Unraveled

NINETEEN

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WOODS, with trees stretching all around, the quickly dimming sun, a cold wind slithering past every few seconds, Mary Ann stood in the midst of pure testosterone. Riley and his brothers formed a triangle, each at a point before and beside her. They’d arrived right on time, at her two-hour limit, and had escorted her here. Away from civilization.

She’d spent every minute of those two hours trying to research Drainers, magic powers—again—and all kinds of other paranormal stuff. Two hours that now seemed wasted. She’d learned nothing.

Hopefully, that would change now that she was with the wolves. Not that they were informative, or even helpful. Once again, they’d walked beside her, silent.

Now she studied them, searching for a weakness. One word described them all: gorgeous. Nathan was all white, from his hair to his skin, with eyes so pale a blue they were almost eerie. But like Riley, he was tall and leanly muscled, with a hard expression that said, I’ll do anything, yeah, even stab you. Maxwell was tanner…a golden variation of him.

They were warriors, definitely, who looked like they ate glass shards for breakfast and anyone who got in their way for dessert.

“So we’re not hunting witches?” she asked. At this point, any other activity seemed extraneous and unnecessary. She’d thought Riley understood that, which was why she’d been so surprised to see his brothers. Had he told them what she was—or rather, what she might be? He still hadn’t accepted the truth.

“Hunting?” Finally, something from one of the brothers. Nathan’s voice was low and husky, like a shiver over her skin.

“We’re teaching you how to defend yourself,” Riley said. “Hunting can wait.”

“And let me state again that I think this is stupid,” Nathan added.

“She’s human.” Maxwell, the other brother, had a much harder, more determined voice. “She’s also fragile as hell. We’re…not.”

“Just do it,” Riley snarled at them.

Mary Ann would have cringed at his tone, but it wasn’t directed at her, so she took heart. Besides, he’d never looked sexier. He wore all black, and there were cuts along his forearms, as if he’d recently fought something with claws.

Her knees were actually weak at the thought; she wanted to throw her arms around him and hold on forever, basking in his strength. You’re broken up, remember?

Don’t cry.

Nathan shook his head. “She’s yours, Ry, and we know how you are. If we bruise her…”

“I’ll behave.” Another snarl from Riley. “Just don’t scratch or bite her.”

She noticed that he didn’t disabuse them of their “she’s yours” notion. Well, she wouldn’t either. Right now she felt a little too much like the cheese in a mousetrap.

“You’re right. Learning to fight is important,” she began. “But right now there are even more important—”

“No,” Riley said, cutting her off without looking at her, “there aren’t. Teach her how to defend herself against wolves and vampires. Everything you can in the next two hours, then she and I will be on our way.”

Mary Ann gulped as realization set in. Even before saving her from the death spell, he wanted her to know how to defend herself against wolves and vamps. Which meant he thought they would figure out she was a Drainer very soon. Which meant he thought they would try to kill her. Painfully. He wanted her prepared, able to defend herself.

Would they later punish him for that?

A tremor swept through her, and those tears she’d fought against burned her eyes. She’d made the right decision, ending things. She would not hurt him. Ever. Even accidentally. Even after she…died.

Look what he’d done—was doing—to protect her right now. He deserved better than she could give him.

“Fine.” Maxwell sighed.

“Sure. Why not?” Nathan shrugged.

Such enthusiasm. Didn’t matter, though. She would listen and she would learn. She would never have another chance like this one.

“You’re—you’re not going to help them?” she asked Riley, blushing at her stutter.

His gaze didn’t flick to her, but remained on his brothers as he gave a stiff shake of his head. She remembered what she’d once told him, that if he taught her how to fight, he’d have to put his hands on her, and if he put his hands on her, she would want to kiss him, not learn from him. Did he remember? Did he not want her lips on his?

Oh, God. She wanted him to want her, wanted to keep him. Don’t you dare cry.

How many times would she have to issue the command to herself?

“Do it,” he said, backing away from the group. He stopped at a tree, pressing his back into the wide trunk, and folded his arms over his middle. His expression was dark, stormy.

“Do not interfere,” Maxwell told him with a finger pointed at his chest.

Nathan snorted. “Like he’ll obey you. He always does what he wants. You know that.”

She nodded in agreement, and both brothers focused on her. Uh-oh. All that intensity…closing in on her, one in front and one behind. Why had she agreed to this, again?

“You ready, little girl?”

“You gonna sob like a baby if we get a little rough?”

