Evalle and Storm Read online

  Footsteps tapping on the staircase grew closer. The sound that woke her could’ve been the door opening downstairs.

  Evalle stilled, waiting.

  Storm entered the room but didn’t turn on the lights. He took care not to blind her. Were her eyes still sensitive? Good thing she’d ended up inside. What if she’d slept until sunrise on the patio?

  He started undressing. “Did you sleep?”

  “I nodded off long enough to have a strange dream.”

  “Might be the gecko influence,” he teased.

  That didn’t actually comfort her. “How’d your meeting go?”

  “I asked the security team about anything unusual that might’ve happened recently or the past year. No one had anything to report, but I spent time describing potential signs of strange activity. Now they know what to look for and are going into the community to do some quiet snooping, which I can’t.”

  “What about the seer?”

  Storm yawned. “I’m sorry. I didn’t get a chance to bring it up tonight. There were too many people around and I didn’t want to put Bidziil on the spot when he had an audience. Before we finished the meeting, he got called to handle a situation with an important casino customer. I let him go, but I haven’t forgotten.”

  “No big deal.” She tried to squash her panic at feeling time running out.

  He climbed into bed and pulled her back against his body, cocooning her in his heat. Nuzzling her hair aside so he could kiss her neck, he said, “That almost sounded like a white lie. Getting you set up with the seer is a big deal to me. I will definitely handle it tomorrow.”

  “Thank you.” She did her best to shake off her stress and settle into his embrace. Having him close helped. A lot.

  The dream about the eagle still bothered her, though. She asked, “Does the eagle have meaning out here, you know, like the gecko is about dreams?”

  Draping his arm over her waist, he yawned ending in a growl, then said, “Yes, they’re sacred.”

  “I know eagles are protected.”

  “No, I mean they’re sacred to the Dine,” he corrected, then couldn’t stifle another yawn. “In fact, their feathers are sought after by Natives to use for different reasons, including something good like a celebration. People in other countries pay a fortune for them. The federal government has stiff penalties, which is good, but that also created problems on reservations in the past.”

  “Why?”

  “If a medicine man wanted feathers for a ceremony or healing, it meant applying to the wildlife authorities. I think they may have fixed that issue, but I’d have to ask Bidziil. Why the interest in eagles?”

  “I was on the patio tonight, just looking at stars, and one landed on the wall.”

  “No kidding? You should feel honored. That seems unusual for it to land so close to the ground if it wasn’t hunting, not to mention being near a person.”

  She had gone to the patio tonight, hadn’t she?

  An eagle landed there, right?

  Storm’s fingers had been stroking her skin, but the motion slowed until they stilled, and his breathing evened out.

  Or had she fallen asleep and dreamed it all?

  A sick feeling washed over her.

  Could she be hallucinating on top of everything else?

  She curled against his shoulder, trying to understand what was happening. Was the dream or hallucination related to her black lines?

  Lifting an arm, she squinted to see if they’d traveled any farther.

  She didn’t have to look far.

  Her hand was covered.

  CHAPTER 13

  Where’s Evalle?

  She needs us.

  His jaguar raced into the dark night, eating up miles. Not fast enough.

  Keep running.

  His animal caught her scent.

  There. He could see her. He couldn’t shout in this form. He shifted back and kept running on two feet. “Evalle!”

  The harder he ran, the further away she got.

  Evalle turned and smiled at him ... then her body yanked backwards. Terrified screams shook the air. Use majik. Don’t lose her. Black wind tore at his skin. His nose and ears bled.

  Her screams spiraled into silence.

  He couldn’t hear her.

  Could. Not. See. Her!

  Nooo!

  Storm woke with a start, sweating and panting. He stared at the blacked-out windows in the dark bedroom, waiting for his heart to slow down. His jaguar vibrated inside him, pushing to get out. He reached around the bed ...

  No Evalle.

  He could hear the shower going. She was in the villa. He dropped his head into his hands. Dreams were sometimes just a mash of what happened in life. Other times they had meaning. The one he’d just had felt heavy with meaning.

  Claws broke through his fingers.

  He forced the jaguar to back down.

  The dream must have rattled his animal.

  Why was Evalle up before him? She was a snuggler. Liked it when he stayed in bed to play. Had she not slept well? The illuminated clock on the nightstand confirmed it was after eleven. Late in the morning for day-workers, but he and Evalle normally slept past noon at home after being up all night.

  Claws tipped out again.

  What had his jaguar still worked up?

  Had to be Evalle not within reach.

  But Storm sensed no threat in the villa. No reason to think they were about to lose her. Closing his eyes, he calmed his breathing to pull his jaguar back under control.

  Something felt off.

  Had his animal picked up on it? Or had the dream just been a result of indigestion from dinner in Atlanta right before the cemetery attack?

  He sat up and stretched. No point in getting dressed. That dark feeling from the dream pushed at him. He headed to the bathroom to see for himself that Evalle was safe.

  Stepping through the open doorway, the tightness in his chest eased just being this close to her. He waited as she emerged from the shower in a thick cloud of hot steam.

