Caleb

by McCarty, Sarah

“Ah.”

  Caleb pulled her into his lap, lifting her thighs and tucking her into his torso. “Tired?”

  Allie smothered another yawn. “I don’t know why.”

  His lips touched her ear. “You’ve had a hell of a day.”

  “What time is it?”

  “About dawn.”

  She glanced around the barely lit interior. “How can you tell?”

  “The air feels heavier.”

  “So that’s why I’m tired?”

  “The fact that you’ve just gone through conversion also might have something to do with it.”

  “I thought you said I’d be cured.”

  “You’re cured, but your body still has to heal.”

  “But I don’t get to read minds?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  She snuggled down. “I was really looking forward to reading minds.”

  Again that chuckle that bounced her around. “I bet you were.”

  She patted his shoulder as the drowsiness descended upon her like an impenetrable cloud. “I really wanted to read your mind.”

  “Why?”

  “So I’d know what you think of me.”

  “SHE’S a strange woman,” Jared said, draping a blanket over Allie’s sleeping form.

  Caleb tucked it around her shoulders. “Definitely different.”

  “A body can’t help but like her.”

  The possessive rage surged, ready, ever eager to defend his claim. He kept his voice civil with effort. “Not too much I hope.”

  Jared cocked his head, the only sign he’d felt the simmering rage, deflecting it with a sigh. “She’s my sister-in-law, Caleb. It’s good that I like her.”

  Rage faded beneath reason. No matter what the provocation, Jared would never violate their bond. But still, the niggling sense that Allie could be taken away hovered. “Sorry.”

  “No problem.” Jared leaned back against the wall and folded his arms across his chest. “Heard she’s got a hell of a temper.”

  “What makes you think that?”

  “Word among the wolves is she kicked Dane’s balls up between his teeth when he tried to take her out. Made quite an impression with the McClarens.”

  “She’s not as impressed with them.”

  “They’ll grow on her.”

  Caleb wasn’t too sure of that. Allie had a lot to overcome, and the first impression the D’Nally weres had made on her would make any other weres’ efforts to get into her good graces a tough row to hoe. Her lashes fluttered as her bangs tickled her eyes. He pushed the tendrils off her forehead, adding a mental command to go back to sleep. She settled back into his shoulder with a soft sigh. “That bastard Dane was going to rape her before he killed her.”

  “I wasn’t criticizing.” Jared motioned to Allie. “Do you think she had an inkling of his intentions?”

  “No.” He cut his brother a glance. “And that information stays between us.” Dane had gotten off on inflicting terror. A real bad apple in a barrel of tough ones. He wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of Allie’s horror postmortem.

  “A girl with the guts to take on a were with nothing more than a potato sticker and her bare hands can handle a bit of truth.”

  “Some things a woman doesn’t need to know.” He dipped his finger into the shadowed well atop her collarbone. “She’s afraid enough.”

  Jared’s smile was a rare thing. “Of what? Certainly not you and me.”

  “She’s afraid.”

  “Then she does a damn good job of hiding it.”

  Caleb nodded. He shifted his grip on Allie and stood up. “Yes. She does. Sometimes even from herself.”

  “You don’t sound happy about that.”

  Caleb headed down the hall. “Probably because I’m not.”

  Jared trailed in his wake, a deadly curious shadow. “Why?”

  “Fear just makes her more determined not to quit.”

  “So?”

  He headed down the stairs. “Think of it. All that curiosity, all those new powers, all that energy going anywhere it wants with no brakes.”

  “Shit.”

  Caleb laid her on the bed, “Yeah. I’m going to have my hands full keeping her busy while she adjusts.”

  9

  CALEB lay back against the pillow and savored the warmth of Allie sleeping by his side, thinking of what she’d said before she’d succumbed to exhaustion.

  So I’d know what you think of me.

  She wanted to read his mind because she wanted to know what he thought of her. As if he’d ever kept it a secret. He kissed the top of her head, turning her a little, enjoying the full press of her breasts. He pretty much thought she was perfect, but Allie couldn’t seem to grasp that.

