True Nature

by Jae

  “No, look after Kelsey first,” Rue said. “She took a bullet to the shoulder. It bled pretty heavily. If it wasn’t for those miracle healing skills you have...” Rue shivered. Her fingers tightened around Kelsey’s. She stroked Danny’s cheek and then directed a warning glance at the Saru before she guided Kelsey to the other bed.

  “Can you take that off?” Shelby gestured at the coat Kelsey wore. “I need to see the shoulder.”

  Kelsey hesitated, reluctant to lose the comfort of Rue’s coat around her and to risk more pain by wrestling out of the coat.

  “Turn around, everyone, and give her some privacy,” Rue said.

  “Wrasa aren’t shy about their bodies,” Shelby said.

  Rue arched one eyebrow. “Could have fooled me,” she mumbled.

  Heat rose up Kelsey’s neck. She knew she was blushing scarlet. Normally, she had no problem undressing in front of people, but Rue’s gaze made her self-conscious, maybe because she wanted Rue to like the way she looked. Finally, she sighed. “You don’t need to turn around. By now, you’ve seen me naked more often than my own mother.” She winced when Shelby peeled back the coat and prodded her naked shoulder. She focused on Rue’s soothing scent.

  “You were lucky,” Shelby said after a while. “Just a flesh wound as far as I can see. Painful, but not very dangerous.”

  Rue pulled the bed covers up over Kelsey’s bare chest, until just her shoulders peeked out. She took Kelsey’s hand again, cradled it between both of hers, and brushed her lips over the back of Kelsey’s fingers. “Thank God.”

  Tingles shot up Kelsey’s arm. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to enjoy Rue’s touch for a moment.

  * * *

  “Ho-ho-ho!” Rafael’s voice drifted through the door just as Shelby tied off the last stitch on Rue’s forearm. Moments later, the door opened and Rafael entered, carrying an armful of paper bags.

  The tantalizing scent of fried meat made Kelsey sit up in bed.

  Zoe stuck her nose in the air, inhaling, pressed the half-empty IV bag into Rue’s hands, and hurried toward Rafael.

  Steps on the stairs indicated that Glenn had smelled the food and wanted his share.

  Rafael opened the first bag and piled a hundred dollars’ worth of fast food onto a small table against one wall.

  This was Kelsey’s chance to get her phone while the other Wrasa were distracted. She wrapped the bed covers around her bare shoulders, got up, and approached Rafael—then stopped and frowned.

  Instead of her pants that he had taken from the subterranean chamber, he was now wearing a pair of men’s jeans.

  Damn. He must have stopped to pick up clothes on his way back. “Um, if you don’t need my pants anymore, can I have them back?” she asked, gesturing at the too loose pants she wore.

  “Sorry,” Rafael said. “They didn’t look so good anymore, so I discarded them.”

  And my phone with it. Kelsey’s teeth ground against each other. Her gaze fell onto the coat Rafael wore. Her coat. An image of her stuffing Danny’s iPhone into her coat pocket after taking it from the thief flashed through Kelsey’s mind. Oh, yes! She tried not to let her excitement show but realized the Saru had to smell it anyway. So she bounded over to Rafael like an excited puppy and, ignoring the pain in her shoulder, threw her arms around him. “Oh, thank you for the food. I’m starving.”

  “Um, you’re welcome.” Rafael awkwardly patted her back.

  With the covers billowing around her, hiding what she was doing, Kelsey stuck her hands into his coat pockets. Her left hand immediately encountered Danny’s iPhone. Yes! “Thank you.” She pulled back and quickly pocketed the phone.

  Chapter 60

  Wow. Rue stared at the quickly disappearing fast food. “You guys ever heard of watching your cholesterol levels?”

  A hint of a blush spread over Kelsey’s face, but she was too busy wolfing down her third burger to answer.

  The rustling of bed covers drew Rue’s attention downward.

  Confused hazel eyes looked up at her.

  “Danny!” She almost dropped the IV bag and barely registered Shelby taking it out of her hands. “Oh my God, Danny! How are you feeling? Are you okay?”

  Danny blinked.

  With trembling fingers, Rue formed the letters “OK” and lifted her eyebrows to indicate a question.

