by Maddie Foxx
“That’s too bad. If someone had we’d at least have known when that window was broken. How will we ever find Seth now?”
“Perhaps he went back to Shadow Creek. We could check.”
“No, you should check. I’m banned from going there, remember?”
“Nonsense. We’ll go together.”
CHAPTER TEN
When they were heading back to Shadow Creek, Tessa started the questioning. “So, what do you make of Seth’s room?”
“I’m not sure. Far as I know, Seth doesn’t have any enemies. It’s possible someone had just gotten into his room.”
“Why?”
“How should I know? It’s all I can come up with, unless it’s Jason Traxler’s doing.”
“Why would Jason go looking for Seth if he’s suspected of hurting Carrie? I’d think that wouldn’t be too smart on Jason’s part.”
“You’re right, but his disappearance can’t come at a worse time. Melody’s mother hasn’t even come to and might never.”
Tessa fell silent. Did she want Carrie to wake up right then? What would happen if she told them Jason did do it? What if they tracked Jason to the cabin and found out it had been burnt to the ground? They’d have questions, which Tessa would rather not answer. If Raphael found out what she might have done to Jason, he might not want her staying at Silver Creek and worse still, no longer want to be involved with her. She didn’t want to be that vampire, the one who can’t be trusted, one who was capable of murdering humans.
She realized she had acted too quickly and she had to keep her mouth shut. Although, Tessa was more concerned about finding Seth than anything else, after the condition of his room, she couldn’t help but think he was in trouble. If they could find him, they’d be able to help him out of whatever trouble he was in.
Raphael turned into Shadow Creek and cut the engine. Dr. Evans’s car was in the driveway. “Oh, no,” Tessa said. “I wonder if Carrie’s condition has declined.”
He opened his truck door and said, “We’ll find out soon enough.”
Tessa and Raphael knocked on the front door and Brendan answered it, narrowing his eyes at Tessa. “What are you doing here?”
“We’re looking for Seth,” Raphael told him. “Can we come in?”
Paige yanked the door open the rest of the way. “Please come in. Dr. Evans is upstairs with Carrie. She just woke up ten minutes ago.”
“Is Seth here?”
“No, we haven’t seen him since he left the night of the full moon.”
“What did he say before he left?” asked Raphael.
“That he had to leave before it got dark. I was surprised that he’d leave Melody here, but she’s been here ever since Carrie was injured. There would have been no getting Melody to leave then. I only convinced her to go home tonight.”
Tessa made a move toward the stairs. “Can we see Carrie?”
“The doctor is checking her over,” Brendan said.
“Aren’t you at least interested in what she has to say about her assailant?” Although Tessa hoped she wouldn’t be able to recall, her guilt overwhelming her.
Before Brendan had a chance to say anything, Dr. Evans came down the stairs and announced, “Carrie wants to speak to Paige and Brendan.”
“I’m coming, too,” Tessa said. “And keep your protests to yourself, Brendan. I’m just as worried about Carrie. Besides, Melody will want to know her mother woke up.”
“Very well then. Let’s find out what Carrie has to say,” Brendan accepted with a sigh as he scaled the stairs.
Tessa then followed Paige with Raphael close behind. As they walked down the red-lit hallway, it felt strangely comfortable, the perfect place for a vampire to live.
When they entered the room, Carrie was sitting up with a clean white nightgown on. There were bandages around her wrists and head, with an IV still connected to her hand.
“H-Hello, who are you?” Carrie asked Tessa.
“I’m Tessa. I live in a cabin at Silver Creek.”
“She’s Katyln’s friend from Wisconsin,” Brendan explained.
“Oh, why is she here?”
“You have a lovely daughter. I was hoping to find out what really happened to you since Jason went to Silver Creek and was being pushy about asking her where you were.”
“That was the night before Melody and Maxwell found you,” Raphael said.
“So Melody did find me that day. I’m sorry it was her. Is she okay?”
“Yes, and she wouldn’t leave your side until tonight. She was quite worried about you, as we all have been. We don’t like the idea of anyone brutalizing shifters in Shadow Creek or otherwise,” Paige said.
“My poor baby. I’ve done so wrong with her. I just hope she forgives me for being such a bad mother.”
“I’m sure that won’t be a problem,” Paige replied. “Seth was also here and didn’t want to leave your side, but he apparently had business to take care of and isn’t here presently. Do you remember who did this to you?”
“I had a terrible fight with Jason and walked home, but when I was in the woods I heard a horrible growl. It wasn’t like any animal I had ever heard. Whatever it was chased me through the woods and attacked me. I think it was a werewolf, but not like any I have ever seen.”
Raphael stepped to the edge of her bed. “That’s not possible. No werewolf I know would ever attack another shifter.”
“This one wasn’t like one from your pack. The werewolf that attacked me walked on two legs and apparently wanted to kill me. I tried my best to fight him off, but once he had his claws into me, it was impossible for me to shift. I just couldn’t concentrate on shifting when he was hurting me so badly.”
“That was the night before the full moon,” Raphael said. “The werewolf you’re taking about would have to be a full-blood, and they only shift by the light of the full moon.”
