by Mason Sabre
“He’s still alive. Isn’t he?”
Leaning around her, he grasped the door handle and opened the door.
“Goodnight, Gemma.”
Chapter 22
Cade
As soon as Cade was outside and free from view of everyone, he pulled on the top button of his shirt and popped it open, as if they themselves were the very things confining him and cutting off his air supply. He gasped for breath, and his eyes stung with the bitter remorse for his actions today … the way he had shown Gemma that he could walk away from her. She’d not looked at him all through the meeting. Even when she had spoken, she had averted her eyes, making his heart clench with pain.
A giant ball of fire burned inside his chest, ready to engulf him. He heaved in a breath and pressed the balls of his hands to his eyes. If he could go back in time and change things, he would.
A mistake … Her words echoed through his mind like a tape stuck on repeat, torturing him. His eyes had shifted. He felt them … saw the way the world tinted as even his wolf mourned the loss. He’d never felt it like this. Had never before seen that look on Gemma’s face like today. He swore under his breath and raked a hand through his hair. This wasn’t a mistake …
They were not a mistake.
He gripped Connor’s coin and brought his fist to his mouth, his partially shifted teeth digging into his knuckles. He’d lost his son two years ago, but he still grieved for him now. Strange…. There were no actual memories of him. No images of what he looked like. There had been no first hold. No first breath to witness. Not even a moment to press his face to his son’s and take in his scent…. And yet, Connor was alive in his memory, the yearning a constant presence within him….
None of it was supposed to be this way.
Squaring his shoulders, he put the coin away and then forced himself to walk away. He got as far as the next car when his phone rang. His heart leapt as he yanked it out of his pocket, then dropped again at the sight of Natalie’s name on his screen.
Exhaling heavily, he swiped answer on his phone and let his teeth retract before he spoke. “Hello? Is everything okay?”
“Sorry,” she said. He could hear her moving, hear the rustling of something and then a door closing. “Has the meeting finished. I can call—”
“No. It’s fine. I was just on the way back to the car. Are you okay?” He might not love her, might not be able to ever feel anywhere close to what he felt for Gemma, but he did care about her. He didn’t ever want to see her hurt.
“My mind was driving me crazy. Sometimes, when I have these visions, it’s hard to put them back away. I didn’t mean to call. I just …”
“No. It’s fine. I promise. I’ll be home soon. You okay until I get there?”
“Yes.” She had something on in the background—the television perhaps. Cade never had it on. It was always filled with violence and horror that he couldn’t do anything about. “Was Gemma at the meeting tonight?” Natalie asked hesitantly. “She goes to these things, right?”
He tensed. “Yes. She is the beta to her father. Every alpha and their second was there.”
There was a moment of silence, then she said, “Are you giving her a ride home?”
Feeling strangely exposed as he stood in the middle of the driveway, he walked into the shadows and looked back at the house. His heart lurched when his gaze fell on Gemma’s dark form as she stood silhouetted in her father’s office window. Like a precious work of art, she stood just out of reach, shielded behind a piece of glass where one could only gaze upon its beauty but never touch. “No,” he said gruffly. “I imagine her father will take her home.”
There was more silence on the other end of the line, which he was grateful for. It gave him a moment to just look at Gemma. She was fidgeting with her fingers, the way she always did when she was nervous. His own hands itched with the need to hold her.
“Do you think we can still run tonight?” Natalie cut into his thoughts, her voice a little lower. He could hear the hope in her voice, even over the whimpering of his pining wolf.
His lips formed a straight line, trying to think of the right words. He wanted to run.… God, he wanted to run free. His body ached for release, and his wolf needed it, but the idea of running with Natalie snapped cages down around him, closing him in and keeping her out.
It wasn’t her fault—none of this was—and he had to tell himself that all the time, any time his anger bubbled and his frustration rose at the trap his father had stuck him in. This wasn’t Natalie’s doing.
“We should be able to,” he finally forced himself to say. “I’ll be back soon. Okay?”
“Okay.” Relief filtered down the line. “See you in a little while.”
“You will.”
He hung up and pocketed the phone again, tilting his head back and inhaling deeply. His eyes still hadn't shifted back and he could feel the restlessness of his wolf under his skin. It wasn’t a run that he wanted….
It was his tiger.
He ran a hand through his hair and then down his face, trying to bring himself to a place mentally where he could get out of there and go home. He blinked hard, hoping to clear his head. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a sudden movement in the shadow of the trees. His head snapped up, his senses going on full alert. Slowly, he lowered into a crouch, his eyes trained on the darkness as he carefully placed the files he was still holding on the ground by the wall.
The Davies’ house was built on old farmland no longer used by Humans. It was massive, spanning out for miles. Around the house, though, Stephen and Malcolm had erected a fence—a wooden perimeter for Evie to run around in when she was younger. She didn’t need it now, but it hadn't been taken down. It went through the trees at the back, dividing them like the Berlin wall.
He sniffed at the air and took in the scent of earth … and death.
