Secret of the Wolf (22 page)

She closed her eyes. “I should have, I know.” Opening them, she stared at him. “I didn’t want to admit my own brother could be behind the attacks. I never dreamed he’d go after you and Lily. Never!”

“Did he say why he did it?”

“He followed me the night I had dinner at your place.”

“The night we made love.” His voice was husky.

She couldn’t find her voice. She gave a short nod and cleared her throat. “That’s why the horses were spooked more than they should have been. Remember, I told you they acted like they were surrounded by predators.”

“To them, they were,” he said. His dark gaze remained on her.

“Rand stayed all night. That morning, when you put the, uh,
thing
in your gun safe, he saw you do it.” She drew in a deep breath. “Plus, he wanted you to suffer for shooting him. If I’d thought he would go after Lily to get to it, I would never have agreed to let you keep it there. I would have turned him in if I’d thought that. You have to believe me.”

He studied her a moment, then gave a brief nod. “Okay. I do believe that. And I share some culpability in this, because I suggested we store it at my house.” He rubbed a hand across his mouth and chin. “To be honest, if I’d been in your shoes I probably would have done the same thing, because I’d do just about anything for Lily.” He sighed. Pulling out a chair, he sat down. “My sister’s a werewolf now, Tori.”

“I know.” She leaned forward a little. “It’s not always such a bad thing. She won’t get sick, ever again.” While she would never have suggested that Lily ensure her cancer didn’t come back by turning into a werewolf, the fact that the cancer no longer had a feeding ground had to count for something.

He folded his arms and rested against the back of the chair. He looked so closed off. “Ash told me what’s gonna happen to your brother,” he said. “I’m sorry. Not sorry that he’s gonna be punished for what he’s done, to be honest. But that you’re gonna lose him.”

“Thanks.” She looked down at her hands. “There’s something else I need to tell you.” She went into her brief meeting with Stefan and the relationship between them.

Dante went stiff. “Son of a…Have you told me the truth in anything?”

“I guess not.” She looked at him. “And I’m sorry for that. But I’m telling you the truth now when I say that I love you.”

His expression didn’t change. She had no idea what he was thinking.

“If I’d been braver,” she whispered, “I would have told you the truth…all of it.” This was the hardest thing she’d ever done, but she didn’t break eye contact with him. He needed to see the honesty in her gaze.

“Does Tobias know?” His eyes were as hard as the line of his mouth. “About Natchook being in town?”

“He does now.” She blinked back tears. Dante hadn’t responded to her declaration of love. Her fear had come true.

She’d lost him.

At that realization, Tori dropped her gaze and stared down at her hands, fingers white with pressure as she clasped them to hide the trembling. “I was…naïve. Mistaken. Stupid. Whatever you want to call it. I just wanted my family back, and I thought Stefan deserved the second chance every pret gets by coming through the rift.”

“Even knowing what he did to Nix? Knowing that he would have killed Tobias if he’d gotten the chance?” Disbelief rasped Dante’s voice. “Knowing that he’s the one behind the rift device?”

She jerked her gaze to him. “I didn’t know that. I just found out from Tobias yesterday.”

“And now that you do?”

“Of course he needs to be stopped.” Her stomach churned. Surely he didn’t believe she could think otherwise? Then again, what else was he supposed to believe? She’d given her brother the benefit of the doubt and he ended up being a rogue killer. Her cousin was already a murderer.

She’d wanted her family with her. Now she wondered why.

“As soon as Tobias told me what Stefan…Natchook was up to, I told him that I saw him about a week ago. And before you ask, I don’t know where he is, I swear.” Tori stood and started to pace. “I know you don’t have any reason to believe me, Dante, but I’m telling you the truth. I am sorry that my decisions caused Lily to get hurt. Sorrier than you’ll ever know.” She lost steam and plopped back down in her chair.

“You already said you were sorry for that.” He blew out a sigh. “And I accept your apology.” He rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. “So…where do we go from here?”

“What do you mean?” Her heart took up residence in her throat.

“I want to trust you, Tori. I’m usually a good judge of character, and I think this secretiveness is not your usual style.”

“It’s not.” Her pulse rate picked up speed. Was he going where she thought he was going with this? Oh, God, she hoped so.

