Left for Undead (7 page)

“But the truth in this case could make him lose face.”
She pushed herself up with a weary sigh. “I mean, are they really that much
worse than a Shadow male at the full moon?” She dragged her fingers through her
hair.

“I don’t know.” Hunter paused for a moment and looked
at her. “You tell me?”

Sasha opened her mouth and then closed it for a
second. “Not fair. Not fair at all. I wouldn’t know and you know that I
wouldn’t know!” She jumped off the stool and left her coffee on the counter.
Oh, hell yeah, it was time to get back to New Orleans.

“All right, maybe that was uncalled for,” Hunter
finally muttered, now standing in the bedroom doorway, watching her pack.

“Ya think?” She didn’t miss a beat slinging clothes
into her duffel bag.

“All of this hits too close to home.” He rubbed the
nape of his neck and then pushed off the wall. “You’ll have to allow me that.”

She stopped packing for a moment and placed one hand
on her hip. “So, every time your brother comes to town and whenever there’s
some personal whatever going on in the family, you’re going to go back to
something that almost happened but didn’t—when nobody, not even you guys, knew
you were related—am I hearing you right?”

“No,” Hunter said in a low rumble. “What it is, is
that I thought Shogun was settled, and he’s not.   and that unsettles
me, all right. You want the honest answer, that’s the honest answer. I told you
when we first met that I was no liar.”

“Unsettled, what the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Both hands went to her hips as she dropped the duffel bag onto the floor.

“He’s unsettled because you’re still unsettled,”
Hunter said without blinking.

“That is such
bull,
” she said, snatching up her
duffel bag and walking deeper into the bedroom.

“Look me in my eyes and tell me it’s bull and then I
will leave this subject for dead forever.”

“I’m not even going to dignify this wolf
interrogation,” she snapped, yanking clothes from the drawer to jam into the
duffel with her back still turned.

Hunter nodded and crossed his arms, watching her jerky
motions. “You and I are linked at the soul.   when you’re unsettled I
feel it. My brother and I share DNA, and when he’s unsettled I feel it. This
doesn’t mean I think anyone will act on what is there, but you will have to
allow me my occasional growl for hating that it even exists—especially when you
are so near phase and it is during the full moon.”

She felt her face get hot as her motions slowed. What
could she say? She couldn’t look at Hunter as he quietly stalked out of the
room and she straightened and closed her eyes, furious at herself and the whole
damned situation.

“She knows?” Bear Shadow was incredulous as he sat up
and pulled his body from beneath three casino beauties. He held the cell phone
to his ear, speaking softly as he climbed out of bed. “What on earth possessed
you to tell Jennifer while still in a hotel, little brother?”

Bear Shadow listened intently and then shrugged. “Seems
like a logical explanation to me—but let’s hope that delivering the message to
Silver Hawk goes as well. You may want to call Sasha first.”

Sasha clicked off the call and went to find Hunter,
bags packed. What was with everybody today? Last night’s full moon definitely
wreaked havoc. Settled? Hell, what was that? The world had gone loco in the
last twenty-four hours after months of serenity. Her brother had actually gone
to Vegas and gotten married? Good for him, but sheesh.

But it was a great conversation opener,
regardless—that is, if she could find Hunter and get him to sit down and have
breakfast with her. She wasn’t surprised that he’d left the cabin, just
thoroughly disappointed. She dropped the duffel bag on the living-room floor
with a thud, went out on the porch, and then leaned her head back and released
a long, mournful howl.

For the first time that she could remember, her
personal life was fully eclipsing a mission. This had to stop and it had to
stop right now. Before, when she was in uniform, she had personal shit going
on, but somehow having the uniform on kept her head on task. Now, with this new
unfettered entrepreneurialism, finding a rudder was harder than she’d imagined.
Where was the structure? Where was the brass that she had to report to? Where
were the rules and regs to keep her on point? Everything that she’d once hated
and had felt onerous was now feeling like a loss of control. Now she was the
brass. Now she set the schedule and all of the rules of engagement. Damn.

