Dark Wolf Unbound (Heart of the Shifter #2)

by Stephanie Rowe

  “Leave under the light of the moon,” he finally said, his voice rough. “It’s the only time that exit is accessible.”

  Jace glanced at his watch. “Twelve hours.”

  Abby closed her eyes. Twelve hours until they had to leave the safety of Kiernan’s lair. Twelve hours until there would be nothing between her and Lucius except distance that would be closing quickly. Thirty-six hours until there would be no turning back for Seth. Twelve hours was too soon to face Lucius and Grigori, but it wasn’t soon enough to go after Seth.

  But they had no choice. The clock would continue to tick, and in twelve hours, they had to be ready. “Okay.”

  Jace squeezed her shoulder, then turned away and walked back to the couch. “We’re leaving tonight,” he announced. “Drake, build a psychic connection with Savannah to see if she can show you the way in her mind.”

  Savannah glanced at Drake, stiffening. “I don’t want to be psychically connected with anyone. No offense, but Lucius did that to me, and I can’t do that again.”

  Drake crouched in front of her, his hands resting lightly on the couch on either side of her knees. “I won’t betray you.”

  His promise was simple, his words brief, but he didn’t look away from her. His gaze was steady, his body strong, but non-threatening. Roarke’s eyes opened slightly, and he met Drake’s gaze. After a moment, Roarke nodded. “I trust him.” He closed his eyes again. “He’s okay.”

  Savannah’s face was pale, and Abby’s heart bled for her. She knew the fear that haunted Savannah, because she lived it too. “Drake, don’t make her—”

  But to her surprise, Savannah nodded. “Okay. But we do it here with everyone around.”

  Drake nodded. “Of course.”

  He held out his hand, and after a long moment, Savannah slipped her hand into his. Her blue eyes were wide as she watched Drake, but there was hope in them, hope that there really was a man worth trusting in this world full of men like Lucius.

  Jace leaned over Abby’s shoulder. “That’s how you look at me,” he whispered to her. “It’s a gift no man ever forgets.”

  She turned to face him. “You make me feel treasured.”

  “You are.” He hesitated, as if he were going to say something else, then he shook his head. “We need to practice the song, Abby.” His voice was suddenly tense. “It’s the only weapon they have that can defeat me. I need to have it under my control by the time we go out there. Is twelve hours enough?”

  Her heart softened. “Jace, one minute is enough. You won’t hurt me.”

  He pressed a kiss to her knuckle. “Don’t be blind, Abby. Your love can’t accomplish the impossible.”

  She stiffened at his words, as if the feelings were completely one-sided, as if she were some naïve schoolgirl who thought that love could change the world. “No,” she said. “But yours can.”

  He went still. “Mine?” he echoed.

  “Yes.” Hurt echoed through her at the denial on his face.

  Jace released her hand. “Abby,” he said quietly. “Don’t lie to yourself about what I am. I’m an alpha, and my duty is to my pack. I have to do whatever it takes to protect them. I’ve had to kill my own pack members before to protect the others. I can’t do that if I cross that line and allow myself to care. My attachment has to remain distant.” Regret flickered in his eyes. “Not even for you.”

  “Stop it.” She held up her hand. “You’re such a fool, Jace. Don’t you understand that your ability to love is what makes you different from Grigori and Lucius? That’s what makes you strong enough to fight that song. You love your pack, Drake, and even me.”

  “No.” He caught her wrist and dragged her over to him, feral anger in his eyes. “Don’t ever trust me. Do you understand?” His fingers tightened on her wrist. “Do you understand?” His eyes shifted to wolf, and heat poured off his body. She froze, alarmed by the sudden change in him.

  “Jace—”

  “Look at me, Abby. Look at me. I’m the man who murdered your sister. I could not stop myself. Do not trust me. How many men has that song turned into killers who murdered their own loved ones?”

  “That’s diff—”

  “How many?”

  She swallowed. “Hundreds.” So many men who’d killed the ones they’d loved.

  “I’m not different, except for the fact I’m trained to kill. I’m better at it than anyone else, and don’t ever forget it.”

