My studio? Drake's.
The door's unlocked, and I know they're waiting for me inside. I slip in and see them standing in front of Phoenix I. Drake's arms are crossed and Dean has his hands in his back pockets. They both start and turn toward me. Drake's big, sexy body seems to tower in the shadows, and Dean's muscled frame is just begging for me to wrap my arms around him.
"Hi," I say. I can barely breathe.
"This is... amazing," says Drake. "Did you make this today?"
I nod, suddenly shy. Other than Julia, they're the first ones to see it. Normally I don't let anybody outside my glassblowing team see my pieces until I've polished and prepared them to my high standards, but with Dean and Drake, I don't mind. It's intimate for them to see Phoenix I this way. It makes me feel vulnerable and exposed in a way that's akin to standing naked in front of them, and I realize that I don't mind.
Dean stays quiet. His face is dark, his brows lowered. He's studying me as I drift closer. I stop, and we stand there, a triangle in the gloom of the studio.
"What's going on, Kiera?" Drake's voice is soft.
Where to begin? How to tell them what's tearing me apart without driving them away? Struggling to keep my nerves under control, I decide to start from the beginning. "I finished a number of pieces today. This was the first. The others -" I move to the row of refrigerators and open one of the doors. The werewolves step up next to me, and I'm intensely aware of their bodies beside mine. But they stare past me at Phoenix II. We stand there in silence for a moment, and then Dean blows a low whistle.
"Damn," he says. "You're good, Kiera."
I duck my head and curl a strand of hair behind my ear, and I can feel a heat in my face that says I'm blushing crazily. "Thanks."
Drake turns to me. "So how is this a problem?" Oh, his voice. I could drown in his voice. Deep and powerful.
"Because." I don't want to say it. I don't want to ruin this. But I have to be honest with them. I have to. "Because Harrowgate - the company that's holding the competition? They really liked my work today. They - they offered me a job in Charleston if I win the competition."
"Charleston?" Dean's golden eyes flare wide. "South Carolina?"
"Yeah," I say, and I can't meet his gaze. "Artist in Residence," I whisper.
They stand there, stunned. My stomach is doing back flips. I feel nauseated.
"Are you going to take it?" Dean's voice is cold.
I risk a glance up at him. The darkness is getting so thick that I can barely make out his features. "That's why I wanted to talk to you guys. It's... it's really an unbelievable opportunity."
"I knew it," says Dean with a mocking laugh. "You're leaving us already."
Drake reaches out to grasp Dean's shoulder. "That's not what she said."
Dean shakes Drake's hand off. "Not yet, at any rate. If she wanted to stay with us, she'd have said no to Harrowgate. Right?" He turns to me. It breaks my heart to hear the pain in his voice. "You just want our blessing to go. That's why you called us here. You want our permission to ditch us again so you'll feel better about it this time."
My eyes go wide. Is he right? I don't know. I feel like screaming. How can I not know what I want? How can I be so perfectly torn? I step forward, reaching for Dean, but he steps back violently to avoid my touching him.
"No," he says. "Don't touch me. I should have known. Should have known better than to think you were really coming back. What were we, a quick fuck down memory lane? You scratch your itch, now it's back to business and bigger things?"
"No," I say in a horrified whisper. "That's not it. Please, Dean, you have to understand -"
"Have to?" His voice is cruel. "I don't have to do anything. You want my blessing? You've got it. Go to Charleston. Go be famous and rich. Prioritize your career. But don't you dare come back here. Don't you dare come back, because this time, you'd best be leaving for good."
"Dean!" Tears are burning my eyes. "I haven't decided -"
"Whatever," he says, and brushes past me, heading toward the door.
Drake strides after him, but just then the studio door opens, and two people step inside. It's so dark that I can't make out who they are. One of them reaches out and flips a light switch, and everything lights up starkly.
My jaw drops. It's Marv and Leena. And Marv's holding a gun.
Chapter 14
"Marv?" It's so weird to see him here that all I can do is gape. Both he and Leena look like kids caught with their hands inside the cookie jar, and I can tell they clearly didn't expect to see the three of us standing in here.
