First Bite (The Dark Wolf Series) (34 page)

And leaped over the side.

Sonje had been right about the roof that lay directly below. Of course,
now
Neva remembered that the white wolf had said to run along to the
left
, not straight down. Because no other roof jutted out beneath this particular area.

Neva scrabbled with her claws to gain purchase on the sloping surface. Travis dropped down beside her and likewise struggled to keep from sliding. She could see the other two roofs, about a hundred feet away, which would act almost as stair steps if they could make their way over there. If she fell off this spot, however, it was a sheer drop of forty feet or so to a flagstone patio—and she didn’t want to find out if werewolves bounced.

Lie down flat!
Travis dropped to his belly.
Now!

She followed suit and was relieved that the skidding and sliding stopped immediately.

Get your head down—we need to be invisible.

Neva dropped her chin between her paws and even flattened her ears. She made sure that her tail was stretched out along the shingles as well before she followed Travis’s gaze.

Crap. Dozens of wolves seemed to pouring in from the outer walls, other buildings, courtyards, and gardens, all converging on the mansion. Meredith had obviously called for all hands on deck. But that wasn’t necessarily bad. Neva shared her thoughts with Travis.
She thinks we’re still in the building.

It won’t take long for a search party that big to figure out we’re
not.
Are we heading for those rooftops over there?

Yup. And we do a one-and-a-half gainer into the pool from the last one.

Not very quiet, but at least we won’t break our necks. Okay, be ready to move. As soon as those wolves are close to the house, we’re leaving.

Do you think we can avoid being seen?

Not a chance in hell. But we’re going anyway.

They watched, not daring to move until the last stragglers disappeared from their line of sight. Neva was first to get to her feet—if it could be called that. She elected to slink along with her belly almost touching the shingles. She didn’t look back to see if Travis was following suit. Knowing him, he was probably trotting along as if it was a ground-level sidewalk. She jumped down to the next roof and then the next, hoping that it wasn’t making a huge amount of noise indoors. She crept along to the side of the roof that overhung one of the sparkling blue pools. Travis pulled up beside her as she contemplated the drop. Water or not, it was still a long way down from here.

Do it this way
, he said, placing his front feet far beyond his nose.
Just like a human, point your arms—your front legs—out ahead of your face. Tuck your head.

It doesn’t look deep enough for a dive.

Trust me, there’s lots of water. And this way, we’ll keep the splash down—this is the wrong time to do a cannonball.
Without any further warning, Travis launched himself.

The splash was minimal, just as he promised. It seemed to take awhile for him to come back up, but then she spotted him swimming along the bottom, staying under the water—and out of sight—as long as possible. Neva took a deep breath, then another. Truthfully, she was afraid to make the leap herself, but
it was all relative. Jumping into a goddamn active volcano would be less scary than being recaptured by her psychotic twin.

Forgetting to tuck her head, Neva hit the surface awkwardly, sending chlorinated water jetting into her sinuses as she arrowed straight to the bottom. At the last moment, she managed to pull up before she smacked into the bright-blue tiles, and floundered her way along. Swimming underwater in a lupine body was nothing like swimming as a human—and she wasn’t particularly good at
that
, either. She flailed in an approximation of a sideways dog paddle until she reached the big golden wolf and came up coughing.

Quiet!
He’d been waiting for her in the shaded shallows, where tiled steps led up and out to the patio. Every part of him was submerged but for his nose and eyes. Somehow he’d folded his ears to keep them below the waterline, too.

She thought she’d strangle as she attempted to suppress her sputters and coughs, and settled for exposing her nose and snorting out as much water as possible.

Where do we go from here?
He glanced toward the house, watchful for any sign they’d been discovered.

She hadn’t asked Sonje that particular question, but it wasn’t hard to decide on a plan. Neva knew the layout of the grounds—and she remembered exactly where she’d managed to get over the wall herself.
On the west side, behind the greenhouse. We can get there in short runs so we have cover—from the pool house to the stand of cedars, along the rose hedge and west of the garage.

Kind of like a covert military operation.

She snorted some more.
Maybe they’ll make a movie out of it. On three…

They mounted the steps until they were on dry land—or rather, dry tile—but they didn’t take the time to shake the water from their pelts. Nor did they move like wolves. Instead, they
crept, panther-like, from point to point, as fast as they dared, keeping close to the foliage or in it. Everything went smoothly until they wriggled between the junipers and the brick wall of the enormous multicar garage. A howl sounded long and loud from the mansion steps and was taken up by a multitude of voices around it. Neva could hear the excited yips and barks of the pack as it spread swiftly over the grounds.
They’re hunting us.
Should they lie low or run for it? They were well hidden where they were, but—

Travis had already thought it through.
They’re just going to pick up our scent if we stay here. We have to make a run for it now.

They loped along the side of the garage under the protection of the prickly junipers, then bolted across the short open space to the greenhouse area. Neat nursery rows of tall, ornamental trees and thick rosebushes surrounded the big glass building, providing replacements for gardens and beds all over the estate—and welcome cover for the two fugitives.

Neva led Travis around the back, where a pallet of mulch had once helped her climb up and over the high stone wall that surrounded the grounds. Except the pallet wasn’t there anymore.
Crap!

We don’t need it.

What? Are you kidding? That wall has to be a dozen feet tall, maybe more. And the top is about two feet across.

Did you climb over it on two legs or four?

Two, of course.

Exactly. Now that you’re a Changeling, you can jump this, easy. You just need a running start. Come on.

