1. Wyatt
ONE
WYATT
No creature on this earth scares me, but the thing that sat across from me, stinking up my mansion, was both hideous and terrifying.
I didn’t want to let him inside, but Harper had insisted, and now it sat in the chair next to the huge fireplace in the living room.
He couldn’t sit still, jiggling like a meth addict who couldn’t find his next fix. His eyes darted around the room like a trapped coyote, his bound hands resting on his lap. I wasn’t even sure if the ropes would hold him. A human, yes. The bind would be enough to keep his hands out of action. But one of us? Hell, we could snap that rope like a worn piece of thread.
But what was he? Human or one of us? It seemed like he might be a bit of both, which was impossible .
His body was big, but not quite as massive as ours. Yet he was still larger than any ordinary human, if you didn’t include football players.
Tank stood next to me in the doorway, adopting both an offensive and defensive stance. If it came to it, he could choose to flee or fight. I took my position to be near Harper, who I was pretty sure was in shock.
I wouldn’t let her touch her father. She had tried to run to him, and I was pretty sure I’d bruised her wrist by holding her back so tightly. As she sat on the sofa across from the creature, she absentmindedly rubbed her wrist. Guilt gnawed at my gut, but until we figured out who or what was sitting next to the fire, I wasn’t going to let him any closer to my Harper.
“Talk.” Tank crossed his arms, his voice gruff.
“W-w-where do you want me to begin? We don’t have a lot of time.” He turned toward his daughter. “Harper. You’re in danger.”
I stepped in front of her. “You keep repeating the same thing. Why is she in danger? Why are you here?”
The man’s voice croaked and his eyes looked to the ceiling, as though he were searching for words. “I’m her father.”
“Prove it.”
He opened his mouth but then shut it. I looked around the room, wishing that Jax was still here. Atticus lingered by the door that led to the butler’s pantry, and Fiona was guarding the front door.
The red moss I’d taken was starting to wear off. I needed to find the sweet spot, where I was still powerful enough to overtake whatever kind of mutant sat in my living room, yet still have the cognitive function to be able to understand whatever the hell was going on.
We had just come out unscathed from what could’ve turned into a historical war with the werewolves, and now a madman had stumbled out of the forest screaming that we were in danger.
“He doesn’t have to prove anything,” Harper’s voice quivered. “I’d know him anywhere.”
The creature made a whimpering sound. “I’m going to lose my w-words soon.” His eyes, a blend of blue and gold, shimmered, making him look more human than one of us. “Y-you have to stop them from getting to Harper.”
Tank grunted. “Can I make him talk a little faster? I can get it out of him.”
“No.” Harper whipped to face Tank, her eyes flashing. “He’s trying. Just give him a minute. My dad is a world-renowned scientist with the vocabulary of a Mensa scholar.”
The creature smiled and his jiggling slowed. He opened his mouth, but only a grunt came out.
“Dad.” Harper stood and stepped around me.
“Harper. No.” I wrapped my fingers around her tiny wrist, but she shook me free.
“You have to trust me, Wyatt.”
I took a deep breath. “And I do. More than anything in this world. But I don’t trust that thing farther than I could throw him. And I could probably toss him as far as the spikes on our fence.”
The medieval spires that surrounded the Seattle mansion were gaudy as fuck, but I had always imagined impaling someone who had wronged me, or one of my family, on their wrought iron spikes.
Harper turned to face me. Her eyes searched mine as she held onto my forearms. “I’ll be fine.”
The woman was bull-headed, and that stubbornness had put her in more than one precarious situation over the past few months. She wasn’t stupid, but she sure did some stupid shit. I glanced to Tank, who shook his head.
“Harper,” I whispered as low as I could.
“Trust me.” She squeezed my arms and I knew that I couldn’t stop her. Well, I could. But she’d fight me on it.
“I’ll be right here.” I swiped my palm over her silky hair and let the strands slide through my fingertips as she walked toward what smelled like danger to me.
“Dad.” She dropped to her knees in front of the creature in the ripped clothes. I held my breath as she reached for his hands. Harper’s heart thumped loud and fast, and I could smell the adrenaline surging through her body. My own heart thudded against my chest as the woman I loved touched the creature.
A tear dropped from his eye, disappearing into his thick, full beard. He looked like a huge, hairy, hermit bushman – one with bare feet in October. The soles of his feet looked like leather, and he smelled like a matted dog that had been sprayed by ten thousand skunks.
His fingertips reached for Harper’s. “I… I’m sorry, Sunbeam.”
When Harper’s nickname came out of the creature’s mouth, I was shocked. It was hard to understand how such a hideous beast could be related to the beautiful woman I loved.
