Lone Wolf

by Karen Whiddon

  Renee’s exotic eyes found Beck’s. “Shifter, Brigid asks that you alert the leaders of your Pack.”

  “Really?” Beck raised a brow. “I was supposed to be gone. When did she ask this?”

  “Do you plan to quibble over small issues or find your daughter?” Her haughty voice irked him, but she was right.

  “I will notify them. Dani’s birth is an event of major significance.”

  Renee continued to focus on Beck. “Do you have a way to let them know?”

  “I have a call in to one of my friends who’s a Protector. He has connections. I’ll let him know. He should be calling me back soon.”

  “Good. I think—”

  “Don’t.” Marika stepped forward, interrupting the other woman. “You were sent here to help me. So don’t act like you’re taking over. I care nothing about meetings or gatherings. All I care about is Dani. I will find my daughter. Are you going to help me or not?”

  Mouth tightening, Renee stared. Finally she nodded, leaning close. “We will do as Brigid asks,” she said loudly, as though someone else could hear them. In a whisper, she spoke again. “We must talk in private.”

  “What?” Marika looked startled. “I don’t—”

  “Let’s go inside.” Renee straightened and began walking away.

  Moving with the same effortless grace, the other two vampires turned and headed into the house. No one, not even Renee, watched to see if Beck or Marika followed.

  They exchanged a glance. Then, with a shrug, Marika turned and headed after them.

  Liking this less and less, he followed. When he’d begun this journey with Marika, he’d had no plans of being the lone representative of his entire species.

  As they stepped inside the kitchen, a cell phone sitting on the counter chirped.

  Renee started for it, but, moving so fast she was a blur, Marika beat her and snatched it up.

  “A text message from Brigid,” she said. “It says we have to leave.”

  Glancing at Renee, Beck surmised a look of pure terror on her perfect features.

  “It said leave now.” Marika turned and stalked out of the room. “Come on.”

  Beck debated half a second before following her.

  Outside, moving fast, she made it halfway up the hillside by the time he caught her.

  He opened his mouth to speak. Before he could, the house below them exploded.

  The blast knocked them both to the ground.

  Stunned, Beck managed to scramble to his feet. Marika had already gotten up. She appeared unhurt.

  They both stared at the fire raging below.

  “Did you know about this?” he demanded.

  “No.” She bit her lip. “Of course not.”

  “Regardless, they don’t deserve to die. They’re still inside,” he rasped, his throat hoarse. “There’s no way they got out.”

  “They should be all right.” Though she sounded unconcerned, the tremor in her voice belied her calm expression. “Vampires as old as they are can survive most fire, as long as they get out in time.”

  “Can you?” He rasped. “I sure as hell can’t.”

  “Then whoever did this must have been targeting you.” She sounded mocking. With the same serene expression, she continued to eye the conflagration, as though she truly expected the three vampires to stroll out at any moment.

  He found the fact that they didn’t telling. “They’re dead.”

  “I doubt it.”

  Marika’s poise irritated him. Suddenly he wanted nothing more than to see that perfect composure slip.

  “Does that bother you?” he asked, his voice low. “The fact that Brigid killed them?”

  “You don’t know that she’s behind this.”

  He had to bite back the fury. “Then who else, Marika? Who else knew we were in there?”

  “If those three were going against us, then the explosion was a good thing. And believe me, as long as they don’t burn to ash, they will survive. We continually rise from the dead, you know that.”

  “I also know that fire is the only thing that will kill vampires.”

  She inclined her head. “Fire is a true enemy to both of our kinds. But I don’t think anyone—Brigid in particular—was trying to kill you. Why would she?”

  Beck grabbed her, spinning her around to face him. “Maybe because I’m Dani’s father.”

  “Why does that matter?”

  “Because whoever has her might be worried that we might create another like her. Hasn’t that thought occurred to you at all?”

  She gasped. “What are you saying?”

  “Think about it. If we made a child with her abilities once, who’s to say we couldn’t do it again?”

  Her alabaster complexion never changed. But then, vampires couldn’t blush unless they’d recently fed.

  Another explosion came from below, a smaller one, something catching inside the burning house. The flames continued to roar. There was no local fire department, not way out here. By the time one got here from the closest town, the house would have burned to the ground.

  Staring at the fire, Marika appeared to be trying to will the others out. No one emerged as the fire continued to blaze. The wind carried sparks to nearby trees, lighting them like matches.

  Still intent on watching for the others, Marika stood alone. Though she appeared composed, he saw how much her show of strength cost her. He sensed she barely held on to the ragged edges of her composure.

  “We’d better go,” he told her.

  “We’ve got to wait for the others.”

  “No one, vampire or otherwise, could have survived an explosion and fire that intense. Face it, your friends are not coming out.”

  “Stop calling them my friends.” One corner of her mouth twisted, though her gaze never wavered from the flames. “I told you, Renenet is over a thousand years old. Fire can’t touch her. The other two are over five hundred, which means they should be safe, too.”

  “Then where are they?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t know what’s taking them so long.”