  Grinning, he teased, “I think you missed a spot. But I’ll find it.”

  She startled and tried to cover her body with her arms.

  The steam cleared at the same moment.

  Black veins covered half her body, maybe more.

  He shouted, “What the fuck?”

  “I know,” she said quietly as she reached for a towel and wrapped it around her. Plenty of inky designs still tracked down her arms and legs and above her breasts. She cleared her throat. “It’s okay.”

  “No, that is not okay,” he argued. “That’s ... ” He cut himself off. Yelling about the damned lines would help no one.

  Shoving his hands in his hair, he leaned back against the vanity counter. His heart raced on the edge of panic, but he had to sound reasonable or this would blow up in his face. “That’s out of control, sweetheart. We have to do something. Now.”

  She moved to the side and started brushing her hair. “No.”

  “No?” He straightened, turning to her.

  Slamming the brush down, she repeated, “No, as in no we are not bonding.”

  Did she think he’d just ignore those fucking lines at this point? “You gave me your word.”

  “If I was dying. I’m not.”

  His lie detector shot off the scales. Not even she believed what she said.

  Now he got why his jaguar pounded at him to do something. The animal would have been breaking out on his own if he had a tangible threat to fight, but this belonged to Storm in human form. Screams echoed in his mind again.

  That image of Evalle being yanked away from him flashed behind his eyes.

  She’d agreed he could bond them without her consent if her issues got worse, but he would only do that if she was on death’s door. Not wait until it opened, and she fell inside.

  He struggled to keep his voice calm and try again. “You said we could bond immediately if your body had a significant physical change. That looks signific
ant.”

  Crossing her arms, she breathed in and out through clenched teeth. “We agreed if I was in dire straits. I’m not.”

  “Lie.” He called it out loud this time. He couldn’t tiptoe around with her life on the line.

  She stepped back as if slapped.

  That gutted him.

  “Fuck!” Storm hated this. Hated himself for not handling it better, but what if those lines were killing her? Lifting his gaze to hers, he hit her with a question he needed answered. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  “There’s nothing to tell. I have a bunch of lines on my skin. Might be nothing more than a reaction to leaving that realm.”

  A lie.

  Another fucking lie.

  He crossed the room and back, pacing like a caged animal. She would never do that to him maliciously, but it didn’t change how much hearing it cut him in half.

  Stopping behind her, he waited for her to look at him in the mirror. Beautiful stubborn mate knew something. He had to get to the bottom and find out what she’d discovered.

  When her wary gaze lifted, he asked, “Just tell me this. Have you learned anything about them that I don’t know?”

  Even without his ability to detect a lie, he saw the leading edge of her shuffle to avoid the truth as her eyes flicked away. “How would I? I’ve been here with you.”

  She also understood how to sidestep a question and reveal nothing.

  “Evalle, please,” he begged. “Just tell me the truth. Have you talked to someone?”

  “Any answer I give doesn’t matter when you’ve already decided everything I say is a lie.”

  She walked out of the bathroom.

  His senses were pinging hard on her hiding something big.

  Striding out behind her, he stepped into the bedroom where she dug through her suitcase with jerky motions.

  Pushing her now was the hardest thing he’d ever done, but if what she held inside wouldn’t harm her she would have admitted it by now. He couldn’t lose her. “I thought ... we were a team to fight our battles together.” His voice broke.

  She flinched and froze over the chaotic pile of clothes. Dark hair fanned past her face in a curtain. Her trembling fingers clenched a pair of jeans.

  Her smooth skin had turned into a canvas of ink.

  Flinging the jeans back on the pile, she straightened up and turned an angry gaze on him. “The only battle going on here is this argument!”

  “We shouldn’t be arguing. We discussed this.” He walked toward her. Anger shook his core. Not at her, never at her, but at the damage those bastards in Abandinu’s realm had inflicted on his mate to bring them to this point.

  Evalle hated fear. The emotion turned into rage when she couldn’t manage it.

  He had an intelligent mate. She had to know they had no other choice but to join his power with hers.

  How much did she still possess?

  Those bright green eyes of hers always gave her away. Her friends joked she could never play poker.

  Her gaze darted everywhere but at him. “I’m not ready to bond.”

  He took the last step, leaving them inches apart. “Why won’t you tell me what you know?”

  That question tossed her out of step. She looked down and started digging through her clothes again. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  He grabbed her wrist in a gentle grip to pull her back to him so he could figure out what the hell to do.

  She yanked her arm.

  Still caught.

  He wouldn’t let go. Ever.

  Fiery green blazed in her wild gaze. She shouted, “I can’t do a damn thing about this!”

  “We can,” he countered.

  “No.”

  “We. Can.” His body shook with the need to protect her, to hold her close, to prove he wouldn’t let her take any part of this journey alone.

  His jaguar roared to save their mate.

  To find the enemy and kill it.

  “Don’t do this, Storm.” She sounded angry and shed tears, but her fear was palpable.

  He held her gaze, searching for answers she wouldn’t give voice to and dying inside because he had no enemy to tear apart.

