Lone Wolf (9 page)

Here were the really powerful ones.

Beck squeezed her arm, silently noting the difference, as well. His tension, nearly as palpable as the magic, warned her not to let down her guard.

As if she would. Being here felt ten times more dangerous than she’d anticipated.

As they approached the stage area, the crowds murmuring and talking swelled again, before abruptly dying down as Beck took her hand.

Again, in complete silence, the gathering of vamps and shifters watched Marika and Beck and their escorts climb the steps to the raised dais.

The platform was empty. A long table, carved of polished marble, ran the length of the stage, easily fifty feet. Chairs lined one side only, and in a sole nod to modern technology, microphones had been strategically placed at intervals of five feet.

Again, Marika sensed a protective shield surrounding the table.

Their escorts left them then, disappearing as completely as if they’d melted away. Simon moved to stand slightly behind Beck, sending her a dark look that managed to convey a promise of help if they needed it.

Marika felt absurdly grateful.

For a moment, she and Beck stood alone, surrounded by the sea of strangers. If a spotlight had highlighted them in a blaze of brilliant yellow, she wouldn’t have been surprised. This circus felt both surreal and too realistic at once.

As they waited, others entered from the back of the stage, like performers. They wore matching robes in a brown as rich as melted chocolate. Here, too, species mingled, entering alternately so that it was shifter, vamp, shifter, vamp.

“Councils,” Beck said, low-voiced. “Joint councils meeting together. The rarest of rare events.”

As each took their place at the table, she felt the steady increase of power building. This could only mean one thing. The High Priestess Vampire was approaching.

This meant Brigid would enter last, her position clearly revealing her as the most powerful.

In case anyone doubted. Meeting her, most did not.

Beside Marika, Beck stood at wary attention. For a brief instant, she tore her attention away from the procession slowly filing past them and looked at him. As she did, the room temperature dropped, and his expression altered, freezing into a grimace as though ice seeped into every pore.

Brigid had entered.

Marika swung her head around to eye the center of the dais. The old one’s gaze seared her. Brigid had been studying her, sizing her up.

Rolling back her shoulders, Marika lifted her chin. The least she could do was return the favor.

Brigid’s flawless beauty had hardened with unimaginable age. Her porcelain skin appeared dusted by frost. Her emerald eyes and her painted lips were the only slashes of color in the perfect oval of her face.

They stared at each other so long that others began to notice. Even Beck turned to look at Marika. She ignored him, unwilling or unable to be the first to concede.

Gaze still locked with Marika’s, Brigid finally took her seat. Though ancient, her fluid movements only added to her aching beauty, a legacy from her Fae ancestry. Through the aeons, no doubt many men, both human and vampire, had fallen under her spell.

Even Beck appeared transfixed, though he remained at Marika’s side.

Finally seated, Brigid looked to her left and then to her right, acknowledging the others and breaking the silent standoff.

Relieved, Marika finally looked down. Her own miniscule power, newly awakened, simmered within her, making her feel…more. Of everything. For the first time in her life, she had to rein herself in, curtail the swell of energy pulsing from her. The stakes were too damn high.

She sensed that Beck, beside her, was having similar difficulties controlling his wolf.

“Welcome.” Brigid spoke, her magic rolling off her in waves, crashing up against Marika with such force she nearly staggered back. “We come together to discuss the threat against both our species and the world as we know it.”

Marika exchanged a look with Beck. “I’m not sure where she’s going with this, but it’s exactly what I expected. Vague and alarmist,” she murmured.

In response, Beck dipped his chin, watching Brigid and waiting for her to continue.

“Throughout the centuries, in both our species, radical groups have risen and fallen. Many still exist to this day. For the most part, we have been tolerant unless they posed a threat to our survival. Except for the age of wars, we’ve been able to enact a truce and learn to work together to take care of any threats.

“Until now,” she continued. “Now an entirely new species has been birthed.”

Marika stiffened. Dani was just Dani. Not some freak of nature or new species, but her daughter, her baby girl.

Brigid went on to detail what Dani was and what she could do. She also mentioned the boy and then, just when Marika’s impatience was about to explode, began to talk about others. Plural. As in, there were more than two.

Brigid cited eleven other documented cases. That meant there were thirteen total. Thirteen children, each of them grabbed by this radical group of shifters.

The crowd erupted. In normal times, accusations might have been hurled at each other, shifter versus vampire, and vice versa. But today, they all seemed to agree with the urgency Brigid conveyed. The stakes were high.

Thirteen missing children were hard to ignore.

“How has this gone unnoticed?” Marika directed her attention to the High Priestess. “If this has been going on for years, surely you must have known about it. Why weren’t the parents warned? If I’d known, I could have taken additional steps to protect my daughter. I might have been able to prevent her capture.”

