New Beginnings (24 page)

Hayden walked back inside and found Jess on
the phone, pacing in her small office. She looked up, her eyes
glittering with frustration. “She’s not answering. Damn it.”

“Who isn’t?”

Jess stopped, turned and glared at him, but
spoke into the phone. “Fallon, I know you’re driving, but you need
to answer the damned phone. Of course you won’t, I know you won’t.
Shit.” She hung up and shoved her phone in her pocket. “Look, go to
my house. Brody and Fallon can fill you in there. I’m not totally
sure what the hell happened, but they’ll both be fine. Just go.
Please.”

Hayden resisted the urge to shake the
answers out of her. The little woman was psychic, but she wasn’t
sharing what she saw. “You’ll answer my questions there?” he asked
gruffly, not real keen on wasting time.

“Of course I will, but I don’t have them
all. I just know it has to do with the Dales. You remember those
bastard vampires who were snooping around a month ago?”

“The ones we scared off? The ones who
haven’t been back since I chopped a couple of them down?”

“The very same.” She crossed her arms over
her chest. “Look, I need to get over there, but I need to tell my
staff first. I’ll be home shortly. Do me a favor, make sure Clint
cleans that mess up before someone else can stumble on it.” Then
she stormed past him.

Hayden walked out the back and to his SUV.
He wanted to get to the bottom of this and fast.

* * * *

Damn, Fallon’s head hurt as she blinked up
at the stars pulsing like a thousand tiny strobe lights. Her throat
was a mess. That werewolf didn’t help when he ripped the vampire’s
fangs out of her. She gave him an A for effort, but instead of two
punctures she was going to need stitches.

She sat up slowly, tracing the jagged tears
in her skin and winced. That was exactly why she should have minded
her own damned business. With a sigh, she wove a spell to stop the
bleeding, but didn’t have the energy to manage more
.

Once her vision cleared, her gaze caught on
washboard abs with a golden trail of hair she didn’t dare follow
down because she already wanted to lick him. She forced her eyes up
over his sculpted chest and muscular arms to his face.

Wow, she thought, he was gorgeous
everywhere. His smoky blue eyes were wide and glued to her, his
brow wrinkled, and his full mouth was set in a frown. He stared at
her the same way people watch a lethal accident, unable to pull his
gaze away. She didn’t blame him—but hello, she just saved his
ass.

Her eyes narrowed on him. “You’re
welcome.”

He blinked as one corner of his mouth
lifted. “Uh, sorry. Are you okay?” He stepped closer and reached
out to her.

“Yeah. Thanks.” Ignoring his outstretched
hand, she climbed to her hands and knees and found her dagger in
the pile of clothes and ash. She whispered a word and the blade
disappeared in a burst of light, making her vision swim as she felt
it meld back into her skin.

“Any more vampires after you?” She sincerely
hoped the answer was no. She was pretty sure she already had a
concussion. Luckily, Fallon didn’t sense any Others besides herself
and the wolf, but she wasn't at a hundred percent.

“Don’t believe so. Those were the only two I
saw back at the bar.”

She leaned forward on her hands and tried to
breathe deep. The stench of burning vampire overwhelmed her, and
nearly made her empty stomach heave. She hadn’t eaten in hours, and
healing always made her nauseous and hungry. The last thing she
wanted to do was be sick in front of the sexy and very naked
werewolf.

Thankfully it was dark because she really
didn’t need a better view of his masculine perfection.

Why the hell couldn’t she get her mind off
the werewolf?

He crouched down beside her and helped her
back up to a sitting position. “Are you all right?”

Hell no
. She nodded her head anyway.
Besides, the werewolf didn’t have a single damned injury.
What
the fuck?
That couldn’t have been all her. She barely managed
to patch herself up. He had to be really high up in the pack
structure to heal so fast. Nothing else made sense.

Fallon stood up and her vision went fuzzy.
She closed her eyes a second, and gingerly touched the back of her
head. There was a big knot, and it was tender.

She felt his eyes on her, and found him
frowning as he took her in. Gritting her teeth, she glared back.
She had a good reason to look like hell.

Wait, she reminded herself that she didn't
care what the hell he thought.

