Knights of Black Swan, Books 7-9 (Knights of Black Swan Box Set Book 3)

by Victoria Danann

  She laughed. “No. But now that you mention it...”

  He twirled her around and leaned back so that he was balancing most of her weight. It was so intimate that it was almost like having sex in public.

  His breath blew in her ear when he said, “You have me at a disadvantage. You could ask for anything you want.”

  “Anything I want?” Rosie asked, her voice sounding far away even to her.

  “Anything.” He grinned as he dipped, showing her how to balance her weight on one leg while the other slipped between his.

  “Let’s go,” she said.

  He stood up abruptly and noticed that Rosie’s face was as flushed as the smoking lips on her dress.

  “I’ll meet you at my place,” she said.

  “What? Wait.”

  “I’m going to get the lipstick off. If it will come off,” she added. She pulled him over to the side of the room, where they wouldn’t be noticed. “Don’t forget to bring my stuff. Okay?”

  “Well,” he began, but she was gone. He said under his breath, “I guess that’s what happens when you fall in love with a demon.”

  At least he wouldn’t have to make up some story for Remy. Employees of The Order were used to unusual occurrences. Thank goodness.

  Twelve minutes later Glen was knocking at Rosie’s door.

  When she answered, he held out the clutch bag and red leather jacket. She grabbed them and threw them over her shoulder before pulling him in for a kiss. She was still wearing the dress, but she was barefoot with lips free of lipstick and moisturized, and she’d let her hair down.

  Glen kicked the door closed as she shoved his leather jacket off his shoulders. He plunged his hands into her wild hair and grabbed both sides of her head so that he could plunder her mouth exactly the way he’d wanted to for all the years they’d been apart. When he pulled back he said, “I missed you.”

  “I missed you, too,” she said breathlessly.

  He pulled her in for another kiss and started maneuvering her toward the bedroom at the same time.

  It was at that moment she realized she needed to tell him what she’d learned about his family. She owed it to him to not have him wait unnecessarily for another day.

  “Stop. There’s something I have to tell you.”

  Glen looked confused. “What?”

  “Um, let’s go sit down.”

  “What?” he repeated.

  “You want coffee?”

  “No. I don’t want coffee. I want you. In bed. Under me. Right now. What’s going on that’s more important than that?”

  “I found out some things about your family. I didn’t want to interfere with the nice night you planned, but I don’t think I ought to keep it from you any longer. If you find out tomorrow that I knew something and didn’t tell you, well, it wouldn’t be the best premise for starting over.”

  Glen stared at her for a few beats. Everything about his demeanor changed. “You have grown up.” She remained quiet, not really thinking that warranted a response. Glen ran his hand through his hair. “Am I going to want coffee?”

  “Maybe. Or whiskey?”

  “That bad?”

  “No. It’s just information, not bad news.”

  “Coffee.”

  “Won’t take long.”

  Glen sat down at the little table for two and watched anxiously as she padded around the tiny galley kitchen making two coffees.

  After a few minutes they both had steaming cups sitting on the table between them. Rosie had gathered the pages that she’d taken from Xavier’s printer, along with the photos she’d carried in her purse.

  Glen looked wary and anxious with a touch of sadness thrown into the mix. His eyes were fixed on the pages she held in her hand.

  “You survived a car crash when you were almost three, but your parents didn’t. I have their pictures, if you want…”

  Glen reached over and took the photos from her hand, then looked at them like he’d found the holiest relic of myth and legend. She watched as he reverently ran his thumb over the replica of his mother’s face.

  “The authorities tried to find your extended family, but the investigation led nowhere.”

  “What do you mean?” He looked up then shook his head. “They didn’t have any family?” Rosie hesitated and Glen picked up on it. “The guy in research says your mother’s ID was counterfeit. Maybe she had family and didn’t want to be found.”

  Glen stared at Rosie with his eyes out of focus, like he was far away and trying to process that. He looked down at the photo of his father. The resemblance to Glen was noticeable.

