Relentless (13 page)

His fingers bit into my arms. “Don’t do that. Don’t make this a situation where you expect me to choose between you and my loyalty to my pack.”

I pulled away from him. “Don’t worry, I can see you’ve already made your choice.”

He took a breath and pressed his fingers to his forehead briefly. “If you’d lived your whole life being prepared for one end, you’d know why I can’t turn my back on it.”

“No, I understand. You’ve only known me for a short time, so of course you’ll turn your back on me.”

“I’m not turning my back on you.”

“Don’t worry, you won’t have to. I’ll do it for you.” My breath stuck in my chest, and for a few seconds, I was dizzy. I gritted my teeth and stepped past him. He reached for me. I sidestepped him and kept going.

“Alexis, don’t walk away.”

But I did. One foot in front of the other, over and over, without looking back, until the streets of Key West swallowed me up.

Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I punched Myles’ number. He picked up on the third ring.

“I’m at the marina.”

“I’ll be right there,” he said and clicked off.

I walked down the dock to where we’d left the boat and sat down, letting my feet hang over the edge. The Reckoning was supposed to have shown me something, but right now I only felt more confused. The only thing I’d learned was that there was some black wolf visible only to me that could show up and lick my head, at which point I would pass out and see pointless stuff, like a stranger sleeping. Beneath me, the wood decking vibrated, and I turned to see Myles coming down the pier with Jared behind him.

“Enlightened?” Myles questioned.

“Not really. Where’d you find him?” I motioned to Jared.

“He came over with another group. They went back a few hours ago, and he wanted to stay, so I told him he could come with us.”

“You don’t mind, do you?” Jared asked, towering over me.

I laughed. “What if I say yes?”

“Guess I’ll have to swim back.”

Myles jumped into the boat as Jared began to untie the lines. I pushed off the pier and landed in the boat with a thud.

“Of course I don’t care if you ride back with us.”

Myles started the boat engine and eased us away from the pier. He turned on the night running lights, and Jared positioned the pole with a red light in its spot at the front of the boat. I took a seat across from where Myles held the wheel. Jared sat directly behind me.

“What did you do tonight?” Jared had leaned over the back of my seat.

“Nothing. Why?”

He arched a brow. “You look different.”

“How?”

“I don’t know. Like you’ve been riding a roller coaster.”

I put a hand to my hair, trying to smooth it down. “What does that mean?”

“You look like you’ve been up and down.” He reached and pushed back my hair. “A little windblown, too.”

“I wasn’t riding a roller coaster. And none of that makes a bit of sense.”

He shrugged, and I turned back around. A roller coaster?  Maybe that wasn’t such a bad description of my night.

***

“So Rayna did a Reckoning for you last night?”

I glanced at Brynna as she dropped down to sit beside me on the grass. I’d taken a spot near the edge of the trees to rest while the rest of our class took their turn practicing with the anelace. My T-shirt was wet with sweat from jabbing, retreating, and sidestepping in the heat and humidity of the afternoon.

I only nodded to Brynna’s question.

“You don’t want to talk about it?”

“There’s not much to tell. She shook around the tiles with the designs on them—”

“They’re called runes,” she interrupted.

I tried not to grit my teeth as I continued. “Fine. She shook the runes, and we pulled some out and discussed what some of the designs meant. She said I would probably have some skills at communication. Other than that, I didn’t learn a thing that would help me make decisions, which is what she’d told me it would help me do.”

“Maybe there were things there you don’t understand but that will help you later.”

I didn’t tell Brynna about the black wolf or the weird dream and how I’d passed out. I couldn’t make sense of it, and it probably didn’t mean anything, anyway. Until I had a better understanding of the evening, I didn’t want to discuss it with anyone.

“You’ve looked kind of down lately, anything wrong?”

“What?” I’d been replaying the dream with the red-haired guy in my head, and I didn’t catch all of Brynna’s words.

“I said you’ve looked kind of sad lately, and I wondered if something had happened, maybe between you and Eric.”

“Eric and I ended before I ever came here.” It didn’t sound convincing, even to me.

“You know I don’t believe that. I think he’s been in Key West, and you’ve been meeting him. You don’t have to tell me. I was just making the observation that you’ve been a little preoccupied since you had your Reckoning, and if it wasn’t something that happened with Rayna, then it must be something with the Fenryrian boyfriend.”