“You have a phone?” His voice was deep, a
little rough and growly with a southern drawl. Normally the cowboy
thing would annoy her, but his voice felt like a caress.

Maybe she hit her head harder than she
thought, because now that the vampires were out of the way, all she
could think about was how tempting the big bad wolf was. That was
stupid because she was done with men, especially big, sexy
wereanimals.

“Yeah.” She dug out her phone. He took it
and his brow reached for his hairline as he looked at the display.
He probably saw all the missed calls from Isaac, but she didn’t
think this wolf would know the weretiger she just left.

He dialed a number.

Wondering where exactly she was, she turned
to take a look around. All Fallon remembered was that she was in
Washington, and heading toward Idaho, because what the hell and
Canada didn’t seem all that appealing.

His annoyingly sexy voice pulled her out of
her thoughts. “Hey, Slater, I need a pickup and some clothes. Bring
the flatbed. I wrecked a motorcycle, and I need to help the owner.”
He paused briefly and frowned at her. “You should have Dakota come
by to heal her, but I’m not sure what she is.” His brow wrinkled as
he studied her. “Not a mage, or witch, but definitely some kind of
magic user. She saved my ass, we need to help her.”

Slater? Why do I know that name?
She
shook her head and had to press her hands to her eyes until her the
dizziness abated. Help? She didn’t need help. She needed some food,
a motel room, a shower and then some sleep, preferably in that
order.

She stumbled toward her bike and stared down
at it with a heavy sigh. Her motorcycle looked about as good as she
felt, which was saying something because she felt like
roadkill.

Fallon heard the werewolf describing their
location. Something about what he said rang a bell.

His back was to her when she looked. She
couldn’t help noticing the tattoo of a wolf head on his
shoulder-blade. The artist was good, maybe not as good as her, but
definitely talented.

Then she noticed his tight, round ass and
really wanted to take a bite.

He started to turn, and she dropped her gaze
back to her bike. The world spun, so she closed her eyes, but her
knees started to give. His warmth enveloped her as he wrapped his
arm around her and pulled her against his big hard body. She was
tempted to snuggle into him.

Oh, hell no
.

Before she could protest, he let her go and
stepped back, raising a single brow with one hand still on the
phone. “Sitting would be better,” he told her.

Her jaw clenched.
Who does he think he
is? My Dad?

He snorted. “Not you, Slater. This woman’s
stubborn. I think I’m making her nervous, but she’s hurt. Probably
concussion, maybe worse, but neither the vampires nor my wolf
scared her—Yeah, see you soon.”

He hung up and passed the phone to her. “Why
aren’t you healing yourself?”

Fallon shrugged, and winced at the pain in
her throat. “Too wiped out.”

“You didn’t have a problem fixing me.”

She folded her arms over her chest and
glared at him. “You all heal so damn fast. I just patched up your
obvious wounds and put your shoulder back in place. The rest was
all you.” And she may have used too much energy when trying to ease
his pain. She could cast offensive magic all day long, but healing
wiped her out. For some stupid reason, she didn’t like the idea of
the werewolf hurting. Not that she would ever admit it.

The werewolf shook his head and smeared his
fingers in some of the blood on her jacket. Before he could reach
her throat, she caught his wrist and held his hand back. “Oh, no
you don’t.”

“Stubborn.” His eyes narrowed to slits.
“It's an easy fix. Even I know that.”

Raising one eyebrow, she shook her head.
“Sure the vampire blood would heal the wound but I’m not taking any
chances. Their blood has mingled with Goddess knows what, and
unlike
you,
I can get sick.” Besides, there was a good
chance some of the blood was his from when he was still a wolf and
could possibly infect her. Being wereanything would screw with her
magic
.

The look of concern on his face made her
uncomfortable. She turned her gaze back to her busted
motorcycle.

* * * *

Brody just wanted to help the woman but she
wasn’t making it easy. Clearly she didn’t want to act weak in front
of him, but he could smell her pain. She needed to sit down and
take it easy.

With a weary sigh, she glanced up at him.
“Happen to know where a good shop is?”

Maybe he
could
help her. “Yeah.
Actually, I own a shop. I specialize in rebuilding Harleys.” He
nodded toward the bike and turned to look at her. “I think I owe
you for that.”

