Return to Kadenburg (6 page)

“Wait, what?” Presley blinked, frowning again as she
cocked her head to the side. “You
want
me to get out of here? Your
boss isn’t going to like that very much, is he?” Her heart skipped a few beats
at the thought of seeing Lorcan again. How many days had it been now? Five,
wasn’t it? She’d lost track of time; maybe it had been much longer than that.

“I have no boss,” the woman replied firmly, her thumb
stroking Presley’s cheek. “But I do have obligations in life. I’ve been
running from them for too long.”

A surge of heat ran through Presley’s veins, like a
jolt of electricity as the hair on her arms stood on end. What was that,
exactly?

“I need you to take care of yourself,” the woman added
after a moment. “And take care of this one.”

Presley’s brows furrowed again as she lowered her head,
watching as the woman pressed her palm against her stomach. Another jolt of
electricity ran through every nerve ending as her eyes immediately clouded
over.

“You mean…..I’m….”

The woman nodded. “Yes,” her smile returned, but it
was a sad one. “The cub you carry inside of you deserves a fighting chance in
this world, Presley, and so do you. That’s why I am risking my life for
yours. Breslin cannot take Kadenburg. He cannot drive us into extinction, do
you understand?”

Presley’s mouth fell open as ten thousand different
emotions tried to consume her very soul. She blinked back the tears as she
shook her head. “Us? You mean, you’re a…..”

“Yes,” the female nodded eagerly. “Yes, I am, and I’m
so sorry we never had the opportunity to get to know one another. I hope that
this will make up for it, somehow. It’s what your father would’ve wanted, I
think.”

“My father?” Presley’s bottom lip quivered. And then
another thought occurred as she gazed into the pale green eyes of the woman
before her. Yes, it made sense now. Maybe it shouldn’t have, and maybe she
was crazy for what she was feeling; but she somehow knew exactly why this woman
was helping her now. “Aunt Natalie?”

“Yes!” Natalie whispered excitedly as she wrapped her
arms around Presley and pulled her close. “Yes, Presley. I’m so sorry for
everything,” she sniffled. “I’m so sorry I’ve gotten you into this mess.”

“You didn’t…..I mean….you’re not the one who put
Breslin up to trying to claim Kadenburg, right?” She asked softly, still trying
to process this new information. This woman was her aunt; the one Uncle Arnold
seemed to hate, and the one she understood to hate everything they stood for.
Didn’t Natalie hate being an ursithrope? Wasn’t that what Arnold said?

“No,” Natalie admitted as she pulled back to wipe at
her own tears. “But I did mention I had a niece.”

Presley shrugged. “What does that have to do with
anything?”

“It has everything to do with it, I’m afraid,” Natalie
confessed as she lowered her gaze to the floor. “We don’t have much time,
Presley, but I’ll tell you what I can.”

Seven

O
nce they were in the safety of the hotel room
and Dimitri was tucked beneath the blankets, Rutley picked up the phone on the
nightstand and dialed his father’s number. He eased down into an ugly beige
chair near the heater, stretching his legs out as he waited for his father to
answer.

On the fourth ring, his father’s sleepy voice echoed in
his ear. “Hello?”

“Hey, Dad, it’s me,” Rutley said as he lazily pushed
his boots off.

“Hey,” his father suddenly sounded much more alert.
“What time is it?”

“Uh,” Rutley glanced at the clock near the television,
reading over the illuminated numbers. “Eleven twenty three. Were you
seriously in bed already?”

His father didn’t answer immediately and it made Rutley
wonder if he’d asked the wrong thing.

“Yeah,” his dad finally said. “It’s just been a long
day. I was tired. Did you find anything?”

Rutley glanced at the bed then, his eyes falling upon
the sleeping male nestled beneath the sheets. He watched the steady rise and
fall of his chest and licked his lips. “Kind of.”

“Kind of? What the hell is that supposed to mean? Did
you get any leads from Mrs. Bamey?”

“Sort of,” Rutley replied purposefully. “But I’ll tell
you about it tomorrow. I’m pretty tired myself so I think I’m going to turn in
for the night. I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”

“Rutley, wait.”

“Yeah?”

“Where are you? Why didn’t you just come home for the
night? You’ve got a bed here, you know…..”

“Yeah, I know,” Rutley gripped the receiver tightly as
his jawline flexed and relaxed. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodnight.”

He hung up before his father had the opportunity to say
anything else. He didn’t want to talk about it anyway. He had more important
things to worry about in the moment, and none of those things involved his
father trying to mend things between them.

Leaning forward, he rested his elbows against his
thighs and exhaled a steady breath. At least he’d found one of them, although
he was fairly sure the ‘one’ he’d retrieved was a werewolf and he was supposed
to kill any and all he came across.

What sense would it make to kill a man he’d just
saved? It would be like going on vacation just to sleep the entire time;
pointless.

