Burning Both Ends

“Nice try, Vita. It might have worked if not for your close, or should I say, intimate association with the actual kidnapper.” Vita’s face paled. For the first time she seemed to realize Ari knew too much for her to bluff her way out of this.

Sudden voices in the hallway drew everyone’s attention, but Ari hurried on before they were interrupted. “Which one of you put this scheme together? You or Derik?”

The kidnapper’s name landed like a bomb.

“What’s this? Derik?” Robert’s entire body seemed to reel with the shock. Doubt, followed by anger, flashed across his face and was reflected by others in the room. “What makes you think her mate did this?

“Airline records show him flying in and out of Riverdale and Galena twice in the past two weeks.”

“He had business in the area,” Vita said before Ari could finish. Eyes burning a golden orange and fists clenched at her thighs, she stalked toward her accuser. “Any law against that? I didn’t think we had to report our every movement to you.”

“I can prove it was him. His scent, his voice, his aura. I can recognize them all, and even if Steffan didn’t see his face, he’ll remember the sound, the smell of him too. Is that what you want? Derik in a line-up?”

Vita came at her, raising her hands as if they were already claws. “You wouldn’t dare treat him like a common criminal,” she screeched.

“Back off, Vita.” Ari kept her voice level. She placed a hand on the she-wolf’s shoulder and firmly pushed her away, as Steffan tried to step between them. Both women ignored him. “If you think I won’t smack a pregnant woman, you’re wrong.”

“No, don’t touch me!” Vita recoiled, concern flashing across her face, as she clutched her belly and Ari had one of those “ah-ha” moments. Robert growled and took a step forward.

Tension spike in the room. The other wolves formed a half-circle around them, and Ari’s magic grew uneasy. An involuntary spark of energy pricked her fingertips. She wasn’t sure if the wolves intended to defend Vita or were simply aroused by the Otherworld power swirling around the room.

A crash in the hallway, shouts erupted, the door splintered and burst open. A large, silver wolf leaped into the room, his claws skidding across the floor. Ari shot a blue stun, knocking him off balance, then threw up a barrier, using the magic dust. Scrambling to his feet, the wolf lunged against the invisible wall, clawing at its surface. Armed tigers poured through the door with guns trained on the intruder.

“It’s over.” Ari’s gaze locked with the wolf’s, never breaking contact. “And nobody’s going to hurt her.” He snarled but appeared to be listening. “Don’t make another mistake. Your child needs both a mother and father.”

The wolf snarled again, shaking his head from side to side. As the magical barrier began to shatter, he crouched to spring. When a claw reached through the particles, he howled in triumph.

“No!” Vita ran forward, flung her arms around her mate, and began to sob.

Ari watched to see if Derik could regain control of his instincts. His mate was doing her best now to calm him and avoid a bloody outcome. Ari spoke to the weretigers. “I don’t think we’ll need any guns. Everything will be fine if you wait in the hallway.”

The tiger leader looked uncertain but nodded. When the door closed, Ari cocked her head at the two silver wolves. “That’s the real issue here, isn’t it? The pregnancy. That’s why you didn’t attack the meeting at the resort or the Magic Hall. Derik couldn’t risk harming his unborn child. This baby has been the motivation for everything you’ve done—I can see it in your faces, but I don’t know why.”

Vita’s nostrils flared, as she stood to face them. Derik sat on his haunches, his fangs bared and his grey eyes fixed on Ari. His ears flicked back and forth to catch any hostile movement from the others. Vita gave a sullen look to everyone and placed a hand on her mate’s head.

“All right, it’s true, and I’m not sorry we tried. Our baby—this baby,” she pointed to her belly with her free hand, “is destined to be a great leader. The first full-blood born to silver wolves in seventy-five years. A natural leader, destined for greatness.” Her fingers absently stroked Derik’s fur. “You’re trying to vote away our son’s birthright. Don’t you understand? If we agree to this coalition, he will have no one left to lead.” She dropped both hands protectively over her stomach. Vibrating with passion, Vita was the picture of outraged motherhood.

She ignored Ari and spoke directly to the other wolves. “The humans are an inferior but arrogant and fertile species. If we join them as allies, they will insist we change our ways to suit their needs. They’ve done it before—eliminated entire species that were inconvenient, and they have the numbers to do it again. They don’t know our ways. They fear us, but they don’t respect us. How can you wish to ally yourselves with a parasitic race? In twenty years, there won’t be any true wolves left of any color. Just tame pets.”

