Stalked (Rogues Shifter #2)

by Gayle Parness

  I narrowed my eyes in anger, zeroing in on this fae lord’s major weakness. “Why would I want to spend my life with an incompetent fae like you? You’re not even on the Council of Elders. Lord Caelen and Lord Argon are superior to you in every way. Even Liam, Lord Caelen’s bastard, is more worthy of my attention. Pleasure is all well and good, but somehow I think that even in that department you’d be lacking.”

  His face turned red and his eyes glowed with an angry solid gold. I didn’t see his fist until it was too late. I felt it connect and its force made my psychic form step back, but the pain was nothing like what it would have been had he punched me in the real world.

  “You will regret every word, Jacqueline Crawford.” He hissed.

  His energy was wavering, so I shoved him with all of my might and he was suddenly gone from Ethan’s mind. The violent scene disappeared into blackness, briefly disorienting me.

  When I released Liam's and my combined energies, I was happy to see that Ethan’s expression had become peaceful and his steady breathing was no longer shallow. Even his skin had begun to pink up. I breathed a relieved sigh but tensed up again as I looked sheepishly at Liam, knowing that he’d heard every word.

  He slid his hand from my shoulder down to my hand and squeezed it, smiling. “Only you, Jacqueline, may refer to me as Lord Caelen’s bastard, and hopefully it will only be on this one occasion." He chuckled. "I’m also very pleased to hear that you find me more appealing than Lord Kennet.”

  My face flamed with heat. “I’m sorry, Liam. I couldn’t hurt him physically, so I went for his ego’s jugular. You know that Garrett and I respect you and value your friendship."

  “I wouldn’t go that far.” Garrett was back and kissing the top of my head, so Liam stood to let him sit next to me. As they passed each other, Garrett smiled and put his hand on Liam’s shoulder. “Thank you.” Liam only nodded and smiled then dissolved magically into the ley lines.

  The doctor checked Ethan’s monitors and looked at me with curiosity. “He’s much stronger already. What did you do?”

  “Someone powerful was messing with his mind, so I went in and threw him out.”

  Garrett sent, “Kennet?”

  “He was torturing Ethan.”

  He nodded and stood, walking around behind me to rest his hands on my shoulders in support. Dr. Morganstern sat next to me and held out his hand. “Let’s see if we can do this.” He explained in detail what I would be looking for. I took his hand with my right and took Ethan’s with my left. I closed my eyes and pulled in more energy, then reached into Ethan heart, traveling through veins up into his brain where I found the swollen blockage. I sent a picture to Dr. Morganstern who then demonstrated how the pressure could be relieved. I sent out my probes to Ethan and tried to duplicate that procedure.

  It took twenty minutes, probably the longest twenty minutes of my life. I would send the doctor pictures of what I saw physically and he would adjust his steps slightly. But even after having Liam’s magic infused into my bloodstream, I was still growing weaker by the minute. Garrett tried to help by sending me encouraging words and by massaging my upper back and neck to help relieve the anxiety that almost overwhelmed me. I mean, Jeez, I was messing with Ethan's brain. I could kill him with one tiny mistake.

  Still, I kept pushing myself until finally, Ethan stirred and his eyes fluttered open. I let go of the doctor’s hand and held Ethan’s in both of mine.

  His brow was furrowed with pain, but he managed to smile at me. His beautiful golden brown eyes met mine and I shuddered as I released some of the tension that had tied my muscles into knots. Tears ran down my cheeks as he squeezed my hand weakly and then lifted his own to wipe them away.

  Garrett walked to the door. “I’ll tell the others that you’re awake.” He left quietly. Before Dr. Morganstern followed him out, he told Ethan that the others could visit for only fifteen minutes because he needed to shift quickly to recover fully.

  After they left, Ethan turned to me. “I felt you there the whole time. You kept telling me to hold on. Thanks for not giving up on me, Speedy.”

  He’d used the silly nickname he’d given me on the island, so I laughed with relief. “Hey, I seem to recall that we have a bowling rematch to schedule.” He smiled weakly again just as Sinc burst through the door. She ran to his side and started hugging and kissing him, and he winced in pain at her enthusiasm.

