Shadowed Instincts (17 page)

Morning light flooded in through the windows as Melanie’s
eyes fluttered open. She blinked a few times, then let out a deep sigh. She
snuggled further under the covers, shaking the lingering images of the bad
dream out of her mind. She smiled contentedly and curled onto her side.

She absentmindedly rubbed her hand against her side and
frowned. She pulled the covers up away from her body to confirm the odd feeling.
She was naked. Dropping the covers back into place, she rolled onto her back
and tugged at her bottom lip.

Pulling her hand away, she looked at it and gasped. She
pulled the other hand out from under the blanket and held them both in front of
her face. They were both brown with grime. Her fingernails had dirt caked
underneath them. She shivered and sat straight up.

“Tara?” she called out.

When she heard no answer, she jumped out of bed and threw on
some sweatpants and a t-shirt before running to Jeremy’s room. His door was
open and his bed looked like it hadn’t been slept in. She raced down the
stairs, calling out his name.

“Melanie. In here,” she heard Darren call out as she neared
his office.

She ran in, her chest heaving until she saw Jeremy slumped
down in the chair to her right. Walking over to him, she dropped to her knees
and took his hand. He gave her a small smile and squeezed her palm.

“Are you okay?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah, I guess. Are you okay?”

She shook her head quickly. “What happened out there? How
did I end up in my bed? I can’t remember.”

“Chris used his alpha power over Jeremy to keep him from
moving,” Darren said. “He knocked out Declan, who was on patrol, intending it
to look like he and Jeremy were fighting over you and killed each other.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Melanie said.

Jeremy squeezed her hand again and said, “That’s when you
showed up and knocked him off of me. Twice. You saved my life, Melanie.”

“Now we’re even,” she said with a half-smile, remembering
how he had saved her from Mr. Hughes, more than once.

“Yeah,” Jeremy said, his head falling forward. “Right.”

Melanie looked over at Darren and quietly said, “Chris?”

Darren shook his head sadly, and suddenly everything came
rushing back to Melanie at once. The fight, the taste of blood in her mouth,
Chris body falling limply to the ground in front of her. She fell backwards
onto her butt with a gasp. Tears filled her eyes as she looked from Darren back
to Jeremy.

“I…k-killed him?” she asked weakly.

“Melanie,” Darren said firmly as he stood and walked around
the desk toward her. One arm was in a sling, wrapped tightly with bandages.
Using his other arm, he pulled her up from the floor and wrapped her in a tight
hug. “It’s not your fault. Chris was going to kill all three of us if he had
the chance. You saved us all.”

“But-”

“Shush now,” Darren whispered as he squeezed her even
tighter then pushed her back to arm’s length so he could look into her eyes.
“Everything is going to be fine. I promise.”

Nodding his head at her, he released her and walked back to
his desk, leaned against it and changed the subject. “Jeremy’s parents are on
their way. They’ll be here this afternoon.”

Sucking in a gasp of air, Melanie asked, “Where’s Tara?”

“She’s at the Brown’s house, sitting with Declan. He has a
pretty bad concussion and honestly, I don’t think she’s quite ready to talk
about everything she witnessed last night.”

“Well…do you blame her?” Melanie said with a
self-deprecating laugh. “She saw her boyfriend shift into a dog and try to kill
one of her best friends. Then, she saw me turn into a dog, followed by Jeremy.
She saw her boyfriend die. Just one of those things would be too much for
anyone to handle.”

“She’s a strong one. She’ll figure out how to deal with
this, trust me.”

“I have to go talk to her.”

“I’m not sure if this is the right time,” Darren said sadly.
“She’s had quite the shock-”

“Of course she has! She needs her best friend, if she even
still considers me that. I’ll be back soon.” She stood and paused, glancing at
Jeremy. “Are you going to be okay?”

“Yeah,” he said giving her a tired smile. “Go. Call me if
you need backup. Darren, I’m going to go lie down for a while.”

“Okay, but when you’re ready, the three of us need to talk.”

Melanie and Jeremy walked out together and parted at the
bottom of the stairs. With a hug and a light kiss, he headed up to his room and
she walked out the front door. Pausing on the porch, she inhaled deeply and
enjoyed the feel of the morning sun on her skin.

