Anchor

by Jorrie Spencer

  “She helped me escape,” Caleb muttered.

  Jancis sliced her gaze at Caleb and back to Mala, accusing. As if Mala was trying to ingratiate herself here by claims of heroism. Sure! That’s how you impressed people. Tell them your dreams had the ability to enter the real life of their ward. People were always happy to hear that.

  Suddenly, it was all too much, and Mala leaned on the table, feeling out of breath. She didn’t want to leave Caleb. His existence and her finding him had opened a door into herself she hadn’t known existed. She felt bonded to him, though maybe that emotion was all on her side. However, the rest of them, with their assessing gazes—she found the situation oppressive.

  “I sliced into his heart,” Mala said to her hands. It was hard to look, even at Caleb.

  “You were white light. Sharp,” Caleb mumbled, barely audible, but her relief was huge. He knew, he understood what had happened as well as she did. Which perhaps wasn’t saying much.

  She wasn’t going to describe how she had fashioned herself into a weapon by feeding on Caleb’s emotions. She didn’t think anyone was ready to hear that yet and it sounded predatory. Vampirish even. And she was pretty darned sure she wasn’t a vampire.

  “Then you told me to run.” Caleb’s brown eyes stared into hers and she nodded.

  So Caleb had heard her as she’d sat within his father and done the equivalent of screaming at him to run, hoping he’d flee, not knowing how long his father would be down for the count. “Yes.”

  “Then what happened?” It was Angus speaking, and it shook Mala out of her reverie.

  Mala pulled in a breath, wondering how it would sound. But she had to say it. Caleb was there and he deserved to know the truth as she understood it. “I stopped his father’s heart for as long as I could.”

  “Jesus.” Jancis gestured at Mala. “It’s like those woo-woo witches who wanted to cast shapeshifting spells on me last year by dancing under the full moon.”

  Angus pinched the bridge of his nose. “Jancis. You are not helping.”

  “I was there. I was there.” Caleb glared at Angus, eyes shiny.

  Angus placed his large hand on top of Caleb’s. “I know.”

  Mala pushed away from the table. “I’m going back to my room.”

  “No need,” said Angus casually, and a shiver ran through Mala, a fear that he’d block her leaving. And who would ever know but the other residents of Wolf Town, none of whom she could trust. He watched her, eyebrows lifting, before he added, “You’re welcome to stay at my house.”

  “All the same, I think I’ll go.” She breathed easier when he nodded in response.

  “I’ll walk you over to the B and B.”

  “No need,” she echoed back to him.

  “I’d like to ask you something in private.”

  Rather ungraciously, she shrugged. “Caleb.” She waited until the boy looked at her. “I hope I can see you again, when I’m not so tired.”

  He too looked exhausted, as if this revelation was an ordeal. “Okay.”

  Angus followed her out of the kitchen and down the hall, and she couldn’t see how to prevent him from accompanying her. As she went to get her jacket, Angus spoke quietly to Jancis’s brother, and Mala began to imagine a plot of some sort.

  She felt vulnerable, that was the thing. If she could do this, what did it mean? What would people do to her? It sank in that she had revealed too much of herself too precipitously. Her father’s old words, You just don’t think, echoed through her.

  She didn’t want these people to know what she’d done, but she’d needed to determine if what she dreamed was real or not. Now she knew. And they knew.

  Though given how erratic her dreams were, she couldn’t be of much actual use or threat to anyone. Nothing about her dreams and nightmares was planned.

  As she put on her boots, some similar ideas must have run through Angus’s mind because he told Caleb, Jancis and Rory, “What’s occurred and been discussed here today doesn’t go outside this house. Not now.”

  Jancis scoffed.

  His voice went hard, not a tone he had used on Mala. “I couldn’t be more serious.”

  “My lips are sealed,” Jancis drawled, not cowed, but not defiant either.

  Though it felt awkward, Mala called out, “Bye, Caleb.” She wanted to say she was glad to have met him in person, but that said so little of what she felt.

