Courage of the Wolf Read online

  “Can you stand?” he asked.

  She couldn’t allow herself to be weak. “I can do this. Thanks.”

  A breath hissed out of him as he glanced at her naked body. Michael muttered a low curse and left.

  The hot shower chased away the icy chill penetrating her bones. When she emerged, clean clothing sat on the counter.

  After dressing, she found Michael on her sofa. Sabrina sat beside him.

  “I can’t go on like this. I feel as if I’m coming apart. These hallucinations are more frequent.”

  “Have you considered they’re not hallucinations, but something else? A manifestation of the past?”

  “Or the future? I’m not a precog. I wish I were that strong.”

  “You are. You battled a Hellfire demon with only werewolf magick, except you forgot the details.”

  “Meaning I have lost my mind?” She gave a brittle laugh. “I don’t know where I belong anymore or if any of this is real.”

  His gaze was steady as he regarded her. “You’re here now, with me. This is real.”

  The promise of sensual pleasure shone in his eyes. Reading his expression, Sabrina moistened her mouth. Instinct told her Michael wanted her as badly as she wanted him. Maybe they could be more than friends.

  Go with your gut.

  When he bent his head toward her, she leaned close. Warmth poured through her. Every cell tingled with awareness and anticipation. He was going to kiss her, finally. She closed her eyes, waiting with breathless eagerness.

  And felt him pull away.

  For years she’d fantasized about his kiss. Now she sensed his hunger, felt her own, yet he still pushed her away.

  “Michael, what’s the deal? You keep acting like you want to kiss me. Why can’t you kiss me? This is so unfair.”

  “I’m a Phoenix, assigned to watch over you. We’re forbidden from sexual intimacy with our charges.” His voice went husky with desire. “If I were still Draicon, you’d be naked in my bed right now.”

  So her instinct was right. He did feel attraction for her. For the first time, she felt hope. Sabrina pressed her palm against his muscled chest. “So is this rule the only reason you avoid kissing me?”

  “That and the fact that I’m an immortal and my desires run strong. You might not be able to take exactly what I want to do with you.”

  At the hint of dark passion in his voice, the space between her legs became swollen with need. “I want you, Michael, I’ve always wanted you. Even before you became a Guardian, I thought we could have something between us. This is so frustrating.”

  Silver flashed in his eyes as if his powers surged. “I’m sorry, Brie. I forgot myself. Around you, I have the tendency to lose control. I want…”

  She touched his mouth. “Want what?”

  He stood up, every muscle rigid. “Wanting and having are two separate things.”

  She watched him pace to the doorway, his hand on the knob. “Good night, Brie. Get some sleep…and try to remember what happened when you fought Ambrosis. It’s more important than you realize.”

  Before she could puzzle over his words, Michael vanished.

  Sabrina tossed and turned all night, giving up the fight to sleep as dawn broke. After showering, she took her coffee onto the balcony. A warm wind blew off the Gulf, sending lacy whitecaps tossing their heads. The sky was a sharp, clear blue.

  Sitting on the sand with his back against a tall palm tree, Michael watched the waves. He looked like an ancient god observing some solemn rite, with his legs crossed, his eyes closed and palms open to the sky.

  Something was wrong. The air felt thick with a menace she’d felt before.

  Sabrina went inside and dumped her coffee. The feeling of unease flowered. She ran downstairs to her grandparents’ door and banged hard.

  No one answered.

  Panic bloomed hot and sharp in her stomach. She raced to the office. A smiling girl in a tropical print shirt was tapping on the computer.

  “Can I have the key to Room 103, please? My grandparents aren’t answering, and I’m afraid something happened.”

  The girl tapped a few keys, frowned. “There isn’t anyone registered in room 103.”

  Now the panic tasted like hot gunmetal. Sabrina swallowed. “That’s ridiculous. Your computer is malfunctioning.”

  “Our system is fine,” the clerk insisted. She gave Sabrina a level look.

  As if Sabrina were nuts.

  Michael must have answers. He stood up as she approached, brushing sand off his long legs.

