The Wolf Fount (20 page)

“Have I thanked you for dumping her on me? If I haven’t, thank you. She’s a hell of a woman, and me, I’m a lucky, lucky guy.” Thane smiled, then quietly left, leaving Cal blinking.

His shock didn’t last long though. A smile grew on his face. “Then it didn’t go completely sideways, my friend.”

M
organ was sitting under the trees, watching the back door. She’d fully intended to leave—really leave, maybe make her way to New York—but at the edge of the back lot, she’d realized she didn’t want to leave Thane. She’d picked a spot, and was waiting to see if he’d come after her.

Three weeks. That is not enough time to get this tangled about a guy. Especially one who never fucking talks
. She picked a few blades of grass and shredded them. Confronting Calhoun had not been part of her plan, and Morgan was afraid that having done so, making it clear they’d screwed each other, had changed Thane’s mind about her.

The back door opened and she looked up. It was Thane. He spotted her immediately. Morgan stayed put, unable to tell anything from his face or movements as he walked across the lot. The closer he drew, the stronger her feeling became that she’d ruined things with him.

He sat down a few feet away, and cocked his head. “You all right?”

Morgan felt her mouth fall open and couldn’t immediately close it.
He fucking talked. Actually opened his mouth, and let words come out
.

Thane half-smiled. “Never get tired of people doing that.”

She closed her mouth and swallowed. His voice was low, but clear. Pleasantly deep. “What’s with the sudden need to make noise?”

“This is worth the headache.”

“Headache?”

“Yeah. I spent a long time as a prisoner. Don’t remember how long, don’t remember who had me, but I do remember that I wasn’t allowed to speak.” He picked a pine needle off the branch hanging over their heads. “When I broke that rule, I paid for it with pain and blood first, and starvation after. We can’t starve to death in case you’re wondering.”

She was staring at him in horror, but he continued. “It’s so engrained, to expect punishment for talking, that I kind of give myself migraines when I do. No one’s figured out how to stop them yet. So fair warning: I’ll probably be pretty sick for a day or two.”

“Just stop talking before it gets that bad then.”

Thane shook his head. “This is important. I want you to know that I don’t care about your past.”

“What about having Cal’s sloppy seconds?”
Oh, fuck me, why did I just ask him that
?

When it earned a scowl from him, Morgan flinched, but Thane said, “Don’t talk about yourself like that. You’re not used goods.”

“That’s exactly what I...”

“No, you’re not. Not to me.”

She was afraid to ask, but did anyway. “What am I to you?”

“Beautiful.”

“I never dreamed that when you finally decided to talk to me, you’d be so full of shit.”

He laughed. “You need to learn to take a compliment.”

“You need glasses.”

“All I need to know is that you’re not going to take off. And you didn’t. I hope you didn’t because of me.”

Morgan nodded. “I was going to New York when I ran out the back door. This is how far I made it, before I thought of you. Been sitting here since.”

Thane smiled. “Then we’re good. Ready to head home?”

Home
.
I’ll be damned if that’s not the best word in the world right now
. “Answer one question first.”

“Sure.”

“Our first night, was any of that a lie?”

Thane slowly shook his head, keeping his eyes locked on hers. “No.”

Morgan wasn’t expecting the hot flush of satisfaction his answer caused. She noticed the skin tightening around his eyes, and that he looked slightly paler. “Okay. Let’s go home, but maybe I should drive.”

“Good plan.” He pulled the keys free of his pocket and handed them to her. For once, she was the one offering him help to rise. “Thanks.”

“You close your mouth now.” Morgan pulled his arm over her shoulders. “We should’ve parked back here.”

“Yeah.”

“I said shut up. Just lean on me and walk.” Being a Were, she was stronger now, and in spite of his size, kept him moving until they reached the front corner of the building. Jerome spotted them and jogged over.

“Thane, my man, you gotta stop running your mouth so much.” He took over holding up the were-liger. “You got the keys?” When Morgan nodded, he said, “Go get the truck. I’ll get him in and call ahead so someone meets you to help get him downstairs. Make sure the radio’s off.”

“Okay. Thanks.” She hurried off, torn between worry and a level of relief she’d never felt.
We’re good. That’s what he said
.
We are good
.

Finding the SUV, she unlocked it and climbed in behind the steering wheel. After adjusting the seat position—
Damn, Thane has long legs
—Morgan started the vehicle and drove over to pick him up. Jerome lifted him into the seat then worked the controls to recline it before buckling Thane’s seatbelt. “You buckle up too. They’ll be expecting you, but don’t drive crazy.”

“I’ll take care of him.”

Jerome flashed a smile. “I’m sure you will.”

He shut the door as quietly as possible and Morgan buckled in before patting Thane’s thigh. She whispered, “Just rest. I’ll get us home.”

Eyes squeezed shut, he still managed a faint smile.

C
al stayed in his suite long after Thane left to find Morgan, mulling over his actions since first spotting her, and wondering if Thane were right.
Am I losing my touch
?

The consensus was clear: he’d handled things badly with her. She thought he’d used her, Thane thought he’d coerced her, and he himself thought he’d screwed up. Yet, the results weren’t all bad. Morgan was attached to Thane, and the were-liger to her.
He’s far better suited to dealing with her
.

