Instead of telling her what would be a confusing truth, Lucas nodded. “Pleased to meet you,” he said, crouching down to put himself at her level. “I’m glad you’re feeling better.”
She nodded, then winced. “My head hurts.” Before Blythe could respond, she peeked up at her through her long eyelashes. “Mama, you said you got me away from that bad man?”
“Yes.” Blythe hastened to reassure her. “Far, far away. You’re safe now.”
Rather than appearing relieved, Hailey frowned. “What about the other kids, Mama? Did you bring them, too?”
Heart sinking, Blythe looked over her shoulder at Lucas, who appeared as stunned by the words as she’d been. “Other kids?” she asked carefully. “What do you mean, honey?”
Hailey sighed. “He had more kids—they let me play with them before they gave me the shot that made me sleepy. They’re like me, Mama. Shifters,” she said, her voice worried. “There’s Erin and Susie and Jonathan.”
“Is that all?” Lucas asked.
“I don’t know.” Hailey bit her lip. “There’s probably more, but I’m not sure. I didn’t get to play with them all. They kept us in different rooms, like at preschool.”
Hellhounds. What on earth was Jacob Gideon up to?
Judging from the shock and horror Lucas tried to hide, whatever it was wouldn’t be good.
“Why didn’t you save them, too?” Hailey asked, looking from her mother to Lucas and back again.
Though she felt queasy, Blythe managed to sound normal, at least to herself. “We didn’t know about them, baby.”
“Oh.” But Hailey persisted. “But you do now. And you’ll help them, too, right?”
Blythe swallowed hard. How could she answer that? “Let me see what I can find out, okay?”
Content, Hailey nodded. Her eyes drifted closed, and she slid back into a deep sleep.
Swallowing, Blythe took a deep breath. How she wished she could simply fold her arms around Hailey’s small body and go off to sleep, too. If she could, she might wake up to find that none of this was real.
Unfortunately, she didn’t have that option. One glance at the tortured look in Lucas’s eyes told her he realized it, too.
Things were worse, much worse, than either of them could have imagined.
* * *
Moving quietly, Blythe crossed to Lucas. He jerked his head, motioning her to move away from where Hailey lay slumbering on the sofa. “Not here,” he mouthed.
She followed him back to a small bedroom. “Did you hear that? There are more children,” she said, keeping her voice low, though it shook with her effort to keep from exploding.
Lucas looked as if he wanted to punch something. “I know. I can’t believe that bastard. We’ve got to help them.”
“But we can’t save them all just by ourselves. We’re going to need assistance.”
He barely hesitated. “I agree. This has gone beyond the scope of anything I might have imagined. We have no idea what kind of experiments he might have run on those poor kids. We’ve got to get them out.”
They stared at each other. “But how?” Blythe finally asked. “I can’t endanger Hailey.”
“Of course not.” He swallowed. “We’ve got to let your Pack know. Even if it does involve those Protectors you seem so afraid of. Call them and arrange a meeting. We’ll tell them everything we know and see what they suggest.”
“Now?” she asked. This was huge and they both knew it.
“Yes, now. The sooner the better.”
Hands shaking, she retrieved the number and used the untraceable cell phone to make the call. Rather than give elaborate details over the phone to a secretary, she simply requested a face-to-face talk with a Protector. Since Lucas had excellent Wi-Fi, she agreed that it could be on Skype.
“Eight o’clock tonight,” she told Lucas. “I think you should sit in.”
He gave her a quizzical look. “Is that allowed since I’m not Pack?”
“Who cares? This is urgent.” Her voice rose slightly. They both glanced at the door, listening. Finally, Blythe went back to the den to check on Hailey, who continued to sleep.
Returning, feeling itchy and restless and uncomfortable in her own skin, she inhaled sharply.
“Are you okay?” he asked, staring at her.
