The Greystone Bundle (Books 1-4)

by Taylor Longford

  So when I got her back to my place at the end of the day, I buried my nose behind her ear and pulled in a deep lungful of her mouth-watering scent. "What's troubling you?" I asked huskily.

  "Nothing," she answered, acting all surprised.

  But I knew it was an act. "I know something's wrong, Whit. I can feel it."

  "'Kay," she said lightly. "'Kay. I have a confession to make."

  I questioned her with a lifted eyebrow, surprised at how quickly she'd given in and fairly confident that she was trying to change the subject.

  "Remember when you asked me about flipping you the love symbol? And I suggested it might have been for someone else?"

  "I remember," I said, giving her a stern look.

  "Well, it wasn't for someone else. It was for you."

  I smiled slowly.

  "I couldn't help myself," she confessed. "When I looked up into the stands that night, you were sitting there looking so dark and glowery, like you were waging some kind of internal battle."

  "I was," I answered quietly. "I was fighting my attraction to you."

  She lifted her shoulders in an elegant shrug. "I didn't dare talk to you; my parents were in the stands. But I wanted to send some love your way."

  I leaned into her and put a long kiss on her lips. "What else?"

  "What do you mean?" she asked innocently.

  "You still haven't told me what's troubling you."

  Her shoulders slumped and she sighed. "You know me too well."

  "You might as well get used to it," I advised. "Because I'm gonna be around for a while."

  She looked hesitant which was kinda charming because she's usually so confident. "I'm just being silly, 'Fiyance. And…and territorial."

  "I love it when you're territorial," I growled as my lips traveled across her soft cheek to her ear.

  A very small, very wry smile tweaked the corner of her mouth. Then she took a deep breath and spilled it. "You haven't asked me to wear your rune. Don't you want to share it with me?"

  Believe it or not, I was actually ready for that conversation. Yeah, I'm a guy and everything but my human side is really pretty sensitive about stuff like that. "Of course I want it. More than anything. But you're young and pretty and popular, Whitney. And you're two years younger than me. You have a lot of living to do before you settle down with one guy. Once my rune is on your arm, you won't be able to get rid of me. And I don't want to rush you into a decision that you might regret later on."

  "I'm not going to change my mind," she said like she knew I already knew that.

  And I did. And she deserved to know the truth. "I promised your father I'd wait until you're eighteen."

  I was a little worried she'd be upset that we'd made this pact behind her back. But she brightened up right away, like she was happy to know what was holding me back.

  "I told him I wouldn't mark you and I'd be careful around you so you wouldn't need to take my venom to build up an immunity to the poison. In return, your father said we could spend the next two years hanging out together."

  "I don't know how he could have stopped us," she remarked, the corner of her mouth drawing out in a flat line.

  I nodded my head a few times. "He agreed it would be hard since I was the guy who saved your life."

  "Not to mention you're the guy I'm in love with," Whitney pointed out dryly.

  My chin jerked up and my gaze locked on hers. Okay, I'd heard it before but it was still earth shattering. I didn't think I'd ever get used to it. But I sure as hell wanted to. I wanted to hear it all the time.

  But it didn't take too long after that for the wheels to start turning inside her sharp mind. "We could put the tattoo somewhere that he'd never see," she suggested craftily.

  Aaand that was a tempting idea. To see a part of Whitney Anders that nobody else had ever seen. But a deal is a deal and a promise is a promise. I fought back a heavy groan and tried to act like I was disappointed she would even consider such a thing. "I gave him my word," I growled stubbornly. "I'm not going to break it."

  "And after two years?"

  "When you're eighteen, we'll talk about it again," I told her.

  But she seemed so unhappy which was way unwhitneylike and almost killed me. Fortunately, I had something that I thought might cheer her up. So I took her upstairs to my room and sat her on my unmade bed while I dug my surprise from the back of my clothes drawer.

