“I have personal items in those”—she pointed her chin at the boxes in the living room—“and some stuff from when I was in school are with my parents, in my childhood bedroom. And the rest, well … I gave to Goodwill or sold along with the Brooklyn house.”
The house she had shared with her husband.
It still sometimes floored him to know that she had been married, but not in a bad way. There was a twinge of jealousy there, but there would always be that emotion when it came to her and anyone she’d been involved with. However, it was the idea someone had loved her first that would always make him feel uneasy.
But truly, what amazed him was her strength and courage, and her ability to get up every day and live her life after her husband died. Frankly, he didn’t think he could do the same. Losing Mika would destroy him, because he loved her so much, he couldn’t bear the thought of taking a breath without her.
The thought that he loved her had come so easy to him, and yet he hadn’t said anything to her. There was still some fear, that she wouldn’t feel the same way. But surely, she must at least feel strongly for him. She let him kiss her now, meaning she didn’t fear intimacy. She opened up to him too. It stuck in his craw, though, that she hadn’t said anything concrete about her feelings. Would she try to run again? Or put her walls up? Was this just the calm before the storm?
Maybe she was waiting for him. Or waiting for him to open up about his past. She already knew most of it, but the thought of her knowing everything made his stomach drop to his knees. Would she look at him the same way if she really knew the things he’d done in the past, what he’d done that night?
“God, I’m going to tear my hair out,” Mika said glumly. She was sitting at her desk, face scrunched up in concentration.
“What’s wrong, cher?” Since they had moved in together two weeks ago, there really was no need to hide their relationship or pretend they were strictly professional, so any time he wasn’t helping Cliff and Jacob with training, he spent inside her office.
“Sorry, tech problems.” She picked up the phone. “Lizzie, I know you’ve got a lot on your plate, but I need you up here … okay, great. Thanks.”
He walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders, slowly beginning to massage the muscles there. “Relax, it’s just a computer. No need to work yourself up.”
“Mmmm.” She closed her eyes and leaned into him. “That feels good. Maybe we can lock the door …”
“Oh?” Now this was intriguing.
“And then we can close the blinds …”
“Go on.” He kneaded a particularly stubborn knot, making her moan so deliciously.
“And I can take off …”
God, thinking about her naked and bent over her desk was enough to make him hard. “Yes?”
“My shoes …”
“And what else?”
“My socks.” She looked up at him, eyes all soft and doe-like. “And then you can massage my feet.”
“Massage your—” He smirked at her. “Oh, ha ha, funny. But I bet you won’t be laughing when I take you over my knee and spank your—”
“All right, what’s the problem?” Lizzie breezed in, not bothering to knock. Today she was dressed in a bright pink cut-off sweater that showed off her belly button ring, a short black velvet skirt, leggings, and thigh-high boots.
“It’s my computer, it’s freezing again. Among other things.”
It wasn’t surprising that Mika was more tense than usual. In the last two weeks, there had been one more attack—this time, in New Jersey. The mages had hit the headquarters of the Corvinus family, injuring many of the Lycans there. No one had died, but they had burned half the compound. Mika was working overtime, trying to find out how the mages infiltrated the Corvinus compound and surprise them in the middle of the day.
Lizzie was already working her magic on Mika’s computer, her hand going to the CPU tower. “Ah, okay.” She pursed her lips as her head bobbed up and down, as if she was a doctor listening to a patient. “Gotcha. Graphics card needs an update,” she said to Mika. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Thanks, Liz.”
“You know,” she began, perching her hip on the side of the desk, “Things have been really busy around here, and I’m sure you’re probably stressed as fuck. You should maybe, do something fun. Relax. Blow off some steam.”
“I can’t take any time off,” Mika said. “There’s too much—”
“I’m not talking about a vacay, Mika.” She tapped her finger on her chin. “Oh! Before you called I was on my way out. Jacob and I are going to check out the Winter Carnival at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Our brother, Anthony, and his wife and kid are going to be there. You guys should come.”
