by Grant, Donna
There was a slight pause, and then the sound of a lid being replaced on a pot before the clink of something being set on a counter.
“Unless he’s awake.”
The cat made some kind of gurgling noise. Kane didn’t take his eyes off the feline. It reminded him of the cat he’d had as a boy. A big male that had dominated the area around his family home. No one messed with that cat without coming away with scars.
Out of the corner of his eye, Kane saw a shape at his feet. His gaze swung to the woman. Her chestnut curls brushed the tops of her shoulders, while an errant tendril fell over her left eye. She brushed it away carelessly.
Green eyes that reminded him of the trees after a rain shower were trained on him. They were the color of a churning ocean during a storm. The shade of a seedling as it pushed through the ground. In her depths, he saw strength, determination, and kindness. As well as a steely resolve.
He took in the soft curve of her jaw and her heart-shaped face. Her plump lips were compressed as she furrowed her brow. Something else that didn’t escape his notice was the way she continued to tug on the wrist of her shirt as if she were afraid the sleeve might ride up.
“Are you in pain?” she asked.
“It’s manageable. Did you patch me up?”
She nodded. “Some of your wounds were grave.”
Yeah. He knew. He could feel them. At least the weres hadn’t gotten his neck.
“Thank you for helping me,” he said.
She swallowed and moved the same curl again before it resumed its position. “Is this where you explain to me what you are?”
“It’s better if I don’t. As a matter of fact, it’d be best if I leave immediately.”
As soon as he started to sit up, she was beside him, pushing on his shoulder to halt him. Her gaze narrowed. “I didn’t spend hours tending to you for you to leave now. Not to mention how long it took me to get you into the house. And on the couch. If you move, you’ll bust the stitches. Trust me when I say, it was hell getting some of those injuries to stop bleeding.”
He blew out a breath and sank back against the pillow. Once he did, she backed up and gave him a nod. He was weak, and that put him at a disadvantage. But he hated putting her at risk.
“They haven’t come near the house since I brought you inside,” she told him. She shrugged one shoulder. “I have seen them in the trees, though.”
“I shouldn’t have ventured so close to your house. I’m sorry.”
She smiled. “You’ve been out for hours. Dinner is nearly done. How does red beans and rice sound?”
“Like Heaven.”
“Good,” she replied and returned to the kitchen.
Kane pushed up against the pillows to see over the back of the sofa so he could watch her as she moved about. “What were you thinking running out there against all of those wolves?”
“Well, to be fair, I just thought they were large dogs,” she said as she tasted the beans before adding in more seasoning. “If I’d known they were wolves, I wouldn’t have gone.” She looked over her shoulder at him. “I’ve treated wolves before. Though these are much bigger.”
He didn’t bother trying to lie to her. What would be the point? She’d seen him shift. “We’re werewolves. There’s a rather large pack in the area. The Moonstone wolves used to call New Orleans home. They returned recently.”
She turned back to the meal. “Apparently, there’s some bad blood between y’all.”
“The Moonstone Pack is my ally. Regardless, I need to find out who these wolves are following and why they targeted me.”
A few minutes later, she returned with a bowl filled with rice and a heaping spoonful of red beans and sausage. “I’m Elise, by the way.”
“Kane,” he replied.
She grinned, the smile lighting up her eyes. “Nice to meet you.”
He was surprised how easily she accepted the news about werewolves. That either meant she had some prior supernatural experience or she had knowledge of things.
She curled up in a chair and closed her eyes for a moment before beginning to eat. Their gazes met, and she jerked her chin to the cat. “Mr. Darcy was feral not that long ago. He was badly injured, but for some reason, he allowed me to mend him. From then on, I suppose you could say he claimed me as his.”
“It sounds as if you make a habit of rescuing wounded animals,” he said, glancing at the cat that had its eyes closed, though his ears moved toward Elise when she talked.
“That’s because I’m a veterinarian.”
Kane chuckled. “Then it’s fortunate indeed that you found me.”
4
“I’ve no doubt that if one of my neighbors had found you, they would’ve brought you to me. Or shot you after you changed,” Elise replied.
“Shifted,” he corrected.
“Of course. Shifted.”
She couldn’t stop staring into his vibrant blue eyes. She’d never seen anything so enthralling before. They snagged her and refused to loosen their hold.
And she was their willing captive.
He took a bite of food and groaned, pleasure covering his features. “This is delicious.”
She smiled at the compliment. “There’s plenty.”
He nodded and shoveled another spoonful into his mouth.
“Do you live out here?” she asked, wondering when he’d eaten last.
Kane gave a shake of his head and swallowed before taking another bite.
“So you just wander the bayou?”
He paused with the spoon halfway to his mouth. He lowered it back to the bowl. “I was searching for someone. I’ve been tracking them for a while now.”
“Surely you have people worried about you?”
Kane’s gaze lowered to his meal. “I do.”
She nodded and stirred her food to mix the rice, beans, and sausage. “Do they know what you are?”
“My immediate family is all werewolves.”