  For all her big talk, there was a hollow of insecurity within Allie that needed tending. She seemed to accept that he wanted her physically easily enough, but when it came to him wanting her as a person, she fought the knowledge tooth and nail. Sighing he tugged her closer. He’d have to work on that. A bruise on her shoulder caught his eye. He placed his thumb over the mark. A perfect fit. He blew out a breath. Another thing for his to-do list. He’d let her sleep a bit and then he’d show the softer side of lovemaking. She’d enjoy that. Assuming he got her to slow down. The woman was always in such a hurry.

  A whisper in his mind pulled him away from his musings.

  Caleb, we’ve got trouble.

  Shit. Whenever Jared used the word “trouble,” it was wiser to substitute bigger words like “disaster,” or “hell on fire.”

  Coming.

  Sliding out from under Allie’s arm, Caleb caught her hand before it could fall to the mattress. He didn’t need her awake right now. Not until the threat was taken care of.

  His senses told him Jared wasn’t in the house. Caleb grabbed his hat and rifle as he silently glided to the back door and just as soundlessly made his way out into the remnants of the night. It only took a few minutes to find Jared. He was down at the back gate, gun drawn, crouched over Jace. Jace wasn’t moving but plenty was beyond the barrier. The hairs on the nape of Caleb’s neck stood on end, tingling a warning. Danger.

  “What the hell happened?” he asked as soon as he got close enough.

  “Jace took one of his constitutionals.”

  Which meant he’d gone into D’Nally territory searching for whatever it was he always searched for. “Son of a bitch.”

  “That about sums it up.”

  Another step and the scent of blood surrounded him. Jace’s blood. He scanned the darkness, sensing the prowling restlessness of D’Nally werewolves. “How many are out there?”

  Jared looked up. “About ten.”

  Ten D’Nallys could do a hell of a lot of damage to an army. And as strong as Jace was, there were odds even he couldn’t win against. Caleb knelt down beside Jace.

  “Pissed off?”

  Jared shrugged. “As always.”

  Caleb shook his head. “Damn it, Jace, why can’t you leave them alone?”

  The D’Nallys were a hell of a tight clan. Strong fighters with a code of honor that was black and white, and if they weren’t trying to kill his brother, Caleb would probably like them.

  “I don’t think he can hear you,” Jared interjected wryly.

  Caleb glanced down at Jace, took in the slashes across his torso, the amount of blood soaking his clothes. No, he probably couldn’t.

  A twig snapped just beyond the illusion. Caleb chambered a round. If the D’Nallys figured out how to get past the illusion, he’d take them out the old-fashioned way. He liked the old-fashioned way. Clean and clear-cut, with none of the nebulous uncertainty that seemed so inherent in the technology Slade favored.

  “They haven’t figured out the illusion,” Jared said, as always in tune with him.

  “It’s only a matter of time.”

  “Yeah, which means you should probably negotiate a peace with the hardheaded son of a bitches before it comes to full-out war.”

  “Th
at would be a lot easier if Jace would stop provoking them.”

  “Not going to happen,” Jace grated in a hoarse whisper.

  He was pale, his lips dry and cracked, indicating the extent of his blood loss, but he still sat up.

  “I’ve got news for you, it’s going to happen.” It had to happen. Their position was too precarious to call a war with a clan as strong as the D’Nallys. Caleb reached for Jace’s rifle, to relieve him of the burden.

  Jace lifted his lip, exposing his fangs in a clear warning.

  “Hell, Jace, I was just going to hold it.”

  “When I’m dead and ash you can have it, not a second before.”

  Jared extended his hand, “Damn, you’re touchy.”

  Jace took it, swaying as he reached his feet. “I’m having an off night.”

  “One in a series of several,” Caleb pointed out holding on to his temper. “Whatever’s eating you, you’ve got to get a handle on it before you start a war.”

