Broken (45 page)

"He's ok. We heal fast, and he heals faster
than most."

"So this isn't normal?"

Dom shook her head again. "No, in most packs,
any confrontation ends in violence. Generally there are a whole
host of dominates who want to become the alpha. This would usually
turn into a real dominance fight, with the other two doing their
very best to kill him before turning on each other to fight over
the spoils."

"That's terrible."

Her nod was sad. "I told you he was special.
All of that hard-won civilization tends to flake and chip away when
we're that close to our beast. Alec always does what's right
though. No matter what it costs him personally."

Dom's words were timely. Before hearing them
I would've watched Alec's near stillness with unconcern, but now,
seeing the way Jasmin and Isaac split their attention between Alec
and the wolves they'd just pulled off of him, I could nearly see
the effort he was exerting to shove aside the instincts demanding
the death of the wolves that'd marked him, that'd questioned his
supremacy.

With a shudder, he seemed to relax again, and
Jessica approached, dropping to her stomach to crawl the last
little ways, and then rolling onto her back. James dropped down on
all fours, grounding the wicked-looking claws tipping his hands,
and then it seemed all was forgiven.

My suspicions were confirmed when I heard
Dom's sigh of relief. It hadn't just been my imagination. Alec's
will had been sufficient to the task, but its victory hadn't been
assured. It was a terrible risk to run, one that apparently put a
big fat target on his chest for anyone in the pack that wasn't
particularly happy with how things were currently running, but Alec
ran it regardless. He ran it again and again because doing so gave
his pack a slight chance of survival, and he couldn't allow himself
to deny them that chance, not when there was something he could do
to put it within their reach.

That wasn't the kind of person who'd take
advantage of my human weakness to seduce me. In fact, it was all
too likely he was going to fight my every effort to bring us closer
together precisely because he didn't want to take advantage of me.
I was suddenly very certain though that I was going to wage that
war. I couldn't not want him, not love him, any more than he could
do less than his best to keep his family from harm.

Chapter 28

Alec was completely drenched in sweat, and I
still wanted to throw myself at him, so badly my teeth hurt. It
shouldn't be possible for someone to look so good dressed in what
amounted to little more than loose, extra-stretchy sweatpants.

"How was training?" It was hard to sound
casual. The urge to kiss him had become almost overpowering in the
last few days. He knew me better on every level imaginable than
anyone outside my immediate family ever had, and all I could think
about right now was how much I wanted to touch him.

"Fairly well, all things considered. We took
it easy though..." I'd gotten used to the idea that he left a
fairly substantial number of thoughts unsaid out of a desire to
protect me from the horrible situation of knowing too much. I
didn't like it, but I'd learned to accept it. He didn't need to
finish that particular sentence though. They'd gone easy because
today was Ashure day, and once the dance finished up, he'd be
facing off against Brandon, and it would be stupid to tire himself
out when he was going to be fighting for his life.

It was a thought pretty much guaranteed to
stifle a conversation, but I managed a smile. "Only you would come
back dripping in sweat and say you took it easy."

Alec's smile was a bit strained at the edges,
but the tenderness on his face was genuine. "I don't know what I'd
have done without you these last few weeks."

My heart went pitter-patter, but still
mindful of the fact that throwing myself at him would just result
in him freaking out and keeping me at arm's length, I managed not
to go all gooey on the outside too. Unfortunately the effort meant
I was slow responding. He moved on before I got anything out.

"How's your homework coming?"

Now I did frown at him. "I think my mind's
going to explode if I look at my Biology book even just one more
time this weekend. Other than that things are great."

Alec's chuckle seemed to reach out and caress
me. "I take it you'd be up for a brief field trip then?"

My ears must have perked up.
For all that we'd spent an incredible amount of time together over
the last little bit, he hadn't 
taken
 me anywhere.

"A field trip sounds great. Except I have to
be back at least three hours before the dance, or Rachel and Jasmin
will eat me. At least that's what they said, and I tend to believe
them."