“I don’t—”
“Sounds like a good idea,” Delacroix interrupted. Some fun would definitely benefit his mate. When Mika opened her mouth, he silenced her protest with a hand. “C’mon, cher. It’s nearby, just across the bridge. You can take your dinner break. I bet there’ll be popcorn, corndogs, hot chocolate, pretzels, and other junk food you shouldn’t be having.”
The promise of food seemed to be enough to coax Mika along, so she agreed, and they all bundled up and headed out. As they walked out of the elevator and into the garage, they passed Wyatt in the hallway.
“Come join us, mon ami,” Delacroix said. “It will be fun.”
Wyatt’s eyes flickered to Lizzie briefly, and he seemed to consider it. “I have to work late tonight,” he said in a tight voice. “I’ll see you all later.” Without another word, he walked past them.
Lizzie shrugged. “Maybe he’s too busy playing with the stick up his ass.”
“All work and no play make Wyatt a dull boy,” Jacob snickered. “I’ll race you to the car, Liz! Last one’s a rotten egg.” He dashed across the garage.
“Hey! No fair!” Lizzie ran after him as Jacob taunted her all the way to the row of parked vehicles at the end of the garage.
Delacroix sighed. “She really doesn’t see it, does she?”
“See what?” Mika asked.
“Wyatt.” He nodded at the other Lycan, who was standing by the elevator. “He’s got it bad for her.”
“Lizzie?” she said incredulously. Her head whipped to Wyatt, then back to the female, who had hopped onto Jacob’s back and was pulling on her brother’s hair. “And Wyatt?”
“Yeah. Good Lord, am I the only one seeing this?” he said in an exasperated tone. “Maybe I should start a betting pool.”
She opened her mouth to say something, but the roar of an engine cut her off. “C’mon losers!” Jacob shouted as he stuck his head out the driver’s side window. “Get in!”
And so, twenty minutes later, they found themselves at Brooklyn Bridge Park, which had been transformed into a winter wonderland. Lights and decorations littered around the park, along with large ice sculptures. Stalls with people selling delicious-smelling food and drinks lined up one side of the park, while booths selling knickknacks and games of chance were set up on the other. They met up with Lizzie’s brother and his family at the glass-enclosed Jane’s Carousel at the end of the park, as they were in line to take a ride. Mika seemed to know the family well and introduced Delacroix.
“Nice to meet you.” Anthony Martin shook his hand firmly, his white teeth stark against his tawny skin as he smiled. It wasn’t just that he looked vastly different from Lizzie and Jacob that told Delacroix he was obviously adopted, but it was the fact that he was completely human. “This is Blaise.” He nodded to the little toddler perched on his hip, her face buried in her father’s shoulder. “She’s a little shy around strangers, sorry about that.”
“I’m Hannah.” The blonde woman next to him smiled brightly. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Delacroix. I’ve heard so much about you.”
“You have?”
“We’re related, kind of,” Mika said. “Hannah’s father is Dante Muccino, who is my Uncle Grant’s brother-in-law. If you go to Muccino’s and Pet
it Louve a lot, then you’ve probably met her brothers, Gio and Dominic, who run those restaurants.”
Like Anthony, Hannah was also human, so she must be another adopted relative or one of her parents was not a Lycan. “Oh, I understand. Nice to meet you, Hannah.”
“Oops, the line’s moving.” Anthony ushered his wife forward. “We’ve been waiting forever, so we better get moving. Blaise has been looking forward to this all day.”
“We’ll see you later!” Hannah said as she waved at them.
“I’m hungry,” Jacob moaned. “Let’s go get something to eat.”
“I can get with that,” Mika said as they headed out into the cold and toward the row of vendors.
“I want two of everything,” Jacob said, his eyes greedily looking at the various booths they passed.
“And I’ll have two of that—hey, where’s Lizzie?” Mika glanced around. “She was right behind us.”
It seemed they had lost their companion in the throng of people that had suddenly appeared. Despite the cold temperatures and the bitter cold wind whipping across the shore, the Winter Carnival was packed, probably because a famous band was going to put on a concert on the main stage.
