Banewolf (Dark Siren Book 2) (2 page)

The sea turtle eyed the girl curiously as it swam in a circle. Nearby, a colorful school of fish hovered above the reef. The fish had grown used to the strange human who lingered beneath the waves and did not come and go like others of her kind. Kalista watched them in turn, letting their beauty overtake the sorrow that threatened to consume her from within.

Most days, the grief couldn’t reach her there on the ocean floor. But today wasn’t one of most days. Today, guilt and shame clutched ten fingers of pain around her heart and refused to let go. No matter how deep or how far she swam, Kali couldn’t escape it.

Rhane.
Her chest tightened brutally at the thought of his name.
Rhane.
Nonstop tears were only a salty drop in the literal ocean.
Why did he have to die? Why did he leave me alone?

The accusing glares
from York and the other kin were branded into her mind. Mournful, angry whistles followed her through nearly every waking hour. She would never forget the cold stare of the white-haired man’s translucent eyes.
I can’t go home. He’ll kill my
family.
But she missed home so much. The only thing she missed more was Rhane. Squeezing her eyes shut didn’t stop the tears, but Kali couldn’t stand looking at the living, breathing ocean while thinking of his death.

When she opened her eyes again, big, clear lenses of a scuba mask
floated only inches from her face. Bubbles spurted from the breathing apparatus as the diver lunged backward in terror. She calmly watched to make sure the poor guy recovered. Then Kali pushed off from the ocean floor, swimming deeper into darkness.

#

Two weeks had passed since the night Banewolf had returned to challenge Gabriel. Fourteen days gone after his brother had sent Kali away under Rhane’s orders. Three hundred thirty-six hours ticked by from the time he’d last seen her. There had been twenty thousand one hundred sixty minutes of Kali on her own thinking that he was dead. More than anything, Rhane wanted her home. But the only way to keep Kali safe while he couldn’t protect her had been to send her away.

He stepped out of the shower, appreciating the hot water’s effect on his still achy body. With most of the stiffness gone, getting dressed was a lot less of a chore. Black shirts and denim practically made up his entire wardrobe. The garments w
ere comfortable and practical. Rhane possessed an unshakable habit of having too much on his mind and feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders. It left little room to be bothered with worrying over what to wear and wondering if it matched. He was buttoning his shirt when Greg’s voice boomed from the doorway.

“You look terrible.”

Rhane lifted his head to appraise Kali’s father. “You should see the other guy.”

“I did. He was a hideous freak that stopped a squad car, traveling at sixty miles per hour, dead in its trajectory. I can’t understand how you or I are still alive after such an encounter.”

Rhane smiled. Greg wasn’t the type of guy to waste any time not getting straight to the point. He gestured for the older black man to have a seat in the armchair. Rhane took the couch. It felt like old times, when they’d first met. “I wondered when you were going to stop by.”

A shopping bag
sat next to Greg’s feet. Rhane didn’t mention it. He knew it wasn’t a get-well present. Greg had probably brought along some damning evidence and would introduce it when the lawyer in him felt the timing was perfect.

Greg’s attention honed in on Rhane’s right hand. “That’s an interesting tattoo you’ve gotten.”

Rhane glanced down. After nearly four centuries of nonexistence, Banewolf’s mark had returned. Three bands of black encircled his wrist like thick ropes. Two were solid. The third was composed of ancient hieroglyphs from a language even he did not know. The words interlocked within an intricate pattern of geometrical shapes. Parallel lines flowed from the underside of his forearm, bleeding into his palm to form the triangular shape of a crude arrow. The arrow nested inside of a sphere. The tip of the arrow split again into side by side lines, meeting to become a circlet around his middle finger.

“It was not by choice.” He
absently traced the mark within his palm. “It’s who I am.”

Greg raised an eyebrow but didn’t question the subject further. Instead, he got down to the business at hand. “I’ve had every resource out there looking for Kalista, and we still can’t find her. Where is she?”

