Spell Bound (Darkly Enchanted) (23 page)

“You might have to. They’ve seen what Leo can do and they’ll want him even more now.”

A chill ran through her that not even the hot tea could dispel. “What are we going to do?”

He caught and held her gaze. “That’s what we need to decide. How far are you prepared to go, Shea? What are you willing to do to save your brother?”

She didn’t have to think about that one. She owed Leo so much. “Whatever it takes.”

“Sometimes that’s not enough.”

Although his expression showed no emotion, she heard something in his tone. “You know that for a fact, don’t you?”

He nodded, his gaze never wavering. “What if I told you I could send you away, somewhere they’d never find either of you? But it’d mean you’d be in isolation for years. Could you do it? Would you be willing to give up your life to save his?”

Six years. She’d been out in the world six years. Had it been enough? Was she willing to give up the rest of her life to save Leo?

She blindly reached for a seat at the table and folded herself into it. Guilt and anguish settled on her chest with all the weight of a collapsing building.

She swallowed before speaking. “I was fifteen by the time I got truly pissed off at my parents, about the secrets they’d kept from me. When I was seventeen, I left. I was going to be a ballerina. I was so sure I’d land a spot in the Rock School in Philadelphia.”

That had been just the first of so many misconceptions and mistakes on her part. The teachers had said “Thanks, but no thanks” at the open auditions.

And blown her every hope and dream out of the water.

A soft thunk brought her attention back to Gabriel. He’d set the gun on the table and she had his full attention.

“What happened?” he asked.

His gaze locked on hers, completely focused. Those dark eyes mesmerized, made her want to tell him everything. But after all this time, that rejection still stung like an entire nest of hornets.

She looked away, shrugging. “I didn’t get in.”

“Why?”

Damn him, why wouldn’t he let this go? “Because I wasn’t good enough.”

He snorted and picked up the gun. “Yeah, right. I’ve seen you dance, Shea. You’ve got talent.”

Sudden tears made her blink. What was she supposed to say to that?

He saved her from having to answer. “Why didn’t you go home?”

Because I was too stubborn to admit defeat.
“I thought about it after the first few nights on my own. There were too many people, too many buildings, too much of everything.” She’d felt like a complete failure. And she’d wrongly blamed her parents for that. “I knew I’d have to get a job and waitressing looked easy, but you can’t earn enough at a bar to pay the bills. So I started dancing. Clubs always need women willing to take their clothes off and I don’t have much of a problem with that. About three years ago, I got lucky and found a job with a
lucani
businessman.”

Gabriel’s eyebrows rose. “Who?”

“James Riley. He was good to me, gave me a job in Trenton, found me a place to live.”

“What’d you tell him? About yourself.”

“That my parents kicked me out because I was different and I didn’t have anywhere else to go.”

Gabriel snorted. “Yeah, Jimmy can be a sucker for a pretty face and a sob story. Still, he can smell a lie before you open your mouth.”

“I think…I think maybe my dad knew all along where I was and asked Riley to look out for me. He had me waitress for a while but I wanted to dance.”

She’d often wondered what her father thought of that. Had he been horrified? Mortified?

Dad, I’m so sorry, for everything.

“How’d you end up with Leo?” Gabriel asked.

Sighing, she took a sip of her tea before answering. “My mother called to me, just before she was killed.”

Gabriel frowned. “She knew where you were then?”

She shook her head. “I heard her voice in my head, telling me I needed to come home, that I needed to get something and keep it safe.”

Gabriel paused for a few seconds and she couldn’t tell whether he believed her or not. But he didn’t push it. “You got there before Dario?”

“No, they’d already left by the time I arrived.”

His eyebrows shot up. “How’d they miss the kid?”

“My parents put him in an enchanted sleep and hid him in a secret room in the basement. I never would have found him if my mom hadn’t told me where to look.”

And if she’d never shown up, her brother would have remained in that enchanted sleep until his body had withered away and died. She shuddered at the thought.

“After she was dead?”

She nodded.

Gabriel fell silent, staring at her. She didn’t have a clue what he was thinking.

