The Keeping (58 page)

Still, she was in
the middle of nowhere. If she didn’t even know where she was, then
how could he? She knew there was a flaw in her logic, but at the
moment she couldn’t focus enough to decide what it was. Drifting in
and out of consciousness, bits and pieces of the night’s events
played out in her mind, but it was as if she was detached, watching
a movie where she didn’t really care about any of the
characters...

It was had been so
weird seeing that man change into a wolf. There’d been a sparkling,
wavering change in the air and then the man was gone and a wolf had
stood in his place. It had been a massive, black creature with
large white teeth. Then it snarled and leapt forward, so quickly it
had been just a blur of black fur.

Her uncle had
shouted in surprise and then the sound of a gun firing had filled
the air. Her mind skittered away from the image of her uncle lying
dead and instead focused on the wolf. The man inside the beast was
still present. She knew it. Even though gore had dripped from its
jaws, the eyes had been human, intelligent.

She was sure he
would remember exactly what she looked like. The werewolf would
hunt her down; never giving up until she was cornered and
then...

A whimper escaped
her lips at the thought of those large teeth piercing her skin and
ripping her flesh. When she’d run, she’d had a quick glimpse of Mr.
Aldrich. His throat had been torn open and blood poured from the
wound. His hands had gripped the wolf’s fur even as he struggled
for air...

Cassie curled into
a tighter ball. The floaty feeling was leaving already. Fear poured
into her; fear and a crawling sensation as if her very skin was
alive and had a mind of its own. The need for...something...was
filling her and she shifted restlessly on the bed. Her head was
starting to spin; she could actually hear the blood thrumming
through her veins.

Thinking the first
pill must have worn off and a migraine was looming, she sat up with
difficulty and pulled her bag onto the bed beside her. Her fingers
shook as she fumbled to find and open the medicine bottle. The cap
came off and she spilled most of the tablets on the bed. Damn and
double damn—she didn’t want to waste any of them; who knew when
she’d be able to get the prescription renewed. Strange, how the
hated medication now seemed to be her friend.

Managing to pick
one up, she swallowed it, almost gagging as she forced the pill
down without water. A lamp was on the table by the bed and she
reached to turn it on, but paused. Light made the symptoms worse,
she’d been told. A sliver of moonlight was peeking in through a
crack in the curtains and she used that to help her see the pills
that were strewn over the bed. When all the tablets were accounted
for and back in their bottle, she lay back down. Running her hands
over her face, she tried to hold back the tears that suddenly
filled her eyes. Her head was pounding. She wished she were home,
but it was too dangerous now. Her uncle was gone; the wolf was
after her... Her skin prickled again and she curled up in a ball
once more, rubbing her hands over her arms in an attempt to ease
the sensation.

What had her yoga
instructor told her? Think of a happy place? She furrowed her brow.
Where would she rather be right now? An amusement park? A museum?
Vegas? She chuckled at that random thought, but then focused on the
idea. She’d seen pictures of the place before. Bright lights, large
crowds; crowds she could get lost in, so no werewolf would ever
find her...

The image
clarified in her mind. Gambling machines, showgirls, the hot
desert, tourists... The patch of moonlight that splashed across her
room became a spotlight, guiding people to their hotel, beckoning
them to heed its call... A strange feeling came over her. Her whole
body vibrated, it felt like her head was going to explode. She
clenched her fingers around the strap of her bag, her muscles
tightened and then the air seemed to shimmer...

*****

It was morning.
Mel reclined in her seat as Ryne slowly drove the car out of the
parking garage. They’d talked on and off throughout the night and
she had finally accepted the truth of what he’d been telling her.
She was becoming a werewolf. There’d been anger and tears; he’d
apologized, even though forcing her transformation hadn’t been
intentional. Eventually she’d come to a sort of numb acceptance of
the fact.

However, her whole
life was changing now. She wasn’t just Melody Greene, waitress and
journalism student. Now she was Melody Greene, secret werewolf.
From what she could gather from Ryne’s ‘crash course in wolves,’
they were social creatures and lived in packs. There was an Alpha
who kept everyone in line and made the important decisions, though
pack meetings were held to discuss options. Full moons were a time
to party and, if you were new to the whole werewolf thing like she
was, you had no control and transformed once a month. Older wolves
could fight the effects if they wished, though most didn’t.