  In the distance, sirens sounded. Finally. The nearest fire department to the rescue. Someone must have seen the explosion and called them.

  “We’ve got to go,” he urged again. “Before the humans show up.”

  “I know, I know.” Agitated, she stalked back and forth, still watching the house burn. “Just give me one more minute.”

  He wanted to wrap her in his arms and quiet her, to press his mouth against the perfect, slender column of her throat and whisper assurances. Instead, he honored her request and held his silence.

  One more minute became two, then three. From this height, they could see the road. Lights flashing, a fire truck turned onto it.

  “Come on.” Grabbing her arm, he headed down, toward the house. More specifically, toward the pickup.

  “We have to get out now.”

  Though she climbed into the truck with him, Marika never stopped watching the house.

  Starting the engine, he shifted into Drive and pulled quickly away. “If you’re certain they can survive this fire, why are you so determined to see them leave?”

  “Because I want to know. I don’t want to be responsible for their deaths.” Turning in the seat, she continued to watch over her shoulder until the house disappeared from view.

  “You’re not. Brigid is.”

  “Again, you don’t know that.”

  “Do you have a better explanation?” he asked.

  “Natural causes?” she shot back. “Maybe there was a gas leak or something. Such accidents do happen.”

  “True.” He let his disbelief show in his voice. “And in a similar vein, you never know about the three vamps. Maybe they’ve already taken off.”

  “We would have seen them.” She sounded exhausted.

  “Not if they went out the front while we were still stunned from the explosion. You know how fast you vamps can move.”

  Silent, she leaned back
against the seat and closed her eyes. “That’s possible, I guess,” she finally conceded. “But why wouldn’t they regroup with us?”

  “Maybe they got new instructions from Brigid.”

  “Hmmph. I’m getting tired of Brigid pulling our strings like we’re all her marionettes.”

  He wanted to see her smile. “May be they turned into bats and flew away.”

  Instead of laughing, she shook her head. “That’s a myth. We can’t do that. I wish we could, though. Some times it would sure make things easier.”

  As they rounded the first curve in the road, the fire truck passed them, lights flashing and siren wailing. Behind it came a smaller truck that served as an ambulance.

  “What now?” Beck asked, once the siren had faded into the distance. “What did Brigid tell you to do?”

  “She didn’t.” Her flat voice spoke of her despair. “She gave me no instructions whatsoever, other than meeting with them. In fact, the only new order I heard was for you, when Renee told you to contact your Pack leaders.”

  He raised a brow. “What else are you not telling me? You’re hiding something more. I can sense it.”

  “What, can you read minds now?”

  Waiting patiently, he didn’t bother to reply.

  “Fine. I’m a witch, too,” she snapped.

  “A witch?” He shot her a look of disgust. “One more thing you neglected to tell me. If you’re a witch, then why haven’t you used your powers to help find Dani?”

  “Because I have no powers.” She swallowed hard, then met his gaze, hers direct. “And that was my last secret. When I was a girl, Brigid was going to train me, until she determined my power wasn’t strong enough.”

  “Still, a witch.” He gave her a half smile. “That’s something.”

  “Not really. Obviously, I’m not much of one since I can’t even hear my own daughter calling me.” She shook her head, her expression bitter. “I’d give anything if I could use magic to locate Dani.”

  Chapter 7

  After her defiantly self-pitying pronouncement, Beck’s only reaction was a grunt. Typical male, though for some reason, this made a knot form in the pit of Marika’s stomach, which thoroughly pissed her off.

  What did she care what Beck thought anyway? But, she realized, she did. He was, despite everything else, her daughter’s father. That would never change.

  The tires hummed on the pavement as they drove, eating up the miles as the truck air conditioner blew lackluster air, barely cool.

  Beck stared straight ahead, concentrating on the road, still silent. She wanted some kind of reaction. After all, she’d just told him one of her biggest secrets, and he’d barely raised a brow. Worse, he, who had no magic, had been able to hear Dani while she hadn’t.

  “That’s it? All you have to say?”

  One corner of his mouth twisted in what could have been a grin or a grimace. “So you’re a witch. I’ve known a few others, though they were human. Nice people. No big deal. But you know what? Maybe you being a vampire witch has something to do with Dani’s powers.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Put a vampire witch together with a shifter and bam. You get pregnant and the child we make together is something the likes of which the world has never seen.”

  The thought had occurred to her several times, but she’d always dismissed it. “Maybe, but honestly, I’m not that powerful. What little magic I have is barely a spark, not even a flame. Obviously.”

  He gave her a long look. “Stop beating yourself up over not being able to hear Dani. There could have been a thousand reasons for that.”

  “Let’s hear them.”

  “Interference.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Someone could have been trying to keep you from hearing.”

  “Someone?” Intrigued despite herself, she cocked her head. “Like who?”

  “Brigid comes to mind. If she’s as powerful as you say, she’d have no problem accomplishing such a thing.”

  “But for what reason? She wants us to find Dani, if only so she can control her.”

  “I’m not sure of that. And I think you have more magic than you realize. You can’t completely discount the possibility. Vampires just don’t get pregnant. It’s extremely likely magic played a huge part in this.”

