Bound (World of Shadows Book 2) Page 3

  “What’s worst-case scenario?” I asked her.

  Her lips quirked in a humorless smile. “We have to let Gage out.”

  #

  When I finally got back home, the house was quiet and empty. I wondered where Dylan had gone and if he was still in dog form. Maybe he did something completely normal like went to work.

  Since I had time, I decided to do something completely normal, too. I checked my e-mail. I found one from the editor of a magazine I freelanced for. I’d pitched him an article about the Knob Creek Hotel last week and he wanted me to write something. I left out the details of my own personal link to the hotel.

  I sighed and debated. I should take the job, and I was grateful for the work. But right now, I just felt tired.

  In just a week living in Knob Creek, I’d talked with ghosts, met a mom who was absent from my life for over a decade, and learned to astral project.

  Not to mention developing a little something with the local shapeshifter. One who was unfortunately absent and unable to take my mind off of what was going to happen tomorrow.

  Still sitting at the kitchen table, I shoved aside my laptop and dropped my head onto my folded arms. It was a lot to think about. Vampires and werewolves and long-lost mothers. Right now, I’d rather just grab something to drink and do something mindless like watch TV—or lose myself in Dylan—until I was tired enough to go to sleep.

  Link…

  Gage’s voice echoed in my mind again. I swallowed hard and lifted my head, looking out the window to see the sun had nearly set. And Gage was stuck in a dark, cold cave.

  I never went back to bring him more water or food.

  When he’d had me locked in his house, at least he’d given me somewhere comfortable to sleep and food to eat. Good food. I left him in the middle of the forest in a cave.

  When something moved out of the corner of my eye, my breath hitched. It was Savannah.

  I could see through her, but she was solid enough for me to see what she was wearing. The same thing as the first time I saw her. A period dress in gauzy white, with her hair hanging in dark curls. She didn’t have the necklace anymore, though, since she gave it to me.

  “Savannah,” I said, voice low.

  Her smile was faint and sad. “Not tonight,” she whispered.

  “Not tonight, what?”

  “Don’t go to the cave.”

  Was that why she’d shown up in my kitchen? Because my mind was on Gage and I felt guilty about the cave? I thought about what my mom had said at her house, about Savannah wanting revenge. But I still couldn’t see it in the figure before me.

  “Do you think Gage is going to try to hurt me?”

  She reached out, her fingers curling like she was beckoning me to come closer. “Save…power,” she said.

  I stood, ready to ask more questions, when I heard a knock at the front door. I grimaced as Savannah vanished. Fuck. I needed more. I needed to know what she was talking about.

  Frowning, I walked to the door and eyed the shadowy figure on the other side, scared for a moment that it was Gage. Somehow.

  But then I recognized the shape and the way Dylan always rubbed his hand along his jaw. I opened the door.

  “Hey,” he said, shoving his hand in his pockets.

  “Hi.” I studied his face. He looked tired. And maybe a little frustrated. “Do you want to come in?”

  He nodded and opened the screen door. I kept my hands to myself even though I wanted to reach out and pull him close, to take away some of his stress. But he looked too tense for contact right now.

  I leaned on the arm of the couch while he stayed in the entryway. “How long did it take?”

  He knew exactly what I was talking about. I wanted to know how long he was in his other form.

  His jaw clenched. “A few hours.”

  “Is that bad?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know what’s normal. It was longer than last time, though. I went and talked with my lead guy at the site to let him know I might be in and out over the next few weeks. You know, just in case.”

  I met his gaze. “Maybe we could try to…I don’t know. See if you can control it? Or—”

  “No.”

  I stood and walked to him, my heart twisting. He wouldn’t look at me, just kept staring at his shoes with his hands tucked in his pockets. “Dylan, please,” I whispered.

  He glanced up briefly, but I saw the fire in his gaze, the flash of anger that surprised me. “I said no, okay? I don’t want to control it and I don’t want to practice handling it. I just want it to go away. If my dad hadn’t wanted to shift so badly, my mom wouldn’t have gotten hurt and things would have been—”

  He broke off and took a step back, finally meeting my eyes. “Forget about it. Don’t push me, Link.”

  I ran a hand through my hair. “I’m not trying to push you. I’m trying to help.”

  He’d done the same for me with the fire. But I had to remind myself, it was something I wanted. I wanted to get past the fire so I could be intimate with someone.

  “You can help me by understanding I don’t want to have anything to do with this.”

  I clenched my jaw but took a step back. He was right, I shouldn’t push him. But I didn’t know what else to do.

  Folding my arms, I nodded. “That’s fine. My mom and Grace are helping. We’ll take care of this so you can…deal with whatever you need to deal with.”

  “That’s not what I meant,” he said. The anger in his eyes flashed again. It seemed like he was in a mood for a fight, and so was I. But we both knew we shouldn’t be taking it out on each other. “I want to help with the situation, but I don’t want to deal with the other stuff. I’ll take care of it if it happens but the whole purpose is to get it to go away. So let’s just…not talk about it. Consider the topic off-limits.”

  I struggled with that a moment. I wanted to ask what happened to his mom and wanted to know what it was in his past that had hurt him so much. But maybe it wasn’t my place to say anything at all.

