That meant she had a foot of space between them.
Damned touchy-feely shifters.
She didn’t get the vibe that he wanted to harm her, more like keeping within striking distance in case it was needed, whether to kill her or protect her, she wasn’t sure.
A scrawny kid hovered over his shoulder, sticking near Greggory, but couldn’t seem to take his gaze away from her and Taggert.
She flinched and glanced away from the painful awe in his expression.
The kid was so close to cresting that she could all but see his beast hovering around him, the creature nearly feral after being imprisoned for so long. He’d been pushed to his breaking point. That he could still control his bear after what he endured spoke of his strength. He had lots of potential. If guided by the right person, he could be a powerhouse.
Greggory stepped between them, breaking the eye contract, drawing her attention away from the boy as if he thought she would try to steal him or something. “Why don’t we look over your injuries?”
Raven opened her mouth to protest she wasn’t hurt, then slowly closed it again. He was giving her time. “Thank you.”
The whole crew followed them to his trailer, Durant, Jackson and Taggert guarding her back. Jackson seemed almost too ready for a fight, while Durant practically carried Taggert. The first change usually left a shifter unconscious for days. That Taggert was even awake was a miracle.
Greggory opened the door to his trailer and vanished inside, leaving the decision to follow up to her. Taking a deep breath, she entered the confined space with a man who was stronger and faster than any shifter she’d ever seen.
They were so close to being free she was hyperaware of everything that could go wrong.
When the guys moved to follow, she waved them off. If they all packed inside the tin can, they would be nothing more than sardines, no one able to even breathe.
Too easy to slaughter.
She needed the extra space to maneuver in case he tried something, and she wanted her men safe. “Stay out here and keep watch.”
Raven turned toward the trailer, implicitly trusting her pack to guard her back.
Danger thickened in the air, and she hated not knowing what to expect. Greggory didn’t ask her to his trailer to be nice.
He wanted something.
She took a deep breath, winced when her ribs protested, and entered the trailer. The small click of the door behind her sounded like the slam of a jail cell.
Run.
Trap.
Kill.
She battled with her dragon for control, and Greggory just stared at her with knowing eyes, waiting to see what she decided.
Trust me.
The dragon hesitated, then reluctantly curled around her and waited. She rubbed her fingers together, marveling at the tiny scales, evidence of the dragon’s determination to protect her no matter what. The texture should’ve been cold and hard, but all she felt was a comforting warmth … as if she were stroking the dragon and not metal.
Greggory nodded and handed her a wet cloth. “You have some blood on you.”
It had been a test, watching to see if she could control herself. Her mouth went dry with the knowledge that if she’d failed, he would’ve killed her. “Most of it’s not mine.”
That wasn’t the complete truth.
Strips of her skin from her back felt missing, shredded down to the bone where he’d tried to rip out her spine, but she wasn’t quite ready to present him with her back again.
Besides the motley of bruises dotting her body, her hips throbbed where Jackson’s claws had pierced her them.
So no, she wasn’t dropping her pants for him, not when she might need to fight for her life.
She grabbed the peace offering, her waxy, melted hands stinging from the chemicals. She scrubbed her face and hands, glad to do something with her shaky fingers. Things didn’t add up about Greggory. Shifters were trained to fight since birth, but he had something more than training, something that couldn’t be taught. His speed, his strength, even his partial shifts could be explained by being an alpha.
Those bindings, they were still active.
He was working for more than just the kid.
Oh, she didn’t doubt his story, but there was more to it than that. He’d been sent to investigate. Observe. But by whom and why?
He didn’t lie. She would’ve sensed it, but he didn’t tell her the whole truth either. She relied so heavily on her gift that she took him at face value and failed to dig deeper.
If she bothered to push harder, she would’ve noticed that he conducted himself like some kind of spy.
And he was now focused on her and her men.
As her agitation rose, the current swelled in the air between them, ready to rip him apart if he dared move against her pack. The power reacted too swiftly, too ready to her call … and she felt the storm begin to gather overhead again. Wind gusted and rocked the trailer, wanting to pry it open to get at her. The burst of energy pushed her sore body to its breaking point, even her hair hurt, but she didn’t care. She would protect her men. “Why did you help me? Dragons were like a plague across the land.”
A faint whiff of fear burned in the air between them, quickly snuffed out as his resolve rose. “If you believe the myths, then you also know that it didn’t start out that way. You are not infected. Not completely. You’re fighting it. If you were like the dragons of old, you would’ve destroyed us instead of trying to help.”
“The dragon is waking.” He flinched at her words, and her lips tightened in bitterness. “It’s only a matter of time. If the infection ever takes over, it’ll be too late to stop.”
“Maybe.” He shrugged. “Or maybe your pack will continue to keep you in check.”
He knew.
Her eyes darted around the small trailer, looking for anything that she could use as a weapon. She was in a weakened state. If he came at her, she couldn’t be sure that she could win. Before she could work herself up into a full panic, he lifted his hands. “Don’t you think it’s really coincidental that there is not one, but two royals in this time and place when there had been none for centuries?”