  “Take it easy, Sinc, he’s not healed yet.” Kyle had pulled her off of him allowing his parents to take her place. I laughed as I stood, meaning to make room for Sinc on my side of the bed, but my knees wobbled and I swayed. Kyle let go of Sinc and ran to me, scooping me up in his arms like I was a feather.

  “Cheetah girl, you need to go home with your vampire to eat something and get some sleep. You saved the day again, so go take care of your own ass for awhile.” He handed me off to Garrett who’d just gotten back in time to hear Kyle’s comment.

  Hearing Ethan’s warm laughter made me cry again, but this time Garrett kissed away each one. Before we left, Ethan’s parents thanked me with happy tears in their eyes and Sinc hugged and kissed me on the cheek and told me she’d call me tomorrow.

  “Garrett, put me down.” We were walking down the hallway of the hospital and people were staring. "This is embarrassing."

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’ll be fine.” He lowered me to the ground where I managed to stand steadily for a few moments. Feeling more confident, I took a few steps toward the elevator but had to grab the wall to keep the room from spinning.

  “How’s this?” Garrett wrapped my arm around his waist and then put a supportive hand over my shoulder, taking some of my weight. I was able to make it outside and to our car with a little dignity. And because he’s a very intelligent mate, he didn’t crack any jokes at my expense.

  Chapter Fifteen

  I slept on the short car ride back to our Crescent City home. It didn’t make sense for me to go back to Gasquet since, now that Ethan was injured, I wasn’t starting class the next day. Plus I was nervous to be in the house by myself, what with Kennet gunning for me. I knew what I’d said to Kennet was only going to come back and bite me in the ass, but I had to get him the hell out of Ethan’s mind so he could heal himself.

  After we walked through the front door, Garrett led me to the kitchen table and indicated that I should sit down. He made me a sandwich and an energy shake and then sat next to me. “What was it like in Ethan's mind?"

  "Liam kept me anchored so I didn't go nuts, but it was still terrifying."

  “How did you manage to throw Kennet out?” he asked.

  "I tried to stab him, but he laughed at me.”

  “His first mistake.” Garrett’s eyes sparkled with mischief.

  “Yeah, that just made me angrier. I ended up insulting him out. I attacked his overinflated ego. I told him that he wasn’t even an Elder and that Argon, Caelen and Liam were much more attractive to me. I also said he probably wasn’t that hot in bed, or something like that. Then when he wasn't concentrating I gave him a shove.”

  “Ouch. You didn’t pull any punches. Why were you apologizing to Liam?”

  “I called him Lord Caelen’s bastard.”

  Garrett burst out laughing, not able to speak for almost a whole minute, clutching his stomach and wiping away tears. “Anyone else who said that would be smeared with honey and staked out for the bugs to feast on.”

  I shuddered. “Liam wouldn’t do that to someone.”

  Garrett looked at me like I’d just landed on this planet. “Liam would do that and worse. The fae, which includes your sweet Liam, are more vicious than any other supes, with the possible exception of demons. You’d have some serious nightmares if I told you about things that I’ve actually seen Liam, Caelen and Aedus do.”

  “What happened with you and Aedus?” Garrett had somehow saved Aedus’ life but I guessed that there was more to the story than that. Liam originally worked for Garrett as payment for Garrett’s
service to Aedus, although Liam was probably around now because of their friendship.

  “I’m honor bound to secrecy. I can’t even tell you.” He looked a little uncertain as to how I’d take the news that he had a secret he would never tell me. I decided to let it go. Garrett had lived for a long time and had a lot of history. It made him who he was and that was the man that I loved.

  I touched his face and he kissed my fingers. "I'm sure it's an epic tale. Maybe someday Aedus will tell me."

  Garrett’s head whipped around just before the doorbell rang. It was 2:00 AM and we were definitely not expecting anyone. Silver sparkled in his eyes as he moved in a blur to the door and opened it without hesitation. I ran to the living room to see who was causing such a strong reaction.

  “Sasha, why are you here?” Tall, blonde, gorgeous and deadly, Sasha stood in the doorway with his head down in a submissive pose.