Rhane shook his head by way of reply.

“That’s not the response I was hoping for. I want my little girl back.”

Greg was angry. No doubt it was difficult for him to adjust to this unique situation where he was practically helpless. He was used to being in a courtroom where he had control and the upper hand. Rhane understood that. “I’m sorry for what you and your family must be going through. But Kalista cannot return here until it is safe.”

“Is this my fault?” Greg’s voice softened. “Did I get in the way of you protecting her?”

“No,” he said and meant it. Had he been stronger, things would have turned out differently.

Greg reached into the shopping bag and pulled out a pair of dress pants. He tossed them at Rhane. The material was blood stained and wrinkled as if they’d been packed in that very bag for two weeks. More noticeable was a large tear in the fabric of the upper thigh region. Greg looked Rhane directly in the eye. “I know you’re different, son. And I know I owe you a thank you for saving my life.”

“Mr. Metts, I respect you a lot. But I didn’t do it for you.”

Greg nodded. “I know. I was pretty out of it. But I heard you begging Kali to leave. It was the right thing to do. I will always expect you to choose her life over mine and over your own.” Sighing, he leaned forward. “Nine years ago, a man brought Kali to us and said she needed our love and protection. We were to keep her safe until it was no longer humanly possible. He promised that when the child matured, another would arrive to act as her guardian. Lisa and I agreed without hesitation. We fell in love with Kali and would have done anything to help her. Over the years, we noticed little things…we knew she was different.” Greg stopped. After taking a moment to suppress his emotions, he continued. “We loved her as much as we loved our biological daughter, probably sometimes even more. I promised to protect her, but now there’s something out there…something evil that wants her and I can’t stop it. I can’t protect my little girl from him, can I?”

“No, you can’t.”

“But you can.” Greg’s expression became hopeful. “Bring Kalista home and I won’t interfere anymore.”

Rhane shook his head. “She can’t stay with you. I can’t protect her like that.”

Greg rubbed his face. He knew what Rhane’s words implied. He nodded. “Right now she’s alone and afraid. You are what she needs.” He looked around the master bedroom. “Any chance you could give her own room?”

“By my side is the safest place for her to be.”

“Okay…okay.” Greg ran a hand across his neck. “Just promise me you won’t have sex with her. She’s only seventeen. She needs to finish high school and go to college, not get wrapped up and twisted around in a relationship with a much older man.”

“There is an eight year and three month gestation for offspring of my species. If pregnancy is what you’re worried about, it wouldn’t affect her until long after she graduated from college.”

Greg’s mouth fell open and then snapped shut.

“Sorry. It was a bad joke.” Rhane was genuinely contrite. “You have a deal.”

The two men went downstairs. At the door, they shook hands with acceptance and a new understanding. Halfway down the drive, Greg called back to Rhane. “There’s not much you can do about the tattoo, but make sure to get a haircut before you go and get my little girl. I’ll start believing you’re not the pizza boy when you stop looking like one.” He smiled. 

Rhane grinned back. After the baby joke, he pretty much deserved that one.

Even in death, Rhane found a way to take care of her. When Kali ran, she’d left with nothing. With no idea where to go or how to get there, she saw Rhane’s pickup parked roadside. Inside the toolbox she found an extra set of license plates, five bricks of one hundred dollar bills, and a small arsenal of guns and knives—all the necessary tools for a year on the run. Kali had taken them without hesitation.

One week later, she stumbled onto a small island paradise. The one-bedroom villa had a hot tub, shorefront pool, and every other luxury a girl could ask for. Even near the end of fall, Caribbean weather remained a pleasant seventy-five degrees. And with the ocean right at her fingertips, she could have stayed on that little island forever. Unfortunately, the villa wasn’t cheap. Kali knew she had to be smart about money, especially until her head cleared enough to find work.