  Danny nodded, looked around the room, and then frowned when he peeked under the covers at his still naked body. His movements jostled the IV in his arm, and he lifted his hand to touch it.

  “No!” Shelby moved his hand away from the IV and started to examine him.

  “Who are you?” Danny signed and tried to move away from her touch.

  “Lie still and let her check you, please,” Rue signed. She paused to tug the covers more tightly around Danny. “She’s trying to help you. She’s a doctor.”

  “Doctor?” Sweat broke out on Danny’s brow. “I know her, don’t I?”

  Rue nodded. “She treated you before.”

  “I don’t remember that.” Danny moved his hands and feet, testing out his body as if it felt unfamiliar to him. “Am I sick? Man, I had some weird dreams, and now I feel weak like a kitten.”

  A smile eased Rue’s tension. More like a puppy.

  Tala stepped into Rue’s line of sight. “No signing. I want to understand what you’re saying.”

  “He’s deaf,” Rue said. “And in the state that he’s in, he can’t lip-read. But you don’t have to worry. I won’t tell him anything. I don’t want him to pass out again.”

  Tala sniffed the air and then nodded. “All right. But don’t try to trick me. Smarter people than you have tried and failed.”

  Rue ignored her and focused on Danny.

  “Who are these people?” Danny signed. “And why is she here?” He nodded in Kelsey’s direction.

  For a moment, the question puzzled Rue. Then she remembered that for Danny, Kelsey was just his new tutor. “She’s been a great friend to me. Without her, I never would have found you.”

  He looked around the room. “What happened? Where am I?”

  “In a safe place,” Rue signed, choosing to focus on his second question. She hoped he would be safe, no matter what happened to her and Kelsey.

  “How did I get here? Last I remember...” Danny shook his head. “I’m not sure what I remember.”

  “I searched for you and brought you here.”

  “You did?”

  The surprise on his face stabbed Rue’s heart. “Did you really think I wouldn’t search for you?”

  Danny gazed up at her. The rebellious teenager and the little boy he had once been warred for dominance in his eyes. Then he dropped his gaze. “I’m sorry. It was dumb to run away. And not to call you. But I just...” He shrugged and looked up at her again.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Rue signed, then stopped herself. Too much had been left unsaid between them in the past. Not anymore, she silently promised. “Strike that. It matters. Actions have consequences, but I guess you found that out the hard way, didn’t you?”

  Danny squeezed his eyes shut and nodded. When he opened his eyes again, his hazel irises had darkened to a brown that resembled Kelsey’s. “There’s a boy. He was killed because he stole my wallet. It’s my fault he’s dead, Mom.”

  Mom. It had been years since Danny had called her that. She grasped his hand, then let go to sign. “No. It’s not your fault. He was killed because he made a bad choice. You didn’t tell him to steal your wallet.”

  “Yeah, but if I hadn’t run off to New York—”

  “So you made some mistakes.” Rue stopped herself just in time before she could add, You’re only human. “You’re not perfect. Neither am I.”

  “You? Not perfect? Since when?” Danny asked with a hint of the old rebellious smart-ass expression on his face.

  Rue fought the urge to cross her arms and defend herself but then deliberately kept her stance open. “I made my share of mistakes. I never should have threatened to send
you away.” She wiped a trembling hand over damp eyes, angry that she had to have this conversation while strangers were staring at her. At least they couldn’t understand what she said since she was signing. “That was my way of running away.”

  Tears glinted in Danny’s eyes too, but he fought not to let them show. He grinned. “Like mother, like son, huh?”

  Rue laughed shakily. “Guess so.” She patted him on the shoulder, knowing he was often embarrassed with other signs of affection in front of others.

  When Danny’s gaze fell onto her arm, he shot upright.

  “Careful!” Rue eased him back down.

  “What happened to your arm?” With shaking fingers, he pointed at the stitched-up bite marks on her forearm.

  “Don’t worry,” Rue signed. “It looks worse than it is. A...a dog bit me.”

  Danny snapped his fingers and slapped his thigh, repeating the sign for dog. “A dog?”