Dante stared at her. This was the woman he loved. That she was also a werewolf and he wasn’t complicated things, sure. That she was the sister of the werewolf who turned his sister complicated things even more. When he’d thought he might turn, he hadn’t exactly been thrilled with the idea. Now that he knew otherwise, though, it left him feeling…hollow.

Alone.

When it came down to it, he loved Tori. It was as much his fault as hers that Lily had been put in a position of danger.

The question was, was he ready to take the risk of building a life with her? More important, could he face a life without her, however short, relatively speaking, that life might be?

The answer was easy. No.

He stood and drew her to her feet. “I love you,” he said, and watched her face go white. “Is that such a bad thing?”

“I think maybe I just hallucinated for a second.” Her bright eyes searched his. “Say that again. Please.”

He cupped her face in his palms. “I. Love. You.” He pressed his mouth to hers for a long, lingering kiss. When the caress ended, he rested his forehead against hers. “I don’t know where this road is gonna take us, but I do know that I want to travel it with you.”

As a crazy as hell, horrifying yet wonderful thought struck him, he paused, drawing back to stare down into her face.

“What?” she finally asked when he remained silent.

“You could turn me.”

She blinked. Disbelief warred with hopeful speculation in her eyes. “What?” she repeated.

“I don’t want the next thirty or forty years with you. That’s not enough. Not nearly enough, sweetheart. I want forever.” He pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth. “Turn me.”

“I…can’t.” She stroked soft fingers down his cheek. “Dante, you can’t really want this. You’re just upset. Concerned about Lily—”

“You’re damn right I am.” He gripped her hand in his and held it against his face. “But I’m also serious about this. When I thought, back at the hospital before the test results came in, that I might turn into a werewolf…” He shook his head and placed a kiss on her palm. “I’ll admit I wasn’t too happy about it. But when the results came back negative, I was disappointed. No, more than that. I was devastated.” He swallowed, hard. “I don’t want to be alone, Tori.”

“You’ll never be alone.” Her arms wrapped around his waist as she buried her face in his neck. He felt moisture against his skin and pushed her back so he could see her. Sure enough, her eyes glittered with tears.

“Hey, hey.” He swiped his thumbs under her eyes. “None of that now.”

“It’s just…” Her lips pressed together. “I thought I’d lost you. I never thought you would forgive me.”

“You’re human, sweetheart.” He gave a crooked grin. “Well, nearly human, anyway. You make mistakes. I do, too. When I think of how much time I wasted fighting my feelings for you…” He shook his head. “The thought of not having you in my life is unbearable.”

“Dante…” She drew his head down and kissed him, her soft lips moving under his, parting, taking. Giving.

Someone cleared his throat, and they parted to see the two guards. “Sorry to interrupt,” the dark-haired one said. He held up his cell phone. “Just got the call. You’re to go back to the council for your sentencing.”

Dante frowned. “Sentencing? What the hell is he talking about?” he asked Tori.

She held up her right wrist and for the first time he noticed a band of silver around it. “They wanted to make sure I didn’t attempt to shift so I could escape.” Her slender shoulders lifted in a shrug. “I withheld information. I’m to be punished.”

“Tobias told me to let you know it’s not serious. He’s sure the council will go with a thirty-day suspension from duties. Minus any silver…enhancements.” He gave her a wry grin.

Tori took a deep breath and released it in a quick exhalation. “Thanks for letting me know, Con.”

The guard nodded. “We need to go.”

“Would you give us a minute?” Dante asked. When the guard didn’t move, he added, “Please.”

The man gave an aggrieved sigh but motioned his colleague to go to the back of the house again.

Dante took hold of Tori’s shoulders. He had to tell her about the rift device before she heard about it from Tobias. Otherwise, she might think Dante had kept information from her to get even. “I need to tell you this before we head out.”

“We?”

“There’s no way in hell I’m not going with you.”

Her smile was tremulous. “They probably won’t let you in.” Her tongue swept out to wet her full lips. “And I have to get permission to turn you. Even then they may not grant you entrance.”

“Then I’ll wait outside.”

Her soft palm stroked his cheek. “I love you.” Her eyes searched his. “What did you need to tell me?”