“Sorry,” she said. “I’m tense and tired.” The instant she finished speaking, her wolf maneuvered to rise to the surface. For a moment, she battled her beast, finally pushing it back down deep inside her. This earned her a low growl from his, who obviously sensed what was going on.
Lucas, however, clearly didn’t. “What the hell was that?” he asked, sounding shocked.
“Your wolf, reacting to mine.”
He scratched his head. “Why?”
“Probably because I’m at the end of my rope. Out of sorts. This has all been... I need to go outside and change,” she told him. “Blow off some steam.”
He inhaled sharply, but didn’t argue. Encouraged, she pressed on. “Do you mind keeping an eye on Hailey? She’s still sleeping and I doubt she’ll wake up for a little while. I promise I won’t be gone long.”
A look of such yearning crossed his handsome features that she stopped dead in her tracks. “Or not,” she said.
“No, it’s all right. No problem,” he said quietly, once again expressionless. “Though my wolf wants to change and hunt with yours, I can manage until you return.”
“I’ll wait.” Decision made, she pushed her wolf down. “I’ll survive.”
“It’s okay, really.” Hand on her shoulder, he steered her in the direction of the door. The feel of his large fingers seared her, even through her T-shirt, making her ache to turn and press her entire body into him.
Closing her eyes briefly, she took a deep, shuddering breath. The sooner she got out of here, the better.
“Fine. You talked me into it,” she managed, reaching an instant decision. “We’ll all be better after.”
Then, before she could change her mind again, she handed him the cell phone. “I’ll leave this here, just in case someone from the Protector’s office calls back.”
His impassive face revealed nothing. “Have fun,” he said, pushing past her toward the kitchen. Once there, he turned his back, effectively dismissing her as he pretended to rummage through the pantry.
Finally, she turned away. She’d never felt such a connection—with a man trying with all his might to let her go.
Chapter 12
Moving quickly, she stripped off her clothing and strode to the door. She barely registered Lucas’s harsh intake of breath at seeing her naked. In a second she’d moved past him, and stepped outside. The chilly night air hit her bare skin like a slap. She inhaled as she hurried down the porch steps, ignoring the cold on her unprotected human flesh as she headed out into the woods.
But until she vanished into the trees, she felt the heat of his gaze like a laser aimed at her back.
The forest was alive with night sounds. Standing absolutely still, she listened, well aware they’d all cease the instant she became wolf.
Finally, she had to let her wolf self free. Dropping to the ground, she began the process of the change, grinning savagely as her bones lengthened and her body changed. The pain was always fleeting, though she welcomed it. She’d always looked at it as a sort of rebirth.
When she rose, she was fully wolf. As usual, her view of everything had changed, led by scent rather than sight. And the smells! Her wolf heart skipped a joyous beat.
Crashing through the underbrush, heedless of what other creatures might hear that warned them of her presence, she ran. And ran, and ran.
Time—as humans knew it—had no meaning to her when she was wolf. It might have been several hours, it might have been less, but she gave her beast full rein and hunted, and explored, and ran some more.
Later, pleasantly exhausted, she returned to the spot where she’d started. This night, she’d filled the well inside her dual nature. Now her inn
er wolf was finally content.
The time had come for her to return to reality and hope the Protectors had called.
Pushing away the lingering resentment that her wolf nature felt, she began the process to reverse the change.
She shifted back to human, admitting that she felt a hundred times better. Despite the shocking rush of cold air to her unprotected skin, her entire body felt loose limbed, relaxed. Better.
As she strode in the direction of the cabin, she decided she’d send Lucas out with instructions not to return until he’d changed. Hopefully it would help him as much as it had her.
The night air carried a deeper, crisper chill as she walked back up the cabin porch steps. Leaves crunched underfoot, and the scent of wood smoke lent a holiday feel to the air, even though it was only mid-September.
She inhaled deeply, allowing herself to enjoy the peace as long as it lasted. Which wouldn’t be long. The instant she went back inside, she had to start thinking about the Protectors and Jacob Gideon’s Sanctuary.