“Seems like we’ve got ourselves a situation here,” he
said thoughtfully.

He still had to find Lorcan, Presley, and the Kress
boy. Maybe once this Dimitri character woke up, he could get more information
out of him. Damn it, he was running short on time.

“Hey,” he nudged the male’s arm with a single finger.
“You need to wake up.”

He waited for five seconds and then he poked him
again. “I’m serious. I need to talk to you.”

Dimitri groaned, rolling onto his side so that his back
was facing Rutley. He murmured softly and Rutley had to lean in closer just to
hear what he was saying.

“Liam.”

It felt like he’d been punched in the gut as he quickly
pulled away, his eyes staying on the male’s back as he rubbed at the back of
his neck vigorously. That’s right. The werewolves in the woods had mentioned
Liam. This guy
knew
Liam.

His mouth went dry on him as he stood from the chair
and moved towards the bathroom. He felt sick, and way too hot. He needed to
get a grip.

He quickly flicked on the light switch, listening to
the annoyingly loud hum of the vent overhead as he gazed at the mirror. His
reflection stared back at him, dirty and bewildered. Was he losing his mind or
something? Had he not done what his father asked of him?

Those werewolves were going to kill Dimitri, who could
possibly also be a werewolf; so he had done the right thing, right? Once he got
the male good and awake, he could find out where Lorcan and Presley were being
kept. He could save them all and leave this God forsaken town. A job well
done; a pat on the back; good riddance, Kadenburg. It was the perfect plan.

After splashing some water on his face, Rutley returned
to the main part of the hotel room and immediately spotted the coffee pot.
Perfect. That’s exactly what he needed right now, actually. Within minutes,
the small machine was gurgling to life and producing a generic version of the
caffeinated goodness he’d grown addicted to some time ago. He wandered back
outside, opening the trunk of his car to pull out the long duffle bag he’d
brought with him from Florida.

There wasn’t much inside, truth be told. There was one
extra change of clothes, two pairs of underwear, his phone charger, toothbrush,
toothpaste, shampoo (who even used those pitiful excuses for shampoo in a hotel
anyway), and a razor. He hadn’t really intended on staying for longer than a
day until his father dropped the werewolf bomb on him.

Maybe he should’ve known to bring more clothes with
him, but there was a part of him that had really hoped it wasn’t going to be a
long ordeal. In fact, as heartless as it seemed, had it not been for the fact
of knowing Liam was involved in all of this, he would’ve already been long
gone.

Yet I do have a code to honor,
he reminded
himself gently as he moved back into the hotel room and dropped his duffle bag
onto the floor. He blew out a low breath, resting his hands on his hips as he
stared at the male sleeping on the bed. Had he been romantically involved with
Liam at some point? He had a lot of questions that needed answers, and that’s
why he’d retrieved his bag in the first place.

He crouched down to unzip the
old duffle bag, rummaging through it until he found the small bottle he was
looking for. Should he have felt guilty for using it on Mrs. Bamey? Nah, not
really. He needed her to be honest with him, and there was no better way to
get information out of a person than by way of his great-grandfather’s
concoction. It was a truth serum of sorts, and he didn’t know all of the
ingredients used in it; although he did know Sodium Thiopental was involved.

Ten minutes later, Rutley was easing down onto the side
of the bed, gripping a plastic cup full of hot coffee as he stared at the
sleeping male. Dimitri had managed to roll onto his back again, so it was
easier to influence the strong scent directly towards his nostrils.

“Wakey wakey,” Rutley said in a somewhat upbeat tone.
“I’ve got coffee.”

Everybody enjoyed coffee, right? At least that was
the observation Rutley had made from a small age. Everybody always seemed to
have a cup of coffee. Every teacher he’d ever had during his school career
clung to their mug, and his father seriously needed to consider having an IV
hooked up to himself; so why would this guy be any different?

“Hey,” Rutley said more firmly as he pressed his knee
against Dimitri’s thigh. “Wake up. I’m not playing around with you.”

The corner of Dimitri’s mouth twitched as his brows
lowered on his forehead. His eyes moved rapidly back and forth beneath his
closed lids as he mumbled again. “No….”

Rutley rolled his eyes in annoyance, opting to put the
cup of coffee on the night stand before his open palm made contact with the
other male’s cheek. “I said wake-”

Strong fingers wrapped around his wrist in a death
grip, and Rutley grimaced from the pressure being applied to the bone as his
eyes lifted to meet wild hazel hues.

“Don’t fucking hit me again,” Dimitri growled. And it
wasn’t the growl of an angry man; it was the growl of an animal begging to be
released. An animal that Rutley was trained to kill and never question; yet
here he was, face to face with one of
them
, and he was making no move to
kill it.