Both were taunting her, and at first, her hackles rose. Then she remembered what Aden had told her. When fighting, emotions could ruin you. They made you dumb, kept you distracted. You had to remain distanced. You had to do whatever was needed to survive.

I feel nothing. Except nervous. Argh! She raised her chin, pretending, at least, to be calm. “I won’t cry if you don’t.”

Surprise flickered in both their eyes, and Maxwell even looked like he was fighting a grin.

“Spirit,” he said. “Let’s see how quickly we can crush it.”

In a snap, they were on her, tossing her to the ground like a doll, their now sharp, long teeth near her neck. She was too shocked—and terrified—to move or even block them. They’d swarmed her so quickly, her gaze had failed to track them.

Slowly, they backed away from her, standing over her and peering down. Something to note: they hadn’t chewed her face off.

“We’ve got our work cut out for us,” Nathan grumbled, and offered her a hand to help her up.

Her knees almost gave out when she tried to balance her weight.

“Vamps and wolves are faster than any human you can imagine,” Maxwell told her. “Clearly, you’re much slower.”

“Yeah, uh, I just figured that out. Thanks.”

Both chuckled.

“Vamps want your blood, and while they don’t have to dive for your neck to get it, that’s what they prefer. It’s harder for humans to push them away that way. Plus, it weakens the victim faster.”

“So basically, we’re like cows to them,” she said dryly.

“Except, you kill cows. Vamps just drink and discard, their food still kicking when they’re done.” Nathan shrugged. “For the most part.”

For the most part. Such a pleasant add-on. Mary Ann pressed her lips together as she recalled an exception to that “for the most part.” She’d watched several vampires torture and kill a boy named Ozzie. They’d splayed him out on a table—Tucker, too—and used him as an appetizer at their party, until the life drained out of him.

Either the wolves read her mind or her pinched expression gave her away. “Yeah, we heard about that,” Maxwell said. “Like humans, there are good and bad vampires. Good and bad wolves, too.”

“Speaking of, wolves don’t feed on humans.” Nathan picked up the lesson, expanding it. “If a wolf is attacking you, that wolf just wants you dead. And a wolf’s claws can ruin you in seconds, so your main goal when fighting a shifter is to avoid being slashed.”

“I never would have figured that out,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “So exactly how am I supposed to do that?”

“We’ll show you. Just try and keep up.”

For every minute of Riley’s allotted two hours, the boys worked with her. They tossed her down; they even threw her into trees. She lost her breath, nearly broke her wrist and definitely twisted her ankle, yet still she persisted. Still she made them keep coming at her.

They taught her many things. Mainly, she couldn’t hide from them. Their sense of smell was twenty times greater than a human’s. Their hearing was forty times greater. Also, they liked it when she ran. She became a game, a prize, and their heart rate would quicken with the challenge, their need to conquer intensifying.

If wolves approached her while in a pack, she was to remember that they were territorial and very rigidly structured. There was always a leader. Always. That leader controlled the actions of the others. If she could defeat the leader, she could defeat the pack. Unless, of course, the leader told the pack to glom onto her.

Warning signs of an impending glomming: their hair would rise. They would bare their teeth and growl.

Every time Maxwell and Nathan demonstrated that, in human and wolf form, her fear ratcheted another notch. They scented that fear, and it upped their hunger level, increasing the odds against her. She would have to learn to control her physical reactions, to show no fear, as Aden had already told her.

How? It was possible to hide an expression. It wasn’t possible to stop her heart from racing.

In the meantime, she now knew their noses were sensitive, more so than a human’s, so if she could hit them on their noses, she could buy herself several precious seconds to find a weapon. A stick, a rock, anything would help.

If they managed to pounce and push her down while she did so, she had to try and snap their necks with a firm twist of her wrists before they tore out her throat. Also, it was better to shove her hand into their mouths to keep their teeth busy with her fingers and wrist than to let them bite into her neck. Because if that happened, she was dead, no question. She could live without a hand.

If she was near water, she was to jump in. Wolves had a hard time fighting in water. They could do it, but it wasn’t their preference. And if she was lucky, they would give up and move on at that point, eager for readier prey.

By the end, she was sweaty, dirty and yeah, bleeding, not to mention grateful for the darkened sky. The boys hadn’t scratched her, per Riley’s orders, but the rocks and bark had. A few times, from the corner of her eye, she’d seen Riley stalk toward her, but then he would catch himself and return to his post, watching.

