Gena Showalter - Intertwined 02 (23 page)

“Wait. Want? No. Not even close.” She wouldn't have him believing he meant nothing to her. He meant
everything
. “I just don't want to hurt you, Riley.”

“And I don't want to hurt you.” He reached over and clasped her hand, their fingers intertwining. His skin was warm, callused. “So here's the thing. We have two days. Two days before the death curse takes effect, and I don't want to spend those days fighting with you.”

Oh, God. She'd never thought of things that way. Two days, yeah, she'd realized—and hated—that, but how she would spend those days? Enjoying them or lost to misery? No. Not even a blip.

“I don't either,” she admitted.

He brought her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss into her pulse, hot, soft, his tongue even flicking out for a quick taste. Goose bumps spread. “Good, because I want to be with you while we face this. After that, you can
break up with me if that's what you still want. Just don't expect me to like it or walk away without a fight.”

Two more days with him, enjoying rather than wallowing over what could have been. She couldn't resist, even though every new minute she spent with him, as if they were a couple, would deepen her sense of connection to him. Even though breaking up with him the first time had nearly killed her, so doing it again would definitely finish her off. She wasn't hurting him physically, wasn't destroying his wolf-side—yet. Two more days with him would be fine.

And that was not an invitation to the Universe to prove her wrong.

“Okay. Yes.” With the words, a weight lifted from her shoulders and she suddenly felt ten pounds lighter. “I want to be with you, too.”

He pushed out a relieved breath. “All right, then. I can kill my brothers for hurting you now.”

She laughed, so happy she could have burst. “No, you can't. You asked them to train me.”

“And I told them to be careful with you.”

“How am I supposed to learn if they treat me like breakable china?”

“Doesn't mean I have to like it,” he grumbled.

Sweet boy.

Grinning, Mary Ann turned her attention outside. With the appearance of the moon, there was a radiant
golden glow cast over the forest, dust sparkling in the muted light like glitter, and then, as the trees thinned out and buildings came into view, she saw that the glow and the glitter spread to the brick, creating an eerily beautiful, well, aura. Was that what Riley saw around human bodies? Then she spied the litter dotting the streets, and the glow faded.

Riley parked between a gas station and a laundromat, the shadows cast from both hiding their car. The sidewalks were barren and the stores were empty, as if everyone had gone home early. To prepare for the coming party Penny had told her about?

He opened his door, but rather than step out, he remained in place, peering over at her. “If you sense any witches…”

“I'll tell you immediately. I swear.”

With a grateful nod, he emerged and strode to her side before she had time to open her door. He did it for her and extended a hand to help her up and out. Such manners—his mother would be proud—and such endearing sweetness, all wrapped in that bad-boy package.

How had she broken up with him, even for a second? Stupid girl.

Yeah, but you want him to survive
.

Oh, yeah.

The air was colder now, with a bit of a bite, but Riley draped an arm around her shoulders, keeping her tucked
against him and his delicious heat while they explored. Good thing, too. She sensed no magic, and with every step, she weakened a bit more, her body trembling. What was wrong with her?

“Still cold?” he asked.

“No.” Her stomach twisted, utterly empty and ready to erupt into complaints. Was she, dare she hope, hungry? Yes. Yes, she was. She ground to a halt and grinned. “Riley. You're not going to believe this, but I'm starving. I'm actually starving!”

He didn't share her good humor. One of his brows arched as he asked, “For food?”

“Of course.” Except, she thought of a slice of her favorite cheese pizza, and the twisting in her stomach became cramping. She thought of beef lo mein, the last real meal she remembered having with her dad, and the cramps gave way to sharp aches.
Don't give up
. She thought of chicken noodle soup, what her mom had fed her each time she'd been sick, and the twisting started up again.

She thought of magic, filling her up, sweeping through her, consuming her, threads of warmth and power weaving inside her, forming a blanket of serenity and strength, and her stomach calmed. Just. Like. That.

Oh…no…

Hope died, burned to ash forevermore. She'd realized the truth before, but just then she knew, bone deep. She
was
a Drainer, and there was no use pretending otherwise or clinging to false hope. She fed off of magic. She destroyed.

“No,” she whispered, dejection replacing her joy. “Not for food.”

Riley's arm tightened around her. He kissed her temple, an I-still-like-you gesture, and they kicked back into gear. They continued their exploration, silent, and she tried not to worry. As she'd thought, the stores were empty. Even the twenty-four-hour drive-through taco joint that stayed open on Christmas.

