Lost and Found (A Werewolf Wars Novel Book 4) (21 page)

“But wait!” Vincent turned back to Sarah with a frown. “What does this have to do with you?”

“My blood type is AB negative,” she whispered aloud.

“Are you sure?” Vincent asked, his voice full of concern.

Sarah lowered her eyes to the table. “When my parents had their accident, Lark and I both had our blood tested to see if we could be donors for a transfusion.” Tears welled in her eyes as the painful memories resurfaced. Her entire world had changed in one night because of one man who’d had too much to drink.

“I’m sorry,” Nora whispered.

Sarah closed her eyes as Nora patted her arm.

“What blood type is Lark?” Daniel asked.

Sarah sighed. Maybe this information wasn’t all bad. Lark and Devon could continue his Alpha line. “The same as me.”

“I’ll have to find some way to tell Devon and Lark. And we’ll need to be extra vigilant watching Sarah,” Daniel explained as he thought out loud.

“How did they find that out?” Nora inquired, her eyes wide.

“Medical records,” Daniel answered quickly.

“It makes sense,” Vincent began. “I mean they did get a body to make everyone think we were dead. I’m sure they have other connections, too.”

Sarah shuddered. Her stomach rolled at the thought of someone poking around in her personal records. Not that she had anything to hide; however, the thought that they could find out everything about her was unnerving. “So much for privacy laws,” she muttered.

“There are corrupt people everywhere,” Daniel shrugged it off like it was no big deal.

“It’s going to be okay, Sarah,” Vincent assured, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Yeah.” She appreciated his effort, but it seemed the more they learned, the deeper they got tangled into this mess with the Lunas. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know anymore about why the crazy werewolves were chasing after them. It was already terrifying enough without adding more to it.

V
incent took one last look around the bustling park. The place was definitely crowded. Thousands of people moved around them—it was the perfect meeting spot. There was no way Malakai would dare try anything in this place. Even if he had become a little crazy at the airport with Gene and Talia, he would not risk exposure in front of this many people.

“I think we have everything we need,” Daniel said, tapping him on the shoulder. “Let’s get some dinner and get headed back to the hotel.”

Vincent’s gaze drifted to Sarah. She was leaning on a rail, looking longingly at the Ferris wheel.

She’d been in a funk most of the day—ever since she’d discovered the blood type theory. He couldn’t begin to imagine what she was feeling right now.
Is she scared? Upset?
He’d have to ask her more questions when it was just the two of them. But since they were already in the park, maybe he could lift her spirits.

“You know,” he started as he turned to Daniel, “we’re already here—why not stay and have some fun?” He had promised to ride a roller coaster and he was curious about what it would be like.

“This isn’t a social visit, Vincent,” Daniel snapped. “We don’t have time for that.”

“We could make time. Don’t you want to take your pretty girlfriend out for fun?” Vincent suggested, his eyes drifting pointedly to where the two women stood.

“I want to keep her safe. You should want to keep Sarah safe. It’s not all fun and games,” Daniel growled.

“I know,” he hissed. “But I also know we have to live. And right now, Sarah’s scared. We’ve spent the past week running for our lives. There were days we didn’t even sleep and barely ate. Give her one ride to calm her nerves and let her be a person again. Hell, why don’t you live a little too? Have some fun with Nora. When was the last time you had fun?”

A tick formed in Daniel’s jaw and Vincent sighed, waiting for Daniel to shoot him down. Daniel’s gaze flicked to Nora, some of the anger leaving his face.
Could the pretty ginger get his brother to liven up a little?
He’d never seen his brother look at someone like that.
Is that adoration and love on his face?
Who’d have thought his stiff, loner brother would ever fall in love.

“I’m sure Nora would love to stay,” he said, defeated. “But only one ride.”

Vincent grinned in disbelief. “Wow! I’m impressed. I didn’t think you’d ever get that stick out of your ass.” Nora was definitely good for Daniel.

“Don’t make me change my mind,” Daniel growled.