Alec crossed over to me and ran a finger down
the side of my face. "Only you could manage to make a joke out of
having fallen in with monsters."

I shrugged, "What else is a girl to do?"

Alec's reply shrug somehow mirrored mine
exactly and yet still turned the movement into something far more
graceful and eloquent than what I'd managed.

"Be that as it may, I think you don't give
yourself enough credit for just how amazing you are."

I felt myself start to blush as Alec
disappeared into the bathroom.

**

Monsters I could handle, motorcycles were
something else entirely. I'd almost backed out when Alec told me
we'd be taking his bullet bike, but I didn't want him to know I
really was a complete wuss.

All of which explained how I'd ended up on
Alec's shiny, blue Yamaha R1 with my arms locked around him in a
death grip. Apparently I'd given away at least some of my fear
though, because Alec took the first half of our forty-minute drive
at a positively sedate, or at least what qualified as a sedate pace
on a machine that apparently could go from zero to sixty much
faster than any of the exotic sports cars Alec and his friends
usually drove.

Just as I finally started to enjoy leaning
with Alec while zipping around turns at what I was starting to
suspect were triple digit speeds, he pulled off behind a
ramshackle, old building and held a finger to his lips. I held my
breath and tried my best to try and figure out what he was
listening for, but encased as I was by the blue helmet he'd
insisted on, I would've been lucky to notice if a herd of elephants
had been hot on our trail.

Several seconds passed, and then Alec smiled
at me again and backed the bike into the building, which was every
bit as decrepit looking on the inside as it'd been on the
outside.

"Are we here?"

"Disappointed?"

I felt my skin heat up again, but managed to
stick my tongue out.

"No, we're not quite there yet, but before we
continue on, I need your promise not to discuss this with anyone.
Not even the rest of the pack."

I was taken aback with his sudden intensity,
and part of me wanted to bristle at the implication I couldn't be
trusted with a secret. His expression softened a little as he
reached into the small bag mounted on the fuel tank, and handed me
a bottle of water. I hadn't even realized I was thirsty until that
second.

"I'm sorry, Adriana. I know I can depend on
you, this is just important enough that I needed to make sure you
understood what's riding on your discretion."

I finished with the first third of the
bottle, and then nodded. "I won't say anything. What exactly are we
going to see?"

"Not a what, but a who."

Much like he'd done when we'd been fleeing
from my house, Alec picked me up and then slung me around so I
could wrap my legs around his waist, and my arms around his neck
and chest. This time Alec wasn't sprinting, but he still set out at
a pace that made conversation impossible, so I just relaxed into
him and enjoyed being so close for a second time today.

Once we stopped, I slid down Alec's back and
looked around. The tiny cabin set back into the rocks before us
blended into the hillside so well, I probably wouldn't have noticed
it if Alec hadn't stopped so close.

Once he was confident I could stand unaided,
Alec gave me a reassuring smile, and then knocked gently on the
door.

The woman that appeared a few seconds later
seemed frail in a way that somehow wasn't attributable to her
graying hair, or slender frame. It wasn't until she released Alec
from a hug, and slowly moved back into the cabin, that I realized
it was how she moved that made her seem so old. Her motions
reminded me of how my grandfather had moved the last few years
before he'd died. Slowly, and with extra care, almost as if he was
worried a careless action would leave him a crumpled ball on the
floor, wracked with pain.

"Mallory, I'd like to introduce you to
Adriana Paige. Adriana, Mallory."

I smiled, and gingerly offered my hand to
her, which she clasped in both of hers. "I'm very happy to finally
get to meet you, young lady. Alec is better company than most, but
it's nice to have a new face around here."

I felt myself warming to her immediately,
even more so as she ushered us into her small sitting room, and
clucked over me, all the while proclaiming that I was far too
skinny. It was exactly the kind of thing you'd expect your grandma
to say, but I almost believed her.