“This isolation is weird,” she finally said.

“Yeah. Picking up on anything?”

“Not yet.” There wasn't a single whiff of magic, and with every second that passed, her hunger for it intensified. She needed…

A few minutes later, Riley's brothers joined them, human and dressed again. Thankfully, Riley didn't threaten or chastise them as he'd claimed. He just drew Mary Ann even closer to him, distracting her from her gnawing hunger.

“Saw several cars on their way here,” Nathan said.

“All kids, no adults,” Maxwell added.

And sure enough, tires were soon squealing and kids pouring out of several vehicles. Beer bottles were soon clanking together. Someone cranked their radio up as
loud as it would go. Laughter sounded, whoops and whistles, and conversations rose.

The party had officially started, it seemed, but every attendee was human, not a supernatural creature among them. Disappointment ate at her as one hour ticked by, then another. There was dancing, a few make-out sessions, unexpected hookups, one fight, lots of drinking, and even a bonfire, right there in the middle of town. The cops didn't show up, and the few adults who did arrive joined the festivities rather than break them up.

Penny was going to find out Mary Ann had come, and there would be hell to pay. Couldn't be helped, though.

Mary Ann watched and waited, no longer quite so distracted from the hunger pains in her belly. She was still weakening, again trembling. Perhaps coming here hadn't been such a good idea. In fact, she'd opened her mouth to ask Riley to take her home when Brittany Buchanan spotted her and raced over. Britt wasn't stumbling, thank God. In Mary Ann's current mood, she didn't think she could deal with a slobbering, slurring, human beer keg.

“Can we talk?” the girl asked, nervously tugging Mary Ann away from Riley before she had time to respond.

He maintained his grip. She tossed him an I'll-be-fine glance, whispered, “If she gets out of line, I'll smack her.” He fought a self-deprecating grin, nodded stiffly
and finally released her. However, his gaze followed her every movement.

“Is something wrong?”

Britt shook her head, and when they were on the other side of the bonfire, kids dancing around them, her friend leaned close and said, “First, what have you been doing? Rolling in the dirt?” She smiled to lessen the sting of her words. “I don't have to ask who you were rolling with, though, do I?
Anyway
. That's not why I dragged you away. Tell me, who's the hottie and is he available?”

Ah. A crush. “Which one?”

“The one that reminds me of a great big snowflake.”

“That's Nathan, Riley's brother.” Away from Riley's warmth, her trembling intensified. “As far as I know, he's single.”

Britt's eyes widened. “Really? Introduce me. Please! You promised. Remember? Oh, this is so exciting!” She clapped and jumped up and down. “Do it now, do it now or I'll
die.
”

“Come on.” Mary Ann led her back to the group of wolf-shifters and made the introductions. Nathan barely paid her any attention. Maxwell, however, shook her hand and smiled at her, a wicked smile that should have melted the girl into butter.

Only, Brittany wanted nothing to do with him. Her attention was primarily focused on Nathan—who
couldn't have been ruder. For the most part, he ignored her. When he did finally deign to speak to her, he did so with a cold, clipped tone.

“You're a borderline asshole, you know that?” Maxwell muttered to him.

“Only borderline? I must be off my game,” Nathan replied, unrepentant.

Mary Ann wanted to slap him, and would have, if Riley hadn't sensed her intentions and grabbed her wrist.

Finally, Brittany gave up. “I can see our conversation was completely unnecessary, Mary Ann, but thanks for the intro.” With that, she wandered back to her circle of friends.

Maxwell punched Nathan in the arm. Nathan flipped him off. The two stomped off in different directions.

Riley drew Mary Ann in front of him and settled her body against his. More warmth. Hunger, fading from her awareness as she savored. Hmm. She wouldn't have too many more moments like this, she suspected, so she had to enjoy them while she could.

“Your brother,” she said with a shake of her head.

“The curse,” Riley whispered in her ear.

“What?”

“Remember? When one of my brothers is attracted to a girl, she will only see him as ugly. When my brothers are not attracted to a girl, she will see his true self.”

Oh. Poor boys. That meant Maxwell had been attracted to Brittany and Nathan had not.

The only way to break the curse was for the boys to die. Like humans, wolves were not always able to be resuscitated. So killing them just to better their love lives? Not gonna happen. The risk—
permanently
dying—wasn't worth the reward.

“Besides, Nathan doesn't date humans. Ever,” Riley further explained. “Which is why every female here is eyeing him like he's candy. They want what they instinctively know they can't have.”

