ChangingPaths (19 page)

“I’ve got you, sweetheart. You’re mine. Rain’s mine. No one
is going to hurt you ever again. I’ll be back before you know it. Promise. You’ve
got that new project right? The dragonmouse?” He purposefully screwed up the
animal. Rewarded by her laugh he tangled his fingers through her hair to gently
lift her eyes to his.

“Harmony Johnson, will you marry me?”

She gaped at him. “What?”

He grinned. “I never got to ask you. I mean, you were the
aggressor. You took advantage of me.”

Smacking his chest, she laughed. “You poor widdle wolf. I’ll
turn myself into the Alpha. Tomorrow.”

She dipped her head to kiss then bite the mate mark on his
chest. He growled. When she glanced up a wicked grin danced across her face. “I’ll
think about it.”

“Think about it? Woman!” He levered his legs between hers to
reverse their positions again. “Think about this.”

As he drove his cock back into her, he marveled at how much
he wanted her. It was as if he could never stay soft near her. Part of that was
the mating bond, sure, but he was just as positive that no one else had ever
felt about their mate the way he did about his.

Later, as they sat in bed snacking on roast beef, warmed-up
rice and gravy, he watched her. She took a bite of bread that he’d buttered for
her. “What are you looking at?”

“Well, right now, my mate with her mouth full of bread.
There’s a bit of butter on your lips. I could—” he leaned forward as she
laughingly dodged him.

“Oh no. You get your own bread, mister. I’ll butter it for
you. I’m not sharing any of this. I’m starving. Some sex maniac made me miss
dinner.”

He shouted with laughter. “Oh yeah? You should tell her to
have more control.”

As they finished up, she looked at him. “Thank you.”

The soft words caught him off guard. “For what?”

“For making me feel alive and wanted and,” her voice dropped
into a whisper. “For making me feel safe.”

He just wrapped her in his arms. “Put the plates on the
floor, honey. We’ll get them in the morning.”

He held her. Just held her, feeling her soft breasts push
into his chest. Her breathing settled into a smooth, even rise and fall. When
he heard the little snores she still swore didn’t come out of her mouth, he let
himself drift into sleep as well.

Morning came far too early. The sun stole through cracks in
the curtains as if it were a criminal. He didn’t want to open his eyes. He felt
his mate muttering something uncomplimentary about the glowing orb as she
burrowed into him. Knowing they had to get up, he tickled her.

She bolted out of bed. “Gareth. I warned you about that! No
tickling.”

He just laughed. “Guess I forgot. Babe, we have to hit the
road early. Rion will be here…” His nose twitched. “Now.”

They rushed through dressing with Gareth reluctantly showering.
He wanted her scent on him all day. Rion would have just had to deal but he
knew Rain would be home any time.

Sure enough his twin stood on the porch. He’d parked the
green car that had turned out to be his and not a rental. It faced the road. Gareth
beckoned him in. “Let’s get something to eat first. She’s not ready for me to
go.”

Rion nodded. No other words had to be spoken. His twin knew
how he felt about his mate. When Rain came in she hugged Rion first then her
mom. But she laid her head against Gareth for a long time. Harmony had to
remind Rain that Gareth needed to eat. The teen was unusually quiet as they all
ate.

Breakfast was over sooner than Gareth wanted. Harmony also hadn’t
spoken much but had found every reason to touch him as often as possible. He
leaned into her hand when she brushed his cheek. Rubbing against her he marked
himself with her scent and her with his. Just as he decided he couldn’t go
Harmony moved back to the sink. Her eyes filled with unshed tears.

Before he could get to his feet his brother moved to her. “I’ll
take care of him, Sister. Take care of yourself. We will be back before you
know it.”

Harmony wrapped her arms around Rion for a quick hug. “We?
You’re coming back?”

Rion nodded. “Micah has offered me a home here. I want to
explore the possibilities. Besides,” he jabbed a thumb at his twin. “That one
needs me to get him into trouble. He’s far too predictable.”

Laughing at the now-familiar joke, she moved out of his
arms. She slipped into Gareth’s embrace as he now stood beside his brother.
Rain moved to Gareth’s other side, so he wrapped one arm around the teen. Rain
quietly asked, “You will be home soon, won’t you?”

The sadness she held back dulled her scent. Once again he
nearly told Rion he wouldn’t go, then Harmony laid a hand on his arm. “Go. The
sooner you leave, the sooner you’ll be home. Both of you. Rain and I will be
waiting.”

Her eyes turned serious as she looked at Rion. “Packmate, I
charge you with keeping my mate safe. Do you accept?”

Rion nodded then kissed her cheek and Rain’s. Harmony looked
at Gareth. “If you get hurt I’m never forgiving you. I will hunt you down and
hurt you worse. You hear me?”