Instantly, the crowd quieted, all eyes on Brigid, waiting for her answer.

“I tried to contact you.” Brigid gentled the severity of her voice. “But you ignored my summons, choosing to go on the run instead.”

“What about the explosion?”

“What about it?” Brigid’s smile contained a hint of malice. “We are not here to discuss such trivial matters.

“Your daughter is among those missing. We must get these children gathered up and brought to us. I have seen indications that they, with their special and peculiar abilities, possess great power. Whoever controls them will control their magic.”

As Marika was about to speak, Brigid directed her sharp gaze toward her. “The parents cannot be relied on to keep them safe. You are proof of that. Therefore, once we have the children, they’ll live here at the temple and begin training immediately.”

A swell of agreement came from the assembly, bringing a slight smile of satisfaction to Brigid’s aristocratic face.

Only Beck’s grip kept Marika from taking a step toward the High Priestess in protest.

She glanced at him. “Not gonna happen,” Marika said, though the crowd’s noise drowned out her words. “
I
decide how my daughter’s raised. She can’t—”

“Play along.” His tone urgent, Beck leaned in close. “If you disagree, we’ll likely become her prisoners.”

If Brigid was capable of talking about children as though they were instruments of war, weapons, what was next?

“How will we find them?” someone asked.

Now Brigid flashed a satisfied smile in Marika’s direction, looking both beautiful and terrible. “These children have some sort of telepathic ability. Apparently, they continuously try to make contact with the parents. Thus, we’ve begun taking the parents into custody.” She indicated Beck and Marika.

“We’ll put them into a force-induced coma. This trance like state will enable us to initiate contact.”

As Marika tried to react—to fight—Brigid’s power redoubled, restraining her.

B
eck couldn’t move. No matter how hard he strained against the invisible bonds that held him, he couldn’t so much as lift a finger.

Inside, his wolf snarled and raged, as infuriated as the human half, desperate to get out.

Still Beck remained human, frozen.

Beside him, Marika came to life.

“Hell, no, you’re not,” she snarled. “Come on, Beck.” She grabbed his arm.

Miraculously, her touch released him. His wolf chose this moment to make a frantic bid for freedom. Somehow, Beck managed to fight his beast back.

“They don’t have Dani,” she said. “And they don’t have any idea how to find her. Come on. We’ve got to get out of here.”

From her thronelike chair, Brigid laughed, a cynical, dry sound. Still laughing, she motioned with her hands and sent another burst of power, full blast, at them.

With Marika still gripping his arm, Beck never felt a thing.

“Don’t let go of me,” he told her as they hurried away. “You’re my protection against her magic.”

She nodded and took off, gripping his hand firmly.

They cleared the first hurdle—the steps from the arena floor to the first tier of seats. No one made a move to stop them. Instead, every member of the audience sat rigid in their seats, staring straight ahead, completely ignoring them.

Brigid’s magic must have affected them, too, making them oblivious to the magnitude of the crimes being committed right in front of them.

Perfect. He had the fleeting thought that maybe Brigid was making escape too easy but let it go for now. First, they had to break out. Then they could discuss the possibility that she was toying with them.

Hand in hand, they sprinted up the steps and down the long hallway that led to the atrium area. Still held in place by Brigid’s spell, no one even questioned them.

They slammed into the outside doors, sending them crashing open. Outside, they never broke stride.

The instant they reached pavement, Beck’s wolf broke free.

“No,” he cried, not ready. Wolf didn’t care. Too much time had passed since the beast had been released. Caged in his human prison far too long, wolf wanted out, needed out, fought claw and nail for his freedom.

Another cry ripping from his throat, Beck dropped to the ground. On all fours, he shuddered, dimly hearing the sound of his clothes tearing.

Then he was wolf. Seeing though his nose more than his eyes, he crouched next to the woman with no scent at all, staring.

Even as wolf, he was conscious of the need to flee. Nudging Marika with his snout, he started off. She grabbed him and, hand clutching his fur, she easily kept up with him. At vampire-wolf speed they ran through a field full of parked cars, across the winding road, and headed up the hill into the trees. Only when they’d cleared the crest and began descending the other side, did he slow to a jog, a walk and then finally, a stop, panting.

Fighting for control, he began the change back to man.

Then, naked, hands on legs, doubled over and trying to catch his breath, he attempted to figure out what had happened. Not since he’d been a young boy had he lost a battle with the beast inside him. The wolf had forced an involuntary change, and Beck didn’t like it one bit.

“What happened back there?” Marika demanded. “Why the wolf? You were doing fine as man and now…” She gestured at his naked body. “Now we need to find you some clothes.”

