“I’m going for a run. Anyone want to join me?” he asked. Scott looked really hopeful and ever so slightly pale.
“Don’t even think about it Scott Frazier. In a month I’ll be pushing your babies out, and we’re going to do all the practice we can so that I know exactly what I’m doing. You can run again when the babies turn eighteen.”
“I’ll pass,” Scott answered and returned his concentration to the diagram, that Jane was showing them, of a baby’s head coming out of a vagina. Tyler’s stomach did a somersault. And Teagan was worried about his dick being too big!
Tyler left the lounge and called upstairs for Brayden, Selene, or Zain. There was no answer. They must already be out. He’d go and find them. Walking through the kitchen, he removed his clothes and piled them neatly by the back door. The wolf within him rejoiced as he allowed it to come out. It barked with excitement to run free in the wild. Even though they spent most of their time in human form the call of nature was never far away. He took off. Both of his springy hind legs propelling him at a blistering pace through the forest. He and Teagan had run here so many times since the first day they’d made love. It was his new favorite area in the park. He could still smell her scent around the place. He was going soft, missing her being with him. She would laugh at him when he told her. Well, maybe he wouldn’t. He didn’t want to look like a love-struck puppy. The image of Scott holding onto Emma in the lounge, his hands protectively shielding the babies that grew within her stomach, filled his head. He wondered what Teagan would look like with his child in her. A mini wolf and wild dog cub. He had no qualms about the fact that any children they had together would be part wild dog. In fact, he embraced it. He really was falling in love with his clumsy butterfly. He settled down on the woodland floor with his feet stretched out in front of him. It was a place where they had made love two nights ago. They couldn’t wait to get somewhere warmer; so he’d taken her there amongst the leaves and moss. They were both filthy when they returned to the mansion. Teagan had spent a great deal of time in the shower trying to clear the leaves from between the crack of her pert, and sensationally curvy, backside. He’d watched her the entire time, well, until he was so hard he took her up against the shower wall.
The sky was clear tonight, and he looked up at the stars. This was one of the times that he loved being a shifter, when it was just him and the great outdoors.
“You killed me.” Echoed through the trees on a breeze. He jumped to his feet and snarled with his fangs showing.
“Who’s there?”
“You killed me.” The girl’s voice came closer.
“You were already dead,” he shouted back, not willing to entertain anymore games.
“You wrapped those sharp fangs of yours around my throat and shook the life from me. I died because of you.” The girl he’d found dead appeared in front of him. She was a whispery ghost, but he couldn’t fail to notice the marks left by an animal all over her face and neck. He saw, as clear as day, the puncture marks on her neck where some animal had sunk their teeth into her slender neck.
“It wasn’t me,” he countered.
The green mist, which had been present in his office when the girl had first appeared, swirled into the clearing that he stood in. The scent of catnip invaded his nostrils.
“You killed me because you were a monster hooked on the poison that invaded your body. The drug that flowed through your veins twisted your brain until you became nothing but a violent killer. You think you’re this savior wolf now that you act the good Samaritan within this pack of the wronged. You’re a fraud. They’re pure of heart, but you’re a cold blooded killer.”
The girl opened her hands wide, and they materialized from apparition to solid form. Within them he saw the very drug that had robbed him of his sanity all those years ago. He stepped back and held his hands up to show that he wouldn’t be going there.
“No.”
“You know that you want to,” the girl hissed at him. “It’ll numb the shame of what you did to me. The way you took my life with brutal disregard. I died an agonizing death all because of this.” She shook the leaves in her hands. “You’re a monster, Tyler Quinn. You’ll never escape that, no matter how much you try. My death will haunt you until the day you die. Take the catnip. It’ll numb the shame you feel.”
“No.” He was wavering in the strength of his abstinence, the scent of the drug imprisoned in his nostrils and the green mist cocooning him in a blanket of comfort. He was transported back to that time, the time when he would eat the catnip and then run for hours. He didn’t know where he ran to, he would just wake up the next day as a human with his feet covered in blisters and sores. His whole body would ache so much that he would return home and take it again. He’d been fourteen the first time he’d been introduced to catnip. It was something that some of the older wolves did. They had a little bit to help them run further, to maintain their physique, and to impress the ladies of the pack. He’d stolen a little bit from them one day and swallowed it whole. All he remembered that night was running in a dream of eternal bliss underneath the stars. The world had flashed by in a haze of splendid beauty. When he’d woken up the next day he knew that he needed more, and it progressed from there. Soon, he would be taking it twenty-four hours a day. He became lost to the nirvana that he got from the thrill of the drug. He hadn’t had a bad upbringing. His father was beta in the pack that he’d belonged to. He had several brothers and sisters and a loving mother. He’d worked hard at school. He remembered that he’d always wanted to be a chef when he grew up. He supposed that was where his cooking ability came from now. He cooked in place of his mother, from the age of ten; before that they had cooked together. They had made all the family’s meals: spiced boar, deer three ways, and even cakes, which was strange for a wolf family. His favorite had been the salted caramel muffins that they’d made. Jessica had asked him to make muffins once, and he’d frozen and become lost in memories of his mother. Needless to say, the muffins he’d cooked had been burnt and barely edible. Jessica and Kas had shared looks between each other. You know the looks; the ones that suggested they knew something was going on with him. He’d always remember his mother’s face the day his father had exiled him from the family. The news story about the girl had been widespread, and there had been no way to hide the fact that it had been him. Not after the photo that had been taken of him standing over the body, by the opportunist photographer. It was the worst day of his life. He lost everything that day: his family, his home, and his life.