  “And what about…?” His voice sounded a little rough.

  “Same thing. The ID had been manufactured.”

  “So it wouldn’t be something like witness protection because the IDs would be real.”

  “Yeah.” Rosie nodded. “They were working at a fishing lodge on the edge of a national park in Washington State. We found some of the people who worked there at the same time.” She handed him the other pages. “We could go look them up. Maybe ask them if they remember your parents?”

  Glen didn’t respond other than to read through the information once, then twice, then three times.

  “There’s something else,” Rosie said.

  Glen’s head jerked up, a tiny spark of hope in his eyes. “Tell me.”

  “I had a brief encounter with, um, a departed loved one.”

  “Departed? You mean dead?”

  “Bluntly put, yes.”

  He shook his head. “I’m beyond being surprised at anything. What did the departed say?”

  “She showed me a vision and gave me a name. Ashenabe. The quirky guy in research told me Ashenabe is a werewolf tribe in British Columbia. It might be my imagination, or wishful thinking, but I thought there might be a family resemblance.”

  Glen’s lips parted and hope, not just a vestige but full-blown hope claimed his face. He stood up. “We have to go there.” He looked at his watch. It was nine o’clock. “What’s the time difference?”

  Rosie opened her laptop and typed in a search. “Seven hours earlier. That’s two o’clock in the afternoon there. You got your pills?”

  He grinned, reached inside his jacket and produced a little rectangular tin, which he rattled as a response.

  “Wait a minute,” she said, then put her hand to her forehead. “I don’t know why I didn’t think of this. Well, I do know why I didn’t think of it. I lost faith in Granddemon’s crystal because I thought it was misbehaving in Paris.” She was wearing it simply because the safest place for it was around her neck. She pulled it out and looked at it. “I need to change clothes and you need to take a pill. What do you want me to wear to meet your family?”

  When Glen looked at her she could see that question had made his eyes red with unshed tears and she wanted to envelope him in a cocoon of the love and nurture that he’d missed growing up. She reached for his hand, wishing she could turn time back and make up for every slight and deficit, but knew that wasn’t possible. All she could do was love him in the present the way he’d always deserved to be loved.

  The move to Edinburgh had been her practical approach to moving on with her life, when she’d believed Glen had shut down possibilities in Paris. When he turned up with reconciliation in mind, it hadn’t taken much to convince her that he was worth a gamble. She’d already been primed and was more than ready.

  “Never mind,” she said, squeezing his hand. “I’ll find something.” She started to get up then said, “Oh. I’ve got one more thing.” She reached for the last photo. She walked around to Glen’s side of the table and leaned over so they could look at the photo of him as a toddler together. “Is that not the most precious thing you’ve ever seen?”

  Glen stared at the photo for a full minute with Rosie’s face next to his shoulder. When he turned toward her, they were barely more than an inch apart. His eyes immediately went to her lips for a split second before he covered her mouth in a
kiss that was part relief, part gratitude, and part devotion. He pushed back his chair and pulled her onto his lap without ever breaking the kiss.

  She pulled back and smiled. “You want to get reacquainted first?”

  He chuckled. “I can’t believe I’m going to say no, but when we get ‘reacquainted’, I want to be focused on that and just that. Right now I can’t think about anything except the fact that I might have a relative out there who, ah…”

  “Who wants you.” She finished the sentence.

  He nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Okay. I’m changing.”

  “Not too much,” he said playfully.

  It was both wonderful and weird how quickly Rosie had begun feeling comfortable with Glen. She hoped he was serious about another chance for them because, at the moment, she couldn’t imagine wanting anything more.

  The place where they were headed was roughly the same latitude as Edinburgh. So she reasoned that the temperature would be much the same, give or take precipitation, humidity and wind variables. She didn’t really have to worry about being too cold or hot because she could direct her body to control its response to externality, but she didn’t want to wear a yellow polka dot sundress to a blizzard either.

