Love and Deception

Chapter Three

Noah

Noah stared down the alley at a whole lot of bad news heading his way. Four muscle bound camo-wearing linebackers were blocking the exits, paired off so he’d still have to take down two of them to get out. Provided the other two didn’t catch up to them before he was done. Small, narrow alley, slim chance of that. He suppressed the growl but it was an effort. They’d been tracking him. Well, two of them had been tracking him but he hadn’t paid them any attention. He’d caught a faint scent of unfamiliar werewolf and he’d been absorbed. So absorbed he hadn’t noticed he was being herded and that cranked him up even more. He was never going to live this down, provided he lived through it at all. He was good, but not that good.

With another one of those irritating paramilitary eye signals they started moving towards each other, eyes scanning the narrow passageway for him. He stilled even further and tried to pick out a weakness, any weakness that would help him decide which pair to take first. With the opportunity gap closing he just chose right and sprung out of his hiding spot and lunged for them. The first went down in the initial rush and the second was too surprised to beat on him. For a minute. He was pretty sure he had the first one unconscious when the rain of blows started from the second. He had minutes, maybe, before the other two were on him too. He berated himself as he traded punch for punch with a man the NFL would’ve been glad to hire. Maybe not though. As Noah’s back connected hard with the brick wall behind him in a spear maneuver from the beefy giant he thought about how the punk clearly didn’t play well with others.

Real fights last for a brief few minutes. Not like the movies. And this was a fight Noah was losing. He didn’t even know why these guys were following him but they were and now they were beating his ass into submission. He couldn’t fight the three of them. They were just too much. A growl escaped his mouth as his lips curled up off his teeth. The wolf wanted to eat them but that would make the situation with the rogue wolf worse. Better to just take the beating. He’d heal. Eventually. And then suddenly there were only two pairs of giant combat boots ramming into his sides like giant tree trunks. Where had the third gone? He caught a brief scent of werewolf and groaned not in pain this time. Elizabeth was here saving his ass and man was he going to get a lecture like you read about. He was halfway through the eye roll when an amused chuckle sounded from behind the beefcakes. “Started without me I see. Tsk tsk. Patience is a virtue you know.” Everyone froze and turned. Well the big guys turned, Noah tried to peer through their legs as he caught his breath. “Yes I know, I’m a girl. Don’t feel bad. It’s automatically assumed I’m male. I don’t do anything to discourage this because, well, it’s just more fun to watch your faces when you realize I have tits.”

The female standing in a casual recline against the opposite wall, inspecting her gloves like this was an everyday occurrence was most definitely NOT Elizabeth. She was clothed in a black cat suit, black combat boots, black gloves, what looked like a utility belt, a black hood that was held in place by the plain white mask that covered her face. The suit was too tight to argue the fact of her gender but he knew his sister. That wasn’t her voice and that was most definitely not her body. The eyes in the mask stared at the duo impatiently. A light shrug was all the warning they got and suddenly she was everywhere. Fists, legs, arms, and blades were flying between the three. It stung his pride a bit but she was handling the two of them like they were nothing more than garbage bags. He’d softened them up for her. Yeah, that was his story and he was sticking to it.

Jacked male body number four went sailing into a dumpster, the same one he’d been hiding behind in fact, and the resounding thud announced he was out of the brawl. Number three was currently trying to escape the zip ties she’d ensnared him in so that was it. Game. Set. Match. Well he could kick some awesome ass too if he had all the toys and a very conveniently placed distraction. “Don’t know how you got mixed into this bub but you best find your way to an ER. That gash looks like it needs stitches.” The woman was kneeling in front of him. Her golden eyes locked onto his and he watched as they widened, blinked, then narrowed dangerously. He himself froze as he inhaled and got a dose of scent both familiar and foreign. He blinked and stared at her, studying her eyes. It wasn’t possible. Carlie’s eyes had been brown, not golden. And she definitely wasn’t a werewolf. The girl before him, she was. “Who are you?” The menace behind the question was unmistakable only his brain wasn’t computing enough to answer her. Her gloved hand reached up as if to shake him when her head snapped to the right.

Standing at the newly opened exit to the alley was a new pair. Not nearly as thick muscled as the first four yet somehow far more intimidating. They had an air of confidence like they knew they were going to win because there was no other option. He was wounded and still needed some time to recharge. Yet instincts won out and he put his arm out trying to move an unwilling female behind him. It wasn’t Carlie. No matter how much his nose disagreed, it wasn’t. It couldn’t be. Carlie was dead. Dead and buried. The duo finally turned their malevolent gazes on him as if just noticing him. Well today was clearly not the day for his ego. “Get out of here.” She whispered in his ear before vaulting over him landing in a smooth fluid motion. He was a nasty bastard but that was hot. Irritating cause this would be the second time this woman who smelled like Carlie was saving him. Dead and buried. He reminded himself.