  “Something really weird is going on,” she burst out. “The front desk has no record of Nathan’s registration.”

  “Nathan’s not here, Brie.”

  Her heart thudded violently. Ignoring him, she ran to the glass sliders of her grandparents’ room. Sabrina fisted her shaking hands. Something foul and dangerous tainted the air. She gave a violent tug at the door and it slid open.

  “Brie, listen to me…”

  Sabrina ran inside.

  The room had a small kitchenette and separate sitting area with a large-screen television and a king-sized bed. No sign of occupancy, but the stench of sulfur and decay made her gag. Sabrina clapped a hand over her mouth. Hair rose on the nape of her neck as she saw a small white card on the bed.

  Her knees went weak as she read the card: If you want your grandparents to live, come to the Sand Dollar swamp at midnight and summon me for the Demon Challenge. Otherwise, they’ll die slowly and painfully, just as your parents did.

  The card spilled out of her opened fingers as she stared at the signature.

  Ambrosis.

  Chapter 4

  Sabrina had until midnight to face her worst nightmare. A tight fist of fear knotted her stomach. She stared at Michael entering the room. “You took care of Ambrosis.”

  “Let’s go back to your room. The stench is too strong in here.”

  Michael was too calm, as if he knew something. When they reached her room, he pointed to the couch. “Sit, Brie. We must talk.”

  A fleeting thought came to her. “You set him free! Michael, oh God, how could you?”

  “I had no choice.” Layering through his solemn voice was a hint of anguish. “It was my Guardian duty to release Ambrosis.”

  “He killed my family. And now he’ll kill my grandparents.” Guilt and fury collided together like waves crashing onto the beach. “You bastard, how could you do this? How can you hurt me like this?”

  Michael closed his eyes. “I had to, Brie. Listen to me…”

  Sabrina set her jaw like granite. “The hell with you. Rules can be broken and you choose to follow them instead of helping me.”

  Silver blazed in his blue eyes as he opened them. Michael pointed to the couch and said in a dark voice, “Sit down.”

  A little afraid of his power, she sat. He joined her, gathering her hands into his. When she tried to jerk away, he clasped her hands tight.

  “I’d never do anything to hurt you, Brie. Trust me. Your grandparents are safe for now. They’re at the condo where I’m staying with members of their pack. I transported them there and shielded them with magick before Ambrosis could track them here. However, even my powers can’t protect them after midnight, when the Demon Challenge you issued takes precedence. If you don’t summon him, Ambrosis will find and kill them.”

  Her heart thudded a staccato beat as she stared at his somber expression. “I don’t understand. What Demon Challenge? This is crazy, I’d never do such a thing!”

  Michael rubbed his thumbs over hers in a calming gesture. His touch felt like a soothing massage, erasing her tension. It was deliberate, she realized.

  “A year ago, when Ambrosis attacked, you issued a Demon Challenge by saying, ‘I’d spend eternity trying to destroy you, just give me the chance.’”

  Horror stole over her. “Those are the words you said once when you were Draicon. You’re telling me I did the same thing?”

  “Yes. Once you issue a Demon Challen
ge, you paralyze the demon, allowing a Guardian to trap him. You have a full year to reorganize your life. After that, the Guardian appointed as your mentor must release the trapped demon. If you don’t summon the demon to fight him again, he is free to capture and try to kill anyone he chooses.” Michael’s jaw tightened. “Meaning, he can choose anyone you care about.”

  “I don’t remember any of this!”

  “After you challenged Ambrosis, you blocked that memory. I tried everything, stirring your memories through dreams and even hallucinations. I told you the truth once, but you blocked that out as well. Nothing worked. Your terror paralyzed you, Brie. You’ve had a year to face your fear and prepare to confront Ambrosis, but that time has run out.”

  The red curtain always fogging her memories lifted slightly, allowing her a peek at the past. Sabrina blinked away tears at the vision of herself standing before Ambrosis.

  Abruptly the curtain dropped, replaced by pain spiking her temples. “I had a year…and I spent it not seeing my grandparents, not living, just cowering?”

