Karen Whiddon - The Wolf Siren

“My aura?” Again she said the first thing that came to mind. “I can’t see it, though Lucas told me it was...special. Can everyone see their own?”

From his crestfallen expression, he seemed to realize he’d hurt her. “I meant no offense. I’m sorry.”

Lifting her shoulder in a casual shrug cost her more than he’d ever know. “None taken.” She swallowed, steeling herself to meet his gaze. “Please, I’d really like to know. Can you see your own aura?”

“No.” He held her gaze for a second, and then turned his attention back to the road. “We can only see each others’. Oh, every now and then, if I’m walking by a mirror, I might catch a glimpse of the light surrounding me, but when I look full-on, it’s gone.”

Frustrated, she nodded. “That’s what I thought.” Once again, she glanced his way. “Yours looks a lot like Lucas’s. I figured mine looked more like Blythe’s. I’m guessing it doesn’t.”

A shadow crossed his face. Though she hadn’t exactly asked a question, she’d been hoping for confirmation. Blythe’s aura was gorgeous, bright and golden, exactly like her. In the short time Lilly had gotten to know her, she’d come to see the woman her twin brother loved with all his heart was beautiful both inside and out.

From the way everyone reacted to Lilly’s aura, she guessed now her own must be dark and twisted, full of holes and ugly mashes of color, like the ones inside her head.

Just like that, her faintly hopeful mood evaporated, and a crushing sense of doom settled down on her. Since these feelings frequently descended on her for no rhyme or reason, she knew there was no way to dissipate the blackness of her mood. She had to ride it out.

Turning her head away from Kane, she closed her eyes and waited for him to turn up the radio. When he didn’t, she reached out and did it herself.

* * *

Kane saw the first billboard when they were still thirty miles out from Leaning Tree. “Wolf Hollow Motor Court Resort, only thirty miles to paradise!” the sign proclaimed, along with a picture of a wild wolf howling at a full moon. Years ago, Kane’s father had decided to adopt an advertising strategy of using six billboards, five miles apart. Since the slogans never changed, Kane could recite all six of them from memory, even though he hadn’t been home in three years.

Lilly stirred in her seat, opening her eyes and leaning forward. “Do you feel that?” she asked, her low voice thrumming with emotion.

Kane went absolutely still, using both his human senses and his wolf. “No,” he finally said, regretful. “What was it?”

She settled back in her seat, shaking her head. “A feeling...intuition...I don’t know. Never mind. It was probably just my imagination.”

But he could tell it hadn’t been, not to her. Absurdly, he felt as if he’d let her down. “You’ve been asleep awhile. We’re almost there.”

Now she looked at him full-on, her blue eyes clear and wide-awake. “We made it here without any trouble.”

“Yes.” Entranced, he wondered if it was possible to drown in her gaze.

“No one followed us or tried to intercept us. I think it’s possible my brother was worried for nothing.”

Glad of the distraction, he dragged his gaze away from hers and flashed a grim smile. “No. All this means is we got away without them realizing it. Once they know you’re gone, they’ll be searching all over for you.”

Her vivid gaze didn’t waver. “Do you think they’ll find me?”

“Not yet.” At the stark fear flashing across her features, he almost swore, though at the last minute he bit back the words. “Bad choice of words. I don’t think they’ll find us. Not here.”

“That’s not what you said.” Cocking her head, she made a face, evidently downplaying her own fear. “But you think eventually they’ll track us down?”

He bit back a curse at his own carelessness. “It’s possible. Look, anything can happen. You know that. But it won’t be for a while, I promise. It’ll give us time to prepare.”

“Prepare how?”

Another billboard flashed into view. This time the wolf faced north, the direction they were heading.

Kane ignored it. “Lilly, in the time you spend with me, I’m going to teach you how to be strong, how to defend yourself. By the time we’re done in Leaning Tree, you should be prepared to take on any comer.”

Chapter 4

He’d surprised her, Kane realized. Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth, though no sound came out. He’d wondered how she’d react. Now, he was about to find out. What she said next stunned him.

“Good.” Her lush lips twisted in a semblance of a smile. “I don’t ever want to be a victim again. I’d like that. Very much.”

They were approaching another sign. “Look,” he urged, pointing. “My father’s idea of a brilliant marketing plan.”

She read out loud as they drove past. “Wolf Hollow? Is he—” she waved her hand vaguely “—like us?”

Kane appreciated the way she now lumped herself in with him and other Shifters. Lucas had told him that at first she’d been so terrified of being associated with her own kind, she’d tried to deny their existence.

Apparently, in the month she’d lived with her brother, Lucas had managed to convince her that she wasn’t a monster. Good.

“Yes.” He smiled at her, hoping to take away some of the sting. “Both my parents are Shape-shifters. Most of the town is Pack.”

A tiny frown creased her forehead. “Seriously? There are that many of us?”

He wasn’t surprised Lucas hadn’t fully educated her. In her situation, it made no sense to deluge her with too much information. He decided to keep things light. He’d give her more info later, when she was ready for it.

“Yes, there are millions of us, scattered all over the world. We exist alongside humans, living the same sort of lives they do. We also organize ourselves into Packs, but on a much broader scale than our wild brethren. Similar to the government, we have a national Pack, state Packs and local city and county ones.”

She nodded, clearly unimpressed. “I suppose that’s a good thing.”

Unable to suppress a grin, he nodded. “It is.” He liked this about her, this faint edge of prickliness. Much better than the reclusive shell of a woman he’d half expected. After what she’d been through, he considered any signs of a fighting spirit a good thing.

When he’d seen her reaction to the news story about the other women who’d been held captive, he’d seen sorrow, but not righteous rage. Quite honestly, he would have preferred the second.

Still, she’d come a long way. And he planned to be around to help her go the distance.

They pulled into Leaning Tree as the sun was beginning to set. The time of the gloaming, he’d heard it described once. The place looked just the way it always did in his mind; not much had changed since he’d lived there as a child. Huge leafy oaks and maples spread their thick green branches over the buildings on Main Street, shops and restaurants and a small Dutch Reform church that had been built in the early 1700s and had been lovingly restored.

Unlike downtown areas of most small towns, in Leaning Tree, cars still filled the parking lots and pedestrians strolled on well-lit sidewalks. Outdoor cafés did a bustling business—they passed full tables under umbrellas with tiny white lights. The scene could have been a postcard or the cover of a travel brochure. In fact, he thought it probably was.

“It’s beautiful,” Lilly breathed. Her eyes glowed as she took in her first glimpse of the place where she’d be living for the next few months.

He couldn’t help himself; he grinned. After the flat, Texas landscape with its sparse trees, Leaning Tree looked like heaven.