CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Layla came awake slowly, her eyes opening. She was warm and comfortable in her own bed, and for a moment she forgot about the shocking revelations from the night before. Her mind took a few moments to catch up and she sighed, everything coming back. She pulled her blankets chill around her body, the chill in the air bitter this morning.
She swung her legs from the bed, sliding her feet into her slippers, and headed out across the hallway to her daughter’s room. She found the bed empty. Usually that would not have upset her, but after last night—first with Michael, and now with that damn video out there—she panicked. Turning quickly, she moved to her sister’s door and flung it open, waking a bleary-eyed Lexi.
Not seeing Annabelle, she rushed down the stairs, her heart racing a mile a minute in her chest. Then she stopped dead still, her eyes falling on her Wolfman. On his chest was a sleeping little female covered in a blanket; only her blond hair could be seen sticking out. He turned his head to Layla and gave her a little smile.
“I would have put her back in bed, but I think my legs fell asleep.”
Layla almost cried. He held her so gently as she slept on him—she had never seen Annabelle take to anyone the way she had him. Quietly she moved over to the pair and sat down on the wrecked couch. She felt a lump in her throat as she watched her child sleeping safely in Tan’s arms. She turned her gaze to his and couldn’t stop the small tear that ran down her cheek.
“Thank you.” She felt his thumb brush over her cheek and, god, if she didn’t love him before, she sure as hell fell hard for him then.
“Let me get her off you so you can get some circulation back.” Layla leaned down and gently scooped up her child. Annabelle made a low grumbling noise, but settled down as her mother laid her on the ruins of the couch, leaving her swaddled in the warm blanket.
Tan groaned and moved his legs, slowly getting to his feet and rotating his ankles. He stopped and looked at Layla who watched him carefully. He took one tentative step forward, then another. She tilted her head back and parted her lips, his intense look pausing the words on her tongue.
He covered her mouth with his, sweeping his tongue slowly into her mouth and holding her chin back so he could kiss and explore her. Her hands moved to his arms, gripping as her head swam with nothing but him. She melted against him, her tongue returning the deep kiss that heated her body, driving any chill from her skin.
“Urg! Get a room!” Lexi’s voice interrupted their languid kiss and Layla pulled back to glare at her sister.
“We’re in a room, go find your own.” Lexi glared back and flipped her sister off before heading into the kitchen to make coffee. Clearly, without her coffee Lexi was the wicked witch of the west in the mornings. Tan chuckled softly as Layla pressed her forehead against his chest, her mumbled words making him laugh. “I will not kill my sister. I love my sister. My sister can go suck it.”
“I can hear you!”
“I know!”
Layla pulled back and looked at Tan as he tried to hold back the laughter at their bickering. He failed. His laugh earned him a pinch to his waist, and he mocked immense pain.
“Ow, abuse.”
Layla snorted and pushed away from him with a huff. She stomped into the kitchen. If either of them thought they were getting breakfast this morning, they had another thing coming.
The morning was uneventful considering the bombshell Layla dropped on her sister as soon as Annabelle went upstairs to get dressed. Lexi looked like she was about to throw up when she found out someone had caught Annabelle on film. She then confessed she’d helped a pregnant woman who had been about to lose her baby, and a young boy with internal injuries—so she had hardly been looking out for cameras.
“I can’t believe I’m on You-fucking-Tube. God, I hate social media. There is no such thing as privacy anymore, people can just film you whenever they like. How is Annabelle meant to live looking over her shoulder every time she wants to use her powers? How can we?” She cradled her head against her hands, her elbows on the counter. “That’s it, I am changing my hair color, cutting it short, maybe no one will notice it was me?” No more than thirty seconds later as a knock at the door of the cabin had all three of them looking at each other.
Lexi sat up straight and looked at her sister. Her face was pale and she looked like she was about to run for the hills. Layla twisted her hands in a dishcloth. Hardly anyone came out this far to see them. They were pretty remote, having everything they needed from a generator to solar panels—they were almost totally self-sustaining.
Layla cleaned her hands on the cloth and moved toward the door. She felt the strong warm presence of her Wolfman right behind her as she slowly opened it. Her heart was racing the whole time, her mouth dry. Was this someone they knew? Strangers? Oh god, the media? Outside waited a rather pale looking pair, Ira and Carla Kane. Layla opened the door fully and let out a sigh. They knew—why else would they be here?
“Layla.” Ira didn’t say anything else. He opened his mouth but closed it again. His wife clutched her wrap closer around her shoulders and gave them a small smile.
“You best come in.” Layla opened the door, letting the old couple into the warmth of the cabin.
Lexi jumped from her chair and stood watching as they walked in, Ira’s eyes going to her then stopping on Tan. He frowned a little but dismissed him and turned back to Layla.