  Caleb came to stand in the hall and gave an awkward nod while Angus stepped up to her. Mala found she was bracing herself, but Angus only pulled on boots, grabbed his jacket and gestured to her to lead the way outside.

  Shoulders straight, Mala marched ahead of him, distress seeming to waft off her. He didn’t know what to make of her, but no way in hell was he letting her leave Wolf Town until he better understood what was going on.

  That meant being smart, because if she got the idea he’d block her departure… Well, that would be bad.

  He came abreast of her and she glanced up sharply, but it was easy to see the uncertainty underneath. Jancis disliked outsiders, more protective of her werewolf brethren than the werewolves themselves. Despite his daughter’s suspicions, Angus didn’t think Mala was messing with Caleb—or anyone else.

  She believed in her dream. And, tellingly, so did Caleb.

  “How long?” Angus asked.

  She rubbed her nose. “I arrived this morning.”

  “How long have you had these dreams?”

  She laughed, no humor in it. “All my life.”

  “So…there have been others besides Caleb who you’ve met in your dreams?”

  Instead of answering she sped up her gait, fast for someone who wasn’t tall, though her steps were easy enough for him to keep pace with. “Don’t worry,” she said briskly. “No one else takes my dreams seriously. I don’t expect you to.”

  He placed a hand on her shoulder and she stopped. But she didn’t flinch or move away, which he found interesting. In a wolf, that would indicate a certain level of trust. Slowly he turned her to face him. “Believe me. I am taking this very seriously.”

  Those dark expressive eyes searched his face. “You daughter isn’t impressed by me.”

  “No,” he allowed. “She’s protective of Caleb. And I think it’s obvious that one scenario could be you’re somehow playing games with him.”

  Her mouth fell open in dismay. “I would never do that.”

  “Good.” He offered her a slight smile. “I didn’t think you would.”

  “I am not cruel. Not intentionally. I wouldn’t…”

  There was only truth coming from her, and distress at the accusation. “I believe you.”

  She blinked. “Why?”

  He grinned. “I can smell your sincerity.”

  At first she laughed, but under his steady gaze she started looking unsure. “You’re joking, right?”

  “Not at all.” He released her and guided her forward. She wasn’t dressed that warmly, and a sharp wind blew through town today.

  After a pause, she moved again, rubbing a hand across her eyes as she did so. “I’m overwhelmed. I need some time alone to think.”

  “Let’s get you some food from Eden to take up to your room.”

  “No!” She collected herself. “I mean, I’m not hungry.”

  “You can eat the food later.” It was clear to Angus that Mala didn’t want to deal with the B and B’s proprietor. “Eden takes some getting used to, that’s all. I’ll come with you. We don’t want you to fade away to nothing while you’re with us.” He ushered her into the restaurant that sat below Mala’s room, and convinced Eden to get her guest a meal, his treat.

  Mala endured a few suspicious glances but no outright scowls, and in fact, her wilting visibly seemed to take the edge off Eden’s dislike. By the time Mala was settled in her room, Angus knew he had to leave, her body posture was screaming at him to do so, though he wanted to ask her more questions.

  But it was critical he not frighten her away. He didn’t want
her running, and he most certainly didn’t want to chase her, not that way. If he managed this right, it would be more of a courtship than a predator-prey scenario.

  “Okay?” he asked, and saw relief in her gaze when she realized he was about to leave her alone.

  “Yes. Thank you for your help,” she said, all politeness. She was a polite young woman. Too bad she wasn’t a wolf. Of course, if she were, she probably wouldn’t have these dreams. At least, Angus had never heard of a wolf displaying this power.

  Then again, he’d never heard of anyone with this power. “Can we talk more this evening or tomorrow morning?”

  “Tomorrow,” she said quickly. “I really am quite worn out. I’m not used to traveling.” She pulled a face, like she wished she hadn’t confided that small piece of information.