Maxwell and Nathan, at least, were just as sweaty and dirty as she was.

“Good job, human.” Maxwell patted her on the shoulder, and she pitched forward. Laughing, Maxwell caught her and helped her straighten. “I expected you to beg for mercy after five minutes.”

With that, the two sauntered away, clothes flying behind them as they undressed, leaving her alone with Riley. Howls soon erupted.

“Meet us in town,” Riley called. “One hour.”

More howls.

Agreement?

“Come on,” Riley said to her now. “Time to leave the forest. Goblins are starting to emerge.”

Together, they raced to the car he had stashed at the edge of the forest and slipped inside. Soon her heart was pounding in tune to the car’s revving engine. From all the exercise, yes, but also from being so close to her now-ex. Don’t cry.

“Do your brothers know about me?” she asked, even though she knew the answer.

“No, and we won’t tell them.”

“Won’t they realize something’s different about me if I lead us straight to a witch? I mean—”

Riley was shaking his head. “Believe me, I’ll be taking credit for finding the witch. If we find one. So no worries. Right now we’re going to the vampire mansion.”

“I should go home, shower and change first,” she said, very conscious of how she must look. Hobo central.

“Why? You’ll just get dirty again.”

“At the mansion?”

“In town. That’s where we’re going after. To hunt, remember. If I don’t hunt with you, you’ll go alone. Believe me, I haven’t forgotten your ultimatum.”

She wouldn’t apologize for that. Her intentions were too pure.

“Anyway,” he said, not quite so grumpy, “you can’t go home.”

True. Her dad was there, and he’d ask questions she wasn’t prepared to answer and think things she didn’t want him to think. What have you been doing? Where have you been? Someone hurt you. Did they force you to do…things? Then he’d get the police involved. No, thanks.

“So why are we going to the mansion?” she asked.

“I want to take you to Victoria and get some of her blood inside you.”

What? “Oh, no. No, no, no. I’m not drinking anyone’s blood.” She shook her head for emphasis.

“It’ll strengthen you, heal your injuries.”

In her seat, she swayed back and forth with the bump, bump of the tires. “It’ll also force me to see the world through her eyes, and I have enough problems facing it through my own.”

“That’ll only last a few hours.”

“Don’t care. I’m not injured badly enough to justify it.”

His knuckles tightened on the wheel. Had she not been watching him so closely, she would have missed the telling reaction. “Yeah, but it just might slow down your new ability.”

Thanks for the reminder. “Are you sure about that? Because maybe it’ll speed the abilities up like the spell did. Not that you’re one hundred percent certain I’m a Drainer, remember?” she added in a rush.

He massaged the back of his neck. “Fine.” He maneuvered the car off the grass and onto a nearby dirt road, then turned around and headed in the opposite direction. “No blood.”

“Thank you.”

“Save your thanks. I know you want to break up with me, and that’s coloring your reaction to my helpful suggestions, but you have to—”

“Wait. Want? No. Not even close.” She wouldn’t have him believing he meant nothing to her. He meant everything. “I just don’t want to hurt you, Riley.”

“And I don’t want to hurt you.” He reached over and clasped her hand, their fingers intertwining. His skin was warm, callused. “So here’s the thing. We have two days. Two days before the death curse takes effect, and I don’t want to spend those days fighting with you.”

Oh, God. She’d never thought of things that way. Two days, yeah, she’d realized—and hated—that, but how she would spend those days? Enjoying them or lost to misery? No. Not even a blip.

“I don’t either,” she admitted.

He brought her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss into her pulse, hot, soft, his tongue even flicking out for a quick taste. Goose bumps spread. “Good, because I want to be with you while we face this. After that, you can break up with me if that’s what you still want. Just don’t expect me to like it or walk away without a fight.”

Two more days with him, enjoying rather than wallowing over what could have been. She couldn’t resist, even though every new minute she spent with him, as if they were a couple, would deepen her sense of connection to him. Even though breaking up with him the first time had nearly killed her, so doing it again would definitely finish her off. She wasn’t hurting him physically, wasn’t destroying his wolf-side—yet. Two more days with him would be fine.

And that was not an invitation to the Universe to prove her wrong.

“Okay. Yes.” With the words, a weight lifted from her shoulders and she suddenly felt ten pounds lighter. “I want to be with you, too.”

He pushed out a relieved breath. “All right, then. I can kill my brothers for hurting you now.”

