The Covert Wolf (31 page)

“All this time you thought you were different. You were.” Gently, Matt wiped away her tears with his thumb.

“Chloe wove the story about my mother and father to explain the violence I’d witnessed and so others would think I was a hybrid. She had to invent the story about my father’s violence so I wouldn’t search for any Draicon while I was still young and vulnerable. It was all to protect me until I got older. And I believed it myself because the memories were too terrible to bear. The glamour I projected, part of my natural abilities, could be explained if I were Fae. But she knew I didn’t belong to the Fae and that’s why she turned me out when I turned of age. Chloe said I would find my true destiny, but I had to find it on my own.”

His embrace felt solid and sure, a steady rock of support. But she was too confused, too upset.

“I was wrong,” he admitted. “I resented the Fae for what happened to Adam, for their refusal to intervene. I thought they were pacifists too cowardly to fight. And they were here, all along, keeping you safe, risking their own lives to save another.”

Releasing her, he rubbed a thumb over the tracks of her drying tears. “They’re the bravest of all, because they sacrificed so much.”

“And now they’re gone. I never had a chance to say goodbye. I’m alone now.”

“You’re not alone, sweetheart. Stay with me. I’ll take good care of you. I promise. I don’t care what you are. Draicon, Fae, even one of those blasted gargoyles… I love you, Sienna, for who you are.”

Breath caught in her lungs. She loved him, too. But love sometimes wasn’t enough. Life interfered.

“I love you, Matt. I think I have for a while. But your duty comes first. Doesn’t it? Your duty to the SEALs and the navy. To bring this in and lock it away.”

“I won’t leave you alone,” he said, his jaw tensing.

“And if you don’t, you’ll face far worse than discipline from the navy. You have no choice, Matt. They need your strength and your courage. You are meant for this job. I’ve seen exactly how much you’re needed,” she said gently.

“You’re coming with me. I’ll get you settled with Jammer’s sister—you’ll like her…she’s a psi….”

Sienna gave a brittle laugh. “I’ve spent my entire life living a lie, thinking I’m something I’m not. I can’t live with another species, not when I barely know what I am. Don’t you see? I can’t come with you, Matt. I need time alone.”

His big hand slid up to tunnel through her hair. She closed her eyes at his soothing caress. “Don’t be alone, Sienna. Stay with me.”

“For how long? Until you ship out again? Then where will I be? I have to find my own way. You want to mate with me because you think I’ll fit into your lifestyle, in a nice, neat package. But I’m a misfit. I can’t fit in. I’m a homeless Draicon without a pack—” she struggled with the lump in her throat “—without a people. I need to find myself first.”

He started to protest. She placed the orb in his hand. “Take it. Do what you must.”

His eyes were very blue. “It’s too powerful, Sienna. No one group can keep it safe.”

“I trust you. Promise me no evil will ever gain its power.”

“I promise,” he said solemnly. “I can’t leave you here.”

She gave a small smile, hiding the sadness spearing her. “But you must.”

“I’ll be back as soon as I can. Won’t you come with me? I’m begging you, Sienna…we can work this out.”

“You can’t understand what I’m going through. You have a pack, a family. A team. You belong. You’re part of a bigger picture, someone very important who’s needed to fight evil.” No way was she sliding into self-pity. Sienna offered a brave smile to hide the hurt. “I’m unique. Only one of me. I don’t fit in and maybe it was my destiny that I never did fit in.”

“I want to understand. Give it a chance. You’re not alone, Sienna.”

Standing on tiptoe she reached up and kissed him, a last, lingering kiss. Then she drew away, pressing her fingers to his lips.

The truth, the damn truth, shattered her. “Yes,” she whispered, smiling to disguise the hot tears welling in her eyes. “I am.”

Chapter 19

T
he cabin was empty and dark. Without Matt, it felt cold and lifeless.

He’d disregarded orders and had not taken her memories. But as she’d watched him walk away, duffel slung over one broad shoulder, she almost wished he had. Because it hurt too much to remember.

A week later, Sienna wandered around her living room, remembering Matt sprawled on her sofa, remembering how they’d made love before the roaring fire. His presence was a ghost in every room.

But that was the past. She had to make a new life for herself, now that she knew her true heritage. The Fae had set her free to find herself. To discover what she truly was.