“Time to face the music,” she whispered sadly, then headed
down the steps and down the path to the Brown’s residence.

Melanie knocked on the door and shifted her weight nervously
as she waited. She heard footsteps leading to the door. It swung open to reveal
Chad looking haggard from a long night of no sleep. Melanie flinched as she
thought of how she accused Declan and tried to make his own father doubt him.

“Melanie,” he said wearily.

“Chad…I’m so sorry.”

He held up a hand to stop her. “It’s over. I understand why
you suspected him. Even though I knew my son couldn’t possibly be the one
responsible, I can see your point of view. Let’s just forget about it and move
on.”

“How is he?”

“He’ll be fine. He has a slight concussion and one hell of a
headache, but he’s alive thanks to you. Your friend has been taking good care
of him.” His words were followed by a small, thoughtful smile.

“How does she seem?”

Chad shook his head. “She’s had a shock, that’s for sure. I
think she’s taken over Declan’s care to try and keep her mind off of it.”

“I need to talk to her.”

“Of course,” he said, moving aside and holding out his arm
to invite her in. “She’s upstairs in Declan’s room. Down the hall, second door
on the right.”

After thanking him, Melanie slowly ascended the stairs,
dragging her feet as if she were headed for the executioner rather than to see
her best friend. That was what she feared the most, that Tara wouldn’t consider
them best friends anymore. The secrets and lies had piled up to epic
proportions. Add to that the violence Tara had witnessed and Melanie worried they
could never come back from that.

Pausing in front of the bedroom door, Melanie took a deep
breath and tapped lightly. Immediately deciding they were sleeping, she turned
to leave and told herself she would come back later.

“Coward,” she growled to herself as she continued to step
toward the staircase.

The door behind her creaked open and she turned to see Tara
stepping out and closing it quietly behind her. Melanie took one small step
toward her, her body trembling with anxiety, unsure of what to do or say. When
they both just stood there staring at each other, Melanie realized she was
going to have to speak first.

“How’s Declan?” she asked softly.

“He’s okay. He fell asleep a little while ago. We had to
keep waking him up every hour last night to make sure the concussion wasn’t
more serious.”

“How are you?” Melanie asked, taking a small step forward.

Tara took a quick step back and Melanie’s shoulders slumped,
her worst fear realized. She held up her palms in a placating manner, like she
was facing a frightened animal.

“Tara, I-”

“Not here,” Tara said, cutting her off.

She brushed past Melanie and headed down the stairs. Melanie
trailed behind her, gritting her teeth in an attempt to keep the tears at bay.
She followed Tara out the front door and down the lane back to the main house.
Without a word, Tara led the way straight up to Melanie’s bedroom and sat on
the bed, staring down at her hands.

Melanie gently closed the door behind her and leaned back
against it. She waited patiently for Tara to speak. After several minutes
passed, Melanie lost her patience and strode forward.

“Tara, I’m so sorry.”

Tara held up a hand to silence her before saying, “Explain
this to me. Start from the beginning and don’t leave anything out.”

Melanie nodded her head brusquely and pulled the desk chair
out and plopped down. She took a moment to get her thoughts in order. Gathering
her strength, she took a deep breath and began speaking.

“It all goes back to the night Mr. Hughes attacked me.”

“What the hell does-”

“Please, Tara. This is hard enough. Just let me get it all
out before you start yelling. Please.” Her voice was pleading.

Tara nodded. “Okay, fine. Tell me.”

“Mr. Hughes attacked me, and Ace saved me. Later, after
Jeremy and I got together, he told me the truth. He
is
Ace.” At Tara’s
sharp intake of breath, Melanie held up a hand. “That was his big family
secret. The one I couldn’t tell you about.”

“But you said Chris wasn’t…”

“I know,” Melanie said softly when Tara trailed off. “Jeremy
didn’t know. I asked him and he said that Chris wasn’t a shifter. Chris didn’t
know anything about it…or so we thought.”

After a brief silence, Tara nodded and said, “Go on.”