  Jace smiled, a smile made all the colder for the blood obscuring one side of his face. “I wouldn’t be adverse to kicking some D’Nally ass.”

  Caleb snorted. “Seems to me the only ass getting kicked lately is yours.”

  “That’s just because they’ve gotten smarter and started throwing bigger numbers at me.”

  Caleb wanted to point out the illogic of the position—Jace might be incredibly strong, but even he couldn’t take down a pack of fighting D’Nallys—but Caleb could already tell it wasn’t going to do any good. Jace didn’t want logic, he wanted a fight. “Well, if you keep bringing them around here they’re also going to make it their job to figure out the illusion, and that’s a threat to more than just you.”

  Jace grimaced. “Good point.”

  “So maybe you ought to leave them be,” Jared offered.

  “Or maybe I need to take the fight elsewhere.”

  Shots came from the dark, eerie howls broke the night.

  “Who’s out there?” Jace asked.

  “Derek and nine of his favorites.”

  “Keeping the odds even?”

  “You know Derek.” Jared shrugged. “The ultimate negotiator.”

  Yes he was, and a hell of a good man whose friendship with the Johnsons had him walking a thin line between the werewolf world and the vampire one where the wrong decision could leave his pack condemned. And yet he refused to abandon the alliance.

  “And a stubborn one,” Caleb sighed, glancing into the darkness beyond the illusion. McClaren territory, which the McClarens were legally authorized by pack law to defend against intruders. To the death if they wished.

  “Who we owe,” Jared reminded Jace. “Which means you can’t just go out kicking up a fuss whenever you get a burr under your saddle, and then walk away.”

  Jace’s lip lifted again. “I can do whatever the hell I want.”

  Caleb hit his shoulder with the flat of his hand, knocking him back a step, gaining his attention. “No, you can’t.” He pointed behind Jace. “Those are our friends out there, fighting to save your ass for the simple reason, in their eyes, you’re family and that’s what family does. They’ll defend you to the death if they have to, but son of a bitch, if you’re going to demand that kind of sacrifice, you’d better have a damn good reason we can all understand.”

  Jace’s jaw locked and he got that stubborn look with which Caleb was all too familiar. Blood still trickled from a cut under his eye, weaving down the well-worn path, reminding Caleb how often in the last year he’d seen his brother just like this.

  Caleb spat, knowing he wasn’t going to get an answer to his question, but compelled to ask it anyway. “What’s riding you, Jace?”

  Jace turned on his heel, heading toward the illusion and the battle raging beyond. The answer drifted behind him, more weary than angry. “Nothing I can put my finger on.”

  Caleb stared after him, guilt weighing him down. How long before what he’d done would stop affecting them all?

  Jared cocked his gun. “Hell. Things were easier back in the good old days.”

  “The old days are gone.”

  “Someone needs to tell Jace that.”

  “I just did.” Caleb motioned to the gun in Jared’s hand. “You going after him?”

  Jared pulled his hat down over his eyes. “If I don’t, he’ll get himself fried. In another five minutes the sun will be up.”

  The sounds of battle were fading. Weak and wounded, Jace would be chasing it, like he always did, the wildness in him forever seeking an outlet. “I’ll go with you.”

  Jared held up his hand. “You’ve got a wife to get settled.”

  So he did. No matter how happy that made him, however, it didn’t diminish the desire to go with his brothers, fight by their sides, cover their backs. Although they were all grown men and deadly vampires to boot, his first instinct was always to protect them as he’d promised he would when their parents died. Caleb watched Jared move as silent as a shadow along the path Jace had taken. Frustration gnawed at his soul. Another brother he was losing because they couldn’t put that one irrevocable moment behind them.

  Jared got to the edge of the illusion and turned back, standing as Caleb had seen him stand so many times before—tall, deadly. Determined. Caleb braced for the cut he knew was coming. What he got instead surprised him.

  “Whatever this is with Jace, Caleb. It isn’t because of you.”

