Broken Blood (17 page)

“In that case, distract away,” I said.

He grinned and leaned in, his eyes on my mouth in a way that made me shiver. I raised my chin, eager for more kisses, when the bedroom door opened.

“Aren’t you supposed to be on babysitting duty?” My mother glared at Wes.

Wes jumped to his feet, clearly guilty, and shoved his hands in his pockets. “My shift ended an hour ago,” he said without quite meeting her eyes.

Thank God he had his jeans on.

“In that case, we could use some extra hands for breakfast duty,” my mom said.

Wes glanced at the clock. “It’s closer to lunch,” he said, and then when my mom’s expression darkened, he added, “Ma’am.”

She only glared.

Wes grabbed his discarded shirt from the floor beside the bed and yanked it on. “I’m on it,” he mumbled.

He glanced down at me and then slipped past my mom without another word. I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing at how he could go from alpha Werewolf to intimidated schoolboy so quickly.

My mom had that affect.

“That wasn’t nice,” I said when he was gone.

She leveled her stern expression at me and I shrank back. Okay, now I knew why Wes had broken so easily. “You might not be under my roof but you are still my daughter. And I am still your mother.”

“I turned eighteen a couple of months ago,” I pointed out.

My mother’s expression softened. “I know. I’m sorry we never really did much to celebrate that.”

“It’s fine. Cambria took me out, remember?”

“A night at the pool hall isn’t what I would’ve ...” She trailed off into a sigh and I tried not to think about where we stood back then. My mother and I had been in a rough place ever since I’d learned what I was. “We’ll make up for it this year,” she added and I wondered if she meant more than just a missed birthday party.

She sat on the edge of the bed and smoothed my hair back. “That was quite a show last night. How are you feeling?”

“Better,” I said. And then, because I wanted her prediction of making up for it to come true, I asked, “How are you feeling?”

She blinked. “Me? I’m fine, why?”

“Mom, your only daughter was held captive for weeks. You saw me shift into a wolf last night right before your eyes and then shift back, stark naked, in a room full of people. And you just found me in bed with my boyfriend, half-clothed. If anyone should be having a breakdown here it’s you.”

She smiled wryly. “Well, when you put it that way ... There’s got to be a dirty oven around here somewhere.”

Her smile faded quickly and the moment turned heavy. “I wanted to talk to you alone because ... I ... there’s something...”

“Spit it out, Mom,” I said, my voice teasingly light compared to the ball of knots twisting away in my stomach. My mother was high-anxiety and high-stress, usually in the form of too much cleaning products and a lack of sense of humor—but this was strange even for her.

“It’s not that easy,” she said, her gaze darting every which way but at me. She twisted the edge of the bedsheet between her fingers and licked her lips. When her eyes finally found mine, there was only one thing reflected back at me. A thing I understood well by now: secrets.

“Mom, tell me,” I repeated firmly.

She opened her mouth, ready to spill ... something, and the door opened again. She shut her mouth and we turned toward the intruder.

“Fee!” I said, jumping up and running to her, arms open, irritation already evaporating. There would be time to talk later. Not like my mom hadn’t kept things before.

“Hello, Tara.” Fee smiled and opened her arms, folding me into a warm hug. I inhaled the scent of her—the same scent her entire house had carried back in Frederick Falls—and my chest ached with the memories that came with it. I’d woken up in that house more than once after a fight and Fee had always been right there, her ability to heal saving my life from Werewolf bites and scratches—and even once, my mother’s anger at finding out I’d lied. But I refused to let my reminiscing dampen the moment.

I smiled back at Fee and stepped aside so my mom could lean over and hug Fee too. When had my mom adjusted this way to Werewolves being back in our lives?

“When did you get here?” I asked. “Is Jack here? Did you have any problems?”

“One question at a time,” she said, laughing. Her blonde hair shook lightly where it hung in pretty waves over her shoulders. I remembered the first time I’d seen her. Wavy hair spilling down her back, petite, pretty frame. Her entire aura had been gentle and nurturing on a day where everything else had been uncertain and terrifying. Seeing her had taken away my fear. And I’d had plenty to be afraid of that day. Just like today, in fact.

