Nights Embrace (Others of Seattle) (28 page)

Roxy sat in silence, curled up in the passenger seat. It hurt Trevor to see his fiery little temptress shut down and retreat into herself. He could feel her shame over snapping at their friends, but every one of his clan, including Trevor had gone through the mood swings. It was part of being a new wolf.

He held her hand tight, not daring to let her go as he drove them up into the foothills, and deep into the woods. Th
e cabin was close enough to Edenton that if they ran into trouble, they could get help.

He took a turn onto a rough logging road
which took them even deeper into the forest before he finally parked in a clearing out of sight from any main road. Fiona had wards set up to mask the cars, and even keep the clearing from view.

“We hike from here?” Roxy asked as she looked over
the area. There was a hint of smile on her lips.

“Aye. Do you mind?”

“Honestly, I love hiking. I don’t get up to the forest enough.”

“Really?” he asked, bringing her hand to
his mouth for a kiss. “Then I’ll take you more often.”

“You two are sickening,” Joey grumbled.

“No more than you and I,” Sorcha teased before climbing out of the Land Cruiser.

“You feeling better now?” Trevor asked.

“Hardly. I can’t believe how I acted. Snapping and screaming at everyone.” She laid her head back on the seat and sighed. “I feel like an idiot.”

“Want to know a secret?”

“What’s that?”

“Well, for one
, it’s not much of a secret, but you should have seen me the first few months after Dina attacked me. I was an arsehole to Joey, Shane and Fiona. I have no clue why they put up with me.”

“I can’t imagine that. You’ve been pretty much perfect since I met you.”

“Mmm, but I want to be your everything.”

“You are. I hope I can be yours.”

“You were from the moment I laid eyes on you.”

“You knew even then?”

“I did. Hope you don’t think that makes me a stalker.”

She actually laughed.
“If you are, I like it. Come on, let’s see this cabin.”

They climbed out together, and he grabbed her bags before she had a chance to get them.
“I know you can, but I want to carry them.”

“All right. If you insist.” She took his hand. “Lead on.”

* * * *

“I
cannot believe you didn’t try to take Roxy and Trevor when they were alone! You waited until their clan showed up. What were you thinking?” William practically screamed at Dina who cowered in the corner of the room.

The place had seemed warm and inviting until William lost his temper and the temperature plummeted. Boyd lay in
front of the fire in a heap. He was barely breathing as he bled into the thick white rug.

Dina blinked up at William
, who towered over her. “She broke my face. Boyd was only protecting me, like you would do for Kathryn.”

“You were supposed to take her by surprise. Not tip off their entire clan. You fools never get anything right.”

“If you had let us take her in the beginning, or better yet kill her, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation.”

William backhanded Dina so hard her head bounced off the wall and blood streamed down her chin. She whimpered but didn
’t dare to make eye-contact again. “We followed your orders. We didn’t know the others were watching, or we never would have attempted to take her without backup.”

“You were always a stupid woman. In the cafe would have been a far better place to take her than in the open.”

“We were in the alley, they were trying to keep us from the streets.”

“Ah, yes, but only because they knew you were following. And
they were right, which meant they were able to stop you.”

“Why is she so important?”

“I already told you, Roxana Nights is my daughter. She is like me. She will see reason and follow me.” William turned on his heel and gave Kathryn a dark look. “They are all yours, my love. Remember, they will be of use later, so make sure they are operational by tomorrow.”

“And where are you going?” her shrill voice
sneered.

“To find my daughter and talk some sense into her.”

“Good luck. I still think she’s a waste of time.”

* * * *

Sorcha hung back until Roxy caught up, then put her arm around Roxy, pulling her away from Trevor. Roxy pouted back at him.

“Go on,” he chuckled. “I’ll keep you in my sights.”

She blew him a kiss as Sorcha pulled her ahead.

“We’re almost there,” Sorcha
warned. “Don’t freak when you see the fog, and especially not when Fiona casts her spell.”

“And where is Fiona and the rest of them?”

“Oh, they came from the other side. They’ll meet us there.”

“That secretive?” Roxy asked.

“Yes, and for good reason. Besides the residents of Edenton, not that many people believe in werewolves or any Others.”

“I’m still not sure I
believe there are that many Others.”

“You should.” Sorcha glanced back at Trevor and snickered before whispering in Roxy’s ear. “You fucked a faerie.”

“Wha… what? Run that by me one more time?” she squawked.

Sorcha
leaned back in. “Toryn is fae, and old, really old.”

Roxy blinked and shook her head. She knew people called Toryn a fairy, but he did have a habit of sleeping with men.
“Wow, um… well.”

“What’s that?” Trev
or asked, hurrying to catch up.

She sighed.
“Long before I met you, I slept with Toryn Flame. We both knew it wasn’t anything more than a night of pleasure.” She swallowed hard, expecting some snide comment.

His brow arched.
“That doesn’t surprise me. You are beautiful, and he does love gorgeous women. I can only imagine he treated you far better than Jordan.”

“I take it you know him?” she asked with wide eyes.

“Aye, though not well. We’ve crossed paths before.”

She looked up to find thick fog before them.

“Hang on,” Sorcha said with a grin.

She heard Fiona
’s song and the fog rolled away, leaving a beautiful two story cabin with large windows.

“Holy shit. How the hell is this
all the way out here with no freaking roads?”