“I didn’t do that on purpose. It just happened. Probably as a side effect of Brigid’s magic.”

She seemed to accept this explanation. “Okay. Are you ready to keep moving?”

After a second of surprise, he laughed. He couldn’t help but admire her. She wasn’t a shifter, but she’d been as fast and strong and sure as one.

“What the hell was that, back in there?” Still breathing hard, he straightened and turned to look at her. “Brigid has so much magic, she should have been able to stop us. Did she just
let
us escape? There must have been thirty thousand in there. None of them even reacted.”

With a graceful shrug, Marika stretched. “Her magic backfired. I guess she can’t control how broad her range is. They were all trapped by her power.”

“Except for you.”

Looking down, she shifted her weight from foot to foot. “Yeah.”

“How? How’d you do that?”

“Honestly, I have no idea. When she started talking about Dani and capturing all the children like her, I knew I couldn’t let her do that.”

“The power of your convictions, eh?” He grinned at her. The rush of adrenaline pumping through his veins made him feel overcharged and restless. And horny as hell.

His body reflected this. Suddenly, his nakedness felt awkward rather than natural. He felt exposed and vulnerable.

But Marika seemed to be looking everywhere besides directly at him. “I guess.” She didn’t sound at all enthused. When she flicked a quick glance his way, an electric shock went through him.

Already aroused, his body thickened.

Still, he managed to speak. “I think your magic is stronger than you realize.”

A sudden flash of anger singed her eyes. “If that’s the case, why can’t I find Dani? That’s all I really want. If I have power, why can’t I see my daughter?”

“Our daughter,” he reminded her, keeping his tone mild, willing his body to return to normal. “I don’t know why you can’t telepathically find Dani. But then I don’t know much about magic or how it works. I’m just an ordinary shape-shifter.”

For a moment she stared at him, keeping her gaze firmly on his face. Finally, she gave him a wan smile.

“Well, Mr. Ordinary Shifter, now what? Where do we go from here? No one seems to know where the children are.”

“We’ve got to keep moving, keep looking for them. We’ll need to get a car.” He started walking, heading down toward another ribbon of road visible below them. He’d rather expose his naked backside to her than his aroused front, especially since they’d both done a great job of pretending not to notice it.

No sound. Was she following? A quick glance over his shoulder revealed that she was still standing, as though she couldn’t make up her mind.

“Come on. She can’t control them forever. Eventually, all those people will break out of Brigid’s spell. We don’t want to be anywhere near here when they do.”

She blinked, then after a moment, nodded. “I’m coming. But I’ve gotta tell you, I don’t like this. At all. I’m a Huntress, Beck. I hunt, I don’t flee.”

This he could identify with. He also found it reckless. “You want to stay and try to fight all of them? There’s two of us, and I’m stark naked. There must have been several thousand of both vamps and shifters.”

She caught up with him, grabbing his arm. “If I thought for a moment that Brigid—or any of them—knew how to find Dani, I would risk it.”

“Me, too,” he said, meaning it. “But they aren’t any closer to knowing that than we are. We’ve got to stay one step ahead of them.”

“You don’t find this ridiculous? You and I, elite fighters among our kind, running from a fight with no idea what to do next?”

“Of course I do.” He snarled, revealing his frustration. “I’m aggravated as hell. The only thing we’ve got to go on is the fact that Dani—and the other kids—are trying to communicate.”

“Brigid knows I wouldn’t willingly help her find my daughter.”

“For Dani’s sake, if it meant her safety, I think you’d do just about anything. I know I would.”

Since he was right, she said nothing at first. Then she said, “If you can hear Dani, you should try again to communicate. Maybe she can tell us where she is.”

“It’s worth a shot.” He hid his doubt with a smile.

“Try now.” Slipping her hand into his, she gazed up at him. “Please.”

Dutifully he closed his eyes, trying to still his rapid heartbeat, and let the silence fill him. Then he sent his thoughts out, seeking, searching. “Dani?” Calling to her with his mind.

“Find me.” The childish demand startled him. “You and Mama come here. Now.”

And then, before he could question her, she was gone.

Reluctantly he opened his eyes. “I heard her,” he said, still amazed. “She didn’t sound hurt or upset or even tired.”

Marika gripped his hand so hard it hurt. “How did she sound? What did she say?”

“Find me.”

Appearing stunned, she stared. “That’s all?”

“Yes.” He gave her a hard look, his determination strengthened by his little girl’s demand. “And that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

“How?”

“We’ll go to Alpine. Addie has a sister named Annabelle who lives there. Maybe she’s heard from Addie. I don’t know why I didn’t think of her earlier. It’s a long shot, but it’s better than nothing.”

