Return of the Wolf Page 4

  Chapter Eight

  After Gideon left, Memphis kept up a steady interior monologue while she dressed.

  She could do this, she could. Okay, she had to. Knowing she and Gideon were meant to be together gave her no choice. She loved him.

  Believing in werewolves—okay, shifters—wasn’t all that much different from having dreams of past lives. A new reality or, as Gideon had said so succinctly, “broadened” her perception of the world.

  Punching the elevator button and waiting for the damn thing to finally put in an appearance, she took deep breaths and tried to calm herself.

  So werewolves actually existed. So what? Gideon was still the same, totally hot man she’d realized was the one. Second, the connection was still there, stronger than ever.

  Then why couldn’t she stop shaking?

  It wasn’t because she’d made love to a werewolf. No, she felt a coil of dread, of premonition, telling her that this knowledge was tied to the loose end they’d left in their last life and had to tie up in this one. But if Gideon refused to even consider reincarnation, to believe, how could they fulfill their destiny?

  If she could accept his reality, why could he not accept hers?

  Deep breath, deep breath.

  As the elevator arrived and she stepped inside, she pushed away her niggling doubts and tried to prepare herself, wanting to look less than shell-shocked when she saw him again.

  Rolling her shoulders back and straightening her spine, she lifted her chin, smoothed her ponytailed hair and adjusted the baseball cap on her head. She looked passable, like any other client about to try to land a big fish.

  Once downstairs, she breezed past the front desk, and headed out to the dock, still uneasy. Dusk had settled over the water, the sky colored with sunset hues of red and orange. Above, an eagle screeched, and though the tide had come in, it hadn’t reached the rocks. Seals had gathered on those rocks, barking and basking in the dying sunlight, hoping for a meal of fish guts.

  The entire idyllic scene looked like a picture postcard. A sense of peace stole over her, helping to calm her still-jittery nerves. Hopefully Gideon was right. Maybe a few hours of quiet fishing would help clear her head.

  Hurrying down the pier, her shoes clattering on the wood, she spotted him. He had his back to her, tinkering with something in his tackle box. She took a moment to admire his long, Viking body, rejoicing in the way just the sight of him lifted her spirits.

  His was the only boat left in the slip, since all the other guides had already left with their clients. Close to four hours of daylight remained, the light fading little by little until the gloaming became blackness.

  As if he sensed her, Gideon raised his head and turned. Their eyes locked and held. Chest tight and her heart pounding, she ached with love for him.

  A smile lifted one corner of his mouth as he beckoned to her. “Come on.”

  She rushed over, unable to contain her eagerness. Standing, he held out his hand to help her into the boat. As she took it, she felt the familiar sparks and couldn’t help but smile. Gideon was still Gideon, all right. His touch still rocked her world.

  “Are you ready?”

  She nodded. “Let’s go.”

  In a few swift motions, he untied them from the slip, cranked the engine, and they were off.

  Once again, she let herself experience the thrill of the sea spray in her face, the rush of air moving past, the heavy boat cutting sharply through the still water.

  This time, they zoomed past the first cove, where they’d previously fished, heading north. They passed the other boats, all fishing together in yet another area, and finally turned down a narrow finger of water bordered on both sides with sheer stone walls, instead of shore.

  When Gideon killed the engine, he turned and grinned. “It’s deeper here and more private. I come here on my own time to fish. I’ve caught several chinook here and a couple of sockeyes and cohos. And chum, of course, though I throw those back.”

  Despite herself, she was intrigued. “What are the differences?”

  “They’re all salmon. Chinook are the biggest and we often call them king salmon. They grow up to forty inches in length and can weigh as much as a hundred pounds. That’s what you caught this morning.”

  “How could you tell?”

  His grin broadened and she sensed he approved of her curiosity. “They have x-shaped dots on their backs and dorsal fin. Sockeyes are smaller, but just as beautiful. They average about twenty-five inches long and maybe nine pounds. Cohos are what we catch most out here. They can weigh up to thirty pounds and make a good meal.”