One major downside came with island living. Watching a decent flick in a real theater required a ferry ride to the mainland. Though she would have preferred to swim it, Kali had spent part of the morning doing just that. Swimming such a distance would have made an enjoyable workout. But after the incident with the diver, it was too soon to risk another “sea maiden” sighting. The local newspaper had already nicknamed the mysterious girl who hung out at the bottom of the ocean. Kali was supposed to be lying low. Being the newest tourist attraction was counterproductive to that.

Hopping a ride aboard a safari taxi down to the theater, she bought a ticket for the first showing of the morning. Plane crash victims hunted by grey wolves to the last survivor was a storyline Kali couldn’t resist. An old man, probably a retiree, sat at the box office counter. He smiled as she walked up.

“You’re on a beautiful island. It’s a beautiful day.” His gestures took in the surroundings and then Kali as he spoke. “What could make such a beautiful girl so sad?”

Revealing she’d had to leave friends and family because soul-stealing monsters were after her was not an option. Saying she had finally been reunited with her soul mate after four hundred years of separation only to have him die nine days later, just after telling her that the child she didn’t remember having was dead wasn’t feasible either. Somehow, Kali forced a feeble smile to her lips and told the first none-crazy sounding lie she could think of. “I’m failing chemistry.”

“Ah.” The old man nodded. “Then perhaps you should be studying your books and not playing hooky at the theater.”

He slid the ticket toward her anyway. She gratefully accepted, trying very hard to keep the brave face in place while thinking about everything she’d lost. Something in her expression must have moved the old man. When she entered the theater doors, a large bucket of popcorn and a fountain drink were waiting atop the concession stand. “It’s on the house,” he said. “Don’t give up. A smart girl like you can figure anything out. This world has much to offer. You just have to go out there and take it.”

“Thanks,” was all she could manage.

“You’re in theater seven. Go on in. I’ll have the film playing in about ten minutes.”

Kali stood in the aisle, counting rows until she found the seat that w
as dead center in the theater. Then she sat munching on slightly stale popcorn while listening to the projector warm up. Salt and butter coated her tongue in a delicious covering.

As the wolves
onscreen snarled and lunged, her mind revisited a Friday night from not too long ago. Only one thing was missing, one very important thing.

Kali cried into her tub of popcorn.

It was during the last fifteen minutes of the movie that someone else walked in. The person wasn’t the old man, making her wonder what kind of idiot would pay full price to see the ending of a movie. He was male. And he moved powerfully, but something in the stride was off, as if his movements were compensating for pain elsewhere. The man started up the stairs but stopped at Kali’s row. Light from the screen briefly illuminated his features in a glow of silver.

Her breathing slowed.

No.

The bucket of popcorn slipped from
her numb fingers and crashed to the floor. He claimed the seat beside her, but she was paralyzed, afraid to hope and afraid to doubt.

Soft fingertips found her face, brushed against her cheek in a tender caress. That one touch
dissolved all of the agony she’d suffered for weeks.

“Is this seat taken?”

His voice was wonderful in her ears as he breathed her name. “Kalista.”

She trembled.

His fingers danced through her hair, neatly twisting and untwisting dark ringlets. When she still didn’t look at him, he took her face, gently turning it toward him. Seeing those unusual eyes, she could finally accept the truth.

Rhane was alive.

He captured her lips, and the kiss said everything words could not. Through his mouth, she felt how terribly he’d missed her and the ache her absence had caused. She responded in kind, sharing her pain. She clung to him, wrapped herself in the reality of his continued existence. She inhaled the scent of his skin and the scent of his hair. She moaned as he pressed his lips against her face and neck, leaving scorching trails of fire across her skin. She needed more of him, craved for his bare skin to touch hers. She drank deeply of his spark, and fireworks of blue and gold erupted at her call.

Rhane was the first to pull back. His eyes glittered
hotly with desire. “Let’s get out of here.” 

She kissed him again. “Okay,” she said
when they finally broke apart.