  “I’m here representing the others. I need to discuss some matters with you regarding your nest.”

  I noticed the tightness in Garrett’s shoulders and watched him clench and unclench his hands. I sent to him, “It's okay. Talk to him. I’ll go clean up my mess in the kitchen.”

  “I’d prefer it if you’d stay with me. Your advice would be appreciated.” He remained at the door blocking Sasha’s entrance.

  I grinned proudly and sent, “Of course. Should I invite him in?”

  “Yes.”

  I walked closer to the door so that I could see Sasha’s face. “Please come in, Sasha.” He lifted up his head and looked at me with his startling light blue eyes, seeming a little uncertain as to what part I'd be playing in the discussion. Garrett moved to stand next to me as Sasha slowly crossed the threshold. I indicated that he should follow me into the living room and sit on the brown leather couch, so he did, leaning back and crossing his legs. He wore black leather pants, a black button down shirt, and a serious expression. Garrett and I sat in the wingback chairs and waited.

  “I assume you know that Francois is leaving in two days?” he began. “Yvette will petition you to go with him and join his nest in Paris. William, Heinrich and I would like to stay here with you. However, we'll have nowhere to live. As our—master, we thought you could find us somewhere safe to rest during the day.” There was an irritated edge to his voice and his body language was not submissive any longer. Sasha was pissed.

  Garrett scowled. “I see that you’re angry, so what’s up?”

  “What’s up with you, Garrett? We’ve known each other for a very long time, yet you don’t seem interested in how any of us are adjusting. We’re used to Eleanor's constant supervision, so this amount of freedom is disconcerting to say the least. It would really be great to have some direction. We’re all living by your rules, which is fine, but now what?”

  “And what kind of direction did you have under Eleanor?” Silver continued to dance in Garrett’s eyes.

  A few sparkles appeared in Sasha's eyes as well. “You remember. We were sent out to attract shifters and humans and bring them in for entertainment purposes.” I shuddered but Sasha didn’t seem to notice. “You’re the only one who was strong enough to resist her orders, and you ran away to hang with the shifters every chance you got. You don’t know what we went through every time you tricked her and got away. We all suffered because of your actions." He looked at me. "Would you like your mate to hear the details? She used to chain William with silver, spread-eagled on the floor. She'd make me…”

  Garrett stood in a flash of vamp speed and suddenly Sasha was against the wall with Garrett's hand clamped around his neck. “Spouting your mouth off in anger won’t accomplish anything you’d enjoy. You will show us respect or I will end you now. Your choice.”

  Although he was a couple of inches taller than Garrett, Sasha didn't fight back. Instead he fisted his hands and nodded in obeisance. Although Garrett was usually disgusted by threats, he had to continue to show dominance so there would be no mistaking who was in charge. If he'd chosen to pull on his magic and attack, Sasha would have been dead in seconds.

  He released his grasp and returned to the seat next to mine, scowling at Sasha. I put my hand over his in support.

  Sasha sat back on the couch rubbing his throat. "I apologize to you both," He looked Garrett in the eye, "but at least I got your attention.” He seemed to brace himself for more pain, possibly thinking that Garrett would strike out at him again. He must have suffered under Eleanor's psychotic rule as much as Garrett had. Ideas started to spin around in my head.

  “How would he feel about hunting Kennet?” I knew Garrett would beat himself up later if he mistreated Sasha. This might point his mind in another direction.

  “There’s no proof that he attacked Ethan. I can’t ask to have Kennet killed.”

  “What are you saying?” Now I was pissed. “I saw him in Ethan’s head tormenting him.”

  “Jackie, could we please discuss this later?”

  “Yes, fine.” I crossed my arms.

  “I suppose I could use them as bodyguards for the team. As for finding them a place to live, I’ll have to keep renting the house they’re in now even though it'll be difficult to keep an eye on them there.”

  “Can’t they stay in the basement?”

  “This basement?”

  “Yes, the house is plenty big enough. There are four or five rooms without windows in the basement that we could fix up for them.

  Looking puzzled, he met my gaze. “This is something else that we need to discuss privately.”