“You know I’m right.” The voice flooded through his consciousness again.
“I won’t touch that stuff again.” He turned away and prepared to run.
“You will. For Teagan will find out what you are.”
He spun round on his heels and shifted into human.
“What do you mean?”
“You think I can only appear to you. I’m a ghost. I can haunt her nightmares as well. She’ll learn exactly what kind of a man you are. She’ll know you for a murderer. She’ll hate you. She’ll despise the very ground that you walk on. She’ll scrub herself endlessly, trying to get clean for allowing someone as foul as you to touch her. You’ll try to keep your secret from everyone else and kill her in the process.” The girl sneered at him and shoved her drug filled hands back into his face. “Take it. Dull the pain of the failure you’ll always be.”
“You can’t do that. You’re a ghost of my dreams only,” he countered. He was not going to let this vision win. He couldn’t. If it did, he would be nothing.
“I’m a ghost that will haunt your nightmares until you become the man that I know you truly are. The cold-hearted killer addled with drugs in your veins instead of blood.”
“No,” he shouted back.
“Yes.” The ghost waved her arms around his head again. “Take it. Take it.”
“No.” The fight in him was dwindling.
“Take it.” The ghost brought the drugs up to his mouth. He could sm
ell their intoxicating scent. He could remember the high that he got from them. He needed to escape. His past was catching up with him. If Teagan found out what he was she’d hate him. The ghost would tell her. His eyes shut tightly.
“Become the man I know you are, Tyler Quinn.” He broke. His mouth opened and the ghost poured the drugs into it. His fight was at an end. He bit down on the poison and allowed it to flood into his body and take him over. He shifted back to a wolf and ran, ran, and ran until his legs collapsed.
CHAPTER TEN
Teagan sat with her head resting on her hand. She’d been listening intently to Ethern Lennox’s speech on the integration of breeds within society for over an hour now. It was fascinating, and she hung onto his every word. He finished and the crowd let out a rambunctious round of applause, except for the area in which Nuka Lincoln sat. They sat silent and calculating. Kas had growled when his brother had first entered the room. Nobody understood how the other polar bear could get away with the crimes that he committed, and still be allowed to frequent the hallowed halls of the Council. It was a joke, and the reason that Kas had been compelled to take action and remove Nuka from his lands.
Ethern stood at the lectern and motioned for everyone to quieten down again. They did so immediately; such was the strength of the power the multi-shifter commanded.
“Thank you. I’d not expected such a positive response to that talk. I’m glad I did though, because it gives me great hope for what I’m about to say next. The shifter Council has decided to build a task force for the integration of breeds into society, both human and shifter. We want to improve the relationship between all breeds, and also with the humans. We have one of them here today.” He looked towards the man sitting with Nuka.
“Who’s that?” Teagan leaned forward and whispered into Kas’ ear.
“Samuel West.”
“Who’s Samuel West when he’s at home?” she questioned further.
“A council member and a human.”
“Oh. Why’s he with your brother?”
“That I do not know, but it worries me a great deal.” Kas turned his head back to Ethern. Their brief conversation was obviously over.
“I wish to call on nominations from all the packs for members of the panel. There are no limitations. We want all sorts of breeds and all levels of rank. We want to build the best team to ensure that our world is kept running in the most peaceful way. Please let me have the nominations by the end of the day, and we’ll vote on it.” Ethern stepped down from his platform to another round of applause and made his way over to them. The crowd of listeners started to disperse.
“Fantastic speech, Ethern.” Kas congratulated the multi-shifter with a strong hand shake.
“Thank you. I wasn’t sure how it’d be received. There’s still a lot of tension between breeds, but the response seemed positive. I’ll just have to see who comes forward to be on the Integration Committee.”
“Can I run?” Teagan looked around to see who had spoken those words, but then realized she had.
“You want to run for the committee?” Kas questioned.
Did she? She’d said so.
“I think I do.”
Ethern sniffed the air.
“You’re an Asiatic wild dog. I suspect that you know a lot about prejudice, and how evil certain shifters can be to other breeds.”
“I am.” She stood up a little taller. “And I’ve been subject to prejudice all my life. I know what it’s like to suffer from other breeds thinking you are not good enough.”
“It’ll not be an easy job.” Ethern had a look of concern on his face. “There’ll be people on the committee, unfortunately, who’ll seek to undermine everything that you say or do. I’ll not be able to stop them.”