“Hey! Why does he get a Pack blessing and I get threatened?”

She shrugged. “Because I love you, my mate.”

Gareth dipped his head down to her to claim her mouth. They
clung to each other for a moment then she stepped back to put an arm around
Rain. “Now beat it. Go before I change my mind and throw myself under the
wheels to stop you.”

Her weak, shaky laugh told him she was only half kidding. He
cupped her face with his hand one more time then scooped his bags up. “Love
you. Rain, I love you too.”

Those words held her on the porch as she waved until she
couldn’t see the car anymore. Then she held it together until Rain left for
school. Even then Harmony refused to give in to the pain. She decided to deep clean
the kitchen. Her plan was to scour the house then throw herself into her new
project so she could distract herself. By the time Rain got home from school Harmony
had declared a minor victory on both the house and her own sadness. The last
load of laundry lay neatly folded on the dryer. “How was the movie last night?”
She quirked her mouth into a grin. “Tell me all about it.”

Rain glanced away. She was the worst liar ever. “Uh, well,
it was about this alien attack where these ships get trapped then have to fight
their way out. Um, the good guys won. I’m hungry.”

Knowing a redirect when she heard one she pointed at the
kitchen. “Food’s in there. Your hands aren’t broken. Make yourself a snack then
come help me put the laundry up.”

Harmony put her pencils away, looking at the work she’d just
finished. The fading light had told her it was time to stop. She was pleased
with what she saw in the emerging artwork, laughing at the curious wolf she’d
mischievously drawn peeking from behind a tree. Gareth would recognize himself.

As pleased as she was she had a feeling the publishing house
would be too. Which was good since she loved the work. Glancing at the clock,
she stood to stretch. Rain would be home from her after-school job soon,
probably with a few friends. More often than not Keme and a couple of the other
kids wound up flopped on the sofa or scrounging in the kitchen for a snack
before they all dispersed to their own homes. Seemed that being accepted in the
Pack meant they would never lack for company.

She smiled as she remembered how resentful Rain had been
when they’d first gotten here. Hadn’t that changed in such a short time? Malls
and “omg decent” internet had nothing on Packmates. Padding on sock feet into
the kitchen, she checked the cookies she had baking then gave the simmering
stew a quick stir.

Olivia had stopped by earlier in the day with some venison
from their freezer. They had spent an enjoyable hour or so before Olivia had
gone back to the lodge. They’d compared stories about work, since Olivia was a
photojournalist, and raising babies and just life in general. She knew she’d
found a true friend there. Besides, who couldn’t love Koda and his adorable
baby smells. Maybe she and Gareth…

She sighed. Just his name had her aching. It was like some
teen romance. Then she grinned to herself. She’d take teen romance with that
hunk of male any day. She glanced at the clock again then rolled her eyes. “Snap
out of it! He hasn’t even been gone that long. It’s not like you’ve been all
alone. Just concentrate on the here and the now. He’ll call when they stop for
the night. He promised.”

She heard a car coming down the drive. As she moved toward
the living room she scooped up the frying pan. Then immediately put it down
when she caught her daughter’s scent coming in on the gust of air that blew
straight at the cabin. Two car doors slammed then footsteps sounded on the
porch. She barely had time to dash to the kitchen to ditch the pan before the
lock turned and Rain came in followed by Keme.

Rain flung her coat at the couch then turned back to Keme
with her fisted hands planted firmly on her hips. “That’s not what I meant and
you know it!”

“Obviously I don’t know it because that’s how it sounded.”
The normally calm youth had an equally mutinous look on his face but his hands
were at his side. The rigid set of his shoulders radiated annoyance.

They stared at each other, both obviously spitting mad.
Harmony couldn’t help the protective urge that had her stepping forward and
touching her daughter. “Everything okay?”

“No! Everything is
not
okay. Mom, tell him how I
spent my last summer when we were in California, please.” Her daughter angrily
dashed a stray hair out of her face as she jerked her chin at the boy.

Puzzled, Harmony carefully queried, “What are you talking
about, Rain?”

“Tell him where I volunteered. Go on, tell him.” Rain’s
voice shook with indignation.

“Honey.” She approached what was obviously a sore subject
with extreme caution. She’d really come to like Keme, plus she didn’t want the
young ones to fight. Besides, she wasn’t sure of his temperament when angry.
Like a dog with a bone her mind went to her ex. Tom hadn’t shown signs of being
an ass when they’d first been going out either. “Are you talking about the
homeless shelter?”

“Yes. The homeless shelter. The one that our neighbor Mrs.
Watson worked for. The one where I spent three days a week and half a day on
Sunday working in the kitchen. Where I interacted with homeless people on a
daily basis all summer long. That homeless shelter.”