And Morgan
... Cal smiled, remembering her display of understanding Thane down at the bar. Three weeks, and she could do that without hesitation.
Seems to indicate she and Thane belong together
.

Jake burst into the suite. “We have a problem.”

“What?”

“They didn’t make it back to base. Thane and Morgan.”

Cal jumped to his feet. “Did anyone see them leave?”

“Jerome helped put him in the truck. He said Thane was out of it.”

Fuck
. Had Morgan decided to leave, and taken Thane with her? Sliding a hand over his head, Cal nodded. “Let’s go. We’ll check the road.”

T
he surface under her was hard and unyielding. Morgan opened her eyes, only to immediately reclose them as pain lanced through her head. At first, she couldn’t remember what had happened to leave her lying in such pain, but as it slowed to a dull throb, she tried to piece together the images whirling in her mind.

She’d left a club. No, the club: Chanteloup.
Why is it so hard to think, and what the hell is that noise
?

Morgan risked cracking one eye open. There wasn’t much light, and the only thing visible was a dirty concrete wall maybe two feet away. She was lying on her side. The sounds were coming from behind her. Soft slurping and sucking noises.
Oh, someone’s getting a blow job
.

She closed her eye, only to slowly open both. Who’d be getting their rocks off in a place like this? And how the hell had she ended up wherever here was?

Why do I hurt so much
?

Though she was expecting one, another stab of pain didn’t occur. Just the dull throbbing. That was better. Okay, she’d been driving away from Chanteloup after an ugly scene with Calhoun. She hadn’t been in her car, but something larger.

Wasn’t someone with me
? Morgan frowned at the wall.
Yes... oh shit
.
Thane
.

He’d been with her, and really sick. They were returning to the base, going home.
But what happened
?

She closed her eyes, trying to recall more of her scattered memories now that a few had been put in their proper places. It had been dark. Then there were bright lights and loud noises. Her stomach lurched.

Someone hit us
.

It became much easier to piece things together. She remembered the impact, hearing herself scream, and the SUV rolling over and over. The airbag had scraped her face raw at some point, and the last thing Morgan was able to recall was hanging from her seatbelt before everything went black.

Now I’m here, wherever here is. But where is Thane
?

Caution urged that she move slowly. Morgan tested each of her limbs with tiny stretches, confirming that yes, everything fucking hurt like hell. But she could move, and did, rolling carefully onto her back before turning her head toward the sounds.

A large figure resolved into two after a few blinks. Thane’s head was held at an uncomfortable angle, but his eyes were closed, his face slack. He was unconscious. The second figure was crouched beside him, one hand fisted in the were-liger’s short hair, and had its face buried against Thane’s neck.

It took Morgan a full minute to comprehend what she saw: a vampire feeding on Thane.

Heart or head
. Those were the only two targets that resulted in a truly dead vampire. Lance, her hand-to-hand combat instructor, had impressed that upon her during their first session. He’d said to remove one or the other as quickly as possible, and that it wouldn’t be easy, because vampires were fast.

I have to get up
. Morgan closed her eyes again, unable to bear the sight.
Have to get up and kill that cocksucker, get him off Thane
.

Her body didn’t cooperate with her thoughts. Morgan opened her eyes to look around as much as she could. Were there more vampires? Strong as they were, it would’ve been difficult to carry two limp bodies, especially with one being as large as Thane. How had the vampire gotten them here?

He may have removed them from the wreckage one at a time. But if he were the one who’d hit them, his vehicle surely had to have been totaled too.
I need information before I act
. Another fact Lance had impressed upon her. Since she couldn’t see anyone else, Morgan closed her eyes and used her nose.

She could smell Thane, blood, mildew, dirt, water, and of course, vampire. The musty vampire odor was stronger than the others. Either there was another vampire hiding in the shadows, or at least out of her viewing range, or the one feasting had been living here for a while.

Morgan opened and narrowed her eyes for a better look. Thane was propped against a metal support column, and she couldn’t see one of his arms, because of the vampire, and not all of his other. He was tied or chained to the column.
Well, fuck
.

Even if he weren’t restrained and unconscious, Thane wouldn’t be in any condition to help.
And I’m too new at this shit to figure out what to do. Think, think, think!

She couldn’t move well, because of the pain. That meant there was a lot of damage, and she’d need time to heal. Small wounds healed practically instantaneously, but more serious damage didn’t. Weres healed far faster than humans, but time was still necessary.

A quick attack wasn’t in the cards, and she needed to know if the vampire were alone. The fastest way to do that was... make the vampire come to her. Morgan scowled, feeling dried blood crack and the flakes skitter off her face.
I’m not tied up. I can go for the heart once he’s close enough
.

Even if it weren’t alone, that’d be one less vampire to contend with later. The only question was whether or not she could move fast enough to carry out the plan, being badly injured.

I have to
. Blood loss wouldn’t kill a Were, but it did make them weak. Vampires constantly fed from captive Weres to keep them under physical control.
We’re the perfect meals
, Lance had said.
Our bodies don’t stop making blood or healing unless we’re truly dead. The only sure method to put us permanently down is fire
.