SKIN (Demon Chaser 4) (12 page)

Her panic levels reached dangerous
levels.

Phoenix moved back to the bed. He smiled
and sat in the chair.
Please don’t touch me. Please don’t touch me.
The
mantra played over and over inside her head. My God, this was the man she
loved. Cherished above all others. What the hell was she supposed to do?

“This is it, my angel. The start of our
lives together. New beginnings. We can’t wait. We need to leave now.”

Her demon clawed. Still so weak. It felt
like the beast was trying to tell her something. Her skin felt icy cold. A
throbbing ache had started at her temples.

“Speak to me, my angel. Please do this
for me. Please...” He implored her with his eyes.

What was it with the angel shit?

Phoenix had never called her that before,
yet the endearment rolled off his tongue like he’d said it a hundred times.
Like it was normal.

“The babies shouldn’t be moved yet. You
know how much I’m longing to spend forever with you.” She paused contemplating
her next move. “Phoenix, you know how much I love you.”

He didn’t flinch. “The babies will be
fine. Skins are resilient. Being at home is what they need. This is no place
for a demon.” He pulled a face before grinning at her.

It felt like splinters of glass had
found their way into her blood stream. “Cameron and Alexandra are half demon
wolf, so not as resilient as you think my babes. I thinks it’s best if we
stay.”

His eyes hardened at the mention of the
wolf half of their genetic make-up. The splinters turned to shards. Her demon
kept clawing. Weak but making itself known.

“I’m sorry Gaby, but we are going so
please let’s not argue angel.”

“If you call me angel one more time I
swear to God I’ll...” her voice was shrill. Her nail beds tingled even though
no claws were evident. Still too weak.

“How did you guess that I wasn’t him?”
The demon that looked like Phoenix casually reached into the crib and picked up
one of her daughters. He carefully cradled the baby in his arms using one of
his hands to support her neck.

“Don’t,” she whispered.

“Keep it down and follow my orders. You
have two minutes to get dressed. One wrong move and she dies.” The hand at the
baby’s neck tightened ever so slightly.

“No, please,” still a whisper. “I just
gave birth I can’t possibly—”

“You’re a skin which means you’re
perfectly alright. It will take a day or two for your demon to catch up, but
you my angel are in great shape. In fact, I could fuck you now and you’d enjoy
it just fine.”

She gasped at his crude words. He would
know all about skins now wouldn’t he? Being it that he was one. He looked just
like Phoenix, but he definitely wasn’t the man she loved. Why the hell was he
taking her? What could he possibly want with her?

Gaby slipped out of bed. He was right,
she felt just fine. Now that the effects of the deep sleep had worn off, or
rather had been shocked away. He held her baby close and a fist clenched around
both her hearts. The chances of getting the little one away from him were
little to nothing. A chance she couldn’t take.

The skin threw some clothes at her. “Get
dressed.”

“Turn around.”

He shook his head, glanced down at the
baby and then back at her. His meaning was clear. Gaby grabbed a pair of
panties and put them on. She tried as best she could to cover her breasts but
it just wasn’t possible while putting a bra on. The skin’s gaze slithered across
her bare flesh. His eyes heated. After what felt like an eternity, she managed
to get the blasted thing on. Only just, her breasts were filling with milk.
Holding her daughter in one hand, he adjusted himself in his pants.

What the fuck?

This piece of shit was turned on. She
looked down and noticed that her belly was pretty much back to its before
pregnancy flatness. At least there were some perks to being a skin, although
this particular one didn’t count in her favor at the moment.

“At least you’re a pretty one.”

“What does that mean?”

“You’ll know soon enough, angel. Just
finish getting dressed.”

She wanted to tell him to stop calling
her that, instead, she did as he said.

The skin pulled a note pad and pen out of
the gym bag that he had stuffed her things in and tossed it on the bed. “Write
a believable Dear John to your lover boy. You’ve changed your mind about the
relationship and have decided to raise the babies alone. You don’t want him. He
mustn’t come after you.”

The first real taste of fear hit her. It
was bitter. Impossible to swallow, yet she didn’t see a way out. Not with her
precious child in his arms. Not while her demon was still so weak.

