Jayel arched a brow, and Lana sighed. Maybe she came off that way, depressing a thought though it was. But that wasn’t ultimately why she’d slept with her men.
Jayson cut in before the argument could continue. “Look, Sis, I understand what you’re goin’ through.”
“How? You weren’t the one who got left alone to bury Mom and Dad. You weren’t the one who had to bear the guilt of knowing I should have stopped those monsters. But I didn’t.” Her voice cracked on the last, and unshed tears glittered in the moonlight. “I didn’t save you. Now you’re lost.”
Lana swallowed a thick lump.
“There ain’t nothin’ you could have done to stop that,” Jayson said. “And I ain’t lost. I’m standin’ right here.”
Jayel shook her head. “In all this time, you never once came back for me. Not a single word to say whether you were okay or fucked to high hell. Nothing.” She shot him an accusing glance. “Family doesn’t do that shit to each other. They just don’t. That proves you’re one of them.”
Lana sensed a flash of pain pulsing around Jayson even before it was evident in his eyes. “I’m sorry. After Blaise turned me, I had no choice but to stay away. He had some kind of mind control over most of the pack.”
“Yeah, the same kind you’re using on Lana.”
“They aren’t controlling my mind,” Lana said, but Jayel just snorted.
“Our power is different,” Jayson said. “Blaise’s control wasn’t normal, even among alphas. Many ain’t even heard of what he could do.”
“Which was?”
“Supressin’ our own will, for one thing. He couldn’t force us to harm others, but he could keep us from actin’ on our own behalf. We couldn’t leave, couldn’t move against him. We were his prisoners.”
Jayel gave him a cold smile. “Yet Blaise died, and you still didn’t come back.”
“I tried. As soon as the new alpha disbanded the pack, I searched for you. I looked high and low, but it was like you’d vanished. I reckoned you’d left town.”
“She’s got some kind of herbs that drown out her scent,” Lana said. “That’s why you haven’t been able to track her.”
Jayel shot her a wild-eyed look. “What the fuck, Lana? Friends, huh?”
Zane nodded in understanding. “Wolfsbane. I thought I caught a faint whiff of it this mornin’ in the cabin. But it was masked with fried bacon.” He glanced at Lana, who averted her gaze.
“About the time I’d decided you left,” Jayson went on, “I heard Blaise’s boys had gone east. His offspring were the ones who did the killin’, Sis. They helped their daddy destroy our family. I reckoned I’d follow them and return the favor.” His eyes glittered unpleasantly. “It was the least I owed Mom and Dad. And you.”
There was a pause, and even the woods grew silent around them.
“And did you?” Jayel asked quietly. “Did you return the favor?”
Jayson’s expression fell. “No. I lost their trail near the Arizona-New Mexico border. That’s where I found Zane.” The men’s eyes met. “He’s the one who convinced me to come back here. That’s when I heard stories about you tryin’ to get revenge on the old pack. I’ve been lookin’ for you ever since.”
Jayel’s lip curled. “And you figured using Lana would help draw me out.”
Lana stiffened at that.
He shook his head. “I had no idea you two were even acquainted. Although I have to wonder why my mate didn’t think to mention she knew someone who hunts werewolves.”
Lana flinched guiltily.
“Don’t blame her for this,” Jayel snapped before Lana could open her mouth to answer. “Werewolves should be hunted. They’re dangerous.”
Jayson’s gaze narrowed. “You’ve got to stop. You’ll get yourself killed.”
“I might take a few of you with me.”
“A few of me? Do you really see me as evil?”
“Honestly? I’m not sure.”
Jayson jabbed a thumb at his chest. “I ain’t the one who did this to us. I didn’t ask to be turned into somethin’ unnatural. Once Blaise was dead, the pack all had a say in how much of our wolf nature we wanted to embrace. Most have done right by that choice, and they don’t deserve to die for it.”
Jayel’s eyes flicked wildly back and forth between the others. Then she slowly lowered the gun.
