Lock

by Terry Bolryder

  Lock groaned but supposed that was as far as they were going to get. “Fine. Then what do you want me to tell you?”

  “I want to know about my brother,” she said simply, leaning her cheek in her hand with a dreamy expression. “Everything you can say.”

  Lock glanced to the side dubiously, wondering exactly what information he could give. Wondering what would be welcome.

  All he could hope was that Tasha didn’t have any preconceived notions of who her brother was.

  He straightened up. “First, I need to tell you about the Tribunal.”

  Chapter 8

  “The Tribunal?” Tasha sat up in her chair so she could focus better. “I think the guy who attacked me mentioned that.”

  “Probably,” Lock said, amber irises darkening as his brown-red lashes lowered in a glare. “If he was watching you like he said he was, he knows only one other person has that same power.”

  “Making people sleep?” Tasha asked, wide-eyed. “But I don’t mean to.”

  Lock shrugged. “It’ll be good to get that under control at some point. But since you aren’t even aware of your wolf, that’s probably a ways off. Anyway, the Tribunal is our ruling class. Pure alphas with the best powers in arranged marriages designed to make sure all power stays at the top.”

  “So are they more powerful than you?”

  Lock smirked. “No. My parents were associated with the Tribunal before they were killed by them.”

  She let out a gasp, touching her hand to her mouth in shock. “Why?”

  “You don’t need to know about that,” Lock said, handsome face going somewhat rigid. “Needless to say, I hate them. But they’ve gotten into even worse things since then. Experiments, plans to fight other shifters and even eradicate humans. There are rumors, but the rest of the shifter world is mostly unaware.”

  Tasha sighed. “This is deep stuff. Overwhelming.”

  “I know,” Lock said. “But trust me. It’ll all make sense at some point. After all, you were born to it. You’re as high up in the Tribunal as they come.”

  “I am? Then why am I in the human world? And why don’t I feel like a wolf?”

  Lock raised a dark-red eyebrow, his golden earring twinkling in the florescent light of her kitchen. “You’ve never shifted? Not even a little?”

  “No.” She sighed. “I think I would remember that.”

  “Well, as you saw with the guy I fought, we can erase memories. Dragons can anyway. The Tribunal can but probably only because they cooperate with dragons. If dragons knew the extent of how the Tribunal was betraying them, using their blood and powers to gain leverage—”

  Tasha slammed both hands down on the table. “Wait. Wait, wait, wait. Dragons? There are freaking dragons around?”

  Lock looked unimpressed. “Oh great. That’s what excites you. Yes, there are fucking dragons, and most of them are douchebags. Happy?”

  She smiled a little, liking his jealousy, though she knew she had no right to. “I want to meet a dragon.”

  “Like hell you will,” Lock said angrily. “Anyway, they don’t meet with our kind. Not unless they need something or we did something bad. They’re enforcers. Policemen. At least the double dragons are.”

  “Wait, double dragons?” Tasha rubbed her hands together. “This just gets better and better.”

  Lock groaned, putting his hands together over his face. “So much info. We’re never going to get through it with your dragon fetish.”

  “So what does double mean?” She blinked at him innocently.

  He mumbled something under his breath, his dark-red hair shading his face as he leaned forward.

  “What was that? I couldn’t hear you.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” he said, glaring up at her, a slight blush on his tanned, hard cheeks. “Anyway, back to the things that actually matter…”

  “Right,” she said, nodding and forcing herself to focus. As interesting as dragons were, she wanted to know about her brother. “What else about the Tribunal?”

  “Your brother, Fifi—I mean Felix—”

  “Fifi?” She wrinkled her nose, getting the first inclination that her images of her brother she’d held on to from childhood were going to be obliterated soon. “Felix?”

  Lock let out a ragged breath. “This is so not what I ever pictured myself doing. Listen, wolves, shifters in general, they tend to look a bit different from humans. Attractive. Tall.”

  She looked down at herself. “What about me?”

