Shadow Reign (Shadow Puppeteer Book 2) (15 page)

Since no one was overtly emotional, I lowered my metaphysical shields to get a feel for him. It was the best I could do, now that I couldn’t see auras with my eye patch on.

There was a lot of heat coming from him and the others; werewolves. I should’ve expected as much. I raised my shields; glad they were so agreeable today.

“You’re right, I’m not with World Congress and yes, I was stabbed. Now that we have this figured out, can you release me?” I hated the fact that he called Rose’s weapon a wolf blade. I don’t want to be a werewolf.

The brooding man leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers over his stomach. “No.”

The computer beeped and the woman turned back to the screen. The announcer’s voice was slightly clearer.

“Is the price of your surgery too high? Come to the Earth Emporium and choose your body needs from hundreds of choices.”

“Werewolves, right there! They made us a product too,” the girl hissed.

“Turn it off, Morae,” the older man ordered.

Something in his tone made her immediately switch it off. The younger man turned his computer off as well before taking a seat to stare at me. There was nothing for me to do but stare back.

“You smell like the Reincarta and you were covered in blood. Do you work with them or were you a victim?” he asked.

“Can we start with names before we get to the harder questions?” I tried for humor.

The man’s eyes narrowed. “My name’s Brede, the alpha of the October City werewolves. This is Canen and Morae.”

Fine. If he wanted to be curt, I’d give him the same consideration.

“I’m—”

“Belen McKnight,” Brede said.

Before I could ask, he unfolded a paper that said WANTED with my picture, name and info. That was going to make it hard traveling. I sunk into the pillows and took a deep breath to calm my nerves. The good thing about this was that if Jose was still alive, he’d know I was alive too.

“Is it too late to note that my tracking device is still working?” I asked.

“We took care of that,” Canen said.

I wanted to touch the back of my ear for the cut that was probably there, but my wrists were firmly held in place. I felt violated. They cleaned me and cut out my chip without me being aware. I didn’t like being touched when I wasn’t in control of the touching.

“Why did you come here?” Brede asked.

“I don’t know. Where am I? Did anyone else drop in too?” That much was true. I was thinking about D and ended up here.

I’d feel better if I knew what happened to Rose. She was someone that needed to be watched.

“No one else, but you and you’re in Mississippi, in one of the few hidden Diablo camps,” Brede answered, the same time Morae said yes. He glanced at her and she reddened under his scrutiny.

“You’re in the Diablos hideout, if that’s what you were looking for.” Brede stood and grabbed his coat off the chair. “I stitched that cut for you, but the only way to heal from a wolf blade is to transform. Your wolf form will force the healing.”

“I’m not a werewolf,” I growled.

At his raised eyebrow, I looked away. I didn’t know the guy and already, I was acting like a subordinate. I forced myself to look back at him.

“I can help you change over,” he said.

His concern was wasted on me. I didn’t want his sympathy. I wanted to be untied so I could get back to Kelaino. I needed my clothes and my pouches. If I seemed too concerned about my possessions, they’d be suspicious and since they didn’t mention the prism, there was a chance they didn’t know I had it.

“I’m not interested. I have my own issues to take care of. Can you untie me so I can get going?” I asked.

Brede stopped in the doorway and addressed Morae. “Untie her, feed her and see her to the door. If she changes her mind, take her to holding cell Aceky and send word to me.”

He slipped out the door before I could respond.

“I’m not a werewolf. I’ve never changed in my life.”

Morae leaned over me to untie the arm with the needle first. She had the exotic scent of strawberries and wolf. It was far more familiar and better than smelling the death that sat around the Reincarta caves. It was even better than the dusty scent of the caves where the statues resided.

Laughter echoed in my head and I thought of Khaos. I was going to have problems with her.

“Brede is good at this. He’s helped other wolves that couldn’t remember how to transform,” she said. There was a note of sadness in her tone. Was she a werewolf he helped?

“You don’t understand. I’ve never changed. I’m not a werewolf.”

Rose’s words echoed in my mind;
Congratulations, you’re a werewolf.

“It’s not going to heal on its own. Trust me on this,” Canen said.