“When things started to change for me, like the weight loss
and the anger issues, my mom called my dad. Apparently, she knew what he was
and recognized the signs in me. She knew what I would become. He rushed down to
Georgia and broke the news to me.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“What was I supposed to say, Tara? Oh, by the way, Jeremy’s
a shapeshifter and so am I?”

“You could have trusted me.”

Melanie laughed harshly. “You would have thought I was crazy
and you know it.”

Tara looked down and motioned for Melanie to continue. “Keep
going.”

“Okay. So, Jeremy realized after meeting my dad that his
parents had been lying to him his whole life. They told him they were the only
ones and that he could never tell anyone. Long story short, he was in line to
be alpha and members of his pack wanted him dead before he was even born. They
ran. They spent their lives in hiding, trying to protect him from the threat.

“When my parents decided to make me come here, he convinced
his parents to let him come too, so he could learn about our kind. They didn’t
want to agree, but my dad assured them that he could protect Jeremy.”

“So how does…Chris fit into all of this?” Tara asked brokenly.

Melanie looked at Tara, empathy shining in her eyes.
“Chris’s mom is Jeremy’s mom’s illegitimate half-sister. She never shifted, so
Jeremy’s family assumed that gene wasn’t passed to her. I haven’t got all the
details, but from what I gather, it skipped a generation. Last night,
before…you know…I heard Chris telling Jeremy he had killed their grandfather to
become the alpha. Chris thought Jeremy was a threat to his position, so he’s
been trying to kill Jeremy to eliminate that threat.”

“Oh my God,” Tara whispered. “I thought I was falling in
love with him. I was going to give my…Oh, God.”

Melanie stood and walked over to the bed. She sat down next
to Tara and gingerly put her arm around Tara’s shoulders. She released a pent
up breath when Tara didn’t immediately jerk away from her.

“I’m sorry, Tara. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you everything
before. I’m sorry I lied and I’m sorry about Chris.”

Tara sniffed. “So you turn into a dog,” she said. At
Melanie’s nod, she continued, “So does Jeremy.”

It was a statement, not a question, but Melanie answered
anyway. “Yes.”

“And Declan?”

“Everyone here, with the exception of you and my mom, is a
shifter.” The corner of Melanie’s mouth lifted slightly. “That’s why I had to
take such extreme measures to make sure no one could hear us when I talked to
you. Exceptional hearing and eyesight are part of the package.”

Tara’s face lit up with understanding. “Okay…I get it now.”
She let out a small laugh. “I thought you were being so paranoid and weird.”

Melanie sighed. “I know.  I wanted to tell you the truth so
many times…and I would have. I made the decision to tell you as soon as we
eliminated the threat against Jeremy and I had shifted for the first time.”

“Last night was your first time?”

Melanie nodded. “Yes. I knew I would need to prove it to
you.” She laughed. “Jeremy had to prove it to me. I was so freaked out.”

“And that’s why you were acting so weird about him the next
day,” Tara said, the realization dawning on her.

“Yeah.”

Tara took a deep breath and stood up, appearing to end the
conversation. “Thank you for telling me.”

Melanie joined her, twisting her hands together. “Are
we…okay?”

“I don’t know, Mel. I’m going to need some time. This is a
lot to take in.”

“Of course. I understand,” Melanie said sadly.

“I have to go home today. Chr…Chris was supposed to drive me
home.” Tara’s eyes welled up.

“Oh, God. What are you going to do? What will you tell your
parents?”

Melanie lifted her arm to embrace Tara, but paused when she
saw the other girl flinch. She dropped her arm dejectedly and took a step back.

Tara spoke quickly, trying to cover the awkwardness of the
exchange. “Your dad bought me a plane ticket for tonight. He’s having one of
his men drive me to the airport this afternoon.  I called my parents and told
them Chris got called away unexpectedly and had to drive to New York to see his
parents. They’re picking me up at the airport in Atlanta.”

“Okay. Well, I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you, too,” Tara said. She took a small step
forward and leaned in, giving Melanie a stiff hug. “I’m still your best friend.
I just need some time to process all this.”

“I get it,” Melanie said with a sniff. “Come say bye to me
before you leave, okay?”

“Yeah, of course.”

Melanie nodded and turned to leave. She opened the door and
paused, turning back to Tara. With a sad smile, she said, “I love you, Tara.”