It gave her a
headache, trying to figure out how she’d manage. She’d have to lock
herself up every month so no one would discover her secret, which
would really play havoc with her job and her studies. Then there
was going into heat once a season. Ryne had enjoyed explaining that
one to her. Even in the darkness of the underground parking garage,
she was sure he could see her face turning bright red. Just the
thought of being turned on for a whole week, ready to jump the
first male she saw, had her cheeks heating up.

“I know what
you’re thinking.” Ryne leaned over to whisper in her ear, his tone
teasing. He grabbed her hand as he steered the vehicle with the
other.

His touch was
somehow comforting, so she didn’t pull away, even though his
comment made her bristle. Deciding to put him in his place, she
commented on his current apparel. “Actually, I was thinking how
cute you look in those clothes. Short plaid golf pants are just
so...you!” His expression made her laugh. “Well, you should be
thankful Mr. Aldrich had a suitcase of clothes in the back and all
those wet wipes. Otherwise we’d both still be filthy and you’d be
naked.”

Ryne grunted and
Mel wisely kept silent for a while, watching the scenery.
Eventually, Ryne spoke again.

“What are you
really thinking about?”

“I’m just trying
to figure out how I’ll manage being a werewolf in Chicago.”

“In Chicago?” He
looked surprised.

“Well, where else
would I be?”

“Back in Stump
River, with me.” Ryne stated the fact as if it were a foregone
conclusion.

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah.”

“Says who?”

“Says me!”

“And what if I
don’t want to go?” She pulled her hand away and crossed her arms
over her chest, turning to stare out the window. Ryne didn’t
respond and she checked on him out of the corner of her eye. He was
gripping the steering wheel hard enough that his knuckles were
turning white and a muscle ticked in his jaw. She looked away and
they drove in silence. Finally, he sighed and spoke in a low
voice.

“Why? Why don’t
you want to go back? Is it too quiet? You don’t like my house? The
lack of a coffee shop?”

She shrugged and
picked at the material of the seatbelt.

“Is it me?”

His voice sounded
uncertain and when she looked his way, there was a general air of
hurt about him.

“Well...”

“Melody, I
apologized for what I said that last day in Stump River. I didn’t
mean any of it. It was all because of the Keeping. You were asking
questions and I couldn’t provide any answers. If you found out, and
then told someone else...” He sighed. “Your life was at stake. Your
life and the lives of my brother’s entire pack. I couldn’t take the
chance...”

“Why didn’t you
just trust me?”

“It’s hard to
explain. It’s almost bred into us. The need to hide; to not let
outsiders in; to be suspicious of human motives. Our people were
persecuted for millennia, almost hunted to extinction. Centuries of
distrust are hard to ignore. Even when a human is
your...friend...you tend to hold back.”

“I suppose... I
guess I have forgiven you, though you didn’t need to be quite so
mean.”

Ryne chuckled.
“You’re stubborn, Melody. If I didn’t come down on you hard, you’d
have just kept hanging around, trying to worm your damn interview
out of me.”

A guilty smile
curved on her lips. He knew her so well.

“So you’ll forgive
me and come back?” Ryne sounded hopeful, but Mel wanted more.

“Why do you want
me back?”

He shrugged.
“Well...you’re a werewolf now. You need a pack to help you. Going
it on your own is tricky. Most lone wolves don’t survive.”

“So, my returning
is totally for my own good.” She raised her eyebrows, questioning
his reasoning.

“Sure. You need a
home. My pack needs more members. You like Bryan and Daniel. Oh,
and did I tell you about the Loberos? They’re joining us, too.
There’s Marco, his mate Olivia, their son—he’s just a baby—and
Marco’s sister, Tessa. You’ll get along great with them and Olivia
is about your age, I think.”

“Uh-huh.” Mel
stared out the window and fought to swallow past the lump in her
throat. He wasn’t saying anything about caring for her, loving her.
She’d been so sure last night, when she’d been almost delirious and
fighting not to shift, that he’d said he loved her, but now...

