The Shadow Wolf

by Bonnie Vanak

  Ignoring the dangers, knowing he must protect his own, he allowed the bloodlust to surface.

  A monster emerged before her shocked gaze.

  Gabriel’s eyes turned black like a Morph’s. An instant later, he blinked and they were red as blood. An inhuman growl rumbled from his throat. Bones lengthened and limbs widened.

  His jaw elongated like a wolf’s and yet he didn’t transform into wolf. Instead, his angular face became sharpened, his nose pointed like a knife blade. He opened his mouth to reveal pointed, razor sharp teeth.

  Talons erupted from his fingertips. Dark gray fur sprouted along his muscular forearms. The jeans he wore split at the seams as muscle and bone shifted. Then his clothing vanished. Fur rippled along his spine, his flat stomach, his groin. Yet he did not shift into wolf, but remained standing, hunched over.

  A creature of darkness.

  And he was the darkness, the raw wild, the Feral, living only to breathe and hunt and exist as pure killer wolf. Man was buried deep, far beneath.

  The creature roared and with a powerful punch, sent Logan hurling against the wrought iron fence. Then it sprang forward and tore open the netting trapping her and the twins. The silver didn’t diminish its powers.

  Megan grabbed the girls’ hands and raced to safety, pushing them behind her as she watched the battle.

  The beast roared again. Blood sprayed over ancient tombstones as it clawed at Logan’s throat. It was over very quickly. The beast snarled at what was left of Logan’s body.

  It looked up, its blood red gaze meeting hers, and then it gave a low growl.

  She shrank back as the thunder of boots pounded into the lane. Megan’s frightened gaze swept over four tall Draicon males, one dressed in black leather and bearing close resemblance to Gabriel.

  His brothers. She knew them from his description. Etienne, the oldest, next in line to lead their pack. Damian, the adopted brother who led his own pack in New Mexico. Raphael, the Draicon Kallan, an Immortal with the power to end the life of a Draicon. And Alexandre with his sharp blue eyes and short graying hair. The girls’ father.

  The creature stood silently watching them.

  Alexandre came forward, holding out his hand. He was slightly shorter than the others, and his lean body had an air of whipcord toughness. “Gabe? Hey, man, it’s us, your brothers. It’s Alex. C’mon, calm down. It’s okay.” He glanced at Megan. “This is Megan, your bonded mate? You’re scaring her. Shift back.”

  A flash of iridescent sparks, as if Gabriel struggled to recover. But the monster remained standing.

  It looked to her, licking its sharp canines as if she were a tasty treat, and advanced. The creature held out a bloodied hand. A deep voice sounded inside her head. Megan, I can’t shift back.

  Help me. Come to me, I need you.

  The monster from her nightmares stood before her. A scream died in her throat as old terrors surfaced of blood spurting and flesh tearing.

  “Get away from me,” she shrieked. Instinctively she faded into Shadow. Megan ran toward the twins, shielding them with her arms.

  “Jenny, Jilly, come with me. Back away slowly, or it might hurt you.”

  The creature attempted to smile with its wet, reddened mouth. “Trust me, Megan,” it said in a grating, deep voice. “I would never hurt you.”

  Words from her darkest nightmare. It was coming true. She could almost feel the burning pain from the sharp talons raking over her throat. Megan glanced down at the remains of Logan’s dismembered body.

  Drooling, the Feral werewolf advanced. She tried to remember it was Gabriel, the man who’d made such passionate love to her. Her courage surged and she forced herself to take form again. To reveal herself as he had.

  But the fangs, talons and blood terrified her. How could this thing from her darkest dreams be Gabriel? As the creature reached out a hand to her, Megan stepped back with a sob.

  “Don’t come any closer,” she warned.

  Please, Megan, it’s Gabriel, your mate. Don’t run from me. I need you.

  This creature couldn’t be her beloved Gabriel. It was the walking, talking beast from her nightmare, come to take her back to Shadow Island and torture her.

  “Don’t touch me.”

  The creature’s hand dropped and it looked away, as if ashamed to meet her gaze.

  “Cousin Megan?” Jennifer’s voice quivered. “It’s just Uncle Gabe. In different clothing.”

