Forbidden (27 page)

“You've always been so nice to me, Alek. You smile. You touch my shoulder, give me hugs. We've grown up together. I know all your quirks and what you like. I'm the only woman you talk to. Why
wouldn't
I think you were interested?” She seemed honestly confused. Her jealousy had faded and her scent had taken on some of the warmth that made him enjoy stopping at the diner when she worked.

The only woman? “What about Tammy and Dani and Beth? I treat them the same. I talk to them and hug them.” This wasn't making any sense.

She cocked her head and her ears twitched back. “They're your
sisters
. You grew up in the same house. That's not the same thing.” Her scent was growing more frantic as understanding settled in. She didn't want to hear the words that he needed to say.

Alek took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He didn't even have to think about it. “It is to me, Paula. I'm just not attracted to you that way. Not like…”

Now her eyes hardened, began to glow with an amber light. She wasn't a powerful alpha, but she must be more powerful than he'd believed since she'd shifted off the moon. Or was it her strong emotions that had tipped the balance? Emotions he hadn't even realized she had. “
Her
. I smelled the lust when you touched her hand, Alek. Her scent is on your skin, your mouth. I'm not stupid.” She put one front paw on his arm. Her gaze was intent on his, earnest. “Don't you see? It's just lust. It doesn't last. We know each other, like each other. That's what lasts for the long haul.”

Was she right? He'd never thought of her as a romantic partner. Was that fair? Could it just be that Claire was new and different? There was attraction, no question, but she'd never actually said she was interested. Yet he was holding on, hoping for more. Wasn't that exactly what Paula was doing?

He found himself shaking his head, his emotions in turmoil. The fact that he didn't remove Paula's paw from his arm said something too. But
what
did it say? “I have to think, Paula. It's been a long day and I'm tired.”

“I know you are.” Her voice was soft and kind. That was the way she sounded when he went to the diner to sit and watch people come and go while she waited on him, her dark hair in a high ponytail that swished as she walked. It was just business. Wasn't it? “Just don't rush into anything. That's all I ask.”

He touched the side of her face and she leaned into his hand. He felt nothing more than soft fur. No tingles, no sense of passion. “And all I ask is that you not bother Claire again until I do decide.”

She stiffened and a tiny growl slipped past her lips. She nodded. “Deal.”

He heard a loud thump in the distance, like someone dropped a heavy weight from a height. “Okay, look. I have to get in and report to Lenny. We'll talk more another day. I don't know for sure when because of the whole Omega thing. My schedule is really up in the air.”

“I'll be waiting. But I won't wait forever.” She got to her feet and padded off into the darkness.

Just frigging great! He didn't need this kind of stress. He raised his hands to his head and ran fingers through his hair. Could this day get any worse? Oh, right. It could. Because he had to go deal with Lenny now. He'd been explicitly told to check in at the end of the day.

He glanced at the station and realized that the light in the window was off. That seemed odd—Claire had just gone in and neither she nor Lenny had come out. A quick glance down the street confirmed it wasn't the power. All the other lights were on.

And then they weren't.

Blackness closed in around him like a tight glove. Even the stars had disappeared. He couldn't see his own hand, even when it was close enough to touch his eyebrows. He stood and sniffed around carefully, feeling his way to the edge of the bench. There were no scents … none. It was as though the trees and rocks, the whole town, had disappeared. Was this the “darkness” Claire and Rachel had talked about? If so, it was disorienting and more than a little unnerving.

He pulled the wolf inside him to the surface, feeling the weight of cloth shred and fall away. But even his wolf eyes couldn't find enough light to focus. Every hair on his body told him that there was something out there, something large and imposing. His lips pulled away from his teeth and a low growl came from deep in his chest. He could feel it, but not hear the sound.

Panic began to rise from his gut, speeding his heart and making his breath come in shallow gasps. How could he fight something he couldn't see, hear, or smell? The attack could come from any direction! He turned in circles, snapping his jaws at nothing, feeling helpless.

Helpless? Nyet!
The voice of his old pack leader, Nikoli, rushed into his mind.
No wolf of mine will ever be helpless so long as he has a mind.
Was it a memory or the barest hint of a still-existing attachment to the pack mind?

Alpha?
He pushed the word out as though shouting into a crowded room.

There was no answer.

But there was no need for one. He
did
have a mind. He gathered his will around himself, let the senses he usually relied on drop away, and opened up his mind. What other ways were there to find a threat?

Haptic senses, echolocation, passive receptors
. The new words in his brain startled him. They weren't his thoughts, nor his Alpha's. He didn't know whose they were. Each sound made a spark of light appear behind his eyes, like tiny green fireflies. He had heard the term
haptic
before, but couldn't remember where. He wasn't even positive what it meant.

There was a breath like a sigh in his inner ear that vibrated his eardrum. It made him cock his head and scratch at the ear with his rear leg until he stopped being dizzy.
You know … haptic?

More lights appeared and the fireflies became a thousand sparklers, then skyrockets, as if with each passing moment, the light grew stronger.
They're proximity sensors, like blind people use to identify objects. Didn't you ever take science class? Like how you avoid trees when you're running; chasing prey. Try to find the source of the magic by feeling where on your body it's the strongest. Then turn until your nose is pointed at it. Passive receiving.

With more words came the realization that the voice in his head was Claire's.
How are you in my head?

The voice sounded confused, as though she'd thought she was talking to herself.
I … don't know who
you
are, so I don't know.

Alek.

There was a long pause.
I'm leaving now.

“Wait!” He said it out loud because he wasn't sure how to project a shout in his mind. The air stilled and the flicker of light remained right at the corner of his senses.
How do I get out of the darkness
?

