Hour of the Lion (The Wild Hunt Legacy #1) (15 page)

away like they didn‘t even see the animal. Vic felt a second of pity. She knew how it felt to be on

the outside. The bear silently disappeared into the forest, and Calum changed back.

Vic‘s fingernails had dug into the bark of the tree. Not surprising. Well, she‘d found the

shifters, and a lot more of them than she‘d figured. She pulled her hand open with an effort. Just

how many werebeasts lived on this mountain?

The thought made the tiny hairs on her nape raise. What if one was watching her now? Why

the fuck hadn‘t she worn her Glock? Of course, Alec might have noticed that little accessory as

he stripped her.

Alec. Alec was Calum‘s brother so, oh God, he must be a shifter-beast too. Horror iced her

skin, dried her mouth. She‘d kissed him—he‘d been inside her.

Get the hell out of here. She rose to her feet, her legs shaky. If she returned through the

tunnel, she‘d risk being spotted by the fuzzy creatures—or worse, running into Alec. She‘d better

circle around, go into town by a different route.

She eased one foot back, then another, glanced at the clearing and saw Calum lift his head

and sniff. He turned…and looked straight at her.

Oh, fuck.

Before she could run, someone grabbed her from behind, tangling his fingers in her hair and

yanking her head back. No words, but the sharp cold metal laid gently against her throat froze

her better than any spoken threat.

Why the hell had she even gotten out of bed this morning?

Alec held the knife against Vicki‘s throat, unable to find any words to say. Heat rose from

her skin, twining with the scent of her. Part of him wanted to throw the knife away and take her

in his arms. The other part wanted to slice deep and spill her life‘s blood onto the forest floor.

Had she only mated with him to get information? If she‘d ripped his heart out with her bare

hands, it wouldn‘t have hurt this much.

―Cosantir,‖ he called, not bothering to raise his voice. Even in human form, a shifter‘s ears

were almost as keen as a cat‘s. ―You have a spectator.‖

―I scented her a minute ago. Bring her here.‖

With one hand fisted in the human‘s hair, knife at her throat, Alec guided her into the open

area.

Having pulled on his clothing, his brother waited in the center of the clearing. His nostrils

flared. The slight wind undoubtedly carried the scent of Alec on Vic and vice versa—the

distinctive smell of sex. Anger darkened Calum‘s eyes.

Alec‘s jaw clenched. What had he done? Self-loathing rose like vomit in his throat, and his

hand tightened in her hair so hard she made a tiny sound of pain. He stopped her in front of

Calum, his body a wall behind her to keep her in place.

Near the trees, a huddle of people hovered near a small gray wolf. Chad? The healer knelt

beside him, and Alec winced at the sight of the wolf‘s injuries.

Following his gaze, Calum frowned. ―Farrah, prepare one of the mating rooms. Patrick,

carry Chad for the healer.‖

Farrah murmured her obedience. Patrick dipped his head. ―Yes, Cosantir.‖

As the others headed for the cave, Calum‘s attention turned to Vicki. Alec felt her muscles

tighten under the impact of the Cosantir‘s black gaze.

―Kneel, Victoria,‖ Calum said softly.

She stiffened, her chin rising. Alec pressed the knife harder against her throat until a thin

line of blood appeared. He had to suppress a shudder. Stubborn female had enough courage that

she‘d die before complying. And he couldn‘t…couldn‘t.

Well then. Fisting his hand tighter in her hair, he slammed his boot into the back of her

knees, yanked her off-balance, and shoved her down.

Vic landed painfully on her knees. She snarled, fighting the urge to struggle. Bastard. She‘d have rather died than kneel. Her anger burned away some of the panic icing her guts.

Her scalp hurt from his controlling fist. Asshole. This wasn‘t the Alec she knew. Dammit,

this was why she never let herself be sucked into relationships. If she survived this, she‘d cut her

losses and get the hell gone.

She raised her gaze to the man in front of her. His pupils were as black as the night sky

behind him. Fear slid into her again, sharp as the knife against her throat as she realized that she

might not leave this place alive.

Not a good thought. As dread compressed her chest, she struggled to breathe normally,

fighting the rigidity of her body. “Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains An‟ go to your Gawd like a soldier.” She was a soldier; death happened. Her muscles loosened slightly, her

breath slowed.