I broke off a blade of grass and rubbed it between my fingers. Tossing it aside, I pulled up my knees and rested my arms on them.

“I think it’s really over between me and Eric.”

“Why do you say that?”

I glanced at her. “Aren’t you going to say ‘thank goodness,’ or ‘finally,’ something like that?”

“Not this time. I can tell you feel bad about it. No sense rubbing it in.”

I studied her for a moment then turned to look around the practice area. When I turned back to her, she was watching me.

“What?”

“Have you been body snatched or something? Since when don’t you want to rub it in?”

“I’m trying a different approach with you.”

“Really? Why?”

She watched the pair of students closest to us practicing their skills with the anelace.

“Ariel, the blond girl, will be good with the swords. I don’t think she has a lot of other talents, though. I’m not sure she’ll stay in The Project.”

I studied the girls as they moved, wondering why she’d changed the subject.

“I don’t really know how you feel.”

I tilted my head this time when I looked at Brynna because she was really confusing me.

“Could we stay on subject for a minute? Because I’m lost. You don’t know how I feel about what?”

“About Eric. I’ve been thinking the last week or so. I see Myles and Lana together and think about you and Eric, and I realize that I’ve never cared for someone that way.”

When I didn’t speak, she raked her fingers over the grass and continued. “Don’t get me wrong, I’ve dated before and really liked one or two guys, but not enough to put myself through any trouble over them.”

“What do you mean by putting yourself through trouble?”

“We’ve spent some time together, and I’ve gotten to know you. You’re not a complete idiot.”

“Oh, well, thanks for that.”

“You have a good head on your shoulders, but when it comes to Eric, you’re willing to put yourself into dangerous situations. I’ve never wanted to be with anyone enough to put myself at risk for them. I think Myles would do the same for Lana.”

“I’m sure he would.”

“Maybe there’s something you guys feel that I don’t know about.”

I’d taken my shoes off and dug my toes into the grass. “Sometimes you can be blinded to the danger by what you feel for someone.”

“Is that what happened to you?”

“I think so.”

Brynna leaned back and stared up at the sky as we both sat quietly.

“I’d like to feel that one day, to care about somebody like that.”

“It can be a pain.”

She laughed. “I see that. But I’d still like to try it eventually.”

“If you like someone, then will your parents decide to match you, or could they just match you to whoever?”

She frowned. “Not everyone gets matched to be mated. Any parent could go before the council and match their child, but most don’t. I guess in the old times, everyone’s mate was picked, but now matches are made by the council when they feel it is for the good of the pack that two bloodlines or two families be joined. Sometimes they see two young people with great talents and want to see those talents continued and improved. So they put the two together.”

“Like Myles and Lana.”

“Right. That’s two great talents put together. Although, they liked each other first, and then the council thought it would be good to solidify the relationship by mating them. Typically, matches aren’t made when you’re that young. If the council puts mates together, it’s usually done when you’re between eighteen and twenty-one.”

“So it could still happen to you.”

Her body tensed, and she pressed her feet hard against the ground. When she spoke, she didn’t look at me but kept her eyes on the swordplay happening in front of us.

“I’ve been called before the council to discuss it.”

“
What?
” I turned toward her. “But you haven’t said anything. Who have they picked for you?”

“No one yet.” She rubbed her hand across her forehead. “They just wanted to have a meeting, evaluate me, ask some questions. As they meet with different males, they’ll start trying to match me up with someone.”

“Can you say no?”

“I can. Anyone can reject a match. But you lose standing in the pack. I’d have to leave The Project, and I’d certainly never have a chance at the Valkyries. Not that I really have a chance, anyway. I’d never be allowed to sit on the council.”

“Just because you don’t want to spend your life stuck with someone they chose for you?”

She nodded slowly. “The Project, the Valkyries, and being on the council all require you to be totally committed to the pack. If you refuse a match, then you are not committed.”

“That’s ridiculous. Just because you don’t want to be with someone they chose doesn’t mean you’re not committed.”

“You’re right, but that’s not the way the council or the pack in general sees it.”

“So sooner or later you’ll be matched with someone.”

“Not necessarily.” She turned to look at me. “Often they don’t find a match for someone. Or they decide the person is best left to work alone, without being attached to anyone.”

“Does that mean they won’t let you marry anyone, even if you find someone you want to be with?”

“That is their recommendation.”

“But you don’t have to follow it.” I slipped my shoes back on and secured the laces. When I looked up, Brynna was watching me.