No pause this time.
Attack or retreat. Those are the options. I retreated because I had to save the boy, but I didn't like it. You're a wolf, like me. Seek it out. Hunt it down.

There was an intensity to the words that made his whiskers and fur vibrate and want to start the chase, to feel the rush of wind that brought the scent of prey. His whole body became a receptor for powerful magic and he realized it was strongest on his left flank. He spun and planted his feet. His chest lowered instinctively and his lips pulled back to bare his teeth.

The flickering in his mind urged him on, not to defend, but to attack. The being in the darkness—the one he knew was there though he could not see, hear, or smell it—sensed this and didn't like the turn of events. It tried to move to flank him again, seeking a weak point to press its attack, but Alek spun again. Now that he had the flavor of the magic sting, he could follow it. After a third unsuccessful attempt, the being retreated, taking the darkness with it.

Starlight returned, as did sound—with a pop that made his inner ear hurt like it did when changing altitudes.

He could let the darkness go, let it retreat to wherever it came.

He
could
.

But he wasn't going to.

Digging into the turf, he chased after the dark, focusing on a moving area of blackness surrounded by the normal landscape.

The sound of distant glass breaking nearly made him stop, but he didn't dare risk losing the scent. Or whatever it was that was allowing him to follow the dark. A blur of movement made him risk flicking his gaze sideways. A second wolf was easing up on his right. Claire's cinnamon fur smelled like cigar smoke and blood. “Are you okay?” he asked.

“I will be after we catch this bastard.”

There was a venom in her voice he hadn't heard before. “Okaaay…”

She dug in her claws, expanded the reach of her front legs to keep up with his sprint. “I don't want to talk about it right now. Let's just finish the hunt.”

Whatever they were chasing was fast. Racing after the darkness became more about avoiding barely seen obstacles at blinding speed than actually catching up. An hour passed, then two. Claire moved like a shadow at his side, two dancers on a stage gliding to music they were hearing for the first time. Unfortunately, the farther north they ran, the farther ahead the darkness got. Alek had no idea where they were. Were they even in Washington anymore or had they crossed into Canada? Claire's breath didn't seem to be as harsh as his, but was still faster than normal. They'd both been beaten down so much and lost so much energy running that there was nothing left. “We have to stop. We're not going to catch it.” He slowed to a lope and then to a trot and Claire did the same. His chest was burning from trying to get enough air and his legs felt like rubber.

She shook her head and ruffled her fur in annoyance. “I know. Damn it! And it's not an
it
. It's a him. I think I know who it is.”

What the hell? “Who is it? Someone in town?”

A small growl came from her throat. Not as though she was angry with him, but annoyed with herself for saying anything. Her scent changed to the melted plastic smell of regret and frustration. “I can't say. Not yet. The first thing I need to do is get ahold of someone who can help.” She turned her head back and bit at her back leg, like chewing on a sting. But he heard a ripping sound and she winced just before pulling a cell phone into sight.

“You taped a phone to your
fur
? Ow! And where did you even get a phone?” He winced just thinking about tearing off the hair of his inner thigh. “Who are you going to call out here? There can't be a signal this far down in the valley.”

She put the phone on the ground so she could see the screen. “Some phones don't require a carrier. And I had it in my purse, which was recovered from the wreck and was in a filing cabinet.” Using her nose to navigate, she opened an application, then spoke directly into the phone. “Best shoes in my area.”

“Voice print confirmed,” said a tinny, mechanical voice from the phone. “Let's go shopping.”

Alek sat down in total disbelief.
Shopping?
She was really going to go shoe shopping right now? No, it had to be more than that. He stood up and padded over to where he could see the screen.

A world map appeared with different kinds of shoes all over the screen. As the app worked out their location, the aerial map began to shift on the screen, closing in on the United States, then Washington, then their county and finally their location, which was still in America. But only just. A pair of fluffy bunny slippers and a red stiletto shoe appeared. A blinking arrow appeared, pointing to their left. “What the heck is that? We're really going shoe shopping?”

She ducked her head and pressed the fuzzy slippers with just the tip of her nose, and then the red heel. Then she lifted the phone by taking the tape in her mouth and talked out the side of one lip. “Of a sort. C'mon. Trust me.” She looked funny, with the phone dangling beside her jaw, but Alek knew better than to laugh.

She trotted away without another word. He only had two choices … try to find the way back to Luna Lake or follow her.

The scent that hovered in the air behind her was a blend of warm chocolate, citrusy happiness, and anticipation. After a second Alek flicked his tail before bolting after her.
What the heck. At least shoes are a start to clothes … or no clothes
. “Wait up, Claire!”

*   *   *

The information she'd found had shocked Claire to her core. This was so far beyond a few missing kids that it needed to be dealt with by someone far above her pay grade. While she didn't think Alek was involved, she couldn't figure out whether he'd been compromised. There was mind control going on in Luna Lake and she was fairly certain that the townspeople didn't realize it was happening. Because no way could this level of sick go on in such a small town without someone noticing.

But she couldn't just openly accuse another Wolven agent of having BDSM relationships with children. Yet, there was no other explanation of the photos she'd found behind a heating grate in the police station. She was horrified by what she'd seen and now she understood what Rachel had been talking about. If it wasn't sex, it was certainly humiliation. Photo after photo of her and other people, posed as though they were mannequins. The police chief was in every photo, naked, not touching the other people, but just on the verge. His hand about to touch a nipple, his erection about to enter an open mouth, his hands touching himself while he stared at them in bondage. It was hard to tell from the photos, but Claire was pretty sure his magic was holding the victims in place, frozen and forced to submit as surely as if they'd been given a date rape drug. Because in many pictures, Claire could see their eyes … haunted, terrified, resigned. Fully aware of what was happening, which made it far worse.