Chapter Ten
Maisey
“There is so little daylight this time of year,” I say, looking out the window. “We should go.”
“We?” Elias says.
“Yes, you said Central Park needs patrolling until the shifter with moon fever is apprehended.”
Elias draws his brows together. “Yes, but not by you.”
“Of course by me.” I hold up my hands. “By all of us.”
“You’d be safer here.”
“You really think so?” I turn to Branson who is crushing the pizza boxes. “Even if the shifter smells my blood and finds me? He’s rabid by all accounts. He’ll find a way to get in.”
“True.” Branson says. “I’d rather you were with us.”
Elias makes a low growling sound.
“And I might get another premonition,” I say. “If we are together, it will be easier for me to tell you.”
“But we need to move fast,” Elias says. “In the shadows.”
“Then put me on a horse and carriage.”
“What?” Elias’s eyes widen.
“It’s not a crazy idea,” I say. “They can move at speed. Pay the driver well and he’ll keep up pace.”
“It is a crazy idea,” Elias says.
“The paths have been cleared of snow.” Branson looks out the window. “And the carriages are operating today.”
“Please. I don’t want to be pacing the floor in here. I can help, I know I can.” I turn to Branson. “You think I should come with you, right?”
He looks at Elias. “I want you to be safe and I want you near.”
“Hard to do both.” Elias frowns at him. “Though...”
“What?” I ask, seeing a thoughtful crease in his brow. “What are you thinking?”
“There is a way I could allow it to happen.”
Branson frowns at him.
“One of the carriage drivers, Harvey, is a wolf shifter.”
“Really? And the horse doesn’t mind?” Branson appears shocked.
“He’s good with horses, apparently. If I could arrange for him to take you around then it would be an extra layer of protection for you. Another shifter watching over you.”
“And we could move quickly, much quicker than if I was walking. You guys can ride with me or shift and move in the shadows.” I am hopeful.
Branson nods. “Yes, that’s a plan. Can you get hold of him?”
“I’ll try.” Elias pulls out his phone and steps away.
“Are you sure?” Branson draws me close. His chest is bare though he wears sweats and I rest my hands on his hard firm pecs. “You could just stay here.”
“I told you, I want to help and I want to be near you.”
“I understand.” He kisses me. It’s a soft peck at first but then it deepens and he tips his head, his tongue poking in to find mine.
I moan softly and relish the way he’s holding me close.
His kisses are delicate yet firm and he makes me feel desired and special and alive.
My heart rate picks up and I am aware of his cock hardening against my body.
The man has a healthy appetite for sex, that much is clear, and I wonder if we’ll go again before heading outside.
“Cut it out.” Elias’s gruff voice interrupts us. “Time for that later, when we’ve put an end to these attacks.”
Branson pulls away though I can sense his reluctance.
“Later,” I say, “When this is over, will you’ll fuck me?”
“Yes.” He nods. “We’ll all fuck ... together.”
A shiver of desire rushes through me and I snatch in my breath.
“That’s a promise.” Elias slips his arms around us both. He kisses first my brow and then Branson’s. “We are a three now. Nothing will change that.”
“So you won’t hide our relationship going forward?” Branson asks. I can see the hesitation in his eyes, the need to be recognized as Elias’s mate is a deep one. Being kept a secret for so long was clearly painful as was the heartbreak of their split.
“I’m going to work on it,” Elias says. “Perhaps some of the judgement was mine. Or the fear of the judgement at least.”
“The alpha males saw you together earlier,” I point out. “All of us.”
“Yes.” Elias nods. “And if there is no comeback on that, we’ll take it as a good sign.” He nods at the door. “Harvey is expecting us by The Plaza. Let’s go.”
“Wait.” Branson goes to the kitchen drawer. He takes out a big steak knife.
“What is that for?” I ask.
“We have teeth and claws for protection, you have nothing. Take this.”
“But I—”
“Just in case.” Elias nods. “It’s a good idea.”
I see there is no point arguing so slip the knife into my coat pocket. It feels strange there, menacing and hard. I don’t like it but I understand why they want me to take it.
The Plaza is lit up in red and gold with a huge Christmas tree at the entrance. It is no longer snowing so I’m not surprised to see a line of carriages giving tourists fur-blanketed rides around the twinkling lights of the park.
“We have less than twenty minutes of daylight left,” Branson says. He looks around. “The other horses will have to stop then and go to their stables, though Harvey says he’ll keep going even after dark.”
“Where is he?” I ask.
