn’t allow herself to care. Not then. Right then she just wanted to run free. Her body was practically humming with anticipation to be back in high woods again with the soaring trees and a blanket of ferns covering the forest floor.

She rolled down the window and took a deep breath of the cool pine-scented air. Home. It smelled like home; bittersweet longing blossomed in her chest. Malcolm pulled over off the side of the road onto what looked like an abandoned logging road. As soon as he parked and turned off the ignition, she was stripping out of her clothes, no longer caring that he might see her. She wanted to feel the mountain beneath her paws, to stretch her legs and fly.

Without waiting for him, she was out of the truck and running, first on two legs, then on four as the wolf within her fought to be free. She tore off through the woods, not even bothering to look back for Malcolm. She ran forward, her nose high in the air smelling the sweet scent of cedar and pine and the headiness of animals surrounding her—deer, rabbits, raccoons and possums. Water from a nearby river roared in the distance, and wherever there was water there would be wildlife.

Expectation burst within her. She tore off at an even greater clip and soon felt Malcolm flying up behind her at lightning speed. She could hear his heart thundering in his chest, hear his breathing accelerating as excitement pushed him ahead of her.

She wouldn’t let that happen. He’d always been the bigger one, the stronger one, but she was faster. She chased after him, giving him a small nip as she passed, just to make sure he felt her beating him as she flew over small bushes, bounding through the water, the moisture tickling her nose. Squirrels and rabbits burst out of their hiding places, scampering out of sight, fear almost stopping their thudding hearts.

And then she smelled the gamey scent of deer nearby. Deer were her favorite. There were always more than one and they knew how to give her a good chase. She took off after the scent, leaving Malcolm behind her as she bolted in another direction. Sensing her pursuit, the deer ran, breaking through the brush. There had to be six of them, maybe even seven. They were fast and knew the terrain. She followed them, racing even harder, her legs pumping steadily as she focused on her prize. It had been so long.

Listening to their blood thundering in their bodies, following the thick, heady scent of their fear, she ran deeper and deeper into the darkness. And then one was in her sight.

It was smaller than the rest, younger...slower. She was gaining on it. Faster and faster she ran, so close she could almost feel the animal’s hindquarters in her mouth, could almost taste its sweet flesh as they shot through the trees. She lunged forward, extending her neck, her jaws opening wide and snapping down on...nothing.

Blazes! She burst up a small path and hit pavement with a bone-jarring thud. The bright lights of an oncoming car caught her in its glare. She froze, blinded. Rubber squealed against asphalt, the high-pitched sound stopping her heart. She tried to move but couldn’t see which way to go. The light was everywhere. The blare of a horn split the night air, echoing in her ears. Brakes screeched raucously. The car fishtailed across the highway, coming straight toward her before pitching into a ditch.

She crouched down, whimpering. Before she could move, a man burst out the door, cursing, banging his fists on the car’s roof. Hidden behind the bright lights, Celia could only make out his hulking outline. He hesitated as he saw her, then reached beneath his jacket.

Then Malcolm was next to her, growling, bumping her cheek, biting her scruff and pulling her out of the hypnotic stupor she’d fallen into. She turned, following him off the road, running fast. A shot rang out, ricocheting off a nearby tree. Then another.

Fear slammed into her chest.

“Come back here!” the man yelled. “I know what you are! I know!”

Adrenaline pulsed through her blood, pushing her away from the road after Malcolm, deeper into the woods and out of the sight of the man and his gun. Would he come after them? Into the dark? Alone?

She couldn’t guess, but their fun was over. They had to get to the truck and away from this lunatic as soon as possible. They never should have stopped. They must get to the safety of the Colony as soon as they could.





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