Circus Wolf (19 page)

They turned on him and she saw the bloody scratches
and blood flowing down his limbs and matting in his body hair. She aimed her
dart gun at Assassin, the most dangerous, and pulled the trigger. Assassin’s
body jerked. He pawed at the dart then made a final attempt to slash at it as
he dropped to the ground. She aimed at Leo and took him down too.

She had an urge to rush to Hugh. She froze at the
sound of voices drawing nearer. She glanced at Hugh. Blood dripped from his
claws and teeth. In his hairy form, he even terrified her.
Dear, God, don’t let the hunters happen upon us now.

A bullet zinged passed her head.

Chapter Nineteen

 
“Help me secure the cats and get them to shelter,”
Tigra mouthed.

Hugh
nodded and silently helped her lift the unconscious cats into the cages. After
they rolled the pens inside the nearest cave and verified they hadn’t been
followed, they turned on the heavy duty flashlight and stripped off enough
clothing to treat one another’s scratches and gashes. Time was of the essence.
Animal scratches and bites carried deadly bacteria. As she smoothed antibiotic
salve from her first aid kit on his hair-encircled injuries, Hugh began reverse
morphing. The frightening jerky spasms lasted for several minutes. Tigra wanted
to take him in her arms and comfort him, but from her own shifting experiences,
she knew the best thing to do was let him ride it out. When he’d completed his
twitching and the muscle contractions stopped, he drew her into his warm,
comforting arms. “Did the cats hurt you?” He gently trailed a finger over her
face and neck.

She
winced. Even his light touch sent pain through her. “The scratches will heal.
I’m just glad we’re alive and the cats are safe. It could’ve ended
differently.” She didn’t fail to notice, as he came out of his painful spasms,
his first thoughts were of her.

In
the shadowy light, he was looking at her lips.

With
effort, she stepped back. “Thanks for saving me, Hugh.”

 
Hugh drew her back into his arms. “It was a
joint effort. I know what it cost you to shoot darts into the cats you love.”

She
looked up and met his gaze. Her heartbeat accelerated. “We’d better get
dressed. Even though you’re morphed and no longer showing signs of lycanthropy,
I don’t want to deal with the hunters or animal control guys.” She crossed her
fingers. “Once we have all of the animals safely back in their menagerie maybe
the outsiders will leave the area before someone gets hurt.”

He
nodded but rather than release her, Hugh
stroked her
hair and looked into her eyes. As if hypnotized, she entwined her arms around
his neck and drew him closer. His heat flowed into her like the steam from the
pools the night she felt hot, wet, and wild. She lifted her head, offering what
she sensed he wanted…what she wanted.

He
let out an agonized groan, then bent and captured her lips in a gentle taking.
The tip of his tongue traced her lower lip with maddening slowness, sending
sensations racing through her. She moaned, and he covered her mouth again. She
tasted his feral, aroused flavor, like an alpha after a triumph.

 
Their bodies connected as he kissed her hard
and hot, and even though it wasn’t wise, her body reacted with aching, pulsing
desire. Hugh's feral fire liquefied her limbs until she could only cling to
him. His hands caressed her back, catapulting her into a world of warm,
delicious madness. She craved to experience his wolfish passion and release her
tiger wildness.

Suddenly
Hugh’s shoulders stiffened. He gently untangled her arms from his neck. “Like
you said, we should get the animals back for the safety of the public and the
circus.”

Although
she had said that earlier and it was the wise thing to do, she felt like
strangling him. “You’re the most frustrating man I’ve ever met.” She sent him a
sly smile.
“
And also the hero who just saved my life.
Great job, Hugh.”

****

Hugh had dealt with loneliness his whole life, but this was
a new kind. It was the kind that made him
ache
to
reach out and grab onto the idea that maybe he could have a life with Tigra.
Then as he indulged in the heat of the moment reality crashed in on him. Caring
deeply wasn’t enough when the problems keeping them apart were overwhelming
duality and different goals. It jabbed at his heart
to stop kissing her, but the ramifications of his
curse got in the way. He’d believed if he ever got the opportunity to save this
woman he’d come to love, the affliction would disappear like a puff of smoke
and the
curse
would end as it had for his brother Damon and his wife Angela. Then magically
he could share a life like theirs with the woman of his dreams. But he’d saved
her several times without the hoped for results.

He
raked his hand through his hair. Maybe the remedy of sacrificing himself for Tigra
had failed because her love for him wasn’t strong enough.
Or
because they’d saved each other.

Whatever
the explanation, maybe he should give up his dream of escaping the curse and
having a normal life. But could he do that? In a very short time Tigra had
become a part of him. She was the backbone of the circus and he wanted her to
be the backbone of his life. His future would implode if anything happened to
her

****

 
Tigra sighed in relief after they secured the
wild
ones in the circus’s larger menagerie cages. After they fed, watered, and
treated the animals’ wounds, they headed for her caravan. Maybe now they could
get back to what they had started in the cave.

With a hopeful heart, she switched on the lights and saw a
second note propped up next to a napkin holder on the counter.
Who put it
there?
No one but the boss had keys to her place. She tore open the
envelope.

It is a matter of
life and death that I talk with you alone within the hour. The future of the
circus and many lives depend upon your immediate response. I’ll wait for you in
the fun house near the slide of terror.

Tigra skipped down to the signature—Madam Mystic’s name was
scrawled at the bottom. Tigra wasn’t sure if it was the fortune teller’s
signature, but she didn’t question the Amazon-sized bloody fingerprint next to
it
.
Did the blood mean the mystic was
hurt? She couldn’t chance it. Setting aside her plans, Tigra shoved the note
into her pocket.

“Something important?”
Hugh asked,
looking concerned.