  “Maybe.” She gave him a half smile. “Vampires also don’t often mate with shifters.”

  With a heavy sigh, she turned in her seat and glanced at the dashboard clock. Though the cracked plastic face was dirty, she could still make out the time. “When are you going to call your Pack leaders?”

  The seat creaked as Beck shifted his weight. “I don’t know. Soon, but I want to wait until I hear back from Simon.”

  “Your friend? I think you need to go higher. When a full vampire council meets, you know something serious is going on.”

  “Simon’s a Protector. That’s pretty high up there.” He rolled his eyes. “Higher than that is way out of my comfort zone.”

  The cell phone rang, as if on cue, making her jump.

  Exchanging a quick look with Marika, Beck answered. After a moment, he covered the mouthpiece with his hand. “Senator Jacob Allen’s secretary asked me to hold for him. How’s that for high?”

  “What do you mean? Is this senator part of your Pack?”

  “Yes. A highly placed one.” He shrugged. “Someone—I’m guessing Brigid—has already gotten the wheels turning and started contacting the upper echelon in the Pack. Hello, yes. Senator?”

  Curious, Marika listened. She couldn’t tell much from his side of the conversation, since he said little. She supposed she ought to feel honored that beings of authority were getting involved in her daughter’s capture, but she couldn’t. Years of experience with bureaucracy had taught her that.

  When Beck finally completed his call, she crossed her arms. “Well? What did he want? Does he know anything about who took Dani or where we might find her?”

  “No.” Beck swallowed. “He doesn’t.”

  “Then what did he say?” She touched his hand, her long fingernails scarlet against the luster of his amber skin. “What did he want?”

  “To tell me that there’d been another abduction. Another child was taken. Another Halfling.” He swallowed hard, his jaw clenching.

  For a moment, everything froze. Hugging her arms to her, forcing herself to concentrate, she eyed the movement of his throat, the rise and fall of his muscular chest as he breathed, almost afraid to hear what he’d say next, though she suspected she already knew. She knew. Though she couldn’t say how, she simply knew. “When you say the child is another Halfling, you mean one like my Dani, half vampire and half shifter, isn’t she?”

  “He,” he corrected. “And yes, you’re right. He’s exactly like Dani. Even to what he becomes when he changes. Another griffon. The only difference is that his mother’s the shifter and the father is the vampire. And he’s a year older than her.”

  Another griffon.

  Feeling as though she’d been dropped into a surreal landscape, she tried to regain her bearings. She was still sitting in the passenger seat of the truck, moving down the deserted highway. Outside, the impossibly clear landscape streaked past, road and dust and dry, yellow grass. To the left, the jagged crags and mysterious mountains. High above, bright sunlight lit the blue, blue sky. Next to her sat an impossibly handsome man, his chiseled features clouded with concern. She had the oddest sense of completion, something she didn’t want or need right now.

  “Are you all right?” he asked, his voice calm, his gaze steady.

  Her rock. She pushed the thought away.

  “Yes. No.” Hand to her throat, she shifted in her seat. “How is this possible?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m beginning to see why so many higher-ups are getting involved. The senator seemed really concerned about Dani and what she can do. He even called her a griffon.”

  “So did I.” Suddenly weary, she closed her eyes. “If
there are two, there might be more.”

  “And no one knows why these people are kidnapping them.” He touched her shoulder, making her jump.

  “That’s what I don’t understand, either.” The question had haunted her ever since they’d gotten to Addie’s, and she’d realized her daughter was missing. “Why are they doing this?”

  “The senator said something about other powers. You mentioned when Dani changed, she could fly. Did she have any other powers? Any of your magic?”

  “No.” Marika closed her eyes, picturing her raven-haired, chubby, laughing child. “She’s just a sweet little girl, my baby.” Her voice cracked. “We’ve got to find her.”

  “The senator said that, with her abilities, they think Dani and the boy might be dangerous.” His voice was gentle, as though afraid she might break.

  But this outraged her. She gave him a look of disbelief. “Dangerous? She’s not even three. I can’t believe…” Then, collecting herself, she lifted her chin and continued. “Did he know who grabbed them, or why?”

  “If he did, he didn’t tell me. He mentioned something about giving us a briefing once the National Pack Council finished meeting.”

  “The National Pack Council is meeting?” Even she knew how big this was. As big as the Vampire Council meeting. If both species were this worried, they had to know something she didn’t. She couldn’t shake the feeling she had missed something, some clue, some hint, something. But what?

  “Yep. I don’t know who contacted them, but this is huge.”

  “Hugely weird. Things moved fast for that level of bureaucracy,” she mused. “Maybe now that they’re involved, they can help us figure out where the children are.”

  “Anything’s possible. But the only problem with that is if they figure out where, they’ll send special forces. Like Protectors.”

  “And Huntresses,” she agreed. Then, studying him, she sighed. Something in his face… “That’s not a problem. Or is it? What else are you not telling me?”

  “Well,” he said slowly, “whoever snatched that kid took the parents, too.”