“There are things that happened before you came here. Things no one wants to dredge up.”
“And what does that have to do with Claire?” Her head jerked up at the sound of her name and he turned away, his back to her, even though he knew damn well she could still hear the conversation.
“More than you know. Gunner, Victor’s the guy who had your whole pack killed.”
Gunner’s face felt numb, his breath stalling in his chest. “And he had my father killed too, I suppose?”
Reece took a deep breath. “Yeah, I’m afraid that’s true. But it’s more complicated. He didn’t kill your father. He killed the man who you thought was your father.” There was another pause. Gunner closed his eyes, fearing the worst, not knowing what that could even be.
“The man you thought was your dad? He wasn’t your father. Gunner, Victor is your father.”
* * *
Gunner had been sitting on the edge of the bed for a long time, staring out the big window. Claire knelt beside him, aching to do something, anything, to help him. But her mind was just as jumbled as she supposed his was. If someone had told her that her father wasn’t really her father, she’d be a basket case. And to learn who your father really was, that the man you were trying to get this girl away from was your brother, or half-brother...well, for Claire, it was all too much.
“Gunner?” She laid her hand on his shoulder. He didn’t move.
“Gunner, we need to go.”
He drew a deep breath, looked down at the phone in his hands, and then threw it across the room. It bounced against the bathroom door, skittering away across the tile.
“You heard, I guess? What a mess. What a fucked up mess.”
“Gunner, I’m sorry. Really...I don’t know what else to say.”
He turned, and she saw the pain and confusion in his eyes. “All these years, the man who raised me, I thought he was my father. Now I find out it’s the guy who sired that prick Adrian...who’s my brother...” His laugh was sharp, painful.
“I can’t believe it myself...”
“Did you know?” Gunner turned to her suddenly, his eyes searching hers. “Was that why...”
She was shaking her head before he even finished. “How could I? I had no idea Adrian wasn’t Victor’s only son. No one ever talked about any other sons.”
“Yeah, how could you.” He shook his head absently. “We’ll just chalk this one up to fate...or bad luck.”
Claire sat back, wishing she had the magic words that would make this all go away, or at least make it something they could understand. But even if she believed in magic, she didn’t think there was enough to fix this situation.
He stood abruptly. “You’re right. We have to leave.”
Claire got off the bed, pulling on her shirt. Gunner grabbed the backpack, strode across the room, scooped up his phone, and shoved it into his pocket.
“Gunner, where are we going?”
“I’m not sure...”
Gunner’s words cut off abruptly. His head jerked up, eyes locked on the door, and he went completely rigid, the backpack falling to the floor. And then she heard it. The soft thud of a single footstep on the steps.
Claire whirled, still fumbling with the buttons on her shirt, breath coming up fast and shallow, her heart in her throat.
Before either of them could react, the door abruptly splintered inward. Adrian stood in the ruined doorway, hands doubled into fists. His nose was a swollen, bloody mess, his eyes sporting huge black rings beneath them, and he drew ragged breaths through his open mouth. Claire stumbled backward with a half-strangled cry. Adrian had never been her idea of good looking, but now he was horrific.
“How...how...what are you doing here?” She was still reeling from seeing the damage Gunner had done to Adrian’s face, and her voice was little more than a timid whisper.
“Claire...you should know by now never to doubt what I say.” His voice was cold but his eyes were animated, almost dancing with some evil inner light. Claire knew that look. It was the look he’d get before he’d hit her. Only now, with his ruined face, he looked ten times scarier.
“Adrian...”
“Get out of here.” Gunner moved in front of her, somehow managing to look taller, shoulders broader, towering over Adrian.
Adrian’s laugh was high and maniacal. “Like I’m going to listen to you, you animal. Get out of my way. I’m here for what’s mine. She is mine, you know. Not yours.”
“She doesn’t belong to you. Or me. But I’m not going to let you hurt her.”
