Moonlight Kin 4: Tristan (19 page)

Pierre shook his head and gave him a sad
smile. “The fact you are smelling that sheet in your hand proves
she means something to you. I hope for your sake we are able to get
her back.”

Tristan’s beast growled. The sound made
Pierre and the young wolf who’d just entered the cabin freeze.
Tristan felt his control weaken and his other push to the
surface.

Pierre’s eyes glowed as he faced Tristan.
“This will not help,” he said. “Get control of yourself.”

White fur rippled over Tristan’s arms, and
claws sprang from his fingertips, as he struggled to cage his
beast.

The Alpha growled, and black fur spread over
his skin. “I understand what she is to you, even if you’re not
ready to admit it, but you must keep it together. You won’t be able
to save her if you don’t.”

Tristan yanked hard on his beast’s leash. It
reluctantly gave way, but not before it snapped at him. The fur
faded back into his skin and his claws retracted. “Let me just
gather my things.”

“You might want to put on some clothes,”
Pierre said. “Can’t exactly walk through town like that.”

Tristan glanced down. The towel he’d been
wearing was lying on the floor where he’d fallen. He shrugged and
pulled on a pair of jeans, then grabbed a shirt. Tristan glanced
around the cabin. He didn’t want to leave, because there was always
a chance that Isabel would return, though it was unlikely.

He packed his tote and gathered his weapons.
He tucked the sword he’d named Selene into its sheath then glanced
at Pierre. “What if—”

“One of my wolves will stay here just in
case,” he said, cutting Tristan off. “For now, let’s head back into
town to regroup and recover. You are in no condition to fight
tonight.”

Tristan hated to admit it, but Pierre was
right. He just hoped the Darkling was in bad shape, too. Being near
Selene had affected him, but to what degree?

“Can you drive?” Pierre asked.

Tristan scowled at him.

“I had to ask, since I have no idea how long
you’ve been out,” Pierre said.

Tristan glanced at the clock and frowned.
He’d been out for several hours. That wasn’t good. It said a lot
about how powerful the Darkling was.

“Why did you come here?” he asked, wondering
how Pierre knew he was in trouble.

Pierre hesitated. “I sensed the evil and felt
your strength wane.”

Tristan’s brow furrowed. “How? I’m not one of
your wolves.”

Pierre grinned. “You don’t have to be mine
for me to detect you,” he said. “You of all people should know
that, Enforcer.”

Tristan nodded, but the truth was he hadn’t
known that Pierre could do such a thing. Perhaps the Darkling
wasn’t the only creature cloaking its powers.

“I’ll follow you,” he said.

“Do keep up,” Pierre said, then headed out
the door.

Tristan spent the night tossing and turning
at the Alpha’s house. Normally when wolves surrounded him he slept
well, but tonight sleep evaded him.

He kept picturing Isabel’s face as she came
apart in his arms. He’d never seen anything so beautiful in his
life. He tried not to think about how hurt she’d looked when he’d
fled to the bathroom.

Ashamed by his cowardice, Tristan sat up and
scrubbed a hand over his face. Where was she? Was she still in this
world or had she already slipped into the other? Wherever Isabel
was, Tristan wanted her back, wanted to know that she was safe.

He should’ve taken her blood when he had the
chance. If he had, Tristan would be able to track her anywhere. But
if he had taken her blood during sex, he would’ve bound her to him.
The thought should’ve disturbed him, but for some reason it didn’t.
He wanted to go back to that moment and do what he should’ve done
from the start.

Tristan didn’t think Isabel would’ve
appreciated waking up to find herself bound to a werewolf, but that
connection would have damn sure come in handy now. New Orleans was
a big place, even bigger when you factored in all the parishes
outside of the city proper. Then there were the swamps...

He lay back down and closed his eyes. With
his Lycanian Elder job, Tristan had accepted long ago that he’d
never have a mate. He’d vowed to stay clear of humans after Aidan
and Damon had bound them and bred true. Now...well, nothing had
really changed.

Even as the thought filtered through
Tristan’s mind, he knew that it wasn’t true. He’d give his life to
get Isabel back safely. If that Darkling was as powerful as he
suspected, that might be what it took.

