Wolfen Secrets (The Western Werewolf Legend #3) (15 page)

Smitty cleared his throat behind him.

Ty turned to see his sergeant standing
nearby. The sight of the beefy captain standing, feet braced,
holding his filthy, tattered cavalry hat in his hands, made Ty
pause. He was a decent looking fellow, Ty supposed. The doves in
the saloons always enjoyed his company. Still, he must be lonely.
Maybe there was a special someone Ty could introduce him to once
they reached Shooter Creek. “You have an update, Sergeant?”

The tendency to salute a superior officer
played out in his jerky hand movement coupled with the squint of
his eyes. “Yes sir, Lieutenant...sir. There’s been no activity in
the under the hill landing since daybreak. New boxes sit on the
dock only because the hands haven’t removed them to a safer place
by now. I ‘spect the boat docked during the night. We didn’t hear
anything, which leads me to believe they have this off load down to
an art. Do you want me to continue the watch?”

“Keep a man posted, Smitty. We should learn
all we’re able about our new business partners. Baby can watch. I
don’t want him involved in another skirmish. His maw would like to
see him come home from this war, I wager.”

Smitty nodded.

“What’s Sonja been up to?”

Smitty pursed his lips, shaking his shaggy
mane. “Nothing, sir.”

Chapter 6 - For a Werewolf’s Love

The
river road meandered past plantations with their loading docks,
their private warehouses, as well as their prestige. Ty let the
horse have his head. Why did Sonja continue to keep secrets from
him? Hortence wouldn’t reveal the cause of Sonja’s fainting spell.
She said he’d have to ask his mate. Weren’t mates supposed to
confide in one another? Sonja continued to keep him in the dark
whenever it suited her. She was up to something. What he couldn’t
say.

The moss hung heavy in the live oaks. Their
boughs draped across the road like a grand canopy against the
morning sun beating down from the sky. Glancing up, Ty noted small
squirrels playing in the branches of the old trees. Time moved slow
and lazy here along the outskirts of town. The meeting with
Sturgeon was set for midnight. He’d be gone most of the night
loading and unloading the ammunition. His plan to set fire to the
coven required all the gunpowder he could get his hands on and
would have to go off without a hitch if they were to see the end of
the damn vampires. Those bastards couldn’t follow them to Texas.
That was all there was to it.

Working up a good head of mad wasn’t going to
do him any good, Ty mused. He needed his wits about him. A four in
hand drove by. The fashionably dressed couple smiled politely until
they recognized the color of his skin. No big surprise. His mind
darted back to the predicament with Sonja. Maybe she was having
doubts, probably about the encounter with Claudine. Truth be told,
she had a right to her suspicions. She’d already questioned him
more at every turn each time he returned from being gone most of
the night. The reminder ignited a quick twist in his gut. It didn’t
matter! The less she knew about the plan the better. The woman
needed to remember he was the man. He would see to their
protection.

The night of the Indian attack still lived in
his mind’s eye. He shuddered with the image of the vampire, Robert,
her dead husband biting her right in front of his eyes. He wasn’t
able to do anything then. He bore a nagging suspicion he’d be
unable to do anything in the future. Her burden was hers, yet he
couldn’t let her stare down the vampires alone. His plan would
work. He’d take care of the problem without the worry of her safety
to distract him.

It was a perfect plan. They’d infiltrate the
coven with Jeb’s help, launching a surprise attack. No one would
guess what they were about until it was too late. Ty smiled to
himself. A needling sensation danced across his hairline. Where was
the trust between mates when he wouldn’t share any of this with
her?

Guilt trotted out and tipped its hat at him.
Smiling smugly, his damn conscience wagged a pointed finger at him.
Surely, he was smarter than to believe she didn’t need to know,
no
- had the right to know his plans.

He could hear her now, “When were you going
to tell me?” His excuses wouldn’t hold up under close scrutiny.
Such was his problem. He didn’t have a good enough reason for
keeping her out of the loop.

Pulling up hard on the reins, Ty wheeled,
heading back to town. He had some things to do before tonight’s
exchange.