All this time, she’d sought to belong to a group that would love and accept her for herself. She’d tried hard to fit in and please her aunt, please the others.

It was about time she finally learned to please herself.

Sienna breathed on the pane of glass and rubbed her finger over it. She traced his name.

Matt Parker.

She didn’t need the Orb to discover the truth. She missed him like crazy. She loved him. His steadiness, his enormous courage and loyalty, the way dimples dented his cheeks when he gave one of his cocky grins.

She loved talking with him, arguing with him, the way he respected her individuality.

He didn’t care if she were Fae, Draicon, or if her skin turned gray and she sprouted wings like a gargoyle.

Chloe’s voice echoed in her mind.
Go find your destiny, my darling. Seek who you are. You’ve been cloistered here too long.

Cloistered. Shut away, like the Orb itself, she’d become dull and listless. It was time to expand her horizons, seek new adventures. She was afraid before. The Fae had offered a bubble of security. It always surrounded her, even when she was apart from them. Once, she’d just wanted things to go back to the way they were. Her old life as a Fae was forever gone.

Now she had nothing to lose.

Except Matt.

Sienna realized she had everything to gain.

Sienna found her cell phone, made a call. Then she went into the bedroom to pack.

* * *

“Yo, Dakota, you’re awfully quiet these days. Thinking about a little something-something?”

From across the room, Matt threw his laptop at Renegade. The Draicon ducked, sending the computer into the wall. It cracked and fell.

“Mind much, Jammer?”

The big psi shrugged his broad shoulders and flicked a hand. The computer repaired itself and then came sailing back through the air to Matt.

“Thanks.” He powered up and went back to typing his report. The “official” report of how the seven SEALs and their commander had successfully prevented a cult of homegrown terrorists from using stolen Semtex to blow up a popular Colorado tourist lake retreat.

The SEALs of the Phoenix Force were in the team’s ready room in the ST21 compound in Little Creek. Bored with paperwork, they were eager and itching for action. All except for Matt.

He couldn’t get a certain attractive Draicon out of his system. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Sienna, standing forlornly at her cabin door. Alone.

He wanted her. Needed her. Wanted to grow old with her, sitting on the porch of that little cabin, watching their grandchildren play at their feet. Wanted to go to bed every night with her, and watch her sleepy green eyes open first thing in the morning. Make love with her, fight with her, seal himself to her.

“That Sienna, she provided some show, huh?”

Matt glanced up at J.T.

“A dragon. A damn dragon. She kicked ass. Saved our hides.” Respect showed in the other SEAL’s face. “Never seen anything like it.”

“Sienna could be a SEAL herself.” Shay tossed a baseball into the air, caught it and flung it up again. “She should be protected. The Orb’s gone, but she’s the last surviving member of a race, and the last survivor of the Orb’s powers.”

“And Dakota left her.” Dallas snorted. The Draicon looked askew at Matt. “Surprised you didn’t miss a chance to jump her. She was hot.”

Fury boiled inside him. “Don’t you dare talk about her that way,” he said in a low voice.

“Cool it, Dallas,” Shay said quietly. “Shut your muzzle.”

Dallas looked up from his computer, amusement on his handsome face. “If you did jump her, maybe you absorbed some of her hot-hot-hotness. Her powers, I mean. Maybe a pretty lady like Sienna could make your ugly mug a sight more bearable.”

He gave a long, low howl.

Matt stood, the chair spilling to the floor. The change came swiftly, claws erupting on his fingertips, bone and muscles changing. Wolf wanted to rip him to shreds for daring to insult his Sienna. With a snarl, he bared his teeth and leaped over the desk. Dallas shifted at the same time, a black muscled wolf ready to take him on.

Hotness. Damn it, I’ll show you hotness, I’ll give you heat….

He felt his body twist and lengthen, his fury building into a crescendo, his muzzle becoming elongated…. What the hell?

Dallas stood atop his desk, but instead of challenge in the other’s eyes, there was stark fear. Good. Show the bastard he couldn’t tangle with him…

Opening his mouth to growl, Matt pulled his teeth back in a snarl.

Flames shot out of his mouth, fanning over the wall, missing Dallas by a hair. The other SEAL’s claws skittered on the desk as he jumped off and raced across the room.