  Lock smirked. “You’re attractive. And tall for a woman. Curvy too, like alpha females usually are.” He rubbed his hands together, a gleam in his orange eyes. “Trust me. You’re perfect.”

  She felt a blush all the way down to her ankles. “Um. Thanks. Anyway…”

  “Right. So Felix, your brother, goes by Fifi to some of the people who know him.” Lock rubbed the back of his neck.

  “And you know him?”

  Lock grimaced. “We’ve met a few times. I wouldn’t say we were the best of friends, but I sort of owe him one. That’s why I’ll watch out for you, whether you mate me or not.”

  “How do you owe him?”

  “Now that is a really long story,” Lock said. “And I can’t tell you everything tonight because it would overwhelm you.”

  She nodded. “Fine. Then tell me something. Tell me what he looks like.”

  Lock cocked his head, making his hair fall roguishly to one side. It looked so soft, so vivid. “What color is your hair? Naturally, I mean.”

  Tasha twisted a lock in her fingers. She had always loved her hair. “Very light blond, almost white.”

  “Your brother’s is similar,” Lock said. “And he usually wore it long, though last time I saw him, it was shorter.”

  “When was that?” Tasha asked eagerly.

  Lock looked away. “That’s not important right now.”

  “Fine,” she said. “What else can you tell me about him? Why is he called Fifi?”

  “How do I put this,” Lock said, tapping his jaw with one finger. “Fifi is… Fifi.” He made a noise between an exhale and a laugh, like he was embarrassed. “He kind of defies all description. He’s very tall, taller than me even. More the height of a dragon than a wolf.”

  Tasha smiled, warmth running through her as she started to picture him. “Awesome. My brother is a badass.”

  “Oh, you have no idea,” Lock said. “His appearance is somewhat deceiving because looking at him, one would almost get the impression that he is feminine, gentle, soft. Though, he’s muscular like any wolf. His face is just particularly… beautiful. Like just barely the face of a man.”

  She raised an eyebrow. That was definitely not what she thought. “Oh.”

  “But he’s actually probably the deadliest assassin in the Tribunal’s arsenal, so there’s that.”

  She jolted upright, feeling dismay surge through her much like the shot to her arm earlier. “My brother’s an assassin?”

  Lock nodded carefully. “This is why I said he might not be able to be on your side. Right now, he’s working with the Tribunal.”

  “But why would he do that?” she said, getting up from the table and walking over to the couch to grab a pillow she could cuddle at this disturbing moment. She rested her chin on it. “Why, if they are bad? Maybe they aren’t so bad after all.”

  “Oh no, they’re bad,” Lock said, taking a seat on a plush chair across from her and leaning back with his hands behind his head and his legs crossed at the ankles in front. “Trust me. I know them as well as anyone. My twin is mated to one of the Tribunal leader’s daughters. Lacey. The tribunal tried to kill her, my twin, even Fifi when he tried to interfere. They’ll kill anyone.”

  “Why did Fifi interfere? Doesn’t he work for them?”

  “It’s the only time I saw him try to foil them,” Lock said. “And he nearly died for it.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “We won the fight, but Felix went back. He said there was a reason he had to. But Lacey
is his cousin, so he had to defend her if he could.”

  Tasha felt tears bite at her eyes. It was good to hear things about her brother but hard to know how much he had struggled while she had been oblivious and safe.

  Why had she never known? If she was powerful like him, why had she been kept so far away? She swiped at her eyes with her hands, glancing up to see Lock looking at her aghast.

  “Are you crying?” He sat up. “I’m sorry if I said too much.” He came over to the couch and sat next to her, rubbing her shoulder awkwardly as if he didn’t know what to do. “I’m sorry, Tasha. I don’t know what I should tell you. I’m not good with emotions.”

  “It’s okay,” she said dully. “Why is he helping them if they’re so evil?”

  Lock was quiet for a moment. “Because he doesn’t have a choice.”