  He kept his tone mild. “Breakfast, then. Would you prefer Eden’s restaurant or my kitchen?”

  She hesitated, clearly feeling caught between a rock and a hard place.

  “It’s more private at my house. And I’ll introduce you to Aileen. She’s friendlier than the women you’ve met so far.”

  “Aileen,” she said faintly, as if not up to meeting someone else.

  “She was my ward before she grew up.”

  “Like Caleb.”

  “Like Caleb,” he agreed. He moved away. “I’ll pick you up at nine thirty tomorrow morning.” Not giving her a chance to say no, he shut the door.

  As he exited the building he saw Aileen, in wolf form, across the street. Rory had got on it right away. When someone needed to be kept watch on, Angus and Rory turned to Aileen, who preferred being wolf to all else, more than any wolf he’d ever met, save ferals. Aileen had the first eight-hour shift with Mala. The two young women hadn’t been introduced, but a stranger in town, staying at Eden’s, was not going to be difficult for Aileen to identify.

  Angus walked over, and Aileen leaned against his leg, letting him rub the top of her head. “Rory will give you a break at midnight.”

  She whined a protest, like Angus was suggesting she wasn’t up for the entire job.

  “Because I need you to sleep and get over to my place by nine fifteen tomorrow morning. Human form.”

  To show her displeasure, she growled. She didn’t like being human, still, after all these years, but Angus worked to find reasons to force her human side to stay active. “This young lady, Mala, who Rory’s told you about, will have breakfast at my place. She’ll be more comfortable if another woman is present, since I’m a strange man to her. Okay?”

  The woof held a question in it, even as she acceded to his request.

  “Jancis doesn’t like her. Eden doesn’t like her. I like her, though, and if it’s possible for you to at least not not like her, that would be a step forward.”

  Aileen licked his hand and trotted back to her post.

  “See you tomorrow morning. I promise you lots of food.”

  Chapter Seven

  That night Mala was scared to fall asleep. Though her thoughts were racing so hard that maybe she wouldn’t have been able to sleep anyway.

  What did it all mean? A part of her had always felt the dreams were too real and full of meaning to be only a product of her strange mind. Now she had proof she was right. She should have felt vindicated. But the idea of marching up to her parents, especially her father, and saying, See, Papa, those weren’t just night terrors… Well, that scenario was never going to play out in any way that was satisfying to her.

  Either she wouldn’t be believed, the most likely outcome, or if she was, they’d be horrified that she was part of the paranormal crowd.

  In her mind, she went over the Denizens of the Paranormal World—that had been the title of one article published right after werewolves had been presented to the world. As far as Mala knew, she fit in with nothing she’d read about. There were shifters, primarily wolves though the rare big cat was rumored to exist. And there were Minders, people who could bend other people’s minds to their wills. Both groups were disliked, but Minders had the worse rap. They preyed on people whereas shifters mostly wanted to be left alone.

  If that article was correct.

  She should have read more before she’d hared off from Toronto and made her way north. Part of her wished to scurry home, and maybe she would, but she’d have breakfast with Angus first. She wanted to see Caleb again.

  She worried about the boy, well, young man, and what he’d been through. She’d known his fear up close and personal, and that wasn’t what any teenager should have gone through.

  Perhaps something to talk to Angus, his guardian, about. The idea that Caleb had Angus to watch over him warmed Mala.

  But that brought Mala back to herself. Caleb’s dream wasn’t her first. When she was a young child, she’d been cowering and terrorized in her nightmares. Her parents had taken her to a number of different psychologists, and one had suggested Mala try to control her dreams.

  That had been the beginning of Mala taking charge.

  At first it had been minor stuff. Mala receiving someone’s fear and barely holding on to it before throwing it out at once—and making the monster blink. It had sometimes helped, not always. It hadn’t been taking charge so much as trying to do something.

