Black Orchid (11 page)

From
the back of the room, Adelaide watched silently as her family interrogated the
two wolves she and Ellie had caught. She clenched her hands into fists to hide the
persistent shaking. She still had it under control but wasn’t sure how long
that would last.

The
sound of a scuffle outside the room grabbed everyone’s attention. “Where is
she?” an angry voice demanded. Seconds later a Viking of a man burst into the
room, followed by an even bigger man with dark brown hair and then a skinny guy
with glasses.

“Who
are they?”
Adelaide silently asked Ramsey.

Ramsey’s
gaze darted her way.
“The tall blond is Stephen, Lila’s lieutenant in the
Louisiana Svatura tribe she now leads. Big guy is Dane, a bear metamorph, and
the kid with glasses is Seamus.”

Stephen
took one look at the female wolf who was spitting and snarling in the corner.

“Is
that Ariel?” he asked Lila.

No
one said anything, but the answer was obvious in their expressions. Stephen
completely lost it and lunged for the group surrounding the wolf shifter. Dane
and Seamus grabbed his arms and hauled him back out the door, Lila close on
their heels. Adelaide and Ramsey weren’t far behind.

“All
right!” Stephen shook off the two men holding him back.

He
stalked toward Lila, who calmly held her ground. He got right into her face and
said, “She’s one of
ours
. Don’t you dare let your family do anything to
her.”

Adelaide
felt Ramsey tense at her side. Glancing up, she could see his clenched jaw,
ever protective of his
te’sorthene
. Must be nice to be loved like that.

“I’ll
do what I have to do,” Lila said to Stephen.

“It’s
Ariel.”

“I
know. She was my friend too.” Lila pointed at the room. “But that girl in there
isn’t Ariel. At least, not right now.”

“She’s
right, Stephen,” Dane spoke up. “I’ve been under that delusion.”

What
were they talking about? Adelaide looked up at Ramsey and raised her eyebrows.

“Dane
and Seamus were both captured by Maddox along with Lila, but they were turned
into wolf shifters,” Ramsey explained to her quietly.

Dane
looked over “They combine the wolf-pack mind with some kind of forced
relationship of loyalty and some brainwashing,” He added.

“It’s
true,” Seamus added. “She’s out of her mind right now.”

“Then
help her!” Stephen snapped. “Obviously it can be fixed.”

“We
don’t know how we did that with Dane and Seamus,” Lila murmured. “And I
couldn’t do it alone. I needed Marcus.”

“Then
what the hell good are you as our leader?” Stephen spat at her.

“That’s
enough,” Ramsey barked.

Stephen
sneered at Ramsey. “Protecting the little woman are we, firestarter?”

“Be
quiet,” Lila said, in a low, commanding voice Adelaide had never heard from her
sister. “You were a part of choosing me as your leader, and you will honor that
now or get the hell out. I need you to trust that I will do what I can for
Ariel, but I also need to treat her like an enemy while she is one. Deal with it.”

“Umm…
I think I might be able to help,” Adelaide said hesitantly.

Four
sets of questioning eyes swung her way. “How?” Lila asked.

“It’s
not a guarantee. But… when we were fighting the wolves tonight, I looked at
their relationships. Some of the threads connecting them as a pack were frayed,
like an old rope splitting apart. And we know some of those bonds are forced. I
think that’s what I was seeing.”

Lila
nodded. “Ariel was not originally a wolf morpher. Her original power was nerve
control.”

“Well,
when I look at them,” Adelaide nodded at Dane and Seamus, “those lines are
there, but they’re severed, like—”

She’d
been about to say like the line between her and Nate, because the similarities
had really been bothering her since she’d noticed them. But then she remembered
that no one here knew about Nate.

She
shook her head. “What if those frayed parts mean the relationship was forced?
What if it’s weak? What if I could try to break it?”

“That’s
a lot of what ifs,” Stephen muttered. But Adelaide caught the hopeful light in
his eyes. She didn’t share with the others that she could also see exactly why
he was so upset. Stephen was in love with Ariel.

“You
barely have control over your powers right now,” Ramsey reminded her.
“And
Ellie can’t help you,”
he added silently.

She
looked around to see skepticism staring back at her. She put her hands on her
hips with an aggravated huff. “It’s worth a try at least. It’s like you’ve all
given up hope. Or become so beaten down that you no longer bother taking risks
– even little ones like this – because you’re so sure you’ll be disappointed.”

The
others glanced at each other, shamed.

“The
dragon inside you is right beneath the surface. Can you keep it in?”
Lila’s voice
sounded in her head.

