The Gathering

by Lily Graison

Catherine grinned. “On the main floor, down the hall from the main staircase. Third door on the left.” They exchanged a look before Catherine said, “I also wouldn’t suggest trying to leave the house. Victor has the grounds securely monitored. The things that stalk the forest aren’t creatures you’d want to find yourself face to face with. They eat first and wonder who you were later.” She gave Rayna a pointed look and backed out of the room, pulling the door shut behind her.

  “Great,” Rayna said. “I can’t stay but I’ll get eaten if I try to leave.” Walking to the window, she looked toward the forest wondering exactly what Victor had patrolling his property. She couldn’t imagine it was rogue wolves. They were hard to control. It’s why they were considered rogue to begin with. It wasn’t dark enough for vampires to be out so that left something she didn’t want to contemplate.

  Things Judith had mentioned briefly before turning ghastly white and leaving the room. Demons. A shiver raced up Rayna’s spine and she dropped the curtain. She’d never seen a demon but from Judith’s account of them, she didn’t want to. Ever.

  Turning, she gave the room a critical look. It was dark. Just like the rest of the house. Dark walls, dark furnishings. Depressing. If Victor wanted her to go stir crazy, locking her up in this room would do it.

  The thought sent her across the room to the door. It opened without resistance. Why hadn’t Catherine locked her in? Did Victor trust her to stay put or had Catherine done it on purpose?

  Thinking of the girl, Rayna knew by her behavior she’d purposely left the door unlocked. Something about Catherine seemed very vindictive where Victor was concerned. She may have looked like a soft-spoken fairy but Rayna could tell she wasn’t.

  She’d told her where a phone was and how to get there. For whatever reason Catherine had to give her that bit of information, Rayna wouldn’t ignore it. There was a phone in the house, a means to contact Garrett, and she’d be damned if she let the opportunity pass her by.

  The question was, how did she make it to the study without someone noticing her and where did she tell Garrett she was?

  * * * *

  Garrett slipped twice on the way down the mountain and if it hadn’t been for the rope, he’d be nothing but a smear at the bottom of the ravine by now. His chest was rubbed raw from rope burns but when his foot hit the back of the car, he wanted to cry in relief.

  He tested the cars hold on the trees before putting his entire weight on it. It never moved and after long minutes of waiting to see if it would hold him, he climbed onto the back of it and crawled to the window. He didn’t see Rayna but that didn’t mean she wasn’t in there.

  Sliding around to the back door, he opened it and carefully maneuvered himself inside. The car shifted then and he sucked in a breath as it slid a few inches. When it settled again, he breathed a sigh of relief.

  As his heart pounded, he noticed Rayna’s suitcase in the back floorboard before he leaned over the front seat.

  She wasn’t there.

  The keys were still in the ignition, her purse lying on the floorboard, and next to her bag was an item he knew didn’t belong to her. A hat. A brown “cowboy” hat, to be exact. He stared at it for long moments before climbing over the seat and grabbing it. His pulse leaped when he picked up a scent on it. A scent he couldn’t distinguish.

  Giving the interior of the car one last look, he grabbed Rayna’s purse and turned, making his way back out of the car and started up the ravine. The hat got in his way and placing it on his head, had the others start pulling him up.

  When he was on the edge, his chest and arms aching from rope burns, he pulled the hat from his head and lifted it. “Do any of you recognize the scent of the person who wore this?”

  Ethan was the only one who did. “It smells a whole lot like, Stan, to me. Looks like his, too.”

  “Stan?” Garrett said.

  “Yeah. He always wore a hat, even in the summer.”

  Garrett stared at the hat and didn’t dare get his hopes up. But what if Stan had been the one to drive over the edge of the cliff? He looked back down at the car. Rayna wasn’t there and none of the windows were broken. She hadn’t fallen out, so where was she?

  “What was Rayna doing way up here anyway?” Gavin asked.