"Leena?" Dean's voice is as confused as my own. "What..." But he trails off. The gun that Marv shakily raises to point at him is an answer in itself.
"Dammit," hisses Leena.
Marv's gone as pale as a ghost, and his gun is trembling in his hand. My stomach clenches. This is when he's at his most dangerous. Marv's like a cornered rat. Scare him, don't give him time to think and he'll do something ridiculously stupid.
Like shoot a werewolf.
"Put the gun down," says Drake, stepping forward, hands raised in a placating way.
"You said the place was empty!" whines Marv, shooting Leena a furious look. "What the hell?"
"A mistake," says Leena, and I have to admire her for her self-possession. In just a matter of seconds she's regained control of herself. "But now here we are. We're going to have to play the hand we were dealt."
"What?" Marv's voice reaches an even higher pitch of whininess.
"Put down the gun," says Dean, voice hard. "Drake and I are werewolves. Shoot us, and it will be the last thing you do."
Marv's eyes go wide. He looks Dean up and down, and then at the massive Drake, and I see sweat break out across his brow. "Werewolves?"
Leena sighs irritably. "I forgot to mention that. Regardless. Dean. I'm acting crazy here because I can't stand to be without you."
It's amazing. Halfway through her sentence, her whole attitude and voice change. From ice cold queen bitch she suddenly melts into a helpless girl. Her eyes go large, her lower lip trembles, and I swear, I can see the wheels spinning in her mind as she adapts to this new situation.
I step up, suddenly furious. "What the hell were you two planning to do in here?"
"Do?" Marv grins at me, but it's an awful expression, all fear and hatred. "That should be obvious, even to an idiot like you."
Everything clicks. "Did you come in here to destroy my work?"
Marv's getting his groove back. He takes a deep breath and then winks at me. "Call me competitive. I just really want to win."
"Leena," says Dean. His voice could carve furrows in a sheet of iron. "What are you doing with this guy?"
"Oh, Dean. I had to find a way to protect you from that evil woman." She points a long fingernail at me. "I knew she was going to hurt you. Break your heart. Use you and discard you like a piece of trash. So I did the only thing I could think of. I called Marv, and asked him to come expose her for the whore she is."
Drake shakes his head. "What are you talking about?"
Dean's staring at her. I can see his fury at me, at my revelation, propelling him to try to believe her.
"No," I say. "Dean, she's lying through her teeth. Marv's the guy who stole my company. Why would they come here with a gun?"
"To protect ourselves, obviously," says Leena. "A crazy bitch like you, who knows what you'd try to do when you were exposed?"
I want to strangle her. Her words just barely make enough sense that Dean's actually listening instead of laughing in her face. I've never, ever met someone so evil and manipulative.
"So, what," asks Dean, and I almost sag with relief to hear the incredulity in his voice. "You were going to protect Dean by breaking into what you thought was an empty studio with a gun?"
Leena's eyes flash with hatred, but she nods vigorously. "Exactly. We were going to get proof that - that Kiera doesn't love you. That she's just using you."
"And you needed Marv to do that?" I ask acidly.
"Of course." Leena's smile is wide. "He knows you for the lying tramp you are."
It's too much. I start forward, and then stop as Marv turns the gun to point it at my chest. "No closer," he says.
I shake my head as I stare at him. "First you use me to pay all your bills. Then you steal my company and everything I have. Now you point a gun at me?"
"Lower that weapon," growls Drake. "I won't ask again."
"Dean," says Leena. "Please. I love you. You have to see her for what she is. An opportunistic nightmare just waiting to break your heart again."
"Don't listen to her," I say. "Dean." I step up to him, and turn his face toward mine. "You know how I really feel about you."
"Do I?" His voice is quiet. "You're leaving for Charleston."
Leena crows with delight. "See? I knew it!"
Drake takes a step toward Marv, who tightens his finger on the trigger. "I may not be able to hurt you with this, but I can hurt her. Not one more step, Mr. Wolfman."
Drake and Dean both growl at that, a sound so low and menacing that Marv's smile wipes completely off his face.
"Dean," whispers Leena. "I love you. I need you. Come to me."
