by Jami Gray
Xander shot a look at the wolf in the yard. “Better than a doorbell.”
Ash’s tongue lolled out in a silent laugh as he got to his feet and trotted through the door.
Coming in behind Gavin, Raine waited as he checked out the empty living room before moving to the kitchen. She shuffled over to the sofa, her unhappy ribs convinced she’d be better off sitting than standing.
Gavin reappeared, shaking his head. “I can’t find Tala.”
Getting comfortable, Raine said, “She’s around, or we wouldn’t have been let in.” She waved a hand at Ash who was on his second circle of the same spot in front of the fireplace. “Ask him.”
Ignoring them, the wolf sank into a curled position, his tail over his nose. Obviously, he wasn’t concerned about Tala’s nonappearance.
Gavin leaned his shoulder against the entryway, one dark eyebrow arching at Ash’s unconcern. Xander settled at the other end of Raine’s couch.
For the first time, Raine saw signs of strain in-between the delicate tattooed lines on Xander’s face. “Rough day?”
Xander grimaced. “That’s one way to put it.”
“Chavez’s boys marking their territory?” Gavin scratched his shoulder.
“Not so much marking it as protecting it.” She leaned her head back against the couch and closed her eyes.
Sharing a concerned look with Gavin, who shrugged, Raine turned back to the shifter, careful to keep her tone low, just in case Tala was within hearing distance. “You okay, Xander?”
A small, mirthless smile crossed Xander’s face. Her voice was just as low. “Yeah. It’s nothing I haven’t dealt with before.” She opened her eyes to meet Raine’s gaze before addressing them both. “They’re hiding something. However, as long as Chavez’s puppies are trotting beside me, I’m not going to get a straight answer.”
Gavin shot a look over his shoulder to the still empty kitchen then moved to a chair next to Raine. He sat down, stretching his long legs stretch out. “Chavez may be the Southwest Alpha, but aren’t there others we can talk to? Someone who can give us a better picture of what’s really happening here.”
Xander sighed. “I was thinking of calling the alpha in Phoenix.”
Gavin frowned. “I thought Chavez was the alpha.”
“Chief Alpha of the Southwest,” Xander clarified.
“How many alphas answer to him?” Raine hadn’t paid attention to the lines of power in the other Houses. Considering her and Gavin’s earlier conversation on the evolution of magic, maybe it was time to start.
Xander ran a hand through over her hair. “Chavez is the top dog, but there are four leaders under him. As the Southwest Alpha, he is the final authority for all packs located within Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Texas, and Southern California. Chavez’s personal territory covers northern Arizona, all of Utah and a small part of Nevada.”
“What about Mexico?” Raine asked.
“Different alpha, Jorge Rodriquez. You don’t want to mess with him.” Xander’s lip curled with obvious distaste. “He makes a caveman look liberated.”
“So under Chavez is?” Gavin prompted.
“Under Chavez, you have the heads of territories. There’s one other alpha in Arizona, Tobias ‘Toby’ Greene. His pack covers Southern California, Phoenix, and Tucson, along with the area south to the Arizona/Mexico border. Ryan Riordan holds a large pack in Santa Fe and his territory covers New Mexico and Colorado. Texas is covered by another large pack who answers to Jake Blackwood.”
“So we have Arizona, Southern California, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah all covered. So that leaves the rest of Nevada,” Gavin said.
Xander nodded. “Right. Nevada has a very small pack and their alpha is Jeanette Claison.”
“A female alpha?” Raine broke in. “I thought alphas were all male.”
Something unreadable flashed across Xander’s face, too fast for Raine to catch. “Yeah, well, her pack is too small to be viewed as a threat so they let her claim stand.”
Uncertain how to interpret Xander’s tone, Raine decided to ignore it. “Guess we need to call Toby Greene.”
Xander shook her head. “No, I’ll call Toby.” Raine opened her mouth to argue but stopped when Xander raised her hand. “Look, you and Gavin have your meeting with Doug Ransom tomorrow afternoon. I’m breaking enough rules just placing a call to Toby without running it by Chavez first. This is going to be difficult enough as is. If all three of us go in asking questions, it will be viewed as a threat. Word will get to Chavez, who’ll call Warrick. I’ve already gone one round with my alpha. I’m really not up to another one.”