Alec helped both of us down into our chairs,
and then smiled as Mallory waved him off. "You go ahead and do your
chores. Us girls will just get to know each other, and then once
you're done, you can bring me up to speed on the latest
developments."

We passed several seconds in silence after
Alec disappeared, and then Mallory turned back towards me with a
twinkle in her eyes. "So it finally happened?"

"I'm sorry; I don't understand what you
mean."

"Alec's finally fallen in love, and with such
a lovely girl. I was half worried he was going to spend the rest of
his life so mired in responsibility, he'd never let himself notice
anyone."

I was flabbergasted, but my lack of response
didn't seem to faze her in the slightest.

"I take it he finally realized you aren't a
shape shifter then?"

Apparently my astonishment leaked through to
my expression, that or maybe she could just smell the shock on me.
Whatever the reason, her smile took on new intensity, and she
slowly reached out and clasped my hand again.

"I'm sorry; I spend so much of my time alone
with my thoughts, that they develop well-worn grooves. I forget
sometimes that other people haven't been privy to the endless hours
of speculation that got me from one point to another."

There was something about her touch that
distracted me. Not in a bad way, almost like the tickle you get in
the back of your mind when you know you're missing out on some key
point of plot in a suspense novel.

"You glow much more brightly than any human
I've ever met, but you don't feel like a shape shifter, so you're
either a very powerful Fir'shan, one strong enough to mask your
nature from Alec, as well as me, or you're a very extraordinary
human. Alec wouldn't have brought you here until he was sure it was
the latter."

I closed my mouth in astonishment. "I didn't
realize Alec had talked to anyone about me. Actually I think you
just let more drop in a few sentences than he's told me all week.
Alec claims it's because I could be put in danger just by knowing
certain things, but I think he's still just not quite sure he can
trust me."

Mallory slowly leaned back in her chair, and
then shook her head. "No, it isn't because he doesn't trust you. If
he didn't trust you, he wouldn't have brought you here. He'd trust
Isaac or Jasmin with his, or even Rachel's life, but neither of
them know about me. In fact, bringing you here expands the circle
of people who know about me to a grand total of three. He trusts
you, more than just trusts you, but he's right. There are a number
of things you shouldn't know just yet."

Mallory smiled again in response to my heavy
sigh. "I know that must be hard to swallow. I'll tell you what. Go
ahead and ask away, and if I think you should know the answer to
any of your questions, I'll just tell you and devil take the
consequences."

It seemed too good to be true. "Aren't you
scared of what will happen when Alec finds out that I know more
than I'm supposed to?"

"And how's he going to find out youngster?
From how long it took them to unload my most recent food shipment,
he won't be back anytime soon, and I'm certainly not planning on
telling him. Are you going to let our little cat out of the
bag?"

I started to shake my head, but honesty
prevailed before I could finish the motion. "I mean I'm not
planning on it, but I'm not very good at lying or keeping secrets.
Especially not from Alec."

Mallory's chuckle was that of a much younger
woman. "That bothers you a little doesn't it?"

"Sometimes. A little. I just hate being such
an open book to everyone."

"Try not to let it get to you too much. As
hard as it may be for you to believe, Alec's even better at reading
people than most of us. There are several of the pack there at the
house, who are nearly as bothered by that as you are."

The familiar feel to her touch suddenly fell
into place. It was hard to believe that I'd spent so long with her
and not realized that she was a shape shifter until she'd said as
much.

"Ah, and the first question you want to know
is how come you didn't realize I was a shape shifter, isn't
it?"

I nodded, surprised at her insight, but more
or less resigned to the fact that I was never going to have any
kind of secret ever again.

"Partly it's because I'm so old, but it also
has a little bit to do with the fact that I've spent the last
couple of decades concealing my presence from others. I suppose it
has become second nature to hide the more unusual aspects of my
nature. I guess all that practice has made me better at it than
most of the shape shifters you've run into so far."