  Bryce took the hat from Ethan. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, town is in the other direction. If she was leaving, why would she drive up the mountain?”

  Garrett’s gaze was still fixed on the car. “She wouldn’t.” Relief swept through him to the point he wanted to cry but worry settled in soon after. If Rayna didn’t leave in Mitch’s car, then where was she?

  He untied the rope before standing. “Rayna’s still here. She’s not in the car, which means someone wanted to make us think she’d left. If she’s on this mountain there’s only one person I can think of that would have her.”

  The others said, “Carmen,” at the same time.

  Garrett nodded before scooping up the ropes and Rayna’s purse. “Let’s get back to the house and round up the others. I want this mountain searched from one end to the other before nightfall.”

  * * * *

  Rayna paced the floor of the bedroom she’d been sequestered in trying to think of a way to let Garrett know where she was. The phone in Victor’s study was too tempting to pass up but what did she tell Garrett when she called? She didn’t know where she was. Somewhere in New York but that bit of information would be useless.

  Getting inside the study was another problem. If Victor rarely left his private sanctuary, how would she get in to even use the phone?

  She was running out of time. The other Breed leaders would be there soon to discuss their plan with her. The plan brought the sickening dread back again. Victor was going to force the wolf, whatever that meant, and the thought alone caused her to break out into a cold sweat.

  Someone knocked on the door and she hesitated before opening it, blowing out a breath when she saw Sabriel. “Please tell me you’re here on a rescue mission.”

  He smiled and walked into the room. “If circumstances were different,” he said. “But, since nothing has changed, the answer is no.”

  “So you’re here to taunt me instead?” Rayna shut the door and crossed her arms under her breasts.

  “No. I thought maybe you’d enjoy a bit of company.”

  He wasn’t entirely wrong. A friendly chat hadn’t been on Rayna’s list of things she wanted at the moment but staring at the same four walls for the last several hours was beginning to make her feel claustrophobic.

  She sighed and leaned back against the door. “I normally don’t make it a habit of making nice with the enemy.”

  “I’m not your enemy.”

  She raised an eyebrow at him. “Really? Because I remember you putting me in a car, driving several hundred miles from my home, and then doing some fancy mind-meld thing so I wouldn’t leave once you crawled into your coffin.”

  Sabriel laughed. His features softened, his eyes sparkling with a pale light she was sure had to be another of his little vampire magic tricks. He was almost too beautiful to look at when he smiled. She wondered if that was a vampire trick too or if he was just naturally that good looking.

  Whatever it was, enemy or not, Sabriel made her want to forget he was one of the bad guys.

  He tilted his head to one side as he looked at her and Rayna’s pulse did that funny little dance it was known to do around him. Her skin heated, her heart raced and things low in her belly began to ache.

  She looked away, confused. She didn’t understand her attraction to him. Well, that wasn’t true. The man was gorgeous. Mysterious and sexy in that bad-boy way all girls found intoxicating but she was in love with Garrett. How could the sight of Sabriel make her pulse leap when she looked at him if she loved Garrett? She’d seen many nice looking men in her life but they didn’t cause her body to respond the way it did with Garrett or Sabriel. She had no feelings for Sabriel other than friendship and that was shaky at best. She
still didn’t trust him but at the moment, he was the only thing she had.

  So why did he affect her the way he did?

  She saw him move out of the corner of her eye and looked up. They stared at one another until Rayna felt tingles race up her spine and her breath caught in her throat. He crossed the room, stopping when he reached her and raised his hand to her cheek. He stroked it with the back of his fingers. His skin was cool but not cold like she’d thought it would be. Her heart started hammering in her chest. He was too close. “What are you doing?”

  He leaned in, his gaze falling to her lips. “Just testing a theory I have.”

  Chapter Ten

  Sabriel’s mouth slanted over hers. Rayna sucked in a breath while a voice in the back of her head screamed, “No!”