“First,” she continued, holding up a finger, “Let’s get you feeling better. I heard you’ve had some problems shifting lately. And you’ve been running on fumes, exhausted, from what it sounds.”

I hung my head, guilty as charged. “Those are probably the least of what I’ve got going on,” I mumbled.

Fee took my hand, squeezed. “Then let’s talk about it and get you well. Elizabeth, would you mind gathering some ingredients for my tea?” she asked.

“Sure, tell me what you need,” my mom said.

Fee rattled off a few things I’d never heard of and a few things I had. Somewhere between lavender and chamomile I was pretty sure I heard her ask for Hawkweed and something called Holy Basil. I decided I’d rather not know.

“I’ll get them together and have them brought up,” my mom said. She planted a kiss on my forehead, whispering, “We’ll talk later,” and slipped out.

Fee wasted no time guiding me back to bed and beginning an official exam. Pulse, temperature, blood pressure , reflexes. Questions.

“And this bond with Steppe? Is it manageable, I mean, like the others?” she asked when I’d told her everything I could about my confinement and the experiments done. Something about the clinical way Fee approached my answers made it easier to relive. I took a deep breath, thinking it over before answering that last one.

“It’s different than the others,” I said slowly, doing my best to understand it before attempting to describe it to someone else.

“Go on,” she said.

“He’s darker. Smarter. And pushy. He won’t back off and let my thoughts be mine. He wants them all. The others were polite ... at least as much as possible given the situation. They would back off when they neared something private but not Steppe. He’s ... intrusive.” I said.

“And you’re exhausted trying to push him out,” she concluded.

“Yes. Until last night when I shifted, I’d concentrated only on keeping him at the edges. But my wolf opened things the other way, I guess, and now I’m in his head too.” I smiled tightly. “He doesn’t like it very much.”

As proof, Gordon mentally scowled and I sucker punched him.

“Good for you. See what you can find out,” Fee said, patting my hand.

I mumbled that I would and fell silent, fighting my temptation to spill what I’d already gleaned. My discovery was huge, but more than the truth itself, the secret belonged to someone I couldn’t afford to betray or make an enemy out of. Not when enlisting her help could be the wild card we needed to take Steppe down once and for all.

“I will,” I promised instead.

“I’m told last night was your first shift since whatever Gordon did to suppress your wolf during those weeks you were held. How are you feeling?”

“Twitchy,” I admitted. “My wolf didn’t want to be shoved back inside so quickly.”

“I know the feeling. Or, opposite, in fact,” she said. “Jack and I spent much of the last few weeks as wolves. It was safer and easier to hide that way.”

My expression clouded. “I’m glad you’re both safe.”

“Me too,” she said. We fell silent and I knew we were both thinking about what lay ahead and how not everyone involved would come through as safely as we had so far.

Fee took a deep breath and said, “In the meantime, I’m going to check on that tea and I want you to relax and rest. There’s a meeting after breakfast to discuss our next steps. I’ll send Wes up to get you.”

She rose and stood over me, a stern expression already in place. I knew she expected me to argue and want to come down now, but I just nodded and let her tuck me in tighter before she left.

There was plenty I could do from right here.

Steppe,
I thought.
We need to talk.

Do we? I’m surprised,
was the almost instant reply.

Something about his smug confidence rubbed at me wrong.
Why is that?

I would’ve thought you’d be far more eager to talk to—Oh, never mind. I see.

His voice abruptly shut off and pulled back, almost like he waited in the stands. I shoved at him, demanding to know what he saw but just before I could shove my way in and find the answer for myself, someone knocked.

“Come in,” I said, distracted by my mental tug of war.

I expected Fee or my mother or even Wes, bringing my herbal medicine, but it wasn’t any of them standing there holding a tray containing a teacup and steaming kettle.

Every nerve ending from my hair to my big toe stood up. If there’d been anything in my stomach, it would’ve threatened a reappearance. I could only stare, drinking him in with a thirst I hadn’t known I possessed—and frankly, wished would dry up already.

“Alex,” I said, my tone sticking somewhere between anger and affection.

“Tara.” My name said it all. Worry, fear, regret. Relief. I sighed even as he said it and felt the anger give way to the rest. Despite everything, I was glad to see him. 