  “What about chums?”

  His grimace painted a more vivid picture than his words. “Chums have yellow meat and aren’t as tasty as red salmon. They usually weigh around seven or eight pounds, though I’ve heard of them actually getting as big as thirty.”

  Oddly enough, the trivia soothed her. She let the remaining tension drain from her, breathing deeply of the sea-scented air. Between the man and nature’s beauty, stress didn’t stand a chance. She could get used to this.

  “Look.” Gideon pointed.

  A short distance away, a black dorsal fin broke the surface.

  “What is that?” Fascinated, she watched as more of the animal cleared the surface of the water, shiny black and mammoth.

  “Orca. Also known as killer whale. He’s by himself, which tells me he’s not a resident and is probably a transient.”

  “Resident? Transient? What do you mean?”

  Gideon adjusted his cap and watched the whale. “Resident orcas travel in pods, or small groups. They remain in the same area and feed on salmon. Transients form smaller pods and often travel alone. They move from place to place and eat seals.”

  “Seals?” She thought of the beautiful brown beasts that frequented the lodge and shuddered. “Poor things.”

  “That’s nature’s way.” He sounded unperturbed. “Only the strong survive.”

  Before Gideon had finished speaking, the large whale arced out of the water, all glistening black and sharp white.

  “It’s beautiful,” Memphis breathed. “And bigger than the ones I’ve seen at Sea World.”

  “They do much better in their natural habitat than they do in captivity.”

  She gave him an admiring glance. “You sure know a lot about them.”

  “I spent a couple years up in Alaska, working for an organization that studied them.”

  A comfortable silence fell while they watched the whale swim nearby, broken only by the sound of the water slapping against the fiberglass sides of the boat.

  “What are you thinking about?” Gideon asked, his deep voice washing over her like velvet.

  They’d shared so much in the short time they’d known each other that she couldn’t even consider lying. “I love this place. I think I could live here.”

  His breath caught, the sound audible in the late-day hush. Slowly he stood, staring at her, the brim of his hat shading his expression. “Memphis, what are you saying?”

  At that moment the fishing rod bent nearly in half. Moving instinctively, Gideon reached for it, jerking the pole from the downrigger and setting the hook, fighting the weight of the fish on the other end of the line.

  “It’s a big one.” Triumphant, he grinned at her. “This is yours. Come here.”

  Finding his excitement contagious, she pushed herself to her feet and moved toward him. When she took the pole, he remained standing behind her, his arms around her, hands on top of hers, lending her his strength. She needed it to fight the monster they’d caught.

  “This thing must be huge! Keep reeling.”

  All of a sudden a brown seal head broke the water a few feet from their boat, eyes huge and round. Startled, Memphis jerked backward, elbowing Gideon as she let go of the rod.

  Stumbling away, Gideon grabbed for it, snagging it with one hand, using the other to grasp the side of the boat and maintain his balance.

  The line had gone
slack. Gideon began reeling furiously.

  Close to the seal, the salmon broke the water, a huge flash of silver, sending a spray into the air.

  The seal dove.

  “He’s going for the fish!” Gideon shouted as the seal snatched their fish and began tearing away, up the channel, splashing the water loudly.

  “Look.” Memphis pointed. In the distance the black speck the orca had become appeared to turn around, growing larger as it sped toward them.

  Memphis suddenly remembered. Orcas ate seals. The killer whale was going after its prey.

  The seal, fish still in mouth, appeared to notice the orca a second later. Eyes huge, hyperventilating with terror, the seal launched itself out of the water and onto the back of their boat.

  The boat dipped, water sloshing over them. Memphis stumbled backward.

  And Gideon fell out of the boat, into the cold sea.

  Chapter Nine

  The chilly water hit Gideon like a jolt. With his legs and one arm tangled in the fishing line, he struggled to hold his breath. Chest bursting, he kicked for the surface in desperation, slamming his head on the bottom of the boat. Still, the eight-ton killer whale came roaring toward him.

