Dark Refuge (22 page)

“Never,” Alex said. And then he kissed her.

That was about the time Gabe figured this meeting had officially ended.

• • •

Gabe walked up to the sunroom and found Nina and Lindy sitting together on the couch, poring over figures. “How’s it coming?”

Nina raised her head and stared intently at him. “Are you and Alex serious? Do you have the money to front us for a salon? Because I really don’t want to go to all this work and find out you’ve been stringing us along.”

“That’s why I came looking for you. Alex and I transferred the money into an account about an hour ago.” He named a sum that had Nina gasping and reaching for Lindy’s hand, so he figured that was a good sign. “It’s in Alex and my names and you’ll be added once we go over your business plan. I’m hoping you’ll talk to Aaron Cheval. He’s Em’s older brother and a good attorney. He won’t let you do anything that’s not fair to you.”

“But he works for you. Won’t he want to set something up in your favor?”

Gabe laughed. “I wish. Aaron and I have been competing about everything since we were kids. He’s going to be totally pissed off when he realizes Em and I are going to be mates, and hopefully getting married at the winter solstice. I imagine he’ll be on your side, not mine, when it comes to negotiations.”

He stepped over the back of the couch and slid onto the cushion beside Lindy. “I know you two don’t know us very well, and you can’t help but feel like outsiders to a certain extent because the other girls turned out to be Chanku, but for what it’s worth, we do want you to feel as if you’re pack. The six of you went through hell together, and that creates a bond that even genetics can’t trump. Chanku Global Industries is known as a fair and honest company, and the honorable dealings and overall integrity that our board insists on are something we all believe in. I hope you’ll trust us, but if you want outside advice, I’d suggest you find any legal firm you want to represent you, and we’ll pick up their bill.”

Nina glanced at Lindy. “We’ll need to talk about it, okay?”

Gabe nodded. “I understand. Now, will you be okay here by yourselves? We need to take four new wolves out for their first run.” He stood, and then realized they might like to go along. “You’re welcome to come if you like, though it might be boring. We park at the foot of Mount Tam and take off from there. We’ll probably be gone for at least a couple of hours.”

“That’s okay.” Lindy gestured at the notepads they both had covered with figures. “That should give us time to get this put together so we have something to present.”

He glanced at the figures, the notes they’d lined up in neat rows. “You certainly seem to know what you’re doing. This is impressive.”

Nina raised one dark eyebrow. “Well, I majored in accounting and business at Stanford before I was kidnapped. I was working on my master’s in business. Lindy was already a CPA. Hair and nails are something we did for fun, and we’re both interested in fashion and design. The fact that we both loved to sew and design clothes is what brought us together after we were kidnapped.” She grinned at Lindy. “Well, that, and she’s just too damned hot for words.”

“Nina’s right. We clicked right away as friends, and we’re beyond sexually compatible. I fell in love with Nina the day I met her. We’ve talked about opening our own business ever since we were both kidnapped, so we already have a lot of ideas.”

Gabe started for the door, but he paused and glanced at the two of them. They were both damned smart and so beautiful inside and out. “I hope you realize how sorry I am you’re not Chanku. You both have so much to offer. We’ll see you in a few hours, okay?”

Lindy turned and waved. Nina didn’t even look up. She mumbled what sounded like “Bye,” and kept working. Gabe headed downstairs. Em’s voice popped into his head.

We’re all in the van. Are you going to be much longer?

On my way. Em, I’m hearing you perfectly.

We might not be bonded mates, Gabe, but the darkness is gone.

There was such an open sense of joy to her mental voice, as if she’d never had those terrible shadows inside.
Do you want to try again? We’ll have the others close by, in case there’s trouble.

Yes. I do, Gabe. This time, I think I might be ready.

He picked up her laughter as he climbed into the backseat beside Mary and Mbali. Janine, Sissy and Em had the next row. Alex was driving and Annie rode shotgun. They backed out of the garage, but traffic was heavy and it took a few minutes before Alex was able to pull out onto Sunset and head for the Golden Gate.