It took her brain a few seconds to process that he wasn’t trying to think of ways to dispose of her body. Then another two as she realized what he said. “You think royalty is being reborn for a reason.”
“The world is changing. Things are shifting in the paranormal world. Hundreds of years ago, the royals kept us safe. Their beasts were more primal and stronger, their bloodlines not diluted by years of inbreeding and human taint.” He lowered his hands, his face intense. “Some danger, something big, woke your dragon from its slumber. You chose Taggert for a reason. My guess is you sensed his dormant genes. A queen collecting her guard. I choose to believe that you’re our salvation, not our destruction. I think we’re going to need your assistance before too long if we have any hope of surviving.”
Raven swallowed hard at the faith he placed in her. “That’s a hell of a gamble.”
He lifted a brow, completely confident. “Is it?”
Her gut clenched in dread at his surety. He knew something. “What have you heard?”
His mouth tightened, his face growing grim. “Just rumors.”
But the look in his eyes said more.
He was afraid and that chilled her more than anything. “You’re more than a bodyguard.”
His eyes darkened, turning almost black as his animal rose. He didn’t deny it. “I came for the kid.”
Again, not a lie, but not the complete truth. He was so good at hiding that she barely caught the slight altering of his scent. “And?”
Almost reluctantly, he sighed and placed his hands on the countertop. Claws raked the surface, his fingers snapped, elongated … a partial shift, as if he were battling a compulsion to even speak. “And found something more. It has nothing to do with you. That’s all I can say.”
Nothing to do with her … this time.
He wouldn’t say more … or couldn’t.
Someone bound him against speaking about his real mission.
Raven didn’t like it, but didn’t push for more, suspecting that his pain would only increase with each question. The wounds she’d inflicted with the blade had stopped bleeding, but hadn’t healed completely despite having shifted. “You should stitch your injuries.”
The tension eased out of his shoulders at the change of subject, his hands melted back into normal fingers, and he glanced at her over his shoulder, raising a brow. “A few cuts. I consider myself lucky to have come out alive.”
He brushed away her concerns as unimportant, turning to face her, curiosity brewing in his eyes. “You promised to tell me about yourself.”
Damn him for remembering.
Everything inside her protested the thought of sharing anything more with this man. “I think you already know enough, don’t you?”
He shrugged and didn’t deny it, the closed-mouth, grumpy ass bear back in charge. He gathered a few supplies around the trailer with no-nonsense, efficient moves.
He set a few butterfly bandages on the table and pointed to her hairline. “You might want to tape that up so the bleeding slows before you go back outside.”
Then he was gone.
Chapter Twenty-nine
Raven carefully folded the rag, her gut clenched with worry that she wasn’t going to be strong enough to save them all like he believed.
And the consequences if she failed.
No pressure.
Though she couldn’t see them, the tiny scales covering her hands were like Braille dotting her skin. They felt like soft metal, cool and warm to the touch. She flexed her fingers, the metal impenetrable but flexible.
Without thought, the scales melted away. Her skin tingled, leaving her feeling vulnerable without the shield. She should be glad they were gone, so why did she immediately feel uncomfortable … so human and weak?
When she opened the door to follow Greggory, she froze with her hand on the knob, her foot partially lowered to the ground. Everyone stared at her as if she’d committed some sort of faux pas, put on display like some freak. “Durant?”
“They’re waiting for you to decide what’s going to be happening next.” Though Durant remained a bit weak, his swagger had returned. What attracted her to him in the first place was his complete confidence in his place in the world. And though she didn’t understand it, he had the same unshakable confidence in her as well.
It was intimidating.
And sexy as hell.
Even after everything they’d been through, nearly getting him killed more than once, he trusted her implicitly, and she warmed with the knowledge. Her hands tingled with the need to touch him, reassure herself that they would be all right. He gave her a knowing smile, guessing where her thoughts went, and she jerked her attention away to see everyone still gazing at her.
“Next?” Raven blinked in confusion, fighting a blush, struggling to keep her eyes from straying back to his very nice, very naked chest on display. “We’ve stayed too long. We need to get back home.”
Stunned silence descended, everyone shuffling uncomfortably as unease spread through the crowd. Eve stepped forward, her son’s hand tightly gripped in her own. “What about us?”
Raven stepped down to give herself room to fight if it came to it and carefully closed the door behind her. “You’re free. You can go anywhere you want. I’m not going to stop you.”
No one moved.
Instead of being happy, they all appeared more uneasy. Eve cleared her throat, patting her son’s hand and gazing at her beseechingly. “We have nowhere else to go. Veronica wasn’t wrong. We are the weakest in the paranormal world. We belong nowhere. We have a measure of safety here. Out there, we’ll be defenseless again. Don’t take us away from here. Please.”
Jackson stepped to her side and nudged her arm. “You challenged the alpha and won. What you decide here will change all our fates. If you leave, you will be giving up standing, the carnival and the pack. This is an invaluable opportunity … unheard of not to claim.”
Raven was floored.