  "What's this?" she asked softly as I handed her the crumpled lump of red and white paper that had once been a lame attempt at a homemade valentine. When I'd tossed it at my wastebasket a few weeks ago, it had landed in my pile of laundry and I'd never been able to bring myself to throw it out. Giving up on the card would have been like giving up on our love and I'd never been willing to go that far. I couldn't throw out the valentine any more than I could deny my love for Whitney.

  I sat down beside her, the side of my leg touching hers, my arm braced behind her back. "I made the card for you back on Valentine's Day then chickened out when I had the chance to give it to you."

  Her teeth sank into her bottom lip as she looked down at the broken valentine. "I wasn't very encouraging that night," she admitted.

  "No, you weren't," I agreed quietly. "Open it."

  "It's really pretty," she murmured as she picked the ugly ball open and tried to flatten it out. For a minute, I thought she was going to cry. You have to admit, it was a pretty sentimental moment. But before she could get properly started on the tears, something slid from between the layers of paper and landed in her lap. Something gold. Recovering it swiftly, she turned the pendant and chain in her fingers. "It's your rune!" she whispered.

  I examined the elegant work of gold that she gathered up in her hand, the two thickly sculpted rams' head butted together and glinting in the afternoon light that slanted in through the bedroom windows. I'd had it made from the ring I'd found in that mine outside Boulder. Yeah, I was already raiding my motorcycle fund. But it was for Whitney and she was totally worth it. Havoc had helped me with the design and Reason had drawn it up for me. And I took the sketch down to town where Pine Grove has a very accomplished jeweler with a small business in a tiny old house on the main highway.

  Lifting her chin with my fist, I held her gaze and shook my head. "Nay, Whitney. It's more than my rune."

  "What do you mean?" she asked breathlessly.

  I took the heavy piece of gold and rubbed it between my fingers. "Don't you see, lass? The symbol on this necklace means more than defiance."

  "It does?"

  "Aye," I murmured, leaning in and brushing my lips against her mouth, hoping the golden token would hold her until I could claim her as my own forever. "It's my heart, thaerling, shielded by your love."

  Epilogue

  So, I'm changed. Finally at peace with myself and the humans I share the world with…even when I think about what happened to my mother. And sometimes I think if something like that happened again, I wouldn't react the same way. Then I think if something like that happened to Whitney, I'd do the exact same thing. So maybe I haven't changed enough. And maybe some things can't be changed.

  But even Hooligan has noticed a difference in me and races to join me whenever I leave the house to walk across the park to work. He usually disappears for most of the trip then checks back in with me just before we reach the stables. Then after I give him a scratch behind his ears, he gallops off home again.

  And I dug out the emo belt MacKenzie gave me for Christmas, dusted it off and wear it every now and again. Because I like it. And because I'm not too worried about what other people think anymore. And sometimes I even find myself slipping back into the old language, especially for everyday expressions. Whitney doesn't seem to mind it when I call her lass.

  She's turned down two more invitations to that prom thing. I know I should feel guilty that she's missing out on the experience but I don't. I asked MacKenzie if she thought Whit was crazy to turn down a chance to go to prom.

  "Yeah, she's
crazy," Mac said. "Crazy about you."

  So that's a good thing. But I seriously don't know how Valor and Dare manage to live separately from their lasses. It's not so bad for Val because MacKenzie's house is so close. But Mim lives miles away. Yeah, I might be a natural born killer but Dare is tough. Way tougher than me. I say that because I'm not adjusting well to the fact that Whitney lives on the other side of Pine Grove. And I haven't even marked her yet. It will be even harder to be separated after I give her my rune, but maybe we'll be together by the time that happens.

  Right now, we're spending as much time together as possible. Basketball playoffs are over and Whitney has taken me up to the mountains to try skiing and snowboarding. I think I prefer boarding, especially since we're both beginners and Whitney doesn't have ten years on me. But the lifts will be closing soon so we'll have to take it up again next year.