“Oh,” she said, unable to keep the shock from her voice. “Then why aren’t they with you?”
“I have to do this on my own.”
She stopped her questions, and they went back to eating. In just a few minutes, he finished the bowl. Elise fixed him another and brought him some water.
In the time it took her to finish her meal, Kane downed three helpings. It was odd to have someone in the house with her, and she wasn’t sure she was entirely comfortable with it. But then she realized that whoever Kane was, he’d been hanging around the bayou for weeks. He could’ve hurt her at any time and hadn’t.
She looked over to find his eyes closed, so she grabbed his bowl and fork and headed to the kitchen. She washed their dishes and cleaned up before standing in front of the window to see if she could catch a glimpse of the other wolves.
“You don’t fear me.”
She turned her head to the side at the sound of his voice. “I thought you were asleep.”
“Just resting with a full stomach.”
His question hung in the air. She turned to face him and shrugged. “I’ve always been better around animals. They understand me, and I them. It’s my calling to help them, and I’ve risked my life many times to do so.”
She swallowed before continuing. “When I realized you were a wolf, it didn’t deter me from mending you. Then you shifted. I didn’t know what to think. If the other wolves weren’t howling, I might have left you out there, but I didn’t.”
“Thank you for that,” he replied softly.
Elise glanced away, rubbing her hand along her sleeve. “I live alone. Always have, just not as isolated as I am now. I’ve spotted you a few times.”
His gaze lowered to her arm where she kept rubbing. Elise halted the action and inwardly kicked herself for the nervous habit.
“Are you from here?” he asked.
“I’m from Alexandria, but I’ve lived all over the US, going to different places where I could study animals as well as heal them. I came to New Orleans about three years ag
o to help out a colleague at the zoo.”
She heard the wobble in her voice and hated it. It had been years, yet the terror of that night never truly left her.
“Someone hurt you,” Kane said.
She briefly met his intense gaze. “Yes. I don’t know who it was. For all I know, it was someone who followed me out of the city. Or it could have been random. I never saw them. They drove without headlights and rear-ended me, causing my car to spin and slam against a tree.”
“A man?”
Elise’s gaze swung to him. “You ask that as if you expected me to say it was something else.”
Kane raised a brow. “If you knew what I know, you’d ask the same.”
“It was a man. Apparently, I hit my head in the crash and sustained a concussion. I couldn’t focus my eyes, so I never got a good look at him as he dragged me from my car and into the woods.”
Kane’s head tilted at her words. “The crash was just to stop you.”
She nodded slowly. “I must have blacked out because when I woke, he was cutting off my clothes with a huge knife. That’s when I started fighting him and screaming.”
“Good for you.”
“One of the townspeople saw my car. When they pulled over to investigate, they heard my screams. They called the police before rushing out to help me.”
Kane held her gaze. “You were saved.”
She glanced down at her arms. “He didn’t rape me, no.”
“But he did something else.”
Elise moved to the chair and lowered herself onto the edge. She pulled at her fingers as she recalled the pain each time the blade sliced through her skin. “He was furious that I wouldn’t stop screaming. He kept telling me to shut up, that it’d be over soon. But I wouldn’t submit. He retaliated by cutting me from my thighs to my chest. He was about to slice my face when the sound of the sirens scared him off.”
Kane let out a long breath. “Sometimes, I’m so deep in my world that I forget that humans can be monsters, too. Why did you stay in this place?”
“The locals took me to their healer. If I had been conscious, I might have insisted on a hospital, but there would’ve been news reports and my face plastered everywhere. The locals swear by Miss Babette, even the police. I remained with her for a few months as she healed my wounds and my spirit. That’s when I realized that I liked it here and that I could return the kindness these people freely gave me. I bought this house and now use my skills to help their pets and livestock.”
Kane shifted, wincing slightly. “And your attacker?”
“They caught him six weeks later after he forced an off-duty cop off the road. She was ready for him, and had him at gunpoint when he opened her door. He’s serving jail time now.”
Kane’s lips softened and curved into a half smile. “I’m glad you seem to have found your place.”
“It took a while, but yes, I have.”
“With what happened to you, some would become fearful of everyone.”
She sat back and snorted. “Oh, I was for a while. I slept with the shotgun and never opened the doors once it was dark outside. But I refused to let my attacker keep that kind of hold over me. So I forged a new path.”
“And your family?”
“My father died when I was five, and my mother when I was seventeen. I have a brother. He’s in the military and stationed all over the world, which makes it difficult to keep in touch with him. I can’t keep track of him. I hear from him about once a year.”
Kane leaned his head back and looked at the ceiling. “I’ve three bothers. Two older and one younger. We have a family business, so we’re close.”
“Yet you came out here on your own.”
“To clean up a mess I helped create,” he retorted.
Elise tucked her legs against her. “Wouldn’t it get finished quicker if you had your brothers?”
“Definitely. But they have others they’re responsible for.”
“You don’t?”
“No.”
She put her elbow on the arm of the chair and propped her chin on her hand. “No doubt they believe the worst. You should at least call them.”