“A few are eyeing Maxwell that way,” she said, oddly defensive of the gold wolf. “And you, too, of course.”

“The ones looking at Max aren't his type, and therefore see his true self. And I haven't noticed anyone looking at me but you.”

She traced her fingers over his arms and wished they were alone so she could tell him how beautiful he was, inside and out, and then kiss him, taste him, making the most of their time together.

“Should we leave?” Mary Ann asked, doing her best not to sound hopeful. They had a mission, after all. A very important one, at that.

His sigh ruffled her hair. “Yeah. The witches are staying away. They knew we would come.”

She wouldn't feel guilty about that. Much. “So why not just fight us?”

“I don't know. Maybe they're planning something. Maybe they're searching for their friend.”

She didn't mean to, but she stiffened. What if they succeeded? What would happen if her group lost their only bargaining chip? Nothing good, that was for sure.

“Don't worry,” Riley said. “They won't find her. They can't track like wolves can.”

Slowly she relaxed.
There's nothing more you can do here. For once, enjoy yourself
.
Before it's too late.
She twisted in his arms, rose on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss onto his lips. Soft, sweet…but not enough. “Riley…”

He jerked her as close to him as he could get her. His breathing was suddenly labored, sawing in and out of his mouth. “Let's go somewhere private,” he said hoarsely.

“Yes,” she said, melting into that puddle of butter as Brittany should have. “Let's.”

“—S
AID YOU WERE GOING TO
be out of it because of the medication, but I'm a little worried. Are you okay?”

Dan's voice dragged Aden out of a long, dark tunnel. A bouncy tunnel. He blinked open his eyes. A moment passed before he oriented himself and realized he was in Dan's truck, local shops whizzing past, a party taking place outside them.

“Aden?” Dan prompted.

“What? Sorry.”

“You okay?”

“Yeah. Sure.” He rubbed his temples, then his eyes. How had he gotten in the truck? Last thing he remembered, he'd walked inside Dr. Hennessy's office, the sun dimming but shining, the air cool. After that he'd… He frowned. He didn't remember. Now, the moon was high and golden.

What had they talked about? How much time had passed?

His frown deepened. He didn't remember that, either.

Medication, Dan had said. Had Dr. Hennessy dosed him without his knowledge? “Hello,” Aden whispered under his breath. “You guys there?”

Present
.

Accounted for
.

Here
.

No medication then. If Dr. Hennessy had forced the drugs on him, the souls would be unable to communicate with him. He wanted to ask them if they remembered what had happened, but couldn't. Not with Dan here.

“Are we just now leaving his office?”

“Yeah. You were pretty out of it, so I waited as long as I could before taking off with you, just in case you needed medical attention.” There was sympathy in Dan's voice. Clearly, he assumed Aden was regressing. “We've got the dinner with the new tutor, and we're already a little late, so I finally hauled butt out of there.”

None of this made any sense. He suddenly recalled sitting in his chair, filled with dread but resolved. Then…nothing.

“If you need to take tomorrow off from school,” Dan said, “I'll understand.”

“No. I'll be fine.” He hoped. He still had witches to hunt. “Did Dr. Hennessy say anything else?”

“Only that he was sorry you had such an adverse reaction to your therapy. Well, that, and you weren't taking your medication properly. That true?”

Aden hated lying to Dan, and had to do so all too often. He wouldn't do it now, he decided. “Yes. It's true.”

“Why? Don't you want to get better?”

Surprisingly, there'd been no anger to the question. “I'm not crazy. I don't need to get better.”

Dan scowled at him. He was in his thirties, with sandy hair and hazel eyes, and those eyes most often regarded Aden with kindness and understanding. Just then, the anger Aden had expected dominated them. “You still talk to yourself. Of course you're not better. You'll have to do better than that if you want me to help get you off the meds.”

Dan would help? Deep down, where every betrayal and rejection he'd ever received festered, unable to heal, Aden simply couldn't believe it was possible. They'd find out the truth soon enough, though. “You want to know why? Fine. The pills make me tired, foggy. When I'm on them, I can't think right, or at all, really. They make me stupid and I have enough to deal with without adding bad decisions and bad names to the mix. And yeah, I'm called names.
Retarded
being at the top of the list.”

Several seconds passed in silence, seeming to stretch
into eternity. “Well, okay, then. We'll talk to the doctor about putting you on something else.”

Just like that? That was…that was…still unbelievable. He decided to push a little more. “I don't like Dr. Hennessy, Dan. He creeps me out, and I'd rather you didn't talk to him about me. At all.”