  I might even save up for my own board. I guess you're probably wondering what happened to my motorcycle fund. Well, I don't need it anymore. Because Peggy gave me the Indian. Yeah, I'm serious. Dr. Anders told her that I'd rescued his little girl up on that pass and Peggy got all teary-eyed and emotional and insisted that I deserved the bike. I'm not sure about that, but when she asked me if I wanted it, I said, "Hell, yeah."

  It's still parked in her garage but we're going to roll it out in the spring and I'll practice riding it on her property before I take it home. It's going to be so killer. The pack is almost as amped as I am. And for a while Havoc even stopped being so annoying. But he couldn't keep it up. And after a few days, he started offering to call me Devon if I'd let him ride the bike. I told him I'd break his skateboard if he didn't shut up.

  It was a week after Chaos's rescue before Torrie could get away from her family for a few hours. When she did, she contacted Elaina and met up with her and Reason at a local park so they could give her a ride up to our place. By that time, my wing was feeling great. Better than ever. So Dr. Anders did a good job.

  Anyhow, we moved Chaos into the garage for her visit and leaned him up against the back wall where the sun couldn't reach him. The garage is completely empty so he cut a lonely figure of gray stone propped against the wall, his hoodie tied around his waist, his wings opened to their full extent, his eyes frozen in shock at the instant he realized something strange was happening—something beyond his control—when MacKenzie had turned him to stone.

  Torrie's face went pale as we ushered her into the garage from the house. The long overhead lights sent a harsh wash of white light down on Chaos's gray form. Torrie took a few faltering steps, looking like she wanted to throw her arms around him. But she seemed unsure of herself, as if she wasn't certain he'd want her to do that. "Why haven't you put him in the sun, so he can wake up?" she asked.

  Victor grimaced. "He's bound to that harpy by instinct. And she's still alive. If we wake him, he'll try to make his way back to her. He can't return to his living form until she's dead."

  "And, right now, we don't even know where she is," Reason murmured, rubbing his knuckles against his jaw.

  Torrie twisted her hands together, obviously torn. "I think you should wake him. He might be able to tell you something that will help you against the harpy."

  Victor shook his head. "He won't betray her."

  "But there might be something important he knows that he can tell you," she argued with a desperate note in her voice. "Something that'll protect you without betraying her."

  Before the others could react, I found myself agreeing with her. My gaze flicked toward Chaos. "Torrie's right. If nothing else, Chaos might be able to tell us something about my brothers. He could do that without betraying Vilschka."

  Reason and Victor shared a troubled look but finally agreed after the rest of the pack backed me up. Havoc and Dare were assigned the job of restraining Chaos so they kicked off their shoes and got ready. Then both of them grabbed one of Chaos's thick wrists and braced their bare feet against the garage's concrete floor while MacKenzie turned them to stone. Once we were sure Havoc and Dare were locked to the floor, she freed Chaos.

  We thought he'd struggle to get loose the instant he came to life. But after he stumbled to his feet, he turned his head toward Torrie. "Come here," he whispered in a dry croak.

  She ran to him, hugging his waist and pressing her ear to his chest as if she needed to hear the surge of his heart.

  Automatically, he tried to move his arms around her but Havoc and Dare had them pinned close to his sides. He lowered his mouth against the top of her head. "Are you alright?" he murmured into her hair.

  "I'm fine," she answered, her voice cracking with emotion. "I'm okay." She looked around at us. "Can't you let him go?"

  "Nay!" he cut in before any of us could answer. "Nay. If they let me go, I'll make a run for it. I'll find my way back to that monster. My family is right. It's best this way."

  He lifted his gaze to his brothers who descended on him, wrapping the couple in their rough hugs. "We know how difficult this is for you," Victor murmured after clearing his throat and taking a step backward while Reason just nodded wordlessly for several seconds.

  Valor spoke up and broke the painful silence with his quiet words. "We know it's tough. I was trapped in my stone form once, when MacKenzie was in danger. My instinct to protect her just about drove me mad. We know that the instincts calling you back to the harpy are just as strong."

  Chaos shook his head and closed his eyes. "I…don't want to be with her. I loathe her. But something is driving me to reunite with her. I can't fight it. I wish I could."

