Untouched (18 page)

“If I hadn’t been so goddamned pathetic, if I’d touched that creepy little bastard just once—I would’ve seen what he was up to.”

Samantha said nothing, but looked at Kerry through sympathetic eyes. Kerry wiped at the tears that stained her cheeks. She wouldn’t blame Sam if she never wanted to speak to her again. Sam took both of their glasses, placed them on the coffee table, and immediately scooped her up in a loving embrace.

“I love you, Kerry.” She whispered as she hugged her closely. Kerry squeezed her eyes shut and held her friend tighter. “The only people to blame for that are AJ, the Caedo, and the Purists.” She pulled back, held Kerry’s face in both hands, and looked at her through serious eyes. “Don’t you dare blame yourself for any of this,” she said sternly. “Got it?”

Kerry nodded and sniffled. “Got it.”

Thank God for best friends.

Sam released her friend with a sound of satisfaction and instantly poured them both another glass of wine. “Besides, who else are you going to talk about shapeshifting with,” she said with a wink.

Kerry let out a short laugh as she took her fresh glass of wine. “Well, that is true. I guess the universe sent me the perfect best friend.” She raised her glass. “Here’s to us. A couple of furry friends.” The two women giggled as they clinked glasses.

“So,” Sam began. “You probably have about a million questions. I’m still new at this too, but I’ll help you any way I can.”

“That’s the understatement of the year.” Kerry tucked her legs up under her and sipped a little more wine from her glass. “Can we start with how did you know to come here? Did Dante call you?”

“No,” Sam said through smiling sapphire eyes. “You did.”

“I did?” Kerry cocked her head and looked at Sam quizzically. “No. I distinctly remember
not
making a phone call.”

“You didn’t use the phone, dummy. I heard you. You reached out to me with telepathy, but obviously not on purpose.” She made a face. “I find that to be one of the hardest things to do. Block out other people and keep my own telepathy under control.”

Kerry shook her head in disbelief. “This conversation is surreal.”

“Wait a minute here. What about you?” She gave Kerry’s leg a playful swat. “You never told me about your visions or anything.” She looked down at her glass. “I feel badly that you didn’t feel comfortable coming to me.”

Kerry gave her a skeptical look. “Oh, no you don’t! You’re not pulling that shit with me, missy.”

“What?” Sam asked all too innocently.

She narrowed her eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me about your little discovery? Wolf Woman?”

Sam opened her mouth to protest but burst out laughing. “Touché! I guess we’re even on that front.”

“Seriously, Samantha. This is bizarre. We’re both hybrids, right? I don’t think I’ll ever get used to saying that, by the way. And we just happen to grow up next door to each other.” Her eyes narrowed, belying her suspicion. “What are the odds that’s a coincidence? What are the odds that the universe
did
just happen to send me the perfect best friend?”

Sam nodded her agreement. “Malcolm and I have discussed that, and unfortunately, we don’t know. The real question is: who are your birth parents? We know that you had a human parent and an Amoveo parent, but we don’t even know which was which.”

“I know.” Kerry rolled her eyes. “I’m in some kind of cat clan. At least, according to Dante, I am.” She let out a giggle that bordered on hysterical and took another sip of her wine.

“Kerry. Look at me.”

Kerry did as Sam requested and found herself staring into Sam’s clan eyes. Sam’s deep blue eyes had shifted into the pale blue eyes of a wolf.

“Okay,” Kerry said through a shuddering breath. “That’s really wild.”

Sam blinked, and her eyes went back to normal. “Okay—come on. I showed you mine. Now you show me yours.”

“Well, I’ll try. I’m just getting the hang of controlling it.” Kerry closed her eyes and focused on Dante—the memory of his scent, his strong arms, those devilishly talented lips that made her burn from the inside out. When her eyes tingled, she knew her goal had been achieved. Kerry sucked in a deep breath and opened her eyes, revealing the irises of her clan.

