Embraced By Darkness

"I'm not asking you to. And I wouldn't do that to you. I'm just going to look, nothing more." No need to get all jealous and antsy, I thought silently.

Even if knowing that he was made my hormones get all dizzy and excited. Not that my hormones ever needed much prompting.

"Fine then," he said.

"I'll pick you up at eleven."

"Great."

That didn't sound entirely convincing. But with a silent shrug at the peculiarities of men, I hung up and went home.

But the peaceful slumber I was hoping for didn't materialize. When I got home, Blake was waiting for me.

"What the fuck have you been doing?" he said, voice filled with an anger that would have cowed the sensible.

I dumped my keys and handbag on the sofa then continued on to the kitchen. I had a bad feeling I was going to need a beer. "What I've been doing is none of your goddamn business."

Not the wisest comment in the world, as evidenced by the explosion of anger that suddenly filled the room.

"I am your pack leader," he bellowed. "You will show me some respect."

I grabbed a beer, pulled the tab, and took several gulps. Then I said, flatly and softly, "You and the pack can go to hell as far as I'm concerned. I'm helping because you threatened my mother, not because I want to or need to. And if you don't like it, then fuck off and find someone else to help you."

His fists clenched, and part of me was suddenly glad he was neither real nor here. I remembered the feel of those fists. I might be able to defend myself against them now, but part of me still feared them.

"My granddaughter is dead" His voice was low and venomous. "And you strut around here drinking beer and throwing attitude. She's dead."

Jodie had already told me that, but regret washed through me anyway. Not so much because Adrie

"Because you were supposed to find her."

"Even a guardian can't work miracles." I took another sip of beer, then leaned a hip on the doorframe and added, "Besides, you're the one with the psi-skills. Why haven't you done anything to find her?"

"Because Adrie

In life and now in death, I thought grimly. But at least it explained why he was harassing me rather than Rhoan. He might not be able to read my thoughts thanks to the strength of my shields, but he could still sense me. "So if Adrie

"Oh, she had it. In fact, she was probably stronger than most of us."

"How, if she was mind-blind?"

He shrugged. "I'm no expert. Her talent wasn't strictly clairvoyance though. She wasn't intuitive and didn't dream, but she could touch people and see things. Sometimes past, sometimes future, but always about that person."

"I'm surprised you didn't try to harness a talent like that for the pack's benefit."

It was sarcastically said, but for once, Blake didn't seem to notice, "We tried. She wasn't obliging."

Good for her.

"So what are you going to do about Adrie

"Same thing I'm going to do for the other three who have disappeared—try to find whoever is responsible."

"Trying is not good enough."

"Well, it'll have to be." I paused. "Where did you get that picture of the man that was in the files you sent?"

"Found it on her desk."

"At home?"

"Yes." He frowned. "Why is this important? Have you found out who he was?"

"Not yet. Was there anything else on her desk? Notes or anything?"

"If there were any notes, it'd be on her laptop. Which," he added, "has disappeared along with her."

She'd had the laptop on the island, so her disappearance had to have happened sometime between her stepping off the island boat and getting the plane back to Melbourne.

Was that drawing of the man she'd bumped into at the club, and was he co

"There were no notes on the drawing itself?"

"Nothing at all."

Then how the hell did he get the name Jim Denton? I doubted that he just plucked it out of thin air. "If there's nothing else, then you and I have nothing more to talk about. So you can just fuck off and leave me alone."

He glowered at me for several seconds, then said, "Patrin and Kye are coming to Melbourne. Patrin wants a full report."

Great. Just what I needed. One arrogant son of a bitch harassing me in person. "Who the hell is Kye?"

"His bodyguard."

"So the great Patrin needs a bodyguard?" The thought cheered me no end.

"Patrin has been helping police with certain inquiries and, as a result, has been receiving threats. Hence Kye's presence."

"And these threats have absolutely nothing to do with Adrie

"You sure?"

"Absolutely. He should be in Melbourne tomorrow. I expect you to be helpful."

"If Patrin comes anywhere near me, I'll break his fucking neck."

"Remember your mother," he said, and disappeared from sight.

Bastard, bastard, bastard.

I blew out a breath, then drained the rest of the beer and tossed the can into the trash. The buzz of anger and alcohol ru

Giving up the clubs would be hard. I loved them, loved the feel of them, loved the passion and excitement within them—but if I had to ditch the Blue Moon to prove that I didn't want to lose what I had with Kellen, then I would.

Because there was a whole lot of passion and excitement there, too.

So I settled for the next best thing to the Blue Moon—a hot, scented bath and several bars of chocolate.

Mirror Image sat in the hub of an industrial estate, far away from any residential area, nullifying any complaints they might otherwise have gotten over the bass-heaving music issuing from the joint.

I slammed the car door shut and let my gaze run over the neon-lit club. It was a typical factory design—metal roof, high concrete walls, and few windows. What glass there was decorated the front, in what would have been an office area in any normal factory. Unlike regular wolf clubs, this one had no line of people waiting to get in, but given the fact this particular club dwarfed most wolf clubs, I guess that wasn't really surprising.

Just for a moment, I felt something… odd. There was something here, something dangerous, and it reminded me of the evil I'd sensed at the murder scenes. Only it wasn't coming from the club, but rather from behind me.

I turned around, but couldn't see anything but the smoke from the nearby factories blowing along with the breeze. The sensation faded and I mentally shrugged. Maybe the near misses had made me jumpier than I'd realized.

Kellen looked at me over the roof of the car, his expression bordering on dubious. "You realty want to go in there?"

"Doesn't look much from the outside, does it?"

"No." He took a deep breath, his nostrils flaring widely. "I can smell humans. Lots of them."

"That's because there are."

"And our government thinks this is a good idea because…?"