Cold Blooded

He growled, low and raspy, his breath hitting my neck and smelling like sweet cinnamon. “If we have sex like that, I don’t care if there’s one piece of furniture left standing when we’re done. Whatever damage we do is totally worth it.”

It was damn good sex.

I continued tracing the lines of the dark tattoos running up both his forearms, loving the feel of his skin against the pads of my fingers. “Rourke, these tattoos are unique and amazing, but this is not ink. They follow the pattern of your fur exactly, but they’re only on your arms. How did you get them?”

“They appeared the day I became Alpha.”

Of course he’d been Alpha. “I should’ve guessed you were the leader of your Pride.” It must’ve been hard losing everyone over the years. “Is that what happens to all Alpha cats? I’ve never seen another shifter with distinct markings like this.” But that didn’t count for much, since I didn’t know many other species personally.

“I honestly don’t know,” he said, adjusting his body to lie on his back. “I was the first in my line to get them and I’ve never seen any other shifter with markings that weren’t man-made. But they might have them and just keep them concealed. It’s hard to know.”

I turned and propped myself up on my elbow. “What do you think they mean?”

He grinned. “I’ve had a long time to ponder that very question, and my best guess is they’re linked to why I can channel my beast so well without shifting. But in recent years, I’ve been leaning toward the theory they’re pure eye candy. Meet Chick Magnet One and Two.” He pulled his arms up and flexed. The tattoos wrapping around his biceps jumped tantalizingly.

I shoved his chest, laughing. “I already told you, there’s no need to talk about—” I sat up abruptly, my head turning toward the door.

“What is it?” He was alert next to me.

“My blood just jumped with something. I think it’s Tyler, but it’s too muddled to tell,” I replied. “We need to get out of bed—”

Shouts hit the yard, and ten seconds later the front door of the cabin burst open and Tyler tumbled into the room, followed four seconds later by Danny.

They were both out of breath.

I was relieved to see they were all right but couldn’t help being irritated. “Jeez, you two. Doesn’t anyone knock anymore?” I leaned down and grabbed the old patchwork comforter bunched at the bottom of the mattress. I snagged it too quickly and it ripped. I put a scrap no bigger than a throw pillow in front of me as Rourke wrapped his arms around my more delicate parts while I tried to organize myself.

“What’s happened in here, then?” Danny asked, glancing around at the damage. “I see someone with a violent nature has ransacked the place.” He bent over and picked up a piece of the countertop, examining it. Then he looked up at us and winked.

I pointedly ignored his toothy grin. “It’s time to explain why you’re here.” Now that they were standing in front of me, I felt their anxiety bubbling in my blood. Something was seriously wrong. Their arrival on the mountain must have been what had finally woken me up; I’d just been too sleepy to read the signs. “Tell me nothing has happened to Dad.” I scooted to the edge of the loft as Rourke handed me the rest of the covers.

“It’s not that something’s happened to Dad yet,” Tyler answered, moving forward into the tiny room, kicking debris out of his way. “But something may happen and I can’t reach him to find out if he’s okay or warn him.”

I mumbled behind me, “Rourke, I’m going to need some clothes.”

“I’m on it.” Rourke deftly maneuvered himself out of the loft, which was no small task given how large he was and how tiny the headroom was. I don’t even remember how we got up here last night. I must have been half asleep. Or more like drowning in ecstasy. I shivered, remembering.

He jumped, landing easily, and walked over to a cedar chest tucked under the window and lifted the lid. One of the few things that hadn’t been damaged. He had no qualms about being naked and the boys didn’t even glance at him.

I addressed my brother. “Why didn’t you try to talk to me internally if you thought something was up with Dad?” I asked.

“I’ve been trying all night.” He guffawed. “But it seems you were a little busy. I thought something was wrong because you didn’t answer. But I can see from the carnage around me that everything is going along swimmingly.”

My face flushed.

“Don’t worry, sis,” Tyler joked. “I didn’t hear anything. It was like your mind just sort of checked out. But this warranted a trip here to find you, because we need to adapt our plans quickly.”

“What are you talking about? What’s wrong?” Rourke tossed me up an old T-shirt of his and a huge pair of sweatpants, thankfully with a drawstring. They both smelled like dusty old cedar mixed with cloves. I pulled them on quickly, both boys averting their eyes politely.