  Michael looked away.

  “I’m a damn coward.”

  “You suffered an enormous trauma. You had the courage to issue a Demon Challenge. Few do that, Brie. You can find your courage once more,” he insisted.

  “Maybe Ambrosis is bluffing. He wouldn’t want my grandparents, they’re old and he could barely siphon anything from them. Maybe they won’t die.”

  His expression darkened. “I’ve had visions of your grandparents dying just as your parents and your brothers and sisters did, a future that can only be changed by your actions.”

  Her stomach felt like someone had stuffed it with ground glass. She wrenched away from his comforting grip. “This can’t be, how can this happen to me? Why would I issue a Demon Challenge, knowing the consequences? You told me what happened to you!”

  “Because you have so much inner courage, you risked everything to defeat Ambrosis and have the chance to fight him again. You had the enormous strength to stand up to him, Brie.”

  “I can’t do it again, I just can’t.”

  “You will.” A slight smile touched his mouth. “And this time, kick his ass straight back to hell.”

  “No, Michael. This is hell.” Sabrina studied her slim hands, doubting they could be used to fight a powerful entity. “If I don’t fight him, my grandparents will die.”

  “Find the courage you displayed once. I know you still have it.” He ran his thumbs over her clenched fists. “That which does kill us makes us stronger. When I summoned Icktys, I’d spent a year in absolute rage because I felt cheated. The demon stripped me of my life and finding my destined mate. The anger consumed me. I had to overcome my fury to take him on again.”

  “And look what happened. You died! Fighting such a powerful demon is suicide.”

  Releasing her hands, Michael stood and paced to the sliding glass doors. “You do know why a Hellfire demon targeted you, Brie? Ambrosis wanted your bravery. When he wiped out your family, he sucked away it away, leaving you a ghost of yourself.”

  His frank dismissal outraged her. She bounded off the couch. “I’m not weak.”

  He smiled. “I know. Now go prove it. Conquer what you fear most.”

  Sabrina uncurled her hands, trying to see herself fighting Ambrosis to save her grandparents. Fear squeezed her throat as if someone tightened a noose around it.

  “The first step is shifting into wolf. Try it,” Michael told her.

  She hadn’t shifted in a year. She closed her eyes, summoning the power. Clothing melted away as her bones lengthened, her body became wolf.

  Senses flooded her as she lifted her muzzle and smelled Michael’s delicious scent of leather and pine. Her hearing was sharper, her body ached to break free and run.

  Baring her teeth, she growled. Michael studied her.

  Suddenly he vanished. In his place was an eight-foot-tall demon with gray skin. Silver claws sprouted from its long, spindly fingers. The demon advanced.

  Sabrina ran into the corner.

  Ambrosis vanished, replaced by her beloved Michael. Ashamed, she shifted back, clothed herself with a hand wave. Her skin went clammy and cold. Sabrina rubbed her shaking arms.

  “I can’t do this,” she burst out. “Not as a wolf or in human form.”

  His gaze was level. “If you want your grandparents to live, you must.”

  Chapter 5

  Fighting in a humid Florida swamp was not how she envisioned her beach weekend.

  Sabrina shifted into wolf form to get a better sense of the surroundings. Thick brown mud sucked at her paws as she slogged through the dank water. Sharpened senses picked out old guano from nesting wood storks, heard small animals darting into the undergrowth. She smelled rain dampening the distant air.

  Suddenly a new, disturbing scent surfaced. This scent tasted sharp and metallic. The smell of her own fear.

  Her tail went down. She turned, baring her teeth and growling, when the Hellfire demon burst from between two cypress palms.

  Terror seized her. Animal instinct overrode human control. All she could think about was running from danger. Sabrina darted for a fallen tree, digging frantically for a hiding place.

  “Oh Brie.”

  Michael shifted back into his true form. Once again, he’d turned into a replica of Ambrosis as a test. Shame filled her.

  Sabrina shifted back, rubbed her arms. Even her thick sweater and jeans could not provide enough body heat.