He took her hand in his, wrapping his fingers around hers. Keeping his voice to a whisper, he said, “The device is gone.”

She gave a brief nod. “I know. Rand told me last night.”

“I didn’t notice it until this morning when I got home from the hospital. I figured your brother had taken it. It would have been too much of a coincidence for it to go missing at the same time as Lily’s attack and it
not
be him.”

“He gave it to Stefan.” In a low voice, she told him how she’d smelled her cousin’s scent at the house upon arriving home last night. And what Rand had confessed to her. “At least we still have the schematics.”

“Now Stefan may have what he needs for his plan to succeed.” Dante’s dark eyes held hers. “And we have no idea where he went, or what his next move is.”

She tightened her hand on his. “This isn’t over, not by a long shot.”

“Nope.” He tipped her chin up. “But whatever’s gonna happen, we’ll face it together.”

“I like the sound of that,” she whispered. “And whatever happens with my job, I’ll help you and Tobias stop Stefan. I swear.”

As she went up on her toes to kiss his mouth, Dante knew their life wouldn’t be an easy one. He had faith that the good times would outweigh the bad. As long as they had each other, they could face whatever the world—this one or one from another dimension—threw their way.

Tori stood in silence, hands clasped behind her back, and waited for someone on the council to speak. All thirteen members were gathered, wearing their flowing white robes. Stern faces gave away nothing of what they were thinking. She took a deep breath but couldn’t sort through any emotions. Her gaze went from one to the next, ending with Tobias on the end. One edge of his mouth tipped up and she took that as a sign of encouragement. Even though Con had told her the punishment was going to be fairly light, someone could have changed their minds. And to add to her nervousness, she was going to ask them to allow her to turn Dante. She knew she should wait until they weren’t so angry with her, but she couldn’t help her anxiousness.

Finally, the council president spoke. “Liaison Joseph, you are standing before this council due to gross negligence of your duties. Your inaction resulted in several deaths and unsanctioned turnings by your brother. Do you have anything to say before we pronounce sentence?”

Tori swallowed. “I…” What could she say that would make any of them feel lenient toward her that she hadn’t already said? She refused to beg. “No, my lord Arias.”

A glint appeared in Deoul’s eyes. He seemed pleased by her response. With a slight nod, he glanced around at the other councilors before meeting her gaze again. “It has been determined that you will be suspended from active duty for no less than thirty days.”

She hardly dared relax yet. Going without pay for thirty days would be rough, but she could do it.

“However,” Deoul went on, “you will not be placed in silver.” At the slight smile of relief she couldn’t contain, he raised his brows. “Not all of us were convinced of the wisdom of forgoing that punishment.”

She straightened her lips, trying to look suitably chastised. She still had a favor to ask, so now was not the time to antagonize anyone. “I thank the council for their mercy.”

“Hmm.” Deoul looked at his co-members. “Does anyone have anything to add?” When the other councilors remained silent, Deoul said to Tori, “You may go.”

She didn’t budge.

He raised his eyebrows. “You have something more?”

“Yes, please.”

He waved a hand. “Proceed.”

Tori drew a bracing breath. “I beg the council’s indulgence…I ask for permission to turn Dante MacMillan.”

Stunned silence filled the room before councilors began talking, some louder than others. She glanced at Tobias and saw he was sitting still, his gaze on hers, waiting for the furor to die down.

Deoul got to his feet and braced his palms against the table. “You would request this favor after all you’ve allowed to happen?”

“I would.” She had to talk over the hubbub of voices. “I don’t ask it for me. I don’t ask it for me,” she repeated when they’d quieted again. “I ask this favor for Detective MacMillan.”

“How does Dante feel about it?” Tobias leaned forward in his chair, eyes as placid as his voice had been.

“It was his idea.”

That shut them up.

“Really?” Caladh also leaned forward, his dark eyes filled with curiosity. “Why does he want to become a werewolf?”

In that moment Tori decided to leave any reference to herself out of it. If they thought he wanted to be like her
because
of her, they might well use that to punish her. “So he can be with his sister. She’s the only family he has, and he doesn’t want to grow old and eventually die, leaving her alone.”