“Again, there are consequences for not following their recommendations.”

“Who does that? Who doesn’t get married because they’re told not to?”

She arched a brow at me. “Louise, Dr. Unger. Even Myles’ dad was told not to remarry after his first wife left him.”

“I think that stinks.”

She shrugged and turned back to watch the students who were still practicing with the anelace. “It’s…”

“I know, I know,” I interrupted. “It’s for the good of the pack.”

I thought about Myles’ dad, Aunt Louise, and her friend, the handsome Dr. Unger. I’d always thought they were alone because they chose to be, because they hadn’t found the right person yet. But I’d been wrong. They weren’t looking for the right person. They were all putting the pack first. It made me think of Eric, which immediately made me feel sick.

The two girls who’d been battling with the swords finished, and two more started. Brynna leaned forward to study them. She had a notebook beside her, and she took it up and started writing. She watched the two for a few more minutes then made more notes before putting the book aside.

“You think it will ever happen for me?”

I had to think for a moment to trace our conversation. “What? Getting mated or meeting someone you fall crazy in love with?”

“The second one, of course. You think I’ll do that?”

“Yeah, I think you will. Be prepared, though, sometimes it just happens.”

She smiled then. “Good, because I’m so picky I’d have a hard time making a decision.”

I laughed. “True. Some guy’s going to come along, and boom, you’ll be done. In love.”

Grabbing the notebook, she got to her feet. “I better get over there and help.”

She trotted away to where the others were still practicing. I stretched my legs out in front of me. Brynna helped one of the girls with her grip on the anelace, and I prayed they wouldn’t find a mate for her or tell her to be alone forever.

The sun was still warm, and we had hours of free time in front of us.

Brynna’s hair flamed in the light as she turned to me. “We’re going to walk down Duval Street. Are you coming?”

“I think I might walk around the marina a little then maybe go to the beach.”

“There’s a beach on the island.”

“I know, but you have to remember I’ve never been to the beach before, and I can’t get enough of it.”

I smiled and put on my most convincing face. I wasn’t at all sure she bought it. That was one thing about Brynna—she seemed to smell a line of bull crap from a mile away. Her nose was even wrinkling a little. She didn’t push for more; instead, she nodded and turned away with two other girls from school following her. I didn’t feel like trying to keep up my end of a conversation. I wanted to be alone. Brynna probably thought I was going to meet Eric. Normally, I would have been. After our last meeting, I hadn’t called him, and he hadn’t called me. That’s what I had been waiting for. Shouldn’t he call and say, “you’re more important to me than all of this
;
let’s take off together?” Didn’t his silence prove I wasn’t that important to him?

The town was littered with shops that rented scooters, and it only took me a few minutes to find one. There was a lot of traffic, but I maneuvered the bike easily. I turned on a side street, remembering the direction to the state park beach where Eric and I had gone the first time we’d met up here. I hadn’t been lying to Brynna. I was going to the beach. Even though there was one on the island, we were often so busy we didn’t have time to go there and swim or relax. At least there I wouldn’t be around anyone I knew and wouldn’t have to talk, or worse, answer questions about Eric. I made a turn onto another street, and on the corner, I saw them.

There was no hiding or pretending we didn’t see each other. Myles was staring straight at me. So was the woman he was with. It was the same woman as before. Could that be his mom? My front tire wiggled as my hands jerked. I hadn’t thought of it before, but seeing them together at this distance made their similarities stand out. I’d always thought Myles looked exactly like his dad, though now I could see the things about him that were like the woman next to him. And there was the look on his face when he’d been talking to her. I’d seen it before—the first time I’d stumbled upon them at the restaurant. It was an amazed wonder. It was the look I’d always imagined I’d have on my own face if I ever met my real father. I’d have that crazy, I-can’t-believe-it’s-you look for about twenty seconds, then I’d punch him in the eye.

Since I couldn’t ignore them because they were staring at me, I raised a hand in a nonchalant wave like I ran into Myles with a mysterious woman every day. Gassing the scooter, I bypassed them and turned a corner. Maybe it wasn’t his mom. He’d always seemed angry with her. He’d never seen the woman in his life because she’d abandoned him when he was just a baby. Kind of like my own father had left before I was ever born. Myles knew about his mom, though, and I didn’t know anything about my father. He’d been some unknown entity in my mom’s life who hadn’t cared about us. He’d just been a sperm donor, but not in the clinical way, more like the jerk way. If that was Myles’ mom, he’d lost the resentment I’d always seen in him when he talked about her. Maybe it was like that if you thought you hated someone you’d never met. Maybe there were extenuating circumstances you’d never been told. I veered onto the street that led to the state park, following the signs and trying to put Myles and his mystery person out of my mind, along with any thoughts of my absent father.