Rain glared at Keme then turned to her mom with a slight
smile. “Thank you. Now, Mr. ‘don’t hate on the homeless man who made himself at
home in a vacant cabin somewhere near here’, do you see why I said what I said?
About him finding a shelter instead of breaking into someone else’s property
and using it and leaving it in a mess for the owners to fix?”

“So you really weren’t talking trash about the homeless guy?”
Keme’s shoulders relaxed.

“No, I was talking about him breaking the law instead of
going to the local homeless shelter
or
if he’s got family on the res,
asking them for help.” Rain crossed her arms over her chest. Keme had the grace
to look embarrassed.

He reached out to touch her shoulder for emphasis. “I’m
sorry, Rain. I really thought…I’m sorry. I’ll show you where it is next time we’re
out. Just remember to bring a gas mask. Place reeks.”

“Apology accepted.” Rain’s smile came out, so Harmony took a
deep breath. Obviously the fight was over. No one was going to get bruised
feelings or worse tonight.

“Hey, Keme, are you staying for supper?” Harmony half hoped
he would just to help distract the two of them from missing Gareth.

Keme turned to face her. “No ma’am. I would love to but I
can’t tonight. I have to go home. Gotta help my cousin Ike with his fancy dance
costume for the pow-wow next month. Uh,” he stammered a bit. “If it’s okay with
you I’d like Rain to come to the pow-wow with my family. My mom said she’d call
you this weekend to talk about it. You know, issue a formal invitation.”

“I’ll think about it, thank you.” She smiled but was a bit
uneasy about the invitation. It would mean Rain traveling almost a hundred
miles away, not to mention spending the entire week with Keme…and his family,
of course, but it was so easy for young people to sneak away and…

She shook her head to stop that train of thought. Rain was
not her and Keme was not Tom. Harmony knew the kids were taking it slow. Rain
had asked her how to know when it was right to have sex. Without sugarcoating
it, Harmony had told Rain all she could about the sexual drives that shifters
had. She trusted Rain, she really did. But she’d also told her daughter that
birth control was a must since sometimes urges overcame common sense. She
pulled her attention back to Keme. Human birth control worked just fine with
shifter physiology. And she’d make sure Rain was taken care of. “Have your mom
call me. We’ll talk about it.”

She saw Rain’s enormous grin but just nodded at both of them
before going back into the kitchen. Her hands were shaking, so she fisted them
in front of her. “It will be fine, everything will be fine.”

“Mom? Are you talking to yourself again? You been doing that
a lot since we got here.” Rain strolled into the kitchen a moment later. Keme’s
car chugged down the driveway.

“Yes, honey, I guess I am. Venison stew for dinner and I
made snickerdoodles.”

“Yum. I’m going to go change. Do you think we can watch a
movie while we eat?” Her daughter lifted the lid of the pot to sniff. “We haven’t
done that in a while. You know…just hang out—you and me?”

Her precious child…she knew what she was doing. Taking care
of her mom. She didn’t let on. “Sure. None of your other friends coming by
tonight?”

“No, they’re all either doing projects for their AP classes
or getting costumes ready for the pow-wow like Keme and his cousin. You grew up
on the res, right? How come you never did any of those dance contests?”

“Who said I didn’t?” She took the cookies out of the oven
then set them on a cooling rack. She glanced over her shoulder to see her
daughter just staring at her with wide eyes.

“You did?” The hint of awe in Rain’s voice made her grin.

“I did. I even had a few medals to prove it. I even won some
cash at a couple of events.” She made a note to ask Willow if she had her old
costumes or pictures of her as a traditional dancer. Not as flashy as the fancy
dancers but the traditional dancing contests were just as tough.

“That’s so cool!” Rain laughed. As her daughter left the
kitchen she shouted over her shoulder, “You have to tell me all about it when I
get back.”

She shook her head as she turned the fire off under the
stew. She’d pick a comedy for their movie since she needed the distraction. She
knew Rain had asked her friends to stay away on purpose tonight. They hadn’t
had a “Mom and me” night since moving from California. They both really needed
that connection. With Gareth gone it was instinct to band together.

Moving into the living room, a chill went up her spine, this
one not just fear-related. She froze. Cold air wafted down the hallway from the
direction of her daughter’s bedroom. All of the windows had been shut and
locked. Rain would never have opened the window since they still had no idea
where Tom might be. Harmony knew she hadn’t done it.

Just as the sour scent hit her nostrils Tom appeared in that
room’s open doorway. He held their daughter in front of him. A tear streaked
down her face, moving down a scarlet palm print. The bastard had struck her
baby. Probably right as she’d walked into the room she called her own, her safe
space. Harmony saw red.

