Shades of the Wolf

“What’s wrong with her?” Dena had asked. “He spent his life making her miserable, and all she can do is cry.”

“I don’t understand either,” he said, putting his arm around her shoulders. “But I do know Mom needs us. Let her grieve, and be there for her, the way she always was for us.”

“She should have left him” had been Dena’s response. Since Tyler tended to agree, he didn’t reply.

After the funeral, he’d gone back to base and kept in touch with his sister. He’d celebrated with her long-distance when she got a job at the junior college. Sure, it was in the cafeteria, but she’d had plans, she told him. She wanted to take some classes, with an eye on earning her degree. He’d been proud.

What Dena hadn’t told him was that their mother had started using the very same drugs that had killed their father. Heroin, mostly. Sometimes meth. Their mom had died right after Tyler was sent to Afghanistan, though he hadn’t learned about it for two weeks. He’d raged and grieved and worried that his sister might follow this horrible family pattern. Dena had assured him that she wouldn’t. He’d believed her. Neither of them had wanted anything to do with that lifestyle.

After that, he and his sister had been on their own. And then Tyler had gone and gotten himself killed. And Dena had gotten into a bigger mess than he ever would have thought possible. If he didn’t get her out, she was going to die too young, just as he had. Even though it wasn’t her time to go.

Anabel had to help him save her. She had to. He would accept nothing else, even if it cost him his own movement into eternity.

Being a ghost felt more like being alive than he’d expected. Sure, he couldn’t eat or drink, didn’t have to eliminate bodily waste or sleep, but he felt all the same human emotions he’d experienced when he was alive.

Including desire. That one had surprised the hell out of him. Every time he got close to Anabel, his entire body tightened in places that shouldn’t have been possible for a ghost. At first, he’d tried to keep telling himself that it was due to her beauty and the power that radiated from her.

But after the first night, when he’d found himself watching her sleep, aching with the kind of physical need he couldn’t possibly satisfy without a flesh-and-blood body, he’d known it was more. Much, much more.

He wanted her. Desired her. In all the ways a man wanted a woman. Except he wasn’t a man. He was a ghost.

This had to be his own personal form of hell. Because there was absolutely nothing he could do to ease the craving.

When Anabel finally emerged from her morning preparations, showered and dressed in a pair of faded black jeans that hugged her curves, with her dark hair in a jaunty ponytail, he couldn’t make himself stop staring. She was the sexiest woman he’d ever seen, bar none. Again, that lust stabbed through what once had been his body.

“You look...glowing,” he said. He really sucked at compliments.

“Thank you. I guess.” Her smile made her aura illuminate even brighter, making a glowing halo around her head.

For whatever reason, he felt the need to elaborate. “I don’t just mean your aura, though yours is spectacular. But your human form is beautiful.”

Her smile widened, making her whiskey eyes sparkle. “Wow. Thanks. You kind of made my day.”

He found himself smiling back. Maybe he wasn’t so bad at this complimenting thing after all.

He let his gaze drink her up, his entire body burning. Funny how he still felt as if he had a body, even though he didn’t. Even when she turned away, completely unaware of his desire, he tracked her with his gaze.

Focus, he reminded himself. He’d come back for a reason—to save Dena, not ache for a woman he could never have.

Pouring herself a cup of coffee, she added cream and sugar before taking a deep sip. “Ah,” she sighed. “That’s good.”

“Torturing me now?”

For an instant, she looked stricken, and then she shrugged. “Not my intention at all. But I apologize nonetheless.”

He gave a quick dip of his head to show the apology had been accepted. “What’s on the agenda for today?”

“I’m going up to the college where your sister works. I want to talk to some of her friends.”

“Sounds good.” Action, finally. He approved. “What about?”

She gave him a long look, clearly debating what she had to say. “I need to find out about her boyfriend.”

“I can save you some time on that. Dena didn’t have one,” he answered, confident.

One eyebrow raised, she nodded. “Okay, then I need to find out about anyone she might have dated or slept with.”

“No need.” He shook his head. “Between work and school, she didn’t have time. She would have told me if there was anyone special.”