“Yes,”
Adelaide
replied, although she wasn’t completely sure. But she couldn’t sit idly by and
do nothing either. She’d just have to make sure Charlotte got her back to
Australia damn fast when they were done. She needed the peace of her home – and
Nate – to deal with the dragon battling for release inside her.

Lila
gave her a brief nod, and they all went back into the room. Through a quick
series of mental exchanges, Lila and Adelaide brought the rest of the family up
to speed.

Adelaide
turned to the two wolves in the corner. Putting every ounce of her remaining
energy into the task, she focused closely on the thin white threads of light
connecting them. As she suspected, they were frayed and appeared to be brittle.
Walking up to one of those spots, she reached out and grasped either side of
the weakened area with her hands. A tingling sensation shot up her arms, but
this time she was ready. She didn’t let go.

Instead,
she pulled at the line with her hands, putting as much tension on it as she
could. It gave a little under the force, but it didn’t snap. Adelaide instinctively
changed her focus to the tingling in her arms and fingers.

Her
dad, a healer, once described his ability to her. She kept that memory in her
mind and tried to force the pins-and-needles sensation down her arms and into
the relationship she was trying to manipulate. She felt the line start to heat
up in her hand. As it did, the strand started to glow with a blinding, white-hot
light.

The
tremors inside of her were so violent that she was having a hard time keeping
her grip. With one last, desperate yank, the thread split apart in her hands.
Adelaide let go with a gasp. She sank down to her knees on the floor, black
splotches dancing in her vision and bile rising in her throat.

Her
mother rushed to her side. “Do you need help?”

Adelaide
shook her head. “I just… need to go home. I can calm down more there on my
own.”

At
the flash of hurt in her mother’s eyes, Adelaide thought about taking back
those words. She’s barely seen them in weeks, but she couldn’t think about that
right now. She needed Nate.

Charlotte
stepped over to her. “I’ll take you, honey.”

“Wait.”
Adelaide looked over to where Griffin stood watching in his wolf form.
“I
can’t see any pack relationship line connecting you to anyone. Not even Selene.
Maybe that’s why you can’t shift out?”

Then
Adelaide turned and nodded at Charlotte. Instantly, she was in her home in the
Outback. As soon as Charlotte teleported away, Adelaide curled up on the floor
and sent out a silent cry for Nate. It sounded like a whisper to her
overwrought mind, and she just hoped her call was loud enough.

She
hated
that she was so dependent on him for this. As she writhed in pain,
she silently vowed that she’d get this under control soon.

*****

Nate
walked through the dry, cracked landscape of the Outback with Greasy Dave at
his side. He only vaguely remembered leaving Maddox’s office. It was so odd
that Talia had been there when he’d left, but Nate didn’t question Maddox. It
wasn’t his place.

Besides,
talking with his leader was just what he’d needed. He’d been getting too soft
with Adelaide and was losing sight of the plan. Now he was refocused with
deadly intent. The time was right to take his plans with Adelaide a step
further. He’d gained her trust, now to make her love him. Once he had that, he
could do anything to or with her that he wished. And he’d
serve
her up to
Maddox on a silver platter.

“Nate.”
He suddenly heard her voice in his mind.

But
something was wrong. She sounded as she did when she started the shaking….

Nate
looked at Dave. “Something’s wrong. Gotta go.” He took off at a sprint.
Couldn’t have her going dragon on him. That would ruin everything.

In
moments he made it to the house and burst through the door. Nate took in her
prone form and was immediately beside her. He picked her up, sat down on the
couch, and cuddled her in his lap.

“I’m
here. I’m here, now,” he murmured.

“This
sucks,” she said through chattering teeth, using an expression Nate said often.

“I
told you, m’lady, I would always come for you,” he said, laughter in his voice.

“Are
you quoting that movie again?” she groaned. “Right now? Really?”

“How
could you tell?”

“I
don’t know. Something goofy in your voice.”

“We
really do need to get you to watch it soon.” He gave another soft chuckle.

“Mmm-hmmmm.”
She was starting to relax. “I was almost to a point where I didn’t need you
anymore. And then this happens.
Damn
.”

“Swearing?
You must be upset,” Nate teased.

He
appreciated her spunk. But he had plans for her before she gained that much
control. He needed her to be dependent on him just a little while longer.

Nate
watched the falcon hover in the sky above him. A week ago, he’d come home to
find her shaking on the ground.  She’d been weaker after that, struggling with
tasks that she’d mastered a while ago. But Adelaide seemed to finally be back
to her original strength.

