Free Red and the Wolf by Cindy C Bennett Page A

and the fact that she was in Rafe’s arms, and even if it were for a practical purpose, she’d take it. She cuddled closer to him.
     
    “Rafe,” she began. Another howl came, sounding even closer than before. “Why did you tell me that story? About the lycans, I mean.”
     
    He was silent. She believed he’d fallen asleep until he spoke.
     
    “I thought you should know the truth. We’re not supposed to tell anyone about the lycans, but I thought you deserved to know.”
     
    “Who is ‘we’?” Ruby still didn’t believe in the lycans, but she wanted to know what he was trying to tell her.
     
    “My family.”
     
    “Your family?” Ruby was stunned. She hadn’t expected that answer.
     
    “I know this all sounds fantastical, but it’s the truth. For as long as anyone in our family remembers, we’ve known about the lycans.”
     
    “So what are you? Some kind of protector, or something?”
     
    “Something like that.”
     
    “Well, that’s clear as mud.”
     
    Rafe’s laughter rumbled beneath her ear. “If you want the whole truth I’ll tell you, Red. But one of two things will happen. Either you won’t believe me, or you will believe me and then probably hate me.”
     
    Not likely . “Give me a try,” she said.
     
    “Like I said, no one is sure where or how it began. Somewhere along time the truth was lost and all we have now are a lot of theories. The one truth that remains is that, in our lineage, we all have the gene.”
     
    A tremor ran through Ruby. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know, but asked anyway. “What gene?”
     
    “The lycan gene.”
     
    Ruby considered his words. They all carried the . . . but then, that would mean . . .
     
    She sat upright, looking Rafe directly. His face was dim in the firelight. “Are you telling me you are a lycan?”
     
    Holding her gaze, he nodded.
     
    “And Lowell?” She couldn’t keep the disbelief from her tone.
     
    Rafe’s gaze went to the cave’s opening. “Yes.”
     
    Ruby scooted away from him. “So that howling . . .?”
     
    “Lowell, if I had to guess,” he said.
     
    “You really expect me to believe this?”
     
    Rafe’s gaze came back to her. “No, I don’t expect you to, but I hope you will.” He pulled his knees up, resting his arms across them.
     
    “So all of the animals . . . Bradford . . .?”
     
    He held one hand up. “That wasn’t me, Red. I swear.” He dropped his hand. “We all carry the gene, but we don’t all shift. Three and a half years ago, I began showing the signs.”
     
    “Signs?”
     
    He shrugged and gazed at the fire again. “You might not remember how much bigger I got in those last six months before I left.” She remembered, but hadn’t thought anything of it—at least, anything that didn’t have to do with her desire for him. “I started getting fevers regularly, only I wasn’t sick. I wasn’t sleeping much, and I was restless.” He blew out a breath. “I was afraid that if I stayed, I’d hurt someone.” His eyes locked with hers. “I was afraid I’d hurt you. I couldn’t have lived with that, Red. So I went away. I left, tearing my soul in two, because it was better than the risk if I stayed.”
     
    Ruby shook her head. “But you left Lowell here.”
     
    Rafe twined his fingers together. “Lowell hadn’t shown any of the signs. We figured he was a carrier, but not a shifter.” Rafe ran a hand through his hair. “Six months ago, my mom called to tell me he was showing the signs. I came back to try to help him learn control.”
     
    This was crazy. Rafe believing what he said was insane. “So you figured it was safer for you in New York at college than here?”
     
    Rafe rested his chin on one hand, watching her. “I wasn’t in New York. I was in Alaska.”
     
    “But . . . your address was in New York.”
     
    “My aunt lives there. She forwarded my mail. I was in a very remote part of Alaska, far north, so it sometimes was weeks before I would get my