Making an exasperated sound, she grimaced. “Tyler, I hate to be the one to break it to you, but I’m pretty sure your sister isn’t a saint. This man who has her had to have met her somehow. I’m going to try and gather information to see if we can figure out who he is.”

Chapter 5

Tyler started to speak, then thought better of it. No doubt she was right. Not only was she pretty and socially active, but Dena was a healthy twenty-five-year-old. He shouldn’t be acting like the overprotective big brother, not now. Not only had he managed to get himself killed and leave her without any family, but clearly he hadn’t succeeded in teaching her to be careful.

Unless, as Anabel said, the man who’d grabbed her had been someone she’d trusted.

“You’re right,” he admitted. “But you have to consider that it could be a teacher, or a janitor, or even one of her coworkers.”

“Or some guy she’d dated,” Anabel pointed out. “There are a lot of crazies masquerading as normal in the dating scene, let me tell you.”

He cocked his head. “You’ve been dating?”

“I tried. Once or twice—that was it. Just a month ago. I thought it might help me to, you know, get over David. After that, I gave up and deleted my profile from all the dating sites.”

Jealousy stabbed him, completely unwarranted.

“Good for you for trying,” he said, aware of the lie and feeling like a fool. “I think after eighteen months, Dave would approve of you getting back out there.”

“No,” she said softly, her expression shutting down. “He wouldn’t. David was my mate. You were Pack. You know what that means. He’s the only one I will ever love.”

Slowly, he nodded. “I do, though I’m not sure I believe in that particular myth.”

“Myth?”

“Yes. I honestly don’t know anyone who actually met their mate.”

She pointed to her chest. “Now you do. Me.”

Ignoring the emotions swirling inside him, he eyed her. “How did you know? I mean, we all have people we’re attracted to, even people we love. What made you think Dave was actually your mate?”

“I didn’t just think it. I knew, the instant he kissed me.”

He thought of what he’d learned from Juliet. “And Kane McGraw? Did you also know he was your mate?”

At his words, her eyes filled with tears. “I had a breakdown, Tyler. I wasn’t myself.” Holding herself stiffly, she turned away from him.

Clearly, he’d gone too far. He’d realized it the instant he finished speaking. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I just wanted to point out to you that it was possible for you to find love again.”

Like with me. More foolishness, as he was nothing but a shade of a man. He waited for Anabel to shoot him down.

But she didn’t respond. Instead she hurried away. A minute later, he heard the sound of her bedroom door closing.

* * *

Though initially she’d been hurt by Tyler’s words, the more she considered them, the more Anabel understood his thought process. Of course he’d doubt her conviction once he learned she’d erroneously dubbed a second man her true mate. As if she’d ever been unsure about David, or he about her.

No, she’d been lonely, stumbling around close to the end of a ledge, and when she learned Kane McGraw had come back to town, she’d sought a way to end the dark cloud of loneliness. Back in school, she’d always had a crush on Kane, even dated him a few times despite his being several years older than her, and with the twisted logic of depression, she’d managed to convince herself that the impossible was real.

When he rejected her, saying he loved another, it had been the final shove and she’d gone under. Her bewildered pain and her burning desire for vengeance had blinded her to the truth and to the light. In a moment of weakness, she’d let the darkness in and had nearly caused a good woman to lose her life. Worse, she’d later learned that Lilly Gideon, the woman Kane loved, had spent fifteen years imprisoned by her own father and his religious cult. She shuddered to think she’d nearly sent Lilly back to that awful life.

After that, she’d lain low. Gradually recovering, aware no one in town would ever look at her the same way again.

She’d made several clumsy attempts to make it up to Lilly McGraw, until finally the other woman had hugged her and told her to stop, that she forgave her. For that, Anabel had been grateful.

Now, for the first time in a long while, Anabel had hope. Never once had she imagined she’d be given the chance to atone by saving Dena Rogers.

While she didn’t personally know Tyler’s sister, she could only imagine what kind of hell the younger woman now faced. Similar, she thought, to what Lilly Gideon had once faced. The parallels of the two women’s predicaments didn’t escape her.

