“And so were you,” she said, linking her arm with his. “Don’t forget, you were also a captive. Not locked up behind bars or with chains, but still a prisoner.”
“Yet I did unspeakable things,” he said with a frown. “If you only knew—“
“Shhhh,” she protested. “You are now working towards redeeming yourself, and I know you will. I have seen it.”
“What else have you seen, Mother?”
Signe looked at him cryptically. “I cannot tell you, but there are other things we should talk about. Like, why you are here.”
“Yes,” he nodded. “The Alpha has told you?”
“He explained it somewhat. But, it’s best if you show me what you saw.”
Daric stopped and turned to his mother, taking her hand. He closed his eyes, feeling the link between them. He searched his memories, finding the vision from Sven, sending it to her through their connection.
Signe gasped, and her eyes flew open. “These were all the visions from the boy? Sven, you said? Is he hurt?”
He nodded. “Yes. He’s alive, thank God, and recovering in the hospital. Do you recognize anything?”
The older witch grew pale, and she nodded. “The first one, it reminded me of our village. But, from a different perspective. One I’d never seen before. It’s like watching a familiar place through someone else’s eyes.”
“Exactly,” Daric agreed. “And the second? It is your vision, right?”
“Yes,” she confirmed. “It was indeed my vision. I had it just before I was released. Daric,” she said, her voice trembling. “That vision was for you. I mean…I can’t go into detail, but it was important for you to see it.” She took his hands in hers. “I couldn’t use our link, knowing that Stefan would see it, too, so I thought I’d cast a wider net.”
“What do you mean?”
“I thought, if you and I were the only seers in the world, if I sent out the vision, then you would eventually pick it up. I kept trying and trying until Stefan came to bring me to you.”
Daric frowned, and then he realized what his mother was saying. “I didn’t, but I suppose this Sven did. How? He is human.”
Signe shrugged. “I don’t know, Daric. Perhaps he was meant to see it. Maybe he is connected to us in some way.”
“We have lost all other connection with the larger world,” Daric pointed out. “We have only each other now, Mother.”
The witch smiled sadly. “Yes. Our village is long gone, I’ve seen it in my mind. I guess not many young people want to fish or hunt these days.”
Daric laughed. “Yes. They prefer the convenience of the modern world.”
“So,” Signe continued. “The man in the hat, you know him?”
“Not personally, but he was Meredith’s adoptive father, and I’m helping her and her brothers find who killed him. It’s starting to look like Stefan may have had something to do with his death as well.”
Signe looped her arms through her son’s and then tugged at him. “Let’s continue our walk since it’s such a lovely day.”
They went deeper into the woods, where it grew even more still and quiet. This place was special. Daric could feel the magic surrounding them. It was a subtle presence that hung in the air. The feeling was refreshing, something he hadn't felt since he was a child.
“Now,” Signe began. “Tell me about Meredith.”
“She and her Lycan brothers were raised by the man in your vision. His name was Archie Leacham. The police suspected—”
“No, no,” his mother interrupted, shaking her head. “Tell me about Meredith.”
“What about her?” he asked.
“What is she like?”
“She is brash, crude, loud-mouthed, stubborn, headstrong.” He let out a sigh. “Beautiful. Loyal. Kind hearted. And she hides her vulnerability behind that brassy exterior.”
“And you can’t stop thinking about her,” Signe finished. “Don’t lie to me, Daric, I’m your mother. And you need to be careful what you send me through our link.”
“I didn’t realize…” Daric felt embarrassed and turned his head away. “I hope you didn’t see anything inappropriate.”
“I didn’t. But I could feel her at the edges of your thoughts and feelings,” she explained. “So, tell me, why are you avoiding Meredith and denying what you feel for her?”
“You don’t understand,” he said, unlinking their arms.
“Then tell me so I can.”
“I don’t know where to begin, Mother,” he shrugged. “She was my enemy, and she’s also bonded to the New York clan against her will. I don’t know where her loyalties lie.”