  Rue could practically see the thoughts bounce around in his head. Could he remember some of what had happened? But now was not the time to ask. “We’ll talk more later, and I’ll explain everything to you. But for now, you just rest, okay?”

  “OK,” Danny signed. He stared at her arm for a few seconds longer before he lifted his head. His nose twitched.

  How wolflike his body language seemed. Had it been that way all along and she just hadn’t noticed?

  Kelsey walked over and stopped a few steps from the bed. She tilted her head as if silently asking for permission to come closer.

  Rue caught her hand and pulled her onto the edge of the bed next to her.

  “Hi. Good to see you awake.” Kelsey smiled at Danny and handed him a burger.

  Rafael and Glenn watched with ravenous eyes but didn’t stop her.

  Christ, they just wolfed down half a dozen burgers each. How can they still be hungry?

  After tearing off the wrapper, Danny chowed down the burger in hurried bites and reached for another that Kelsey held out to him.

  Still keeping half of her attention on Danny, Rue turned toward Kelsey. “You okay?”

  Kelsey nodded. “And you? After all you’ve been through, you must be quite traumatized.”

  Rue glanced at Danny, who was busy wolfing down his burger, not paying them any attention. “Yeah.” She forced a grin. “I saw more of the male anatomy in the subway tunnel than I ever wanted to see.”

  Instead of returning the grin, Kelsey tilted her head and regarded her steadily.

  Rue swallowed. Her usual defenses weren’t working anymore. Not with Kelsey. “I’m pretty shaken,” she said, voice low. “And my head and arm hurt like a bitch.”

  Kelsey trailed a gentle finger along the stitched-up bite marks on Rue’s arm, never touching the wounds, and then pulled back as if only now becoming aware of the touch. “You’re lucky that he didn’t crush your bones.”

  “Yeah, I liked the bite mark you gave me better.” Rue reached up and fingered the bruise on her neck.

  A blush colored Kelsey’s cheekbones.

  Rue grinned.

  Kelsey offered a burger to Rue, but Rue shook her head. “No. You eat it.” She glanced at Danny to make sure he was still busy with the food and not lip-reading their conversation. “And then shift and heal your shoulder.”

  “Not yet,” Kelsey whispered. She pointed at Tala, who now stood in the doorway, watching them. “She’s waiting for the council to call. If they give the kill order, my shoulder will be the least of our concerns.”

  A ball of tension formed in Rue’s belly.

  A growl from Danny made her look up.

  Glenn had come too close to Danny and the burger in his hands.

  Danny bared his teeth at him, then paused and touched his lip as if puzzled by his instinctive behavior.

  “We need to talk to him and then get out of here somehow,” Rue signed to Kelsey. She was dreading that conversation. How did you explain to your only son that he was a shape-shifter?

  Chapter 61

  Danny woke slowly. The rich scent of walnut and other wood wafted around him. For a moment, he thought he was home, and a smile played around his lips, but then he caught the scent of strangers lurking just outside the door.

  He opened his eyes and sat up, expecting his vision to blur and his head to start hurting. Neither happened. He touched his forehead with the back of his hand and realized his fever was gone. For the first time in days, the haze clinging to his mind like cobwebs was gone.

  When he got out of bed and slipped into the sweat pants and T-shirt someone had left for him, he felt stronger than ever. Energy seemed to pulse through his muscles. He hazily remembered a doctor leaning over him. Wow, whatever she gave me, the stuff is great.

  He opened the curtains and looked out the window, noticing that there were bars on the other side of it. Guess there are rich bigwigs living here, afraid to have their junk stolen. The walled garden he could see from the window looked like it, and so did the chandelier and the fireplace with its marble mantle. Sunlight fell onto the polished hardwood floor, but Danny had no idea if he had slept for just a few hours or through the night.

  It didn’t matter. All that mattered was that Rue had found him and forgiven him. Or had he just dreamed that?

  He crossed the room and opened the door to find Rue. When he wanted to step out into the hallway, a burly man blocked his way. Danny tried to step around him, but the guy moved with him.

  What the hell…? Blood rushed to Danny’s skin, making it heat up and start to itch. He swept his arm in front of him in an unmistakable sign for, “Get out of my way!”