Once she freed Dena, she would have wiped her own slate clean once more.

And Tyler could... She couldn’t help wondering what would happen to Tyler once they’d succeeded in freeing his sister. He’d go back into wherever ghosts went when it came time to move on. The light, she assumed. At least she hoped so. The alternative would be very bleak.

Glancing at her watch, she saw it was nearly nine. If she wanted to get her day started, she couldn’t hide out in her bedroom forever. One thing she’d learned since her meltdown was she had a lot more inner strength than she’d ever suspected. Magic would be a definite bonus.

So she straightened her shoulders, took a deep breath and opened the door. When she walked back into the kitchen, Tyler’s ghostly form hovered exactly where she’d left him.

Again struck by his large, masculine frame, she sucked in a breath. How he, even though a ghost, could practically radiate virility stunned her. Though this time, she noticed an air of isolation around his tall, broad-shouldered figure.

The question in his hazel eyes made her heart skip a beat.

“I’ll do it,” she said, not giving him a chance to speak. “I need to see if I can take a crash course in learning how to access my magic. Once I have some sort of grip on that, I can seriously hunt for whoever abducted your sister.”

He bowed his head, a swath of dark hair falling onto his forehead. “Thank you.”

Uncomfortable with her visceral reaction to so much male beauty, she nodded. Keeping busy would be the best distraction from those kinds of crazy thoughts. “Let’s go.” Snatching up her car keys, she headed toward the door. “We’ll stop and talk to Juliet. I think her first yoga class of the day just finished up. I’m hoping she’ll have some pointers for me.”

Trying not to smile as Tyler crammed his long legs in the passenger seat of her Fiat, she sang along to the radio during the short drive downtown.

As it turned out, Juliet had a lot more than pointers to help Anabel. “You’ll need to read these,” she said, grabbing a short stack of books from a bookcase behind her desk. “This will be a good starting place. Once you have, come back to me with questions.”

Anabel glanced at the books, then at Tyler, who gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head. “Juliet, I’d love to read them—and I will, eventually—but right now I’m short on time. Tyler’s sister’s life is in danger, and I’m afraid I’m going to need a crash course in magic in order to save her.”

Appearing nonplussed, Juliet swallowed and slowly put the books down on top of her desk. “It’s not that simple,” she began.

“Make it as simple as possible, please.” Though she hated to interrupt her kind friend, Anabel knew every second must be an eternity to the poor woman being held prisoner.

Eyeing her, Juliet appeared to consider. “All right,” she finally said. “But you need to know, magic can be dangerous without knowledge. Extremely dangerous.”

Anabel locked eyes with her friend. With her smooth face and long gray braid, Juliet always radiated peace and tranquility. And strength, Anabel thought. “Teach me how to protect myself.”

“I’ll do my best. But understand, you could still be killed. I don’t know how powerful this warlock is.”

Tyler began to flicker, his form wavering in and out of view. Anabel glanced once at him, bracing herself for the swooping of her stomach as she did. Their gazes locked and held as he slowly solidified. I’m okay, he mouthed.

Once she knew he was all right, she refocused all her attention on Juliet. “Teach me as much as you can in as short a time as possible.”

Juliet nodded. “How long do I have?”

“A woman’s life is at stake, so I don’t have long.” Anabel glanced again at Tyler. “A day?”

Frowning, he shook his head.

“How about twelve hours?”

This time, Tyler reluctantly nodded.

“Twelve hours?” Eyebrows raised, Juliet glanced at her wrist even though she wasn’t wearing a watch. “Sorry. What time is it now?”

“Nine thirty. That gives us until tonight.”

“It’ll have to do, I guess.” Juliet sighed, her soft blue eyes sharpening. “It’s not nearly long enough, but let’s get started on some basics.”

After a quick explanation of what magic was—not so much an external thing, but part of Anabel’s inner spirit—Juliet told her it was time to see if Anabel could feel her power deep inside herself.

Anabel didn’t even have to think. “No.”

“Well, then we’re going to try and feel it.”