―We accepted the small amount of information you offered when you arrived,‖ Calum said.

―Questioning people isn‘t our way. But now perhaps we should ask a few. What really brought

you to Cold Creek?‖ Shirt still unbuttoned, he crossed his arms over his chest.

The damned knife hadn‘t moved from her throat; Alec waited immovable behind her.

Probably her best bet would be to play stupid. Pretend to be an inquisitive woman, innocent

of anything more threatening. She opened her mouth and…the words wouldn‘t come. Somehow

the thought of lying to Alec, and even Calum, hurt deep inside for no reason. But why? She‘d

spent the last years living untruths—why should she find it so hard this time?

Calum could probably tell anyway, she thought, meeting his penetrating gaze. A second

later, she realized she didn‘t have to lie at all. The lump in her stomach disappeared. ―I was

looking for shifters.‖

Behind her, Alec stopped breathing.

―Were you now?‖ The icy menace in Calum‘s voice made her shiver. Dammit. He continued

as if he hadn‘t noticed, ―How exactly did we catch your attention?‖

―A boy named Lachlan died in my arms.‖ Just saying the words tightened her throat.

Failure. Grief. She blinked furiously and took in a long, controlled breath.

Alec said incredulously, ― You were the female with him?‖

―Yes. I-I was there.‖ Her voice cracked.

Calum paced away from her then back. Having seen him shift, she recognized where that

graceful prowl had originated, but the overwhelming confidence?—oh, that was all his own.

―Why didn‘t you tell anyone?‖

―Tell someone?‖ The knife no longer pressed against her neck. She rubbed the burning slice,

letting the pain anchor her. ―Oh, sure, like I‘m going to walk up to you and ask, „Hey, are you

one of those people who turn into cats?‟ Get real.‖

A glint of humor touched his eyes. ―Ah, no, that wasn‘t what I meant. Why haven‘t you told

anyone about Lachlan?‖

She scrubbed her face with her hands, stalling for time. It would be better to escape this

emotion-ridden location, achieve a stand-down. Knowing how the kid died wasn‘t going to make

a shifter feel very kindly toward a human, even a woman. ―Listen, can we discuss this

somewhere else? My knee can‘t take kneeling for long. And I‘m bleeding.‖

Alec grunted as if she‘d hit him.

Calum hesitated, then nodded. ―Lachlan‘s grandfather needs to hear this.‖ He gave her an

assessing look. ―Unless there is a reason he should not be present?‖

Oh, great. ―It‘s not a pretty story, but he‘s the reason I‘m here.‖ She had two men who now

hated her guts, one of whom she‘d slept with, and next would talk with an old man who‘d tried

to kill her. The night just kept getting better and better.

* * *

A lonely beer sat on the small patio table beside him, only half-empty. Thorson had lost his

taste for drowning his sorrows after trying to kill the little brown-headed human. A female.

He shook his head, still shocked— appalled—at how uncontrolled he‘d acted that night.

Neither grief nor anger could excuse such behavior. She wasn‘t even that bad of a human, he‘d

realized. She‘d choose her books and leave quietly. No silly blather, all business. And she was a

good waitress according to his friends. He admired competence, no matter the species.

He glanced up the hill at the dimmed light of the Wild Hunt. There‘d been a time he‘d never

missed a Gathering, but he‘d grown old and needed his sleep.

Not that he slept very long these days. He tended to get up and prowl around the house,

avoiding the rooms where grief lay like dust in the corners. Sometimes the boy would join him

out here in the back. They‘d lean back, put their feet up on the deck railing, and watch the clouds

attempt to dominate the sky.

Under the light of the full moon, the yard seemed very empty. Maybe he‘d return to bed and

try to sleep.

As he stepped inside the kitchen, someone pounded on his door. His mouth tightened. No

good news arrived in the wee hours of the night. Then again, nothing could be that bad—his

worst fears had already come to pass.

After winding his way through the dark house, he opened the door and saw Alec‘s face in

the tree-dappled moonlight. ―Alec. Is something wrong?‖

―We need to talk to you, Thorson. Can we come in?‖

We? Thorson stepped aside. Alec walked in, followed by Calum and the brown-haired

human. Alec led the way into the living room and even presumed to toss another log on the

dying embers in the fireplace.