Dan tossed him a guarded glance. “Creeps you out, how?”

“I don't know. I just don't like the way he looks at me.”

The patent stillness of a predator overcame Dan. “Has he ever touched you, Aden? In an improper way?”

“No,” he said, and Dan relaxed. Then he added, “Kind of,” as he remembered the way Hennessy had perched at the edge of his recliner, holding that recorder. “Oh, I don't know. I just don't feel…safe with him.”

“Well, I don't like that. Not at all, and I won't tolerate it. So I'll talk to your caseworker about getting you another doctor, but I'll be honest. This is a small town and we're running out of options. In fact, I remember the list from last time and there was only one other name. Dr. Morris Gray.”

Mary Ann's dad. Aden's stomach clenched, even as he realized Dan truly meant to help him. Dr. Gray had been his doctor years ago. They both recalled that, and how Dr. Gray had tossed him out of his office because Aden had admitted to time-traveling—exactly what
Mary Ann's mom used to claim to do. He'd thought Aden had stolen and read his journals about his wife's history, and had erupted.

Dr. Gray still thought so, because he didn't want to admit the truth, that his wife hadn't been crazy, that he'd tried to medicate her for nothing. That she'd died because no one had listened to her, helped her. Therefore, Aden and Dr. Gray did
not
get along.

“No,” Aden said with a shake of his head.

“Wouldn't matter anyway. Dr. Gray already turned us down because he had too many other patients.”

Yeah. Right. “Maybe we could find someone in the city.”

“That's close to a thirty-minute drive one way, and we just don't have time for that, but I promise you I'll be thinking. Something will be done. I don't want you to be uncomfortable. Okay?”

“Okay.” That was more than Aden had hoped for, a dream come true. The adult responsible for his care had just proved he…cared. How had such a crappy day taken such a wonderful turn?

When they reached the ranch, Aden hopped out of the truck. “I want to wash up before I eat,” he said, and after Dan's okay, he trekked to his room.

The bunkhouse was empty, the boys already at the main house. Aden shut himself in the bathroom, happy
with Dan, with the unexpected support, with the fact that he would never have to see Dr. Hennessy again.

At the sink, he twisted the knobs until warm water sprayed and soaked his hands. “Guys?” he whispered to the souls. One by one, they acknowledged him. “Do you remember what happened in that office?”

No,
Caleb said.
I'm like a black hole right now, and it's seriously messing with my mojo.

Who cares about mojo? I barely remember the day at all,
Julian said.

It's like my memory has been scrubbed,
Elijah said,
and I don't like it.

So, what had been done to them during all those minutes inside Hennessy's mind? Wait. He'd been inside Hennessy's mind?

Even as the question formed, his own memory seemed to be sprayed with Windex and wiped clean. He frowned at his pale reflection in the mirror, trying to relive the past five minutes. Nothing. The last hour. Still nothing. Droplets of water splashed onto his hands, but he suddenly couldn't remember walking into the bathroom, much less turning on the faucet.

His frown intensified. “What are we doing in here?”

Cleaning up,
Caleb said with an unspoken “duh.”
We've got a new tutor to meet.

“Oh, yeah.” He shook his head, rattling the sense of uneasiness working through him. “Let's get this over with.”

 

O
NCE AGAIN
, T
UCKER
found himself huddled in the underground crypt, dust in his nose, darkness a vise around him and a damp chill stroking him with bony fingers. He was shaking this time. Not because he was weak—he was physically stronger now than he'd been last time—but because he could feel the menace pouring through the air. Thick, like blood. Acrid, like burning rubber.

What was in store for him? Nothing good, that was for sure. And why? He'd done everything he'd been told. He'd followed Aden. He'd kept watch. Yeah, he'd veered off course a few times, following Mary Ann instead, making sure she got to where she wanted to go without any problems, but he'd always gone back to Aden. Always.

“I am not pleased with you, boy.”

The smooth voice came from just a few feet away from him, though he couldn't see the speaker, and jolted him far worse than if Vlad had yelled. “I—I'm sorry. I'm trying. Please, don't punish me.” He couldn't make himself stand and run, no matter how much he wanted to. God, did he want to. But he also wanted to please this man, this deposed king, the need a part of him, as much as
his lungs or his heart, and right now Vlad wanted him to stay put.

“Punish you? Perhaps. You aren't trying hard enough.”

“You're not doing anything, either,” he muttered before he could stop himself. Then he cringed, expecting a violent retaliation.