* * * * *

Izzy awoke to the sounds of birds chirping
and a shower running. She turned over, expecting to see the cabin.
Instead, she came face to face with a popular princess.

She pushed the covers away and glanced
around. It took her a moment to remember where she was and how she
got there. As soon as she did, her hopes fell.

Izzy had never been one for regrets, but when
it came to Tristan Chevalier, she had more than a few. She wondered
again if he was okay. There was no way of knowing for sure. The
dream flashed in her mind. It had been horrific, but at least he’d
been alive. Izzy clung to that aspect. She had to. It was either
that or fall apart.

She threw the covers back and rolled out of
bed. Izzy listened for the shower. It was still going, so she
slipped out of the room. She found a pot of coffee sitting next to
the stove.

For one crazy minute, Izzy considered
stealing Stone’s car, but she didn’t think she could take it and
get away before he caught up with her. She still had the phone he’d
given her. Her best bet was to call Everly.

Izzy poured herself a cup of coffee and
walked to the back door. A small porch had been attached to the
rear of the house. The screened-in area held a couple of chairs and
a small table. She turned the knob, expecting to find it locked,
but the door opened.

She glanced down the hall, but the bathroom
door remained closed and the water continued to run. Izzy stepped
out onto the porch and shut the door behind her. She’d just pulled
the phone out of her pocket when the breeze shifted and the stench
hit her.

Izzy gagged. She’d forgotten all about the
dead alligator. She blindly reached for the doorknob to go back
inside, but an inner voice told her to stop. Izzy always listened
to those voices. They rarely steered her wrong.

She peered into the yard. Like the front
lawn, the back was well cared for and lined with flowerbeds. Other
than a few birds, she didn’t spot any movement. She’d never seen an
alligator up close.

Curiosity got the best of her. Izzy shoved
the phone into her pocket and put her coffee down on one of the
chairs. She glanced back at the door and listened for footsteps,
but didn’t hear anything.

Izzy pushed the screen door open and took the
two stairs down into the yard. The odor was stronger now. She
checked to make sure the stench hadn’t attracted more
alligators.

She didn’t see anything, but that didn’t mean
they weren’t there. They were masters at hiding in plain sight.

Her inner voice urged her forward. The odor
made her eyes water, but she kept going. When she neared the shed,
her instincts screamed at her to stop. Izzy hesitated, but it was
too late to turn back now. She was outside the door.

The tin structure was no more than ten by
twenty in size. Rust covered the sides of two walls, thanks to the
high humidity. The door to the shed was the kind that slid open. It
would make a horrendous noise the second she touched it, alerting
Stone.

Izzy stared at the door, studying it for what
felt like an eternity. “Just open it,” she muttered under her
breath. “It’s just the alligator.” Why was her heart pounding? Why
was she hesitating? Was it because Stone had told her to stay out
of the backyard? Or was something else directing her?

She glanced one last time at the house. There
was no sign of Stone, but he had to be done with his shower by now.
Would he think that she was still asleep? He’d know she wasn’t when
she opened the door.

Izzy took a deep breath and grabbed the
handle. The door screeched as she wrenched it aside. The shed’s
interior was dark. Sunlight barely penetrated the glom. Izzy waited
for her eyes to adjust then scanned the space.

At first, all she spotted were tools for
doing lawn work. She didn’t see an alligator or anything else that
would explain the gut-kicking, nausea-creating stench.

She looked again. The second time, she
spotted a lump on the floor. The pile was too small to be an
alligator and too large to be rags. It took a moment for Izzy’s
brain to register what her eyes were showing it. When it did, bile
rose in her throat, choking her. She took one step back and
vomited, then like a driver passing a bad car accident, Izzy looked
again.

The woman’s esophagus had been ripped out,
and scratches covered the front of her body, leaving deep furrows
in her clothes and flesh. Beside her was a smaller mass.

“No,” she murmured. “Please no.”

But her denial didn’t change the facts. The
smaller bundle resembled the little girl she’d seen in the
photographs—or what was left of her. She’d been wrapped in a pink
blanket, but the cloth didn’t conceal the fact that half of her
body was missing.