The sadness underneath her rage filled the room, and for a moment, no one answered. There was a grain of truth in her impassioned speech.

“It doesn’t have to be that way.” Jena broke the silence. “Not if we’re smart.”

“There is time for compromise. We can establish safeguards,” Steffan added. “I would join with you and Derik in seeing your concerns are addressed in any coalition we formed.”

“I think we all want that,” Robert said.

The silver male finally broke his intense focus on Ari, turning to look at Steffan and the other leaders. He began to shift, skin and bones rearranging, fur disappearing. In less than sixty seconds a muscled male with intense grey eyes and shoulder-length, white-blond hair stood before them. He was naked.

While most lycanthropes prefer privacy for shifting, they are completely at ease with nudity. No one seemed to notice his lack of clothing except Ari. She tried to keep her eyes on Derik’s face.

“What kind of safeguards are you proposing?” he asked Steffan.

“I’m open to suggestions. Perhaps we should sit down and talk.”

As the hostile atmosphere in the room eased, Ari stepped back and dropped out of the discussion. She’d done her part. It was up to them from here. After listening for several minutes to the tentative proposals, she edged toward the door.

Nobody was yelling and screaming at Vita and Derik. Most of wolves were still stunned by the revelation, but the outcome was easily predicted. The coveted pregnancy would protect the pair from serious retribution. That, and the fact Derik hadn’t killed anyone. He’d played his hand with skill, even in defeat.

She stepped outside and turned when she heard the door open again. Steffan joined her. “What will happen now?” she asked him.

He lifted a shoulder. “We talk, and we vote. I think the coalition will pass. That’s the important thing. We’ll put more restrictions into the agreement, now that we’ve been reminded of the dangers from within and without. That’s a good thing. As for Vita and Derik, many will see them as heroic. And she is carrying precious cargo.”

Ari zipped her leather jacket against the brisk air. The breeze caught her hair, and she brushed it aside in order to see Steffan’s face. The pair of misguided parents-to-be had put him through a lot.

“What about their treatment of you? If they’re not punished, if they’re allowed to walk away, are you OK with that?”

He laughed softly. “Derik and I will have a discussion, but I wasn’t seriously harmed. They aren’t so different from the rest of us. Isn’t that the point of everything we do? It’s all about planning and hoping for the next generation.”

* * *

An hour later, Ari slowly climbed the stairs to her apartment. She was drained. A lot had happened over the last days. She’d like nothing better than to sleep for a week. But she had one more mystery to solve. The missing cat. Claris hadn’t called with an update since Ari had told her about Steffan’s disappearance. Maybe Hernando had returned on his own, but she wasn’t counting on it. Things hadn’t been that easy the last week or two. She’d had to work hard for the results she’d achieved. Even then, nothing had been perfect. Steffan still needed to work out a compromise on the coalition, and Andreas had a less-than-solid hold on the Toronto crown. No, not perfect, but both were out of immediate crisis. Once she found the damned cat, she could relax, call Andreas, curl up with the Book of Shadows, and even get that longed-for sleep.

With those pleasant thoughts in mind, Ari hauled up the last few steps to drop off her travel bag before she tackled the feline search. At the top of the landing, Mrs. Morgenstern, her seventy-eight year old neighbor, called her name.

Ari dredged up a smile.

The sweet, grandmotherly woman was the unofficial manager of the complex, which meant she knew everyone’s business and had keys to all their apartments. When tenants were away, she watered plants, fed animals, and brought in the mail. Her usual jogging attire was pale pink today, and a matching sweatband held back her silver curls. Ari had never seen her jog or indulge in any physical activity, but she enjoyed the look.

“You’re home early, dearie. Did you have a nice trip? That cat of yours was raising a ruckus last night. Got locked outside somehow. I figured he wanted his supper, so I let him in. Bella was sure glad to see him. Nice they get along.”

“Yeah, nice.” For a moment her weary brain didn’t absorb what the neighbor was saying. “What cat?”

Mrs. Morgenstern continued in that patient voice one uses with a child. “The white one you and Claris showed me a few months ago. Bella’s the gray, isn’t she? Or is that the Rileys’? No, theirs is striped. I don’t know the white kitty’s name—I didn’t even know he was staying here—but he’s pretty as a picture.”

Ari gaped at the elderly woman. The only cat she and Claris had brought around was… No, it couldn’t be.