“We don’t want anything, we just… I mean… I wanted to say thank you. I don’t know how to express in words what Annabelle did. I can’t explain it, and I don’t need to. She is a gift from God.” He reached out, took Layla’s hands in his cold wrinkled ones, and held them as tight as he could. Tears glistened on his cheeks.
“She saved the woman I love; if I had lost her…” He broke down then, and Carla lifted a withered hand to his face. Lexi move forward, gently taking his arm and leading him to the couch. They had covered most of the damage with the blanket so it didn’t look like a beast had gone postal on the furniture.
Carla moved forward and sat beside him. “Is she okay? Annabelle? I don’t remember much—the car coming through the window, glass shattering, pain, then nothing. But I do remember not wanting to leave. I couldn’t leave Ira.” Their hands entwined as she spoke, and he patted her hand in his.
“Her voice, she sounded like an angel. She said I could come back if I wanted to. So I did. She opened a door or something, I don’t know, but when I opened my eyes I was healed and alive. Layla, your child is an angel, a real angel, a gift from the heavens.”
Layla didn’t know what to say. If they believed it to be the work of God, if that made it easier on their minds, so be it. She swallowed hard, fear biting hard at her, making her think of all the terrible things that could happen to her child if this ever got out.
“You understand that no one can know it was her. The video online is difficult to distinguish who it is.” Ira looked at the male who spoke and nodded.
“We know. No one who was helped that day will say a word. We know when a gift has been given. But the media vans have already shown up in town, trying to find this miracle child. You best keep her out of sight for a few weeks. So, young man, I’ve not seen you in town, you know the family?”
“We’re old friends. I came in a few nights ago. Good timing, I guess.” Layla looked between Ira and Tan. The old man was quiet for a moment but seemed to accept his answer.
Layla pressed her hand over her heart and leaned forward. She felt like she was about to hyperventilate. The media were here. How many people would flood the small town looking for this child of God? Breathing hard over and over, she felt a warm hand slide around the back of her neck and she instantly began to calm. She was so thankful for Tan’s presence—he was like a rock she could lean against or hide behind; it was amazingly comforting.
“I’m afraid the media won’t leave until all avenues have been exhausted. Damn vultures, all they want is a story.” Carla looked to her husband and sighed softly. “We will do what we can to send them away, misdirection and such. We have already been telling people that the EMTs made a mistake, that I was just unconscious under that blanket.”
“Mrs. Kane!” The bright little voice of the angel in question lit up the room as she descended the stairs quickly and ran across the room into the old lady’s arms.
Layla leaned down and whispered in the old lady’s ear. “She doesn’t remember what she did. I think it best she doesn’t either.” Carla nodded her understanding as she settled Annabelle on her lap.
Layla watched her sister the whole time. She kept her eyes to the floor, and Layla knew guilt still bit at her terribly. Somehow Lexi still thought this was her fault, that she had allowed this to happen. Layla knew how her sister’s mind worked—she would be thinking she should have been keeping a better eye on her niece. She should have watched her, not run off into that ruined building like some kind of hero. Sometimes her twin was hopeless. Didn’t she realize she could no more stop herself healing those people than Annabelle could have stopped herself healing Carla?
Layla watched her twin leave the room and felt her sister’s pain rushing over her. She wanted to follow, wanted to make sure her sister was okay, but she also needed to ensure her daughter was safe. Being torn between your twin and your child—she hated it when she felt that pull in both directions. Feeling the warmth of her Wolfman behind her, she turned her head and he nodded slightly, moving away from the group and following Lexi’s flight from the room.
Tan found Lexi in the small room under the stairs, where she had hidden herself away. Knocking gently, he paused when he heard the gentle sobbing of a woman. Just like all men in the world, he was drawing a blank—what did one say to a crying woman? Especially one that wanted to kick you out in the snow every five seconds, and glared like you were the second coming of the Anti-Christ. He was either making the biggest mistake of his life—that he could remember anyway—or she might actually accept him. That would be good, right?
He decided to take his life into his hands and opened the door slowly, finding the room illuminated by one small desk light. The soft sobbing stopped and the female sniffed before clearing her throat.
“What do you want?” Her tone said he might have made the wrong choice coming in here. “Look, I am not my sister, okay. I don’t fawn all over wounded animals and pretend they’re people.”
Ouch, that stung. He didn’t even realize how much until he opened his mouth to talk and nothing came out. What was he supposed to say now? He knew she was lashing out, he could feel it, see it rising from her like smoke. Tilting his head to the side, he watched the anger boiling under her skin. Something in him recognized it. He knew what this was, and knew it was just normal frustration and anxiety.
“Seriously, you going to fucking stand there and stare at me? Why are you even here? Why don’t you just leave?” Her voice began to rise, and he could see the boiling energy under her skin, rising like steam in a kettle. In a second she was going to burst, and then might say something she’d regret. Guilt and rage were so closely tied they could consume faster than any other sin.