She turned to the bed, took her time
gathering the note pad and clicking on the pen. All the while she racked her
brain. How would she let Phoenix know about her predicament without alerting
the skin? Where the hell was he anyway?

“Keep it short and don’t try anything.
If lover boy comes after you, it won’t end well for him.”

This skin had obviously never seen
Phoenix in action. She wasn’t worried about Phoenix handling himself. What
scared her most was that it would be perfectly plausible if she did up and
leave. She’d never had a problem with expressing her concerns over their
relationship. It seemed her honesty might end up biting her in the butt. What
if Phoenix actually believed she had left him and respected her enough not to
chase her down?

“Where are you taking us?”

“I’ll explain once we’re on the road.
Let me see that...” He took the pad from her and read the letter, a smile
forming on his lips. Lips that looked exactly like the ones she had kissed with
abandon so many times. Disgust caused bile to bubble in her stomach.

“Well done. This is perfect, now let’s
get going.” He placed the pad next to the bed.

Gaby would have to hope and pray that Phoenix
got the message.

Jack smacked into his back as Phoenix
stopped in mid stride a ways before the hospital door. The human made a sound
of irritation.

“Let me check if...” Phoenix paused
thinking how Gaby had breastfed his pups. Her lush feminine curves out for all
to admire. “If she’s awake first. Wait here.”

“Sure.”

Doc Devlin had promised him that Gaby
would sleep for at least six or seven hours. This the doc had assured him was
perfectly normal after a skin change.

Phoenix had decided to let Jack know
that Gaby and the babies were doing well. He’d kind of promised him and sort of
liked the guy. A small group of Chasers had greeted him in the lobby including
Jack, two human women, a tall hybrid and a big, bald SOB... he wasn’t entirely
sure that the male was a human. The thing was, he also didn’t smell like any
demon he’d run into. His scent was unique. It encompassed power, danger, and it
evoked both feelings of fear and of joy.
Weird.

Jack had insisted on seeing Gaby for a
few minutes. He wanted to meet the babies. Even now pride swelled in him at the
thought of his precious pups and the amazing woman who had made this all
possible. He would mate with Gaby as soon as possible. He’d also resigned
himself to waiting as long as it would take to convince her.

He carefully opened the door and walked
in. The bed was rumpled. Both it and the crib were empty. His hackles rose. He
caught a whiff of sour as he closed in on Gaby’s scent.

Fear.

If he’d been in his fur it would have
been standing on end. As it stood, his blood rushed and adrenaline pumped. His
wolf pushed for the change. It felt as if his skin would burst. Phoenix walked
to the bed and scanned the immediate area allowing his senses to roam. There
seemed to be nothing out of place, that’s when he spotted the note pad. His
eyes narrowed as he read the scribbled note. 

Dear Phoenix,

I do not love you. A demon skin and a
demon wolf will never make it in a relationship. We are too different. Please
do not try and find us. I am going back to my own people. It is where we
belong. Do not be concerned, Cameron and Alexandra will have everything their
hearts desire. I will take good care of them.

All the best,

Gabriella

He roared, crumpled the page and ripped
it from the pad. It felt like someone had clawed out his vital organs. That
they were slow roasting them over a smoldering fire.

“What the hell?” Jack burst into the
room.

“Gaby left me.”

Jack pulled a cell phone from his jeans
pocket and dialed. “Cade, get your ass to Gaby’s room,” he listened to the
response. “She’s missing.” He relayed the room number and hung up.

“What’s that?”

He handed the note to the human pacing
from one side of the room to the other. “She wouldn’t do this.”

“Is this plausible?” Jack waved the
crumpled paper up and down after reading it.

Phoenix growled, “No it isn’t.”

“Why are the two of you not mated yet?”

“None of your God damned business.”
Phoenix felt his canines descend.

Jack put up his hands. “Relax...I’m
trying to figure out if this is real or bogus. A couple of alarm bells are
going off for me. Firstly, Gaby was abandoned by her people a long time ago. Why
would she go back now? Secondly, Gaby would never give up her career as a Demon
Control Agent. Wouldn’t happen. No way no how.” He shook his head.

