Frey (16 page)

She had left every nightgown at home. She
refused to bring anything that reminded her of Troy. As soon as she
could, she was going shopping for clothes that fit her. She’d seen
the way Frey’s eyes traveled over her legs when she stepped out of
the house wearing jeans. But then again, he’d seen her in next to
nothing when he caught her dancing. After putting on a pair of cute
pajama pants and t-shirt, she slid between the sheets of the
king-size bed. There were no sounds coming from downstairs. If Frey
and Matt were still up, they were being quiet. Feeling safe for the
first time in forever, Abbi rolled over, hugging the extra pillow
to her body and sent up a silent thank you to whoever was
listening.

Abbi was wakened by a loud rumbling. She lay
still, listening. The noise was low but constant. When the sound
continued, she sat up and pushed back the covers, lowering her legs
over the side of the bed. When she opened her door, the sound,
coming from Frey’s bedroom, intensified. He’d said he had
nightmares. Was he having one now? As she placed her hand on his
doorknob, Matthew’s door opened. “What the hell is that?” he asked,
his voice scratchy from sleep.

“
I think Frey’s having a
nightmare. Go back to bed.” When Matt complied, she turned her
attention back to the door in front of her. The moaning hadn’t
lessened in the minute she’d been standing there. Taking a deep
breath, she turned the knob as quietly as possible. The sight of a
nearly naked Frey grabbed her attention. The huge man was thrashing
about in his bed, the covers tangled around his legs. Abbi didn’t
know if it was safe to wake him, but she couldn’t stand watching
the torment he was going through.

“
Geoffrey,” she whispered
as she stepped into his room. “Geoffrey,” she said a little louder
when her voice wasn’t penetrating. “Frey!” she yelled. Before Abbi
could think, Frey was out of bed and had her pinned to the wall.
His huge body covered hers completely. Her arms were shackled above
her head in one of his huge hands. Chest heaving, his breath was
coming in harsh pants. Frey’s cock grew hard against her stomach.
She raised her eyes and gasped. She could have sworn she saw fangs
protruding from his mouth. Frey leaned his head in close to her
neck, his nose skimming along from behind her ear, down to her
shoulder. Abbi closed her eyes and waited for his sharp teeth to
sink into her skin.

Chapter
Fifteen

“
Sir, are you sure the
building’s empty?”

“
Infrared shows only
adults.”

“
What about women,
Sir?”

“
Son, I gave you a direct
order. Fire the goddamn missile.”

Don’t fucking call me Son.
“
Yes, Sir.” Frey locked on to the target
and fired. Direct hit. The pilot flew the jet low over the kill
zone. Frey’s shifter vision allowed him to see the carnage, drink
it in, focus on every last piece of shrapnel. His stomach
threatened to come out his throat when he saw the scattered remains
of several children.

“
What the fuck? You said
the building was secure!” Frey screamed into his com. The tiny,
decimated bodies were burned into his brain. He felt the deaths
deep in his soul. “No, No, NO!!!”

“
Geoffrey.”

“
No, I won’t do it
again!”

“
Geoffrey!”

“
Shut the fuck up! I told
you I can’t do it anymore!”

“
Frey!”

Frey grabbed his CO by the
neck and pinned him to the wall. Oh gods, that wasn’t his CO.
Fucking hell, he had Abbi. Her body felt so good, smelled so
fucking good. His nose was buried in her neck, fangs out. Fuck, he
had to let her go, but he needed to get his shifter under control.
Had Abbi seen his fangs?
Fuck!
What was she doing in his room?

“
Frey?” Abbi’s voice was
strained.

He didn’t remove his nose from her neck as
he whispered, “Give me a second.”

Abbi remained frozen beneath him, not that
she could move if she wanted. Her heartbeat was frantic. He had
probably scared the shit out of her, but he couldn’t move back. Not
yet. The thin t-shirt she was wearing did little to hide her full
breasts. Between his fangs popping out and the hard cock in his
boxer briefs… Thank the gods he’d put on underwear. If he was
completely naked next to his mate, he wasn’t sure he could keep his
beast under control.