  Slowly her ragged breaths returned to normal. Her heartbeat slowed as hysteria faded. Megan finally gathered her courage and stared straight into the monster’s red eyes.

  Deep inside the swirling crimson was a shadow of soulful chocolate brown.

  “Gabriel,” she whispered.

  Gabriel shifted back to his human form. In jeans and a white shirt, he shuffled his bare feet. He looked broken. Megan was stricken by the deadness in his eyes. They were still and dark as a decaying swamp.

  He spread out his hands. “I warned you, Megan. This is what I am. You wanted all of me, and this is it.”

  You promised you could handle what I am. I should have known you’d react just like she did.

  Too late, she realized what she’d done. Gabriel stepped back, his expression shuttered. The damage had been done.

  He turned to his brothers. “Alexandre, take your daughters to our parents. It’s safer there. Rafe take Megan there. I’m entrusting her care to you, my brothers.”

  “My daughters?” Alex looked bewildered.

  “Where are you going?” she cried out to Gabriel.

  He spoke tiredly over his shoulder. “I need to be alone for a while.”

  “Gabriel, wait.”

  But he did not appear, or choose to hear her entreaty.

  Chapter 20

  He’d finally opened up and she’d reacted to his transformation as if Gabriel were a demon. Megan stared helplessly as he turned a corner and vanished.

  Alexandre looked at the twins in blank confusion.

  Swallowing hard, she told him the news. His mouth dropped open. “My babies? Simone’s babies? You’re alive.”

  Joy sparkled in his blue eyes. The air of toughness dropped, replaced by tenderness. He stepped forward to embrace them, but the girls shrank back, looking to Megan.

  “Megan, is this really our daddy? Will he be like the Normals and hate us?” Jillian whispered.

  Their uncertainty tore at her. She hunkered down to their height and held their hands. “Listen to me, sweethearts. We’re the Musketeers and we don’t lie to each other. Alexandre is your dad and I can sense the love and the joy he feels at knowing you’re here. He’ll do everything to make you happy. Go with him. He’s just like his brother Gabriel, and there’s not a mean bone in his body.”

  Jillian’s brow wrinkled. “But you were afraid of Gabriel. I saw in my mind how mean you think he is.”

  Swallowing hard, she forced a brave smile. “I was wrong, honey. Adults can be wrong, and I certainly was.”

  Alexandre looked at the twins with such emotion that her own eyes welled up with tears. Jillian and Jennifer approached him cautiously.

  “Megan says you’re good, and you’ll love us,” Jennifer, ever the leader, told him.

  “Always,” he whispered. “Now that you’re here, I’m never letting go.”

  They rushed into his arms and he held them tight. Together they walked to the street.

  She turned to face his waiting brothers.

  “I’m going to find Gabriel.” Arms akimbo, she regarded them with a level look.

  “Gabe asked us to watch over you and bring you back to our parents.” Raphael folded his arms over his chest. “We’re not leaving without you.”

  “Then stay. I don’t give a damn. I can look after myself, but he needs me.”

  Etienne glared at her. “I’d say he needed you when he shifted. He doesn’t need you now. He needs to be alone. I know, I’m his brother.”

  “And I’m his mate.” She softened her voice. “I have to
go to him.”

  Raphael gestured to the shorter, muscular brother. “Dai, take her.”

  Expecting to be wrenched forcibly away, she faded into Shadow. Damian sighed. “C’mon, Megan. Stop that. I’ll take you to him.”

  “When Draicon fly,” she shot back, sidestepping so he couldn’t track her voice.

  He arched a dark brow and a smile broke out on his handsome face. “I can, and so can my mate, so that qualifies.”

  “Megan, Damian can teleport you to where Gabe probably is. Where he always hangs out when he needs to be alone. Go with him.” Raphael spoke with authority, but his tone was kind.

  Using her powers, she cloaked them and when they materialized, Damian had set them by the cover of hedges in a park beside the water. He nodded toward a white statue.

  “You’ll find him by the statue of the immigrant. He likes to hang there.”

  Damian released her, his green gaze piercing and intelligent. “Good luck, little Megan. Be patient with Gabriel. He needs you, even if he won’t admit it.” He vanished.