  He disappeared from sight, leaving only the concession behind, the first one Caleb had received from him in a long time. On the surface, it wasn’t much, but from Jared, it might as well be a statement of intent.

  Jared was beginning to let go of the anger.

  Now if he could only get Allie to do the same.

  SHE’D finally found something to keep her busy.

  Allie stood in the kitchen and smiled at her latest project.

  It was a monster. Big, black, and ugly. She had absolutely no reason to be in love with it . . . but she was. Hopelessly and completely in love. Allie touched the newly blackened surface of the ancient woodstove and smiled again. Clothes didn’t make the man and a new coat of paint wasn’t going to make this stove, but the sheer challenge of baking the way her ancestors had, ah, that was seduction itself.

  In the far corner of the room, the last ray of daylight disappeared from the crack she’d made in the curtains. She missed sunshine and autumn colors. Caleb was emphatic that she’d adjust, come to learn to love the beauty of the night. The man seemed to be convinced of a lot of things when it came to her. So much so, she didn’t have the heart to tell him she wasn’t really into adjusting. She much preferred to change her environment to suit herself rather than adjust to something she didn’t like.

  She stroked her finger over the stove again, tracing the pits in the iron honed by time, imagining the women before who had stared at this behemoth and had the same feelings of hope and inadequacy. Her hand tingled with the challenge of coaxing something edible out of the beast. Maybe even the bear claws Caleb liked. Of course, just getting the ingredients she needed might be a tall order, but that was a complication for tomorrow. Today she needed to reconnect the chimney and hope she could get enough draw to not burn down the entire house when she lit it.

  The last of the sun faded from the room, plunging it into gloom. Her vision switched to the intense black-and-white night vision she hated. No matter how detailed, this was the one thing that pissed her off about being a vampire. She absolutely hated having to view the world differently, but she’d promised Caleb she would try to adjust. And he in turn promised she could try to bring this old kitchen back to life.

  She went to open the heavy oven door. Faint rustling noises from inside had her immediately removing her hand from the latch and stepping back. She didn’t want to find out the hard way that there were “were” mice. Just the thought sent a shudder down her spine.

  “Problems?”

  She turned, not sure which brother had found her now. She met Slade’s hazel eyes and
smiled. Things were looking up. The very intense, slightly wild intellectual. Exactly what she needed. “Nothing I’m sure you couldn’t help me with.”

  He took a step back. “If you want help changing again, you’re gonna have to wait for Caleb.”

  She arched her brow at him. “Chicken.”

  He didn’t even bother to deny it. “Caleb about tore me a new one after that last fiasco. He was not fond of you running around with feathers sticking out of your fingers.”

  “I’ll get the hang of it.”

  He pushed his hat back, his smile more relaxed. “I hope so because changing forms sure isn’t coming naturally to you.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “I suppose none of you had any trouble shifting your first time?”

  A frown replaced his smile. “Actually, no. If I recall it right, we kind of shifted without even thinking about it. Gave us a scare until we realized we could shift back.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Great. If all of this was so easy for you, why is it so darned hard for me?”

  Instead of making fun, his expression grew serious, the inner intensity radiating outward. “Actually, that’s an interesting question. I want you to come to the lab for some tests.”

  Scenes from Young Frankenstein flashed through her mind.

  “Thanks, but no thanks.”

  He frowned, getting that scientist-in-search-of-answers expression on his face that scared her. “We need some answers. There could be multiple reasons for what you’re experiencing.”

  Probably, and none of them good, which was why she wasn’t exploring them. “That can wait.”

  “Actually the sooner—”

  She cut him off. “Slade, I need your help.”

  Immediately, she had his full attention. “What’s wrong?”

  With a wave of her hand, she indicated the stove. “Do you know how to make this work?”

  His gaze followed the direction of her wave. “Yes.”

  She rolled her eyes when he didn’t elaborate. “Can you tell me how to make it work?”

  Now she had his attention. Slade was a sucker for anything involving the word “how.”

  “Why? We’ve got a perfectly good kitchen in the front of the house.”