Now
as he waited, she put every ounce of her concentration into landing on her
target. She had a tendency to come in too fast. Flaring her wings, she gave
them a good flap as she extended her talons and gripped Nate’s leather-covered arm.

“Good!”
he cried.

Gently,
he lowered her to the ground. Once settled, Adelaide tucked her wings in close
to her body. Then, before his eyes, she wavered and shifted until a full grown
woman stood in front of him.

She
looked up at him with a grin. “Well, it only took a hundred crashes, but I
think I’ve finally mastered landings. Think we should do it one more time, just
to be sure I’ve got it?”

Nate
just barely kept his smile from slipping. He glanced over her head, searching
the bush around them. But he saw no sign of Greasy Dave. Not that it meant the
wolf morpher wasn’t watching. And Maddox had given Nate permission to “help”
Adelaide with the falcon, after all, in order to continue to build that trust.
So Nate wasn’t doing anything wrong. At the moment.

The
more time he spent with Adelaide, however, the harder it was to hold onto his
purpose, his anger. And he didn’t like knowing that someone was witnessing his
failure. Nate still felt as if someone was staring, watching them… Right now.

He
felt the sudden, overwhelming urge to get them both out of there, even if just
for a little while.

*****

Nate
reached out and gripped both of Adelaide’s arms in his hands. “I’m starting to
feel the shakes inside you. Enough for today. Don’t want to tempt fate.”

Adelaide
pulled away from Nate’s disturbing touch. “I’m more in control than you think,”
she said.

While
she wasn’t completely recovered from the attack on her and Ellie the previous
week, her control had come back faster than she’d expected. She glanced away,
thinking about that night when he’d found her on the verge of shifting. After
she’d calmed down, she and Nate
had
fallen asleep on the couch. In the morning she’d
woken to find herself alone in her bed. When she’d gone downstairs, Nate had
said, “You want to tell me what happened?”

Adelaide
had shaken her head as she sat down at the kitchen table. Nate didn’t know
about her role in the ongoing war. And his reluctance to be involved just gave
her more reason not to tell him. “Not really,” she’d muttered.

He’d
clenched his jaw, but then, like flipping a switch, he’d grinned and shrugged.
The smile hadn’t reached his eyes, just as it hadn’t the first few days she’d
known him. And neither of them had brought it up since. She’d worked hard to
get stronger fast. And he helped. But she still felt a distance in his attitude
toward her that hadn’t been there before.

“I’ve
got to admit, Princess, after the first time you flew and then had to land, I
was worried you’d injure something vital.”

Adelaide
started gathering up their gear to head inside. “So was I,” she chuckled.

Nate
looked off to the horizon. When his gaze returned, mischief danced in his eyes.
“Hey… you want to get out of here?”

The
question was so sudden, and so off topic, that Adelaide blinked. Then she
looked around at the rough landscape surrounding them and glanced back at him
with raised eyebrows. “You realize that teleporting is not one of my gifts.”

Nate
folded his arms and grinned. “Oh ye of little faith.”

“Are
you aware of something I’m not?”

“I
happen to know that there’s a great swimming hole about fifteen miles from
here. I stumbled on it while wandering around when you kicked me off your
property one time.”

Adelaide
shook her head and grabbed the leather glove out of his hands. “You’re crazy.”

There
wasn’t a ton to do around here, but going swimming seemed like such a silly
thing, given everything else going on in her world right now.

She
headed toward the house, and Nate followed. “Awe, come on,” he said. “You want
to. It’s a hot day. We’re done practicing.  There’s nothing better to do.”

Adelaide
bit her lip. It seemed irresponsible. But at the same time, what was she
supposed to do, sit around and not live her life while she waited for the world
to get uncrazy? Then again, Nate was enough of a temptation fully clothed.
Perhaps swimming with him wasn’t the best idea.

She
kept walking. “I don’t have a swimsuit.”

“Nope,
not good enough.”

Before
she could read his intentions, Nate scooped her up in his arms. She dropped
everything she was holding as he took off at a blinding speed across the
ground.

“Hey!”
Adelaide protested. “Put me down!”

“No
chance. You need a little fun in your life, and you’re going to get it whether
you want it or not.”

Adelaide
suppressed a grin. When he wanted to, Nate turned into this entertaining,
charming guy, full of fun. She liked it when this side of him came out to play.

“I
can fly, you know,” she reminded him as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Yeah.
And you’ll just go straight home.”