Trevor
explained, “Helicopters brought in most of the supplies. It took quite a few loads. Good thing seven strong werewolves get a lot of work done.”

Shane, Sorcha, Nick
and Fiona walked over to them.

Fiona nodded to the cabin.
“The spell keeps it hidden from everyone but us. Once you’ve been in it, and I make an adjustment, you’ll always be able to find it.”

“That’s amazing,” Roxy replied.

“Go on, let Trevor show you the place. Then you and I need to talk. Something has come up, and someone wants to meet you.”

“William?” Roxy
guessed with a sneer.

Trevor stiffened.

“Unfortunately. However, he is your father.” Fiona looked away, wringing her hands. “I don’t like it any better than you or Trevor, but where we’re meeting him, he can’t do any harm.”

“All right. Fine, I’ll meet him.” Roxy looked back at Trevor. “No matter what he says, I won’t take his side.”

“I’m not sure I could blame you if you did. Sometimes it’s hard to deny family.”

Her eyes widened.
“Maybe if he had done a decent job of fathering me, you might have something to worry about. Seeing as that was never the case, it will be a cold day in hell before I take his side.”

“Come on,” he took her hand and pulled her toward the house. She could feel his doubt rolling off him.

“I’ll find a way to prove it to you, Trevor. He may have some biological component in my DNA makeup, but he’s no father.” She squeezed his hand and stepped through the door only to freeze. It was a haven. Plush rugs, huge stone hearth, comfortable looking furniture, a ginormous TV. The opposite room was lined with shelves of books, great lighting, and another fireplace.

“Let me show you our room,” Trevor
invited. She followed up the stairs and to the first door on the right. He opened the door and sat her laptop on the large dark wood desk, her backpack against the matching armoire. The bed was as huge as the one at his place. Hell, the room was almost identical.

“Your room looks familiar,” she smiled back at him.

“Ours. Everything that is mine is also yours.” He pulled her into his arms. “No matter what happens this afternoon, please remember I love you.”

“Don’t do that. He can’t offer me anything worth taking. You are
my everything, Trevor.”

“Except your brother,” he whispered.

She gasped, her heart slamming into her ribs. “You said Fiona protected him.”

Fiona stepped into the room.
“I did. He’s safe. Don’t worry about Mike.”

Roxy relaxed, turning back to Trevor to place a gentle kiss on his lips.
“Then you have nothing to worry about.”

Fiona smiled.
“Now, after you see the rest of the cabin, I want to assure you we are going to meet William at a safe place. I have a mage friend in Edenton. He’ll let us use their bookshop. His woman has built some truly impressive wards around it. You will be safe.”

She took a deep breath and nodded.
“If you say so.”

“I do. Now go explore. We need to leave in the next
fifteen minutes.” Fiona left the room.

“
Come on.” Trevor stepped into the hall and she followed to explore the huge home that was nothing like any cabin she ever imagined.

* * * *

“Mages? We’re going to a bookstore run by mages?” Roxy was clearly amused. She turned toward the back to converse with Fiona.

Trevor
’s hands were wrapped tight around the steering wheel as he glared at the road. Hate, bitterness, and sorrow all rolled though him. So much of his pain was caused by her father. She kept saying it didn’t matter, she didn’t care about the past, or her blood relation to the man who killed his sister, taking his last solid connection to human life. He believed Roxy, but he was scared to death she would change her mind.

Fiona answered Roxy
’s question. “Yes, mages. Think similar to you and me, but less bound to nature magic.”

Roxy shook her head.
“What do you mean?”

“Well, druids are better at mostly earth and air magics, as well as healing
, in most cases, which I believe is nature. Mages manipulate elements, but they tend to be best with fire and water. There are also light and dark magics which some can wield.”

Roxy turned around to sit back in her seat. There was a frown on her face, her eyes narrowed as she worked that out.

“Don’t worry about remembering it all now. As I teach you more about your magic, I can better describe the different sources.”

“What is shifting magic?” Roxy asked lightly.

“Nature I would venture.” Fiona shrugged. “Don’t worry about shifting to another animal. That can take time to learn, and is usually triggered by a big event.”

“
Like being attacked by Dina and Boyd?”

“You were likely suffering from a concussion. Your brain wasn’t catching up. So it makes sense it didn’t trigger a change.”

“I’m not much of a druid,” Roxy grumbled.

“You will be. You were never properly trained. Perhaps your mother never knew.”

“I don’t know.”

“We’re almost there,” Trevor told her.

Roxy’s brow arched. “Don’t tell me the book store is part of Inktastic.”

He chuckled.
“No, but they are across the street. Why? You want more ink?”

“I haven’t come up with a good design yet.” She took his hand. “I was thinking maybe we should get a matching tattoo.”

He parked and then turned to her. “You want a matching tattoo beyond our crests?”

“I do. Something symbolic. Maybe you can help me
come up with something.”

“I’ll think on it.”

Fiona suggested, “You could ask Shane. He’s a talented artist.”

“
No offense, but I’d probably ask Mikey.” Roxy turned to climb out.

Trevor groaned and followed, hurrying to catch up with her.
“I like opening the door for you,” he scolded affectionately.

“Yeah, well you’re the first. I guess I’m not used to it.”

He pulled her close and whispered in her ear. “I want to pamper you.”