For a split second, the men glared at each other. Then Adrian erupted with a growl, lunging across the room toward Gunner. Claire stumbled backward as Gunner shielded her with his body, easily sidestepping Adrian’s clumsy rush as he charged past them. The smaller man smashed into the kitchen table, spun around, and slammed into the counter. The empty wine bottle from the night before hit the floor with a crash, leaving a welter of shattered glass.
In that instant, Gunner began to change, shifting into his animal form. She’d seen shifters change; hell, she changed herself. But with Gunner, it was a force of nature, strangely beautiful, mesmerizing. His shift was more like a magician’s illusion, and where Gunner had been, a huge black wolf now stood in the middle of the small cabin.
Adrian was crouched by the counter, breathing hard, lips pulled back over his teeth. He seemed just as shocked at the rapid transformation as Claire, although she didn’t think he was quite as taken with Gunner’s shift as she was. He looked enraged, angrier than she’d ever seen him.
Gunner lunged at Adrian, nails gouging the hardwood floor. He hit Adrian low, just above the knees. The blow dropped Adrian to the floor, with Gunner scrambling to remain on top, pinning Adrian on his back. Even with his greater body weight, Gunner had difficulty controlling Adrian.
Claire waited for Adrian to change. She expected him to and wondered why he didn’t, what he could be thinking. But he remained in his human form. He was crazy if he thought he could win a fight against a massive wolf who outweighed him, could out maneuver him, and could easily tear out his throat with one bite.
Adrian’s hands were around Gunner’s throat, his fingers buried in the black fur. There was no way he could do any harm to Gunner, but Claire saw that he was able to keep Gunner’s snapping fangs away from his own throat.
“Gunner! Look out! He’s...”
Before she could even finish the words, Adrian pulled his knees up, planted his feet in Gunner’s midsection, and kicked hard. Gunner grunted, his back legs lifting, scrambling above the floor. That was all Adrian needed.
Gunner lost his advantage, his front legs slipping. Adrian yelled, a terribly loud primal sound in the small space. He straightened his legs as far as he could against Gunner then rolled over, pushing Gunner away. Gunner landed heavily on his side, a deep growl tearing from his throat.
Adrian was on his feet, heading toward Claire. She backed up, hitting the edge of the bed with her legs. Before she had a chance to catch her balance or even consider shifting, Adrian had an arm around her waist, pulling her toward the door. She kicked, pulling at his arm, scratching him with her nails, trying to hit his damaged nose. But his grip was like steel, and he lifted her feet off the floor as he moved toward the door.
“Gunner!” Claire dug her nails into Adrian’s arm, straining to see over his shoulder. Gunner was on his feet, teeth bared, back legs coiled, ready to jump.
Adrian spun around, using Claire as a human shield. Against her back, she felt Adrian’s body begin to shift, his muscles rippling, growing tense and hot. He held up his hand, and Claire felt the blood drain from her face. It was covered with sparse yellow fur, the nails already starting to change into claws.
“Take that jump, and she dies.” Adrian’s distorted voice, half-human, half-growl, filled the room. “It’s that simple.” The hand closed around her throat, the claws digging into her skin, a warm trickle of blood seeping down her neck.
Claire
struggled to breathe as he crushed her against his body. Gunner was still crouched on the floor in front of her ,and she met his eyes. She saw anger, confusion...doubt.
“That’s right, big boy. Be a good boy and sit.”
Adrian backed up through the ruined door into the cool morning air. Gunner advanced slowly after them, hackles raised, snarling through bared fangs. His eyes flickered between Claire’s and Adrian’s then locked on hers as Adrian dragged her toward the stairs.
“She’s mine, asshole. And don’t ever forget that.”
Adrian turned and jumped down the stairs, his arm around her waist. With surprising speed, he bolted through the woods, crashing down the same path she’d traveled with Gunner the night before. Brambles pulled at her, tree limbs scratching her face and hands. She beat against Adrian, but there was no stopping him.
Claire knew he was close to shifting. He was just barely holding on to his human form. He wanted something from her, or else he would have changed and fought it out with Gunner in the cabin before killing her.
