Circle of Desire (19 page)

“Where’s your boss headed?” she continued.

“Another kid has gone missing.”

Her hand caressed his and squeezed gently. “We’ll find her. Before the three days are up, we’ll find her.”

His smile was grim. “I wish I shared your certainty.” Wished he could share it with Luke. But he’d learned the hard way that some promises were never meant to be, and he wasn’t about to inflict false hope on his brother. Not when they both knew the reality.

She touched his face, forcing him to meet her gaze. “Believe it,” she said softly, “because it’s the truth.”

He stared into the green depths of her eyes and for a moment was totally convinced. Then his gaze flicked down to her lips, and before he knew it he was kissing her. Urgently. Hungrily. She responded in kind, her fingers so warm against his cheeks it felt like she was branding his soul with her touch. He released himself to the simple pleasure of being close to her. Of kissing her without caressing her, of feeling the closeness of her body, smelling the sweet aroma of heated desire that was both his and hers.

“Wow,” she murmured at last, her pupils dilated and body trembling.

“Wow, indeed.” He leaned his forehead against
hers for a second and wondered what the hell was going on. He’d never felt anything like this before, not even during the moon fever.

Maybe it was just this case—and the stress of Janie’s disappearance—coming out in the most natural form for a werewolf. Especially with the moon rising. Yet he had a sneaking suspicion the answer was not so simple. And
that
was something he had no intention of exploring. Not now. Not ever.

He rose and walked over to the window. He felt the flash of her confusion and anger, and thrust his hands into his pockets. “How long is your grandmother likely to be scrying?”

“However long it takes.” Kat’s voice was calm, despite the turmoil he could feel within her.

He frowned, wondering why he was catching her emotions so clearly. While that particular gift ran in his family, it was never one in which he’d shown any ability. No, all he’d gotten was the damn curse. A curse that had first come into his family after his grandfather was bitten. While his father had escaped it, his uncle had not, and neither had Ethan or his brother. Which was why he would never have any kids of his own—he had no desire to pass this thing on. Luke had, but then, Luke had always been more accepting of the curse than Ethan had been. “If another kid has gone missing, why didn’t she see it?”

She shrugged, something he felt rather than saw. “Scrying is not a perfect science. It shows some possibilities, not all of them.”

“Has this Seline of yours come up with any answers about the soul-sucker?”

“No, but it’s obviously an extremely ancient spirit
we’re chasing, which means the Circle have to go through all the old texts that have not yet been transcribed to computer. It takes time.”

“Time we haven’t got.”

“I know that. Gran knows that. Even Seline knows that.” She hesitated and he tensed, knowing her question even before she asked. “Why do you keep running, Ethan? What are you afraid of?”

“I’m not running. I’m not doing anything more than simply enjoying a moment.”

“And that’s all we are? A moment?”

He closed his eyes. “Yes.”

“Are you sure of that?”

“Yes.”

The swirl of emotions that had surrounded him died abruptly. It was as if some door he couldn’t see had slammed shut. The sudden stillness felt cold. Lonely.

“You’re wrong, you know.” Her voice was soft, detached. With the emotive eddy locked down, he couldn’t read what she was feeling, but in many respects, he didn’t need to.

“No, I’m not.” Because he’d given his heart long ago, and there was nothing left to him now
but
moments. “I warned you before we started this that I wanted nothing more than a good time. Nothing we share is going to change my mind.”

No matter how good it felt. No matter how right.

She shifted, her movements full of controlled anger. If he had any sense, he’d walk away now, before this got messy. But he couldn’t. He needed these two to find Janie. They were his best hope—he was sure of that. And he couldn’t deny his need for Kat. The
moon’s spell was far from over, but he had no desire to find another partner right now. He wanted her. Only her.

“So, who is the woman who captured your heart and left you unable to love?”

Surprise rippled through him. Had she read his mind, or did she know a lot more about werewolves than what she’d admitted? Not that he knew a whole lot about them himself—it wasn’t as if he’d grown up in a pack or anything. He’d had only his small family unit, and all they could impart were truths as they saw it.

And he was beginning to suspect many of their truths were not the reality. “It doesn’t really matter, does it?”

“It does to me, especially if she’s still around.”