***

Was she compulsive or simply crazy? Hadn’t
she known this could happen? Becoming pregnant when you slept with
a man was inevitable! She’d had a great deal to manage over the
past few weeks, hadn’t she? Sonja slammed the armoire door so hard,
she had to catch it before it bounced off the frame, breaking the
looking glass inside. She’d compounded the issue by not telling Ty
anything when he’d asked what was wrong with her. Still too soon,
her mind screamed. She had to think, to plan her next move, or all
was lost. The fact remained those who helped her were in constant
danger. Not only were the Yankees looking for Robert, her undead
husband, but her lover as well. She couldn’t let them take Tyler.
No one would like what she was about to do, but it had to be done!
Ty, her family, Ty’s men were all in grave danger as long as she
was around. What she planned to do was the only way to save them.
Ty – poor Ty, would certainly be devastated. Wasn’t her heart
breaking even now? Briann would understand. Her abilities would
allow her to see the sense in Sonja’s plan. Briann had Jeb and the
boys – they’d be fine. Perhaps, in time, so would Ty.

Sonja stepped out onto the balcony. Glancing
about, she noted the sun was setting. Ty’d been gone all day,
brooding most likely. She couldn’t blame him. It made her heart
ache to keep the news about their child from him. If she told him,
he’d never let her do what she had to do. Tears sprang to her eyes
when she considered their son. Oh, how much she wanted him to live,
to live free, safe from the worries of the world around them. Too
soon, the world would force evil in his path. “Too soon…” her words
floated away on the breeze. Retracing her steps she readied for the
night’s mission.

The corridor was empty, so she retraced her
steps of the last several nights. The decision to take the fight to
the vampires was hers and hers alone. She didn’t want Ty involved.
She was the reason they were all in danger, so it was her
responsibility to take care of the situation.

Slowly she made her way down the back stairs,
out the servants’ entrance and into the tool shed off the back
stoop. Breathing a sigh of relief, she waited a beat until she
could hear no one nearby. Night fell silent as a lamb bedding down
for sleep. No rousing ruckus in the streets, no bawdy music
tinkling from the saloon doors. No, it felt like a tomb, Sonja
mused. Breathing a sigh of relief at having made it down the
servants’ stairs, she gathered her courage and shed her clothes
inside the small tool shed. Ty’s talisman vibrated with such
intensity, startling her at first. His birthright, his Choctaw
grandfather pendant heated in her hand. The warmth of the pendant
gave her pause. A bluish hue glowed from the center as the talisman
quivered. So enthralled was she that she started when the voice
came to her out of the fog.

“Yours is a path of solitude and loneliness,
my child.”

Sonja froze, unable to move. When no other
voice spoke she glanced around sure she would see a servant or a
beggar at the back door. She was alone.

“Do not fear, my child. I watch over you even
now.”

“Who’s there?” Sonja clutched the chemise to
her chest. Fingers of apprehension tickled her spine. “What do you
want?”

“I want nothing more than for you to be safe.
You carry the future of my people, do you not? The sole reason I am
here is to share the truth with you, a truth as old as time.”

Cocking her head, Sonja frowned, searching
for the source of the voice. “Show yourself. Tell me who you
are.”

“In time, you will see. Until then, I give
you protection from the night stalkers.”

“How do you know so much about me-about my
baby?”

The night, air around her, swirled. A cool
breeze encircled her nakedness. Sonja wanted to change and be on
her way. Yet, the voice was clear, too omnipotent for her comfort.
“Tell me
how
you know?
What
you want?”

“I want nothing except the safety of you and
your child. You are part of my people’s history as well as their
future. You are destined. Generations will call you mother. Be
strong for I am with you always.”

With those words, the wind kicked up, blowing
dust and sand all about her. Burying her face in the chemise, Sonja
bore down on the frustration of talking to the wind. As the air
settled, she focused on the shift.

Slipping into her wolf’s skin always made her
feel so alive. Bounding off into the shadows, the soft beat of an
Indian drum sounded. Echoing into the night, the drum ceased and
the hoot of an owl pieced the stillness.

***

Bounding up the steps of the hotel, Ty wiped
his boots on the threshold. He could hear Maggie McCready, the
Loflin housekeeper’s voice ringing in his ears.
“Don’t you be
trackin’ in the earth on your feet, boyo! Leave it at the
door.”
God, he wished for home. Sometimes the memories would
reach out, effectively choking him. Then, sometimes, trepidation
strangled him when he couldn’t bring his family’s faces into frame
in his mind. The blunder with Sonja needed resolving. He entered
the lobby of the hotel. Realizing he’d forgotten to eat, he headed
for the dining room. An idea formed. He’d get two plates and take
one back to her. They’d be able to talk while they ate. Food always
helped an apology.