“Come in,” I said simply.

The uncertainty in his expression dissolved and the lines around his mouth and eyes relaxed. His muscles went from bunched to reactive as he crossed the room and drew me into his arms. Not exactly what I’d meant, but I was too shocked to protest.

I braced myself as emotions rushed in and out again. For a brief moment, my arms hung limply beside me but then, despite my better judgment, I slowly reached up and wrapped them around his shoulders—and did my best to pretend everything was this simple between us.

I held on, both arms locked, hands to elbows, and shut my eyes against the onslaught of the feels. He did the same, neither of us saying a word, neither of us letting go. His fingers curled around my hips, every tip a point of relief that infuriated me just for feeling it.

In the back of my mind, I felt Steppe watching. Reading it all. Sifting through my thoughts like the aftermath of a bomb’s blast. But I couldn’t care enough to block him out. There were too many other things to think.

“I’ve been worried ever since...” He trailed off, his lips moving against my hair, his hands finally releasing their pressurized grip from the small of back. Vaguely, I felt the surprise that came with the realization that the strongest thing I felt when I looked at him was comfort and relief instead of the fury I’d felt last time. “I’m so sorry,” he added quietly, reading my expression.

In my thoughts, Gordon smirked and I caught fleeting pictures of Alex’s narrow escape that day. He’d told me too much. Gordon had tried to punish him for it.

“You’re okay,” I said, halfway between a question and a statement.

Alex’s brow rose. “More okay than you, I’d imagine.”

“You told me too much,” I said. “Gordon only wanted you to ruin my trust. He didn’t want me to know how far back it went for him.”

Alex cocked his head at me, but the surprise was small. “You’re reading all that through the bond,” he said.

I stared at him, my mind still stuck on the events of that day Alex had come to see me. “He outed you,” I said. “You’re off the strike team.”

“I had it coming,” he said. “I also have a warrant out. Did you get to that part yet?” he asked wryly.

A small part of me wanted to snap back something about just rewards and betrayal, but I kept my lips pressed tightly shut.

“I know what you think of me,” he said quietly. “I’m the last person you wanted to see, I know. But that’s why I came. I can only hope I’ll regain your trust someday.” His lips quirked in a hopeful smile. “The hug was a good sign.”

“The hug was ...” I had no idea how to finish that one. I shook my head. “You’re right. I don’t trust you, not completely. And that’s your own fault. But I have had some time to think about it, not to mention seeing it from Steppe’s point of view. I understand why you did it and I know that you were ultimately trying to protect me. I see how he used that to manipulate you.”

Alex’s eyes lit up. “Does that mean you forgive me?”

“I’m working on it,” I qualified.

His smile widened. I needed to change the subject. Alex Channing was such a gray area of my life.

“Do the others know you’re here?” I asked.

“Well ... they know I’m in the house, yes. This particular room at this particular moment, not so much.”

I thought of Wes and what he’d say when he found out. Gordon grinned in my head. “When did you get here?” I asked.

“Last night,” he said. “Edie decided it would be better to wait until today to see you.” The whispered questions between her and my mother all made sense now.

“Better for you or for me?” I asked. Alex shrugged and something else hit me. “So you were here to see me ... shift?”

“And your streaking exit,” he said, clearly trying to contain his laughter.

I groaned. “And out of morbid curiosity, which one do you think I should be more embarrassed about?”

He grinned. “I can promise I will never, no matter what happens between us, ever complain about seeing you naked.”

I thought about punching him. Surprisingly, the voice in my head agreed, which is the only thing that kept me from following through.

“What’s wrong?” Alex asked, the smile disappearing as he took in my expression. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. It’s just a little loud.”

“Do you—I mean, can you hear him? Like, right now?” he asked.

“Yeah. He’s here, I guess you could say.”

His expression darkened and I knew the ferocity was meant for Steppe. “Anything good?”

I hesitated, the light moment instantly gone. I opened my mouth and closed it again, suddenly uncertain as I thought of a hundred other moments just like this one that we’d shared—and how, despite them all, Alex had betrayed me. “I’d rather not share,” I said quietly.