  Standing by the fence bordering the Moon Walk, Gabriel braced his hands on the railing. He stared at the wide expense of river. Wind brushed back the dark silky hair from his forehead. His wide shoulders hunched.

  Suddenly he straightened. He’d caught her scent. She hurried toward him.

  “What are you doing here, Megan?”

  She gave him an imploring look. “I had to find you, Gabriel. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean it. It was, just, you looked… I was terrified.”

  A muscle ticked violently in his jaw. He did not look at her.

  “Do I like it? No, of course not. Is it part of me? Yes. Can I prevent it?” White showed on his knuckles as he gripped the railing. His eyes were cold and desolate.

  “I’ve tried. This shift was my first since we lost Amelia and Simone. Seeing that bastard hurt you and the girls brought it out in me.”

  “And I made it worse with what I said. I can’t take it back, Gabriel. I wish I could, but all I can do is keep telling you how sorry I am.”

  He said nothing. Emotionally, he was as distant as ever. Getting him back would be the hardest challenge of her life. Megan blinked back the burning in her eyes. She had to try.

  A low growl rumbled in her stomach. The chaotic fight at the cemetery had lowered her energy levels.

  “You hungry?”

  Always the concerned Gabriel, thoughtful about her welfare. When she nodded, he sighed. “Let’s go to my place. I’ll fix you something.”

  They walked past Jackson Square down a narrow street lined with charming building facades. Gabriel stopped before a brick building with lacework iron balconies. He led her upstairs.

  The door he unlocked opened to a small apartment. Worn hardwood floors covered by faded rugs, striped wallpaper and antique, comfortable furniture made up a living area the size of a postage stamp. A video game console sat on the cluttered coffee table beside a stack of books and a violin case. The walls were covered with a multitude of sequined and feathered Mardi Gras masks. Megan touched one particularly beautiful mask. It glittered and sparkled with…

  “Are those real diamonds?”

  Gabriel nodded.

  “Where did you get all these?”

  He scrubbed his bristled jaw. “Ah, they’re all gifts.” His voice dropped. “From former lovers. The diamond one is from a Countess who visited the city for Mardi Gras. She died long ago.”

  She cleared her throat. “How many lovers have you had, Gabriel?”

  Silence for a moment. “Too many. Since Tamara, I’ve never had a relationship that lasted longer than three nights.” His full mouth quirked in a bitter smile. “Longer than the length of the full moon.”

  Then he looked away again, refusing to meet her gaze.

  In the center of one wall was a skeletal mask. Megan shuddered. The mask screamed in abject horror. “This couldn’t be a gift.”

  “No. I bought it for myself when I wiped out Tamara’s memories.” He turned away, jammed his hands into his jeans pockets. “To remind me…”

  He scrubbed his jaw again. “I’ll make dinner. My neighbor Stephan should have a stocked fridge. Be right back.”

  Her stomach twisted in knots. She went into the kitchen, studying the copper pots and pans dangling from pot hooks in the ceiling. The buffed oak cabinets and granite countertops were sparkling clean.

  When he returned carrying two large plastic bags she asked, “Is this where you like to hang out all the time?”

  He shook his head as he dumped the bags on the counter. “Not always. I stay here when I get in…certain moods. The activity of the Quarter, the tourists and locals, it keeps me…”

  Human.

  The last word thought, not spoken.

  A set of faded French doors led out to a balcony overlooking the street. A small wrought-iron table and chairs along with a futon sofa were on the balcony. Hanging ferns and a faded Mardi Gras gold-and-green mask hung from the latticework. On the railing was a set of black-and-gold beads.

  “Make yourself at home. I’ll fix dinner.”

  She sank into the comfortable couch. Lazy chatter from tourists on the street below blended with bleeping car horns, mules clopping by as they pulled carriages and the noisy cheeps of sparrows flying in and out of the neighboring eaves.

  Delicious smells drifted through the opened door. Gabriel brought out two bottles of beer, handed her one. He didn’t sit close as he’d done in the past, but settled on the sofa’s other end.

  I deserve that, Megan thought miserably.

  An odd-looking decoration of turquoise beads set in string with feathers hung from the ornate ironwork. She asked about it.