  “Concentrate, Brie. If you can’t fight him as wolf, then you must use all the strength of your human self. Find an open area where he can’t corner you. Take the advantage when you summon him.”

  Dusky shadows began to drape the grayish Spanish moss dripping from the cypress tree branches. Pink streaked the overhead sky. Sunset. She had less than six hours to find her bravado again.

  “I haven’t mustered the courage for a year to summon this demon, so what makes you think I can do it now?”

  “Because you must.”

  “Thanks a lot. You’re some help, telling me to pick a position. Why can’t you help me?”

  Anger simmered in his eyes. “I’m trying to, within the parameters of my limitations.”

  “You’re an immortal Justice Guardian. I guess your limitations are pretty big.”

  Earth around her exploded in a shower of dust. Tree branches overhead burst into flame. A cold wind blew out of nowhere, combing through his long, dark hair.

  Just as quickly, the fury died. Sabrina studied him calmly as the flames went out and the wind diminished.

  “That was impressive. Not the powers. I know all about those. I’m talking about the emotion.”

  Understanding dawned in his eyes. “You said that to provoke me.”

  “Because you’re such a serene voice of reason. I’ve never seen you angry. You were almost human.” Sabrina released a breath. “I need you on my side, Michael, not as an impartial android. I’m so scared I feel ready to jump out of my skin. I need you to be with me emotionally because no one else understands what I’m going through.”

  Anger evaporated from his expression. He strode over to her, seized her hands in his. “Trust me, Brie. To fight Ambrosis, you have to work past the fear, past the animalistic instinct to run and hide from danger. You have to take all your love and all your rage at the idea of him hurting your loved ones and bring it up, and give him all you’ve got. It’s the only way to survive this.”

  “Love isn’t a weapon.”

  “It’s the best one you have.”

  His obvious concern loaned her strength. She squeezed his hands. “I won’t forget.”

  “I’ll be with you all the way, as much as I’m permitted, Brie. That’s a promise. I won’t abandon you. No matter what.”

  Judging from his solemn look, she knew it was a promise he would keep.

  Tree frogs cheeped from the ghostly sentinels of pine and cypress. The dank smell of muck and water mixed with the fresh scent of rain rid
ing the wind. Hugging her knees, Sabrina sat in a small clearing on a tree island.

  Floating on the nearby water, water ferns sheltered a shy turtle. Silvery light from the nearly full moon dappled the foliage. In the shadows, she sensed Michael nearby.

  He could not help her. She had to do it on her own.

  She lifted her gaze to the black sky, judging the time from the moon’s position. Almost midnight. Her stomach flip-flopped.

  Had to do this. Never again would another life be lost because she failed. Sabrina touched a protruding root. Tears burned her eyes as she remembered her mother and father laughing, her brothers and sisters bounding through the forest eager to explore. Their voices forever gone.

  I’ll never see them again. But at least I can make sure Ambrosis never again hurts someone I love.

  She stood, brushing off pine needles from her jeans. Her hands trembled as she lifted them skyward. Summoning a demon was easy.

  Dealing with him afterward was the tough part.

  Her hands fell to her side as she remembered the Hellfire demon tearing into her family, the screams and the horror. Sabrina’s ears buzzed as her stomach turned.

  Nausea took over. She turned and clutched the sturdy tree as her knees buckled.

  You can do this.

  Michael’s voice spoke in a reassuring tone inside her mind. Startled, she swiped at the air as if batting cobwebs.

  Sabrina lifted clammy palms to call forth the demon.

  Again, they fell to her side.

  Please don’t ask this of me, I can’t take this, I can’t…

  Images surfaced; her grandparents, alone and scared, their faces etched with terror. They did not deserve Ambrosis’s wrath.

  All she had to do was summon the demon. She was clever and could hide, unlike last time.

  You will not hide. You have the strength to defeat him, Brie.

  Michael was communicating telepathically. He was a Guardian with such powers. Still, this thought was more like a soothing brush against her mind. As if he melded his strength and spirit with hers, bonding with her metaphysically.