  His voice was so cold that chills raced down her spine. Where was the man who’d been so tender with her when they had been making love? Now, he was dominant alpha male, a deadly shifter who was pushing her away. His gaze was unflinching, so hard and cold that she stepped back. She could see the killer in him now, the dominant male who would never stand down in the face of a threat.

  He nodded with satisfaction, then turned back to Kiernan, who had stopped pacing to watch the exchange. “What do you do when they pipe in the music?”

  “I have a cage, and I also developed headphones that distort the song enough.”

  “The cage it is. I’ll go in there when Abby sings to me. Where is it?”

  Abby’s heart sank. Jace wanted to lock himself up like a wild animal, instead of the honorable man he was? But when she saw the fierce, cold look in his eyes, she knew that’s exactly what he intended.

  Chapter 18

  Jace forced his body to stay relaxed as Kiernan’s living room wall slid back to reveal a steel cage with bars so close together that even a small wolf could not get through. The steel bars were shiny, glittering at him as if they were taunting him for his weakness.

  Every instinct inside him howled in protest at the idea of locking himself up. Doing so would render him unable to protect anyone. He would be useless, completely disempowered, which violated everything that defined him.

  Kiernan handed out headphones to Drake, Roarke, and Savannah, even though no one had any evidence that Abby’s song affected female shifters the same way as it did males. They didn’t want to take the chance.

  What if the headphones didn’t work? What if Abby sang and the other shifters in the room came after her? The thought made fear grip him so strongly that for a moment, he couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t even conceive of being trapped in that cage, helplessly watching as the others turned on her. Jesus. No way. No way could he take that risk.

  “Ready?” Kiernan said.

  “No.” Jace turned away. “Abby goes in the cage.”

  She blanched. “Me?”

  “It’s the only way to protect her from everyone.” He swept his hand across the room. “Every one of us is a danger to her once she starts singing. What if the headphones don’t work? What if they fall off? She needs to be protected from all of us.”

  Abby looked ashen. “I can’t. You don’t understand, Jace. I was trapped by Lucius. I can’t—” She started to back up, away from the cage. “I can’t be trapped like that. I—”

  Shit. He held out his hand to stay her, his icy veneer cracking under her fear. You make it so fucking difficult to be cold.

  She stopped, her eyes widening. “Did you just say that in my head?”

  Shit. Why was he getting intimate with her? He needed to keep his distance, not bind them more tightly. Psychic communication was only for other wolves in his pack, and even then, he didn’t use it much, because he didn’t want to open those ties too much with the others. Keeping his distance was important for him to do his job. No, I didn’t. You’re imagining things.

  Her eyebrows went up. Liar.

  Her voice was like warm sunshine wrapping around him, and he swore. He liked it way too much. So, he glared at her, and turned his attention to Kiernan, who looked pissed.

  “My headphones never fail.” Kiernan’s voice was cold. “She’ll be safe from us.” He gave a steady glare at Jace. “It’s you she must fear. Only you.”

  Shit. What kind of words were those? The only woman that mattered to him had to fear him. Jesus. He’d become a monster, the antithesi
s of everything he stood for. He ground his jaw, trying to keep himself focused enough to address the problem. “I don’t know if the headphones work, Kiernan. I have no idea if you’re reliable or not. There’s no way I can trust her life to technology I can’t verify.”

  “I’m a healer,” Kiernan said. “I heal. I don’t hurt. She is one of my patients, which means I would never risk harm to her.” His voice had darkened, laced with the roughness of his wolf. “I work on my patients with my headphones on if the song is playing from upstairs. That is how much I trust them. They will not fail.”

  Jace swore under his breath. What the hell was he supposed to do? Trust a stranger? He looked over at Abby, and her ashen face. Putting her in the cage wouldn’t work. Leaving her with the others wouldn’t work. “Fine. All the shifters go into the cage, and Abby stays outside. If the headphones work, then next time you can stay out of it, too.”

  “Roarke can’t be moved,” Kiernan said. “It’s too risky.”

  Shit. This was such a fucking mess.

  “I’m fine.” Roarke didn’t even open his eyes. “I want to see if these headphones work. It would be fun to fuck Lucius over by making his song useless.”