He could hear a small popping noise and he grunted, his
eyes staying on Dimitri’s as he pursed his lips together. “Whoa, hey now,” he
licked his lips quickly. “I’m on your side, pal. I just saved your ass from
getting killed. Do you get that? I’d really appreciate if you’d stop breaking
my wrist now.”

Dimitri’s eyes flashed, but he finally released Rutley’s
wrist before he swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood. He swayed
back and forth for a moment, reaching out quickly to grab the bedpost as he
panted. “What did you do to me?” He asked in a low voice.

“I didn’t do anything,” Rutley insisted as he stood,
rubbing at his tender wrist. “Well, aside from saving your life. You’re welcome.”

Dimitri turned his head to glance at him over his
muscular shoulder, his brows furrowing together as he frowned. “Thanks,” he
muttered.

“That’s better,” Rutley nodded, taking a step back to
give the male some room. A disoriented wolf was one thing, and a mad wolf
definitely another; but when a wolf was disoriented
and
mad, Rutley knew
it could be a destructive combination. A combination he had no interest in
seeing the results of at that moment. “I made you some coffee.”

“I don’t want coffee,” Dimitri responded as he stalked
to the window and pulled the curtain back. His eyes searched the night sky
before he turned to stare at Rutley. “I need to go.”

Dimitri moved fast, but somehow, Rutley managed to move
faster. He literally flung himself against the door, extending his arms to the
sides as he stared up at him. “Now wait just a damn minute,” he said through
clenched teeth. “I did not carry your ass through a mile of woods just for you
to leave now and not give me any answers.”

Dimitri growled again, his upper lip curling back to
reveal the elongating fangs as his eyes glowed. “Don’t make me move you,” he
warned.

Rutley licked his lips, his heart hammering against his
ribcage as he tried to figure out his next step. Hell, this was a bad idea.
He should’ve taken the wolf straight to his father for an interrogation, yet he
didn’t. Why didn’t he?

Because you’re a damn idiot,
he thought as his
eyes met Dimitri’s again. He’d never really seen a werewolf’s eyes in person
before. Sure, he’d seen plenty of werewolves from a distance…..right before he
put a bullet in their heads, but this was very different. He could feel
Dimitri’s breath against his skin. He could feel the energy tingling from the
other’s close proximity. He should’ve been terrified about that, but he wasn’t
exactly
scared
.

“Move,” Dimitri repeated as he pressed his palm against
the door, right beside of Rutley’s head. His long claws scraped at the paint
as he sneered.

“No,” Rutley replied as he blinked.

“Are you deaf?” The wolf asked as he dug his claws into
the door, dragging them down several inches before stopping just above Rutley’s
shoulder. “Move or that’ll be your stomach.”

Rutley held his gaze, blue hues battling against swirls
of brown and green as he licked his lips in an effort to moisten them. “You’re
not going to hurt me,” he whispered.

Another growl ripped past Dimitri’s lips as his fingers
moved with lightning speed, wrapping around Rutley’s throat. “What makes you
think that?” He asked in a raspy tone. “I know what you are. I know what you
do,” his eyes narrowed as he glared at him. “You bear the mark of a hunter,”
he hissed, his thumb stroking over the side of his neck.

Rutley grunted, squirming beneath the wolf’s iron grasp
as he frowned. “What the hell are you talking about? I don’t have any marks.”

“You can’t see it, but I can,” Dimitri whispered, his
nose nudging against Rutley’s jawline as he inhaled deeply.

“Okay, that’s just weird. Stop sniffing me,” Rutley
grunted, pushing his palms against Dimitri’s chest. The large wall of a man
wouldn’t budge, but why would he? He was a freaking werewolf. He felt the
muscles tensing beneath the male’s shirt and he froze, staring at him
quizzically. “Now what is it?” He asked.

There was a pained expression on Dimitri’s face as he
pulled away, letting Rutley fall to the floor with a small
oomph
. His
eyes widened as he stared down at him, panting heavily. “Why do you smell like
him?”

“What?” Rutley asked, rubbing at the side of his neck.
Damn, that was going to bruise. “What do you mean?”

“Liam,” Dimitri stated as he raked his fingers through his
auburn hair. “Why do you smell like him?”

“Dude, you are freaking crazy,” Rutley scowled as he
wiped the sweat from his forehead. “You’ve got some serious issues. I saved
your life and you repay me by choking me and then sn-”

His voice drifted off as he pulled his hand away,
gazing at the light scar on his palm. For a fleeting moment, he was pulled
back into his early adolescence. He could remember how hot the sun was that
day, as he and Liam roamed the woods in search of nothing in particular.

“Let’s become blood brothers,” Liam stated excitedly
as he pulled his pocket knife out.

“What?” Rutley squeaked, turning around to
stare at his best friend.

“Yeah!” Liam grinned. “Blood brothers, you
know? We cut ourselves and let our blood mix together. You get my blood and I
get yours. We can be brothers.”