He was leaning inside the vehicle, digging through a box when I approached. He stood up and nodded. “For now.” He slammed the door shut and turned toward the building. “Let’s go and look inside.”
I caught up with him in the apartment stairway. “You mean she’s your mate?” How had I not realized that? I had seen how Nate reacted to me, and Joe, when he first saw Lauren. It was always the same glazed stare.
He didn’t turn around as he ascended the stairs. “Hmm, mm”
“I thought you already found your mate. You hinted at it when we first met.”
He reached the third floor landing and pulled the door open. “I said that I liked someone. But I was just saying that so you wouldn’t think I was into you. I didn’t want you to back away from me.”
That made sense. I was so confused at the time that if I thought he wanted more than just friendship I would have run away from him screaming. The door slammed behind us as we entered a hallway. I could smell the werewolf’s scent everywhere. But since I didn’t know his sister’s, I just followed him. “But didn’t you know she was yours before?” We passed the first white door; he paused for a second and then kept moving. “You must have caught her scent in the last six months since you’ve been chasing them.”
He moved to the next door, the floor beneath us creaking as we stepped. He sniffed the air and then shook his head as he moved on. “I never smelled her full scent, just traces of it. I knew something was off about it, but since I had never found my mate before I didn’t know what to expect.” He took a few more steps. “Besides, I wouldn’t have really known until I saw her face-to-face. And now that I have, there is no doubt.”
When he finished his explanation I remembered him telling me that there was something different about the scent of the werewolf. He wanted to know if I noticed. But at the time the scent had disappeared and I didn’t smell anything. But when I finally did smell it, I didn’t notice anything off. But I wouldn’t have, she wasn’t mine.
He stopped in front of a door and put his finger to his lips, in a gesture to shut me up. He grabbed the doorknob and turned it, stepping inside.
I followed closely behind and sniffed hard. The smell of cherry bubble-gum and human assaulted my senses. That must be his sister. There was a tiny, galley kitchen to the right that was bare of anything other than the brown cupboards and puce green appliances. We stepped past and entered a dreary living room with faded blue walls and ugly furniture that had seen better days.
We split up and headed down the only hallway. I turned into the first bedroom and he took the one at the end. My room was meant to be Marisa’s. And I knew this not because of my great detective skills, but from the name scribbled on the box that lay on the single bed. But, unfortunately, that was all that was in the room. Marisa was nowhere to be found.
“There’s nobody here,” Adrian announced coming up behind me. The frustration in his voice was loud and clear.
Just as he left the room to go explore, I got a text; Nate was boarding the plane. He’d be there in two hours.
I sat down on the single bare mattress and glanced around. The only sign of his sister was the box and a leather bag on the floor. Three paperback books lay on the nightstand. The apartment must have been furnished because there was no way the furniture would have fit in that car.
I peered into the box and pulled out a pile of framed pictures. As I was looking through them Adrian appeared in the doorway. “Are these your parents?” Although I asked the question, I already knew the answer. It was a family photo, with Adrian looking exactly the same and two older people that were obviously his mom and dad. A little girl of about four was sitting on Adrian’s lap. In the picture her hand was resting on his cheek and his parents were looking at them smiling. The love that emanated from the picture was evident.
He held out his hand. When I placed the photo in his palm he smiled, his eyes lighting up. “Yes, it was the last family picture before I moved away to college.”
As he gazed at his family, I looked at the next photo. This one was of Marisa who appeared to be about ten. She was standing in front of a birthday cake with Eva standing next to her. They were hugging and grinning at the camera. His sister did not appear to be a victim, being held against her will. She looked happy. The next one was of the two of them again with their faces touching. It looked like Eva was holding the camera out in front of them. Again, their smiles were bright and happy. The last one was of just Adrian’s parents on their wedding day.
I didn’t know how to read Adrian’s expression as he gazed through the pictures. The closest I could say was—wistful. It was like he was reliving a happier time in his life.