***

A
bilene, Texas

Gene ran a tired hand through his hair as he hung up the phone. It was always one thing or another. He was thankful he had someone to share his frustrations and opinions with. Speaking of his other half, Gene could hear her footsteps padding down the hall toward the bedroom. He smiled, quickly typing in one last text as the door opened. The Alpha looked up from his cell as Natalia walked into the room.

“Adrian is finally down,” she said as she went to the dresser to pull out her nightclothes. “Poor baby must be cutting teeth. He’s never had this hard of a time going to sleep.” She turned to him and met his gaze, pausing when she saw his weary face. “Everything okay?”

“For the moment. Just waiting for the other shoe to drop. I don’t know how my dad did it.” It was the truth; his father had been so calm and collected every second of the day. The Gulf Pack situation and the stress of not telling Lark and Devon about Vincent and Sarah were taking a toll on him. He did understand the logic, but wasn’t sure it was the best choice.

“I’m sure he was stressed out at first, too. It is a lot to get used to,” Natalia assured as she sat down next to him. “It may not seem like it, but you do have everything under control.”

“I just wish this incident with the Lunas and Gulf Packs was over,” Gene admitted. He supposed Natalia was right, but his dad had never had to deal with anything quite like this.

“Did Daniel check in?”

“Yeah,” he said glumly.

Natalia gripped his shoulder. “Why do you say it like that? Did something happen?”

“Everything is fine so far,” he assured. “There is a new development and it has me thinking.” Natalia rested her head on his shoulder and he continued, glad to have someone he could talk to. “They were going through emails and discovered Lark and Sarah may be descendants of werewolves.”

“How’d they find that out?” Natalia questioned, peering up to meet his gaze.

“We have a rare blood type—AB negative. This theory they stumbled upon makes it sound like only werewolves, or those who are a part of the werewolf line, have this blood type. They believe if they mate with a wolf, they will produce a wolf. I just wonder if this knowledge could put them at greater risk. Juarez jumped through hoops to get Lark and Luna is doing even more to retrieve Sarah.”

“They are already in danger. They have been for some time now. From the sounds of it, Juarez and Luna have been privy to this information for a while,” Natalia stated.

“I suppose not. We just know why now. If this theory is correct, Devon and Lark could have Alpha children,” Gene replied. “It’s almost guaranteed.”

“But there is only one way to test the theory. I’ve researched a lot of your father’s old books to find out if Adrian will be a wolf or human and everything I’ve read states the werewolf gene does not manifest until adolescence. One way or another, the theory will have to wait many years to be tested,” Natalia explained.

“I figured as much,” Gene sighed.

“What is really bothering you?” Natalia asked, pulling away so she could look him in the eyes.

“A few things,” he admitted with a murmur. “If this theory is correct and Malakai is aware of it, he isn’t going to just let Sarah go. He may even go after Nora, just because he can. But more importantly, if other packs are aware of this, it makes us a target to them as well. We could always be facing down enemies. We have four fertile wolves, two women who can have wolves, and another woman who is already aware of our existence. It puts us in a precarious situation. Not to mention, at some point Emily and Lark will have children and I hope we do, too. If any of us have girls, that will just complicate the situation further.”

Natalia clasped her hands together and looked down at her lap, contemplating her next words. “I think we need to look at what is in front of us right now and deal with things as they come along. Our world is scary and violent, but we have to hope that the future is good. I know you have lost a lot the past few months, but think of all the accomplishments we’ve made together. We have to have hope it will get better from here on out.”

“You’re right.” Gene kissed her gently. And she
was
right.

As he tangled his hands in her thick hair, he thanked the Lord he had her in his life. She was perfect and as long as he had her, everything would be all right.

***

D
allas, Texas

Vincent flipped through the channels, bored.
How could there be so many stations and nothing to watch?
If he hadn’t heard the water shut off a minute ago, he would’ve joined Sarah in the shower. He gritted his teeth at the thought of watching the water cascade down her taut body. There was nothing stopping him from joining her in the bathroom. Maybe they could turn the water back on.

He stood up at the same time the bathroom door creaked open. His jaw dropped and cock tightened as Sarah stepped into view. Her hair was wrapped in a white towel and one of
his
shirts clung to her body.
How could wearing one of his shirts make her so sexy?