Tessa’s mind was reeling. Jason wasn’t the one who did this to Carrie but he was dead anyway, possibly by her hands. She felt positively sick and had to sit down.
“Are you okay?” Raphael asked Tessa.
“No, this is so overwhelming. You told me how dangerous a full-blood is, but how can they shift without the aid of the full moon?”
Dr. Evans sighed as he slumped into a chair. “I was afraid this might happen. I just was hoping it wouldn’t be in my lifetime.”
“What?” Brendan asked. “Speak up man.”
“They’ve been talking about hybrids for years now, or the possibility of them.”
“What’s a hybrid exactly?” Tessa questioned.
“It’s when a full-blood mates with a half-blood. Not only would they have the characteristics of unpredictability such as a full-blood, but they’d be able to shift at will.”
Everyone had a look of terror in their eyes. “I lived amongst the full-bloods in Montana and I’ve never heard about a hybrid before,” Raphael said.
“You’re not truly one, so why would you even think they’d share that with you? It’s something they’ve been wanting to do for years. They’ve been jealous of the half-bloods for years and your power to shift whenever you want. Did you happen to produce offspring with any full-bloods while you lived amongst them?”
A barrage of emotions crossed Raphael’s face. He finally said, “Not that I was aware of.”
“And did you not mate with any of them?”
“I rutted with some, but none of them wound up pregnant to my knowledge.”
“How can you be positive? Why else do you think they allowed you to stay with them when they hate your kind?”
“This is crazy. There are no hybrids or full-bloods that can shift without the full moon.”
“Then what attacked Carrie?” Brendan countered. “It would explain what might have happened to those sheep on the Hines Ranch.”
Tessa frowned. “Oh, so now you believe I didn’t kill those sheep?”
“Why would she want to kill sheep, if she’s a shifter, too?” Carrie asked.<
br />
“I’m a vampire.”
“Paige turned you?”
“Yes.”
“Why would you allow her to stay at Silver Creek where my daughter is staying, Raphael? You can’t trust a vampire.”
“She’s very trustworthy, I assure you. If you really were so worried about Melody, you would have attempted at being a better mother and never have dated the likes of Jason. Now, more than ever, I need to find Seth before he gets himself into trouble. He might have gone after Jason. I can’t find him anywhere else we looked. He must have grown weary of waiting to find out who attacked Carrie,” Raphael said.
Guilt hit Tessa like never before. She felt so sick about looking for Jason that night, and two humans were dead who could be linked to her.
“That’s not a good idea. I think it would be better to just wait a few days to see if Seth returns,” Tessa argued.
“And what if he murders Jason by then? I’m certainly no fan of his, but he doesn’t deserve to die for something he didn’t even do,” Raphael said.
“Paige, tell him it’s a bad idea to look for Jason,” Tessa implored her.
“I agree with Tessa. Seth will come home soon.”
“I’m not sticking around talking about it. I’m going to find Seth tonight, and the first place I’m looking for him is at Jason’s grandfather’s cabin.”
Tessa raced after Raphael, shouting for him to stop, but he wouldn’t. She barely hopped into the truck before he tore off to the north of Shadow Creek. His hands gripped the wheel hard and he clenched and un-clenched his jaw.
“I can’t believe Seth would go after Jason without telling me first. I trusted him.”
Tessa gulped. “I’m positive he’s not with Jason.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I’m not. It’s just a gut feeling.”
“Does your gut tell you where else he’d go?”
“No, I suppose not, but there has to be an explanation.”
Tessa wished she had the strength to tell Raphael the truth, but she was just too afraid. It was getting late by the time Raphael had turned on Mill Creek Road and parked behind the same log, which was in Tessa’s way when she came there.
They exited the truck and climbed over the log, making way for the clearing where Milford Traxler’s cabin was, or used to be. She still wasn’t a hundred percent that the cabin had been burned down until the smell of sulfur wafted over to them. Guided only by the small flashlight, they headed toward the clearing and over to the cabin which had been burnt to the ground.
Raphael swept the light from side to side. “We’re too late. Seth must been here and left already.”
“No, the cabin was burning when I made it here,” Seth said from behind them. “It looks like somebody took care of Jason for me. Was it you, Raphael?”
“No, I was waiting for Carrie to wake up, which she did tonight.”
“I-Is she okay?”
“Yes, and she told us quite the story about a werewolf that walks on two legs and attacked her.”
“A full-blood? But that was before the full moon.”
“Exactly. I’m not sure what we have on our hands now, but Jason apparently lost his life when he shouldn’t have. I suppose we might have to call the sheriff in now.”
“Why?” Tessa asked.
“To collect the bodies.”
“There aren’t any bodies in that cabin,” Seth explained. “I already checked. It would be better if we never reported this fire. It’s not like Jason was innocent. He abused Carrie and other woman many times before.”
“That’s not a motive for murder in the eyes of the human court system,” Raphael said. “I’m just glad I didn’t jump to conclusions and kill him myself.”
“Oh, since when do you go by the code of humans? From what I know, shifters have their own code of ethics.”
Raphael inhaled and exhaled heavily. “You’re right, but I’d still want to know who did this. If it wasn’t us, who then?”