“Ah, so you can’t trust her? Do you think she trusts you?”
“I don’t…I mean, that’s not the point. Also,” he took a deep breath. “When I touch her, I see nothing, Mother.”
“Nothing?”
Daric shook his head. “Yes. For the first time, I’ve encountered someone whose past and future are unknown to me. What does it mean? Does she have no future?” A cold fear gripped him. “Will she die, Mother?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know, Daric, but just because you can’t see what lies ahead for her, doesn’t mean it’s bad. Maybe you just weren’t meant to see it. But maybe, just maybe, you should follow your heart.” Signe placed a hand on his chest. “It’s a good one. Like your father’s heart.”
Daric’s face became stone-like. “I cannot, Mother. Not while Stefan is alive.”
“Your need for vengeance is clouding what’s real. The truth.” She sighed and laid her head on his chest. “My son, don’t let the hate overcome you. Stefan must pay for his crimes, but don’t get any more blood on your hands. Or have hers tainted.”
“What do you mean—”
Signe pulled away. “Come, we should head back.
Chapter Fifteen
Meredith stayed behind at the house as Daric and Signe went for their walk. She helped Vivianne with the dishes, as Graham went off to do some work on the house. They chatted, and Meredith was glad to have had some time alone with the witch. Having never known her mother or been around females much growing up, she secretly enjoyed the attention from Vivianne. She felt a pang of envy that Lara grew up with such a lovely and supportive mother (though, according to her friend, sometimes too supportive), but then again, Meredith couldn’t—and wouldn’t—change her past.
“Are you all right, dear?” Vivianne said as she handed Meredith a clean dish to put away.
“What?” Meredith shook herself out of her thoughts.
“I’m just wondering. You seemed distracted, that was all,” the older woman said slyly.
“Uh, just tired from the drive,” she sighed. She wished they didn’t have to go back to Manhattan. The coven compound reminded her of Archie’s place outside Portland. His mansion was built on an acreage and surrounded by trees and greenery. This time of the year, the leaves would be turning, and soon the entire landscape would have been bursting with golds and reds.
“Are you sure you can’t stay?”
She shook her head. “Grant’s orders were explicit. Get in and get out.”
“I’m sorry about your father, dear,” Vivianne said quietly.
Her automatic denial of Archie being her father didn’t come out this time. “Thank you,” she said gratefully. “Please, let me,” she said, taking a tray of clean dishes from Vivianne’s hand. “I can put these back.”
As she opened the cupboard and began to place the dishes on the shelf, she looked out of the window, wondering how far Daric and Signe had gone. She frowned. That butt hole. Calling her his driver. None of his other insults had stung as much as that one did. She drove me here. Really, asshole? That’s how he introduces her to his mother?
“Uh, Meredith, dear,” Vivianne said, taking a glass from her. “Maybe I should put away the dishes…before you break them with your bare hands.”
“What? Oh. I’m so sorry Vivianne,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t know
what’s gotten into me.”
“Not Daric, I’m guessing?” the witch asked wryly.
Meredith’s head jerked toward Vivianne so fast, she thought she’d get whiplash. “What…uh, never mind.” Maybe she should be glad she didn’t have a mother to embarrass her or have the awkward sex talk with.
“Oh, you two,” Vivianne sighed. “I don’t know if you were going to stab each other with your forks or have at it on the kitchen table.” She shook her head. “The sexual tension between you is practically electric.”
“And that’s all it is, just tension,” Meredith pouted.
“Dear, you’re a woman,” Vivianne said. “You’re young, gorgeous, and sexy. Just take what you want.”
“You don’t think I’m insane?”
“Why? For getting horny? For wanting that hot piece of ass?”
Meredith was shocked at Vivianne’s words.
I like her, the she-wolf said, seemingly popping up out of nowhere. You should listen to her, instead of your stupid friends.