  When she got older, she became more immune to the barrage of emotions, more able to keep her head so she could act. One dream had been the turning point. The fear had been so intense, so suffocating, and Mala had attempted to make the emotions smaller and more manageable. She’d ended up concentrating them, almost by accident. She hadn’t shaped it properly, not like she could do now, but by the time she’d thrown it in the face of the blue-eyed wolf—she remembered that repeat offender—the force of it had been enough to knock him out.

  And she thought, she hoped, that the female wolf had escaped from him.

  A tear leaked down her cheek. In her nightmares, some of those wolves had died. This meant they had really, truly died. Having known their fear, that knowledge hurt and a kind of grief surrounded her. She’d grieved for them in the past—a part of her must have known the truth without today’s proof—but back then she was able to insist to herself that it was only a dream.

  It had never helped all that much.

  She had tried to forget them, those lost wolves, and most of the deaths had occurred years ago when she’d been helpless and ineffective, but an ache settled in her chest.

  Some time around three a.m., Mala dozed lightly, too cautious to go into a dream. She couldn’t face that tonight after the revelation. She feared being sucked into some terror where she was incapable of saving someone’s life.

  Then there were the other times, the many times, when a beacon of fear had shown itself in her dreams and she’d been able to shut it down, choosing to avoid it, even forcing herself awake to escape the nightmare. But now, knowing it was real, knowing someone might be endangered and she could help them, it would be wrong not to investigate.

  “Just not tonight,” she whispered aloud.

  By six thirty, she was up and showered, and the idea of pacing around the small room was insupportable. It was dark, but gray tinted the edge of the eastern sky, and so she went downstairs and outdoors.

  Surely walking the streets at dawn wasn’t dangerous.

  The streets were quiet, though some people were moving about. It was a small town, she reminded herself, not Toronto with its early-morning bustle.

  And it was cold. She wasn’t going to last long, so she picked up the pace in the hopes that exercise would heat up her body, and strode forward.

  It didn’t take long to reach the end of town, though she wasn’t as warm as she liked and she’d have to turn around soon. As she looked back, she saw a wolf behind her, following at a distance.

  Her nightmares bore down on her, a claustrophobia of memories—being chased by a wolf or wolves—and despite common sense saying it was the wrong thing to do, she ran. Glancing behind her, she saw the wolf wasn’t gaining. In fact, it had disappeared. She
stuttered to a stop and turned in a slow circle on the empty road.

  God, had the wolf been a figment of her imagination? She didn’t think so, but she was a bit overwrought and hadn’t slept well. She ran back towards town. It was stupid to try to escape a wolf by going into the wilderness. What she needed was a building, a closed door. She breathed easier once she neared the B and B. The sky was beginning to lighten. She shot a brief look over her shoulder only to see the wolf standing there again.

  Crap. She raced forward, aiming for the B and B, it wasn’t far, and almost slammed into Eden going through the front door.

  Eden seized her arm, stabilizing her, and overcome, Mala bent down, hands on knees, breathing hard. She was in terrible shape. Of course, she hadn’t known she’d have to outrun wolves before she’d arrived in Wolf Town, but being in shape had suddenly become an important priority.

  “There there.” Eden patted her back and sounded concerned. Was this the same woman as yesterday? “What happened?”

  “A wolf,” Mala gasped out. “It was chasing me.”

  After a few more pats and Mala having regained her breath to some degree, she pushed up to standing and looked into Eden’s face. Her scowl deepened, and Mala didn’t think she could cope with Eden becoming offended and angry with her. However, the older woman turned away and opened her front door.

  “Who’s out there?” she demanded, like a schoolmarm preparing to chastise a misbehaving pupil.

  Something, someone, barked.

  “What do you think you’re doing frightening her like that?” Eden’s arm jerked up in a wide arc. “What is that supposed to accomplish?”

  It, he, she—one of the above—whined, and Mala’s near-escape from death no longer seemed to be quite that—more like a misunderstanding on her part.

  Eden wagged a finger in the air, before using it to punctuate her words. “You’re too handsome for your own good, you forget to use your brains. Get away and I’ll look after her.”