Jack’s little talk had soothed his
abraded nerves enough to actually be able to think logically. “We never named
the babies. Why did she call them by those names...?” Phoenix picked up the
crumpled paper. “Here it is...she called them Cameron and Alexandra on this
letter, but we haven’t named them yet.”

“Maybe that’s what she decided on.”

He wasn’t buying it. Phoenix shook his
head. “She wouldn’t have named them without me. We hadn’t even discussed a
single name. Not one. She’s been asleep since the birth. When did she have time
to name them?”

Jack shrugged. “She’s had time to leave
your ass.”

That low familiar rumble vibrated in his
chest. “Don’t test me human.”

“I’m sorry.”

Cade strode in.

“We’re trying to figure out if Gaby left
or whether she was taken.” Jack pointed at the letter still clutched in Phoenix’s
hand. “She left that.”

The not-human had silvery blue eyes that
seemed to look straight into your soul. He was a cold bastard, yet Phoenix
found himself feeling less stressed as soon he had walked through the door. He
wore a long, black leather jacket with enough bulges to suggest he was
seriously packing.

“Gaby was taken.” Everything in him
screamed that she wouldn’t have left him like this. It wasn’t the reasons Jack
had given and it wasn’t the names. Sneaking away in the middle of the night was
not Gaby’s style. She was courageous and strong. His Gaby would’ve looked him
in the eye. Dead on. She would’ve given it to him straight. No sugar coating
required.

“You’re right.” Cade ran a hand over the
fine stubble on his scalp. “It was a skin that took her. A male.”

“How do you know?” Jack asked.

Cade turned his pale eyes on him, they
narrowed. Pretty much told him to shut the fuck up.

Again, the human managed to impress him
by doing the opposite. “More of your mumbo jumbo bullshit. You know what? I
don’t want to know.”

Cade ground his teeth and continued, “The
skin is gravely ill. We need to hurry, Gaby doesn’t have much time.”

“That’s good right? Maybe the fucker
will die and Gaby will be able to get away.” Jack had taken the words right out
of his mouth.

“No it’s bad, he needs to mate with Gaby
in order to survive. His demon is getting weaker while Gaby’s demon is getting
stronger. If he leaves it too long, Gaby will become too powerful—”

Phoenix didn’t wait to hear the rest.
His mate was in danger. He didn’t care that they hadn’t officially done the
deed yet. She was his whole life and if anything happened to her or the babies
he would never forgive himself. One thing was certain, the skin that took her
would die.

****

Gaby clasped the steering wheel tighter.
Risking a glance in the rear-view mirror. The skin sat in the back with her
babies. One wrong move and her daughters were dead. The threat saturated the
small space like a poisonous gas.

“What’s your name?” Maybe she could
appeal to his...human side...good nature? He was a demon skin. There would be
no such luck.

“I’m glad you asked, my name is Zack.”

A perfectly
nice
answer. It made
her worry more.

“You’re going to be really happy. I’ll
teach you our ways. We might have to keep the babies out of the eye of the
community or worst case scenario I might have to...” He let the sentence hang
like a grenade suspended in mid-air.

“What’s wrong with them?” She tried to
keep the panic from her voice and failed dismally.

“They’re not changing. Shouldn’t they be
changing by now? I really hope they start changing soon.”

She needed to buy time. “It can take a
little while before it starts to happen. Perfectly normal.” Chances were good
they would never change. That they wouldn’t be normal skin babies because they
weren’t full blood skin babies.

“How would you know?”

“I did my homework,” she lied. “Anyway,
they’re half demon wolf so it might take a little longer...”

Zack hissed, his eyes darted from one
child to the other. The skin reminded her too much of a lunatic for her liking.

Note to self, no more talk of their
demon wolf blood.

“Take the next right.”

They were in a perfectly lovely suburban
neighborhood complete with white picket fences and all. He directed her for a
few more minutes. The babies in his arms were squirming and wailing by the time
she parked.

“Welcome to my home or should I say
our
home.”