He closed his eyes and breathed in. “I don’t know what to do. I want to harm the werewolf for keeping me from my sister. But she’s my mate and my instincts are to run and find her, to be with her and to protect her with my life.” He opened his eyes and gazed at me, his expression filled with all the confusion and pain of his words.
I opened my mouth to speak, but the sound of the door opening had me closing it again. His sister was here. Adrian’s eyes widened as he rushed passed me.
I followed him out to the living room and there she was; the fifteen year old girl with black hair and dark brown eyes. She was wearing jean shorts and a pink fitted top and holding two bottles of soda. When she saw us, she dropped the drinks; they rolled along the faded floor, stopping when they reached the wall. With her arms now free Marisa threw herself into Adrian’s arms…and began to sob.
My heart broke at the scene, especially when Adrian caressed her hair and closed his eyes, resting his chin on the top of her head. When a tear trickled down his cheek, I felt like I was interrupting a very personal reunion that was ten years in the making. I was so excited that he had finally found her, I wanted to join in on the hug, but knew that I’d be imposing.
Instead, I turned away and moved to the window to look out, hoping to give them a semblance of the privacy I thought they needed. A red minivan zoomed by and a dog wandered out onto the road after it. It quickly lost interest and ambled toward a metal garbage bin to sniff.
“I’ve missed you so much,” Adrian said softly.
“What took you so long?” Marisa’s voice was muffled as she mumbled into his shirt, her body still shaking with emotion.
When I heard them pull apart I turned back around and took a seat in a faded, brown leather chair in the corner. I was trying to be as invisible as possible, but still here if I was needed.
Adrian held her at arm’s length and frowned. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know where you were and someone threatened to kill you if I attempted to find you.” He paused and touched her cheek with his thumb, as if trying to make sure she was real “I couldn’t risk your life.”
Her dark eyes widened in horror. “Who?”
“Let’s not get into that right now,” he said sadly, wrapping her into his arms again.
The door banged open and the girl with the braid stood in the entryway, pointing a gun at Adrian. She was wearing a purple tank top and another long peasant skirt. She must have retrieved some more of her clothes from the car when she returned to her human form—along with the gun in her hand.
Adrian pushed Marisa behind his back and glared at the werewolf before him. I jumped up and rushed forward, standing next to his sister. Since Eva was a werewolf and she knew that we were as well, I was guessing that there was silver in that gun. Once again we were in danger at the hands of another werewolf. Would our lives ever be normal again?
“Eva! What are you doing?” Marisa gasped. The shock was clear in her voice.
Eva ignored Marisa and took a step forward, the gun still pointed at Adrian’s head. Her eyes were determined. Her brown braid fell over her left shoulder and I noticed her arms trembled slightly. “Get away from her. These are silver bullets.” Shocking.
“You won’t kill me.” Adrian’s voice was low, but sure.
Her hands shook. “I don’t car
e if you’re my mate. I will protect that girl with my life and you will not take her from me.”
“Eva, please don’t hurt him.” Marisa begged, her head peeking around her brother’s shoulder.
“Marisa!” Eva yelled, staring into Adrian’s eyes. “Come here.” Her voice was hysterical and wild. I wasn’t as sure as Adrian that the girl wouldn’t pull the trigger. A shiver of panic shot through my chest.
I grabbed Marisa’s hand and squeezed. She didn’t know me, but I knew she needed comfort right now.
“I can’t.” Her voice shook with emotion, torn between two people she loved. “He’s my brother.”
Eva’s face fell, a look of hurt flashed over her face. “He’s dangerous. You can’t trust him.” Her previously shaking hands steadied. She was determined to get the girl back.
Marisa’s hand shook in mine. She glanced at Adrian and then at me, uncertainty clouding her face.
“Don’t listen to her, Marisa. He loves you. He would never hurt you.” I spoke with both confidence and concern. She needed to know what I did, that Adrian was kind, funny and wouldn’t purposefully hurt anyone.
Marisa gazed into my eyes, as if pleading for my words to be true. When I nodded, her uncertainty melted away. “I believe her Eva. Adrian would never hurt me.”