“Sunbeam,” he repeated. “You need to hide. And change your name.” He looked over Harper’s shoulder, his eyes pleading with mine. “And you – you need to keep her safe.”
Keep her safe. It was the exact promise I’d made to Harper months earlier.
It was becoming more evident that the creature wasn’t going to hurt Harper, and it was highly likely that it was indeed her missing father.
I took a deep breath and crossed the room in three strides to rest my hand on Harper’s shoulder. “I will protect your daughter. But first I need to know who or what I’m protecting her from.”
The creature nodded and squeezed Harper’s hands.
“Can you take these off?” She pointed to the rope.
“Boss.” Tank stepped toward us, scowling.
I held up my hand. Up close, I could see the gauntness of his cheeks beneath the beard, and the slight hollowing of his eyes. He was weak. If he had bad intentions, he could easily be overtaken by the rest of us, healthy and nearing the prime of our lives.
“You will stay in this chair,” I stated.
He nodded and held up his hands, so I untied the rope, coiling it up. A rope could be a useful weapon if used properly. I wouldn’t hesitate to strangle the shit out of him if he posed a threat to any of us.
To my disapproval, Harper wrapped her arms around the man. I kept my hand on her shoulder, and her body heaved under my palm as her back wracked with a sob. My heart ached for her. She had been traumatized by his disappearance over a decade ago, and had only recently moved on, accepting that he was gone forever. Now, that bastard was back. And I’d be damned if I was going to let him hurt her again.
I let Harper cry in her father’s arms. “Dad. Where have you been all these years?” Her voice was raspy when she finally pulled away from him.
“I’m losing my w-w-words.” He pointed to his throat. “L-listen to me. You’re not safe.”
“Enough.” I helped Harper to her feet. “If you’re losing your words – whatever the fuck that even means, you better choose the next few wisely, and tell us exactly why we’re all in danger.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he gulped and nodded.
I wrapped my arm around Harper’s shoulder and pulled her protectively against my body.
“G-G-G-G—” He stuttered, followed by a loud roar. His frustration was palpable. He took a breath and squeezed the arms of the chair.
“What is it, Dad?” Harper quivered in my arms and I wondered if the shock of seeing her father was wearing off.
“G-G-G-G—” The arm of the chair cracked in his grip as he tried to speak.
“Come on,” Tank groaned. “Why are we listening to this—”
I held up my hand, stopping Tank midsentence before he could insult my mate’s father. As much as I was disturbed by the presence of him, I knew that I was going to have to be supportive – for Harper.
“Boss.” Atticus stepped into the room from the shadows. “He needs some moss.”
Of course. I hadn’t recognized his struggle, even though I’d been there myself. I dug into the pocket of my jeans and pulled out a baggie of white moss. “Here. Take this.”
He inhaled heavily and grabbed the baggie from me, slipping a chunk of the dried moss into his mouth.
“Give him a second. Tank, get him some water.”
Tank rolled his eyes, but returned with a glass of water. Harper’s dad chugged the entire glass and wiped his mouth with the tattered sleeve of his plaid shirt.
“It will take a minute to get through your system.” I took the glass from him.
He reached for Harper’s hand. “G-G-G-G—” His lips narrowed. “Argh,” he screamed, as the gold in his eyes dulled. I could smell the subtle change in his body chemistry. The white moss was working.
“G-G-G-Genocorp!” By the time the word came out of his mouth, he was shouting.
“Genocorp? Why would they be interested in Harper?” I asked.
The gold in his eyes suddenly intensified. The moss seemed to wear off insanely fast for him. “Genocorp. Bad. K-k-k-keep her safe.” The stutter was back.
Tank must have left the door ajar. Two of the Great Danes charged inside, skidding to a stop in the middle of the room. A low growl erupted from both of their powerful jaws.
“Call them off,” I yelled to Tank, who was the trainer for all of our dogs. But Harper’s dad was already on his feet, backing away from them. Cornered, he looked like a wild creature.
“It’s alright.” I held out my hands to stop him from doing something crazy.
Harper’s dad was definitely more creature than human in that moment, and his survival instinct was firing. If he was part sasquatch, he would be terrified of any of the members of the canine family, even our domesticated Great Danes.
Launching forward, he hurdled the sofa and slipped past Fiona through the open front door. His bare feet left footprints in the dusting of snow on the front steps.
“Dad.” Harper’s voice wavered as she screamed his name, dashing outside onto the driveway in her sock feet. But that rank fucker was faster than any of us had anticipated. As quickly as he’d appeared in our lives, he was gone.