Her demon let out the tiniest of snarls.
Her gums tingled, but that was the end of it. No super human strength. No way
out of this. For now at least. The house was just like any of the others. They
crossed the lawn. Zack handed one of her daughters to her as he fumbled for his
keys. Both babies were crying and the skin looked flustered. They went inside.
Either Zack was gay or a woman had decorated because the place was decent. Nice
leather sofas with cushions that matched the curtains. What really gave it away
were the small touches.

“Where is the lady of the house? Your
mate?”

His eyes flashed briefly with pain
before darkening. “There is no lady of the house.”

Maybe she had been mistaken. There was
no time to think on it because the little one in Zack’s arms started crying in
earnest.

“They’re hungry.” She didn’t like the
way he held her daughter away from him like she offended him. “Give Alexandra
to me.” She sat on the nearest sofa and lifted her shirt. With one flick her
bra was open. This time milk leaked freely from her breasts. She placed the
little girl she’d come to think of as Cameron on her left breast and the little
one latched on sucking greedily. This time she didn’t even feel the sting as
her daughter bit down. Zack handed her Alexandra. That same heated look was
back in his eyes and she didn’t like it. It scared her to death. She wouldn’t
be strong enough to fight him. There was no one around to save her this time.

“Why did you take us?”

“We’re going to be a family.”

“Excuse, me.”

He was madder than she thought.

“Your parents gave you to me so...”

Child birth must’ve affected her
hearing. “Excuse me. Did you say my parents?”

“You heard right.”

“I don’t have parents,” Gaby meant every
word.

“It’s skin Lore. You’ve been given to me
by your blood parents and that makes you mine. That makes your children mine.”

“They gave me away when I was just a
little baby, they have no right to...”

He took a step forward, his face a mask
of anger. “It’s done so no use arguing about it, the Lores are clear. How do
you think I feel? I had everything. I was happy.” Spittle flew from his mouth.
“Do you think I want a wolf’s leftovers? Do you think I like the idea of
raising another man’s children?” He looked down at the girls like they were
filth. “I understand that you are...attached to them so I will let you keep
them, but only so long as you do as I say. Step out of line and they...” He
smiled and it was like a knife twisted in her gut. “It’s on you Gaby.” His eyes
were hard. The mad hatter meant every word. Zack planned to use the children to
get her to do whatever he wanted. Lord help her, she’d do anything to keep them
safe.

“Why me? You don’t know me. Find someone
who actually wants you.”

“Unmated skins are hard to find. Bonds
normally form at a young age. The chances of an unbonded skin coming of age in
time to save me are zero.”

“Save you?” It seemed that Zack didn’t
have many choices in this as it seemed in fact the mad edge that surrounded him
was starting to look more and more like desperation.

“My children died...” his voice cracked
and for a second she felt sorry for him. “During the birthing. One was perfect
the other had something wrong with him. Of course, being skins, they both
died.” His face clouded with pain. “It was a difficult time. My mate...” his
voice broke and a single tear tracked down his cheek. “She couldn’t live
without them. Couldn’t cope with the loss. I will die without her...without a
mate to complete me.” His eyes turned hard with determination. “Your parents
gave you to me. Let’s put the babies down, I will mate you now.”

Definite madness.

“I need to change their diapers.”
Anything to buy some time. Her demon was getting stronger. Not nearly strong
enough though. At least not yet.

“Hurry.” He grabbed the diaper bag and
took Alexandra. Her first instinct had been to refuse him the child, but what
good would that do? Zack gestured for her to follow.

“I think you’ll find everything you need
in here...”

She rounded the corner and ground to a
halt. It was a nursery. All done up in predominately white cotton with small
brown teddy bear motifs. Shivers raced up and down her spine. The nursery of
Zack’s dead children. From the sounds of things, they were not long in their
grave. All she wanted to do was to back up out of there. But she couldn’t use
her babies as a shield. Especially considering Zack had made it clear he
wouldn’t hesitate to kill them. He meant every word.  It would be best if they
were in another room and out of harm’s way.

She changed the children’s diapers and
put them into one of the cribs. Her daughter clasped her finger. Both looked
content.