“I’ve dealt with people like that all my life. It’s nothing new. Maybe I can get the others to see that the breeds thought of as weak are just the same as them. It’s one of the reasons I moved to Glacial Blood. I knew that it was a multi-breed pack, and I wanted to see how it worked firsthand, because it fascinated me.” She looked up to Kas to check that he wasn’t upset with her for admitting that she was basically spying on his pack, and that it wasn’t really the job that she’d wanted in the first place. Although being a park ranger was totally the coolest job going. You got to spend all day having fun with nature. Kas shook his head and let out a deep, rumbling laugh. Some of the people still leaving the auditorium scuttled out a bit faster at that, from fear that it might not be a laugh!
“It seems I found the perfect new member to my pack.” He rolled his eyes at Ethern.
“It seems that you did. She fits in perfectly,” Ethern agreed and slapped Kas on the back in a friendly gesture.
“Add her name to the list. I’ll be her sponsor,” Kas responded, and her heart leaped.
“You mean I can do it?” she asked.
“If you’re elected, but I know a good second to your nomination that’ll stand you in goodstead,” Ethern added with a wink.
“Yippee!” she screamed out loud and jumped up and down before tripping on a chair and falling flat on the floor. Anyone who was left in the room raised their eyebrows at her faux pas.
“Oops!” she exclaimed while Kas helped her to her feet.
“I think I better get you home before you do any damage.”
“Might be a good idea. I want to go tell Tyler.” She turned to Ethern and shook his hand. “Thank you, Mr. Lennox.”
“I have a feeling it will be me who’s thanking you.”
“I hope so.” She was so excited. If she got this position, it would allow her to show the world that wild dogs were not vermin. Ok, they were clumsy and excitable, but not so low that they deserved so much disrespect. There’d be so many breeds that she’d be able to help. It’d be such a fabulous experience.
“Teagan.” Kas held his hand out to her. His other was wrapped around Jessica’s hand. The witch had been quiet throughout most of the convention, but Teagan knew that she’d been taking everything in. Jessica was the one person that she didn’t really interact with much. She hoped that if she got the position, that would change. “Teagan.” Kas called her again, and shook his hand a little more impatiently.
“Sorry.” She took it, and as they dematerialized from the Council offices in Berlin, back to the Glacial Blood mansion, she shouted at Jessica to drop her off in Tyler’s bedroom on the way.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Tyler laid his head back against the soft pillow. It’d been a long night. He’d woken up in the middle of the forest. His feet and hands were sore, and his muscles ached from running harder than he had in a long time. He felt ashamed for giving into the ghost, but he felt freer than he had in a long time. He’d come back to the mansion and cooked breakfast for the others before collapsing, for a few hours sleep, in his computer room. He knew Teagan would be home soon, so he’d showered and hoped he’d washed away any residue of last night’s drugs. He would be stronger next time and not give in. He hadn’t killed that girl, and she wasn’t a real ghost. It had to be someone playing a trick on him, and next time he’d find out who and destroy them. This wasn’t funny. It was something he had put behind him, and he wouldn’t allow it to consume him again. He was resolute and that settled the guilt that he felt. Teagan would come back and everything would go back to normal.
As if he had conjured her, the woman of his dreams materialized in his lap.
“Hi, handsome,” she yelped. “Miss me?”
“Who are you again?” he teased.
She raised an eyebrow and slapped his chest playfully.
“Of course, I missed you. How’d it go?” he asked.
“It was the best thing I’ve ever done. Well, except when we have sex, but that’s different. They’re forming a committee to try and help all breeds integrate better.” She wiggled her hips over him, and his cock went from sleeping to ready to fuck in no time at all.
“A committee?”
“Yes. And the best part is Kas
is going to nominate me for the panel.”
He shifted her off his lap. His brain needed to talk to her about this. But the hard bulge in his tracksuit bottoms, from her pert little backside rubbing against him, wouldn’t lead to much talking.
“Are you sure about that?”
“You don’t think it’s a good idea?” She looked sad. He hated that he’d put that expression on her face.
“Not at all. It’s just there’ll be lots of people like Ebony on that panel. The Council’s corrupt as hell, at the moment, no matter how hard Ethern Lennox tries to change that. I’m worried that you’ll be hurt.” He genuinely was. He hated seeing her hurt. Plus, would it mean her spending more time away from him? He’d grown fond of her being around all the time. That bit was purely selfish on his part.
“I thought about that as well. When I said I wanted to do it, it was an impulse, and I thought I was mad. All these people who’d probably insult me because of what I am, but then I thought again. Tyler, my past has given me a strength that I don’t think many people have. I’ve suffered with names all my life, with hatred and being looked down upon. I can bring that to the team because I have a strength within me from it.” She banged her fist against the bed in an adamant gesture of courage. “I won’t let people like Nuka Lincoln win. If he had his way it’d only be the superior breeds that ruled the world. He’d kill everyone else, humans included. If I can show him to be even an ounce of the bully that he is, then we can win this war without bloodshed. Maybe that’s what people mean by the ensuing fight. Make it in the hallowed halls of the Council as opposed to out in the open where anyone can see what we are and how dangerous we can be. A fight between minds rather than fists. No death unless you count destruction by words. Don’t you want that?”
“Teagan.” He paused, trying to find the words to express the thoughts running through his head. She had a vision of a perfect world and would strive to achieve it.
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