  Respect rushed over Jace at Roarke’s response. He had a feeling Roarke was impressive as hell, and he wondered what he’d endured to get Savannah back.

  Drake stood up. “I’ll carry him.” He bent over Roarke, and the injured shifter slid his arm over Drake’s shoulder. He didn’t even wince as Drake picked him up, but the depth of his pain hit Jace hard on a psychic level. Jesus. The shifter was in serious trouble. He looked over at Kiernan, reading the shifter’s expression with more ease. Roarke was dying, despite Kiernan’s help.

  Savannah stood up, her brow furrowed. “Be careful with him, Drake.”

  “I am.”

  She followed the two shifters into the cage, but when Jace turned to go, Abby touched his arm.

  “You need to be out here with me,” she said. “If you know the cage is between us, you won’t feel the urgency to resist.”

  He could tell from the expression on her face that she was serious. He didn’t know how else to make her understand how dangerous he was. Yeah, she’d been right when she’d said he cared about her. He’d denied it and pushed her away to get her to use some semblance of logic when dealing with him, but it hadn’t worked. He’d hurt her, but that hadn’t made her any more willing to protect herself.

  “I don’t understand. Why can’t you grasp this?” He was utterly at a loss in how to deal with her. He was accustomed to having his decisions respected and followed. He did his best to be fair and honorable, and his pack knew it. Having Abby continuously disregard his warnings made him feel like he was stumbling blind through a hailstorm, getting hammered from all directions with no way out.

  She lifted her chin. “Because I know you.”

  “Do you?” He lightly grasped her hand and drew it to his lips. Unable to resist, he pressed a kiss to her fingertips, then ground his jaw. He touched her index finger to his incisor. “This tooth took your sister’s life,” he said softly. “The same teeth.” Tears filled her eyes, and he felt like the biggest ass alive. “I’m so sorry, Abby. I will never forgive myself for doing it, but I would never, ever survive hurting you.”

  He released her hand and strode into the cage. He wrapped his hands around the rear bars and pressed his forehead to the cold steel as he faced the wall. He couldn’t look at her. He couldn’t see the look in her eyes as she recalled what a monster he was. As he heard Kieran clang the door shut behind them, he flinched. He was locked in a cage, just as he had been when he’d been in prison awaiting his trial, with nothing to think about other than the innocent life he’d just taken.

  He tightened his grip on the bars, squeezing his eyes shut as he listened to Kiernan explaining proper use of the headphones to the other shifters. Back in a cell again, he was crushed by the memories, that horrific moment when the song had stopped and he’d shifted back to human, staring down at the woman in his arms. The blood. The look of horror etched on her face. The life he’d stolen.

  He remembered the shock to his system, the way his body had frozen in numb horror. The scream of anguish from his soul as he prayed that he was dreaming. The cold wash of hell when he realized the blood on his hands was real, and it had been his teeth, his claws, his rage that had killed her. Never again. Never again…

  “Put him down,” Savannah said to Drake. “Let him rest.”

  Savannah. Jace opened his eyes in horror. A woman was in the cage with them. Yes, she was a shifter as well, but would his wolf know that? Would the song trigger only to attack an innocent human? Or would it turn him on Savannah? But he couldn’t leave Savannah with Abby, in case she shifted. Son of a bitch. Jesus. What was he doing?

  He spun around and pointed at Abby. “Don’t sing.” He ripped Drake’s headphones off. “You go with Abby to help her find Seth. I’m not taking this risk. No song.” He held out his hand to Drake. “Give me the gun.”

  “No!” Abby launched herself at the cage and grabbed the bars. “Don’t you dare shoot yourself, Jace!”

  Drake’s eyes darkened. “You’re not even going to try to defeat the song?”

  Jace looked at him. “Do you have any idea of how deadly I am?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then you don’t need to ask.” He was alpha for a reason: he was the toughest bastard around…impossible to stop.

  “Stop it!” Abby thrust her hand through the bars and reached for Drake. “Give me the gun, Drake. Don’t you dare let him kill himself. Damn you, Jace! Why can’t you see beyond that stupid blood on your hands?”