  “It’s a dream catcher. Damian brought it for me from New Mexico, where he rules his pack. Supposed to catch bad dreams and keep them at bay.”

  “Does it work?”

  His eyes, normally a sparkling chocolate brown, were dark and unmoving as swamp water. “No. I had nightmares about you reacting the way you did, and they came true.”

  Ouch.

  Megan curled her feet beneath her. “How far is the famous Bourbon Street?”

  Beer bottle in hand, he waved up the street.

  She struggled to make easy conversation, but Gabriel remained reticent. Finally, he went inside.

  They ate in the cramped kitchen at a small table. He set before her a plate piled high with tasty-looking dishes. Gabriel explained they were red beans and rice and jambalaya with sausage, peppers and shrimp.

  He gestured to a plate with slices of crusty French bread. “Eat those between each course to cleanse your palate and prepare it for the unique taste of the next dish.”

  After dinner, she helped him clean up and then joined him on the balcony. Shadows lengthened on the streets as dusk fell. Gabriel opened two more bottles of beer for them. They sat on the couch, watching the world below.

  “Your accent, it’s different from your brothers and the others I’ve heard here.”

  Gabriel shrugged. “I moved around a lot, spent a lot of time in southern Louisiana.”

  A flash of insight. “You’re like a Shadow. Only you hide in the open, so others can’t see what you are.”

  He gave a small nod.

  The creak of a French door opening drew her attention to the adjacent balcony. A tall, chestnut-haired man wearing low-slung jeans stepped out. Megan’s nostrils flared as she caught the scent. He saw Gabriel.

  “Hey, Gabe. Haven’t seen you around.”

  “Stephan. How they biting lately?”

  The vampire laughed, yawned and scratched his bare chest. “Not bad.” He eyed Megan as Gabriel introduced her.

  “You found your mate. Congrats, man.”

  “Thanks.” Gabriel shifted on the couch. “Tell me what’s been going on in my city.”

  Stephen frowned and braced his hands on the railing separating their balconies. “Normal, for the Quarter, except the last couple of days. Very quiet
. Too quiet, and some bad mojo in the air. Rumors of demons in town.”

  Gabriel stiffened. “What kind?”

  “Hitchhiker demons, the kind that blend into the populace. Nearly impossible to scent and harder to flush out. Very nasty SOBs. Sorry, Megan. Not even the wolves can detect them. The older vamps have taken to staying close to home. No one wants to mess with these demons.”

  She sensed Gabriel’s disquiet. The same kind of demon had possessed Jay.

  Stephan plopped down on a lounge chair, picked up a banjo. He shot Gabriel an inquiring look. “Care to jam, wolf?”

  “Why not, vamp?”

  The mournful music from Gabriel’s fiddle was soulful and deep, compared to the lively strumming of the vampire’s banjo. Megan listened, enchanted as Gabriel closed his eyes and ran the bow over taut strings. His long, dark lashes swept down to his cheeks. He looked absorbed in the music, his expression tender as when he’d loved her.

  Would he ever love her that way again? Grief punctured her insides.

  A crowd gathered below, and when they’d finished playing, applauded loudly. Stephan gave Gabriel a respectful nod. “Good times, wolf.”

  “Back at yah, vamp.”

  Stephan vanished inside, and when he emerged, wore a blue silk shirt, polished shoes and gray pleated trousers. “See yah, pups. I’m going out for a bite to eat.”

  “Be careful,” Gabriel warned.

  With a nod, the vampire leaped over the balcony to the street below. Megan watched him peddle away on a bicycle. Little silver bells tinkled as he sped off.

  “A vampire on a bike with bells. I’m surprised he doesn’t have cards in the spokes,” she jested.

  Gabriel set down his fiddle with a solemn look. “The bells are said to keep demons away. Demons like to hop onto motorcycles and bikes, and their spirits get trapped in the bells.”

  His dark gaze was so intense, she shuddered. “That demon, how did you know Jay was possessed?”

  He shook his head. “I honestly don’t know. It felt like instinct.”

  Megan went to take his hand. “Instinct is a good thing, Gabriel. It keeps us alive.”

  But he sidled away, avoiding her touch. “Instinct turns us into raging beasts. You saw the evidence.”