“I didn’t lie to you, Kat.” His voice was grim as he stared out into the star-bright night and tried not to remember. But pain rose regardless. The pain of betrayal. Hurt. “And she’s definitely not still around.”

“Did she die?”

He snorted softly. “No.” She was living in Denver with her very normal husband and three kids, and probably didn’t even remember the lives she’d destroyed when they were both still teenagers.

“Then why—”

Gwen groaned, and he’d never been so grateful for an interruption in his life. He didn’t want to relive that moment of his past, not even briefly. Whoever it was that said time heals all wounds was wrong. Time only made them more unforgivable.

He turned and watched Kat tend to her grandmother. The older woman was pale and shaking, her
hands locked into a clawlike position. He grabbed the oil off the coffee table and sat down next to her.

“Let me massage these for you.” He poured the oil into his hands and began to rub hers gently.

Gwen’s smile was tremulous. “Thanks.”

He nodded. “Did you see anything of use?”

Kat sat down opposite him. He was aware of her gaze but didn’t meet it, keeping his focus on easing the tension from Gwen’s knotted hands. Right now, he didn’t have the energy or desire to answer Kat’s questions.

“I saw a couple of things,” Gwen said. “First off, your boss is chasing a wild goose. That murder has nothing to do with this case. It’s a custody battle gone wrong.”

Just as well he hadn’t followed instinct and gone after them, then. “You sure of that?”

She nodded. “It doesn’t follow the pattern. They’ll discover that as soon as they get there.”

“Do we need to rescue the kid anyway?”

Gwen shook her head. “No. The cops will get the father soon enough, and the little boy is safe. But there is another kid you have to worry about.”

His gut clenched.
Not Janie
, he thought.
Not this soon. Please …

“The soul-sucker?” Kat rose and moved over to the phone table.

“Yes,” Gwen said, rubbing her temple with her free hand. “Here, in this town, sometime tonight.”

Kat retrieved the local street directory and plopped it down on the table. “Where?”

“Forest Road. Some place called The Pines.”

“Out of town,” Kat said after a few minutes. “And
not all that far from where the soul-sucker killed the old man.”

“I found a cabin full of zombies up that way,” he said, suddenly remembering them. “About a twenty-minute run north from the old farm.”

Kat gave him a long look. “And you didn’t think to mention it before now? Or were you simply planning to do a little solo exploring later on tonight?”

“Neither,” he said, ignoring the sarcasm in her voice. “I didn’t remember because I had more important things to worry about.”

He held her gaze. After a few seconds, heat touched her cheeks, and she dropped her gaze to the directory again.

Gwen pulled her hand free of his and flexed it lightly. “You have a nice touch, wolf. And you didn’t tell us you were empathic.”

He put the lid back on the oil bottle. “I’m not.”

Gwen raised an eyebrow. “Really? Then why do you seem to be catching Kat’s emotions?”

He kept his face expressionless and raised an eyebrow. “What makes you think I’m catching Kat’s emotions?”

Her cheeks dimpled. “Because I’m a nosy old witch who can sense these things.”

“Well, in this case, the nosy old witch is way off course.” He rose to put the oil back on the coffee table. “We going to call in the sheriff on this one?”

Gwen studied him a second longer, her expression a mix of amusement and concern. Still trying to figure him out, obviously. He had a feeling he’d better be long gone before she did.

“No,” she answered. “We won’t need to if we can
stop the mara before it gets to the kid.” She looked at Kat and added, “Did you manage to make those charms earlier?”

Kat nodded and disappeared into the bedroom. Gwen grabbed his hand, her strength surprising him. “Be honest with her, wolf,” she whispered, her voice as fierce as her expression, “or I’ll make damn sure you regret it.”

She was half his size and half his weight, but he had a sudden feeling this fierce old woman could take on a hundred men his size and still come out on top. “I’ve been nothing
but
honest with her.”

“Then be honest with yourself, or it’s going to cause problems.”

“I have no idea—”

“You have every idea,” she said angrily. “Don’t you lie to me.”

Anger rose, a tide so strong the effort to control it left him shaking. “I haven’t lied to anyone,” he said, his voice surprisingly calm. “And Kat’s a big girl who doesn’t need her grandmother’s protection.”