Once I was done dressing, I looked around for the ladder and saw why Rourke hadn’t used it. It was broken in three pieces on the floor. Jesus. I leapt, landing easily on the balls of my feet.

Tyler started to pace, which was never a good sign. “I tried to connect with Dad a few times after you left town. At first I got this strange humming sound. Then it turned to this funny static. After that, I was worried, so I shifted again and tried for an hour to get through with no results. It was like a void.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. “But he can’t be dead or we’d know it.” An Alpha was bound to his Pack. Upon his death, it reverberated through our bodies, because without a leader, wolves were lost. A replacement had to be found quickly.

“I don’t think he’s dead … yet,” Tyler said, meeting my eyes, anguish lying just behind them. “But, Jess, this isn’t good. He’s either on his way or under a spell—neither of them are good options.”

Shivers ran up my spine. “Okay, we have to think. We can travel from here to Florida in a day, at the latest. We’ll just have to go down, find him, and fix whatever it is that’s wrong.”

“There’s one more thing, the real reason we’re here,” Tyler added, his voice strained. “We went to get Nick, like you asked. But the witches wouldn’t open the door—that is, until this little kid finally ordered them to. An army of witches decked out for battle, dressed in fatigues and carrying weapons—some of which I’ve never seen before—and they did what a toddler told them to do like a bunch of robots. It was one of the strangest things I’ve ever seen.”

I took in a sharp breath. “Isn’t she freaky?”

Danny nodded his head. “Yes, and she came running up to Tyler like he was a long-lost relation. She wrapped herself around his leg with her little arms and wouldn’t bloody let go.”

“Then she started to cry.” Tyler shook his head. “It was awful. How am I supposed to defend myself with a little kid wrapped around my leg? Those witches could’ve killed me where I stood and I wouldn’t have done anything to stop them.”

“What did she say?” I urged. “It must have been big if you ran straight up here to find me.”

“She said if I didn’t find you and take you to New Orleans now, Dad would die.” His face was grim, all the playfulness gone. “At least that was her mother’s translation. The kid was sobbing a lot.”

I dropped into the only chair in the room that was not demolished. This was huge news and I needed to process it. I put my head in my hands. “How did she say it? I need her exact words. Tally said there were no timelines in the future, that things change depending on the choices we make. How would Maggie know Dad dies if I don’t go to New Orleans?” Something must have changed drastically from the time Rourke and I had been at the Coven until now. “Tell me what she said, in her own words.”

“She was hard to understand.” Tyler scratched his head. “She kept crying about something over and over. It sounded like ‘vamp bay,’ until I finally figured out she was talking about vampire Ray.”

I stood quickly, knocking the chair over. “What did she say about him?” Tyler had no idea Ray was here.

“She was crying, something like ‘can’t die, can’t die.’”

“Why can’t Ray die?”

“She only said one word after that. It was the clearest one she uttered.”

“What was it?”

“Salvation.”

I ran through the trees so fast everything flew by me in a blur. Branches and switches slapped me in the face, but I didn’t slow. I had no idea where this cave was, but I had no problem following the scent Rourke had laid last night. Everyone was right behind me.

But it didn’t matter how fast I ran.

If Rourke had accidentally killed Ray last night, or Ray couldn’t repair the damage to his head, I knew my father was lost. Once my brother had said the word “salvation,” I knew it was true. Something had triggered in my mind. I don’t know where it had come from, but I knew we needed Ray. Alive. He’s going to be okay … he has to be okay, I told my wolf. She barked, urging us on faster.

“Jessica,” Rourke called. “Veer to your left. The opening is against the mountainside. It’s covered with brush.”

I saw it. Ten more paces and I whipped the branches away with one hand and dove headfirst into the cave, somersaulting and landing crouched, senses alert.

“It’s about time, Hannon.” A surly voice hit my eardrum without missing a beat. “The sun set twenty minutes ago. What were you going to do, starve me to death? I’m hungry as hell and I need a fucking shower. There’s blood and gunk plastered all over me and my veins feel hollow.”

The relief he was still alive threatened to consume me. I inhaled and exhaled deeply, trying to control my emotions as I stood, clapping the dirt off my hands.