Raine wasn’t comfortable letting Xander field this lead solo, but understood Xander’s reasoning. “Politics suck,” she muttered.
Xander’s choked laugh agreed.
“When you were out with Carlos, did you find anything?” Gavin changed the conversation’s direction abruptly.
A grumbling sound answered, and Xander’s cheeks turned red at her stomach’s vocal response.
Raine gave a short laugh, and carefully got up from the couch to make her way to the kitchen. “Food first.”
All serious conversation was shelved as they prepared a simple dinner of soup and sandwiches. Realizing Xander’s metabolism would need more than a turkey sandwich, Raine found a steak in Tala’s freezer. It didn’t take long before they gathered around a small table nestled in the kitchen.
After taking a few bites, Raine restarted the conversation. “So Rio Castle told us a story about Tomás’s son, Brett.”
Xander meticulously cut up the very rare steak dominating her plate. She brought a piece to her mouth. “Is it the one where he hooked up with a human girl and Mommy didn’t approve?”
Her own mouth full, Raine nodded.
“Yeah, heard that one,” Xander said before taking her bite.
“Did you hear how the son died?” Gavin asked, blowing on his soup. Xander shook her head while she chewed. “He fell from a spooked horse.”
Xander choked. Raine set her sandwich aside, rising from her chair so she could pound the smaller woman’s back. “Damn, Xander, you okay?”
After a few more coughs, Xander managed to clear the obstruction. She took her drink, and sipped slowly. “Yeah, went down the wrong way.” She waved Raine back to her chair, her hazel eyes studying Gavin. “Tell me exactly what you heard.”
“We were told the son was out checking fences. His horse got spooked and threw him.”
Setting her glass aside, Xander narrowed her eyes. “Do you know how long he had this horse?”
“Didn’t ask,” Gavin answered.
“Should have.” Xander took another bite as she gazed unseeingly out the patio door, her brow furrowed. For a few moments silence reigned. “If the horse wasn’t used to his presence, it would have been difficult to control from the get go.”
“If the horse was familiar with him?” Raine prompted.
“Then it would take something pretty big to spook it,” the other woman answered.
“So the story has holes?” Gavin pressed.
Xander nodded. “Yeah. There’s got to be more to it.” She turned back Gavin and Raine. “I’ll see what I can find out from Toby. Maybe we can get few more details.”
Raine cocked her head. “You going to call him soon?”
“After dinner.” Xander shot Raine a piercing look. “You look like hell. Who’d you run across?”
The flimsy hold on memories slipped, and Raine’s sandwich turned to dust in her mouth. Setting it down, she pushed her plate away. “The friendly neighborhood Soul Stealer.”
Xander paused with her fork half way to her mouth. Even the tattoos couldn’t hide her surprise. “What happened?”
“She found traces of Jeremiah,” Gavin answered darkly.
Xander put her fork down, food apparently forgotten. She looked from Gavin to Raine. “And?”
“He was being torn apart by the Chindis.” Raine tried not
to relive the horror of the tracker’s last moments. “He didn’t want to end up anyone’s slave, so he cast some sort of death spell.”
The shifter’s face went stony. “Did he take some of them with him?”
Raine nodded.
“Good.” Xander’s voice was reduced to a growl.
Raine finished the rest of her dinner while the clinking of utensils punctuated the quiet. When they finished, Xander went to her room to call Toby, leaving Raine to help Gavin with the dishes.
With the last dish put away, she leaned against the counter’s edge, exhaustion leaving her drained. Drying her hands, she watched Gavin rinse the suds from the sink. “Gavin?”
He half-turned toward her. “Hmm?”
She rose up on her tiptoes and softly brushed his lips with hers. She drew back enjoying the surprised, pleased look lighting his face.
“What was that for?” he asked.
A little uncomfortable, she shrugged. “Just ‘cause.”
A wicked smile curled his lips at her answer. He deliberately dried his hands on the towel she clutched. Then his fingers wrapped around her hips, somehow avoiding the sore spots, and drew her close.