Frey released Abbi’s arms and took a step
back. He couldn’t bear to look at her, to see the fear in her eyes.
He walked over to the window, keeping his back to her. He didn’t
need to push the curtain aside to know the moon was high and full.
He could feel it in his soul. The Gargoyles always knew where the
moon was. A small hand on his back surprised him. He turned his
head finding Abbi next to him.

“
Does that happen to you
every night?” she asked, removing her hand. Frey immediately missed
the connection.

“
Not every night, but
most.” He searched her eyes for fear, but instead he found
sympathy. “I’m sorry I woke you.” Abbi was staring at his face, his
mouth, as if searching for something.
Had
she seen his fangs? He turned
back toward the window, this time he did move the curtain aside so
it would appear he was looking out. She might find it odd, him
staring at the closed drapes.

“
I’ll leave you alone.”
Her fingers ghosted across his skin. Frey didn’t move, didn’t turn
around. His cock still hadn’t deflated from being pressed against
Abbi’s body, and the touch of her hand on his arm had him growing
harder. He wasn’t embarrassed for waking her; he just hoped he
hadn’t scared her.

“
Abbi?” He still couldn’t
look at her. “I’m sorry if I scared you.”

“
It’s okay,” her voice
came from across the room. He waited until he heard the soft click
of the door closing before he turned around. Scrubbing a hand down
his face, he let out a huge sigh. That had been too close for
comfort. Instead of going back to bed and risking a repeat
performance, Frey slid on a pair of jeans and headed to the
lake.

The full moon lit the pathway leading to the
dock. Not that Frey needed the light. Between his shifter eyesight
and muscle memory, he could make the walk with his eyes closed.
When he reached the end, he didn’t bother rolling his pants up. He
sat down and dangled his bare feet in the cool, calm water.

Matthew’s presence seeped into Frey’s mind
before he heard the boy’s feet tapping along the wood planks. “Mind
if I join you?” the teen asked, not bothering to wait on an answer
before he sat down.

Frey grinned at him, “I don’t guess it
matters.”

“
I figured since you were
already down here, maybe you could go ahead and give me my first
lesson in meditation. I mean, that’s why you’re down here.
Right?”

“
How’d you get so smart?”
Frey laughed. “Yes, that is exactly why I’m down here. Okay, first
thing close your eyes.”

“
Don’t we have to sit
cross-legged?”

“
Nope. It’s not about a
position of your body, but your mind. Now close your eyes.” When
Matthew complied, Frey continued, “Listen to the sounds. Separate
them. Put the frogs in one compartment, the crickets in another.
When the owl hoots, put him somewhere else. This will take a while
to master, but that’s the first thing you have to do, recognize
everything around you and put them in different boxes.” Frey closed
his own eyes and did what he told Matt to do. It would surprise him
if the teen could sit still for more than five minutes. When they
had been silent for a while, Frey said, “Tell me what you
hear.”

“
Frogs, crickets. I
haven’t heard the owl yet. There’s a dog barking in the distance.
Something splashed in the water.”

“
Very good. Do you hear a
heartbeat?”

“
Just mine beating in my
chest.”

There was no way Matt could hear his
sister’s heartbeat. Frey shouldn’t be able to, but with his
enhanced senses, he knew Abbi was behind him. He had known the
instant she stepped onto the pathway that led to the lake. Instead
of calling her out, he allowed himself to feel her presence course
through his body. Her pulse was strong as it found his and the two
synchronized. Frey couldn’t imagine how strongly they would be
connected if they were ever truly mated to one another.

Frey was proud of Matthew for sitting still
as long as he had. “I’m impressed, Matt. You did very well for your
first time. I want you to practice at least once a day. You are
welcome to come back to the lake where it’s peaceful while you are
getting the hang of it. If you get a chance, though, I want you to
try and separate the sounds when you are somewhere busy.
Eventually, you will be able to push everything out of your mind
except what you need to concentrate on. When I get you in the ring,
I want you focused solely on fighting… your rhythm, breathing,
form. There can be no outside distractions if you are to become
proficient.”