Jacob had somehow snagged a hotdog and was stuffing it into his mouth. “I dunno,” he said between bites. “But she’s got a horrible sense of direction. Has this tendency to walk around in circles.” He swallowed and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “I’m not surprised she’s lost. Don’t worry, she’ll turn up.”
“Can we get some food please?” Mika said, her eyes growing wide as someone with a large pretzel walked past them.
“All right, but stick close to me, okay?” Delacroix tightened his hold around her. “I don’t want to lose you too.”
They stopped at almost every vendor, though the crush of people was preventing them from staying in one spot for too long. Mika already had two hotdogs, a plate of deep-fried chocolate cookies, and nachos when she whined for hot chocolate.
“But we already passed that booth,” he said in an exasperated voice.
“Please?” She pouted and put her hand over her belly.
He slapped a hand on his forehead. “All right, cher. But we have to turn back. Hang on to me …” Her grip tightened around his arm and she nodded.
Despite the throng of people, he managed to turn around and walk back toward the hot chocolate vendor. When he finally reached it, he turned back to Mika. “Which one—Mika?”
His heart stopped. She wasn’t behind him as he’d thought. He had been so busy trying to move through the crowd that he didn’t feel her hand slipping away. Scanning further behind, he didn’t see any sign of her. It was also too noisy, and there were too many scents in the air to try and follow her trail. “Mika!” he shouted over the sea of people. “Mika!”
She’s fine, he told himself. The crush got too much for her, and she was probably standing somewhere, getting some air. He waded through the crowd and ended up on a grassy patch behind the hotdog vendor’s stall. His eyes scanned the area, but there was no sign of her. Where was she?
Movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention. When he turned to follow it, he saw something in the distance—a pair of blue eyes glowing in the bushes.
No! Blood roared in his ears as he lunged forward. A very large, dark shape darted from the bushes and into the street. There was no mistaking it. It was a Lycan, and one that he knew all too well.
He chased it for two blocks, through the streets of trendy DUMBO until the Manhattan Bridge loomed overhead. The massive wolf stopped and turned around; teeth bared at him.
“Nice of you to join us, Delacroix. Ça va?”
He ground his teeth and turned around toward the source of the voice. “Alphonse?”
Alphonse Broussard’s mouth curled up into a cruel smile. “Hello, mon ami. Surprised to see me?”
Shock coursed through his system. What was the Beta of Pont Saint-Louis doing in New York?
“He don’t look too happy now, though.” Another figure emerged from the shadows, this time, a female with short blonde hair and cold blue eyes.
“Should I be, Zeline?” he mocked. “You’re in violation of Lycan law, showing up here without permission from Lucas Anderson.” Laws prevented Lycans from going into another clan’s territory without going through the proper channels.
“Fuck Lycan law,” Alphonse spat.
“You would risk your freedom and Remy’s wrath? You know he’d get in big trouble with the Lycan High Council.”
“Fuck them too,” Alphonse said. “Don’t tell me you’ve gone soft, mon ami, bending over for the ‘high and mighty’ council.”
“They don’t care about us and we don’t care about them,” Zeline spat.
“What the fuck do you want, then?” And what were they doing here? “Ah, of course. Remy’s still sending you to do his dirty work.”
A tick in the Beta’s jaw pulsed. “He sent us to take care of you.”
“Is he pissed about the transfer? That was over a year ago. I know teenagers who’ve gotten over their first love faster than that.”
“Still a smart ass, eh?” Alphonse said. “Maybe you’ll learn your place once we teach you a lesson.”
His muscles coiled with tension, ready to spring. “Three”—he counted the Lycan in wolf form whom he recognized as Jean-Baptiste, another of his former clan mates—“against one, doesn’t seem fair. For you guys I mean.” He quickly assessed the shadows around them, figuring out how to hop from one to another so he could deliver the most damage. Did Alphonse forget how his powers worked? He was an idiot, choosing this place to confront Delacroix.
“Not so fast, mon ami.” Alphonse gestured with a nod. “Wait until you see who we got.”