  He had to get out of the water. Had to get air. But though he struggled and fought the tangled line, he couldn’t break free enough to make it to the other side of his boat.

  Unbelievable, the entire situation. If he were to live to tell this tale, no one would believe him. Seals did not often snatch salmon off lines and they most certainly never jumped onto a boat to avoid an orca, of this he felt quite certain.

  Things looked grim for him. In true melodramatic fashion, his life flashed before his eyes. Not only this life, which seemed far too short, but something different, another time and place.

  As he floated, still hanging on to his last reserve of air, he relived another life.

  Memphis. He saw her face, beloved and equally beautiful, though her hair then was the color of a raven’s wing and her eyes a sapphire blue. He also saw himself, as if watching from outside his own body, and realized with a shock that he, too, looked completely different. The Gideon of that time was taller, lean and wiry, with a mop of blond wavy hair falling to his shoulders.

  As he watched, Memphis changed. Literally, in the way of his kind, of shape-shifters, becoming wolf.

  Stunned, he realized that in that other lifetime, Memphis, not him, had been Pack.

  From the distance of centuries, Gideon watched that other self recoil in horror. Time stood still as vignettes flashed before him. He ran to a church. Later he shouted orders as a mob assembled with torches, and led them into the night, where she waited, trembling with hope, because he’d told her he would meet her.

  And so he did, but not in the way she’d expected. Even drowning, Gideon recoiled with horror at what he’d done. He’d led the mob to her hiding place and they’d surrounded her with their torches and hate. She’d been burned, destroyed, turned to ashes in front of his very eyes.

  In that lifetime, Gideon had murdered the woman he loved.

  Memphis had been a shape-shifter, and his distrust, disbelief and terror had gotten her killed. He’d lived the rest of that life in pain and regret, not realizing until later he’d killed the only woman he’d ever loved.

  Now, in this lifetime, the situation had been reversed. He was the shifter and she the human. He had been given another chance to right the grievous wrong he’d committed. A chance to mend things with the woman he’d always loved, through many lifetimes.

  Gideon came awake on his back, huge hands pushing down on his chest.

  “Breathe, man. Breathe.” Randy’s voice. “Don’t let me down, man. I didn’t swim underneath an orca and pluck you from the sea to have you drown on me.”

  Gasping for air, Gideon rolled over and retched.

  “He’s going to make it.” Randy sounded both triumphant and relieved. “The bastard’s too stubborn to die.”

  If he’d been feeling up to it, Gideon would have shot his friend the finger. As things stood, all he could do now was moan.

  “Thank you.” Memphis. Her silky voice made Gideon struggle harder to regain full consciousness, to speak. He had so much to tell her.

  “Good thing I was passing by,” Randy said. “I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw that huge seal perched on the back of your boat. Then, with you jumping up and down and waving at me and no Gideon in sight, I realized you were alone.”

  “Thanks again.” Memphis repeated, her voice trembling. “I realized he was tangled in the line and I couldn’t find a knife.”

  “All good fishermen keep a sharp blade on the boat,” Randy said. “But even if you did jump in and try to save him, you wouldn’t have had the strength to get him out of the water.”

  “No lie.” Another voice, belonging to another guide named Davy. “It took both of us, Randy shoving and me pulling, to get this lug into the boat.”

  Gideon retched again, coughing and sputtering. He sucked in great gasps of air, trying to fill his lungs, but first he had to expel the water from them. He retched again, stomach heaving. Then mercifully, everything went black.

  He found out later that Randy had towed his boat in. The orca had finally given up and departed the area, though the terrified seal had refused to leave the boat, riding most of the way back to the lodge with them. Finally, as they’d neared the lodge, the large beast had slipped into the water and vanished.