“I’m so sorry to have to tell you this, but…” Eva trailed off as she closed her eyes briefly, as if making a decision she didn’t want to. “He killed your parents.”
Chapter Nine
The Truth
“What?” Three voices gasped with the same shocked tone, one of them was me. Eva’s words had sent a knot of dread straight to my gut. Marisa and I stared at Adrian, while he gaped, open-mouthed at Eva. His expression could only be described as horror. While I might have doubted Adrian for a spilt second, the look on his face told me the truth. He was just as shocked by her accusation as Marisa and I had been.
Marisa gripped my hand, her eyes pooling with tears. We were strangers, but for some reason she felt like I was someone she could trust. And I needed to help her in any way that I could.
I stepped away from her, yanking my hand out of her tight grasp to approach the girl with the gun. “Why do you think that?” I asked a very determined Eva. Despite my proximity to a loaded gun, I suddenly wasn’t afraid. Call me stupid, call it a gut feeling, but I didn’t believe this girl with the messy braid and cherub like features, could hurt a fly, let alone me or my friend. She had that chance when she had turned into a wolf earlier and she hadn’t taken it.
At my approach she lowered the gun slightly, her hands beginning to shake again. We had never met before, but despite that, I could tell that she held no anger towards me. “A woman named Charlotte brought Marisa to me ten years ago. She was frantic. She said the girl needed a place to stay and protection from her crazed brother who had just killed their parents.” A wave of understanding washed over me. The girl in front of me holding the gun was a good person. For some reason, I knew this the first time I heard her voice, when she spoke to Marisa with love at the motel. My only question had been, how she could keep a girl she obviously cared for away from the only family she had left? The answer should have been obvious, Charlotte. It had been her life’s mission, when she was alive, to cause pain wherever she could. She’d be happy to know that even after her death, she was still causing it. For six months Adrian had suffered through almost finding his sister, all because of a lie the evil werewolf had told Eva.
As understanding hit me, Adrian cursed.
I smiled and stepped toward Eva, the floor creaked beneath my foot and I could hear Marisa’s soft intake of breath as I held my hand out for the gun.
Eva gazed at me with apprehension and then her eyes swung to the hand that I still held out. She made no other movement.
“You’ve been lied to.” My voice was soft and filled with compassion. I might not have believed any lies Charlotte had told me, but I let her into our home where she struck and kidnapped me and Lauren.
Eva’s hands that held the gun, lowered slightly. “What do you mean?” she whispered. The hesitation in her voice matched the look in her eyes.
“Charlotte was an evil...” At the sound of Adrian’s cough, I changed the word I was about to use. We didn’t know how much Marisa knew, so I couldn’t use the word werewolf. “Woman, who enjoyed ruining people’s lives. She hurt my husband, me and many others that I know, even her own brother.”
A line creased her forehead. “What do you mean she was?”
“She was killed when she tried to murder my best friend’s father.”
Eva closed her eyes, exhaustion marring her features. She dropped the gun to her side, but didn’t let it go.
I relaxed, letting my hands fall. “Don’t feel foolish. She has manipulated so many people. She probably couldn’t keep track of it all.”
Eva’s lip quivered, her eyes distressed. “I don’t know what to believe.”
I moved closer and placed a hand on her shoulder, she smelled of ginger and pineapple. “I know you don’t know me, but believe me when I tell you that Adrian is a good person.”
Her eyes flicked to the man in question and a tear slid down her cheek. She brushed passed me and moved to the brown corduroy sofa, falling into it; the aged springs groaned with the movement. She held her head in her hands, her messy, chestnut colored braid, falling over her shoulder. The gun lay forgotten on the cushion next to her.
The rest of us took positions in the living room. I sat back on my chair, while Marisa took the spot next to Eva, opposite the gun. Adrian leaned against the faded blue wall, watching us. His expression was guarded as he eyed the girl and the gun next to her.
Everyone was silent as Eva took in the information I had just given her.
It was Marisa that broke into the strained quiet. “So, are you two werewolves like Eva?” she asked Adrian and me.