As she opened the door and entered the cabin, Lucas froze, staring. It appeared he’d been pacing. Her cell phone sat untouched on the table.
His gaze slid rapidly over her naked body, making her flush. The smoldering flame in his eyes made her flush all over, sending a dizzying current racing through her blood.
This would never work. While she was not blind to the simmering attraction between them, they’d both need to move past it.
It appeared he still hadn’t developed the Shifter’s lack of inhibitions. No matter. Being around her would help him with that. Trying her best to appear unabashedly unashamed, she strode to where she’d left her clothes and began getting dressed.
When she finally turned around fully clothed, she realized Lucas hadn’t moved.
“No one called,” he told her, his voice thick and unsteady. “Evidently whoever relayed the message in your Pack Protector organization assigned it a low priority.”
Just like that, the feeling of peace vanished, to be replaced by a pit in her stomach. “I’ll call them back.”
“Good,” he said, not looking at her.
As she moved close to him, she realized he was aroused. Completely and utterly aroused.
The knowledge sent a ripple of excitement through her. Forcing herself to remember that this was just because he’d seen her naked, she tamped it down. Though it was only physical, neither of them could allow something like that to get in between them. She suspected he knew this, too.
Once again, she’d forgotten he hadn’t been raised with typical Shifters who take nakedness in stride. He reacted to her like a human male, visually aroused by the sight of unclothed femininity.
She might have smiled if she hadn’t been so damn turned on herself. Worse, to her shock, she had to fight the urge to brush her body up against him like a cat in heat.
Heart pounding, the flush of need, of desire, stunned and angered her. She had more self-control than this. So of course, she promptly shoved her attraction to him deep inside of her, to be taken out and examined when she was able to think clearly.
“I’ll phone again while you go change,” she managed, her own voice a bit husky. “Surprisingly, it really helped to let myself be a wolf for a while. A good run and hunt will do wonders for you.” And your arousal, she added silently.
He shook his head. “Maybe later.”
Since she didn’t want to push, she simply nodded, unsure of what else she could say or do, other than the obvious.
He seemed to sense this. “I’ll be outside, on the porch,” he said, striding to the door and disappearing before she even had a chance to react. No doubt the cool night air would help him.
And she had to get herself under control. She had to make that call. No matter how badly her stomach knotted at the thought of contacting the Protectors.
Leaving her cell phone on the table, first she went to check on Hailey. She watched her daughter sleep all tucked up in her blanket. Blythe’s feelings of tenderness were muted with a sudden, fierce rage. How dare someone like Jacob Gideon hurt her baby? And all those other children—where were their parents? Did any of them have any idea what the people at Sanctuary were doing to their children?
She’d find out soon enough.
Quickly, she returned to the kitchen and grabbed her phone. Punching redial, she waited impatiently for someone to answer. This time, instead of a live person, she got an answering machine.
Voice vibrating with frustration, she left a message.
“Did you get ahold of anyone?” Lucas asked from behind her, making her jump at the sound of his voice. She hadn’t heard him come back inside.
She swallowed hard, raising her face and meeting his gaze. “No. I left another message,” she said. “This time, I stressed that it was high priority. I’m thinking someone will realize that and call me back.”
“Good.” Dusting his hands on the front of his jeans, he moved closer. “I thought your Pack Protectors would at least be on the ball. What if someone was dying? How long would they take to do something?”
He had a point. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “I’ve never had to call them before. I never wanted to.”
“You keep alluding to something about them. Don’t you think it’s time you told me?”
“Some things are better left unsaid.”
The disappointment in his expression was almost more than she could bear. To cover, she continued. “I dialed the number for my local Pack representative and got the Protector’s number from the recorded info. Maybe regular Shifters just don’t ring them up. Maybe you have to be referred. I don’t know.”