  “Why not?” She cleared her eyes enough to glare up at him. “If he’s so powerful, why doesn’t he just leave?”

  Lock looked aside like there was something he was hiding from her, and Tasha grabbed his face and jerked it forward.

  “No,” she said. “Tell me right now.”

  Lock’s amber eyes met hers reluctantly. “I don’t know if I should. It might be hurtful.”

  She held his face tight. “Why doesn’t he have a choice?”

  Lock exhaled roughly. “He might be protecting someone. Someone they’ll leave alone as long as he does what they say.”

  His words hit her like a shockwave, and she sank back against the cushions, feeling stunned. “You think it’s me?”

  Lock bit his lip. “It could be.”

  Tasha stood, wondering how to cope with the fact that the brother that had always written to her, cared about her, was out there suffering with evil people because she merely existed.

  She took one unsteady step, then another, and then bounded out of the living room, not wanting to hear anything else.

  “I’m a hairdresser. I’m a hairdresser. I’m a hairdresser,” Tasha muttered to herself as she lay on her bed in the dark, ignoring the fact that a man who was also a wolf was sitting in the living room, probably wondering why she’d run on him. “I’m just a hairdresser. I don’t understand any of this.”

  She folded her arms over her chest and tried to picture the man Lock had described as her brother. Fifi. Such an odd name.

  Her brother had never signed a name to his letters, and she knew now that was weird.

  She also knew that she had an odd knack for just accepting that there were huge holes in her history. Things that didn’t make sense. She’d always just been the type to move forward. So she didn’t really remember her childhood before foster care, but so what?

  Life was about the future, not the past.

  She rolled onto her side with a huff, hoping anger could keep the tears back.

  Right now, everything sucked. Her brother was out there, and something might have happened to him all because he wanted her to stay safe.

  And she had stayed safe, so was there any way he could stay safe also?

  She heard a soft knock on the door and let out a sigh. “Come in.”

  Lock pushed the door open gently. “You want to talk?”

  She sat up, pulling her blankets around her and pouting. “I don’t know if I have anything to say.”

  Lock came over to sit on the bed, and it seemed he didn’t really mind the darkness. Moonlight fluttered in from her window, and he stared at it for a moment. “You know, it’s not a bad thing to have someone sacrifice for you.”

  She scowled and moved back against the headboard. “It is when you didn’t ask them to.”

  Lock sat against the headboard next to her but didn’t make any attempt to touch her at all, despite them being on the same bed. “Sometimes people can’t help it. Because they love you.” He reached for the waist of his jeans, and Tasha gasped as he began to pull them down.

  “Wait a minute—”

  “You probably didn’t notice when we were getting naked, but there’s a pretty gnarly scar right there,” he said, pulling his jeans down low on his hip.

  Tasha looked down and saw a jagged, deep scar right along his Ken doll line that she’d somehow missed. Probably because she’d been looking at his dick or because his tan somewhat hid the mark. “What is it?”

  Lock slid his pants back up, looking oddly vulnerable as he stared at the ceiling. “I nearly lost a leg protecting my twin. With my healing factor, only the deepest wounds leave a mark.” A muscle in his jaw ticked. “So yeah, I would say some sacrifices are worth it. Though, Thor might be pissed if he knew.”

  Tasha’s heart flooded with sudden tenderness as she stared at Lock. He was always so hard, so callous, so smug that it was hard to imagine him suffering. But clearly, he had. And badly. “I’m sorry.”

  Lock shrugged. “It is what it is, and I’d do it again. So yeah, I kind of understand Felix.”

  “Who could beat you up if you’re a wolf?”

  Lock’s eyes were like stone. “I was a kid. My uncle was much bigger. After my parents died, he wanted the pack. In our world, everyone is just one alpha challenge away from ruling.” He glanced at her. “And since your uncle heads the Tribunal, that makes you an almost literal princess. As close as you can be in our world.”

  She had no idea what to say to that, but she put a hand on his knee, trying to connect in some way. “Our world sounds ugly and painful. I’m not sure I want to be part of it.”