She met him halfway. As their lips met, she melted. Strength tempered with gentleness seduced her. Heat and desire flared, chasing the aches and pains away. Her hands went to his shoulders, needing an anchor. The hand-towel fell to the floor unnoticed as they kissed. The front door slammed and Tala’s greeting to Ash quickly followed. Raine was the first to break free, but Gavin kept his hands at her waist as she turned toward the kitchen entrance.
Tala appeared in the doorway and shot them an unreadable look before heading to the cupboard next to the refrigerator. Taking down a glass, she kept her back to them as she opened the freezer door. “How was your conversation with Rio?”
Gavin found his voice first. “Enlightening.”
Ice cubes tinkled against glass, then Tala closed the freezer. She turned and stepped forward, forcing Gavin and Raine to break apart, so she could get to the sink for water. They waited as she filled her glass, took a sip, and stared out the window above the sink at the winter-shadowed backyard.
Early evening had come and darkness was making its way across the landscape. Neither Raine nor Gavin wanted to break Tala’s strange silence. She finally came to some internal decision and turned to Raine. “I need to ask you for a favor.” Her voice was calm, but the whitened fingers on the glass made it a lie.
Somewhat unnerved, Raine shot Gavin a look. Standing behind Tala, he shook his head, indicating he was mystified by Tala’s behavior as well.
Determination clear in every word, Tala didn’t wait for Raine’s response. “Tomás shared the two theories you all discussed yesterday.”
“The Soul Stealer and the chindis?” Gavin clarified.
Since he didn’t elaborate, Raine guessed they weren’t sharing that the theory was now fact.
Without taking her uncomfortable attention from Raine, Tala nodded. “Today I visited those who I thought could harness the power needed to summon either of those beings.”
Unable to look away from the witch’s dark gaze, Raine asked, “What did you find?”
“Nothing.” Frustration washed over Tala’s face. “Not one damn thing.”
Knowing what it was like to be blindsided by those you thought you knew, a strange sense of empathy hit Raine. Her failure to see the madness in her best friend almost cost her the man she loved. That single word reverberated through her mind and soul, making her heart stutter.
Oh gods! Her panicked gaze latched on to Gavin. He frowned, but she gave a sharp shake of her head, which thankfully Tala apparently missed. Mustering a shaky smile, Raine tried to reassure both herself and the man who now owned a piece of her soul that she was okay. ‘Fake it, till you make it.’ The reminder did little to ease the rocking of Raine’s world.
This was not the time to dwell on emotional self-discoveries. “Are you sure?” She aimed the question to Tala, Raine’s tone much more gentle than even she expected.
Tala set her empty glass down, her shoulders slumping. “As sure as I can be.” The mantle of the Magi of the Southwest House flowed like a cloak over Tala, straightening her spine. “I want you to go back under and find out where Cheveyo is. I have a horrible feeling we’re running out of time.”
Raine blinked, but allowed no other expression to emerge. “You know what happened last time.”
Tala stood unbending in front of Raine. “I do.”
Gavin opened his mouth, but Raine raised a hand to stop him, never taking her gaze off the woman in front of her. “Then you have some plan to make sure that the Stealer guarding him won’t be a problem?”
Tala’s lips tightened. “I can’t guarantee anything, but I think if you go in alone you can sneak past the Stealer.”
Raine wanted to ask about the chindis, but didn’t get a chance.
“She’s not going anywhere alone,” Impatience lent Gavin’s voice a lethal edge.
Raine didn’t dare let the smile inside show at his protective streak. “If I go in, I take Gavin with me. There’s no way I go in alone. If he hadn’t been there last time, I wouldn’t be standing here now.” No need to tell the witch what “last time” she actually meant.
Tala’s gaze narrowed. “Fine, but I want you to go in now.”
“Why the urgency?” Raine was curious as to the witch’s change of heart.
Tala turned away, but not before Raine caught the subtle sheen of tears in her dark eyes. “I can’t explain it.” Her hands balled into fists at her side. “Something doesn’t feel right. Like there’s a storm coming.”