Jayson let out a breath. “Thanks, Sis. I knew you wouldn’t forget I’m still your little brother.”
Her eyes flashed. “For the record, I don’t know what you are.”
“Then just call off the hunt for now until we can talk about it,” he said. “All I want is a chance to explain. Then you can decide who deserves vengeance.” He gave her a gentle smile. “It’s what Mom and Dad would have wanted.”
Jayel’s wavering expression iced over in an instant. “What they would have wanted was to still be here, alive, watching us have grandkids. Not to see their only son become the thing that killed them and go around preying on innocent, albeit stupid, virgins.”
Lana ignored the jab and stepped closer. “Jayson’s a good person. You know that, or you wouldn’t be so broken up with guilt over what happened to him.”
Lana stopped when the gun once again swung her direction. “You’re a damn idiot. Don’t you get it? He’s not a person. Neither of them are.”
The growl Jayson let out proved the point, and his eyes were ablaze when he bolted in front of Lana. “Stop pointin’ that fuckin’ gun at her. Don’t think because we’re blood I won’t protect my mates.”
Lana peered around his back, and to her surprise, Jayel was smiling. “See, Lana? What did I tell you?” The momentary grin vanished. “Message received, Brother. Just do yourself a favor and leave me the fuck alone.”
She turned and ran off into the forest.
Jayson started after her. “Jay, wait!”
“Let her go,” Zane said. “Give her time to think it through.”
Jayson turned to him. “Blaise’s boys are out there. I didn’t get a chance to tell her they’re back.”
“I reckon she can take care of herself.”
“I’m not so sure,” Lana said. “She’s got a gypsy curse on her that makes it so she can’t kill werewolves. Not yet.”
Jayson’s eyes were brimming with golden fire when he leveled his gaze on her. “You knew.” He stalked up to her, ripples of anger and frustration coming off him in waves. “You knew and you didn’t fuckin’ tell me. Why?”
She shrank back and found herself against Zane’s warm body. “I had no idea she was your sister. She never even told me her last name.”
“But you knew she was a werewolf hunter while we’ve been out lookin’ for one. Yet you didn’t say one damn word.”
“I promised her I wouldn’t tell anyone.”
He gave a harsh laugh. “That’s perfect. Just fuckin’ perfect.”
With that, he spun on his heel and headed toward the trees. His steps became erratic and ungainly as his body contorted, shortening until he dropped into a pale grey wolf.
“Jayson,” she called out. “I’m sorry. I can explain.” But the woods had already swallowed him.
“Leave him be,” Zane said. “Coolin’ a hot head ain’t easy durin’ a full moon. He’ll need time.”
She turned to him. “I’m so sorry. I swear, I had no idea who she was. But you weren’t in any danger.”
“How do you figure that? She’s goin’ around shootin’ our kind.”
“Only some of your kind. I’ll admit after hearing what those animals did to her family, I believed she deserved justice. But I made sure she was only going after the wolves responsible for her suffering, and I knew that wasn’t you.”
“Yet she was still prepared to shoot me just for bein’ here.”
Lana sighed. “She thought you were going to hurt me.”
“You should have told us.”
She raised her arms. “Don’t you see why I couldn’t do that? We swore not to tell anyone we’d seen
each other. Her trust means a lot to me.”
“And ours apparently doesn’t.”
Lana blanched. “That’s not true. How could you expect me to break my word to her when you know what’s at stake for me? I wouldn’t want her blabbing and leading Tyson here. Besides, I never told her a thing about you two. You were safe.”
His face was impassive. “If you’re so certain we’re safe from her, why were you afraid to tell her about us?”
She stopped, unable to dig up an answer.
He shook his head and headed for the house.
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“To get my clothes. Then I’m goin’ after Jayson.”
Lana followed him through the cabin to the entryway, where he grabbed his jeans. She took hold of his forearm while he was turning his pant leg right side out. “I thought you said we should leave him be?”