Adrian and I exchanged glances, unsure what to say, but Eva sat up and stared at the teenager next to her. “What are you talking about?” She was obviously trying to keep her true identity hidden.
Marisa rolled her eyes. “Give me a break Eva. We almost look the same age.”
She was right. I’d say Eva was sixteen or seventeen when she was turned. But, with her round cherub shaped face and girl next door features, she had an innocent quality that made her appear younger than Marisa. Marisa’s features were sharp and smooth. She almost looked older than her fifteen years. How Eva convinced anyone that she was Marisa’s guardian all this time was surprising.
Eva’s eyes widened and she actually glanced at Adrian and me for help. I shrugged and Adrian’s lip twitched. “Uh…” she stammered.
Marisa spoke again before she could finish. “I was five when I met you and you haven’t aged. I have always known something was up.”
“So why did you assume werewolf?” I asked when all Eva could do was gawk at her. “It’s a bit of a stretch don’t you think?”
Marisa leaned back into the ugly brown cushions of the sofa, crossing her arms in front of her. “Well, since she turns into a wolf once a month, what would you assume?” Her tone wasn’t at all snotty, just blunt. I had to suppress a giggle. I liked her already.
“What?” Eva gasped, her eyes as wide as saucers.
Marisa turned on the couch so she was directly facing her guardian. “A few years ago, I started noticing that you always had to work late on a full moon. Last year, on a night that you said you would be late; I heard something outside and went to the window to check it out. That’s when I saw you turn from a wolf to a girl.
“At first I was freaked and ignored you for a whole day. But then, I thought about all the things you had done for me and I knew you might not be human, but that didn’t make you evil.”
Again, all of us studied the fifteen year old girl. She seemed more mature than my old friends that had betrayed me after setting a fire and they were four years older. Despite how Eva had come to have Marisa, it was obvious that she had done a t
errific job raising her.
When none of us responded, Marisa asked again, “So, are you two werewolves or not?” She raised a brow at her brother. “Because, it’s been ten years and you look exactly the same.”
Since Adrian and Eva appeared to be dumfounded. I answered for them. “Yes, we are.”
Marisa nodded and gazed at Adrian. “Can you tell me what happened the night Mom and Dad were killed?”
Adrian pursed his lips and looked at me for support. I nodded, knowing that she could handle it. Eva had raised a strong girl. He took a deep breath and moved to crouch in front of her, getting to her eye level. His knees cracked when he bent down. “What do you remember?”
Marisa tucked her hair behind her ear and leaned her arms on her knees. “I remember having the cherry-upside-down cake that Mom made for your visit home. I remember you tucking me in and then going to sleep. Then a scream woke me hours later and I wandered downstairs. I didn’t see anyone but a girl with red hair and she said that Mom and Dad wanted her to take me somewhere safe and that I was in danger there. But when she took me to Eva, she told me that Mom and Dad were dead and I had to live with this girl from now on.” She paused and glanced at each of us. “And that’s it.”
Adrian’s face went hard, his eyes flashed yellow. When his sister gasped, he jumped up and moved away, standing with his back to us as he peered out the window. He began his story without looking at us. “Dad and I were playing chess. We had an ongoing game that we continued every time I came home from college. Mom was watching us, commenting on the game, making me laugh as the two of them bantered back and forth. There was a knock at the door and since it was so late Dad went to answer it. When he didn’t return, Mom went to check on him.” Adrian turned back around and gazed into Marisa’s eyes. “That’s the last time I saw them alive.” He took another breath and continued. “There were two of them: a blond guy, who looked about twenty and the red headed girl. They were standing over Mom and Dad’s bodies. That’s all I saw. The next thing I knew I woke up in a car and I was a werewolf. Every day since then, I wish it was me that answered the door.” The misery in his voice as he told his story was audible and my eyes burned with tears. I might not get along with my parents but if that had happened to them, I would have been devastated. It was amazing Adrian wasn’t screwed up. It must have helped that he had been focussed on his sister all these years, to keep him sane. Living with the monsters that killed his parents must have been horrible.
Riley's Redemption (A Moon's Glow Novel) Page 8