“I already tried last night. Nothing happened.”

“We’ll try again.”

“How?”

“Take a deep breath,” Juliet advised. “First, you need to slow down your pulse. Your heart is beating so fast I can see the fluttering in the hollow of your throat.”

Self-consciously, Anabel raised her hand to her neck. “Sorry. I’m a little nervous.”

“Deep breath.”

Obediently, Anabel inhaled. “I can’t help it,” she said, fidgeting in her chair. “This is all very odd.”

“Then we’ll wait until you’re tranquil.” Rising, Juliet lit a candle, moving it over so the scent was close to Anabel. “We may have to do some yoga if this doesn’t help. Breathe. It’s eucalyptus. Very calming.”

Desperate, Anabel inhaled the scent, trying to think calming thoughts, using the same mantra she used when meditating. A moment or two later, she blinked. Darned if she didn’t feel better. More confident and stronger.

“Now we’ll talk about power,” Juliet said, smiling slightly as if she knew Anabel’s thoughts. “Everyone has a spark of magic inside. Some just have more than others.”

Anabel nodded, the fear trying to creep back in. She couldn’t really explain her intense nervousness, but for some reason the entire idea of having magical powers scared her.

If Tyler’s sister hadn’t needed her help, Anabel figured she would just have let the so-called magic stay locked up inside her. If she’d even ever learned of its existence, that was.

“That you are able to see ghosts as more than energy speaks to your level of power. That’s one of the ways it manifests itself.” Juliet grinned. “And the fact that your ability to see and hear spirits didn’t make you go stark, raving crazy is another testament to your strength.”

Strength. “I rarely feel strong, though I’ve realized what I’ve been through and overcome has given me strength. But that doesn’t matter. Tell me what else I should be able to do. Most important, I need the ability to track this creep who has Dena.”

“And fight him,” Tyler chimed in, making Juliet jump.

“I forgot about you,” Juliet said, shooting a stern glance in his general direction. “Fighting won’t be possible, not without a lot of practice. But I can teach Anabel to protect herself.”

“That will have to do,” Anabel said grimly. “As long as I can hold him off long enough to get his captive—or captives—out.”

“And then what?” Juliet asked, her sharp voice telling Anabel what she thought of that idea. “He’ll likely be furious. You won’t be able to hold him off forever.”

Again Anabel and Tyler exchanged a glance. Again, her heart turned over in response. Tearing her gaze away, she focused on Juliet. “Then you’d better do your best to teach me as much as you can. It’s not like I even have a choice.”

* * *

Tyler didn’t know what it was about Anabel—other than her beauty—but every time their eyes met, he found himself entranced. His fascination deepened the more time he spent with her, which was not only impossible, but an unnecessary distraction. He’d come back to the earthly plane with one objective—to save his sister—and he couldn’t let this compelling attraction detour him.

So he decided to leave the two women alone. There wasn’t much he could do anyway, other than be a disruption. Anabel had asked Juliet for twelve hours—an eternity for his sister, trapped and tortured. But this was only the second day since he’d appeared and begged Anabel for help. She needed to learn how to tap into her power if she wanted to have a prayer of finding Dena. He had to allow himself to trust and to hope.

He left the human plane and went to the gray area he privately thought of as the in-between place. Not earth, but not the afterlife either. Once there, he made himself still and then sent himself out. Seeking, searching, for the spark of life force that belonged to his sister.

There. Faint, but still burning. He zoomed to it, passing through nothing and everything, clouds and earth and night sky. When he reached her, in that damp, dank place where she was being held, he once again tried to communicate with her and comfort her.

But Dena had no power and couldn’t sense his presence. In fact, he realized she’d sunk into a state of consciousness where she couldn’t sense much of anything at all.

Horrified, he took stock of her condition. Her once slender body had become emaciated, and even though she lay curled in a corner in the fetal position, he could see the sharpness of her bones. Her labored breathing attested to her general state of unhealthiness, as did her lank and tangled hair. Even her aura had changed, becoming speckled with brown and black, as if a rotting poison festered inside her system.

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