Gwen snorted and released his hand. He resisted the urge to flex his fingers as she leaned back in the chair.

“Who says I’m trying to protect her? You’re the one who’s going to regret it if you don’t wake up to yourself.”

“You can’t hurt what you haven’t got,” he said bitterly.

“Oh, you have it, wolf. You’re just too blinded by the perceived hurts of the past to realize it.”

He clenched his fists and took a step toward her, then realized what he was doing and walked across
to the window. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t I?”

Gwen’s voice, though soft, still reached him easily. And though his hearing was naturally better than any human’s, he had a vague suspicion there was something supernatural—or magical—in the fact that he was hearing her now. And that Kat obviously wasn’t.

“In the meantime,” she continued in that same soft but angry tone, “I’ll just leave you with a warning. If what is freely given is rejected, it is never offered again. We Tanners tend not to forgive nor forget.”

“What the hell is going on in here?”

Ethan glanced around sharply. Kat stood in the doorway, her gaze jumping between him and Gwen.

He took a deep breath and released it slowly. “Nothing. We were just talking.”

“Yeah. Right. Tell that to someone who can’t feel the tension.”

His gaze slid to Gwen’s. The older woman only raised her eyebrows, as if daring him to deny the possibility. He turned away from them both and stared out the window again. He couldn’t explain why the old woman seemed to be catching his emotions any more than he could explain him catching hers.

“Are we going to go save this kid or not?” he said without looking around.

“We will as soon as you put this on,” Kat replied. He heard the air stir and raised his hand, instinctively catching what she’d thrown. It turned out to be a leather thong threaded with three stones. He turned around. “What’s this?”

“It’s a necklace. You put it around your neck.” She
didn’t even glance at him as she began tying an identical strip around hers.

Two of the stones felt warm against his palm; the third felt colder than the Arctic. “I mean, what is it meant to do?”

“Protect you.”

“How are three stones supposed to do that?” He tied the necklace on regardless, then grabbed his shoulder harness and strapped it on. He’d left it in here earlier, and it was just as well. If the captain had realized he still had his gun, he would have been in real trouble.

“The red stone will stop the mara from sensing your presence unless she’s looking right at you. The green stone provides a shield that’ll help stop her from entering your mind to take control.”

“And the blue stone?” he asked when she hesitated.

Heat touched her cheeks, but her gaze met his defiantly. “It’s a last-minute warning that the mara is about to steal your soul.”

Anger stirred through him again. “She’s never going to get that close.”

Her eyes mocked him. “But the moon is full, and you’re a werewolf in heat. Who knows what’ll happen if push comes to shove?”

He knew. No matter how much the fever raged in his blood, he would never lie with the mara. No matter what form she took. “Are we going or not?”

“As soon as I change into jeans.” She disappeared into their cabin and did that, then grabbed her coat from off the sofa and went over to kiss her grandmother’s cheek. “Be careful. Use the warding stones until we get back.”

“It doesn’t know about me yet. Its attention is still caught by you two.” Gwen’s gaze ran past Kat and met Ethan’s. “Concentrate out there, or it could be fatal.”

“The wolf doesn’t rule me yet,” he said grimly and walked out the door.

K
AT TOOK A CANDY BAR OUT OF HER POCKET AND UNWRAPPED
it. The wind was almost unbearably cold, and the smell of rain touched the air. The bright light of the moon had long ago been blanketed by a heavy layer of clouds, and the night seemed unnaturally dark. But lightning flashed in the distance—an indicator of the storm she could feel approaching.

She bit down on the candy and wished she had something more substantial to eat. Chocolate might be one of the five essential food groups, but right now she could have done with something a whole lot more warming. Like a good, thick stew. Or even a meatloaf.

As she munched, she studied the house that sat in the small clearing below. It was a big, old ramshackle building that had seen recent renovations and was absolutely beautiful. What wasn’t so beautiful were the two Dobermans who roamed the confines of the main house’s fenced yard—a fact they’d found out the hard way when they’d first tried to get near the house. Both she and Ethan had barely gotten back over the fence in time when the ruckus the dogs raised had brought out the weapon-bearing homeowner.