“Madam Mystic wants to talk to me alone. I don’t know how
long I’ll be.”

“I’ll go with you.”

Tigra rubbed the bridge of her nose to fight off a
headache. “She stressed, for the future of the Circus, I must come alone.”

Tigra grabbed up her still packed emergency bag, looped her
arm in his, and walked him out the door. She relocked her caravan door and
followed him down the steps.

He paused at the bottom. “If you find her emergency is
something I can help with don’t hesitate to call.” He turned toward his
caravan, and then paused. “I need to talk to you about something. Can we get
together later?”

She shrugged. She wanted that, too, but not necessarily to
talk. “If it’s not too late, I could come by your place.”

****

Tigra used the skeleton key to let herself into the
sound-proof fun house and walked into a world of shadowy weird mirrors and
ax-wielding monsters. The place had closed for the night and the dim security
lights heightened the eerie atmosphere. Suddenly the equipment motors started
up and mirrors rotated and changed as she moved through the spine-chilling
maze. The fun house, or house of horrors as she called it, had been designed to
rebound a spooky echo. Even her breath echoed back at her as though she were in
a wind tunnel. Crept music, accompanied by an out-of-tune violin screeched in
the background. She passed grotesque puppets and hideous deformed mechanical
mannequins with groping arms.

Her nostrils twitched at the odd mustiness in the air. She
took a shallow breath and stiffened her spine. She knew her way through the
tangled assortment of popping up ghosts and ghouls and wasn’t about to allow
them or the sense of a presence hovering nearby to frighten her. It was the
running equipment that bothered her. It was always shut off for the night. Who
turned it on and why? Madam Mystic wouldn’t have any reason to fool with the
electronics.

The thirty-foot slide of terror was just around the next
curve.

“Lost, Tigra?”

It was Skully’s deep haunting voice behind her. She
pressed her lips tight to hold back the scream tearing at her throat. She
swallowed her fear enough to turn and face him.

At first, his features were barely visible in the
dimness and shadows. Then she made out the black cape with the red lining and
the elongated pointy teeth.
“You!
You’re the vampire.
You sent the note. Where is Madam Mystic?”

He eased closer, bringing a chilly breeze with him.
“I’ll take you to her.”

Fighting his mesmerizing tone, Tigra reached into
her bag. Her heart pounded as she clutched the stake and locked her gaze on
him.

He lunged and, with icy hands, grabbed the weapon
from her and threw it on the ground.
She tried to lift
a knee into his groin, but he thrust his thigh between hers and blocked her
attempt. She twisted and thrashed against him, but he held her so close her
movements were ineffectual. Their breathing beat the air like the wings of
warring bats.
He glared down at her with
piercing red eyes.
She envisioned fire shooting from his glowing
eyeballs. Maybe that came next. “We’ve been co-workers and friends for five
years now
.”
They’d never really been
friends, but she had to play him as he was playing her.

She attempted to morph, willing it with all of her
might.
Why can’t I shift?

Charges of electric anger shot through her. She wanted to
scream and attack this demon with her teeth and claws. She fought to control
the tremors betraying her terror.

Her wary gaze traveled over the strong, sharply cut
lines of his jaw, along lips that held a hint of cruelty in their stillness.
Sparks dropped from the corners of his mouth. His nose was straight and even,
the cheekbones high and hard, hollowed underneath with shadows. The
slicked-back hair gave his features a more angular appearance. His lustful,
piercing red-eyed gaze sent spikes of fear prickling down her back and her
breath caught in her throat. His eyes glowed like the Devil’s.

“Turn around and face the wall!” he said in his
thick Hungarian accent.

She knew better than to turn her back on him, yet
she seemed compelled to do his bidding. He clamped a pungent rag over her face.
She fought the chloroform soaked cloth while willing herself to morph. Darkness
was closing over her.
Oh, God, I’m a dead
woman.

No! I must
fight this.
But how?

Chapter
Twenty

Tigra blinked her eyes open and tried to focus as
she tumbled painfully from a burlap bag onto a stony cave floor. The dimly lit
lantern sitting on an indentation in the wall illuminated Skully’s menacing
stare. Holding a gleaming knife between his elongated teeth, he yanked her to
her feet. “Good, you’re awake,” he growled. “You can walk the rest of the way.”
He grabbed the lantern and roughly pushed Tigra ahead of
him into the dank cave.

Her mind spun, foggy and confused.
A wave of anxiety flooded her.
“Where are we going?”

He laughed nastily. “To hell,” he said with a smirk
that was especially grotesque in the glow of the lantern.

Shifting the knife to the small of her back, Skully shoved
her forward again, deeper into the tunnel. “You made my earthly journey as
smooth as free flowing blood by not believing it could be me, and made it easier
to get away with the thefts and my passionate taking of meaningless lives. All
was going well until you stuck your pretty slender nose into my affairs. By
stealing my
golden arrowhead and
returning it to the museum, you’ve brought things to a head, upped my
timetable, and forced my hand.”

She glanced back at him.
“
So you admit being the vampire thief
?” It was incredulous that death could cast its evil shadow in a circus
meant only to bring happiness.

“You’ve known it on some level all along,” he said.
“I’ve felt your awareness…your tentative fear.”

Did I know?
“Where is Madam Mystic and what does she have to do
with all of this?”
Dear God,
Skully’d
been killing innocent women along the circus
traveling circuit for years and getting away with it. And the day will end with
my death if I don’t do something.

 
I mustn’t think too far ahead, plan only
moment by moment, and watch for an opportunity to counter-attack.
She sucked in a breath to fight the icy panic that
gripped her and threatened to undermine her determination and defiant march
into the unknown.