The barrel of the huge black pistol he held stopped her. He
pointed that lethal metal tube at Rain’s head. She knew if she tried anything
he’d shoot his own daughter. Roughly he yanked the girl by her arm to force her
into the living room. Tears streamed down Rain’s face when she saw her mom but
she said nothing.

“Stupid bitch. Letting our daughter go off with some boy.
She’s as big a whore as you are. I should have known better than to leave you
here while I planned things out.” Spittle flew out as he raged. The gun barrel
pressed into Rain’s neck so hard a red rim flared on her skin.

“Tom.” She spoke as softly as she could, shifting her gaze
between that pistol and her daughter’s face. How stupid could she be? With no
contact from him she’d thought him long gone and had told Pete and Micah they
could relax their vigilance. She should have known he’d never give up that
easily. “Tom, let Rain go, please. Just let her go. She’s a good girl.”

“She’s more like you than me,” he screamed. His eyes
jittered wildly as he jerked Rain forward. “Do you think I don’t know about
that bastard? That shifter bastard who comes here almost every night? Do you
think I don’t know that you’re spreading your legs for him? Letting him fuck
you? Does our daughter watch? Has he touched her too? Because I will kill him,
Harmony. I. Will. Kill. Him. Touching what is mine!”

Shaking her head, she tried to think of a way to talk him
down off the ledge. What she had to do to get him to let go of her baby. His
sour stench permeated the room. It had been his scent, his presence, she’d been
sensing all along. She cursed her own stupidity. The conversation between Rain
and Keme played in fast-forward through her head. A cabin that had been broken
into. Someone sleeping in there, destroying things. All hallmarks of Tom’s
behavior in the past. “Please. Just let her go, I’ll do what you want. I’ll do
anything you want. Just let Rain go.”

She took a step forward but stopped cold. He yanked Rain in
closer to him in a strangely loving hold. He cradled her against him. The image
shattered as he pushed the gun into her temple. Harmony moaned as her daughter
trembled hard.

Tom squeezed her hard enough to make the child gasp in pain.
“I should just kill her now. That would teach you a lesson. You and that
bastard you’re fucking. Kill her and leave her here.”

“No! Please! Tom, please, I will do anything you want.
Please!” She went to her knees, shaking hands up in supplication. Her tears
started to track down her own face. She hated that he could make her cry but
she’d do anything to protect Rain. Even go with him wherever he wanted to take
her.

“Get up. I’m hungry.” The normality in his voice scared her
more than anything else he’d done or said. He’d been raging mad with spit
flicking from his lips like a rabid animal. With no warning he now sounded like
a rational version of the monster she knew. That almost scared her more than
the lethal black metal threatening death at her daughter’s head. For him to go
from ranting to being so calm was the scariest thing she’d ever seen. His
pupils were dilated in his bloodshot eyes.

“Is that stew? Well, time for family dinner, isn’t it, love?
We’ll all sit down as a family and talk about our trip.” He motioned for her to
get up. He made her precede them into the kitchen. Following, he still cradled
Rain in a vise grip against his chest. He rapped her on the temple when she
stumbled.

“Klutzy, baby. Don’t make Daddy fall when he’s holding a
gun.” The sound that followed was a maniacal giggle. Her stomach nearly
revolted. Tom had lost his mind. It wasn’t just her ex now—it was an animal
holding that gun on her daughter’s head. He might as well have aimed it at her
heart.

‘Trip?” She tried for a normal tone as well. Maybe it would
distract him. “Where are we going?”

Her mind raced. Knife. Frying pan. Handful of flour? Pepper?
Like a mad housewife she tried to think of anything she could use as a weapon
against him. The stew. He wanted stew? She’d give him stew. Right in his face.
Then hopefully she and Rain could escape out the back door and at least Rain
could get away. She refused to let anything happen to her baby. Anything to
distract him so Rain could run. She could shift and run.

She rubbed her neck, wishing she could spare Gareth. She
knew what was coming. Tom was going to kill her. She let more tears fall. She
knew that would kill him too. But she couldn’t save her own life—not if there
was a chance of freeing Rain.

Tom hooked a chair out to sit down. He kept the gun trained
on Rain but released her to sit in a chair on her own. His eyes skittered
around the room. She had never seen him like this—so hypervigilant.

“There’s a settlement of Moon-Denieds in Mexico. I’ve been
in touch with a few of them and they have a place there for us. We’ll just take
a nice trip down there. Once we’re settled in I can figure out how to punish
you for turning our daughter into a whore.” He said it so calmly. He might have
just been discussing the change in the weather. Only his eyes, his
never-stopping eyes, betrayed the insanity in the man.