“
Wow,” Matt
whispered.

Frey didn’t think his speech was wow worthy,
so he asked, “Wow, what?”

“
I’ve never seen daylight
break.” Matt was looking around, seeing the lake for the first
time.

Frey couldn’t remember the first time he’d
watched the sun come up. That moment when the darkness gave way to
the light, so gradually, yet so suddenly, you didn’t realize it had
happened. “It’s spectacular, isn’t it?”

“
No wonder you come down
here. I...” Matt hesitated. Frey didn’t want to push, but he was
interested in what the boy had to say.

“
You?” he
prodded.

“
It’s nothing. Well, it’s
something, but it doesn’t matter. Me and Abbi won’t be here that
long.”

“
Matt, as long as you are
here, this is your home. The house, the lake, the woods, all of it.
If there comes a day you and Abbi decide you’re safe again and you
leave, you are still welcome here. Anytime.” Frey knew he was
getting too close to the boy, but Matt was part of Abbi and that
meant he was part of Frey. Even if Abbi never allowed him in her
life, he would continue to be a positive role model for
Matthew.

Matthew opened his mouth to say something
then closed it. He looked away from Frey, his shoulders hunching.
Frey wasn’t going to push.

Matt cleared his throat, finding the courage
to ask his question. “Have you ever killed anyone?”

That had not been what Frey expected to come
out of the teen’s mouth. “I was in the military, been in several
wars. So, yeah, I have.”

“
How did it make you feel?
Did it give you satisfaction or…”

“
Taking a life for any
reason is serious, Matt. I was in a war; it was kill or be killed.
Have you given this a lot of thought?” Was the boy contemplating
taking out his brother-in-law?

“
Not really. It’s just
sometimes I wonder if the world wouldn’t be better off without some
people in it.”

“
I have to say, I can
understand where you’re coming from. Not all bad people end up in
jail, but we have to try to let the justice system do its
job.”

“
I guess.” Matt stared off
across the pond, deep in thought.

“
I need coffee. Feel free
to stay down here as long as you like. Well, at least until you
have to get ready for school. I’m going to see about getting you a
math tutor for later on, if that’s okay.”

Matt nodded. “I really appreciate it. I get
out of school at three, and I don’t have to work afterwards, so any
time after that would be great.”

Frey was proud of Matthew for willingly
spending his Friday night studying instead of doing whatever it was
teenagers did now days. “I’ll see you back at the house.” Frey
stood and headed away from the lake, following Abbi’s retreating
footsteps. She was walking quickly. Every so often her steps would
falter, and she would let out a soft curse. Frey figured she was
barefoot. He took his time behind her, giving her a chance to
either hide out in her room, or confront him in the kitchen. Either
way, he was ready for his morning jolt of caffeine.

When he reached the kitchen, Abbi was
nowhere to be seen. As he prepared the coffee pot, he reached out,
sensing she was pacing back and forth in her room. He took the
opportunity to call Sixx. Not only was he going to ask him to keep
an eye on Matthew while he was at school but also tutor him. Frey
would be the one to watch over Abbi.

After he hung up with Sixx, he called Uri,
asking him to hold training by himself, explaining why. When he was
off the phone, he checked the refrigerator. Not a lot to choose
from. Normally, Frey didn’t eat breakfast. Instead he prepared a
protein shake at the gym. He would have Abbi add breakfast items to
her grocery list, and he would stop at the store later. The back
door opened, and Matt came in, more subdued than usual.

“
I was just checking to
see if I had anything for breakfast. It’s slim pickings. I can stop
and get you something on the way to school if you’d
like.”

Matthew pointed at the coffee pot. “That’s
breakfast enough for me. Besides, I can grab something in the
cafeteria.”

Frey pulled out a second coffee cup and
handed it to Matt. “Milk’s in the fridge, but I’m all out of
sugar.”

“
That’s all right, I drink
it black anyway.” Matthew helped himself to the steamy liquid,
sipping it carefully. “Ahhhh, the elixir of the gods.”