There was no trash talking between these guys. They simply attacked her and she dodged neatly then attacked in her own right. He felt the tell tale change tremors start down his spine and knew that he was going to be a wolf regardless of propriety. The wolf wasn’t high minded enough to understand that just because something smelt like something else didn’t mean it was the something else. All it saw was men attacking its mate, and that s**t didn’t fly. With either of them. His bones were starting to move when suddenly everything ground to a halt. Was that box levitating? He stared at it, watched it go whipping through the air towards Carlie’s head, and then blinked as she dropped to the ground and the box missed her. The other objects in the alley started to rise and sail towards her more and more rapidly. Noah turned to gaze at the men and saw yes they were in fact concentrating very hard. He’d had suspicions about other supernatural life forms. Even a run in or two with some. But he’d never met a telekinetic before.

The wolf in him kicked back into gear and forced his body to change in a blindingly painful hurry. Once he was on all fours again he wasted no time. He dodged the flying debris using his peripheral senses and charged the nearest attacker. He felt an odd gripping sensation around his paws as he launched himself into the air but it was too late. All four feet landed on the man’s torso grinding him into the pavement. The sensation faded and then died all together as Noah clamped his jaws down on the man’s throat and gave it a good shake. When he turned to check on the female he watched her electrocute the second man with some sort of handheld thing. He twitched and went down hard. She turned towards him again revealing that half of her mask was broken off. He stopped, all body processes just ceasing to function. Across the cheek he had frequently run his knuckles over was a wisp of red hair. Bright coppery red hair. Carlie’s hair. Sirens yanked his attention away for a moment and when he turned back she was gone. He could follow the scent. His entire body was straining to track her down in fact. But he had to deal with the humans. It was important to get his story straight. He could follow her later.

Later…

“And just how did this happen again?” Elizabeth was asking him clearly not impressed by his evasiveness. Her pink scrubs were no longer as amusing as they had been earlier, now they were reminding him that he was in a hospital.

“I told you, some guys jumped me in an alley.”

“You don’t seem to be to upset about getting your ass handed to you.” She asked skeptically. They were alone, finally. She was stitching the slice on his arm closed and not very gently. The questions had seemed to have no end but he had enjoyed describing his own wolfy form to the police over and over. It had been a fight not to smirk. His body was alive. The blood singing through his veins. It was all he could think about. His focus shifted briefly and then charged right back to where it was. She was alive. Alive! And all he had to do was get his meddling sister to stop pestering him and he could be with her again. No it made no sense but he saw her. He saw her. It was her face, her hair, her smell. Never mind the whys and hows. He had Carlie back! “Noah!” He jumped a little at the angry tone and then turned an impatient gaze at his sister. “I asked you what was up?”

“Carlie’s not dead.” He responded. He saw the disbelief in her eyes and ignored it. Hell he hadn’t believed it himself. “She’s not. My mind is just everywhere but here so hurry up. I wanna go find her.” She blinked and then nodded briefly.

“Let me go get the papers.” She disappeared and he bounced around on the seat impatiently. When that didn’t work he just started pacing. How long did it take to get paperwork anyway? His pocket vibrated and he glared at the thing. When he pulled out the cell phone he wasn’t surprised to see the screen was cracked. But the text message was still readable. Come home. Damn it. His father, of all people. He thought briefly about ignoring him but that was discarded quickly. Pissing off one of the most powerful werewolves in the country was not a good plan. Especially since he happened to be his father. He groaned, wrote out a chicken scratch apology to Lizzie and hightailed it out of the place. If he ran the whole way maybe he could get back in the morning and start looking for her.

Carlie

Carlie watched from the fire escape as the injured man was loaded onto the ambulance and then the man who looked and smelt like Noah was loaded on after. Maybe it was because she was obsessively dreaming over him again that this stranger seemed so much like him. Although, the stranger was a werewolf and that meant trouble for her. The only wolves that ever passed through here were loners. Most looking for a fight for the territory or a good piece of tail. If the first, she whooped them and if the second she sent them packing too, though she was more inclined to let the latter live. Everyone gets lonely after all. Hell she was lonely. She just didn’t have time for all that. Or the inclination. The doors to the ambulance closed and it proceeded down the street. She tailed it, hoping from rooftop to rooftop like a stupid Hollywood stunt woman. She gritted her teeth but kept on going. She had to know.