Maybe once she stopped by the sidhe she’d go speak to
Colonel Madison, just to give him a heads-up about the possible storm heading
his way. Going to the NAS would be familiar. It would be good to get her feet
firmly planted on a military base again. Would be good to see fellow soldiers.
Maybe some of that would click her psyche into gear.

When Hunter didn’t respond, she released another
forlorn howl. All of this was such a waste of valuable time! More than
anything, she hated that he’d been right. She also hated that this unspoken
thing between her and Shogun even existed. The scarier part of it all was
neither she nor Shogun had a clue as to how to make it go away. But one thing
was for sure: Neither of them would act on it. That’s what she repeatedly told
herself. It was her mantra. It was a pledge. She loved and respected Hunter too
much to go there. That was what had infuriated her, the insinuation that there
was more to the story than she’d already divulged and that there may be some
hint of impropriety just because of the phase of the moon.

Sasha released a hard sigh and then turned to go back
into the cabin to gather her duffel, but something gave her pause. It was an
eerie feeling preceded by an unidentifiable scent and a glimpse of something
that flashed by her peripheral vision. The hair instantly rose on the back of
her neck and along her forearms. Something clear had shot by her, almost as
though the translucent form were a heat wave of some sort. Then it was gone.

“Hunter!” Her voice gave in to panic as she leaped off
the porch and ran headlong toward the tree line. “Hunter!”

She saw him part the underbrush in his wolf form, a
few seconds from a shape-shift. Standing three feet at the shoulders, he
bounded out of the dense foliage, massive canines bared. His glossy velvet
black coat was bristled and his eyes were angrily glowing amber. She didn’t
even have to ask. He’d seen it, too. She knew it; she felt it.

“What was it?” she asked as he shifted back into his
human form.

“I don’t know.” Hunter looked behind him off into the
distance. “I came out on the porch to cool off, and then I saw something out of
the corner of my eye. It felt dark. Evil. And I knew it had no business being
anywhere near the cabin or my mate.” He turned and looked at her. “So I went
after it, but it was invisible..   I could only track it by scent and
through sensing. I had to come out of my human to do that.”

Sasha nodded. “Let’s get you some clothes and then
head to Sir Rodney’s. Vacation is over.”

“Yeah, it definitely is.”

It had been so long since she’d shadow-traveled that
the first few seconds of doing so were disorienting. Hunter had said it was
like riding a bike, but he’d been going in and out of shadow paths all of his
life. This was still relatively new to her by comparison. Two months of
serenity that was only interrupted by bursts of hot passion didn’t prepare her
for the feeling of vertigo that stepping into a shadow and racing through
mist-filled caverns created. When they came out on the other side, Sasha
clutched her large amber ward that dangled from a silver chain.

“Take two deep breaths and breathe into the amulet,”
Hunter said, stepping closer to her and placing his hands on her shoulders to
ground her.

She just nodded with her eyes closed, feeling slightly
nauseous, and let her duffel bag drop to the swamp grass. “Remind me to do a
few shadow jumps before we engage an enemy target.”

“I’ll definitely do that,” Hunter said, picking up her
duffel and hoisting it on his shoulder with his backpack. “Once we leave the
Sidhe, we should do a practice run through the bayou on the way to the French
Quarter. I don’t like how you look.” He touched the side of her face with his
fingers, gently stroking it. “You’re perspiring, but your skin is cool.”

Sasha dabbed her forehead with the back of her wrist.
She did feel clammy, but once a soldier always a soldier, and she wasn’t about
to allow a little bout of the dry heaves take her off mission. She’d already
gotten delayed enough, and now with something weird stalking her and Hunter she
didn’t have time to worry about all of that.

“I’ll be all right. It’s just the change from New
Hampshire’s morning frost to the Louisiana heat, and then throw in the
shadow-travel distortion.”