Raine decided now was a good time as any to test her rebuilt ties with Gavin. Dropping behind her shields, she felt relief pour through her when she found their bond was slowly rebuilding. It took her a moment longer to locate her tie to Cheveyo. Alarm spread through her—the damage to that tie was unmistakable. The washed out earth tones were almost translucent. This time, she kept her touch light as she reached out. “Gavin?”
His gaze switched from Tala to her. “I don’t like it.”
His mental voice sent shivers down Raine’s spine, touching spots she couldn’t afford to acknowledge. “Neither do I, but we talked about seeing how far we could go with our magic.”
“Not like this,” he snarled. “Not so soon.”
“I think she’s right.” She shared the image of Cheveyo’s energy and actually felt the wariness bloom as Gavin took note.
“Can you reach him?”
“Not sure. I should have thought to check.” She tried to bury her nerves. Suddenly, the warmth of strong arms engulfed her and sent her blood racing. It was tempting to sink into the offered protection, but they needed to save their magi.
“You aren’t going without me,” he stated.
“I know.” She felt another wall around her heart collapse into dust, and let him see how much his support meant. Gently, she pulled back, until she was once more in the kitchen with Tala. “I can try, Tala, but no promises.”
Tala met her gaze, saying nothing about the extended silence. “Thank you.”
It was obvious they words were offered grudgingly. To Raine’s shock, Tala added in a small whisper, “I can’t lose him again.”
The depth of the witch’s hidden emotions left no doubt how Tala felt about Cheveyo. This woman was desperate and willing to do whatever it took to save the man she loved.
Raine looked at Gavin, understanding completely. She took a deep breath, even as her stomach dropped. Stepping out into the unknown with only Gavin for an anchor was terrifying, but it looked as if they would be figuring this out a little earlier than planned. May the gods help them both.
Chapter Twenty
Gavin thwarted Tala’s impatience to get started by digging his heels in and convincing her to wait. During their argument, Raine took a chair at the table, the aches and pains of her latest trip between worlds taking their toll. Laying her head on
her folded arms, she let the rise and fall of Tala and Gavin’s voices fade into the background. She wanted to ask Tala what the difference was between a chindi and a Soul Stealer, but didn’t want to get dragged into their discussion. Instead, she sent the question to Gavin, letting him ask for her. She fought back her exhaustion, and tried to keep her eyes open.
The sensation of a hand brushing over her hair dragged her back from her semi-conscious state. Sitting up slowly, she rubbed a hand over her face and leaned into the familiar touch. “Did you win?” Her question came out mumbled.
A small chuckle echoed next to her. “Yeah, I bought us a few hours.”
“Good.”
Gavin led her to the bedroom. Her groan of relief escaped as her body became reacquainted with the mattress. Gavin undid her boots, but she couldn’t muster enough energy to help. Even the faint sounds of her blades being laid on the nearby dresser couldn’t lure her back from the rolling waves of beckoning sleep. The weight of her boots disappeared. Her jeans soon followed.
She wasn’t sure how much time passed before the slight weight of the comforter drifted across the bare skin of her legs. Warmth crawled in behind her. She curled her spine into the comfort offered and snuggled into Gavin’s strong body.
Sleep tried to capture her, but she struggled free only to hear Gavin’s quiet command, “Sleep, Raine.”
“Have to find Cheveyo,” she mumbled, a reminder for them both.
“We will. Just let me heal you a bit, okay?”
“Do I have to do anything?” Please say no.
“No.”
She wasn’t sure if he spoke aloud or in her head. Then she didn’t care as her body succumbed to sleep.
Raine woke with a scream locked in her throat, her heart pounding and her body shaking. The ghostly cries of Jeremiah and his wolf rang in her ears. Struggling to sit up, it took her a moment to realize she was fighting both blankets and man.
Gavin’s quiet reassurances broke through her panic. She stilled, allowing him to unwrap the twisted sheets so she could put her back against the headboard. Drawing her legs up, she curled her arms around them and let her head rest on her knees. The cold sweat along her spine dried as warm air blew over her from the vent in the ceiling.