“We need to find out,” he grumbled, crossing his arms. Clearly, his mood hadn’t improved. “We can’t take a chance and involve human law enforcement, since we don’t know who he’s bought off.”
His words made her realize something. At the thought, she gasped. “What if...” Feeling a bit paranoid, she bit her lip. “The woman I spoke with didn’t sound all that concerned. Is it possible she might be...?”
“Working for Jacob?”
She nodded. “Exactly.”
“That’s highly unlikely. Aren’t all the people who work for the Society of Protectors, or whatever they’re called, aren’t they all Pack?”
Just like that, that particular worry evaporated. “I’m jumping at shadows. Yes, of course they are. Jacob’s not.”
“And since there’s no way a Shifter would ally himself or herself with a group like his, you’re safe.”
“We’re safe,” she corrected. “We’re in this together, remember?”
He stared. “Are we?”
“Of course. You know that, right? We both want to stop your father, and we have to save any other children he might have taken.”
Slowly, he nodded. “True,” he said. She couldn’t help but notice how studiously he avoided meeting her gaze. Why? Because she didn’t trust him enough to tell him everything? How could he hold that against her, when she knew he kept secrets from her, too?
Maybe it was more simple—perhaps he worried his thoughts might show in his face. Did he really think she hadn’t noticed his desire?
She wanted him, too. And when the time was right, she’d let him know. But this, this was far more important. There were children’s lives at stake. They needed to be able to work together, as a team. For the first time, she wondered if they’d ever learn to trust each other.
“Trust has to be earned,” she told him, speaking her thoughts out loud. “I get that. But you need to realize we’re partners. That is, if you want to be. Honestly, I wouldn’t blame you if you ran away from this as fast as you could.”
He snorted. “Like I would. I’m the one who rescued you, remember? But you’re right, trust does have to be earned.”
True enough. And one of them had to make the first move. “Speaking of trust...” She twisted her hands, finally jamming them in her pockets, and strode over to the window. “About the Protectors. I h
aven’t told you everything. There’s a good reason why I’ve avoided contacting them. I’m afraid they’ll take Hailey.”
“Why?” Clearly puzzled, he cocked his head. “I don’t understand your logic.”
“Because she’s more than just a Shifter,” she finally said, her voice low and full of the fear that had dodged her since she’d learned that the Protectors had issued a call for all parents of her daughter’s kind. She didn’t know how he’d react. “She’s also a Griffon.”
* * *
Though clearly, from the sound of her voice, this information was important, Lucas had never heard the word before. “What do you mean?”
“A Griffon is more than a Halfling. They’re a cross between a Shifter and another species other than human. Like Vampire or Fae. Evidently, whoever made that donation at the sperm bank, er...didn’t tell them the whole truth. Naturally.”
While this might be mind-boggling to her, he still didn’t understand why it would be such a big deal. “Is this common?”
“More than you might think,” she admitted.
“Then why would your Pack Protectors take her?”
“To protect her.” She swallowed hard. “Or so they say.”
“From what?”
“Everything. Even among our kind—and other supernatural species—the Griffons are valuable. A few years ago a powerful Vampire Huntress did the same sort of thing as Jacob. She captured a bunch of Griffon children and tried to use their powers for her own advantage.”
He still didn’t get it. “Powers? What do you mean, exactly? Can they do things that other Halflings cannot?”
Expression solemn, she nodded. “We don’t yet know the full extent of what they can do. There has been a lot of talk that they are the future of our people.”
Dragging his fingers through his hair, he tried to understand, then shook it off. “You can teach me all this stuff later. We’ve got to focus on what’s going on right now. You say the Protectors might want to take Hailey so they can protect her, right?”
Slowly, she nodded. “A law was passed a few years ago that said any Griffon child in danger should be turned over to them. I figured it’d simply be a matter of time before that was amended to any Griffon child, whether they were in danger or not.”
The Lost Wolf's Destiny (The Pack) Page 16