God, there was no way it could be him. He was dead. There had been a funeral. She’d seen the pictures. No she’d never gone to the grave but, how could she? She had other things to worry about, other lives that depended on her. She didn’t have time to grieve. She’d never had time to grieve but that didn’t mean it was him. It meant she was more than likely going crazy. Not surprising actually. She’d kind of been waiting for it. Noah dead, Luca dying, her stuck in a life doing things that repulsed her. Yeah, she was overdo for the crazy time. Yet…it had smelt like him. Even before she’d been a wolf she knew Noah’s scent. Trees and wind and fresh dirt. Like he lived outside or something. And that stranger had had the same combination. And the same hair. And the same eyes. Stop it! She growled to herself. He was an imposter. Some sort of mental warfare and she was going to get to the bottom of it.

She snuck into the hospital and quickly ditched her mask. She stole a set of scrubs and slipped them on over her clothes, blending in with a casual faked confidence. No one questioned it. She grabbed the strangers chart off the door and flipped through it. No name, how surprising, no address either. She sighed. She slid into a shadow and listened through the walls as the stranger with Noah’s voice told the police that a wolf had killed the man in the alley. That he’d been walking home and the men had jumped him for no reason then out of nowhere a wolf had attacked. He described himself in perfect detail. She frowned. That was something Noah would’ve done. Probably would’ve smirked the whole time too. The door opened and the cops left, bringing with them the fresh scent of werewolf. Two if she wasn’t mistaken and one was that scent she’d caught often while she’d been out and about. The other female wolf who lived in the area. Time to leave.

She headed towards the elevator, knowing perfectly well that visiting hours were long over but she had to see him. Had to assure herself that she wasn’t entirely nuts. She hit the Peds floor and tried not to grimace. The Easter egg paint scheme was an eyesore. She kept her head down as she made her way to the room by memory. A quick glance around to make sure no one was watching and then slipped into his room. She let out an audible sigh when the door closed behind her. He was exactly how she’d left him. Small, pale, and hooked up to so many machines it made her hackles rise. He was still unconscious. She gave the machinery a cursory scan but it all told her the same thing it always did. No change. She sat down on the edge of his bed and ran a hand through his hair. Noah’s hair. She leaned down to kiss his cheek and inhaled deeply. Luca.

She had read stories about women who had lost their husbands and found it hard to bond with their child after. And stories about husbands who had lost their wives and felt the same. The constant reminder was just too much pain. Personally, she didn’t get it. Luca was everything. From the moment he’d kicked her hand in the womb she’d been absolutely enthralled with him. She was even more delighted when she saw the resemblances of his father in his face as he grew. Luca was her living, breathing, permanent attachment to Noah. How could she resent him? Maybe that wasn’t healthy way to look at it but she just didn’t care. Maybe that was why the very real possibility of losing him was hurting so much. Not only would she lose her child, but her link to her dead mate too.

She didn’t know how long she stayed perched on the edge of his bed just running her fingers through his hair. It was something she did often but not as often as she’d like. When he was home with her she’d frequently sat in his room all night and just watched him sleep. It was all so unfair. Maybe she hadn’t been the best person or the best mother but she did what she could. She’d worked two jobs so they could have a place to live and she’s spent as much time as possible with her kid. Then he got sick and there was no way she’d ever have the money to pay for all of the bills. So she’d borrowed from the local kingpin and ended up as his personal bodyguard/assassin/thug. But she did it. For him. And nobody knew what was wrong. It just wasn’t fair.

She decided to leave before she got so angry she broke something or one of the staff caught her. Both were an equal possibility at this point. Besides, she had a wolf to track down. She kissed her son once more and then turned to leave. It was never any easier, walking out of that room without him. She had a feeling it wasn’t ever going to get easier either. But that was enough morbidity for the morning. She skirted the nurses’ station and headed straight for the elevators. Once inside she ditched the scrubs and headed out of the front doors without making eye contact. She had feeling they were turning golden. She was going to track down that wolf who had the audacity to pretend to be Noah and make him spill the truth. No matter what she had to do to get it out of him. And if it just so happened that she got a chance to work out some of her frustration with life in the process well than bully for her.

Her phone went off just as she hit the parking lot. She scanned the ID and growled. Stupid needy kingpin boss. If she hadn’t needed the money, and he hadn’t been a scary ass bastard she would’ve made a meal out of him already. With a sigh she answered the second call he put in to her phone. She would just have to track the wolf down later.