  “We’re going to talk to Audrey tomorrow to see if we can get my book or my mom’s book back.”

  He crossed his arms. “She’s going to negotiate. She’s going to say she wants Gage out of the cave.”

  “Yeah, I’m thinking that, too. But at least we have something to negotiate with.”

  “I don’t like it.”

  “Well, this whole situation sucks, doesn’t it? I don’t like that you won’t talk to me about shifting or that my mom wasn’t here to help us with everything in the first place. It’s bullshit, so I guess we’re in the same boat.”

  Several emotions crossed his face before he shut them all off. After a moment, he moved forward slightly, like he was going to reach out and pull me into his arms. To hold me, even if neither of us had words. But then he tucked his hands in his pockets again.

  He inclined his head. “Okay. Tomorrow, then?”

  “You want to come with us?”

  He lifted his eyebrows like he couldn’t believe I asked that question. “I’m supposed to be looking out for you. I want to look out for you. It would help if you’d let me.”

  I couldn’t think of a response fast enough before he turned and left. I watched him walk down the drive and get into his truck. He drove away into the night, leaving me feeling alone and confused in my house.

  Chapter 4

  Last night, I slept hard and deep. I dreamt about Savannah and talking to her but didn’t remember anything she said. Just that she made me feel peaceful and calm.

  I dressed in a long-sleeved shirt, knowing it was going to be cool in the shadows of the forest today. Whether or not that was to release Gage, I had no clue, but I knew I needed to bring him food and water at the very least.

  Something flickered at the edge of the mirror but there was nothing there.

  “Hello?” I called to the empty room.

  I didn’t hear anything else.

  Fuck. Maybe Savannah really was getting into my he
ad more than I thought she was.

  I left the room, grabbed half a bagel, and walked to the front porch. I made a strangled noise of surprise when I saw Dylan in the drive, leaning against his truck and staring at his shoes.

  He met my gaze. “Hey, Link.”

  He looked better today. Less tired and less stressed, though there did seem to be some lingering tension in his shoulders.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked, almost wary.

  A soft smile skimmed his lips. He met me at the bottom of the steps. “Nice to see you, too. I thought we could ride together.”

  “Are you sure you want to go?”

  “Why wouldn’t I?” He reached out and took my hand. He gave it a light squeeze. “I’m part of this, too. I should be here to help. Besides, the more of us, the better.”

  I lifted my chin and met his eyes. The green flecks in them sparkled in the sunlight. “You’re worried something is going to happen.”

  His smile was grim. “After the week we’ve all had, I’m pretty damn sure of it.”

  “They don’t have a choice. They have to work with us if we’re going to do anything to help Audrey.”

  He ran his knuckles over my jaw, then leaned in. I relaxed even more when his lips met mine, warm and steady. His tongue glided across the bottom one. “Vampires don’t have to do anything they don’t want to,” he murmured.

  But I barely heard him because then he took the kiss deeper, pulling me against his body so we touched the entire way down. His cock twitched against my leg and I groaned into his mouth.

  “This would have been better than our conversation last night,” I told him.

  His hand fisted in the back of my shirt as I felt his arousal harden even further. “I know. I’m sorry.”

  I opened my eyes just long enough to see a flash of movement. I straightened and swiveled slightly, trying to find whatever it was that I saw. Especially because, for a moment, I thought it was Savannah.

  “What is it?” Dylan asked.

  “I thought I saw someone.”

  He switched his grip on me so he could stand in front of me. His eyes scanned the yard and the area around the house before moving to the street.

  “It’s fine,” I told him. “I’m just jumpy, I think.”

  I thought I saw Savannah twice this morning—that was probably a mistake on my part because she usually only showed up when I was in danger.

  Dylan nodded. “I understand. And that makes it even better that I’m coming today.”

  He pulled me down the stairs and ushered me to the truck. He waited while I got in and then cast another vigilant glance around before joining me.

  “Why is that?” I asked, my voice teasing. “Do you have some kind of special vampire repellant or something?”

  He slid on a pair of reflective sunglasses. “You never did ask why shapeshifters were the most logical choice to be guardians for the witches.”

  “I assumed because the werewolves and vampires were too busy fighting with each other. It was only natural for the shifters and witches to pair up.”

  He drove us to Main Street and then in the direction of Gage’s house. I was familiar with most of the landmarks already. The diner on the corner that made the best pancakes, the library where Grace worked. The rescue station a block over. The town was growing on me some, even if I wasn’t here under the best of circumstances.

  Soon the buildings and homes tapered off, giving way to trees for a few miles before we reached Gage’s house.

  I spotted a blackbird flying parallel to the car several seconds before it disappeared.

  “That’s part of it,” Dylan said, reaching out to take my hand. “The bigger reason, though, is that shifters can’t be hurt by vampires.”

  I turned to him, shock racing through me. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, vampires literally cannot hurt us without being in pain themselves. Which makes it a lot harder for them to kill us.”

  “But…” I tried to think back to the forest and the incident outside the diner after I met Gage and tried to poison him with vervain. “He hit you. And kicked you. More than once.”