She laughed, so happy she could have burst. “No, you can’t. You asked them to train me.”

“And I told them to be careful with you.”

“How am I supposed to learn if they treat me like breakable china?”

“Doesn’t mean I have to like it,” he grumbled.

Sweet boy.

Grinning, Mary Ann turned her attention outside. With the appearance of the moon, there was a radiant golden glow cast over the forest, dust sparkling in the muted light like glitter, and then, as the trees thinned out and buildings came into view, she saw that the glow and the glitter spread to the brick, creating an eerily beautiful, well, aura. Was that what Riley saw around human bodies? Then she spied the litter dotting the streets, and the glow faded.

Riley parked between a gas station and a laundromat, the shadows cast from both hiding their car. The sidewalks were barren and the stores were empty, as if everyone had gone home early. To prepare for the coming party Penny had told her about?

He opened his door, but rather than step out, he remained in place, peering over at her. “If you sense any witches…”

“I’ll tell you immediately. I swear.”

With a grateful nod, he emerged and strode to her side before she had time to open her door. He did it for her and extended a hand to help her up and out. Such manners—his mother would be proud—and such endearing sweetness, all wrapped in that bad-boy package.

How had she broken up with him, even for a second? Stupid girl.

Yeah, but you want him to survive.

Oh, yeah.

The air was colder now, with a bit of a bite, but Riley draped an arm around her shoulders, keeping her tucked against him and his delicious heat while they explored. Good thing, too. She sensed no magic, and with every step, she weakened a bit more, her body trembling. What was wrong with her?

“Still cold?” he asked.

“No.” Her stomach twisted, utterly empty and ready to erupt into complaints. Was she, dare she hope, hungry? Yes. Yes, she was. She ground to a halt and grinned. “Riley. You’re not going to believe this, but I’m starving. I’m actually starving!”

He didn’t share her good humor. One of his brows arched as he asked, “For food?”

“Of course.” Except, she thought of a slice of her favorite cheese pizza, and the twisting in her stomach became cramping. She thought of beef lo mein, the last real meal she remembered having with her dad, and the cramps gave way to sharp aches. Don’t give up. She thought of chicken noodle soup, what her mom had fed her each time she’d been sick, and the twisting started up again.

She thought of magic, filling her up, sweeping through her, consuming her, threads of warmth and power weaving inside her, forming a blanket of serenity and strength, and her stomach calmed. Just. Like. That.

Oh…no…

Hope died, burned to ash forevermore. She’d realized the truth before, but just then she knew, bone deep. She was a Drainer, and there was no use pretending otherwise or clinging to false hope. She fed off of magic. She destroyed.

“No,” she whispered, dejection replacing her joy. “Not for food.”

Riley’s arm tightened around her. He kissed her temple, an I-still-like-you gesture, and they kicked back into gear. They continued their exploration, silent, and she tried not to worry. As she’d thought, the stores were empty. Even the twenty-four-hour drive-through taco joint that stayed open on Christmas.

“This isolation is weird,” she finally said.

“Yeah. Picking up on anything?”

“Not yet.” There wasn’t a single whiff of magic, and with every second that passed, her hunger for it intensified. She needed…

A few minutes later, Riley’s brothers joined them, human and dressed again. Thankfully, Riley didn’t threaten or chastise them as he’d claimed. He just drew Mary Ann even closer to him, distracting her from her gnawing hunger.

“Saw several cars on their way here,” Nathan said.

“All kids, no adults,” Maxwell added.

And sure enough, tires were soon squealing and kids pouring out of several vehicles. Beer bottles were soon clanking together. Someone cranked their radio up as loud as it would go. Laughter sounded, whoops and whistles, and conversations rose.

The party had officially started, it seemed, but every attendee was human, not a supernatural creature among them. Disappointment ate at her as one hour ticked by, then another. There was dancing, a few make-out sessions, unexpected hookups, one fight, lots of drinking, and even a bonfire, right there in the middle of town. The cops didn’t show up, and the few adults who did arrive joined the festivities rather than break them up.

Penny was going to find out Mary Ann had come, and there would be hell to pay. Couldn’t be helped, though.

Mary Ann watched and waited, no longer quite so distracted from the hunger pains in her belly. She was still weakening, again trembling. Perhaps coming here hadn’t been such a good idea. In fact, she’d opened her mouth to ask Riley to take her home when Brittany Buchanan spotted her and raced over. Britt wasn’t stumbling, thank God. In Mary Ann’s current mood, she didn’t think she could deal with a slobbering, slurring, human beer keg.