“I am healing, you fool. My people cannot see me like this.”

“Of course, of course.”

“I have questions, and you
will
get me answers. How is the human, Aden, leading my people? Why are they following him? How is he still alive?” Each question was more clipped than the last.

“I don't… I have no—” But he did. From everything Tucker had witnessed, only one answer made sense. “Tell me!”

Vlad had yelled the words, and Tucker had just realized he'd been wrong. Nothing was worse than hearing this vampire shout his disapproval. The deep, rolling waves of his fury were tongues of fire, licking, feasting. Tucker gulped. Just as part of him wanted to run, part of him wanted to hold his next words inside.

That part of him lost to self-preservation. “The wolves protect him.”

“The wolves.” Silence followed. Thick, heavy silence. Gut-wrenching, sweat-inducing silence, but finally,
blessedly, Vlad spoke again. “Continue observing him. I have much to consider.”

Not an order to kill, and yet, Tucker experienced a sickening wave of dread. That final order was coming. Of that, he had no doubt.

 

D
INNER
S
UCKED
.

Oh, the food was good—Meg Reeves was an excellent cook—and Aden loved him some pot roast and potatoes. And this room, the “formal” dining room, was wicked cool. Aden never felt more like part of a family than when he was here. Something about the long, square table that Dan had crafted himself, the wallpaper with cherries and wheelbarrows, of all things, and the cabinet brimming with Meg's favorite china. This was what a home should look like.

But the new “tutor”…he shuddered. Or perhaps shivered. The word “hot” didn't do her justice. However, the word “fairy” did. Thomas had been right. His family had come looking for him. The new tutor was none other than Ms. Brendal, his sister.

Aden had immediately realized how precarious the situation was, but he hadn't been able to bail. That would have looked too suspicious. So here he sat. And ate. And pretended to be as normal as the others.

All the boys were around him. Shannon and Ryder, who sat across from each other, refusing to look at each
other, were too quiet. Seth was leaned back in his chair, one arm resting on the back slat, his gaze telegraphing
come hither
. RJ, Terry and Brian were openmouthed and dumbstruck. Dan sat at the head of the table and beautiful Meg at the foot. They, too, seemed to be under the fairy's spell, raptly listening to her every word as if she were the savior of the world.

Even the souls were listening to her, waxing poetic about her face and body. Sadly, he wanted to join them.

Ms. Brendal sat across from Aden, and yeah, she
was
beautiful. Probably the most physically perfect being he'd ever seen. She had big, sparkling brown eyes that were somehow familiar to him, but her long, curling blond hair was not. He didn't think. Her skin was so golden and luminous she could have swallowed the sun. And she smelled like jasmine and honeysuckle.

He loved jasmine and honeysuckle, more than anything. He loved Brendal, too.

His hands curled into fists. He had to stop thinking like that, but didn't know how. Even though he knew what she was, he was more drawn to her with every second that passed…had the urge to protect her…hell, even to lay his head on her feet just to be near her. Caress her, kiss her…worship her. And that was dangerous (not to mention embarrassing). For Victoria, as well as himself. This woman, this lovely fairy, was his enemy.
She would want to murder him the moment she learned what had happened to Thomas.

A fact that Thomas delighted in pointing out, over and over again. The ghost stood behind her, desperately trying to gain her attention, screaming at the top of his ghostly lungs, kicking at the table, the chairs, tugging at Ms. Brendal's hair, and when that didn't work, shouting threats at Aden. “My sister will avenge me. This I swear.”

Behind that delightful scene was Victoria. She'd come to the ranch a bit ago to wait in Aden's bedroom until this dinner ended, wanting to talk to him, about what he didn't know. But then she'd spied Brendal, and it had been game on—even though—or maybe
because
—fairies hated vampires and preferred to kill them on sight, and Aden had the dubious honor of being king of the vampires. Victoria now paced outside the house, just in front of the window across from Aden. Only he could see her, she blended so well into the night, but that didn't help his sense of doom.

“I hope everyone is ready for dessert,” Meg said, standing. She was a petite woman, with delicate features and hair that couldn't decide if it wanted to be brown or blond.

“I'm always ready for one of your desserts,” Dan told her with a warm smile. They loved each other,
and Aden's chest constricted every time he saw them together.

“I'll just be a moment.” Smiling, too, Meg skipped off to the kitchen.

“You keep peering just over my shoulder, Aden.” Even Brendal's voice was beautiful, soft, like a song. “Why?” She turned to look, and Victoria swiftly moved out of sight.