He looked down at her arm, then into her eyes. His were tinged with erotic hunger that was palpable, and she felt the current flowing again. For an instant, he looked ready to drag her back into the magic circle for another ritual. Then he blinked and pulled away.
“I said you should leave him be. And I reckon that includes me as well.”
She stood there, staring, as he tugged on his pants and gathered the rest of his clothes. Without another word, he headed out the back door into the night.
Chapter Nine
Two long, unfulfilling days. Two endless, troubled nights.
Lana turned away from the window, hugging herself as she wandered to the couch and sank down on it. Sage jumped in her lap, kneading her paws on Lana’s jeans while she absently stroked the cat’s fur.
“It’s just you and me, Sagie,” she said.
Sage planted her paws on Lana’s chest and raised up to sniff at the mark on Lana’s shoulder. Zane’s mark. The cat gave an irritated sneeze and backed off. She jumped down from Lana’s lap and slunk away, curling up in the corner.
“Or not,” Lana said.
For months, Lana had been alone with only her smart-aleck cat for a friend. She’d gotten used to it. Life on the run meant speaking to few and trusting none. But in Shay Falls, it seemed she hadn’t gone more than a few hours at a stretch without either a cowboy, Indian, or gun-slinging redhead at her door. Now, the silence grew louder with each passing minute until she wanted to scream.
“You lied to me, Zane,” she murmured. “You said I wasn’t alone anymore.”
He’d told her to leave them be, that calming down was harder during a full moon. Well, the full moon phase was over now, and there was still no sign of the men. Jayel hadn’t returned either, which was far less surprising. It still stung to know she thought of Lana as a desperate, lonely idiot. Maybe she was right, considering her lovers apparently wanted nothing to do with her now that they’d succeeding in fucking her.
Perhaps the men were justified in being angry that she hadn’t mentioned Jayel, but she hadn’t meant any harm. Quite the contrary. And what if something happened to her while they were busy ignoring her? Would they care anymore? She couldn’t even call them for help, since they’d never gotten around to trading cell numbers. They’d said they would watch over her, keep her safe. But she should have known better.
Yet even while she was going crazy with loneliness, she could feel Zane and Jayson out there. She sensed them from a distance, their volatile emotions and potent animal urges waxing and waning like miniature cycles of the moon. They were part of her now, entrenched deep in her gut where there was no hope of getting them out.
Zane had told her if she ever got into trouble, they’d know it, and the connection they shared now was likely what he meant. Maybe it hadn’t been mere luck that Jayson had shown up in time to save Zane and Lana from his sister. Maybe he’d known his mates were in danger. It was an intriguing thought. Whether he or Zane would act on that intuition now that they apparently hated her was the real question.
“Maybe it’s time to test the theory,” she said, getting to her feet.
“Help,” she called out. “I’m in danger here. Help.”
Sage stretched her neck up and stared at her.
“Don’t judge me,” Lana said. “I’m trying something. Uh, I need help?”
The words lacked conviction, so she tried tapping into some of the fear that lingered just beneath the surface of her emotions. “Help!”
How ridiculous she sounded, standing in the living room yelling at no one. She shouldn’t have to scream, should she? This was a test of the men’s concern, not their werewolf hearing.
Lana made a face at herself in the fireplace mirror. “This won’t work. I’m just not feeling it.”
While she tried to think, her gaze stopped at the window. Then a slow smile came. “A dose of real fear is in order, I think.”
The smile faded as soon as she went out the back door and spied the ladder lying on its side.
“Just do it, chicken shit,” she whispered.
Sighing, Lana grabbed the ladder and headed for the end of the house where the roof was lowest. Just setting the ladder upright against the overhang was enough to feel a jump in her pulse. She and heights hadn’t spoken in years.
“Oh, hell,” she muttered, glancing upward.
Gritting her teeth, she ascended the first step, testing it with her weight before standing on it fully. It held firm, so she tentatively climbed the next one. And the next. Splinters bit into her fingers, but she just winced and kept going. The ladder was old and creaked badly, which by itself produced enough fear to scare up her cowboys if they gave a damn anymore. Still, she made herself keep going.