“Can we talk?” the girl asked, nervously tugging Mary Ann away from Riley before she had time to respond.

He maintained his grip. She tossed him an I’ll-be-fine glance, whispered, “If she gets out of line, I’ll smack her.” He fought a self-deprecating grin, nodded stiffly and finally released her. However, his gaze followed her every movement.

“Is something wrong?”

Britt shook her head, and when they were on the other side of the bonfire, kids dancing around them, her friend leaned close and said, “First, what have you been doing? Rolling in the dirt?” She smiled to lessen the sting of her words. “I don’t have to ask who you were rolling with, though, do I? Anyway. That’s not why I dragged you away. Tell me, who’s the hottie and is he available?”

Ah. A crush. “Which one?”

“The one that reminds me of a great big snowflake.”

“That’s Nathan, Riley’s brother.” Away from Riley’s warmth, her trembling intensified. “As far as I know, he’s single.”

Britt’s eyes widened. “Really? Introduce me. Please! You promised. Remember? Oh, this is so exciting!” She clapped and jumped up and down. “Do it now, do it now or I’ll die.”

“Come on.” Mary Ann led her back to the group of wolf-shifters and made the introductions. Nathan barely paid her any attention. Maxwell, however, shook her hand and smiled at her, a wicked smile that should have melted the girl into butter.

Only, Brittany wanted nothing to do with him. Her attention was primarily focused on Nathan—who couldn’t have been ruder. For the most part, he ignored her. When he did finally deign to speak to her, he did so with a cold, clipped tone.

“You’re a borderline asshole, you know that?” Maxwell muttered to him.

“Only borderline? I must be off my game,” Nathan replied, unrepentant.

Mary Ann wanted to slap him, and would have, if Riley hadn’t sensed her intentions and grabbed her wrist.

Finally, Brittany gave up. “I can see our conversation was completely unnecessary, Mary Ann, but thanks for the intro.” With that, she wandered back to her circle of friends.

Maxwell punched Nathan in the arm. Nathan flipped him off. The two stomped off in different directions.

Riley drew Mary Ann in front of him and settled her body against his. More warmth. Hunger, fading from her awareness as she savored. Hmm. She wouldn’t have too many more moments like this, she suspected, so she had to enjoy them while she could.

“Your brother,” she said with a shake of her head.

“The curse,” Riley whispered in her ear.

“What?”

“Remember? When one of my brothers is attracted to a girl, she will only see him as ugly. When my brothers are not attracted to a girl, she will see his true self.”

Oh. Poor boys. That meant Maxwell had been attracted to Brittany and Nathan had not.

The only way to break the curse was for the boys to die. Like humans, wolves were not always able to be resuscitated. So killing them just to better their love lives? Not gonna happen. The risk—permanently dying—wasn’t worth the reward.

“Besides, Nathan doesn’t date humans. Ever,” Riley further explained. “Which is why every female here is eyeing him like he’s candy. They want what they instinctively know they can’t have.”

“A few are eyeing Maxwell that way,” she said, oddly defensive of the gold wolf. “And you, too, of course.”

“The ones looking at Max aren’t his type, and therefore see his true self. And I haven’t noticed anyone looking at me but you.”

She traced her fingers over his arms and wished they were alone so she could tell him how beautiful he was, inside and out, and then kiss him, taste him, making the most of their time together.

“Should we leave?” Mary Ann asked, doing her best not to sound hopeful. They had a mission, after all. A very important one, at that.

His sigh ruffled her hair. “Yeah. The witches are staying away. They knew we would come.”

She wouldn’t feel guilty about that. Much. “So why not just fight us?”

“I don’t know. Maybe they’re planning something. Maybe they’re searching for their friend.”

She didn’t mean to, but she stiffened. What if they succeeded? What would happen if her group lost their only bargaining chip? Nothing good, that was for sure.

“Don’t worry,” Riley said. “They won’t find her. They can’t track like wolves can.”

Slowly she relaxed. There’s nothing more you can do here. For once, enjoy yourself. Before it’s too late. She twisted in his arms, rose on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss onto his lips. Soft, sweet…but not enough. “Riley…”

He jerked her as close to him as he could get her. His breathing was suddenly labored, sawing in and out of his mouth. “Let’s go somewhere private,” he said hoarsely.

“Yes,” she said, melting into that puddle of butter as Brittany should have. “Let’s.”