Not missing
, Izzy thought.
Eaten.
She’d been eaten
.

Izzy backed out of the shed and collided with
a hard chest. Her legs nearly collapsed beneath her, and she let
out a loud scream that was cut off by Stone’s hand.

“You’ve been a bad girl, Izzy,” he said. “I
told you to stay out of the backyard. You should’ve listened.”

Pain knifed through Izzy’s chest, and she
couldn’t seem to breathe. She gasped and gasped until Stone grabbed
her by the neck and led her to the middle of the yard.

The second he stopped, Izzy dropped to her
knees. “What have you done?”

“What do you mean?” he asked, sounding
genuinely perplexed.

“Stone, you need help. Serious help,” she
said. “This woman and her child weren’t a threat.” Had he somehow
mistaken these two for werewolves? If so, he was further gone than
she’d anticipated. “Why did you kill them?”

“I got hungry waiting for you,” he said so
matter-of-factly that it took Izzy a moment to comprehend.

“What?” Izzy glanced up at him. She couldn’t
have heard him correctly.

“Don’t knock human flesh until you try it,
Izzy,” he said. “It’s quite tasty, especially the young ones.
They’re tender and sweet.” Stone stepped around her until he stood
near her head. “I offered you some last night, but you were too
good share a meal with me.”

Izzy gulped. “That’s what was cooking in the
pot? A child?” Her stomach lurched, and she vomited again.

“You make me sound like I’m a monster,” he
said, his disgust evident.

“If you’re capable of doing that to a
defenseless woman and her child, then you are,” she said, wiping
her mouth with the back of her hand.

Stone glared at her. “You have no idea what
I’m capable of,” he said softly. “You’ll change your tune once we
get to my home.”

Izzy staggered to her feet. “You said you
lived here.”

His lip curled. “You know I don’t. I believe
that’s obvious now.” He glanced over her shoulder toward the
bodies. “I wouldn’t live in this world if you paid me.”

Her mouth watered and she swallowed hard,
fighting the urge to throw up again. “This world? What are you
talking about? Stone, let me get you help.”

“You’re not very bright,” he said. “Doesn’t
really matter. I didn’t fetch you for your brains. As long as your
other parts are working, that’s all that matters to my people.”

Izzy scrambled back, searching for a way to
escape. “What do you mean by
your
people?”

“Don’t bother trying to run,” Stone said. “I
will catch you. I’m very fast, when I need to be.”

Cold enveloped her, until Izzy felt oddly
calm inside. It was the kind of calm that came when someone knew
they were going to die and accepted the fact. “What do you plan to
do with me?”

“I told you,” he said. “I’m taking you to my
world.”

His words finally registered. “You’re the
Darkling that Tristan has been hunting,” she said.

Stone laughed. “Finally she gets it.”

Izzy shook her head. “You said you were like
me.”

“I lied,” he said.

“But that doesn’t make sense,” she said.

“Why?”

“Because I can detect evil and see hidden
beasts,” she said. “It’s part of my gift. You should’ve set off my
internal alarms the second I got close to you.”

“Ah, yes, your gift.” Stone glanced around
the yard. “I’m sure the fact that my magic is stronger than your
‘gift’ is unsettling. It’s always a tough lesson to learn that your
power isn’t as strong as you thought it was. Don’t feel too bad.
Soon all humans will know that they are not the be all and end all
of existence.”

“What does that mean?” Izzy asked.

“It means we’re coming,” he said. “Soon this
world and the women in it will be ours.”

“You’re insane.” She took another step back.
“Tristan is going to come for you,” she said.

“I’m sure he will if he’s still alive. I hit
him pretty hard. Thanks again for helping me get close to him,”
Stone said.

Guilt over what she’d done swamped her. Izzy
had been so stupid.

“By the time Tristan recovers, you and I will
be long gone.” He glanced up at the bright morning sky and winced.
“You should probably enjoy the sunshine while you can. It doesn’t
exist where we’re going.”

The thought of living in constant darkness
terrified her. Izzy would rather die than be trapped somewhere like
that.

Stone sighed. “I know what you’re
thinking.”

Did he or was this another lie?
“You
can read my mind.” Izzy tried to clear her thoughts.