  The dam of terror broke inside him. He slid his hand up, curled his fingers around her wrist and pulled her hand to his lips, kissing her trembling fingers.

  When he looked at her again, her face no longer tried to sell her anger. It embraced the fear she couldn’t hide.

  A line climbed up her neck as if taunting him.

  His words were raw. “Another one just moved up your neck, sweetheart.”

  She lifted her hand to where he’d just glanced, stopped short, and brought her clenched fingers back down. She spoke on a choked breath. “I know. I can’t stop it. If I touch a line, it spreads faster.”

  Truth, finally.

  He held her fingers to his lips, struggling for a breath. “Please, don’t leave me in the dark.”

  A fat tear rolled down her cheek.

  He waited through a painful silence.

  Finally Evalle whispered, “I talked to Adrianna.” She stared at him, lost for words.

  What had the witch said? He wouldn’t push.

  Evalle bit her bottom lip. The struggle to tell him what she knew drove his fear deeper, but she managed to get it out. “Adrianna found out ... the lines like I have killed two demons. I can’t ... bond with you. I won’t.”

  His heart clenched with dread for her. “What about you?”

  There went her eyes again, shifting away from the truth. “She found nothing about lines on someone like me.”

  He heard truth in her words, but only to disguise whatever she didn’t want to say.

  Evalle remained stiff as a board, clearly afraid to do the wrong thing. To say the wrong thing. To make a mistake with him.

  How could they have come so far to be at this point?

  If only he could kill the bastards in that realm again.

  He gave her arm a little tug.

  That’s all it took for her to come to him willingly.

  He wrapped her against his body, holding her as close as his arms could tenderly. Her heart thudded just as fast as his.

  But for how long would hers beat?

  She hugged him the way a person clutched a life ring in the middle of the ocean with sharks circling.

  He would be hers, but he wanted a chance to kill the sharks. He rocked gently from side to side, soothing her until the trembling slowed along with her choppy breaths.

  Kissing the top of her head, he inhaled her scent.

  He held everything he’d ever wanted in his arms right now.

  No one, not even a thousand damn lines, would take her from him.

  Time lost all relevance as he comforted his mate.

  When she lifted her face to him, he kissed the mouth that only withheld the truth from him out of a protective streak.

  Loyal mate. Incredible female. His woman.

  “Don’t fear me, sweetheart.”

  She gave him a sad nod. “I’m sorry I got mad.”

  Brushing hair off her face, he said, “Me, too. We’ll figure this out.”

  She stared into his eyes and swallowed hard then closed hers. Her fingers tightened where she gripped his back. She jerked another nod, accepting his apology.

  The breath that had caught in his lungs came out fast with relief. She’d let him back in.

  He tried to say he’d let the bonding go, but that was too much to ask of him, or his jaguar, if Evalle ran out of all other options.

  They both needed time to step back and regroup. He stroked her hair. “Are you up for a drive?”

  She managed a shallow smile in return. “Sure.”

  It strained him to release her, but she needed the time while he showered and dressed to pull her thoughts together.

  She chose a long-sleeved shirt and pants to wear.

  He sensed she wanted to hide the lines from him more than the public.

&nbs
p; After cloaking Evalle to reach their rental vehicle, Storm drove with his mate for hours. He kept the conversation easy when he wanted to pack her up and find a cure.

  The sun fell out of sight, dropping a gentle blanket of dark over the desert.

  That allowed her to leave the Yukon without requiring cloaking when they stopped at a true southwestern restaurant. They’d eaten and listened to music under a star-filled night sky. For that moment, she’d smiled as if she had no worries.

  She did. He could feel them.

  Storm made a decision right there.

  Bidziil had until tomorrow morning, then he and Evalle were leaving. He’d take her back to Garwyli and see what the druid could do.

  But he had a gully of doubt in his chest of her chances if they didn’t bond.

  As he drove past the casino to their villa, still struggling for an answer, Evalle reached over the console and caught his hand in hers. “Storm?”

  She had to know. He gave her part of the truth. “I’d like to return to Treoir and see if that’s better for you.”

  “The lines started showing up there.”

  She had a point.

  In a light voice that sounded created just for him, she said, “Hey, maybe the seer will have something to tell me.”

  She kept avoiding the only option he had to offer.

  He understood her fears.

  If he died from the bond, that would devastate her.

  That possibility was reason enough to show some patience since the lines didn’t seem to be giving her any pain or sickness.

  He’d back off until tomorrow morning.

  “Where does the seer live?” Evalle asked as if trying to renew his interest.

  “I don’t know. After listening to everyone last night, I learned that Bidziil convinced Nascha, the medicine man you met, to move closer and live in a mobile home the elders arranged for him. Bidziil said he wished their seer would do the same instead of being so stubborn because she lived farther out. Way off the beaten path, so to speak.” He parked and walked around to Evalle’s side.

  His independent mate hadn’t wanted him to open her door when they first met.

  Now the simple gesture made her happy. When he opened it, she was twisted away from him in search of something. “What are you looking for?”