I waited until she got me completely unstrapped before I tried sitting up. Fire burned through my torso where Rose cut me. I refused to hold my side, but my sharp intake of breath already spoke for me. She took my arm and pulled the needle.

I refused to be swayed into something I wasn’t comfortable with, due to a little pain. “Where are my clothes?”

“You’re going to pass on this?” Canen asked. He looked like a young twenty year old, but something in his mannerism made me feel differently.

“I’ve never changed before. How can I be taught something like that this late in my life? Where are my clothes?” I pressed.

Morae pointed to the folded pile sitting on a table at the foot of the bed. I stood and the pain was crippling. I tried using the bed to get to my pile of clothes, weapons and pouches, but the minute I reached for them, the pain burned through my gut.

What if I didn’t transform and was stuck with this? I would be useless in a fight. “It won’t heal unless I change?”

The look that passed Canen and Morae’s face was bleak. I didn’t want Morae’s help when I stood; however, I definitely leaned into her.

“Okay, fine. I’ll meet with Brede.”

Canen stood from the chair and crossed the room in a few steps. I yelped when he scooped me up. Guys didn’t generally pick girls up like this. I slid my arm around his neck hoping he wouldn’t drop me. He smelt good too, like cider and wolf. I liked the wolf scent, thanks to Rex.

“I can’t change. I’ve never felt anything from the moon before; no tickle, no howl, nothing.” Doubt was eating me alive.

“Brede can help you.” His confidence in his alpha left me comforted.

His heat burned through his clothes and I felt every curve of his muscular chest. It was like being cradled by the wall. The dark circles under his eyes said he was just as exhausted as his alpha. I wondered if it was World Congress that kept them up at night, or other mental demons.

“Welcome to the Steffon Compound,” Canen said.

Holding cell Aceky was a large unpainted metal room with tons of dents and scratch marks. Canen sat me on my feet and I swayed against the wall for support. It was embarrassing. I’ve never been this way before.

“Thanks Canen, I’ll take it from here,” Brede said.

It wasn’t until Canen shut the metal door behind him and locked it, did I realize I wasn’t comfortable with this. The room suddenly felt very small when Brede began unbuttoning his shirt. It was something so basic, yet it looked incredibly sensual the way his fingers pushed the buttons through the holes.

“You’re going to want to take off anything restricting,” he said.

“I changed my mind.”

He looked up at me as he pulled his shirt off. I couldn’t fight the heat that slid to my face. He was so much bigger than Rex, but over time, this would be Rex; defined by hard muscle and scars. Brede fought his way to the top. He was the second alpha I met, but unlike Rex’s alpha, there was no hatred or fear driving him.

There was something a little more pure about Brede, than the other wolves. I felt it now. The heat that wavered off him was tinted in something extremely cold at its center.

“What are you?” I asked.

“Cursed or blessed, I can’t decide. I drank both vampire blood and faerie blood to extend my life for a fight that didn’t involve World Congress or the Reincarta.”

“Who won?” I asked.

He shrugged. “I thought we did, but apparently the battle was bigger than the vampire I fought with.”

He was already barefoot so the minute he started unbuttoning his pants, I turned my back towards him and faced the door. My heart was pounding. I had really big issues that didn’t involve the super good looking werewolf behind me, so why was my mind focused on him. Because he completely reminded me of Rex, right down to his serious nature!

“I really can’t do this.” My wound said,
do it
, while my mind said,
don’t you dare get naked in front of him
.

“I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t think you could help the Diablos,” he said.

Something in those words made me pause. When I looked back at him, I was very careful to only focus on his face. He was back far enough for me to take other attributes in. I lowered my shields and felt a sadness that only comes from loss. It was bone crushing deep. As quickly as it was there, Brede closed himself off.

“But you don’t think I can help you?” I said.

I could take his pain. I’ve done that before. My empathy was a direct line. I could suck his pain into my body and give him a few days of ease before his loss hit him again. It meant that I’d be stuck feeling his pain and my body already ached from the small sample.

“It is what it is,” he said.