Sarah pulled the towel off her head and rubbed at her wet locks. “Thanks for today,” she said, meeting his gaze. "It was nice to get out and do something normal. I had fun.”

Vincent swallowed.
Focus on her, not what she’s wearing.
“Me, too. We’ll have to plan a trip back when we can ride more rides.”

Sarah’s eyes widened and he realized that he’d implied there was some sort of future for them. She smiled. “We should,” she agreed. “I think the park in San Antonio is closer. Besides, depending on how tomorrow goes, I might be too scared to come back here to the Dallas one.”

Vincent walked toward her and placed his hands on her shoulders. Her bottom lip trembled slightly as she looked away. He pulled her against him, hoping he was comforting her. “Everything is going to work out tomorrow, you’ll see.”

“I hope you’re right. I just have this feeling in the pit of my stomach,” she whispered, her arms snaking around him.

“We’ve come this far without anything too serious. We won’t have any incidents tomorrow either,” he assured. Whatever he had to do, he would keep her safe.

“I hope you’re right,” she burrowed into his neck and sighed heavily. “Do you think my dad knew about werewolves because someone in our family was one?” she asked, changing the subject.

“Or your mom,” he added.

Sarah pulled back and shook her head. “She didn’t know about the werewolves. It was one of the few secrets my dad kept from her. It had to have been him. And I think he had the same blood type. I remember something about one of our bags of blood going to him.”

“I suppose anything is possible. It could explain why he and Rick were such good friends,” Vincent acknowledged. “Humans knowing about our existence is one of the rules we don’t break. You, Lark, and Nora are rare exceptions. Most people freak out.”

“Well, I admit it was a shock, but I’d known Rick, Preston, Gene, and Beatrice my entire life. Once I got over it, I didn’t think anything of it. They were still the same people. If anything, it made us closer because they didn’t have to hide part of themselves from us.”

“So, you, Gene, and Preston grew up together?” Vincent asked. He wasn’t sure talking about Preston in particular was a good idea, but he wanted to know more about their relationship. More importantly, was he any different than Preston or was he just a friend she cared about and slept with?   Go figure, the one woman he actually falls for probably doesn’t feel the same about him.

Sarah sighed. “We did.” She pulled back from him and walked to the bed. Sitting down on the end, she stared absently at the floor. “Lark and Gene were similar in age and went to school together. Preston and I were the same age and were in classes together several times throughout the years.” She ran her feet over the carpet and let out a breath. “He liked me for a while—it was pretty obvious. And all my other friends had boyfriends. I was fifteen and stupidly cared what everyone else thought when we got together. It was just, the more time we spent together, the more he fell in love with me and I just didn’t have the heart to end things. And I was too selfish. I couldn’t stand the idea of losing my best friend.  He was a great guy. Preston deserved someone better than me—someone who could’ve loved him back the right way. I know I didn’t kill him, but if I had just said yes to his proposal...” she trailed off and shook her head.

“You can’t live a lie forever,” he replied. “He still thought the world of you, you know—couldn’t shut up about you,” Vincent blurted. It had been true; at first he’d found it nauseating, but now, he could see how easy it was to fall for Sarah.

“He was my best friend. If I needed to talk to someone or needed anything, I called him. None of my female friends could ever compete. I wish things would have ended differently,” she murmured. “I always feared losing him by telling him the truth, but in the end I lost him anyway.”

“We can only control our own fates.”

Sarah nodded. “Which is why we have to end this for him. For Rick and Natalia—her family. For everyone who’s been hurt by the Gulf Packs,” she said determinedly.

“We will,” he promised, clasping her hand in his. And they would—they would end this by turning Malakai against the Lunas. Then they would take out whoever was left. Starting tomorrow, this war was going to change tides in their favor. He was certain of it.

S
arah picked at her eggs. She knew she should eat, but the way her stomach kept twisting, she wasn’t sure she would keep anything down. Her mind kept drifting to the upcoming meeting. In just one hour they would be face-to-face with Malakai.