“Looks like the sunshine’s gone for the day. We might get wet, ladies. I can’t even see the top of Mount Tam.”

“Should we have brought towels? I’d hate to get the inside of the van all muddy.” Mbali stared at the dark skies and the way the ocean disappeared in the clouds lying on the horizon.

“No need,” Em said. “One of the best things about being Chanku.”

• • •

Alex drove beyond the parking lot where they’d taken Sissy running earlier in the week. He followed a road that wound along the eastern flank of the mountain until they found a small parking lot without any other vehicles. Gabe set up a privacy shade that looked like half a tent attached to the side of the big van, but it gave them a place to undress and shift in case other park visitors showed up. Saturdays weren’t the best time for running wild, even on a day promising a cold rain, but they’d decided not to wait until after dark. Tonight they’d be packing up and getting ready to fly to Montana in the morning, and the new wolves were anxious to run.

At least Sissy was. She’d stripped off her clothes and shifted while still in the van, and now she paced outside, impatient to get going.

Gabe had given them a list of rules. She was surprised to know that wolves had rules, but he reminded her they might look like wolves, but they thought like humans . . . mostly. And it was important to act responsibly. Just because this particular parking lot was empty didn’t mean the trails were empty. Mountain bikers and hikers could have parked in any number of places on the mountain. No sneaking up on hikers or bikers, and if there was an equestrian on the trail, they were to give horses and riders a wide berth.

There might not be a lot of wild wolves in the San Francisco Bay Area, but horses appeared to have the predators’ scent genetically imprinted in the fear centers of their brains. Horses and wolves were not a good mix. Dogs on the trail were something else—some feared them, some wanted to play. Occasionally a hiker would scream and run away. They were not allowed to chase, no matter how much fun it looked like.

That one had all of them laughing. Some things were pretty obvious, though she wouldn’t have thought of the horses if Gabe hadn’t said something.

Finally, all of them had shifted and Alex found a place to hide the keys to the van. Then they trotted out of the parking lot—eight beautiful wolves in all sizes and colors. A few hikers on the trail stopped and just watched, others snapped pictures as they picked up speed and veered off the regular trail.

Chanku running in pairs were not unusual, but it was rare to see a large pack on the mountain in daylight.
We usually stick to the trails,
Gabe said,
but there are so many people out today I think we’ll cut across the flank of the mountain and hit the higher regions. Then we can go back to running on the trails.

He picked up the pace and they ran, all of them with tails flying and jaws wide to grab the fresh, rain-slick air. She’d wanted freedom above all else, but Sissy had never dreamed of freedom such as this, the way it made her feel, the way it sounded and smelled. It even had a taste—the taste of fresh air on her tongue, filling her mouth as she raced through the tall winter grasses. She glanced at Mbali, at Janine and Mary, and touched their thoughts.

There were no words. They ran with a single unifying thought—joy. This was freedom, this was the life each one had dreamed of, this was joy.

• • •

Alex and Annie took the girls higher on the mountain, following a rugged trail that might even give them a chance to chase a rabbit or two, while Em and Gabe split off toward Muir Woods. There were areas of the redwood forest there that were as private and primeval as if man had never stepped foot within its boundaries. For the past twenty years, an effort had been made—financed heavily by CGI—to reforest much of Mount Tam and return it to its earlier glory, before so much of it had been logged when California was young.

It’s not Montana, but I don’t want to wait.
Gabe ran on Em’s right flank, so high on her scent it was hard not to stop and take her right here on the trail, but then he remembered how their mating—or attempted mating—had gone last night, and he knew he wasn’t going to waste this second chance. He’d not been a very thoughtful lover, but he’d underestimated the feral power of a wolf ready to mate. Tonight he wanted to take his time and savor his mating with Emeline. He loved her. He planned to love her for the rest of his life. There was no need to rush.

I don’t want you to hold back, Gabe. The only thing not perfect about last night was the fact I tried to kill you. My wolf was perfectly happy with your wolf’s form of foreplay.

