End of the Line (7 page)

“
Fine,” she croaked. “I’m
fine.” The way she swayed on the stool did little to convince them,
she knew, but she tried to put a brave face on her distress. That
vision had been potent. And scary.

The bartender let go and returned a
moment later with a small cup of powerful espresso.

“
Drink it down, honey. The
caffeine will help. At least, that’s what Della says. I got the
espresso maker just for her.”

Adele drank the brew down like a shot,
glad of the rush when the caffeine kicked in a moment later. All
three men were staring at her, the men on either side in confusion
and the bartender with concern.

“
What did you see?”
Dammit. He definitely knew, and after her little display there was
no way to hide it.

“
An attack,” she said,
still not quite herself. “Here on the station. Soon.” She blinked
to clear her thoughts and realized all the big men at the bar were
watching her avidly now. Her eyes were drawn to the younger man on
her right. “You’re Timothy, right?”

“
Yes, ma’am. That’s my
name. How’d you know?”

She shook her head. “Not important.
You need to take the left hall when the time comes. Remember that,
okay? The left hall. Not the right. Do you understand?”

He shook his head. “No, I don't, but
I’ll remember.”

The bartender cleared his throat.
“Better listen to her, Tim. Her aunt is the most gifted psychic
I’ve ever met and she told me the gift runs in the
family.”

To read more of
King of Stars
, buy it
now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords and many other fine
etailers.

And don’t forget, there
are three more stories in the series:
King
of Cups
,
King of
Clubs
, and
King
of Stars
, and many more stories in
the
Jit’Suku Chronicles
yet to come.

If your taste in books
runs to paranormal, why not check out Bianca D’Arc’s ongoing
Tales of the Were
and
the related
Brotherhood of Blood
books? Here’s an excerpt from the most recent
release in the
Tales of the
Were
:
Rocky
.

Tales of the Were:
Rocky

by

Bianca
D’Arc
Copyright
2012 Bianca D'Arc. All Rights Reserved.

Chatper One

All Hallows Eve

Maggie pulled into the gravel
driveway, uncertain of her welcome. The sad truth was she had
nowhere else to turn. The pains were getting sharper and closer
together. She had to find him soon. After a few false leads, this
had to be his place. It just had to be.

She took a deep breath, pulling the
car to a stop in front of a very large, rustic log cabin in the
middle of the woods. Resting her forehead against the steering
wheel as she was wracked by another pain, she tried not to
scream.

“
Are you all
right?”

The deep voice was just as she
remembered it. Finally, she had found him. Turning to look out the
open driver’s side window, she offered him a shaky smile as the
pain began to subside.

“
Thank heaven I found you.
God, Rocky. It’s good to see you.”

Rocco Garibaldi was stunned. The last
person he’d expected to see pull up in his front drive was Maggie
Hobson. She was as beautiful as ever, even with deep circles under
her gorgeous eyes. She’d gained a bit of weight too, if he wasn’t
mistaken, and it looked good on her.

“
Maggie? What in the
world—”

He broke off as her knuckles tightened
on the steering wheel and a keening cry ripped from between her
compressed lips. In a flash, he had her car door open and then
stopped, struck speechless by her rounded, pulsating midsection.
Maggie was heavily pregnant, and from all appearances was in the
throes of labor.

“
I need your help,” she
panted between puffing breaths.

“
No kidding.” He caught
her when she tried to get out of the tall SUV on her own. Lifting
her in his arms, he wasted no time. He took her into his house,
went directly to his bedroom and placed her on the bed. “Stars,
Maggie!Where’s Tony? Why aren’t you with him for this?”

“
Tony’s…” Her beautiful
eyes filled with pain and she seemed unable to speak the next,
final words. “He’s dead, Rock.”

Agony settled in Rocky’s chest as he
felt the truth of her words echo through his soul. His grief was
reflected in her sad eyes. He’d lost a brother and he hadn’t even
known it.

“
When? How?”

“
About eight months ago.
He saw it coming. He had time to warn me about—” A new labor pain
struck and Rocky reached for her hand, letting her hold on to him.
He hated seeing her in such agony.

“
You need help,” he said
as the pain eased. “Let me call Allie.”

Maggie started to get up as he turned
toward the phone on the small table beside the bed.

“
I knew I shouldn’t have
come, but Tony made me promise to find you before I gave birth. I
have nowhere else to turn.”

Rocky soothed her, pushing her back
down on the bed as he snagged the cord of the phone and pulled it
toward him. “You’re not going anywhere until that baby is
born.”

“
Babies. Plural.” She
panted. “Twins.”

“
Sweet Mother in Heaven,”
he whispered. “Maggie, did Tony tell you about us? About what we
are?”

She nodded once, her expression tinged
with fear. “The week before he died, he showed me…” She gripped his
hand as another contraction hit. “He warned me the birth wouldn’t
be easy, and that I couldn’t go to a regular hospital. Damn, I’d
give anything for an epidural right now!”

Rocky dialed the phone with one hand
while she clenched the other tightly. He was never more relieved
than when the call was answered on the other end.

“
Rafe, I need
help.”

Maggie loved the rumble of Rocky’s
voice. It reassured her in so many ways. Many girlhood hours had
been spent dreaming about this man. She found it strange that fate
would send her to his home in the middle of the woods, so many
years later, about to give birth to his best friend’s
babies.

Make that cubs. She was about to birth
grizzly shifters. If not for the fact she’d seen Tony shapeshift
right before her eyes, she would never have believed it. Rocky
ended the call as she watched him.

“
Tony said…” She waited to
catch her breath, needing something to focus on other than the
pain. “He said…you’re a grizzly too.”