He knew the moment she couldn’t stop, that she needed to cry and scream and beat something. She couldn’t see anything but the man before her. He could read the anger and resentment within her like a book—it spoke to him. Everything had been fine before he showed up; she needed to blame someone for the bad, and he was a good target. He saw the change in her eyes, the second her anger and rage locked on him as a focus. The rolling smoke bellowed and flew toward him. Then fists were hitting while tears streamed down her cheeks. He could read that anger—she was so frustrated at herself, angry she was crying. He could feel her hate—she never cried, and it was his fault.
Tan grabbed her wrists in his hands, stopping her from beating on him, and holding her as she sobbed and tried to pull back. His gaze moved to his hands. The inky black rage rolled over her skin, up her arms, and then entered his body where his hands held her wrists. He pulled her into his arms and she struggled, pushing back against him. He knew she didn’t want comforting, that she needed to hate herself right now. But he wouldn’t let her.
Tan closed his eyes, all her angst and frustration rolling over him and sinking into his skin. God, he felt strong again. The aches in his body vanished, the pains from the shifting evaporated. Keeping Lexi in his arms, he grabbed hold of that energy and drew it into himself like a breath. It felt good, filling a hunger he didn’t even know he had. Slowly she relaxed against him and her head settled on his chest. Her breathing and heartbeat slowed down and she pulled back to look at him, her eyes wide.
“What did you do?” Her storm-like eyes locked on him in awe and a little fear.
“I don’t know, to be honest. I felt like I had to take it from you or it was going to swamp you. So I did.” Tan frowned at himself and released her.
He watched her take a deep breath and straighten her shoulders. She gave him a small smile and ran her hands over her face and through her hair.
“I feel better, thank you. Tan, right? Is that what Layla calls you?”
He moved to the side, letting Lexi leave the room, only to come face to face with Layla, who was watching the pair with wide eyes. Tan suddenly felt like he had done something really wrong, but she just smiled and moved into his arms.
“Thank you, I felt it. We’re linked, Lexi and me. Sometimes we shroud each other with our feelings. You stopped it.” He was pretty sure males didn’t blush, and he felt like an idiot for it but damn it, her compliment made him want to grin like a fool.
“Michael said I was Wrath, the Sin. I think I could see it in her emotions, swarming around her like smoke. Almost taste it on my tongue. Perhaps this is what it means to be a Sin, to know when someone is experiencing it.” He frowned as he spoke; the words seemed to come together and make sense in his head.
Then a miracle happened. Lexi spontaneously wrapped her arms around his back and hugged him. Layla blinked and stared at her as if she had grown a second head or something. Tan just stood there being hugged, and just as suddenly as he was hugged he was released. Lexi cleared her throat and walked out from behind him back toward the living room. Layla watched her sister go and turned her eyes to the demon with a huge smile. She threw her arms around him.
“I don’t know what you did, but thank you. Lexi has always been a bit twisty when it comes to other people, especially men. I think what happened to me made her very gun shy. She trusted Richard, and when he turned his back on me and his child, Lexi lost her belief in men. I’m pretty sure she is going to end up gay considering she hates anything with a penis.”
“Richard? He is Bella’s father?” Tan felt it then, inside his chest rose a ball of anger. That someone could abandon a mother and child like that was just abhorrent in his eyes.
Layla turned toward the living room and looked over the scene. Her daughter still sat on Carla’s lap talking loudly and very emphatically about her pet wolf. Tan felt like groaning—thank god Bella didn’t mention he also happened to be the male who stood with his arms around her mother. Lexi was speaking to Ira quietly. The old man pulled her into a hug and nodded.
“I thought Richard was the one once. Lexi liked him, my mother liked him. Everyone in town loved the golden boy of the Stillwater football team. But he wanted more, just not more of me or the child we made together.” Layla kept her arms around her stomach as she spoke.
“Ira offered to chase him down, follow him to Denver and drag him back. But I didn’t want him. And Lexi, she was literally going to take a baseball bat to his kneecaps if she ever saw him again.” Layla turned around to see the demon looking at her intently. His eyes glowed as she spoke. He reached out and brushed his hands across her cheeks and into her hair, pulling her into him and tilting her head back.
“Then he was not worthy of you. No good man walks away from family, and if they do there is something inherently wrong in their soul.” It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her he would not leave her, that he would stand by her side and keep her safe. He had to swallow the words or he was going to make a fool of himself.
Layla licked her lips and moved her hands to his hips, her voice a whisper. “Are you a good man, demon?”
“I would like to believe I am.”
“We can work with that.” Layla went up on her toes and pressed her lips to his.
He knew this woman would hold more power over him then anything that bastard Michael could conjure. His hands tightened in her hair and he kissed her as if his sanity depended on it.