  Rayna felt powerless to stop him. As much as she didn’t want him near her, a part of her seemed to crave it just the same. She wanted to know what his kisses tasted like. Wanted to feel his skin under her palms and the guilt that came along with those thoughts finally snapped her out of whatever spell he always seemed to weave around her.

  She pushed him away and walked to the other side of the room. “Don’t do that again.”

  Sabriel smiled and nodded his head. His eyes were sparkling with laughter. He looked pleased about something. “As you wish.”

  Rayna stared at him, took in the way his hair fell around his face, the breadth of his shoulders, and the slimness of his hips. This man was dangerous. If Garrett didn’t get here soon she was sure she’d do something she’d live to regret.

  Inhaling deeply, she looked away and steered the conversation into neutral territory. “What did Victor mean exactly by calling my wolf?”

  He sighed. “It’s exactly as it sounds. He can call the wolf. Make her come to the surface.”

  Rayna looked back over at him. “Like, force the change?”

  “Yes.”

  That’s what she was afraid of. She'd heard some of the others talking about a forced change but wasn't sure how it was done or why. No one seemed to want to talk about it. Shifting was painful enough without the wolf being forced to the surface and now, it seemed, she would be on the receiving end of that painful ritual.

  She shuddered and changed the subject again. “Catherine said Victor had the grounds guarded. Do you know by what?”

  His body went still, like it had when they’d been in front of Victor. “Things you don’t ever want to meet.”

  “What sort of things?”

  “Demons.” His gaze hardened and he took a step closer to her. “Please don’t try to leave the house. Even I won’t venture outside without guard here.”

  Rayna sighed and ran her hand through her hair. Leaving wasn’t an option, then. If Sabriel was afraid to leave, she’d be stupid to even try.

  She’d never met a demon but the way people talked about them, she wasn’t looking forward to it, especially in the dark. She turned her head and glanced out the window. The sun was setting and the forest seemed to loom closer to the house now, bringing with it things that scared other monsters.

  Sabriel moved, Rayna seeing him out of the corner of her eye, and she watched him cross the room to the dresser and inspect the items on top. He lifted several things, looked at them, and then put them down again. When he made no attempt at conversation, she leaned her head to one side and said, “What are you doing here?”

  He turned to look at her. “What do you mean? You know why I'm here. I'm a guest of Victor's, just as you are.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “I meant in my room.”

  “Oh.” He smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “I thought we’d covered that already.”

  Other than him trying to kiss her, nothing of importance had happened or been said. “No, we didn’t. Now what do you want, Sabriel? You wouldn’t be here without a reason.”

  He sighed and turned his back to her. “Fine. I just wanted you to know that regardless of what you may hear, or may think about me personally, I don't want you harmed. That was never my intention.”

  “And will I be harmed?”

  “That is yet to be determined.” He grew still for long minutes before turning to face her. “A forced shift is painful. Its also very traumatic.”

  He was changing the subject. Rayna let his purposeful steering of the conversation go. “So I'm in for excruciating pain and will have nightmares afterwards. Sounds like an adventure.”

  “How do you stay so optimistic?”

  “Beats crying like a girl. I tried that once. Just made me look weak and gave people reason to treat me as if I were insignificant.”

  The look in his eyes softened a bit then and a tiny smile lifted the corner of his mouth. “I can't imagine anyone thinking you insignificant.”

  She shrugged her shoulder. “Doesn't matter now. I just do what I have to and worry about crying later.”

  Neither said a word after that for long moments. Rayna still wasn't sure what Sabriel was doing in her room or why he was staying. He looked troubled about something and common sense told her it wasn't any of her business, but using common sense wasn't her forte. She was a reporter after all. “At your house earlier, you said you had no choice but to go along with the Breed leaders. What did you mean by that?”

  His eyes flashed with surprise before he averted his gaze. “They have something I want. I can't get it until this is all said and done.”

  “Is this something worth my life?”

  He looked mortified and she was sure, if he could blush, he would have. “It's nothing like that, Ms. Ford.”