  “I’m not sure you have a choice if you want to help your brother,” Lock said.

  “But does he want me to help him?” She eyed the place where Lock’s jeans were now covering his scar. “If you say sacrifice is worth it, will he be angry at me for ruining his plans?”

  Lock shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t know. But can you stand not ever meeting him? I said some sacrifices were worth it. When I was locked up at the Tribunal, Thor came and submitted himself for my freedom. Siblings help each other. It can’t all go one way, even if we want it to.” He looked to the side. “I would have stopped Thor from coming if I could have, but since I’m alive, I’m glad he did.”

  She nodded, finally comprehending. “All right. Then I want to help him. Where do we start?”

  Lock flopped back on the bed, grinning. “We start by trying to find him.” His expression sobered. “Though, it might not be very easy to do.”

  Tasha flopped back on the bed as well, her heart calming now that she was finally accepting everything. “It hasn’t been easy for him to be part of the Tribunal. I don’t care if it’s not easy for me to help set him free.”

  “That’s the spirit,” Lock said, eyeing her sidelong. “You know, you’re brave. Just like him.”

  Tasha glanced over at Lock, feeling oddly close to him. “Really?”

  “Yeah.” He crossed his legs and looked like he was making himself comfortable. “You’ll make a perfect mate for me.”

  She let out a gasp of mock offense and moved over to hit him but stopped when she saw he was mid-laugh. Instead, she rolled over on him and pushed at him playfully, just sort of enjoying his warmth.

  Lock was unlike anyone she’d ever met before, and as they wrestled on the bed for a moment, before stopping, entwined in each other’s arms, she wondered if she really could be destined for someone like him.

  Hot, playful, mysterious. A body to kill for and—

  He brought his face so close that their noses were touching. “Yeah. Turned on again. The perfect mate—”

  With a shove so hard she surprised herself with her strength, Tasha sent Lock rolling off the bed to land on the floor with a thump.

  She got on both knees and jerked a finger to her doorway. “Out. Now. Stupid wolf.”

  Lock gave her a look that was only semi-apologetic as he sauntered out of the room through the open door. “I’ll take the couch,” he said, peeking his head through the doorframe.

  “Out.” She tossed a pillow at him, and it hit the door, knocking it shut.

  She flopped ba
ck on her bed with a sigh. Nothing was going how she imagined it, but at least things weren’t boring.

  And if she had to leave her current life behind, she would just have to make a new life that was totally worth it.

  Chapter 9

  Tasha slept restlessly, and the next morning, her head hurt from all the information she’d gotten the night before.

  She wandered out to the kitchen in a ratty robe over her comfiest plaid pajamas and almost forgot Lock was in her living room until he looked up at her from where he was seated at the counter.

  “Good morning, princess.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Can we not?”

  He shrugged as he sipped his coffee. “We’ll see.”

  She looked over at the pot, which was still nearly full, and the toaster, which had something in it. “I see you made yourself at home.”

  “I didn’t want to bother you, but wolf metabolism isn’t something to take lightly.”

  She snorted as she pulled out a precut cup of grapefruit and some scrambled eggs she’d made the prior morning.

  When her breakfast was prepared, she sat down at the counter to eat it, eerily aware of Lock being just two seats away.

  Part of her wanted to go back to denial, to thinking she could just go into work today like everything was normal.

  The other part knew that things were forever changed now that she knew more about her brother.

  She’d never known why he couldn’t be in her life. In her wildest imagination, she’d thought maybe he could be part of the mafia or a group like that.

  This was so much worse.

  She pouted over her grapefruit.

  “Hey,” Lock said. “It’s going to be okay now. We’re going to see some people who might know where he is.”

  “Who?”

  “My twin and your cousin, Matt. Well, Lacey.”

  “Lacey?”

  Lock sighed. “She was raised as a boy when no boys were born to her father. She became a female again when she went to my twin for help.”

  “Why did she go to him?”