The killing part was not good. Let’s try to avoid that tonight.
He nipped her flank to show her he was teasing, but then he added,
There wasn’t any foreplay. That’s the problem.

For you, maybe. Not for me. I think that, at least as wolves, there’s something very sexy about all that power.

He didn’t answer her. He couldn’t. He wanted her so badly it was all he could do to run without stumbling, without chasing her down and taking her here and now. No foreplay? He could do that. Whatever Emeline wanted.

Chapter 14

They’d reached a heavily forested area on the north side of the mountain. Em’s paws no longer pounded against a hard-packed trail. They’d entered an area where moss grew thick and the ground was covered in spongy red humus. Ferns filled the spaces between the trees, and dark strands of winter-burned vines looped among the branches. Though the rain had stopped, water still dripped from the trees and fog dimmed what little light could filter through the heavy growth. A few of the redwoods were massive, but many were only fifteen or twenty years old, freshly planted by CGI donations and hours of labor put in by many of the employees. It made Em feel as if this forest was pleased with the Chanku, with what they’d done to help renew what had been lost over the years.

It took her mind off what was coming, what she wanted with equal feelings of fear and wonder. They’d come so close to the mating bond, but close was a chasm of unbelievable distance, and the fear they’d never close that separation was a constant ache. She wanted more, and she wanted Gabe. She’d loved him forever, but that childhood crush, that sense of love was nothing to the depth and breadth of what filled her now. So much, so terribly raw and yet so beautiful. She looked at him and saw her future—the only one who would ever completely love and understand her because their minds would be forever linked.

As part of a pack, she’d been surrounded by mated couples, pairs so entirely in sync with one another that, while their individual personalities were unchanged, their connection to the one they loved was undeniable. She’d tasted that connection with Gabe this morning, when he’d taken her through the lost memories of her kidnapping. Her memories, but with Gabe beside her, the memories—as horrific as they were—lost their power. She’d seen herself as a fighter, not a victim.

That simple act, that sharing of what had hidden dormant in her mind for so many years, had changed her. Was still changing her. He carried her burden, simply and easily. She was no longer alone.

Gabe took the lead with an obvious destination in mind. Em followed close behind, leaping over logs and rocks, twisting through dense shrubbery and finally slipping between the bare branches of a stand of willows growing beside a creek. There was a small meadow here, ringed by ferns and giant trees, the mossy ground lost in perpetual shadow.

Stopping in the center, surrounded by ancient trees, Gabe raised his head and sniffed the air.
There’s no one around. It’s private. Peaceful.

Perfect. It’s absolutely perfect, Gabe. It feels right.

You’re not afraid, are you? I don’t want to do anything that frightens you, that you’re not ready for.

I love you, Gabriel Cheval. I have loved you forever, and I know that as long as you’re with me, I haven’t got anything to fear. You’ve always protected me, even when you didn’t know it.

He approached her, standing almost nose to nose.
I saw myself in your memories, when you were that madman’s prisoner. Your faith in me is humbling, but it’s empowering, too. You make me a better person, Em. I want you. I love you. I will always love you. But just as strong is the knowledge that I need you. Already, I know I will always need you.

She gazed into his dark amber eyes and admitted her truth, that she wouldn’t have survived the kidnapping without the powerful sense of Gabe in her mind.
You gave me courage when I needed it most. I needed you then, I need you now and forever. I love you. I will always love you.

Gabe stared at her for a long time, but he’d closed his thoughts to her and she wondered what was going on in his mind. Then he licked her muzzle as if they had all the time in the world, but it was obvious that tension had him strung tight. She remembered then what he’d said earlier, that he’d rushed their mating last night and he wasn’t going to let that happen when they finally tried again to mate.

Em growled. Stupid man . . . didn’t he realize she wanted him now?
Save the foreplay for later, Gabriel . . . for when I can appreciate it. My wolf has no patience. She wants you. Now.

His laughter floated through her mind as she turned and braced her legs, ready for his weight. He mounted her, found her center and filled her in a single thrust. She opened her body, opened her mind to him until he filled her, body and soul.