Rocky nodded solemnly. “I
am.”

“
This is all so crazy.”
She looked away, remembering. “Tony came home one day and told me.
I almost laughed in his face—until he shifted to prove his point. I
was never so frightened in my whole life.” She turned back to
search his expression. “He only told me because he foresaw his own
death, Rock. Something called Venifucus was on his trail, he said,
and made me promise to tell you as soon as I found you.”

“
Venifucus? Are you
certain?” His words were a low growl that sent shivers down her
spine.

“
He was sure of it, and
told me how to retrieve this after he was gone.” She tugged on the
gold chain around her neck, pulling it out from under her clothing
and showing it to Rocky. The pendant was a faintly glowing blood
red stone wrapped in gold wire. It was a bear totem that shone
brighter than any gem. With shaking hands, she held it up so Rocky
could see it.

His expression hardened and a single
tear trailed down his face.

“
He really is
dead.”

She nodded, feeling his pain as her
own. “I burned his body after he died, as he instructed, then
sifted through the ashes for this. He called it—”

“
A heartstone.” Rocky’s
expression was filled with an odd mix of wonder and sorrow. “If
anyone could do it, Tony would have that kind of magic. But why?
How did he die?”

Another contraction halted her
explanation for a few moments, and he held her hand throughout. The
pulsing heartstone seemed to comfort her, as it had all along her
ragtag journey over half the continent.

“
He was ambushed. He
barely made it home before collapsing. He was beyond help by that
point. It only took him moments to breathe his last, but he did it
on his home territory, free and safe. He told me the magical
protections he’d put on our land would fade after he died, but I
would have time to fulfill his last wishes. I followed his
instructions and lit out of there just hours later. I’ve been
crisscrossing the country ever since, but I knew when my labor
started, I’d have to stop running. I came to you, like I promised
Tony I would. My babies will be too vulnerable while I’m
recovering—if I survive their birth—and you’re the only person on
earth I trust to keep them safe.” She clutched at his hand. “I
don’t care what happens to me. Just promise you’ll take care of my
babies.”

Rocky surprised her by taking her in
his arms and burying his face in her hair as she burrowed into his
neck. It felt so good to be surrounded by his warmth, his strength.
It had been so long since she’d been able to lean on someone, even
for just a moment.

“
I’ll keep you safe.
You’re not going anywhere, Maggie. I’ll watch over you all. I
promise. Tony knew I would. It’s why he sent you to me. But why did
you wait so long? You should’ve come to me straight
away.”

“
I couldn’t.” Tears leaked
from her eyes and seeped into his flannel shirt. He was so strong
and she’d felt so weak for so long. It was such a relief to have
someone to share her fears with. “I didn’t want to lead them to
you. I’d just lost Tony and we hadn’t heard from you in a long
time. I didn’t want to presume…”

“
You should have,
sweetheart. You had to know I’d never turn you away in a million
years.”

She sniffled as he pulled back to
place a kiss on the crown of her head. The gesture touched her
deeply—so deeply—when she hadn’t dared hope he would welcome her.
She’d spent the last eight months conflicted. She’d lost her
husband, which was traumatic enough, but Tony had known how she’d
always felt about Rocky. Tony had been a shaman. He’d known things,
and he’d sent her straight to the only man who had ever been a
rival for her affections.

But Rocky had left so long ago. Right
after the wedding, he had announced his move and she hadn’t seen
him since. For all she knew, he was married with children of his
own now, though judging by the sparseness of his house, he lived
alone. The thought brought a lightness to her heart. Perhaps it
wasn’t too late for them. Perhaps Tony had been right to send her
here. Perhaps she did have that chance for happiness again—as Tony
had promised—once this situation with the Venifucus was
straightened out. If it could be straightened out.

Another pain gripped her and she clung
to Rocky, digging her fingers into his thick muscles, but he didn’t
complain. He just held her, speaking soothing words in that rumbly
voice and stroking her back with one hand while his other hand
moved down to cover the protrusion of her stomach. His touch felt
good. When his fingers settled over the beach ball of her abdomen,
it was as if the squirming babies within sensed his presence and
immediately quieted.

Tony had warned her how difficult it
could be for bear shifter cubs to be born. She was scared and she
knew her fear was communicating itself to her babies. As she grew
more agitated, so did they. It had been like that throughout her
entire pregnancy. She tried to be calm, but the pains were intense
and more than she could handle alone. Rocky’s steady presence was a
gift. He calmed her and her babies with just his touch, his voice
and his soothing strength.

She didn’t fear much of anything with
Rocky’s arms around her. He was her safe harbor in times of trouble
and had been since they were kids. When bullies picked on her in
grade school, it had been Rocky who had come to her rescue and
scared off the other kids with his intimidating brawn, even back
then. He’d been such a quiet boy, but she’d daydreamed about him
from that moment on. He had been her knight in shining armor, her
champion and savior.

Tony, on the other hand, had been her
Prince Charming. They’d all grown up together, and by the time the
senior prom rolled around, Maggie had despaired of Rocky ever
seeing her as a girl instead of a buddy. But Tony had. He’d asked
her to the prom and suddenly her eyes had been opened. Here was a
man who flattered her and charmed her. Tony had literally swept her
off her feet. After that first date, he’d sought her out again and
again. Before she knew it, she was head over heels in love with him
and agreeing to his proposal of marriage.

The only doubts had crept in when
they’d broken the news to Rocky. He’d looked pained for one short
moment before offering his congratulations. Still, she was in the
bloom of young love and very little could dim the light that shone
around Tony. He was such a charismatic, powerful presence in her
life. She was grateful for his love, even now, after all the
turmoil being with him had caused.