"Please, Dean," I say. "Please don't listen to her."
He looks to me again. There are gulfs of pain in the depths of his eyes. "And why should I listen to you?"
"Because I -" I stop. This is it. The moment of truth. I have to choose. No more hedging. No more waiting. I need to pick what I want in my life. Love, or my art career?
Dean's eyes are golden and burn with a searing passion. His soul is open to me in that moment, and I can see how much that evening by the river scarred him. How he stopped trusting himself for driving me away. How he blamed himself for ruining everything. And how now, at long last, a little flame of hope has started burning within him again. A flame I've nearly blown right back out.
Marv snorts. "You always were a liar, Kiera." I look back to him. "You said you loved me, and then two days after we break up, you're in bed with two other men. You said you don't want to charge high prices, and as soon as you leave me, you're fighting for the same contract." His voice oozes with contempt. "You're nothing but a lying, manipulative whore."
Click. I blink. Something just connected in my mind. My argument with Marv comes back to me in a flash. I never wanted to charge high prices, because I wanted my art to be accessible to people like my mom and dad. Because what mattered to me wasn't the money, or the fame, but that my art was real, and that anybody could enjoy it.
Harrowgate could give me that platform, so that the world could see my art - but I don't need that platform to be an artist. I can make my art right here and share it with people like my parents. I might not have the global reach that Harrowgate would give me, but is that what I truly want? No. What I truly want is to create art that touches people's lives, whether that's in Tokyo, London, or here in Honeycomb Falls.
And like that, my decision is made. I smile, and Marv seems to find the expression so disconcerting that he actually takes a step back. "What?"
"Thank you, Marv. For reminding me who I am. For reminding me what's really important to me."
"What?" He's bewildered. "What are you talking about?"
I'm not afraid of him anymore. Instead, I feel pity. His life is ruled by jealousy, fear, and greed. He's a small man. A weak man. I begin to walk toward him. "The opportunity to work as Harrowgate's Artist in Residence blinded me. But you've helped me see again. What matters to me is the moment when I'm creating my art, not what happens after."
"Stop!" His voice cracks. "Stop, or I'll shoot!"
"Harrowgate is an amazing honor, but I don't need honors. I don't need fame. I just need my pipes and furnace and glass."
"I'm warning you!" His gun is moving in crazy circles as he backs toward the door.
"Kiera," hisses Drake. "Stop!"
"Thank you, Marv. You can have the money. You can have the Harrowgate contract. In five years, you'll have lost it all. Because you can't create. You can only take." He twitches, but I know he's too much of a coward to ever pull that trigger. "All I need to do is create. And I can do that right here. With Drake and Dean." I turn to look at them, tears in my eyes, and smile. "I want to stay. I want to stay with you both. Forever."
Marv whimpers and lowers the gun. "For crying out loud," says Leena.
"And you," I say, turning to her. "You're even more pathetic than Marv. You're hollow. You're poisonous. You can only ruin things, and what's worse, you enjoy doing that."
Leena rolls her eyes, as if she's bored by my words.
"You act superior and cruel, but the truth is that you're running. You can't stop. You can't stand to be by yourself, can you? You need to be hurting somebody. You need to be making other people feel pain." I study her perfect face as her eyes go wide. "Why is that? Is it because you can't stand to think of your pain? You must have been horribly hurt when you were younger. What did they do to you, to make you like this? What are you running from?"
"That is quite enough," says Leena, her voice brittle. She leans over and snatches the gun from Marv's nerveless hands. "You may be able to browbeat this miserable worm of a man, but not me."
"Leena," says Dean, and he steps up to stand next to me. "Put the gun down."
Leena laughs. "Don't you see? She doesn't understand you, Dean." She raises the gun and points it at me. "She doesn't know the real you. Not like I do. I know what you are, Dean. You're broken. Like me. You're in pain. Like I am. I understand you. I love you. Those dark urges of yours? I welcome them. Your desire to hurt people? I want you to hurt me. We're perfect together. Come with me. You will never be happy with this woman. Not in the way I can make you happy."