They expected her to take over the pack, not because she deserved it, but because she challenged Clancy’s rule. Jackson kept his face neutral, no inflection in his voice to even hint at what he felt.
Everything inside her rebelled at the thought of keeping them prisoner, and she was beyond tired. She wanted to go home, find a bed and pile in with her pack and not think for a month. “You don’t need me. You killed him all on your own. You’re already a pack, and I have my own.”
That wasn’t quite true. No one had ever stood up to Clancy and lived to tell about it. Raven suspected that it wouldn’t have changed either without her interference.
Interference that could land her in a boatload of trouble if anyone else found out. Since the circus didn’t operate above board, they didn’t have a standing, but other alphas would still look at her and wonder. To some, it wouldn’t matter that the circus had taken her prisoner, that she had a right to retaliate and protect her pack in any way she thought fit. To them, she was so weak that she allowed her pack to be taken. That she deserved anything Clancy dished out.
Eve gave her a tentative smile, hope lining her face for the first time since they’d met. “We can run the carnival the way it was supposed to be done … a safe haven for those in need.”
She wasn’t asking permission, more letting Raven know it was no longer her concern, her stilted posture both warning and pleading with Raven not to protest.
The crew cast nervous looks between the two women, creeping closer to Eve to protect her even though she wasn’t a shifter.
They were family.
It was enough, and Raven found herself nodding. “I think that would be a very good idea. The circus is a fairytale to most and holds a certain place in the shifter world. It would be a shame for it to end. This place can offer hope to those who need it. Far be it for me to take that away.”
Eve stared at her for a few more seconds as if waiting for her to change her mind, then her face split into a wide grin. “We’ll make it work. We’ll run the place the way it was intended.”
Earnestness and determination shone in her eyes.
Excited babble spread through the crowd.
Raven believed them, and her spirits lifted to know a place like this existed. As they began to talk, Raven slipped away, glad not to have the added responsibility of the circus and left them to plan for a future they never expected.
Her three men waited for her, all so different and all so captivating she couldn’t take her eyes off them. They were all bruised and bloody, but she’d never seen anything so good in her life. Durant radiated confidence and sexiness enough that she wanted to lean up close and lick him just for a taste. He oozed so much charm that he made her feel things she’d long ago given up hope of ever having. He had the sheer strength to hold his own pack, but was confident enough to stand back and let her lead. He had his freedom from all pack ties, and had given it up for her.
Jackson had more rough edges, completely hardcore, and incredibly yummy in his determination to protect her. It was more than just a job to him, and she adored his protectiveness. He made her feel special and not because she was a rare female alpha. He looked deeper, saw her for who she was, and wanted her anyway.
He left a powerful pack to be with her.
He could’ve stayed, but he chose her.
He always chose her first.
Taggert didn’t match the others upon first perusal, shorter and slimmer and much less intimidating. Yet, even grubby and exhausted, everything about him fascinated her. He had been a rogue all his life, recently a slave until she’d rescued him. His submissiveness made her teeth ache, his devotion to her leaving her uncomfortable at first, but now she found it sexy as hell. Underneath, he had a will of iron, quickly taking over and running her life behind the scenes as if he’d been born to it. He’d risked his life for
hers over and over, his silent strength earning her trust. She underestimated him, thought him weak, but nothing could be further from the truth. When he touched her, his feelings shone in his eyes. He held nothing back, making her want to give him everything in return.
They’d all wormed their way into her life, forced her out of her shell until she couldn’t imagine her life without them.
Raven vowed to do whatever it took to live up to their faith in her.
“Raven, wait up.”
Eve caught up with her, her face uncertain for the first time. “You’ve dealt with the council. Can you tell me what to expect?”
“From what I understand, the circus functions outside the council. Inform them of the changes, that you are now the new spokeswoman, and they will be dealing with you moving forward.”
“And that I’m not a shifter?” Eve lifted her chin, not ashamed of her heritage.
“That’s a bit trickier. The council can be capricious, but they won’t shoot themselves in the foot. The circus performs a function that they can’t.” A mischievous smile kicked up her lips. “Remember, the council is made up of more than just shifters. Open the circus up to all fractions of the supernatural world. Things are changing, and the circus is needed now more than ever. Help those you can, but be selective.”
Eve chewed her lip, and glanced over at the small crew gathered behind her, the weight of leadership settling on her shoulders. The constant worry. The second-guessing.
“You’ll be a good leader.”
Eve met her gaze squarely as if to read the truth of it herself, a tinge of magic dusting the air. “You think so?”
“You care. It will make you both soft and ruthless. You know what will happen if things go bad, and you won’t let it happen again.” Raven let the words sink into her mind. It was a warning, and Eve took it as such. “You’ll defend and fight for these people with your life. It’s enough.”
“Thank you.” Eve turned then paused, looking back over her shoulder one last time. “If you ever need anything, you know where to find me.”
Not waiting for a response, Eve strode back toward her people, confidence straightening her spine.
Raven Investigation 04 - Electric Legend Page 26