  “Fine.” I could wait.

  Sasha had been watching us, trying to guess what our extended conversation might entail. He sat up a little straighter when he saw Garrett’s attention was back on him. “Sasha, tell the others to come here tomorrow night at midnight and I’ll speak to them. Please ask Francois if he would be kind enough to come as well. I will accept Yvette’s petition if she delivers it personally. I have some ideas regarding a direction for you. As far as finding you a safe place to rest, I will absolutely take care of that for the three of you. I take my responsibility seriously where you're concerned.”

  Sasha stood. “Garrett, I have no problem accepting your authority, but I’m worried about Rick and Will slipping if they don’t have someone giving them direct orders. I don’t want to see them executed if I can do something to prevent it.” He bowed his head slightly and left. I sighed and pulled my legs up into the chair and wrapped my arms around them, closing myself off to Garrett. I was still angry over the no-kill Kennet order.

  Garrett knelt beside my chair and gently stroked my hair. I turned to look at him and found myself once again staring into the two most incredibly beautiful eyes ever created. I wanted to dive in and swim around in all the love that was reflected there. He gently pulled my legs down so that my feet were once again on the floor, then knelt between them and ran his hands up my thighs to my hips.

  “I hate feeling your anger, but I understand it. No one wants Kennet’s head more than I do, but I can’t do anything to break our alliance with Lord Caelen. It would mean losing his protection and Liam’s friendship. It would be harmful to the entire shifter community, not just us.”

  As he waited for my response, Garrett’s face had taken on that weight-of-the-world expression that sometimes worried me. He was right. We couldn’t jeopardize our agreement with Lord Caelen. I sighed and took one of his hands to hold over my heart and ran my other one through his hair, hoping that I could change that serious expression to a relaxed and happy one. “I’m not angry. You’re right about the alliance. I’m beyond exhausted and not thinking clearly.”

  He seemed relieved. I had a sudden idea that might make us both feel better. “Garrett, will you play for me? I know you love to play your music and you don’t get much of a chance to do it. I would love to hear you, but only if you feel like it.“

  His smile transformed his face and I could see my nineteen year old mate again. “I would love to play for you, my love, but only a couple of song
s because you need to rest. You worked very hard to save our cougar.” I loved the fact that he said ‘our cougar’, accepting Ethan as being important to both of us. He chose the guitar, pulling it out of its case and then tuning it quickly as he sat in the chair next to mine. He turned to me and asked, “what would you like to hear?”

  “Play whatever makes you feel good.”

  “You always seem to know what I need before I do.” He kissed my cheek. “Isn’t it boring to always be right?”

  He’d teased me with my own words. “Not at all, and it’s about time you accepted the fact.” I managed to keep a straight face for about fifteen seconds and then we both chuckled.

  He started to play a French county ballad that he’d loved as a child and so I settled back in the chair, curled up my legs and closed my eyes. After playing a verse only on the guitar, he started to sing softly in French. The song evoked images of the rolling green hills of the French countryside and so I imagined myself there with Garrett on a well deserved vacation. I opened my mind to him and sent him pictures from our imaginary trip and he laughed and sent back actual images of France from when he’d visited with his family. We inserted ourselves, kind of photo-shopping into his pictures and I could almost believe we were really there.

  When the song ended he said, “I’ll take you there when all of this is behind us. We can spend a month touring the countryside and Paris and the French Riviera. You’ll love it.”

  “I’ll love being wherever you are. Tonight, I just want to forget about Kennet and Brina and Bridgett.”

  “I’ll help you forget them.” He lifted his cherished instrument and played a love song, “Can’t Help Falling in Love”, singing to me so sweetly and smiling with his whole face, his heart out there for me to snatch up and hold next to my own. When he finished, he put the guitar back in its case, leaned it against the wall and then walking gracefully back, pulled me out of the chair to kiss me. Tectonic plates shifted as my body rose to meet his and I nestled into his arms and melted against him. We walked to his bedroom hand in hand where he helped me release my fears and forget everything but our love for each other. He tucked me in and curled up beside me to watch over me while I slept, which I managed to do without a single dream.