I can't breathe. A wild, hopeful light burns in Leena's eyes. Her smile is wide, confident. I glance at Dean, and his face is as inscrutable as stone. My heart squeezes. Is Leena right? Is Dean broken? Has the pain of the past six years really twisted him so?
"I'm sorry, Leena," he says at last. "You're right. I am broken. I am in pain. And I've done things with you that I'll regret for the rest of my life. But Kiera is my chance to step back into the light. Kiera is my chance to start again. And if I'm given that chance at real love, if I'm given that chance at redemption, I'll take it every time."
Leena's smile holds for a moment longer even as tears fill her eyes. "No. You don't mean that. You're mine."
"No, Leena." Dean reaches out and folds his fingers around the barrel of the gun. "I'm not."
"You're mine," says Leena, her voice quavering. "Mine!" There's a terrible bang as she pulls the trigger.
I scream, and Dean staggers back. He looks down at the flowering of blood on the front of his shirt, then back up at Leena.
"Oh," she says, and drops the gun. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean -"
Dean growls. He shivers, and then hunches his shoulders. Fur explodes from his skin, and his face elongates into a snout. He rises into the air, growing to seven feet in height, and in a matter of moments the drop-dead gorgeous man has been replaced by the creature of my nightmares.
Leena's eyes go completely wide, and then she and Marv turn and scramble out the door, sprinting down the hall and out into the night.
Dean's growl is terrible to hear. It seems to come from the darkest recesses of my mind. It's completely predatory, and I feel like prey.
He places his hand to his gut, and it comes away bloody. His lips writhe back from his fangs, and I see the bullet hole close over as his supernatural healing kicks in.
It's too much. I feel like I'm eighteen again, in those dark woods, terrified to my core. Dean turns to me, his golden eyes glowing.
I step back, into Drake's arms. "Shhh," he whispers, holding me tight. "It's OK."
Dean steps toward me. He towers over me, massive and lethal. His fur is a brown so dark it's almost black. Long talons extend from his hands. His legs are bent back like those of a wolf. I can smell him, a rich, loamy, wild smell. He's
inhuman. A killer.
He's Dean.
My heart racing a million miles an hour, I step forward. It's the hardest thing I've ever done. I leave Drake's arms, and step up to the monster. The creature from whom I've run these past six years. He lowers his great head, and I raise my shaking hand. Run my fingers over his pelt, down the length of his terrible jaw. His eyes almost close, and I realize his growl has changed to a rumble of pleasure.
I let out a breathless laugh, and glance over my shoulder at Drake, who is grinning right back. Dean takes a deep breath, and then shifts back down to his human form. It takes but a few seconds, and then he's standing there before me, naked and virile and sexier than hell.
Dean. The monster from whom I've fled. The man I love. The werewolf I want to spend the rest of my life with.
He steps up to me, comes right in close, and takes my hands in his. My eyes crawl down the length of his perfect body, and I see his tattoo for the first time. It's the Conway River, waterfalling over his shoulder, and pouring across his torso in a torrent. It's stunningly beautiful, done by a real artist.
"Did you mean it?" His voice is soft. I have to wake up. This has to be a dream.
"Yes," I whisper.
"You'll stay?" Drake steps up behind me.
I look up at him. "Yes." Tears are in my eyes. Tears of joy.
"The three of us, together?" Dean's voice is soft with disbelief. "You'll be our mate?"
"Yes," I say again, grinning through my tears. "Yes, yes, yes, yes."
Chapter 15
Dean's gaze is laser intense. "Then we're going to take you now, and mark you as ours."
"Now?" My voice comes out in a squeak.
"Now," says Dean. "We're both going to fuck you at the same time, and claim you so that no other shifter will have any doubt. You'll be our permanent mate, and we'll be yours."
I want to gulp, but I can't swallow. Now? I thought maybe we'd date a little longer, maybe there was some kind of ritual - but no. How much better could I get to know them? I know them better than anybody else in the world. We're going to mate, now, here, and I realize I want it more than anything in the world.
Between Two Wolves and a Hard Place: (BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance) (Honeycomb Falls Book 4) Page 9