―What‘s all this about?‖ Thorson let the irritation show in his voice, but giving the female

the respect due her, he censored the profanity.

Calum pulled her to the couch near the fire, and then he and Alec sat down beside her, one

on each side like unmatched bookends.

Or guard dogs.

Thorson crossed the room to stand before the mantle, putting his features in shadow and

theirs in the light. Alec smiled, and oddly enough, he saw the same understanding of the

technique on the human‘s face. ―Well?‖ he asked.

―Victoria has a story to tell us,‖ Calum said. He turned to put his hand on the female‘s

forearm and not in a particularly friendly way.

Alec leaned forward. ―Joe. We just heard this ourselves. Vicki was with Lachlan when he

died.‖

The words clawed deep into Thorson‘s chest, and he choked on a breath. ―She—she was the

female who disappeared?‖

―Aye.‖ Alec laid a hand on her other arm.

Thorson frowned. She looked more trapped between the two than supported by them. He

wasn‘t drunk, and he had an aversion to females being manhandled. ―Are you here of your own

volition or not?‖

Her gaze dropped to one restrained arm, then the other, and a wry smile graced her face.

―Pretty much. I‘d been trying to figure out how to talk with you anyway—without a fight this

time.‖

The realization that he himself had kept her from his door was galling and turned his voice

thick and bitter. ―You‘re here now. Tell me.‖

―It‘s not a pretty story,‖ she warned. His jaw clenched, but he gave her the nod she waited

for. ―All right, then. I was walking down a street in Seattle when I heard a scream …‖

As Victoria‘s tale continued, Calum watched her. She talked about her brutal captors, and

her face darkened with anger. When she spoke of how Joe‘s grandson had died, she blinked back

tears. Obviously, Lachlan‘s death had hurt her badly. Some of Calum‘s worry eased. And she‘d

known about the Daonain for weeks and hadn‘t betrayed the knowledge.

She‘d come here to honor her promise to a young man, the actions of an honorable person.

A touch of guilt made him frown. He‘d been harsh with her tonight.

Then again, she had been sneaking around, following them.

She finished her recounting with, ―...and I slipped out the back door, jumped the fence, and

found a place to hole up for the night. I arrived here the next day.‖ With a scowl at each brother,

she pulled her arms free and wrapped them around herself. Calum could see Alec‘s desire to

comfort her. He felt the same.

Instead, he considered her story. ―They deliberately threw you into Lachlan and didn‘t leave

until he bit you.‖

―Uh-huh.‖

―Trying to make more shifters,‖ Alec murmured. ―Won‘t work.‖

―Lachlan said that.‖ She pushed hair out of her face. ―So what happens now?‖

―We‘ll investigate further,‖ Calum said. She didn‘t need to know more than that.

―Right. But what happens to me?‖

Calum caught Alec‘s worried gaze. She did bring out a male‘s protective instincts, didn‘t

she? ―How many people have you told about us?‖

―Nobody.‖

―Why not?‖

―I promised Lachlan I wouldn‘t.‖

―And if we‘d scared you?‖ Calum trapped her gaze, waiting for her answer.

She said reluctantly, ―If I thought you were dangerous, I‘m not sure what I‘d do.‖

―Do you think we‘re dangerous?‖ Alec asked and tugged on her hair.

She snorted. ―You guys are damned scary. And I have to wonder, if I‘d just blundered into

you in the forest, what would you have done?‖

―Would Alec have slit your throat, you mean?‖ Calum asked.

―Ah, yeah, something like that.‖

Thorson‘s eyebrows went up. They hadn‘t mentioned the events in the clearing.

Calum studied the little human for a minute. Her hands had gripped together so tightly her

knuckles were white. More worried than she wanted them to realize. And so he answered in

greater detail than he had planned. ―A Cosantir has the ability to blur a person‘s memory of the

previous few hours. This has been our primary defense for generation upon generation. We are

usually careful that a human doesn‘t discover us,‖ he added with a hard stare at Alec who gave him a rueful look.

―A messed up memory would be horrible,‖ Victoria said slowly, ―but at least you‘re not