“I’ll return to them when I’m finished,” he stated in a hard voice.
“You sound like Danny. My brother likes to do things on his own, as well. But have you considered that you might not finish for years? Or, what if you die? You nearly did today.”
His lips flattened as he sighed. “My family has known much heartache and suffered greatly. We’re cursed to be werewolves. My brothers have found happiness and some semblance of stability with the women they love. I can’t pull them away from that.”
“Is it really your choice to make?”
He shrugged, shaking his head. “Maybe not, but I made it. I’m the only one not attached. I’m the one who created half of this shit we’re in. I’ve sat around for too long, hoping we’d come out the victors. Many of our friends have died. I almost lost my cousin because of it. Riley isn’t just my only female cousin and someone who needs to be protected, she’s my closest friend. And she was nearly killed.”
“You’ve been out here for how long?”
“Two months,” he replied.
Elise’s brows rose. “Have you come close to locating your target?”
“A few times, but she’s an elusive bitch.”
She pushed up from the chair and walked into the kitchen to cut a piece of cherry pie she’d made the day before. She carried it to the living room and handed him the largest slice along with a fork.
“Then it appears you’re going to need your strength.”
He grinned and took the plate before sinking his fork into the dessert. She laughed when he let out a loud moan of appreciation.
5
The howls woke Kane. Every night for the last three, a wolf howled, perhaps to remind him that they were waiting. As if he’d forget.
He’d remained on the couch, only rising to relieve himself and for Elise to change his bandages. But he could feel his strength returning. It was slow, though. Too damn slow.
How much longer would the wolves wait to attack? He hadn’t been prepared when they charged him, and now, with him being so weak, he knew he didn’t stand a chance against them alone. But with his brothers....
No. Kane couldn’t bring them into this. Especially if it was a trap set by Delphine—and it was definitely something that bitch would do.
He looked down to find Mr. Darcy curled on the only part of his chest that wasn’t wounded. The cat was never far from him, and Kane had to admit that he quite liked the little rascal.
Kane softly petted the Siamese, waking him. Mr. Darcy blinked his blue eyes at him before rising and moving to the back of the couch. Kane then gritted his teeth and slowly sat up before getting to his feet. With the blanket wrapped around his waist and held with one hand, he made his way to the window. He braced his other palm against the windowsill and stared out into the night.
Shadows cloaked the ground, but the werewolves were out there. The silence of the other night creatures was proof of that.
He might be making a mistake believing that Delphine was the one who’d sent the wolves after him. There might be a new enemy in town. Then again, everything he knew about the priestess pointed to her.
She hated the LaRues. She had gone to great pains to remove his parents, as well as the Alphas of the Moonstone Pack. Against all odds, he and his brothers had survived. Only to continue to battle Delphine time and again.
When would the nightmare end? Kane would gladly give his life if it meant his brothers and their women could be free of such a nemesis. There would always be evil in New Orleans, there was no getting around that. But someone like Delphine was ten-times worse than any djinn or vampire.
“You’re not thinking of going out there, are you?”
He turned his head to find Elise standing in the doorway of her bedroom with a floral robe wrapped around her. “Not yet. I’m not strong enough.”
“But when you are, you intend to fight them yourself?” she asked as she walked to stand beside him.
He shrugged. “It’s me they want.”
“It might be prudent to let your brothers help.”
“That’s exactly what she wants me to do.”
Elise tucked a curl behind her ear. “Who is this woman you’re after?”
“Her name is Delphine, a powerful Voodoo priestess.”
“I take that to mean the two of you have clashed before.”
Kane briefly closed his eyes. “Many times.”
“And you plan to end it all?”
“I do.”
“How?” Elise asked.
He drew in a sharp breath and contemplated her words. “By any means necessary. She kills without hesitation or thought in order to gain more power. My family and I stand in her way, and she intends to get rid of us.”
“Because you police the city?”
Kane glanced at her to see a small frown on her brow. “And because we’ve continually thwarted her attempts to gain more power. We’ve been lucky. I’m not sure how we won, and I can’t help but feel that our time is running out.”
“It sounds as though you and your brothers are stronger together.”
He grinned as he realized what she was trying to do. “We are, but I can’t pull them into this.”
“And I won’t stand by and watch you get killed.”
Kane dropped his arm and faced her, all too aware that he stood naked except for a blanket. The times she’d tended to his injuries, her touch had been light, soothing—and damned alluring. She had no idea how sexy she was.
Or how he fought not to place his lips upon hers.
Elise stood in the soft glow of the moonlight, looking ethereal and too beautiful for words. In their days together, he’d come to see the type of woman she was.
Compassionate, giving, and tenderhearted. She’d stayed up for hours helping a sheep give birth, worked tirelessly to save a puppy who’d shattered a hip after being hit by a car, and greeted everyone who came to her with a warm smile.
While he’d kept out of sight of her clients, he’d heard them through the closed door. They absolutely adored Elise. And he was coming to, as well.