From afar, he could see a large figure approaching them whom he recognized as Thibault Fontenot, a huge and mean sonofabitch who carried out Broussard’s dirty work. He was dragging someone along, a female, from the silhouette.
Oh no. Mika. His chest tightened. They had her!
His wolf let out an angry, guttural sound and raked its claws against his skin. He forced it to remain calm. “If you’ve hurt her—”
“Get your filthy hands off me, you motherfucker!”
What?
While the voice was familiar, it was not Mika.
“I swear, I’m going to rip your balls off and make you eat them,” Lizzie screamed as Thibault hauled her forward. “What—Delacroix?” Her eyes went wide. “What’s going on?”
The relief he felt that it wasn’t Mika they’d snatched was short-lived. In fact, a part of him almost wished it was Mika, because his mate was not only trained in combat, but was also invulnerable to any harm. Lizzie, on the other hand, was neither, and while she was a Lycan, any of his former clan mates could rip her to shreds before she could even shift.
“Let her go.” He focused his gaze at Alphonse. “Remy wants me? Fine, I’ll come with you. But she has nothing to do with … us.”
“Gone soft for a bit of trim, have you?” Alphonse laughed. “I always thought you were a tough one, Delacroix. You even survived a goddamn bullet to the chest.”
His jaw hardened. So, Remy had sent the assassin for him? What the fuck was going on? “If you hurt her—”
“What will you do?”
He whipped around, and saw the wolf that had led him here had transformed back into its human form. Jean-Baptiste cracked his neck. “Does the carpet match the drapes?” He asked as he leered at Lizzie. “Mm-mmm, I’ve got an envie for some strawberry pie.”
Lizzie let out an outraged roar, but Thibault restrained her and placed a large hand over the lower half of her face. Her eyes filled with hate as she struggled against the giant, though to no avail as he kept his hold tight.
“I’ll do whatever you want,” Delacroix said. “I won’t fight … just let her go.” He knew what his former clan mates were capable of and wouldn’t put it past them to hurt Lizzie. And that sick bastard Jean-Baptiste had a well-e
arned reputation for hurting women; he even bragged about it.
“Oh, you will, Delacroix,” Alphonse sneered. “You’ll do anything we want. Don’t even try your little trick, because the moment you disappear, Thibault will snap her pretty neck.”
“Take me away then,” he said. “Restrain me. Lock me up. Do what you want.”
“You bet we—”
A bright, burning light streaking between them followed by a large explosion made Alphonse jerk back in surprise.
Jacob!
As another fireball streaked across the air, Delacroix knew he only had seconds to react, and he stepped back, melted into the shadow, then reappeared behind Alphonse to grab his arms and toss him clear across the street. He hit the side of a brick building with a large crash.
Glancing around, he saw Jacob was taking on Thibault, his flaming hands waving the giant away. Lizzie was on the ground, struggling to get to her feet when a wolf—Jean-Baptiste, who had shifted again—lunged at her, raking its claws down her back. She let out a blood-curdling scream.
“Lizzie!” He was about to run to her when another Lycan stepped into his path. Zeline’s she-wolf snapped its gigantic jaws at him, daring him to come.
Fuck. He hadn’t shifted yet, as it would take time and leave him vulnerable, and Zeline would surely take advantage of such an opening. His best chance of survival would be to run into the shadows and get away. But Jean-Baptiste had Lizzie pinned down on the ground, so that wasn’t an option.
Before he could act, a large, dark blur whizzed in front of him, knocking the female away. Two wolves rolled on the ground in a tangle of teeth, claws, and fur. The scent of lavender and spice wafted into his nose as he realized who the other wolf was, and his own wolf urged him to help their mate.
No, we have to trust her. Though his chest tightened, he knew Mika could hold out against Zeline. It was Lizzie he had to worry about, so he charged toward her. Jean-Baptiste was still on top of her, so he used his momentum to knock him away, then grabbed Lizzie and pulled her into the shadows. He carried her as far away as he could, emerging in the parking lot across the street, and lay her gently against the side of a parked van. “Stay still, Lizzie,” he said. “You’ll be fine.”
Shadow Wolf Page 16