With the tray, he maneuvered the stairs
carefully. He wrapped on the door gently. Anxious to have her in
his arms again made it hard to wait. No answer. With the tray
propped precariously on his forearm, Ty managed to open the
door.

The room was dark except for the faint light
of the gas lanterns outside the window facing the street below.
Easing the door shut, he set the tray on the sideboard. “Sonja, I
brought some supper. I figured you might be hungry.”

Still, no answer.

He let his gaze rake the room again. Too damn
dark in here! Ty groped for a lamp. Finally with light to guide
him, he found her note on the small table near the bed.

“
Dear Ty,

I’m writing this missive to say good-bye. I
don’t know how to explain my concern for you and my family’s safety
without saying, I have to leave. How I wish fate had been kinder to
you and me. All of you will be safe once I am gone. Please try to
understand and know I love you with all my heart.”

Nymph

The paper crumpled in his hand. Someone
cursed, flipping the tiny table end over end. A red haze filled his
vision. Snarling at the four corners of the room, Ty bolted for the
hall.

Jeb caught him mid run. “Ty, what’s
wrong?”

Ty’s hands had gone numb and his arms ached
with the panic seizing him. Shoving the paper into the big man’s
hand, he flew down the stairs and out into the street. Where she’d
gone, he hadn’t a clue. Racing down the board sidewalk, searching
every face he passed, he stumbled toward the train depot. Perhaps
she’d tried to buy a ticket home.

There’d been no one booking passage. The next
train north didn’t leave until next week. Under the realization,
she’d disappeared, Ty’s heart cracked. The break, no more than a
hairline fracture didn’t hurt, yet the sickening sensation, she’d
gone and done something bad drove him crazy.

By the time Jeb found him, he was at his
wits’ end. Ranting nonsense about gathering a search party, he
folded into the nearest chair and groaned when Jeb reminded him how
useless it was to track a wolf in the dark. “She’d planned this all
along didn’t she, Jeb?”

“Now, Ty, Sonja’s an intelligent woman, maybe
a little hard headed. We’ve just got to figure out what we’d do in
her place. That’s all.”

“The witch! Hortence would know where she’d
gone.” Ty jumped up, racing back toward the hotel. Finding Hortence
out back, he prayed inwardly she could help. “Where is she?”

The words, issued within a snarl, had the old
woman jerking back in defense. “Who?”

Ty huffed out a breath filled with curses.
“Don’t give me a song and dance old woman. Where’s Sonja? I know
she told you before she disappeared. Now, where is she?” His voice
sounded foreign to his ears. Gone was the control. Gone was the
patience. Ty bolted across the distance and snatched the old woman
up by the arm. “You’ll tell me or you won’t live to see another
miserable day, you old bat! His chest constricted when she simply
glared at him through those watery eyes of hers.

“Makes no difference, now. You’re too
late.”

Her demeanor gave him pause. She was calm,
too calm, in fact. She was holding something back. “Why don’t you
tell me anyway?” He growled through clinched teeth. Learning where
she was before he unleashed the wolf was imperative.

Hortence’s eyes grew distant. Dropping her
head, she shook it slowly. “I can tell you she asked for my
protection.” With a heavy sigh, the witch gazed up at him. She
slipped out near dark. I tried to talk sense to her. She said to
tell you to live, live like there was no tomorrow. She wants such
for you and her family. She wants to take care of the rest.” The
witch’s knarled fingers slipped around his. Ty pulled back. The
witch held fast. Your mate wants you to live, Lieutenant. Will you
honor her wish?” Letting his hand fall from hers, she turned and
walked away.

***

In his hand, Ty found the talisman he’d given
Sonja when they first met. A piercing sliced through him as if a
he’d been run through with a sword. Her face, her eyes shining
bright with tears, her smile, so warm and tender. She gave him a
laugh before racing away. Slowly the vision evaporated. Ty’s eyes
opened. He scanned the room. She wasn’t there. She’d never be there
again. The howl he emitted echoed into the night sky. His heart was
as broken as his spirit. She’d gone and done the one thing he’d
always freighted she’d do – go after the enemy alone.