Hunter nodded but didn’t seem convinced as he leaned
his head back and released a howl to Sir Rodney’s Fae archers. Within moments
they appeared high in the treetops with a friendly wave.

“Glad to see ya, laddie,” one archer said, giving them
a nod. “Sir Garth has been pacing the floors waiting on your arrival.”

“We came as soon as we could,” Sasha hedged. “Last
night—”

“Was a full moon,” another guard said, nudging one of
his buddies with his elbow and making him smile.

“It was also inadvisable to travel at night, if there
were Vampire hostilities going on in the region,” Hunter said, giving the
smiling archers a deadpan expression.

“Of course, of course,” the lead archer said,
retaining his good nature and sounding unconvinced. “Follow us.”

Sasha let it drop and simply trudged along following
the archers as they deftly leaped from tree branch to tree branch. It was a
graceful aerial display that had to be the envy of every squirrel, but it was
dizzying to watch as full-grown men jumped distances that were surreal and
landed on limbs that shouldn’t have held the weight of a bird.

Finally they stopped and turned to look at Sasha and
Hunter. The lead archer took aim and then shot an arrow into what looked like
dense foliage. But the moment the silver-tipped weapon hit its mark the entire
Sidhe came into view, including its golden cobblestone path.

“Welcome to Forte Inverness, as always, my friends.”

“Thank you,” Sasha said, suddenly feeling the comfort
of the familiar.

“Go fetch Sir Garth,” the lead archer said to a
subordinate, sending the young man scurrying toward the lowering drawbridge.
“Meanwhile, come in and rest yourselves. ’Ave some ale and bread. I know he’ll
want to brief you before ye meet the king.”

The thought of Fae ale on an empty stomach with bread
to soak up the alcohol was surely going to make her hurl. However, the offer of
hospitality was too genuine to ruin with particulars and requests. So rather
than protest, she and Hunter just offered nods along with noncommittal smiles
as they followed their exuberant host.

As expected, nothing had changed. The sidhe still
looked like it probably had for the last several hundred years or more. Once
past the drawbridge and closer into the center of town, the lively Seelie Fae
community was bustling in what looked like a medieval open-air marketplace.
Irritable Gnome vendors hawked everything from vegetables to pheasants, magical
housewares, and all manner of garments. Small Pixie children dodged between the
stands, causing adults to fuss as they chased after the multicolored Fairies
that looked like iridescent fireflies. Cheerful Brownies called out, trying to
lure Sasha and Hunter to their stands to sample tempting treats, while Elves
worked hard at craftsman stands, creating unicorn horseshoes for the palace
cavalry.

The long walk to the palace did Sasha good. Here the
air felt balmy and the breeze was welcomed. Sasha looked up with awe. No matter
how many times she visited Sir Rodney’s magical castle, the sight of it always
stole her breath for a few seconds. Griffin Dragons circled the upper castle
turrets that were so high they actually pierced the clouds. It never eased to
amaze her how he’d created this piece of Scotland in the middle of the
Louisiana bayou, below sea level at that, but with all of the trappings of the
emerald highlands.

As soon as she and Hunter entered the castle
courtyard, a familiar retinue of palace guards came out to warmly greet them.

“You’re a sight for sore eyes, and have come none the
sooner,” a guard said, passing the word along the ranks to fetch Sir Garth.

“Glad to be here, as always,” Hunter said, clasping
the guard’s forearm in an old-world warrior greeting.

“Ale and bread for our visitors!” an archer called
out.

“Nay,” Garth said, mysteriously appearing on the front
steps. “These be wolves, laddie. Fresh-grilled meat to go with a lager.”

“I stand corrected,” the younger man said, his
cheerful voice ringing out as he bowed to Garth. “This is why you are now in
better hands.”

“Indeed,” Garth said, and then stepped in closer to
speak more confidentially. “Please, come with me. You’ll be refreshed from your
journey, but we don’t have much time. This is a delicate matter. You came here
on your own volition, understand?”