Her laugh was harsh. “You had vampires after
you. It's not your fault you didn’t see me.” She shrugged, a smirk
playing on her lips. “Besides, I had the lights out and a silencing
spell going.”

His mouth fell open. “What? Why? It’s pitch
black out here?”
Christ, was she trying to kill herself?
His
heart hammered in his chest.

She snorted. “Didn’t want to be pulled over.
Again.” She casually reached out for the tree like she was going to
lean against the trunk, but missed and nearly fell.

Once again, he caught her, wondering why the
hell she couldn’t just admit she was hurt and needed to rest. This
time he sat her down on the side of the road.

“Please, just sit,” he growled.

“Fine,” she grumbled, but didn’t argue. She
crossed her legs Indian style and put her hands flat on the ground
behind her

Brody sat down next to her, hoping she’d
stay put. He wanted to make sure she was okay, but had a feeling
she’d kick his ass for trying. That made him smile.

She sighed, and he looked over to find her
staring out into the woods. She was absolutely stunning, had
attitude up the wazoo, and brass balls the size of a semi. Plus,
he’d never seen a sexier woman in his life.

When she finally met his gaze, she said,
“Look, I don’t have a lot of cash. I left in a hurry and couldn’t
carry much. Is there a cheap motel nearby?”

Brody slowly nodded. “I have a better idea.”
Her eyes flashed, but he put his hands up in surrender. “Just hear
me out. Okay?”

“Talk.” Her eyes narrowed, and she looked
awfully dangerous just then, injured or not. Apparently she wasn’t
real trusting. Then again, she had a naked stranger sitting next to
her. He wouldn’t trust him either.

“I’m Brody Dean, and I’m pretty sure you’re
Fallon O’Shea. Jess Abrams was the last person to call you. You
missed her call.” He watched her mouth pop open, and her eyes
widen. He was willing to bet Jess called to warn Fallon, and he
wished she had warned him before he ever left the bar.

“Jess showed everyone in Edenton the
magazine showing off all of your tattoos.” Her cheeks turned a
pretty shade of pink as she looked away. Maybe that magazine wasn’t
the best thing to bring up. Now, all he could think about was her
perfect body and all her ink. Her entire back was covered with a
waterfall scene, both arms had full sleeves, and she had several
other individual pieces. The humming bird under her left breast was
his favorite. Brody wanted to explore every inch of her, and for
the first time in what seemed like forever, he felt desire.

“Of course she did,” she muttered, bringing
him back to reality.

“Anyway,” Brody continued, “Jess is going to
chew my ass for nearly getting you killed and wrecking your bike. I
have an empty apartment above my garage, and it's yours as long as
you want. My garage is not attached to the house. There’s only one
key, which you can have. At least until I fix your bike, which I
will
be fixing since I am the one who busted the hell out of
it.”

She shook her head and opened her mouth like
she was going to argue, but headlights washed over them. Groaning,
she covered her eyes and looked away. “Shit, that’s bright.”

He reached over, gently touching her
shoulder.

“That your guy?” Her tone was resigned

“Yeah. He happens to be Jess’ mate and the
local alpha.” Fallon didn’t trust Brody, but she trusted Jess, so
maybe between the three of them, they could talk her into staying
in his apartment.

Brody looked up to see Slater hopping out of
the truck. He scratched his neatly trimmed beard as he took in the
scene. The alpha shook his head and walked over. He tossed some
sweats and a t-shirt at Brody who hopped up to quickly dress.

Fallon stood up slowly, but Brody stayed
close and kept an eye on her.

“Hey, I’m Slater. Let’s get you back to my
place where we can get you looked at.”

“So, you’re Jess’ man?” Fallon smirked, one
scarlet brow arched. “Figures she wouldn’t mention that you’re the
pack alpha.”

“She wasn’t sure how you’d take that little
tidbit. She told me about the mess with Isaac.”

“Of course she did.” She let out an amused
laugh, and damn she was sexy. “As long as Jess is happy, you could
be a demon and I’d be fine. But after the last man she was with,
and the way she tears down every man I’ve ever dated, she probably
didn’t want to give me any ammo.”