Suddenly, they broke through the trees into a clearing. She didn’t see Gunner’s motorcycle, but instead saw a bright red Porsche parked alongside of the road. Adrian had taken a different trail, not the same one Gunner had used. He flung her against the car, pinning her with one hand as he yanked open the driver’s side door.
“Get in...don’t try getting back out. Do, and I’ll just run you over. And don’t bother shifting...you were always a slow shifter and a worthless fighter. I could kill you in a heartbeat.”
Adrian pushed her hard, and she clambered over the gear shift, banging her elbows and knees, ending up crouching in the passenger seat. She couldn’t resist reaching for the door handle, but Adrian grabbed her arm, twisting it painfully, his claws digging into her skin.
“I said don’t try getting out.” He leaned close, his breath hot and fetid against her face. She turned away, but Adrian grabbed her face with his other hand, forcing her to look at him. The pads of his fingers...paws...were rough against her skin, claws digging into her cheek.
“You think you’re getting away again? Not this time. This time you’re coming with me.”
“Why not just kill me and get it over with. We both know that’s what you really want.” She spat the words at him through clenched teeth.
Adrian’s eyes darkened, his face contorting into a mask of rage. He pulled her even closer and Claire cringed, desperate to get away from him. His breath was foul, as if he’d been eating something rotten, or he was rotting from the inside out. Something was wrong, really wrong, with this scenario, more than just being in a car with a guy she’d jilted who happened to be poised between human and shifter.
“My father...you remember him? He’s your Alpha. He wants you back. It’s not what I want...”
His bloodshot eyes bore into her, then slid down her face to her torn shirt. Something passed over them, or left them. Claire’s heart skipped in her chest. It took her only a second to realize the last shred of sanity Adrian had been clinging to had just deserted him. His mouth curled into a bizarre smile, fangs competing with teeth, a grin that would have frozen Hell.
“You know what? Fuck my father.” His voice dropped lower and became an almost seductive purr, his eyes raking hungrily over her body.
“Fuck you, too, while we’re at it.”
Claire’s breath froze in her throat. Adrian, half-wolf, half-human...the thought was repellant, and she struggled against the iron grip of his hand. But he was too strong and for a horrible moment, Claire saw her immediate future. It wasn’t pretty.
Adrian buried his head against her neck, his mouth hot against her skin, teeth raking across her flesh. She cried out, pushing at him, trying to kick at his body. But the car was too small and he was too strong. A sob broke from her lips as he tore the front of her shirt, the buttons skittering to the floor of the car. Closing her eyes, she went numb, giving herself over to the horror.
Abruptly his head rose, pushing her away roughly. “Hear that? That hulk has your scent.” He snorted, an ugly sound. But beyond Adrian’s snarl, Claire heard the unmistakable sound of a motorcycle roaring to life. She allowed herself to take a breath.
Adrian glared at her, head tilted. “Look at you, all smiles. I bet you got him to give you a ride, bring you here, all by giving that animal just what he wanted, just with a twitch of those hips of yours. What I wanted...what was mine. And what you never gave me.”
“You’re fucking crazy, Adrian. Gunner isn’t...”
Her head snapped back as his hand connected with her cheek. Tears stung her eyes, more from shock than pain. She kept her head turned toward the window. Adrian pounced on any sign of weakness. It fed whatever drove him to hurt, and Claire knew tears could send him into a frenzy. A frenzied Adrian in the confined space of the car was not something she wanted to experience.
“Teach you to call me crazy...” He turned the key in the ignition, cutting off the rest of his words. Claire closed her eyes, swallowed hard, and leaned her forehead against the cold glass of the window.
Adrian’s nasty remark stung. Had she used Gunner, played on the chemistry between them, and used it to her advantage? And then shut him down? Right now, she wasn’t sure of the answers.
Her eyes flew open as the car rocketed onto the narrow road. Adrian loved his cars, and the Ferrari was one of his favorites. Now, on the narrow, twisting mountain road, he took the curves at top speed, the car slewing from lane to lane.