I paid the attendant at the gate to enter the park then motored along the rutted road to the parking area. At the beach, I waded into the crystal clear water, enjoying its coolness against the heat of the day. I hadn’t thought to bring a swimsuit, and I didn’t want to get my shorts and tank top wet, so I turned back toward the sand and found an empty picnic table. The park wasn’t crowded, and I climbed onto the tabletop and lay down.

I’d been lying there for some time and had begun to drift off to sleep when I felt movement beside me. My eyes jerked open. A pair of eyes as blue as the sky looked down on me. I rolled to one side, swinging my legs off the tabletop and sitting up quickly.

“What are you doing here?”

Eric gave a half smile. “Looking for you.”

I glanced around the beach. “How did you find me?”

He sat on top of the table facing the other way. “Some of your friends were in town, and I thought you might be with them.”

“Did they see you?”

“No. When I didn’t see you with any of them, I guessed you were off on your own somewhere.”

“And you guessed I’d be here.”

He looked away from me and across the water. “I knew you like the beach, and I remembered we came here before and you liked it. I took a chance you’d remember that.”

I didn’t answer. We were both silent. There was only the sound of the surf and the occasional laughter of some of the other visitors.

“I’ve missed you.” His voice was low, and when I looked toward him, he’d leaned across the table toward me. “This isn’t what I want, Alexis.”

When I still didn’t answer, he turned to sit beside me, our knees touching as our feet rested on the bench of the table.

His hand cupped my cheek, and I knew I should move away, but I couldn’t seem to make myself do it. He quickly pulled my face toward him. Inside, I seemed to come apart a little. His lips touched mine, and though a part of me knew I should say no, knew I was prolonging the agony of wanting something I couldn’t have, I leaned into him, and my lips parted. His mouth was hard against mine, and I was only half aware of the people in the park. What was between us was a little frightening, yet I wanted to feel it.

He pulled away, but I wrapped my arms around his neck, holding on to him for more. He made a groaning sound deep in his chest and kissed me again. His lips slid to my cheek then down the side of my neck, and I shivered.

“This isn’t the right time for us. Not yet,” he whispered against my skin. “I had to find you and explain. I couldn’t let you walk away thinking you weren’t important to me.”

“What do you mean, the time isn’t right?” My words were a little breathless.

“They still want to kill you.”

His mouth stopped moving against my neck as if the words had slipped out. My arms stiffened around him, and his lips, pressed against my neck, were motionless, cool even. Finally, I pushed back from him.

“What do you mean? Who wants to kill me?”

He shook his head. “It’s complicated.”

“So figure out a way to explain it.”

“My pack doesn’t want to see us together. Channing was picked to be my mate.”

“Channing is dead. In case you don’t remember, she was killed right before she could kill me. All because of you.”

He raked a hand through his hair. “I know that. Don’t you think I live with that every day? But you saw how Channing was, what kind of person she was. I couldn’t be mated to her. I couldn’t live the rest of my life with her. I knew that before I met you. I told my father when he first made the match I didn’t want it. He asked me to give it a chance, just for a little while. I did, but it didn’t make a difference. I didn’t like Channing. How was I to know that she wouldn’t let it go when I refused her?”

“What does all that have to do with us now?”

“They want to find another mate for me. A girl in our pack with the right connections.”

“Anyone but me.” I saw him wince at the sarcasm in my voice.

“Alexis, you’re Lycernian. I’m trying to buy us some time. To give them a chance to see that you could join us and be part of us, but they aren’t listening.”

“Why? I thought they wanted to convert Lycernians over to their pack. They let Myles’ mother join the Fenryrians.”

His brows narrowed. “What do you know about Myles and his mother?”

“Not much except that she left him to join your pack.”

Eric rubbed his forehead. “It’s not the same with you. My pack will take Lycernians if they can be trusted. But they won’t take you.”

“Why?  What’s wrong with me?”

His chest moved up and down as he took a deep breath. “It’s because of who you are…who your father is.”