They headed for the road. Once they’d reached black-top, they kept to the edge, skirting the fringes of the trees, ready to fade into the shadows at the first sign of pursuit.

At the first house they came to, they kicked in the back door. Raiding the closet, Beck found a pair of jeans that fit, albeit loosely, and a T-shirt. Once he’d dressed, they stole a silver Mustang from the driveway. He hot-wired it, and soon they were on the move again, heading northeast.

Even though they still had no inkling where Dani was being held and they could search every house between here and the border, it would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. At least Addie’s sister would be a place to start. If Brigid hadn’t gotten to her first.

When he voiced these thoughts, Marika nodded in agreement.

He glanced at her as they drove. “Have you ever trusted Brigid? You must have, to have believed her warning about shifters.”

“She was right about that. Shifters have Dani.”

“Again, you don’t know that. And, even if they do, they might be trying to protect her from Brigid. Answer my question. Have you ever trusted Brigid?”

“I—” Looking away, she didn’t continue.

“You don’t. You don’t trust her,” he answered his own question, satisfied. “If you did, you wouldn’t have been on the run with Dani in the first place. You would have let Brigid take you under her wing and use her powers to protect you both.”

“That has nothing to do with me trusting Brigid.” She glared at him. “Dani doesn’t like her.”

“Smart kid,” he shot back.

“Maybe.” She tossed him a half smile. “I do trust her instincts.”

For the first time, he began to have an inkling what Marika’s life had been like since she’d gotten pregnant with Dani. Always on the run, unsure of who to trust, not knowing if the next person she met would be her friend or a mortal enemy.

“You know…” She glanced sideways at him. “Maybe you could try one more time to hear her voice.”

He stared at the road ahead of them, wondering if he should admit the truth. “She asked us to find her.”

“Then see if she can at least tell you if we’re heading in the right direction.”

With a nod and keeping his eyes on the road, he tried to send his thoughts out again, seeking Dani. This time, there was no connection, only the sound of the car engine and the tires on the pavement.

“Nothing,” he finally said. “I’m sorry.”

“At least you tried.”

“I think she has to initiate it. Both times she was calling out. It’s her, not me. I have no powers, no magical ability to locate a small child.”

She’d turned away so he couldn’t see her expression. “Maybe your connection is through blood. Yours and hers. The same.”

Then she looked at him. The naked longing in her eyes was his undoing. At that moment, he wished more than anything he had the ability to do what she asked.

“Please. I want you to try every hour to contact our daughter.”

Our daughter.
The words, her closeness, even without scent, made him dizzy. Despite her careful avoidance earlier of his nakedness, he wondered if she knew how badly he wanted her. Even now, despite everything. He was much safer if she remained oblivious—Marika wouldn’t be above using his desire to her own advantage, especially if it came to Dani.

Leaving her hand on his shoulder, he felt her touch burning through his thin cotton T-shirt.

“Marika, you heard Brigid in there. You should be able to contact Dani, if you let your magic help you.”

“Sounds good in theory, but I don’t know how.”

“I don’t know how, either,” he told her sadly. “Both times, she broadcast herself over the wind. I was able to simply listen and hear her.”

“What about now? Try to make out the sound of her voice. Maybe she’s still calling out and you haven’t been trying to hear her.”

Though he knew Dani was silent—last time there’d been no mistaking the frustration in her young voice—he nodded.

“Thank you.” She brushed a quick kiss against his cheek, making him dizzy. “I need to know she’s all right.”

He fought the urge to reach up and touch the spot where she’d kissed him. Put that way, with her huge eyes full of liquid worry, he had no choice but to agree.

He pulled off the main road onto a dirt track that wound through empty prairie and parked.

Then, avoiding her gaze, he got out of the car. A second later, she followed.

Closing his eyes to remove the distraction of Marika’s face, he tried tentatively to send tendrils of thought out into the universe.

Nothing. But then, what had he expected? He could change from human to wolf, he could fight, was an expert marksman and sniper, but magic wasn’t his thing. He’d bet Marika had more power in her index finger than he had in his entire body.

Still, because he already wholeheartedly loved this tiny daughter he’d never even met, he tried yet again, putting every fiber of his being into the sending. He longed—how he wanted—to once again hear her little high-pitched voice calling out a childish demand. Even more, he’d have loved to see her precious baby face, to breathe the scent of her skin, and hold her close.

His daughter. His. Dani.

He waited, throwing himself out there again, into nothing, into everything, not sure exactly how such a thing should be done and hoping he was doing it right.

Silence.

As the minutes ticked by and nothing happened, he became suspicious that his best effort might not be enough. He could fight, he could hunt, and being a Protector had taught him many other skills over the years, but he couldn’t contact one little girl.