Shouts of alarm, the hiss of an extinguisher playing on the flames, putting them out. Matt hovered in the air, confused and stunned.
What happened?

“Holy shit…what did you put in your kibble, wolf?” Sully stood, hugging the wall, staring up at him.

“Hot sauce,” Dallas croaked, now changed back to his human form.

“Dakota, look at yourself. It’s okay. Just come down. We’ll deal with it, okay?”

Shay’s quiet assurance gave him pause. Matt looked down.

He hovered in midair. Papers flew off the desks, blown by something fanning the air. Matt twisted his neck.

Wings. He had wings. He looked down. Instead of a furred paw, there were long, red claws emerging from a scaled foot.

Wolf. I’m wolf. Wolf.

Forcing the thought to race through his mind, quelling the panic, he felt his body begin to shift and change once more.

He fell to the floor, stunned, shivering and naked. The other SEALs gathered around, forming a ring. Matt glanced into the faces of his teammates, those he trusted the most.

They looked at him as if a monster had dropped into their midst.

Never had he felt so alone.

A name raced through his mind, like a soothing chant.

Sienna.

He felt his body shrink, become more delicate and soft, yet within the softness was a core of steel. Strength and determination.

“Holy shit,” Shay said softly.

“Maybe he’s trying to get in touch with his feminine side,” Dallas said, his mouth twisted in shock.

“What’s happened?” His voice was a bare croak.

Shay marched him toward a wall where a small mirror hung. “Easy. Take a deep breath. Now look at yourself.”

Matt looked. And screamed.

* * *

It took all of Sienna’s courage to admit the truth—she needed help. For years, trained to be solely Fae, she knew nothing about being wolf.

But when Matt’s sister picked her up at the airport, Sienna felt only acceptance. The Draicon female wrapped her in hugs, and took her to the family home. The males were wary at first, but in the past two days had come to accept her.

Especially when all the females ignored them in favor of Sienna.

Two days later, Matt phoned. Now he was on his way to visit “because I have something to show you.”

She’d spent an anxious night, wondering what he wanted, desperate to see him again. The others had discreetly left with an excuse to shop in town. When the front door opened, all her anxiety faded like mist under a hot sun.

Sienna raced to him, jumping into his arms and showering him with kisses. He laughed, the sound utterly joyful as she buried her face into his shoulder.

“This is the kind of welcome a guy dreams of. The kind of welcome I’d always dreamed of when returning from a mission.”

They sat on the comfortable sofa. Matt glanced around, gave her a long, thoughtful look. Sienna hastened to explain.

“I called Cindy and explained I needed help.” Sienna swallowed hard. “She’d been friendly to me and I was hoping… I hoped…she could teach me about being a wolf. Because I know nothing about being a Draicon.”

Her lower lip wobbled. “I may be the last of a species, but I’m tired of being alone.”

Warmth surged through her as he cupped her face, leaned his forehead against hers. “You’re not alone, Sienna. Watch.”

He stepped back, stretching out his arms. Going to change into a wolf…

Shock slammed into her as Matt shifted. No longer the tall, muscled and handsome man wearing a polo shirt and gray Dockers.

She stared at a mirror image of herself. A woman with long brown hair, green eyes and a full mouth.

“Right.” The other Sienna gave a shaky laugh. “I have your powers of transformation, too.”

She blinked, unable to focus. Feeling like it was a dream, a crazy, wonderful dream as hope stole slowly over her.

Then her twin vanished and Matt reappeared. He gave a small smile. “All I could think about was you, so it’s the shape I assumed. I did shift into a dragon at the base, when Dallas made me so angry all I could think about was frying him.”

Emotion clogged her throat. “I don’t understand…how did this happen?”

“It was in you.” He drew close and laid a hand over her heart. “The Orb’s powers. The last time we made love, I absorbed your powers. It happens to two Draicon who are destined to be together, Sienna. I am as you are. No longer Draicon. But Diablo, as well. Confession time, pixie. It scared the hell out of me. I don’t know how to deal with this.”

“Oh, Matt.” She touched his cheek, marveling at his honesty and his courage. “I don’t know how to be a Diablo, either. Or a Draicon. But I do know this. I love you, and I don’t want to let you go. I don’t care what you are.”