  Dylan scowled. “Yeah. And it probably hurt him worse than me. It was nothing.”

  My mind reeled with the information. No wonder the shifters and witches had an alliance. No wonder Dylan wanted to be close by whenever I was around Gage.

  “You could have told me this before,” I said through clenched teeth.

  He only squeezed my hand and gave a short laugh. “Right. In all our free time together.”

  He was right. We’d barely had any personal time together. Circumstances brought us together in a rush and then we were forced to rely on each other and help each other.

  “That kind of makes it sound like you’re obligated to help me,” I told him.

  He didn’t speak for a long moment, his eyes straight ahead as he navigated the turns. Gage’s house appeared in the distance.

  “That isn’t entirely accurate. I want to help you. Just like I wanted to help your mom.”

  I looked away when he mentioned her. She was meeting us here with Grace today. I supposed it should have made me grateful. She did have more experience as a witch than I did. But it was hard to swallow that bitterness.

  Dylan turned down the long drive to Gage’s house. We wound around a few trees and parked directly behind Grace’s car. She and my mother were already here, waiting for us.

  Audrey opened the front door at the same time. She leaned against it and folded her arms.

  Dylan gripped my hand before I could get out. “Be careful.”

  I wasn’t afraid of Audrey, especially since our last visit with her. But I could understand where Dylan was coming from. It was ingrained in him to protect witches and he was just doing his duty.

  “I will.” I got out, waiting for Dylan to meet me around the front. Grace stepped out of her car as well.

  “We want to talk,” Dylan told Audrey, not moving from where we stood.

  She lifted her eyebrows. “All of you?” When we continued to stand there, she gestured to the house. “You might as well come in.”

  Dylan took my hand and shook his head. “We can talk from here.”

  Audrey laughed, but it quickly turned into a cough. “Fine. What do you want?”

  “A deal,” I told her. “You give us my Book of Shadows—”

  “And mine,” Helen said, coming around to stand with us.

  “And hers,” I added, “and then we’ll help you.”

  Dylan squeezed my hand when Audrey didn’t answer, encouraging me to continue.

  “Audrey,” I said, appealing to her. “We can do healing spells. The Book of Shadows has all sorts of spells in it.”

  She gave a small smile. “I see what you’re doing.”

  She walked from the door and strolled down the steps. Dylan automatically moved in front of me, and Grace joined him on the other side.

  “We didn’t come here for a fight,” Grace said.

  “Does it look like I’m trying to fight?” Audrey asked. “You’re the ones who came here and asked for something from me so don’t act like I’m trying to attack you. I’m interested in the deal, but I want to see Gage first.”

  I grimaced even though I expected it. “We can bring you to him.”

  Dylan glanced sharply in my direction.

  “It’s only fair,” I said to him. “She gets to see him and then we can negotiate.”

  Even Grace nodded. “This is the best way to do this.”

  But Dylan scowled at her and turned to me, nodding his head at the truck. “Link, can we talk a minute?”

  I walked with him to the other side of the truck, holding my hand up to block out the glare of the sun. “I know what you’re thinking,” I told him before he could say a word.

  “You do?”

  “Yeah. You’re thinking the usual.” I smiled to ease some of the tension. “That this is dangerous, and we shouldn’t make deals with va
mpires. Also, that Gage should stay where he is. I think that’s everything.”

  He folded his arms. “You think this is funny?”

  “Funny? Kind of. Definitely amusing.”

  “That’s the same thing.”

  “Technically—”

  “I’m not going to argue about this, Link,” he said with a sigh. “I just want you to be careful. We’re dealing with a woman whose brother kidnapped you and she’s also a vampire. I can’t say there’s much to trust.”

  I reached out and took his hand, holding it to my chest. It relieved me when his expression softened. “It’s okay. If she wanted to hurt us, she would have done it already.”

  “Did you forget she tried to strangle you?”

  “Okay, sure, there’s that. But only because we broke into her house and she had no idea where her brother was. She was feeling defensive.”

  He put his hands on my arms, fingers warm through the fabric of my shirt. “You’re too understanding. But I’m trying to see your side. Just…you know, just try not to waltz into that cave when we get there.”

  My lips twitched. “Waltz?”

  “Yeah. Waltz. You know, just walk in there and start negotiating with Gage. Letting him charm you into—”

  “Charm me?”

  “Or manipulate you into doing anything. It’s still a solid fact that he could have taken a different approach besides kidnapping you to deal with the situation.”

  “No arguments here.”

  His lips curved. “I’m sorry, what was that?”

  “I was making it clear that I wasn’t going to argue with you.”

  He angled his head, looking like he hadn’t heard me correctly. “Are you sure? This is unfamiliar territory for me. I’m not sure it’s ever happened before.”

  I laughed and kissed him on the lips. “Ha. Don’t get used to it—it’s just temporary.”

  He took my hand again and we walked to the other side of the truck.

  “We’ll take you to Gage,” I told Audrey.

  She nodded. “Good. Let’s go.”

  #

  The forest floor was wet when we walked around the hotel and to the back. I knew the path to the cave fairly well by now, so I took the lead.