The tension was thick. I waited for him to close the distance, to do anything that would impede on me. He didn’t.

“Why are you so sure you can help me?” I said.

“Never take favors from vampires or faeries. It’ll bite you in the butt; however, times like these, it comes in handy. The sooner we begin, the better you’ll feel.”

I fingered my gown and looked away from him. In my heart, I already knew I decided to do this. I wanted Rex’s safety and to avenge Amber’s death more than anything. The gown came off with little issue, and I was very aware my body reacted to his. If he noticed, he didn’t say anything.

The bracelet was a little awkward and it took some fiddling to get it undone. I dropped it onto my clothes, but I didn’t move closer to him. His eyes were so dark and intense. Both our heartbeats pulsed in my throat. His scent calmed me.

“I need to touch you for this to work. Do I have your permission?”

I nodded. He asked first, which brought him up on my respect scale. He closed the distance between us and despite my resolve; I took a step back. The cold wall pressed back, refusing to offer refuge. There was no escaping.

His hands were hot on my shoulder. His feral beast clung to the core of my being.

“First transformations always hurt,” he said.

No sooner did his warning leave his lips, did his burning energy course through him and into me. My legs gave under the pressure and I was very aware of his body, instead of the wall, holding me up. The heat that burned through my wound, burned through my entire body. It made me nauseated. I dug my nails into him, wanting him to share some of the pain. He gritted his teeth. Maybe this hurt him too.

My body involuntarily jerked as bones snapped. I wanted to scream, but my muscles contorted, restricting any sound from my larynx. This extreme pain was borderline pleasure. Guilt claimed my brain, but it couldn’t claim my body. I held tighter as the twisting started to mend. The pain was easing.

We fell to the ground together. It took a number of shallow breaths before I could pull air into my lungs. It should’ve left me exhausted. Instead, I felt exhilarated. He nudged me before throwing his muzzle upward to howl. It was an itch in the back of my throat. I threw my head back and howled, too.

I
stuck Katrina’s Diablo pin to the collar of my shirt. It was probably the sole reason Canen didn’t snap my neck when I slammed into their office. I brushed my finger over the smooth pin, but Katrina’s energy no longer lingered with it. She was probably with D, protecting him.

Even with my clothes on and weapons in place, I still felt naked. After what happened in the holding cell, no amount of material would hide what I showed Brede. What I changed into, in front of him, scared me. The feelings were overwhelming. I was coming off that high and didn’t know where to go from here. I was drained and starving.

I squeezed my fist, waiting for black wiry strands of hair to poke out. I wasn’t exactly sure what color my coat was. In that form, I saw shadows. I was a darker shadow than Brede. It didn’t bother me, but his scent remained in my nose; wolf with the crisp, fresh scent of cedar.

It was my emotions that embarrassed me. The extreme pain hit along the same nerve of pleasure. Sweat broke out along my skin at the thought of my bones twisting while he held me. Part of me wanted this experience with Rex, to feel closer to him, but a larger part of me was grateful he wasn’t around for this. I didn’t need to be emotionally tied to him. He was an alpha looking to start a pack and I was a half-breed.

Did this make me a rogue? There were plenty of people who wanted me dead, so being hunted by a pack was the last of my worries.

Speaking of which, I needed to get to Rex. I stuck my pouches back on my belt and checked the salt pouch. The prism was still there, undisturbed. Just fiddling with the handkerchief that covered it brought back some of the chill that constantly followed me. If I wasn’t filled with heat from the wolf, I’d feel death sitting in my chest again.

I drew the long strings shut and leaned against the wall. What was I doing? All this was beyond me. I was in a tiny room, loaded with weapons and the biggest weapon of all was at my fingertips. I could destroy a huge population if I wanted too. My anger overwhelmed me, but my loss was greater.

What was I doing? That was the real question of the hour. How could I keep going without getting more people killed?

I licked my dry lips and tried to push the hunger down. It was a gnawing ache that refused to let me think. I needed to leave. Rex was waiting for me, yet I still owed Brede for saving me. I didn’t realize the wolf blade could be so damaging. It was a wound I’d never heal from without the change and I’d never change without Brede.