The world around me stopped dead for several seconds. A whirring noise shut out every sound, and I wondered if I might faint. I forced myself to take a breath, then another, until at last, I found my voice.

“What are talking about? I don’t even know who my father is.”

Eric reached toward me, but I pushed his hand away. “Stop and tell me what you mean. Do you know who my father is?”

“No, I don’t.  But someone does, and they can’t let you come over. They don’t want us together, and they’ll kill you to stop it. I didn’t want to tell you until I knew more, maybe knew who your father was, but you didn’t give me a chance. You walked away last week. I know I should have let you go. It would have been best for both of us.” His hand closed over my thigh and squeezed. “I couldn’t do it. I at least had to let you know that this is about my loyalty to my pack but also about your safety. This relationship could get us both killed.”

From the parking lot, gravel crunched under the wheels of a car. Eric got to his feet, pulling me with him. Suddenly, he spun away from me. “You have to get out of here.”

I glanced toward an SUV that had slid to a stop. Two men got out. I went cold all over. One of them was the man from the other night. The man I’d seen with Mr. O’Rourke on the island. I took a step toward Eric, but he shoved me away.

“Run!”

“Where? My scooter is in the parking lot.”

“Go now! Swim and don’t look back. I’ll try and hold them off.”

I ran past the few people on the coral-strewn beach and hit the water. I dove under and swam hard, forcing my arms to dig in and trying to kick efficiently, like I’d learned in swim class when I was younger. Behind me, there was a splash. I didn’t look back. I knew they were coming and that Eric hadn’t been able to stop both of them. I didn’t know how long I’d be able to stay ahead, and I kicked harder. I heard an engine whirring. Glancing across the water, I saw a group of people on Jet Skis about a hundred yards away. Maybe he’d stop if we were in front of people. Then again, he might just kill us all and leave us for shark bait.

That’s when I saw it. On the Jet Ski in front, a flash of red. I knew that red hair immediately.

“Brynna!” I screamed and paused in my swim to wave my arm. Brynna had a special gift for hearing sounds. I’d seen her use it in the past, and I knew, even with the throbbing of the engine, she would hear me. I shouted again, and the nose of the Jet Ski turned in my direction, spewing water behind it as Brynna gunned the engine.

When she reached me, she didn’t stop but turned the wheel sharply and reached out to grab my arm. I scrambled onto the moving craft with Brynna dragging me.

“Go, go, go!”

Brynna didn’t ask for an explanation. Possibly she saw or heard the man in the water another hundred yards behind us. The Jet Ski jerked, and we were off, the wind whipping our hair. The other two girls who’d been riding with Brynna fell in behind us. When I twisted to look back, the man had stopped swimming and was treading water. Soon he was only a speck in the distance. But Brynna didn’t ease up on the throttle. She kept at full speed until the marina came into sight. Once there, we slowed, and Brynna guided the Jet Ski to the rental store.

We slid off the machine and hurried up a ladder to the pier. Brynna and the others returned their keys for the Jet Skis to the store owner while I leaned against a post, trying to make my legs stop shaking. A shadow fell across me, and I straightened.

“What were you doing swimming in the ocean, and who was the guy after you?” Brynna asked, her voice low and accusing.

“I don’t know.”

I didn’t have to look hard to see the disbelief in her eyes.  “You know I don’t believe that, and neither will anyone else.”

Thoughts of facing Aunt Louise and other leaders at the school made me feel nauseous. “Does anyone else have to know?”

“You’re kidding.” Brynna paused for a moment, staring at me in disbelief. “We pulled you out of the ocean, apparently swimming for your life with another werewolf after you, one who was probably ready to kill you, and you think we should pretend it didn’t happen?”

“I’m just saying…” I didn’t have a good reason except I didn’t want anyone to know I had been seeing Eric. It seemed that wasn’t going to be a secret I could keep. Not now.

Brynna waited, and when I didn’t continue, she nodded. “I see you’re realizing there’s no way you can keep it a secret that you’re still seeing Eric.”

“What makes you think I was seeing him or that any of this has to do with him?”

“Come on, no one here is an idiot. I don’t know what they’ll do with you, but if they send your butt back to Chicago, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“Wait, you think they’ll kick me out of school?” My stomach began a slow roll of panic.

“You’re putting yourself and everyone else in danger. You don’t listen, and you don’t seem to care when anyone tells you what you’re doing could get you or another one of us killed. You don’t care about our pack. You only care about yourself.”