“You young people today,” the witch tsked. “I swear, I don’t know how you all can be such prudes, with your sexting and hookup apps. You’re worse than Lara.”
“Are you suggesting I try to bang Daric?”
“Why, yes,” Vivianne encouraged. “You should do just that.”
Do it! Do it! Do it!
Oh shut it, horny bitch.
The wolf laughed and tossed its head.
Meredith groaned. “I think…I’ll get some rest before the drive back. Great pep talk, thanks,” she said before she scampered out of the kitchen.
Try to seduce Daric? Daric had been the one coming to her. Maybe she should be the one to come to him this time.
***
“Thank you again,” Daric said to Graham and Vivianne, as they walked him and Meredith to their car. “For your hospitality and taking care of my mother.”
“Please, come and visit anytime,” Vivianne said.
Signe embraced her son one more time. “Think about what I said.”
“I…” Daric hesitated. “I will think about all of it. Thank you.”
The witch turned to Meredith. “It was lovely to meet you,” she said with a bright smile on her face. “Please, take care of my son.”
“Uh, yeah, sure,” she said, frowning. What did the witch mean?
After their final goodbyes, Meredith and Daric got into the SUV, and soon, they were driving back to New York City. Much like their trip upstate, the warlock remained quiet, but he seemed different this time. Even more withdrawn. They were already halfway into their drive, and neither had said a word.
“Did you find out anything from your mother?” Meredith finally said, when she couldn’t take his silence and the distance between them.
“Yes,” he said, his voice cold and eyes turning hard.
“Well? Are you gonna tell me or what?” she asked impatiently. Maybe she shouldn’t listen to Vivianne. It was obvious something had happened while Daric and Signe talked. Did the witch tell her son to stay away from her? Possibly. And that thought slashed at her gut.
“Perhaps it would be best to wait until we talk to your brothers, that way I don’t have to waste my time explaining things twice.”
“Right.” Because it was a waste of his time talking to her. “Well, we should—”
Meredith let out a shriek as the vehicle suddenly lurched forward and began to sputter. She swerved to the side of the highway, getting out of the way.
“What’s wrong?” Daric asked.
She shrugged and tried to start the car. The engine gave one last heave and then nothing. “Motherfucker!” she cursed, slapping her palm on the wheel. “Goddammit! This stupid piece of shit!”
“Do you know what’s wrong?” he asked.
Meredith shook her head. “I know zilch about cars.” With a sigh, she reached over to the dash and got the cell phone Alynna had given her for emergencies. It was locked down, and she couldn’t use the data to access the Internet, but she could call and send text messages. She supposed this counted as an emergency.
Chapter Sixteen
“So, you’re not sure what’s wrong with it?”
“Nope.”
“And you don’t know when you can repair it?”
“Nope.”
“And you don’t have a rental or know if there’s a rental car place nearby?”
“Nope. Nearest one’s at least an hour drive away,” the old mechanic, Joe, said, rubbing his greasy hands on a rag. “Sorry, missy. Nothing I can do for you. Except maybe give you two a ride to the nearest motel? Maybe your people can come pick you up in the morning?”
Meredith kicked the tire of the car in frustration, then let out a string of curses.
Daric looked apologetically at the older man. “Sorry about that. My companion and I really needed to get home. Thank you, we will take you up on your offer.”
“Gimme five,” the man said and walked toward his office.
“Are you done?” Daric asked Meredith.
She gave a long sigh. “Yeah. Well, nothing we can do about it.” Looking outside, she saw that it was already dark. “Looks like we’re stuck here. I’ll call Alynna.” She walked out of the garage, pulling the phone out of her pocket and dialed the single number programmed into the device.