She felt him
flicking glances her way; sensed his worry, but had no inclination
to talk any more. Ryne was arrogant, rude, and domineering. He was
also clever and witty, courageous and strong, good looking, sexy
and, when she’d really needed it, he’d been gentle and tender.
Damn, she hated to admit it, even to herself, but she loved the
man. Still, if he wanted her to be a part of his life he’d have to
do better than he had so far and clearly express his feelings. If
she gave in to him now, it would set a precedent for the rest of
their time together.

Instead, she
focused on herself, pondering where her werewolf genetics might
have come from. It could be her father or maybe somewhere in her
mother’s background. Mel had never known her grandparents so it was
hard to tell. Likely it was a mystery that she’d never solve,
especially since they had to keep their existence a secret. After
all, she could hardly walk up to her mother and say ‘Hey, are there
any werewolves in our background?’

Of course, knowing
how off-beat her mother was, the woman would probably dive into the
whole concept with both feet. Thinking of all the trouble her
mother might inadvertently stir up, Mel shuddered. Yep, asking her
mother would definitely not be a good idea. They didn’t need
another round of this whole Keeping business, after all.

In the end it
didn’t really matter where the genes came from. She was a werewolf
now. During the night, she’d confessed to Ryne that she’d applied
to the Lycan link just as a joke and hadn’t believed it when they
said they’d research her background to see if she qualified. He
explained how it worked and she gave a wry laugh thinking of how
she and Beth had said she’d become a card carrying Lycan. Little
did she know it would come true!

They arrived back
at her apartment building and Ryne pulled into a convenient parking
spot. He turned off the engine and stared straight ahead. Silence
reigned.

Mel pasted a fake
smile on her face. “Well, I’m home.”

Ryne cleared his
throat and turned to look at her. “It doesn’t have to be. Your
home, that is. You could live in Stump River. With me. I...I really
want you to.” When she didn’t answer, he shifted closer and gently
took her chin, turning her to face him. He stared intently at her,
his gaze moving over her features before returning to her eyes,
seeming to be searching for something. Finally, he gave a half
smile and leaned closer, brushing his lips over hers. “Melody, I
love you and want you to stay with me. Please say you’ll come back
to Stump River.”

Mel smiled against
his lips, a feeling of relief washing over her. Yes, she thought.
It hadn’t been her imagination! “Took you long enough to say it.”
She murmured and then she kissed him back.

“I told you last
night.” Ryne had the faintest of pouts on his face.

“But I wasn’t sure
if you had really said it, or if it was all part of the whole
transformation thing. I was having some pretty weird thoughts.”

He wiggled his eye
brows at her. “Wanna share?”

Mel flushed.
“Maybe later.” Some of her thoughts had been on the erotic side.
She had a feeling that her wolf was going to be a lusty creature
and somehow Ryne knew it.

He kissed her
again, gently at first and then with increasing passion. She
returned the kiss with equal ardour, burying her fingers in his
thick, silky hair, relishing the feel of his stubbly skin gently
abrading hers. It was only when a group of teens walked by, hooting
encouragement that they pulled apart. Ryne glared at them through
the windshield and the young hooligans immediately fell silent,
backing away and then turning almost as one to run down the
street.

Mel chuckled
softly. “I wish I could do that.”

“I’ll teach you.”
He brushed the hair from her face and then moved back to his own
seat. They sat in companionable silence for a moment before Ryne
looked at her regretfully. “So...what about your apartment?”

She pursed her
lips and exhaled slowly, staring up at the window of her apartment
unit. From what she’d been told, this was where Lucy had
been...injured. Her mind shied away from using a more final term,
as a faint hope fluttered within her. Perhaps...

Ryne cleared his
throat and asked softly, “Do you want to go in, or should I
just—?”

“No, I need to do
this. Lucy’s my friend, too.” She drew a shuddering breath and
squared her shoulders. “I’ll go in. I imagine the police will have
started an investigation and there’ll be questions to answer. What
should we tell them?”