“Like the view?” He flung the car around a corner and Claire looked out the window, over what seemed to be a thousand foot drop, straight down. The guardrail flashed past, the car barely missing the metal that was supposed to keep them from hurtling to certain death. Adrian’s high-pitched laughter filled the car as Claire white-knuckled the door handle.
“Shit. Fucking bastard.”
Claire tore her eyes away from the view to find Adrian glaring at the rearview mirror. Without turning, she knew it was Gunner behind them. She looked at the sideview mirror and her heart, already hammering, skipped a succession of beats.
Behind them was Gunner. She tried hard not to smile, or at least not let Adrian see her face. Gunner had followed them...he’d come for her after all.
Chapter Five
Even back in his human form, Gunner could smell the little prick’s scent. It burned his nose, coated the back of his throat, and made him want to cough. Gunner rubbed his ribs where Adrian had kicked him, wincing as he took another breath. One was cracked, maybe two.
Behind Adrian’s God-awful smell was Claire’s, the sharp scent of her fear almost covering her own rich scent. Not usually given over to grandiose sentiments, it tore Gunner’s heart to realize he’d failed her. He couldn’t protect her for even twenty-four hours.
He pulled on jeans and a shirt, thrust his feet into his boots, grabbed the keys for the Harley, then bolted out the door. Halfway down the path, their scents faded and he realized Adrian must have taken a different route to the cabin.
By the time he reached the clearing and his bike, he’d gotten the scent of them again, the wind blowing their scent to him from the south. And on the wind he caught the hot scent of a car, gas and oil heavy on the breeze. Now he knew where Adrian and his car were.
The bike came to life and he dropped it into gear, the rear tire spitting gravel as he tore up the driveway. He hit the pavement, twisted the throttle, and took off at top speed down the mountain.
Gunner knew this road like the back of his hand, and the bike screamed around the first corner. He’d learned to ride on these snaky roads, and he knew he could catch Adrian no matter what kind of high-powered car he was driving.
The bike screamed beneath him, giving sound to his fury. He hunched lower, taking another series of turns at speed. Then he caught a flash of red two or three turns ahead, hugging the guardrail. The sun glinted off the passenger side window before the car dipped into a patch of shade. For a brief moment, Gunner saw the outline of C
laire’s head. She was alive, at least sitting upright in the passenger seat. Check off one fear, that Adrian had decided to take matters into his own hands and stuffed Claire into the trunk of the car.
But other fears rose in his mind. If Adrian saw him, would he try to hurt Claire somehow? Or would his already reckless driving escalate until he lost control and the car either crashed into the mountain or plummeted over the edge into the valley below?
Gunner let up on the throttle, dropping back. There was nowhere for Adrian to go other than down the mountain. If he took any of the side roads, he’d be forced to drop his speed, and that didn’t seem like something Adrian would do. Gunner had to be patient, not lose sight of the car, but not push Adrian too hard.
As he dropped back, his mind racing over every possibility, Reece’s voice came back. Malone’s words, leave Claire alone, leave Adrian alone...don’t dig up the past. Victor had his father killed...Victor was his father.
His father...the man who would always be his father...had been murdered at the base of this mountain. It had been staged to look like a trail accident. Except his father didn’t hike. Gunner knew it was murder. Reece knew. But no one seemed interested enough to find out what happened. So it all just got covered up, buried, and never talked about again.
Could he be taking Claire to the same spot? Did he know his father...their father...had killed a man there?
Gunner slowed the bike, letting the Ferrari roar out of sight around the next corner. There was a cut-off road, not far ahead, nothing more than a muddy dirt track that came out below where this father was killed. If he could make it through, if the road wasn’t washed out...with any luck, he’d be able to get there before them, hide the motorcycle, and wait.
The road was rutted and he was forced to slow the bike down, veering around potholes and a fallen tree. Finally the road became a mire of mud, completely impassable. He got off, pushing it into the thick cover of rhododendron that grew along the sides.
Untamed Hearts (BBW Biker Werewolf Romance) Page 5