Sam smiled broadly and nodded her approval. “Those are some gorgeous cat eyes you’ve got.” She leaned in to get a closer look. “Malcolm’s are yellow too, but they’re very different. It’s the pupils. They’re a completely different shape and color. Yours are a sunnier yellow than his.”

“Okay, that’s enough.” She waved her hand at her friend. “Stop inspecting me like a lab experiment.”

Sam twisted her blonde hair around one finger and got a faraway look in her eyes. “Now, I wonder which clan you’re descended from?”

Kerry closed her eyes tightly, imagined them as her plain brown eyes, and they went back to normal. When she opened them, she looked at Sam and found it hard to believe she could turn into a wolf. She needed to see it. No, she
had
to see it.

“Let’s go,” she said with a wave of her hand. “Wolf it. Wolf out. Whatever. I have to see this with my own eyes to believe it. Otherwise, I’m going to start thinking this is some elaborate episode of
Scare
Tactics
.”

Sam wiggled her eyebrows and swatted Kerry’s knee. “You got it.” She drained the rest of her wine and stood. Standing in the center of the room, she opened her arms wide and closed her eyes. Within moments she shimmered and shifted into a massive gray wolf with bright blue eyes. Kerry stared openmouthed at the creature her friend had turned into.

What
do
you
think?
Sam’s sweet voice wafted into Kerry’s mind as the enormous gray wolf walked over to her.

“That is really freaking cool.” Fascinated, Kerry reached out to touch the thick gray fur as if to be sure it was all really happening. “You didn’t say that word. Dante… he said something before he shifted.”

I
know. I don’t have to for some reason. It seems certain aspects of my abilities are a little different. We think that’s part of what they’re worried about.
Samantha sat on her haunches and allowed her friend the freedom to explore. Her fur was soft and warm and very real.

“Whoa.” Was about all Kerry could muster. “Okay, can you turn back into yourself now, please?”

Sam’s laughter floated into Kerry’s mind as she shifted, and much to Kerry’s relief, stood again in her human form. “What? No applause?” Sam teased.

Tears flooded Kerry’s eyes again. She wiped at them with the back of her hand and made a sound of disgust. “God. This is pathetic. I’ve cried more in the last forty-eight hours than I have my entire life.”

Sam sat down next to her friend and gathered her in another comforting hug. The wolf burst into Kerry’s mind. She squeezed her tightly, and before releasing her, placed a kiss on her cheek. Kerry leaned back to look at her friend. Sam seemed more confident than she ever had in her entire life, more comfortable in her own skin.

What had she said when she first met Malcolm? Awake. That was it. She said she felt “awake” for the first time in her life. Looking at her now, and thinking back on the last two days, Kerry knew exactly what she meant.

“I have an idea,” Samantha said. “Tonight when you go to sleep, focus on your cat’s eyes. Keep the image in your mind. You may be able to connect with the clan identity in the dream realm. That’s where I first saw my wolf.”

“Right.” Kerry sighed. “Let’s see if I’ve got this covered. Dream walking, telepathy, shapeshifting, visualizing shit out of nowhere, and blinking in and out places like some goddamned genie. Am I missing anything?” she asked in overly bright tones.

“Well, we can only visualize ourselves into places that we’ve imprinted on.” Sam saw the confused look on Kerry’s face and continued. “Basically, we must have a mental imprint on the energy of the location. For example, you can visualize yourself into any place you’ve physically already been in. Like, I could go back to Nonie’s right now if I wanted to.”

“No shit,” Kerry breathed. She shook her head and took another large sip of wine. “I guess it saves on travel expenses.” She knew it was a stupid joke, but quite frankly, she didn’t know what else to say. Gratefully, Sam ignored her lame attempt at humor and kept explaining.

“Well, yeah, but Malcolm and I had never been here, so we did actually fly. Neither of us could get a clear bead on your, or Dante’s, energy signature. Malcolm thinks it’s a combination of your psychic ability and Dante’s fiercely protective nature,” she added quickly. She snapped her fingers and pointed at Kerry. “Or you can create an imprint by linking with another person’s energy. Like that time that Malcolm showed up in the diner and scared off Richard? Remember that?” Kerry nodded quickly. “Because he’s my mate, he connected with my energy signature, and he immediately imprinted on the location of where I was.”