It was deep and dark and damp, like old magic that had gone bad … the rotting embers of a fire that had long since gone out. Cade’s nose twitched, his teeth punching down in his mouth, his wolf at the ready—a predator driven by protective instincts for his mate. His hands shifted to partial paws, the claws coming out and making his fingers curl.
Whoever it was had gone further into the shadows and the trees. Cade could only scent the direction they had gone, like a footprint in the air. He kept himself low as he followed the trail. It led to around the back of the house, past the area where the family all shifted when running together, and to the other side. Keeping himself hidden, he manoeuvred himself through the dark, using the trees to shield himself.
He knew this area possibly better than he knew his father’s lands. So many times he and Stephen had snuck through the back and made their way back into the house without being spotted … nights out when they had been teenagers and thought the world was theirs.
He could see the silhouette of a man just ahead out in the bushes and the debris of the work Malcolm was still carrying out on the house. Moving with ease, the tall, slender figure weaved a path through the forest like a man who knew this area. Too well.
He had been here before.…
Cade bit back a growl. This was not the time to unleash his wolf on whomever this was, but he wanted to. Eliminating any threat to Gemma was always his most visceral need.
Cade made his way around to the back of him, keeping his distance so that he could watch him without alerting him to his presence. The man stopped at the side of the house, his gaze focusing on the windows. On Gemma.
Brutal violence flooded him, a low rumble leaving his throat, his instincts raring to attack. His teeth extended almost to their full capacity as he moved in almost a crawl, keeping himself low to the ground. If he had been in full wolf form, it would have been so much easier. But there was no time for that now. No place for it, either.
He slunk through the shadows as best as he could manage until he was at leaping distance from the man. Holding him in his sights, he watched him … waiting for that right moment to
pounce. He wasn’t a hunter for nothing. This was his advantage.
Sniffing the air again, he froze.…
Vampire.
Why the fuck was a vampire lurking around Gemma?
Cade leapt with both arms out, claws ready to sink into the vampire’s flesh and rip him apart.
At the last moment, the vampire moved out of the way, landing in a part crouch, one knee to the ground, the other to his chest, so that they were both in a crouch, face to face, just feet apart. If this were any other time, he might have been impressed at the vampire’s quick reflexes.
“You have no business here,” Cade growled.
The man stared at him, a slow grin spreading over his features, his lip pulling back to bare his fangs.
“What do you want here?” Cade snarled when the vampire said nothing.
He cocked his head to the side, that evil smile still in place. “I want what is mine.”
Gemma.
Every protective instinct smashed into him, his wolf ready to eradicate any threat. “She is not yours. And you’re trespassing on private property. I’m giving you three seconds to clear off.”
The vampire laughed, rich and deep. “I detect a little soft spot inside the wolf heart.”
“You suspect anger for assholes sneaking around on the grounds of my friends’ homes.”
The vampire inclined his head and stood up slowly. Cade followed suit, his eyes never leaving their target. “I offer you my most sincere apology,” he said, and then bowed with a hand across his stomach and the other at his back. “I bid you good day.” With that, he turned his back on Cade like a cocky bastard who did not fear a wolf at his back.
Cade watched as he disappeared, holding himself still so as not to rip the fucker’s head off. The bastard had some nerve.
Only when he was sure the vampire had left did he dare relax.
Gemma wasn’t at the window any longer, and all of the cars had gone. He let himself have a moment to let the total emptiness inside wash over him.
There was no need to crawl back as he made his way around the house. No one would see him, and if they did, he could explain himself quite easily. It was surprising that no one had come out already, or sensed they had an intruder on the grounds. But then everyone’s minds were elsewhere, their senses a little off with what had happened to Jessica.
Maybe that would be their downfall.
As Cade walked around the back of the house, through the shifting area and into the shadows on the other side, his mind swam with images of Gemma. He needed to warn her about the vampire. He also needed to tell Malcolm he’d had somebody snooping on the grounds. Vaguely, he wondered if Gemma knew the vampire or if he had just seen her in passing—
Something slammed into him like a solid wall, sending him crashing backwards into the dirt and hurtling into one of the trees.
Fuck.
Clambering to get back to his feet, his claws and teeth shot out again. A flash of dark zoomed past him, and he snatched a hand out for it, coming away with only a piece of fabric. “You should have left when you had the chance,” Cade growled menacingly. Crouching low, he circled himself slowly, eyes, ears and nose scanning for the location of his new nighttime friend. “Show yourself and stop being a coward.”
Laughter echoed through the trees, making it hard for him to decipher which way it came from. “As you wish,” he heard just before the vampire rammed into his side, knocking him off his feet again. Like all vampires, the bastard was strong, but a shifter’s strength was far superior.
This time, Cade’s claws managed to pierce flesh and ribs. But as they did, he felt the bite of teeth as they sunk into his other arm, ripping at the flesh and making him let go. They rolled together in the dark and the dirt, and Cade’s head slammed off a trunk, making his brain slam into the back his head and the world blink dark for a moment.
His mind swayed, his consciousness threatening to take him out. “I’ll fucking kill you,” he breathed harshly, trying to push himself up but landing on his side as his arm gave way under his weight. Shit. He shouldn’t be feeling this weak from a fucking vampire’s bite. Something wasn’t right. “What the fuck did you do to me?”