  "It's not your fault," Victor told him gently.

  His face was a mask of anguish when he opened his eyes again. "I should be able to fight it. I should be able to do it for Torrie's sake, if nothing else. But I'd battle everyone standing here to get back to that monster."

  Victor shook his head as his gaze slanted down on Torrie. "If it came down to it, you'd do the right thing. You wouldn't hurt us."

  "I wish I believed that," he rasped.

  "You didn't hurt us back in that mine," Victor pointed out. "You could have. But you warned us to step back."

  "I didn't want to hurt you," he admitted. "That's why I had a strong escape plan. So I wouldn't have to fight you. But if you'd given me no other choice…" His voice faded as he contemplated the alternative. "I'd have fought. I'd have killed you if I had to. Then I'd have been forced to live with that memory for the rest of my life. Don't let it come to that," he pleaded.

  Reason shared a hard look with the leader of the pack. "We won't let it come to that," he promised his brother. "We'll back off before that happens. I give you my word. I give you my solemn fricking oath."

  "Can you tell us anything that would help us to track down the harpy and eliminate her?" MacKenzie asked tentatively.

  Chaos pulled in a deep breath, already starting to look restless, his gaze flicking toward the garage doors. "I can't say much. My instincts forbid it. But you should know that she has a small bottle of my venom. She can use it to extend her strength in my absence."

  While the pack shared an appalled look, MacKenzie asked, "Anything else?"

  "Check my pockets," he gritted like every word was becoming a great effort. "Vilschka made me carry some of her treasure when you showed up at the first mine and we had to make a run for it. Then she never got it back from me. There are a few old pieces in there that she brought with her from the old world."

  So with Torrie's help, we cleaned out his pockets. Some of it was just junk but there were a few things that looked like they might be valuable. While the others were handing the old artifacts around, I cleared my throat, knowing that I needed to get my questions in before we ran out of time and had to turn Chaos back to stone. But I hesitated, feeling like it was selfish of me to bother him with more questions when they were taking such an obvious toll.

  Thankfully, Whitney spoke up for me. "Can you tell us anything about Defiance's brothers?"

  Chaos turned a wild look in my di
rection.

  "After the accident in Limon, Vilschka captured you," I said quietly. "At the same time, Motschka carried off one of my brothers."

  His chin jerked erratically. "That was Force," he struggled to say. "Courage was in his living form at the time of the crash. After the accident, Nitschka was supposed to be watching him but I think he got away."

  "Do you know where they might have ended up?" I pressed him. "Motschka said she dropped the gargoyle she was carrying."

  His biceps bulged and his veins stood out beneath the tight stretch of his skin as he fought the urge to run. "I don't know where she dropped him," he panted hoarsely. "I wasn't facing in her direction when it happened. But we traveled west first, then when we approached the lights of a big city, we veered north."

  I nodded. We'd actually searched the exact opposite route out in the plains, traveling north then west. "Did she drop Force before you turned north or afterward?"

  "Before," he croaked. "I don't think she carried him long. He was hot and burning her fingers."

  So it was worth another trip out to Limon to look around but it would still be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

  "I could probably show you the route we took when we left the accident. Once I'm free."

  So…there was definite hope of finding Force one day, but perhaps not until the Vilschka was dead and we could free Chaos to show us the way.

  "I think you'd better change me back," he groaned, closing his eyes again and rubbing his mouth into Torrie's hair. "It'll be hard. But not as hard as this."

  "Of course," Victor murmured. "If that's what you want."

  Chaos looked down at Torrie and asked, "Did you tell them? Did you tell them what I promised that thing?"

  Torrie lifted her worried gaze to his face and shook her head.

  "I promised Vilschka a family in the spring," he scraped out in a voice that was raw with self-loathing.

  We'd suspected this was one of the concessions he'd made to the harpy in return for Torrie's freedom, so the news wasn't unexpected. But that didn't stop me from feeling like I was going to hurl. Fortunately, Reason was stronger than me. "We won't let her take you," he told his brother.