“This all sounds like a freakin’ love fest,” Kerry said with a sweeping gesture. “However, let’s not forget the best part. We are hated by humans and some Amoveo who think we’re abominations of the two races and want us dead. Right?”

“Hey,” Sam said, quickly changing the subject. “The upside is that once you’re mated, you’ll age really slowly and live a very long time.” She smiled broadly.

Her optimistic outlook fell on deaf ears. “As a hunted freak,” Kerry said somberly.

Sam let out a frustrated sigh. “I know it’s a lot all at once. Believe me, I do. But this really is the missing piece to your puzzle, Kerry.
Think
about it. I know you avoid touching people like the plague, but haven’t you noticed a difference lately if you do touch someone?”

Kerry’s mind immediately went to Jacqueline. She straightened her back at the memory of the images. “No more pain. Well, shocks. Little zaps just under the skin, almost like static electricity, but no pain.”

“I knew it!” Sam clapped her hands victoriously. “It’s Dante. Don’t you see? He’s shielding you somehow or helping you process everything better. Something, I’m not sure exactly what, but it absolutely has to do with being his mate.”

“That’s another thing. Mate? Come on. Isn’t that a little barbaric?”

Sam smiled wickedly. “Have you had sex yet?”

“No.” Kerry smacked Sam’s leg, and her face flushed. “Not exactly.” She looked away. It was embarrassing to admit she was a thirty-year-old virgin. Even to her best friend.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Sam stopped as awareness dawned on her. “Of course,” she breathed. “You never have. Have you?” Kerry shook her head and shrugged as she fiddled with her glass stem. “What about that guy in college or the one from NYC this year? You mean you never…? I can’t believe I didn’t know you were a virgin!”

Kerry shot her a reprimanding look. “Well, I’m sorry, but it would’ve been a little awkward trying to explain why. And don’t look at me like that. I never lied to you. I just let you assume certain things and never corrected you.”

“Yeah, well, trust me. It’ll have been worth the wait. There are lots of perks that go along with being Amoveo.” Sam wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, and the two women burst into hysterical giggles.

“Girl, you are too twisted.” Kerry said through her giggles.

Their laughter subsided, and Samantha took her friend’s hand. “We’ll figure it all out together. You, me, Malcolm, and Dante are all in the same boat—at least until we find out who else we can trust.”

“Dante had some bird guy… um—” She snapped her fingers searching for his name. “William. That’s it. William. He was hanging out up in a tree today at the shoot.”

“Yes.” Sam nodded and sipped her wine. “William and Steven helped Malcolm and I as well. They know about you and I. Well, Malcolm and I are no secret anymore.” She shrugged one shoulder. “Truthfully, most Amoveo that I’ve met have been very welcoming. William and Steven are the only other two who know about the Purist Network other than us. Oh, and Richard, of course.”

“Who’s Richard?”

“He’s the Prince of the Amoveo people. He leads the Council.” Kerry’s face belied her confusion, and she motioned for further explanation from Sam. “The Council is their governing body,” Sam explained. “Two members from every clan and two Vasullus family members work with Richard to keep the peace among the clans and keep an eye out for any Caedo activity.”

“So this Council… they don’t know about the Purists who want us dead?”

“No.” Sam shook her head. “Dante’s father was
on
the Council. How’s that for betrayal? We know he wasn’t working alone, but we don’t know who with. They are working in a very effective underground network.” Sam’s eyes shimmered with tears. “They killed my parents, Kerry. That boating accident when I was a baby.” She let out a slow breath. “Well, it was no accident. My mother was human, as you know, and my father was in the Gray Wolf Clan. She had some kind of psychic ability, which made her able to mate with an Amoveo.” She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “Apparently, some of the Amoveo didn’t like it. All these years, my parents’ murder was blamed on the Caedo.”

Kerry grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly. “Oh my God. Sam, I’m so sorry.”