  “Because it’s all I can see!” he shouted back. “Do you want to sing to more people? Do you? Would you sing again to a father sitting with his kids, on the chance he might not kill them?”

  Her face blanched. “Don’t say that—”

  He strode over to the cage and grabbed the bars. “You, of anyone, know what it’s like to cause the death of someone who did nothing to deserve it. What if you couldn’t control your song? What if you couldn’t stop yourself from singing? Would you park yourself in the middle of a crowd and just wait to trigger carnage? Would you?”

  Wordlessly, she stared at him, then shook her head. “No,” she whispered. “Never.”

  “Even if you’re right that I wouldn’t kill you, even if you were right, what about everyone else? Savannah? For all we know, I’d kill Seth. What about them?”

  She gripped the bars, tears filling her eyes. “Jace—”

  He wrapped his hands around hers. “I’m his weapon, Abby. As long as I’m alive, I can destroy every enemy he wants. He made me into his tool.”

  “You can practice—”

  “So what if I learn to handle it when I’m trapped in a cell? What about when I’m in the field? Under duress? Fighting for my life or yours? There will always be a risk. I’ll never be safe.” He tightened his fingers on hers. “Tell me I’m wrong, Abby. Tell me that there’s a way to guarantee I will never, ever snap.”

  “You could puncture your eardrums,” Roarke muttered, his eyes still closed. “Pour acid in your ears. Shit like that.”

  Abby’s eyes widened. “No—”

  The faint sound of music drifted into the room, a familiar melody that was coming from upstairs. It was the song that had triggered his wolf into killing Melissa. Jace’s body stiffened, and the hair on the back of his neck stood up. “Son of a bitch.”

  “Headphones!” Kiernan slammed his headphones on, and so did everyone else…

  Except there wasn’t a set for Jace.

  “No!” Abby grabbed his face through the bars as the music grew louder. “Listen to me, Jace. Focus on me.”

  He closed his eyes, pouring all his focus onto Abby. He concentrated on the feel of her hands against his skin, on the sound of her voice, on the warmth of her breath against his cheek. But the relentless, insidious song began to get louder, whirling through the air
like flames flickering in a rising storm.

  “Jace!” She framed his face with her hands. “Kiss me.”

  He didn’t hesitate. He slipped his arms through the bars and kissed her desperately. Her mouth was his respite, a soft, delicate sanctuary from the rising beast inside him. He poured himself into the kiss, breathing in her familiar scent, forcing himself to focus on the softness of her hair beneath his hands, on the taste of her mouth. But still…the song rose in intensity, beating at him with ruthless furor. His wolf paced inside him, angry, restless, hungry.

  He knew he should push her away, but now that he was facing the moment, the return of the slathering beast, he clung to her, desperate to use every resource possible. It was the depth of his terror that had made him decide to use the gun on himself instead of succumbing, but now that it was here, that same terror had shifted to survival mode. He wasn’t ready to die. He wasn’t ready to succumb. He wasn’t ready to have his life chosen for him.

  I love you, Jace. Abby poured her emotions into the kiss. Warmth encircled him, cocooning him in her protective embrace, battling to protect him from the rising tension inside him.

  He took her love. He accepted her kiss. He basked in her touch. He opened himself to her completely, grabbing desperately to the love she shared so freely, to the forgiveness she’d showered him with from the first moment she’d met him. He angled his head, deepening the kiss through the bars, until the song was obliterated by the raging need thundering through him. He needed Abby. His woman. His mate. His everything.

  He dragged her against the bars, crushing her against the steel as he deepened the kiss, trying to get closer, to wrap her around him, to lose himself in all she was. But he couldn’t get close enough. He couldn’t kiss her the way he wanted. He couldn’t feel her body against the length of his. Just flashes of her softness entangled with the cold, hard steel.

  Frustration roared through him, a split second of anger that cracked the web of serenity she’d woven around him. The song burst through that crack, flooding him. He roared with anguish as it invaded him. His body seemed to catch on fire, heat exploding through him as hunger roared through him. He shifted so fast that he fell, crashing to the floor in a show of clumsiness unheard of for a shifter.