The old man gave Rhane the thumbs up as they left the theater. Kali was tempted to ask what that was about but
, noticing Rhane’s limp again, she stopped. “Why haven’t you healed?”

To her surprised, he actually chuckled. “You should have seen me a week ago. Warekin were designed to recover quickly from injury. But wounds delivered by the most powerful of our leaders, Primes, are a different matter. Though Gabriel is a Prime no longer, he continues to be an extremely dangerous adversary.”

They reached the car and Rhane pushed her against the back of his rental SUV, kissing her until she was breathless.

“I thought you were dead,” she said when she’d reclaimed enough oxygen to speak.

“No.” He stroked her face tenderly. “You made sure that didn’t happen.”

Sobbing, she buried her face into his shirt. He wrapped his arms around her. “I’ve missed you so much. I miss home. Can I go home now? They said I could never go home.”

He stiffened, and his arms squeezed her tighter. “Yeah. That was my idea. I’m sorry.”

K
ali lifted her head to see his face. “What do you mean?” she asked, making up her mind to not get upset until he’d had a chance to explain.

“Going into that fight, I knew there was a big chance I’d get messed up pretty bad. I couldn’t risk being out of commission and not being able to protect you if Gabriel came around again.”

“But what about Orrin and York? Orrin is a really big guy. York is huge.”

Rhane shook his head. His expression was grim. “They are no match for a creature such as Gabriel.”

“What about the man with the creepy blue eyes? He sorta reminded me of you, only he was scary and you aren’t. Certainly he could take on Gabriel.”

“That’s River. He is my brother.”

“Your brother?” She screwed up her face to match her disbelief. “Even ice is warmer.”

“He’s okay really. He just hasn’t assimilated into the modern world as much as the rest of us.”

“Why did you tell him to threaten to kill me?”

Rhane frowned darkly. Then he sighed. “I guess that was his way of making sure you stayed away. We really didn’t want Gabriel to find you.”

“Okay.” Kali relaxed. Those were good intentions. And Rhane had traveled thousands of miles to find her, after all. “So, can I go home now?” she said again, trying not to sound too hopeful.

He scratched his ear. “Home is going to be a little different. How do you feel about staying with me for a little while?”

An excited giggle escaped her lips, and she almost jumped up into his arms. Remembering he was still injured was the only thing that stopped her. “How on earth did you get Greg to agree to that?”

“I got a haircut.”

She laughed. “And how did he feel about your new body art?”

“Probably the same way he felt about the long hair.”

“He hates tattoos.” She wrinkled her nose. “But I think those are awesome.”

“Oh? You like these?” He held up his right hand to give her the full effect.

She shrugged one shoulder casually, a move that belied the growing heat within her. “They’re kind of sexy.”

He moved closer. “So…you think I’m sexy.”

Her skin tingled. She shivered but teased him anyway. “No. I think the tattoos are sexy.”

When he laughed, she lost herself. Standing on tiptoe, Kali kissed him long and slow. His laugh melted into a moan. His hands slid across her shoulders and down her back, almost but not quite touching her backside. She clutched her fingers into his shirt, folding them into the soft cot
ton. The kiss grew more heated, and reflexively, her hips rolled into his, searching to feel his response. Rhane gasped. Briefly, his fingers dug sharply into her skin. The pain made Kali’s insides throb. She melded even closer. Then his hands were hot against her face, and he pulled away, leaving Kali panting, aching for more. His green eyes were intense, almost black with desire. He grew as still as stone, watching her, not saying anything. 

After forever passed, he pressed his lips against her forehead and held them there. “I’m still here,” he whispered. She closed her eyes, savoring the feel of his breath against her skin.

Taking her hand, he led her to the passenger side of the SUV and held open the door. “I can’t believe you made me come to a tiny freaking island out in the middle of the freaking ocean. I hate the water, Kali.”

She laughed. “I thought you were dead, tough guy.”