Near the top, she paused and glanced out over the roof. “Huh,” she said, her voice shaking. “A metal roof. I would have thought wood like the rest of the cabin.”
Babbling to ease her panic just a little failed to inject the slightest calm. Willing her sharp, ragged breaths to slow, her eyes followed the slant of the metal that had been painted in wood-toned streaks to give it a more natural look. A puzzling sight halfway up prompted a frown.
“What is that?” she asked, peering at an odd bundle at the base of the chimney. It was soft and round, stuffed with bits of fluff and fabric. She risked one shaky step higher and leaned well over the roof, staring hard at the bundle.
“It’s just a bird’s nest,” she said, rising to put her full weight on the second rung from the top.
With an ugly crack, the rung gave way. Lana swore as her footing slipped, but luckily, she managed to grab the roof and scrabble onto it in time to keep from falling. The bad news was, one of her feet knocked the ladder askew. She watched in horror as it clattered to the ground, leaving her flat on her belly with one of her legs dangling in midair.
“Goddess help me,” she said, clutching at the roof for dear life with her eyes squeezed tight.
She started to pull her leg up, but moving even that much threatened her precarious balance. She stopped and laid still, trying not to hyperventilate. After a while, she glanced down again. The ground was too far below. A wave of dizziness hit, and she shut her eyes. She swore and clung tighter to the rain gutter edging the roof. One of her palms throbbed from scraping it along the edge, and her face was wet from tears that somehow managed to squeeze through her tight lids. All she’d wanted was a little fear, not abject terror. Now, she was stranded.
“This was so damn stupid,” she whispered through clenched teeth. She was trapped on a roof because she was desperate for attention from men who didn’t want her anymore. How utterly pathetic.
Her heart thudded dully in her ears while she tried to think. “Help!” she cried out as loud as she could, and this time, there was no mistaking the true distress in the words. “Somebody please, help me!”
It may have been a futile effort, but she called out several times. There were other cabins nearby, after all. Maybe someone would hear her. She chased away the paranoid whispers warning that the wrong someone would hear her instead. But no one heard. No one cared.
>
She gave over to tears after a few minutes. “What am I going to do?”
“Lana?”
Her head jerked up to see a welcome sight.
“Jayson,” she said. “Thank God.”
He was standing beneath her, his hat pushed way back as she stared up at her. “Why are you lyin’ on the roof?”
“Does it really matter right now?”
He shrugged and picked up the ladder, leaning it a foot or so away from her head.
“The rung broke,” she said, trying not to pay attention to exactly how high up she was.
A loud creak halfway up stopped Jayson’s ascent. “This ladder’s no good. You shouldn’t have been on it.”
“Thanks for pointing that out. Just hurry, please.”
He shook his head. “Fuck this,” he said, and he hopped lightly to the ground.
“I’m sorry,” she blurted. “I didn’t mean to snap at you. Please don’t leave.”
“I ain’t goin’ anywhere.” He shoved the ladder aside and stood right under her. “Can you shift your other leg over?”
“No. I’m afraid to move at all.”
“It’s all right. Just go ahead and jump.”
Her mouth flew open. “Are you crazy? I’m not going to jump. It’s like ten feet down.”
“Not really. You’re already hangin’ halfway over. Just let go. I’ll catch you.”
Just let go. Just trust the man who’d been too angry to even want to see her again.
“Last time we collided, you wound up unconscious.”
“You caught me by surprise then.”
“Yeah, well, you look pretty surprised now.”
“Are you gonna jump or not?”
She shifted slightly to ease her cramped hands. “I don’t know. Stop rushing me.”
“It’s not that far. I’ll catch you, I swear.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one who’s afraid of heights.”
“Maybe I should just let you hang up there, then.”
“Maybe that’s what you would prefer,” she shot back.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing.”
“I can come up there and get you.”
Disorderly Cowboys [Lone Wolves of Shay Falls 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 16