  The man didn’t move. He pointed at the room behind Danny and said something that looked like, “Stay in the room.”

  The itching snaked its way down Danny’s sides and flared through his legs. Who does he think he is, ordering me around? He craned his neck and tried to see around the man. Was Rue somewhere close? Should he shout and hope she’d hear him? But he didn’t like to use his voice in front of strangers, so he shoved against the man’s shoulder instead, trying to get past.

  The stranger was like an immovable boulder.

  Another man rushed out of an adjacent room. Now two men were blocking Danny’s way, both of them staring cluelessly at Danny’s signing.

  The itch along Danny’s arms became a stabbing pain. The bones in his jaw felt as if they were thickening. What the fuck? He had thought the strange things that had happened in the last few days had been a product of hunger-induced hallucinations, fever, and weird dreams. But now it was happening again. His vision blurred. Panic washed through him. He opened his mouth and screamed out his fear and frustration.

  The floor beneath him vibrated as Rue and Kelsey came rushing up the spiral staircase.

  Danny greedily sucked in their soothing scents, Kelsey’s subtle aroma of clover and honeysuckle wrapping around Rue’s spicy tang of pine. The image of running through mixed woodland, with sunlight filtering down on him, rose in front of his eyes.

  “Danny!” Rue ducked past the bigger man and gripped both of Danny’s arms before she let go to sign, “You okay? What’s going on? Did they hurt you?”

  Danny blew out a stream of air and felt the itching recede. He shook his head and shakily formed the signs for “okay.”

  After trailing her hands along his upper arms, Rue let go and whirled around to face the two men.

  “Hey.” Kelsey stepped closer and touched him too. “Are you okay?”

  To Danny’s surprise, her touch was soothing, as if he had known her for much longer than just a few days. He leaned closer. “I’m fine. What the fuck is going on? Would someone please tell me where we are and who these jerks are?”

  “We need to talk.” Rue put a hand on his shoulder and directed him back toward the room.

  The two strangers blocked the door when Rue and Kelsey wanted to follow him. The bigger guy and Rue got into a shouting match, which finally Rue won.

  Danny smirked.

  Rue waited until Kelse
y had stepped into the room before she followed and firmly closed the door.

  “What’s going on?” Danny signed.

  Kelsey and Rue traded a glance, then studied the hardwood floor, the chandelier, and the pile of fast-food wrappers on the table. Both looked as if they would rather be somewhere else. Anywhere else. Their sweat permeated the air.

  Are they nervous? Oh, man. What’s this? All of a sudden, Danny wasn’t so sure anymore that he wanted to listen to what they had to say.

  “We need to tell you something,” Rue said, her words accompanied by signs. “And we don’t have much time. They,” she pointed to the men outside, “gave me ten minutes to talk to you, so I need you to listen.”

  Danny frowned. They gave her ten minutes? What the fuck? Usually, no one told Rue what to do. And what was the big revelation that made Rue so nervous?

  Rue’s gaze flicked to Kelsey again.

  Ah. Now he understood. He rolled his eyes and grinned. “I already know.”

  Rue and Kelsey exchanged startled glances. “You do?” Rue asked.

  “Duh.” Did they think he was a dumb kid? Even though they didn’t kiss each other in front of him, they weren’t fooling him. Their mingling scents and the glances they kept exchanging spoke volumes. “It’s kind of obvious.”

  “It is?” Rue stared at him.

  “Yeah. She’s your new girlfriend. No big deal.”

  Rue’s eyes widened. “Oh. You...you think she’s...that we...we’re lovers?”

  “You aren’t?”

  Kelsey lowered her face to hide her blush, and Rue fiddled with the collar of her blouse. “That’s not what we wanted to tell you,” Rue signed. “I think you better sit down.” She ran both hands through her hair and then massaged her shoulders as if a great weight rested on them. Her expression was strained.

  Danny had never seen her so stressed, so he decided to cut her some slack. He sat on the bed and slid his gaze from Rue to Kelsey, who seemed equally nervous. What the fuck is up with them? “You’re not about to tell me I’m dying or anything, are you?” He lifted his lips into a weak grin. “Is that why I feel so weird?”