Tessa stared into the darkness, knowing the remains weren’t far off. There was no time to delay when Paige showed up and dawn was coming at warp speed. “If there aren’t any bodies, what makes you think Jason is dead?”
“Oh, he’s dead all right, and that friend of his Earl. But whoever did this covered their tracks. That’s why the cabin was set on fire.”
“Oh, you’re probably right.”
“Let’s head home. Carrie woke up and you should be the one to tell Melody,” Raphael said.
“Let’s go home then,” Seth agreed.
“How did you get way out here?” Raphael asked.
It took a minute before Seth found his voice. “I don’t exactly remember. I mean, I remember wanting to track Jason down, just not how I came to be here.”
“There seems to be plenty of people not able to remember where they’ve been or what they’ve done lately.”
Tessa was stung by that barb, but the sight before them was yet another reason why she couldn’t tell Raphael the truth of what she thought she did. The way it stood, she couldn’t totally say she had killed Jason or Earl, but she certainly had to be guilty when she was the only one left alive in the cabin. If not, who else would have done it?
As they made their way back to the truck, howling wolves could be heard, some of them quite lengthy. Raphael cut on the lights of the truck and caught sight of movement along the front. He hopped back out and told Seth, “Take Tessa back to Silver Creek. I’m going to check on something.”
“I won’t leave you here by yourself. Why don’t we check it out together?” Tessa suggested.
“Dawn is on the horizon and you can’t risk getting caught when the sun rises.”
“Raphael is right,” Seth said.
Tessa didn’t want to leave him, or remind him that it wasn’t as near daylight as he thought. Did he see something, like perhaps a full-blood? She didn’t see whatever had crossed in front of the truck, which made her worry about Raphael. What if he actually ran across one of the hybrids? Would he be able to defend himself against it?
When they got back to Silver Creek, all the lights were off at the cabin where the children lived with Palina, so Seth walked Tessa back to hers.
“Come in, Seth,” Tessa offered. “I’ve been so worried about you.”
“I’ve been worried about me, too.”
Tessa pulled out two colas and set them on the table. “They’re not the coldest, but it’s something to drink.”
Seth sat down opposite Tessa and frowned. “Things have really changed for me. I just never expected to be where I am now.”
“With me, you mean?”
Seth looked away. “That’s not exactly what I meant.”
“Then tell me what you do mean.”
“I can’t, but what I can tell you is that I didn’t expect to feel like I did when I saw Carrie’s condition when the children found her. Something inside of me changed. I felt something I didn’t expect to feel for her.”
“Well, you did have a child with her, and that’s a bond which can’t be broken. How could you hate the woman who created Melody with you?”
“I suppose, but I also feel a tremendous level of guilt. Perhaps I should have tried to help her and not abandoned her like I did.”
“You didn’t do that, did you?”
“I did go back east and leave them both behind. When I came back to Creeksboro, I was shocked at how Carrie was and her refusal to allow me to see Melody, even though she wasn’t anywhere near a suitable parent. I should have done something, convinced her to stay away from Jason Traxler. I knew the kind of man he was and didn’t do anything about it.”
Tessa took a sip of her drink and said, “It’s not your fault, Seth. If anything, it was a poor decision by Carrie. You could no more have gotten her to stay away from Jason than you could do brain surgery. People are pretty resistant when you tell them to stay away from someone.”
“That’s true, but what about that bastard made her even rem
otely interested in him? He has a loud mouth and was drunk most of the time.”
“Sometimes we see what we want to and ignore the obvious.”
“Thanks, Tessa. I appreciate your kind words.”
“And you can trust me, Seth. If there is something you care to get off your chest, all you have to do is tell me. I can be a good listener, and I promise whatever you have to say can’t be that bad.”
Seth squared his jaw. “That’s where you’re wrong, but I might just take you up on it when I figure out a few things.”
“I’m here whenever you’re ready.”
Tessa hugged Seth before he left and carefully closed the door as she saw a strip of light on the horizon. The sun would be rising soon and Tessa drew the drapes, not wanting to get caught in it. Once she was satisfied that the cabin was dark enough, she took her clothes off and climbed into bed. She hoped Raphael would be okay and faced no danger, but he was an alpha and one thing she knew about him was that he was quite capable of taking care of himself.
She didn’t try to think about what would happen the following day or when it would be the right time to tell Raphael the truth about what she did remember. Even if it meant that he would be angry enough with her, not to ever speak to her again, it was time to come clean. She couldn’t keep lying to the man she was falling in love with anymore.
PART THREE
CHAPTER ONE
Tessa dreamily saw the door open and a dark shape make way for her bed. She could smell the muskiness of Raphael and when he climbed into bed with her, she didn’t react, even when he threw his arm around her and drew her close. This was as close to bliss as she had ever been. It was simple and yet comforting. She was happy that it wasn’t only sex with Raphael. After everything that had happened, that was the furthest thing from her mind.
* * *
Melody shook Maxwell awake. “Get up. We need to get going now.”
Maxwell swung his feet out of his warm bed and dressed quietly, thumping against the dresser as he threw his clothes on in a hurry.