Before
Adelaide could think of another way to stop this insanity, not really wanting
to come up with a solution anyway, she caught a flash of sunlight gleaming off
the water up ahead. She craned her neck to get a closer look.

“Can
you swim?” Nate asked.

Adelaide
looked back at him. “Of course I can.”

“Good!”

With
that as her only warning, Nate suddenly skidded to a halt and then tossed her
into the air. Adelaide screeched and flailed her arms before splashing down
into the cool water. She came to the surface spluttering, only to find that
Nate had joined her. He floated in the water only a foot away.

She
opened her mouth to yell at him when he lunged at her. “Guess you need to cool
off more,” he said before dunking her back under the surface.

Adelaide
wanted to be furious, but the laughter in his voice was infectious. He
made
her want to play. His sense of fun must’ve been contagious, because instead of
rising back to the surface, she swam directly under his feet. She could hear
him calling her name. She would’ve grinned if it wouldn’t have earned her a
mouthful of water.

In
a flash she snaked her hands out, grabbed him by the ankles, and jerked him
under water. Then she took off swimming, not waiting to be there for his
retribution. She quickly discovered that Nate was almost as fast in the water
as he was on land.

“I
surrender!” she cried after being on the losing end of multiple dousings.

With
a laugh he let her go.

Catching
her breath, she swam over to a bank on the opposite side of the pond.  She
pulled herself out of the water and lay in the sun, warming herself, ignoring the
fact that sand and dirt would be plastered to her backside and hair.

Nate
flopped down beside her with an endearing grin.

Adelaide
shook her head at him. Then she took a deep, relaxing breath and looked around,
truly taking in their swimming hole for the first time. Large boulders dotted
the opposite shore, but on their side was a relatively sandy little strip of a
beach. Instead of the constant red and dry that surrounded her house, this was
a true oasis, with green plants sprouting out of any available surface. The
crystal clear pond was bookended by a small series of gentle falls on either
end, ensuring the water supply remained fresh and flowing. It was, in a word,
idyllic.

“You’re
a good swimmer,” Nate said.

“Thanks.
My folks used to own some land in Louisiana that had a pond a lot like this. My
sister and I—”

Adelaide
broke off. A picture of Nate splashing around in the water with both her and
Lila had popped into her mind. So vividly she could swear that it had to be a
memory…but that wasn’t possible.

Adelaide
frowned.

“Your
sister and you?” Nate’s deep voice interrupted her thoughts.

Adelaide
shook her head. Her mind must be mixing up images from new and old memories.
Face
it, girl… you’re a bona fide wreck.

She
sent Nate a smile. “We used to play there together. A lot of summers were spent
in that pond.”

“Sounds
as if you miss it.”

“Yeah.
Simpler times then, I guess. What about you?”

“Hmmm?”

“Any
memories like that? Let me guess. You were a swim champ at some school. Or
every school.”

Nate
sat up, snagged a blade of grass, and started ripping it to shreds. “Nah. I was
more into football than swimming. I have… similar… memories to yours. Summers
at a watering hole with… friends.”

Adelaide
sat up too. “You’ve never said anything about friends before. I didn’t think
you had any.” She bumped his shoulder with hers teasingly.

He
looked searchingly into the brush around them. He did that a lot. Almost as
though he was expecting someone to be watching them. Then he glanced at her and
threw the rest of the grass he’d been playing with into the pond. Jumping to
his feet, he held out his hand. “Come on, Princess. I’ll run you back.”

Adelaide’s
grin faded, and she ignored his hand. “I didn’t mean to hit on a sore subject.
I’m sorry.”

He
gave her another soulless smile. “You didn’t upset me. I’m just ready to go
back.”

Adelaide
didn’t believe a word. Taking his hand, she stood up. He moved to scoop her
into his arms, but she stepped away. “I can fly.”

“Better
not risk the shakes. I’m surprised you didn’t go nuclear on me when I tossed
you in the water.” This time the crinkles around his eyes were genuine.

Adelaide
chuckled. “I told you… I have better control now. Besides, I trust you.” The
moment the words were out of her mouth, she knew she meant them.

Nate
sobered so fast she felt as if the day dimmed a little bit with the change in
his mood. “Let’s go,” he muttered.

He
didn’t give her a chance to reply. He just swung her up in his arms and took
off. Adelaide thought about the odd exchange the entire few minutes it took him
to run them back to the house. As soon as they reached the front door, he lowered
her feet to the ground.

She
didn’t let go of his neck, even when he pulled back a little to break the hold.

“
I’m
your friend, Nate.”