  When he finally was able to speak, Gideon thanked Randy profusely. Secretly Gideon was glad he’d nearly drowned. How else would he have come to the realization of what he and Memphis had to face together?

  This time, with their situations reversed, he’d put his life into her delicate hands.

  Rather than betrayal, she’d managed to overcome her fear and continue to hope for a future together.

  He owed her, big time. More than that, he finally saw the truth she’d been trying to tell him. They had loved before.

  When they reached the lodge, Randy and Memphis had stayed with Gideon, while Davy went for help. Ocean Bay Marine Group, owner of Painter’s Lodge, had insisted Gideon be immediately examined by a doctor. Two of the medical staff had whisked him away, leaving Memphis behind with Randy. Later Randy had told Gideon that she’d wept.

  Now, back at the lodge after spending a night at the Campbell River and District General Hospital, he’d been given a clean bill of health, though he had orders to take the next couple of days off. Eager to search for Memphis and reveal what he’d learned, he could scarcely contain his impatience while answering a barrage of questions from the other guides.

  Finally they appeared to be done. Begging off a celebratory ale, he left the crowded bar and went to find his mate.

  Reaching her room, he knew a moment of worry when she didn’t immediately respond to the first knock, but as he lifted his hand to try again, the door flew open and Memphis flung herself into his arms.

  “I’m so sorry,” she whispered, kissing his neck, his chin and finally his mouth. “You almost died because of me.”

  Her reasoning floored him.

  “Because of you?” Gently he steered her inside the room, locking the door behind them. “Don’t think like that. None of this was your fault, none of it.”

  “If I hadn’t jumped and elbowed you—”

  “Shh.” He silenced her with a long kiss. “Anyone would have freaked out when the orca went after that seal and it jumped into our boat. I was surprised, too, believe me. I’m just glad Randy and Davy were there to witness it, or the other guys would have thought I’d imagined the entire thing.”

  “Maybe.” Uncertainty clouded her amber eyes. “But when I thought I’d lost you…”

  He stroked her face, hoping his next words would banish her anguish. “Something happened as I was drowning. Clichéd though this sounds, my lives passed before my eyes.”

  “You mean your life?”

  “No. Lives. Plural. I saw this life and then—” h
e took a deep breath “—I saw another. That life must be the one that was haunting your dreams, because we were together then.”

  Soft and fragrant, she went absolutely still in his arms. “You mean you believe now?”

  “More than believe. I know. And what happened to you then is probably one of the reasons we’re together again in this life.”

  Her expression glowed softly. “Tell me.”

  Though he dreaded her reaction to what he had to say, he understood the necessity of letting her know.

  “We were lovers, mates, as we are now. Only in that life, you were the wolf and I was the human.”

  She gasped, closing her eyes. “I’ve seen it, but thought it was only a nightmare, since I never saw your face. They came for me, surrounded me with burning torches. Then they…”

  “Burned you to death.” Dropping the words into the silence, heart heavy, he waited.

  “Where were you?”

  “You tried to tell me of the danger.” Ashamed, he dropped his chin. “But I wouldn’t listen. The others were talking about you, whispering poisonous lies. They called you a witch, demon spawn. You kept insisting that you spoke the truth, that you were part wolf. You wanted to show me. Instead, I went to sea and left you alone, without protection. My woman,” his voice broke.

  Again she finished for him. “When you returned, I was already dead. You never forgave yourself, did you?” Silent tears streamed down her face. “I remember now. I thought this was a nightmare, but it was real. Oh, Gideon.”

  Gideon found himself openly weeping, both for her and for the man he’d once been. “I’d pledged to marry you, love you and protect you. I failed.”

  She wrapped him tighter in her arms, holding him, comforting him, though he should be the one to comfort her. “You couldn’t have known. You didn’t believe me, so you thought no one did. Their killing me wasn’t your fault, all right?” Fiercely, she kissed his cheeks, his forehead, his chin, finally his mouth. “That was then, this is now,” she whispered against his lips. “We’ve been given another chance.”