As soon as the SUV stalled, Daric and Meredith called Alynna and explained what happened. Unfortunately, there was no one around to help them or drive two hours to come pick them up, so she said she’d search for the nearest mechanic to give them a tow. About two hours later, an older man in an ancient tow truck pulled up next to the SUV and introduced himself as Joe. He towed the car back to his garage, which was actually in a small town another hour away, in the opposite direction of Manhattan. As they waited for him to fix the vehicle, they walked to the diner across the street and had some dinner before going back to Joe’s garage.
When they got back, they found the old man staring at the SUV, a confused look on his face. Joe said he wasn’t sure what was wrong, but he said it might be a computer issue, something he couldn’t fix. And now, here they were, stuck in this tiny town.
Meredith came back after a few minutes. “Alynna said she'd have Alex pick us up tomorrow at noon. He’ll be bringing a mechanic, too. She said just to go and get a couple of rooms and stay the night.”
Joe came out of his office and led them back to his truck, opening the door for Meredith in the back and gesturing for Daric to ride up front with him. He hitched their car back onto the tow truck, and soon they were on their way. Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the motel complex.
The Cozy Inn Motel looked like any standard old motel, single story and the structure built in a U-shape, with the reception in the middle and the rooms on either side. Across the street was a bar, the words “Dirty Bird” emblazoned on the side in hot neon lights.
Joe dropped them off and pulled the SUV into one of the empty slots at the end of the building. Daric thanked him for his help and followed Meredith into the motel.
The two of them walked into the reception, where an older, dour-faced woman was waiting behind a desk, reading a trashy romance novel.
“Good evening,” Daric said. “We would like two rooms, please.”
The woman let out a long sigh and took out a large, leather bound book from underneath the desk. She opened it up and peered down at the pages. “No,” she said.
“No?” Meredith asked. “No, you don’t have any rooms or no, you don’t want to give us any?”
“No, I don’t got two rooms,” she replied gruffly. “I got one room.”
“What?” Meredith exclaimed. “That can’t be right! You must have at least two rooms! Who the heck would come stay in this Godawful—mmmph!”
“We’ll take it,” Daric said as his hands wrapped over Meredith’s mouth. The Lycan wrenched herself away from him, her face growing red with anger.
The woman shrugged. “Fine. Cash only. And I’m gonna need a deposit.”<
br />
Meredith grumbled as she took out a wad of cash from her purse, slapping it on the desk. The woman handed her a key, sat back down and returned to her book.
“Let’s go,” Meredith said as they walked towards the room, which was the nearest one to the reception area. She slipped the key into the lock and opened it.
The room wasn’t luxurious, but Daric supposed it would have to do. The only problem was that there was only one king-sized bed in the middle of the cramped room. He strode over to the bed and grabbed a pillow.
“I’ll sleep on the floor. Perhaps I can ask for a blanket,” Daric said, trying to find a spot that would look comfortable or at least fit his frame.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Meredith said as she sat on the bed. “The bed is big enough, and if it weren’t, then I should be the one on the floor. You’re humongous.”
The thought of sharing the bed with Meredith made his body react instantly, and he imagined her sweet, lush body wrapped around him. “No, I will sleep on the floor.”
“For God’s sake!” She grabbed the pillow from him and threw it back on the bed. “Grow up, Daric. It’s just one night. I’m sure it’s an inconvenience sharing a bed with me, but you’ll live.”
“It’s not that.” How could he explain it to her? Knowing that she’d be so close to him, he wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation. He’d already gone too far; he was not going down this road.
“What, you think I’m going to attack you in your sleep? That I won’t be able to resist your charms and throw myself at you?” she mocked. “Last I checked, you were the one who brought me into that closet! Or was I imagining someone else’s tongue on my pussy?”
“Dammit, woman!” He grabbed her arm. “Don’t you ever think before you speak?”
“Fuck you, Daric!” She pulled away from his grasp. “You know what? No, I’m not fucking you. Ever.” She stormed to the door.
“Where are you going?” he shouted.
“To find someone who does want to fuck me!” she screamed, slamming the door behind her.
Tempted by the Wolf Page 13