  So she wiggled into some dark blue skinny jeans that had enough give to be comfortable, a white long sleeve tee for an under layer, and a forest green cashmere Henley. She topped it off with an Irish wool infinity scarf that was a camouflage print in the same value of green as the Henley, on a tan background. She realized she didn’t have any hiking boots, so she went into her closet, turned off the light, closed the door, and wished hiking boots into existence, giving Kellareal a silent and not completely insincere apology.

  When she came back into the kitchen, she found Glen still holding the photo of his mother. It made her breath catch, but she summoned a bright smile.

  “I’m ready. How about you? Has your pill kicked in?”

  He looked her up and down and didn’t miss the boots. “Yeah. You look… good.”

  She cocked her head to the side. “You sound surprised.”

  “No. I’m just nervous.” He pulled her onto his lap again. “When I started this, it was just an excuse to get to work with you again and show you that I’m done being…”

  “A dick.”

  His head came up and he met her eyes. “I was going to say clueless. I thought this was a good way to insure a second chance because I know you’ve got a soft heart. I knew that, if you thought it was for a good cause, you wouldn’t turn me down.” He put his face in her neck and sniffed. “You smell so good.”

  She pulled his face up so that she could look at his expression and read him. “You’re going off topic. You started this hunt for your family to get a second chance to work with me, but…”

  “But I didn’t think you would really find something. I feel thrown for a loop. I’m, I don’t know. Scared?”

  Rosie melted at that. “I’m going with you. And I’ll always catch you.”

  Glen hadn’t expected that kind of declaration so soon. He figured he might have to spend years earning her trust back. “You promise?”

  “I do. Now, are you ready?”

  “Kiss me first.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

  They stepped out of the passes in an old growth forest on the edge of a partially cleared settlement with log buildings that blended well enough with the surroundings to probably be invisible by satellite.

  “All good?” Rosie asked Glen.

  He grinned. “Modern pharma. It’s magic.” He looked around and took a big breath to steady his nerves. “So. This is the place?”

  “Crystal says yes.” He slanted a look in her direction. “No. It’s working. Really.”

  They both froze when they heard a growl behind them, deep and rumbling as a distant thunderstorm.

  “Move slowly,” Glen said so quietly it was almost a whisper. Rosie did as she was told, turning around at the same speed as Glen, not faster or slower, though she was prepared to make a flaming shish kabob of the growler if necessary. They faced a very large wolf, over two hundred pounds, whose lips were drawn back from his extremely impressive teeth.

  “My. What big teeth you have.” Her Auntie Elora had told her stories when she was growing up.

  “Rosie. Let me do the talking,” Glen said while trying to keep his lips from moving, as if that was the thing that would calm the creature.

  “Okay. Go ahead.”

  He thought she was being a tad too flippant, all things considered, but then again, she probably didn’t really understand fear. At least not fear of being harmed bodily.

  After a few seconds thought, he said, “Take me to your leader?”

  Rosie almost fell down laughing, which did cause the wolf to stop growling. His ears also pricked forward from curiosity. “Take me to your leader? That’s the best you could come up with?”

  She took a step toward the wolf. “Look. We’re here on family business. He’s one of you.” She pointed at Glen. “I would have thought somebody with a snout that big would have figured that out.”

  “Rosie! Insulting the werewolf is probably not the best strategy here.”

  The wolf had stopped snarling. He’d raised his nose and was sniffing the air in Glen’s direction. In a display of magic that was impressive even to Rosie, the canine body stretched and reshaped into human form in one fluid and effortless movement. Before them stood a perfectly beautiful, and quite naked, man.

  “I do smell something familiar,” he said to Glen. “Who are you?”

  “That’s what I’m here to find out. I don’t know who my family is, but either my mother or father was connected to this place.”

  “What makes you think that?”

  “I made him think that,” said Rosie.