Neva wasn’t sure about that at all. He’d said the swimming would be easy, too, and she was still leaking water from her sinuses, but she followed him anyway. A long row of red-flowered rhododendron shrubs ran perpendicular to the wall, and Travis
crept all the way back to the very last bush.
That’s about a hundred feet of runway. More than enough to give you momentum if you run as hard as you can.
He checked to see if anyone was looking in their direction.
We’re clear if we go now.

But I—

Just do what I do. You’ll be fine.
He launched himself like a sprinter, and for a moment she was mesmerized by the sheer power of the big wolf. Muscles bunched beneath the golden pelt, and legs gathered and released in long flying strides, his tail a banner behind him. Neva caught her breath as he was suddenly airborne, up and up, front legs tucked high. As he passed the top of the wall, he kicked off it powerfully with his hind legs and disappeared from sight.

Over there!

The words were loud in her mind, but it wasn’t Travis. Neva turned to see a group of wolves heading straight for her, ears flattened and teeth bared.
Jesus.
She ran for her life, straight for the wall. Certain she was following Travis’s example to the letter, she launched herself upward—only to discover that she’d leaped a couple of strides too soon. Her chest hit the top edge of the wall hard, knocking the breath from her. Still, she clung with her front feet while her hind claws scrabbled for purchase on the vertical stone. She could hear the pack approaching, but wolfen paws had no fingers, and she couldn’t get enough of a grip to pull herself up and over.
Help!
Just as she thought she was going to tumble backward, a familiar tawny figure appeared on the edge of the wall and ran to her.

Neva didn’t know what she was expecting. Maybe that Travis would shift to human form and grab her with his big strong hands. Instead, he simply closed his massive jaws tightly on the thick ruff and the tender underlying skin between her neck and her shoulders, and pulled.
Ow, dammit! No, wait, don’t—

But he did. With unbelievable strength, the golden wolf heaved her straight up and
over
the wall, then jumped down after her onto the field of ivy. Any other time she would have cussed him out, complained about the treatment or the new scrapes and bruises she’d just picked up. Or maybe she’d just plain slug him. This time, however, adrenaline overrode everything as Neva picked herself up and ran with everything she had. Together, she and Travis raced flat-out for the forest beyond.

Just as the first of their enemies gained the top of the wall.

Shaken and furious, Meredith stalked to her private elevator and headed down to the lower floors. She needed to soothe herself with the caress of magic, but not something strenuous. No demons today. She couldn’t stop rubbing the back of her neck, still feeling the hot breath of the big blond werewolf on the vulnerable skin, even as the deafening ring of his long sharp teeth still echoed in her ears. The first time she’d met the golden wolf, he had shown her no fear. And promised her no mercy. She’d been excited then, aroused and titillated by the threat, and amused at the novelty of it.

This time, the entertainment factor was distinctly lacking. The swiftness of the attack was the worst. Why, the creature could have severed her head from her body before she could react, before she could shape-shift and shock him away from her. Her own fault, definitely,
oh yes
. She’d been so caught up in the confrontation with Geneva that she’d forgotten all about Travis. And especially forgotten the fact that she’d called his wolf to come out. In fact, the little bitch had probably been trying to distract her on purpose, hoping her lover would succeed in killing her big sister for her.

Instead, the golden wolf had mocked her—
her!
—by knocking her down and walking over her, as if she was
nothing
. Her beautiful face had been marred by the impact, her nose bleeding and one eye puffed nearly shut. His hind claws had marked her back, gouging deep as they sprang off her body.

Her rage flared again at both the insult and the injury, and her silver wolf struggled to break free. But there was no one nearby to vent her feelings on, no one to tear asunder, no one’s entrails to yank out.
Now, now, be patient a little longer
, she told the creature that lived within her.
We’re going to take care of ourselves first, darling, and then I’ll turn you loose. You can start with that awful Riley wolf, and then we’ll go hunting.
Slowly, reluctantly, her alter ego settled, placated somewhat by her promises.

She had to pause a moment before her fisted hands could unclench enough to turn the key in the lock of her most loved sanctuary. Candles flared as she entered, but this was not her vast marble spell-crafting room. No, this was a much more intimate setting, a combination of study, spa, and elegant kitchen. Like a cook relaxing by trying out new recipes, the combining of ingredients for potions would help to ease the stress from her shoulders. And she needed to whip up something to take the bruising and swelling from her face. If she couldn’t restore it to its natural perfection quickly, she might have to put together a temporary glamour spell. Oh, and a hot soak would do her nerves such a world of good.

She’d tried to call Zarita, of course, but the doctor wasn’t answering. No doubt she was out there, driving the van, helping the rest of the pack search for the fugitives. Meredith wished she’d thought to call her first, before issuing the general command to recapture her little sister and her lover…but as a master of magic, Meredith could take care of herself if she must. As she gathered the elements for some of the spells, an unopened bottle of Black Pearl cognac caught her eye.

Dear old Andrei had once said that quality brandies—and this was among the very best—were designed to be savored in tiny amounts, but where was the fun in that? Her face hurt, she had a pounding headache, and her favorite toys had left the building. Meredith wanted to feel better
now
. She filled the crystal snifter past the halfway point and sipped steadily while she leaned over the elegant bronze bathtub and turned on the golden faucets. As it filled, she threw double handfuls of crushed juniper berries and geranium leaves into the water, and then carefully added three vials of blood from Geneva’s blond werewolf, Travis. The other three vials she emptied into her glass and watched as the crimson liquid spread ghostly tendrils throughout her dark drink like a tiny apparition.