The vampire came close, crouching down just out of reach. He smiled and then slipped something off his fangs. “Silver,” he said in a pleased tone, holding out the silver-tipped fake teeth for Cade to see. “You know, one thing I love about these Humans? They never cease to come up with new tools to aid the eradication of your kind.”
“If you even come … within an inch … of this family …” Cade panted, fighting the blackness that was threatening to come over him. The silver burnt in his veins as it travelled through his system. He fought not to shift instinctively, knowing that would mean making himself completely vulnerable to this piece of shit.
The vampire sighed dramatically. “I have killed many of your kind in my time. Tomorrow, you can thank me for … allowing you to live.” In a smooth move, he got to his feet and winked down at Cade. “Toodles.”
Cade slumped onto the trunk behind him when the vampire was gone, trying to slip a shaky hand into his pocket to get his phone.
He just needed to call Gemma....
But his arm was too heavy, the silver too potent …
Chapter 23
Gemma
Maybe it was wrong for Gemma to have just left without saying goodbye to her mother and sister. Maybe that would be another thing on her father’s list of reasons to forbid her from shifting. She scurried out of the house, keeping her head down and trying not to draw attention to herself. She couldn’t face them. Not now. Not with everything about to explode in her head.
Her mother was still in the kitchen, Evie, upstairs in her bedroom. They’d not miss the goodbye.… Gemma certainly wouldn’t miss the look of disapproval from her mother. Even though Emily was always much subtler about it, the disappointment would be there. Everything in her head was stacked in a dangerously unsteady pile. One wrong move and the whole world would crumble down around her ears.
She was breathing … that was enough for now.
The lane was dark and cold, even though the evening itself was pleasant, the air around her crisp with the scent of the day still lingering on it. Gemma walked along the now empty cobbled drive, all the Society members having long gone. She avoided looking ahead to where the lane gave into a bend. Not that there was anything there … but that was exactly why she didn’t want to look. There was nothing there. No Stephen coming around the corner in a car he wasn’t meant to be driving. No Cade lurking in the shadows waiting to pick her up.
Just darkness ... endless darkness.
Even Henry might have been a welcome distraction. Something to ease the burden of nothingness that weighed on her.
When she had been little, this lane was a place of peace and comfort. It was always the start of some crazy adventure Stephen would have them on. She could ride her bike, shift, run. This land was the path to freedom and things that excited her.…
Jamming her hands into her pockets, she put her head down and quickened her pace. She didn’t stop until she reached the end of the lane where it met the main lane that led to the bridge. It was the river she wanted. From where she was, it wasn’t that far away. The bridge itself was probably a good thirty-minute walk, but if she went through the fields, she could come down at the bank and shift. After that, she’d be able to climb up and cross over.
She hurried across the lane, nipping along the side of the hedges. Headlights broke the gloom a moment later, spotlighting Gemma and illuminating everything around her. She pressed closer into the hedge so the car could pass without clipping her with its wing mirror. She paid no attention to the driver as he slowed down and passed, her focus on getting to where she wanted to go.
The car came to a stop a few metres ahead, the sound of the handbrake cracking through the silence of the evening as it was yanked into place. Gemma came to an abrupt halt, not recognising the vehicle as belonging to an
yone she knew. Seconds later, the driver’s door opened, and Gemma took a cautious step back in the direction her parents’ house.
She squinted at the dark figure that emerged from the car, trying to see who it was. She couldn’t make them out properly. The light was angled in the wrong direction and obscured the view. She took in a long, deep breath.
Tiger …
Cocking her head to one side, she moved out into the lane a little more, exposing herself, and like her father had said, it was time for her to step up to what and who she was.
“Gemma?”
Gemma frowned. “Karl?” She moved closer as he approached her at the same time. It seemed like a lifetime since she had seen him at Tom’s. “What are you doing out here?”
He ran a hand through his long, black hair and flicked it back off his face. “Just passing.” He motioned to the lane. “I saw you walking. Is everything okay?”
She gave a nod. “Everything’s good. Family business, you know?” He would know her parents lived there. He was a tiger, and Society.
“You’re walking?”
“Long story, but yes. My car is out of action.”
He motioned towards his. “Do you need a ride? I don’t mind. I—”
“I’m okay,” she said, rubbing at her arms. Her tiger itched for the contact of another. She roamed in pain inside. Gemma stepped back, just to have that distance between them before his tiger became alerted to the distress of a female of its kind. “I’m gonna grab a run before I head home.”
“Out here?”
She shrugged. “It’s a nice night for it.”
“But the sweepers …”
Yes, the sweepers. Fucking sweepers. The way Gemma was feeling, though, she could take them. She’d let loose every single thing picking at her sanity. “My car is junk anyway, so there isn’t a choice. Might as well take the time to enjoy the peace, right?”
Karl clasped his keys in his hand, jangling them together. “I can give you a ride. I really don’t mind. Then you can run at home or something.” He stopped. “Sorry. Just …”
