The Black Wolf. Linda Thomas-Sundstrom

6

      The Mercedes sedan seemed crowded to Rafe as Cameron pulled away from the apartment building. Cara didn’t look at him from her side of the back seat. She had withdrawn. He couldn’t read her.

      They traveled in silence. The car’s interior temperature felt cool, and the leather seat was luxuriously soft. For once, Rafe was relieved to leave the beach. Thoughts of his close call with the vampire nagged at him. He hoped this wasn’t a prediction of what the future might bring.

      Several things continued to bother him, but the image of Cara with fangs was foremost in his mind. He would have preferred that others in his pack not be exposed to the kinds of things Cara could do. Freak was the word she had used to describe herself, and actually, was that so far off?

      Then there was the attack itself. Why had the vampire gone after a werewolf when a human tourist would have been much tastier fare?

      Rafe kept those thoughts locked away as buildings and lights shot past the window. At this hour, people crowded the streets in search of food and entertainment. Six police cruisers crept by, keeping up a show of law-enforcement presence.

      By comparison, the estates on the far side of the city were quiet, secluded and seemingly a world away from the neon and the noise. His family’s property was one of the largest in the area. Its three landscaped acres were entirely surrounded by an eight-foot stone wall that was monitored by the pack, and there was a small manned guardhouse at the front gate. A well-respected federal judge lived there. Wolves lived there. The Landau house was a place of secrets.

      Rafe stole a glance at Cara as they neared the front gate, thinking she had to feel the heat of his attention even though she didn’t turn her head. Or was he just making that up?

      He sighed and rubbed his temples, not sure what to expect when they arrived. Who would be among the welcoming committee? He assumed that most of the pack would have been kept from meeting Cara, at least for tonight.

      “Here we are,” his father announced as the surroundings grew darker and the long stretch of gray stone came into view. Cara had told Rafe she feared being trapped behind those walls. He’d have given a lot to know what she was thinking now.

      The car stopped in front of the ornate iron gate and was quickly waved through by a familiar guard when it opened. As the Mercedes cruised down the driveway, his father turned in his seat.

      “It’s past dinnertime, but you can have whatever you like as soon as you’re settled in. You must be famished,” he said.

      Rafe could almost hear Cara silently say, What I’d like is to go home. To her credit, she didn’t voice that response.

      “Not many of us will be here tonight,” Rafe’s father continued. “We thought you might prefer some time to get to know the place before we introduce you. Is that all right with you, Cara?”

      Cara was looking at his father. She barely nodded her head. He knew this was the moment she had been dreading, probably since the plan for her to come to Miami had first been hatched. On the surface she looked calm enough, but small quakes rocked the seat he shared with her, and every one of them was like a stab to his heart.

      “Cara,” he said, needing to speak, hoping to ease her trepidation. “Look. See up there?” He pointed at the brick house that rose two and a half stories above a meandering lawn. “Top floor? Can you see it?”

      Her eyes glided that way.

      “Your mother stayed in a room there. Your father, too. Maybe you’d like to have that same room while you’re here?”

      He had snagged her interest. The air in the car became charged.

      “I’m sure that can be arranged,” he said.

      “It can,” his father agreed.

      She was tuning in now and sending Rafe messages over silent Were channels. “Will I be a prisoner?” And “Will you be here?”

      “No. Not a prisoner. I’ve told you that. And yes, I’ll stay if that’s what you want,” he messaged back over airwaves his father would also be privy to, as well as every other Were within a short distance if they weren’t careful with their transmissions. He’d have to warn Cara to erect her own inner walls.

      Here, in this pack, where so many secrets had to be kept, unspoken messages were the normal mode of communication. That didn’t necessarily ensure privacy but there were ways to get around being overheard at times.

      “After what happened tonight with that vampire, it might be best if you stayed away from the walls for a day or two, Cara. Just to be safe,” his father suggested.

      The next shudder that rolled through Cara felt to Rafe as if it had been his own. The word trapped echoed in his mind like a shout. When the car stopped in front of the columned southern portico and Cameron opened the door for her, Cara got out. As Rafe’s mother emerged from the house, Cara paused. But she didn’t have to be worried.

      Dana Delmonico Landau had turned casual into an art form. That showed now in her outfit, a faded pair of jeans and white T-shirt. His mother had never been a fan of anything fancy. She had been a good detective for years and had risen through the ranks to become a captain in the Miami PD. She had only recently retired and therefore had too much energy in need of release.

      His mother had been born human. She had also been here when Rosalind Kirk and Colton Killion had briefly been in residence. From the stories of that time, he knew his mother, along with his father, had helped Cara’s parents in the final showdown with the vampires, after which both of Cara’s parents had disappeared.

      Did Cara know anything about that, or about the part his pack had played in those last days? If she housed spirits similar to her mother’s, would being in this house seem like déjà vu?

      “Cara.” His mother had stopped on the bottom porch step. “I’m Dana, and I’m glad you made it here. Would you like to come in, or would you prefer to take a look at the grounds first? Please understand that we’re not as grand as this place would make us seem, and we’re happy to have you join us here.”

      Cara didn’t speak, but Rafe noticed that her eyes gravitated toward his mother’s.

      “Rafe,” his mother said, turning to him, “why don’t you show Cara around while we find her something to eat? Let her catch her breath before joining us inside.”

      Rafe looked to his father, who nodded in spite of his earlier warning to remain clear of the walls for the time being. Both of them knew the importance of that warning, and also that Rafe would take it seriously.

      “Cara, what do you say to a little more fresh air?” Rafe asked. “Just to get the feel of the place.”

      She nodded. And as though she was merely any invited guest instead of the daughter of two Were legends and potentially as dangerous as both of them, everyone else went into the house, leaving Cara and him in the driveway, alone.

      * * *

      She had never seen a house as large as the one in front of her. Actually, Cara had never seen any house besides the small one she had grown up in. Nevertheless, she sensed a certain familiarity with the Landau mansion that didn’t make it seem as foreign as she had expected. There were plenty of ghosts here, something she was intimately familiar with.

      “How long?” she finally said to Rafe, looking up at the house. “How long were they here?”

      The fact that he was keeping up fairly well with her line of thinking was reflected in his reply. “Your father was treated here after being gravely injured. My grandmother took care of him and helped him to heal. Your mother was also a guest at the time and helped keep watch over him. This was before your parents had bonded.”

      “My mother was a guest?”

      “She was here with her father. Your grandfather. It was also Rosalind’s first time away from her home, and she