“How’d you find me?” he finally asked.

“Mom left her grimoire and a letter with Leo, telling me how to find you, what to say.”

“But she never said anything about the curse?”

She shook her head, tears starting to gather again. “She must have been pregnant with Leo when I left. Maybe they knew something like this would happen, that I’d be around to care for him if anything happened to them.”

That made sense. What didn’t make sense was why her mom hadn’t told her about the curse. Maybe her mom had been disappointed when the simple fact of her birth hadn’t broken the curse. But why hadn’t she contacted the other
streghe
and tried to figure it out? Why had they gone into hiding?

“Shea.” Gabriel’s voice cut through her thoughts. “What are you thinking?”

“That none of this makes sense.”

Goddess, that slow smile of his must make women fall at his feet. And she was halfway to the floor.

“Yeah, well, then we’d better start coming up with some answers,” he said.

“And you know someone who should have some?”

“Yeah.”

Gabriel rose and walked to the counter to rinse out his cup, glancing out the window as he did. “We need to get Leo up and—Shit.”

Spinning away from the sink, he ran for the back door.

“What’s wrong,” she called, but he was already outside.

She got to the door just as he walked back into the house, carrying a huge grey wolf in his arms, blood dripping from its back leg.

“Close the door and lock it,” he ordered. “And bring the first-aid kit. Damn it, Quinn. Don’t do this to me, not now.”

Shea grabbed the oversized kit from its spot on the kitchen counter before following Gabriel into the next room. He’d already laid the animal he’d called Quinn on its side on a soft rug by the stone fireplace and was examining the wound, cursing under his breath. Grabbing the kit out of her hands, he tore it open, reaching for a brown bottle.

“I know this is gonna hurt like hell, just don’t bite me, buddy.”

Gabriel ran an unsteady hand through the animal’s fur and she heard the wolf’s low whine. Then he turned to her, a grim look on his face.

“I’ll hold him down. You need to pour this over the wound.” He held out the liquid-filled bottle. “Just do it fast.”

He wrapped his arms around the wolf, holding the animal’s uninjured limbs close to the body. Then he nodded to Shea.

Without stopping to think, she did what he’d said.

The wolf howled loud enough to wake the dead and fought to get away, giving Gabriel nasty scratches on his cheeks, arms and legs. But Gabriel held on until the animal wore itself out.

When the wolf calmed, Gabriel released him and the animal turned toward her, his eyes blue and startlingly human. Then he closed them and went limp.

Gabriel sat there, hands on his thighs, eyes closed. He was working some kind of spell, she realized. She could feel the energy coming off of him, like heat off a stove.

She stayed silent, watching, until Gabriel opened his eyes and snagged her gaze.

“This is Quinn,
legatus
of the Eastern States Pack. Plans just changed.”

* * *

Gabriel refused to leave Quinn’s side and Shea would not leave him.

Funny thing was, he didn’t mind having her near. She left once to check on Leo and, for the few minutes she was gone, he couldn’t stop worrying. When she returned, the worry lightened and he could almost believe everything would be okay.

Gabriel wasn’t worried that someone had followed Quinn. It was possible but unlikely. Quinn would have let himself die on the side of the road before he’d lead anyone here.

Quinn must have been hit by a car. At least that’s what the damage looked like. It would’ve been funny if it hadn’t been so damn bad. Both back legs were injured, one definitely broken. He’d lost a lot of blood, if the amount on his fur was any indication. Gabriel didn’t know how long he’d spent dragging himself here.

He couldn’t shift back to his human body, the damage was too great. He’d heal at a faster rate than a human or wolf, but until then…shit.

If anything happened to Quinn, he’d… Hell, he didn’t have a clue.

Serena would be devastated.

He sat there staring at the beautiful fur he’d teased Quinn about endlessly as a teenager. They didn’t need this. Not now.

“Your legs are going to cramp,” Shea said. “Why don’t you sit up here for a while?”

He turned to find Shea watching him from the leather couch that faced the fireplace, her eyes wide and concerned.

With good reason. This screwed up everything.