He felt her anxiety as if she’d telegraphed it, just as he’d felt it on the beach when she’d seen him run as wolf. Stupid of him to release his beast, but fortunately Megan had little contact with Draicon.
She could never guess his secret.
“Don’t worry, chère. This cottage, she’s built like a tank.”
After the rain began, trepidation replaced the twins’ excitement about the oncoming storm. He’d coaxed them to help cook one of his Cajun specialties. After dinner he taught them Wii bowling.
Now he was successfully losing at Monopoly.
“The roof on our house leaks so much that we can’t sleep because all our beds get soaked. I patched it with tarps and duct tape, but it didn’t help. Still, it’s better than sleeping out on the beach,” Megan told him.
He could feel his wolf clawing to the surface. Gabriel tipped his cowboy hat down, hiding the telltale flash in his eyes.
Your eyes, oh Gabriel, what’s happening with your eyes?
“Duct tape? Not a hammer and roofing nails?” He rolled the dice.
“Shadows aren’t permitted anything that can be used as a weapon. If you want something fixed, you put your name on a waiting list for a licensed repairman. It’s a very long list, unless you pay a lot of money to have your name moved up.”
“When did this start?”
Megan frowned. “When Governor Sacks changed the rules four years ago. He wasn’t so bad before. I guess he got greedy, seeing the chance to make a profit as he split bribes with licensed repairmen. And … other things.”
He moved his car token on the board to Jillian’s smug smile. “Boardwalk,” she crowed, holding out her hand. “Ten hundred million dollars, please.”
“You’re a very demanding landlord.”
“Someone has to pay to get our roof fixed,” Jennifer told him.
Gabriel shelled out the correct amount of bills to Jillian. “Have you gone through official channels and filed a formal complaint with the council?”
“Those fools? Shadows have no rights,” Megan said as she thumbed through the magazine. “No books or magazines, either. Nothing to read, except what we can buy on the black market.”
“What do you do for fun?”
A yearning entered her blue eyes. “We’re too busy moving for fun. I’ve always dreamed of having a real home like this.” Megan tossed aside the magazine. “It’s just a dream. Maybe, someday.”
Jennifer rolled and selected a card from the stack. Her face wrinkled as she studied the words and she scrambled to her feet. “Megan, what does it say?”
“It’s a Get out of Jail Free card. Save it, sweetie. Very valuable.”
“Jenny, can’t you read?” he asked.
“A little. Megan teaches us, even though she’s not supposed to.” Jennifer clapped a hand over her mouth. “I’m not supposed to say. If anyone finds out, they’ll punish us. Shadows can’t go to school.”
Megan tensed until Gabriel offered a small smile. “It’s okay, Jenny. I won’t tell.”
Still, she didn’t lose her wariness. She reminded him of a wild animal caught in a trap. Megan shifted, the move accentuating the thrust of her breasts against the T-shirt. There was nothing overtly sexual about it, yet he felt a hard kick of desire.
Gabriel stretched out his long legs. For years he’d dealt with female Shadows without any intense reaction. When he’d seen her on the beach, his wolf wanted to mark her as his own. The urge overrode common sense.
Around Megan, he’d nearly lost control. It was almost as if she was …
She couldn’t be his destined mate. Long ago, he’d thought the same of another woman and it had landed him in trouble. He stopped seeking emotional intimacy. Still, he sent a gentle probe into her mind, testing to see if the bond was there. When he met a blank wall, he felt a curious mixture of relief and disappointment.
He didn’t want a destined mate, who would hold the missing half of his magick. Hell, bonding with him was lethal. Most Draicon yearned to find their mates and exchange powers during a sexual mating lock. But how could he share his powers and turn his mate into something dark and dangerous?
His brothers had mates and even Alex was dating again. Gabriel quietly resigned himself to being alone forever. Sometimes the loneliness was a crushing weight, but it was better for all.
The rain finally eased and the crashes of thunder moved away. When the girls began yawning, Megan glanced at the clock on the fireplace mantel.
“Time for bed,” she told them.
Gabriel stood, scooped a twin under each arm as his hat tumbled to the floor. They giggled as he jogged to the back bedroom. It had single beds with clean white sheets turned down for the night.
“Gabriel, can you read us a story?” Jenny called.
At the doorway, he stared at the cozy scene of two identical girls dressed in green pajamas sitting in their beds. A lump lodged in his throat. Amelia, the red ribbon in her curls matching her candy-striped pajamas. Expectation dancing on her face as she held out her favorite storybook. Alex mock-punching him in the arm. “Go on, Gabe, read to her. Good practice for when you become a father.”
Shaking the vision free, he forced a smile. “Megan should do it.”
With exact control, he headed into the kitchen. Cooking always made him feel human. Gabriel washed sweet peppers and onions and set them aside. A frown touched his brow as he scanned his prize collection of knives.
The butcher knife was missing.
A delicate floral scent drifted into the kitchen. Gabriel faced the doorway. Light gleamed off the sharp steel blade in Megan’s hand. Her entire body tensed like a stretched rubber band. The acid stench of her fear swam in his nostrils.
“Come toward me slowly with your hands raised. No shifting, no quick moves. I can shift into Shadow and stab you before you know what hit you.”
“Do you really want to hurt me, chère?”
“Shut up.” She gestured with the butcher knife. “Over there, by the fridge.”
He moved slowly as to not alarm her.
“Now put your hands behind you.”
When she took out several zip ties from her pocket, he had to admire her inventiveness. “Take those from my tool bag?”
Suddenly she vanished. Gabriel jerked his head around.
She was gone.
He felt a prick at his throat, then something slip around his wrists, looping to the fridge doors behind him.
A voice spoke close to his ear. “Jillian did. Why do you think she went looking for you?”
“Using a child to do something this deceptive. Ah, Megan, I’m disappointed.” He didn’t bother to test the cuffs. If needed, he could break free in a heartbeat. Instead, he tracked her scent to the counter and watched her reappear. In her hands she held a heavy silver fork wrapped in a dish towel. Megan slid the fork between the cufflinks and his hands and tossed the towel aside.
“The cuffs won’t hold you, but the silver will drain your powers.”
No, he thought. It took more than a fork to affect his kind. More like a cafeteria filled with silver.
“Why now, Megan? Why not try before the hurricane?”
“I told you, the girls can’t swim and I’m not risking their lives. I’ll do whatever I can to keep them safe. They’re all I have, understand? And you’re not going