“Over there.” Elias points up the street.
A magnificent black horse, sturdier and stockier than the others, stands by a shiny two-wheeled carriage. Its mane is flowing and its leathers polished. Harvey, dressed in a thick black coat, sits on the driver’s seat, long reins loosely held.
We walk up to him.
“Elias,” Harvey says and looks at first Branson and then me. “Is this her?”
“Yes.” Elias slips his hand around my waist. “Your most precious cargo to date.”
“I agree.” He touches the wide-brimmed hat he wears. “I thank you for your service, ma’am.”
“You are welcome.” I smile and suppress a shiver. It’s so cold.
“Get up there, and get warm,” Elias says. “Under the furs.”
I do as he asks and find a hot water bottle to rest on my lap. I pull up the hood of my jacket and snuggle into my scarf and the piles of fur.
“Which way?” Harvey asks.
“We want to check around the zoo,” Elias says. “Perhaps the poor creature has been drawn to the scents there.”
Harvey sniffs. “Her scent is strong. He might seek her out.”
“Which is why you have to keep your wits about you,” Branson says sternly and his eyes narrowing. “Guard her with your life, Harvey. Or you’ll have me to answer to.”
“I will, panther.” Harvey purses his lips. “Not because you told me to, but because I owe her my life and the lives of our clan.”
“You do.” Branson looks at me. “Be safe, we’ll be near.”
I nod.
He slips into the shadows, his comfort zone, the place he knows he can watch and hunt unobserved by humans. In a moment he’s gone and I know he will have transformed into his panther form.
“Warm enough?” Harvey asks me.
“Yes, thank you. It’s quite cozy back here.”
“Good. Walk on, Princess.” He flicks the reins and the horse begins to move.
Elias watches us go as though convincing himself he is happy with the plan, then I see him melt into the undergrowth in the same direction as Branson.
If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would have found it hard to believe that such big creatures could sneak about undetected in the city.
They are silent creeping shadows who see and hear everything humans can’t.
Princess breaks into a trot and I get the feeling Harvey knows just where my men are and is keeping pace with them.
My men!
A warmth fills me despite the cold and dangerous mission we are on.
I’ve been alone for so long and now I have two guys to lean on, to walk with, to laugh with, to go through life with.
Because yes, that’s how it felt. We are permanent.
I don’t know what could change that. I don’t want anything to change that.
“You okay, ma’am?”
“All good, Harvey, thank you.” I was jostled as we moved, but not uncomfortably, and Harvey slowed Princess as we went over a small arched bridge.
But then we were moving at speed again through the middle of the darkening park.
A lone jogger crossed our path and to my right I saw a dog walker rushing along, obviously keen to get the chore done on this cold night and back to the warmth of home.
The sky is clear, the stars silver stitches on a black velvet sky, and the moon peeks behind a skyscraper.
Harvey’s silhouetted shape sits huddled in front of me and I pull up the furs and survey the trees, boulders and blackness seeping in.
My heart does a little flip when an owl ducks low over us, soundless and graceful. The horse, Princess, is strong and steady and doesn’t seem bothered by a wolf and panther close by. I wonder that she must be used to her shifter owner and the underworld so few New Yorkers know about.
A rustling to my right.
“What is that?” I ask, peering into the undergrowth.
“What, ma’am?”
“There is something.”
“I think we’re okay.” He looks to the right and then flicks the reins. “Nothing of note. Maybe a squirrel.”
The carriage keeps going. I hold the furs tighter and try to make out the landmarks, but it’s hard because it is fully dark now.
We travel beneath a large oak tree, its thick branches splayed out like arms, then we take a left.
Here there is an avenue of trees, pretty with blossom in the spring but utterly devoid of leaves or flowers now.
Skeletal-like, they reach for the sky and each other.
Harvey takes us under the first one but as he does there is a crash and creak from above.
A huge coyote flies down, emerging from a tree branch, and knocks into Harvey with an almighty crash. Harvey yelps, grapples, twists, but it all happens so quickly.
I scream.
The coyote is snarling and drooling, his hackles rise like spikes, and his strength seems somehow amplified. Its eyes are as red as blood and flash manically. Instantly I know the poor creature has moon fever.
Harvey’s hat is gone and his face and neck exposed. I watch in horror as the coyote’s sharp fangs lunge for his vulnerable carotid.
“No!” I yell, terror gripping me. “Elias! Branson! Help!”
Princess whinnies in fear and breaks into a canter, throwing her head into the air. The reins flick upward and then are gone.