  “Rayna,” she said. “You make me sound old calling me, Ms. Ford all the time.”

  He smiled and nodded at her. “As you wish, Rayna. And my part in this has very little to do with your life. I wish it could be avoided all together but I’ve waited a very long time. I’ve been jumping through hoops for the Collective since day one and I will have what is due me.”

  “So you'll use me, how ever you can, to get what you want?”

  His eyes turned cold then. "You make me sound like a monster."

  “Aren't you? You're using me as a bargaining chip. What is it you want? Money? A cozy seat on the Collective's high council?”

  “No.”

  “Then what?”

  “It makes little difference to you what it is.”

  “Fine. Keep your little secrets.” She crossed her arms over her chest, and tilted her head to one side. “Why do you act as if this whole ordeal is a burden to you?

  “I wasn’t aware I was.” He stared at her for long minutes and she was almost positive he was going to say something else. He shook his head instead and walked toward the door, looking at her over his shoulder. “I'm sorry things have to be this way, Rayna. If I were able to change it, I would move hell and earth to see you weren't harmed but there's nothing I can do. I just wanted you to know I wished things could be different. That I don’t want to see you harmed and that I'm sorry. For everything.”

  He left then, leaving Rayna with more questions than answers. What did Sabriel get out of this other than the public knowing vampires were in fact real? If not for fame or money, what?

  She sighed and crossed the room before sitting down. She needed to get out of here. Now. Once the other Breed leaders arrived, their plan would be set into motion and her wolf was as good as born.

  * * * *

  Garrett hadn't waited on the others. He left Bryce to deal with informing the pack of what was going on and left the house soon after taking care of the rope burns. He'd walked clear to the creek, and up to Jacob's cabin, and hadn't picked up one trace of Rayna’s scent. Nothing new, anyway. He’d just rounded the side of the cabin when he saw Jacob dart into the trees.

  “Jacob!” Garrett gave chase and sighed in relief when the boy stopped running. “Where's Rayna?”

  “Rayna? How the hell should I know?”

  Before thinking, Garrett grabbed him by the shirt and lifted him from the ground. “Where is she, Jacob? I k
now Carmen had something to do with this.”

  Jacob struggled, his feet kicking uselessly. “I haven't seen her, man, I swear it.”

  Garrett let him go, stalking away from Jacob several yards before he turned back around. “She's missing. She was leaving yesterday and Gavin found Mitch's car this morning. Someone ran it over the cliff up on the high ridge.”

  Jacob fixed his shirt and took a few steps back. “You think Carmen had something to do with it?”

  Garrett laughed and ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t know. I’m guessing. I just don’t know who else to blame.” He paced the small clearing and tried to calm the wolf. It was howling inside his head, wanting out to find his mate. Garrett didn’t blame him. He wanted the same thing but running head first into Carmen’s pack was the worst thing he could do.

  He faced Jacob again and saw a few of the buttons on his shirt missing, the material hanging a bit sideways on his thin frame. “I did find Stan's hat in the car, though, so I may be pointing the finger at the wrong person.”

  Jacob's eyes widened. “Stan? He's with her. Carmen, I mean.”

  “Damn it,” Garrett hissed. “Why the hell didn't you tell me before now?”

  “I don't know. It didn't seem important.”

  “It probably isn't.”

  Jacob shifted on his feet and moved closer to where Garrett stood. “Rayna isn't at camp. Or, I haven't seen her.”

  “Where is the camp?”

  “Down by the old logging road.”

  “Show me.” They left then, running through the densely packed trees until they saw the camp. Over twenty people milled around, Carmen right in the center. She was laughing and preening like a princess. Garrett snorted a laugh at her. “Does she ever get tired of hearing the sound of her voice?”

  “No.” Jacob laughed. “She's been celebrating for the last few hours about something. If she had something to do with Rayna’s disappearance, then I guess we know what that is now.”