  The handsome werewolf, who appeared to be in his early thirties, took time to appreciate how Rosie looked from the perspective of two-legged form. Rosie noticed the man’s coloring was very similar to Glen’s and his eyes held the same mixture of menace and amusement. Though she tried to direct her attention away from his muscular form, she couldn’t help noticing that, even in the cool weather, he was endowed like Glen as well.

  “I’m Hunter.” He gave Rosie a grin that would have to be described as wolfish. “And you are?”

  “Taken,” Glen said.

  Hunter looked at Glen and raised an eyebrow. “Maybe you are one of us.”

  Rosie turned toward the settlement and pulled the crystal from under her tee. “That way,” she said.

  “She’s my tracker,” Glen said to Hunter.

  Hunter smiled at Rosie again. “Something we have in common.”

  Since Glen had warned the wolf off and he was persisting, it was time to be more insistent. So he released his own surprisingly loud growl.

  Hunter was so startled he took a reflexive step back then laughed out loud. “Message received. What’s your name?”

  “Glendennon Catch.”

  Hunter’s smile faltered as surprise danced over his face, but he quickly recovered the cocky facade. “I’m right behind you.” His upright form collapsed into his wolf and he bumped Rosie’s hip with his nose.

  Glen snarled again which made Hunter crouch on his front feet and wag his tail like he was a puppy wanting to play. Glen looked at Rosie. “Weird.” He motioned toward the buildings and said, “After you.”

  People looked on with open curiosity as Hunter followed Glen who followed Rosie right through the middle of the cluster of log buildings toward a smaller one off to the side. Smoke was curling from the chimney, which was a good indication somebody was home. She turned to Glen. “That’s it.”

  He stopped at the base of the two steps that led up to the porch. “I’m not sure what to ask.”

  She nodded. “Talk with your heart.”

  He thought that advice was as good as any. So he climbed the steps, knocked softly on the door, and stepped back. Rosie saw that Hunter had followed. He w
as keeping his distance, but also keeping an eye on the two of them.

  The door opened to reveal the man Lapis had shown Rosie in the vision. He was much better looking than his phantom self and the family resemblance seemed more pronounced in full color.

  The man took his time looking Glen over before saying, “Who are you?”

  “Glendennon Catch. I’m following a lead, hoping to find someone who can tell me about my family.”

  The man’s eyes grew a little misty just before he grabbed hold of Glen and pulled him into a crushing bear hug. Glen was too surprised to move.

  Rosie was riveted by Glen’s reception, but was jolted out of her preoccupation when a deep voice close to her ear said, “Looks like you came to the right place.” Hunter chuckled.

  Rosie said, “Why don’t you go find some pants?”

  He sniffed the air close to her body. “Not human. Witch?”

  “Partly. If you want to know more, get dressed first.”

  He grinned. “Modest? Or shy?”

  “Neither. I’m committed to a jealous man.”

  He laughed. “All right, but I have to say that a lady asking me to put pants on is a novel experience.”

  “I’ll bet.” Rosie turned her attention back to what was happening on the porch.

  She wished Hunter would have been quiet so that she could have heard what was said between Glen and the man in the doorway. When she looked that way again, Glen was pointing at her, then motioning for her to join him.

  “Come in, young woman,” said the man. “Let’s have some coffee and figure this out together.”

  “Rosie,” Glen said, “this is Deep.”

  “Hello,” she said.

  When they stepped inside the cabin, they saw an old woman sitting by the fire who appeared to be in her late seventies, a striped wool shawl over her shoulders. She was smiling, but said nothing.

  “This is Emma,” Deep said. “My wife.” Rosie and Glen both reacted noticeably, but tried to cover their surprise for fear of appearing impolite. “She’s in pretty good health for her age, but her mind sort of comes and goes. Have a seat.” He motioned to the leather sofa and chair. “I have a fresh pot just brewed. How do you like your coffee?”