Ecstasy Untamed (Feral Warriors #6)(8)

"When I'm in control, no. Never. But I lose it, Stripes. You've seen it happen. I'm fighting as hard as I can to control the fury, but I keep losing. You can't let me hurt them." He wouldn't be able to live with himself. He'd barely been able to live with what he'd done to Aren.

"I won't, buddy. I won't." Tighe got in his face, his gaze like a lifeline, snaring him in the fierce love they all felt for one another. "You're going to get past this. You'll see. You're getting better."

But it was a lie, and they both knew it. Two weeks had passed, and he not only wasn't any better, he was pretty sure he was getting worse. Though he was learning ways to hold on to control, when he lost it he was gone for longer and longer periods of time, until he feared that one day soon, he'd shift into his hawk and never come back.

What use was a shifter who couldn't shift?

None. None at all.

Though no one would say the words out loud, they were all thinking the same thought. If he didn't get any better, if he couldn't shift, sooner or later, they were going to have to clear the way for a hawk Feral who could.

The Feral, Vhyper, turned the huge yellow vehicle - a Hummer, Faith thought it was called - into the long drive. There were trees everywhere, but the trees weren't densely spaced, and she could see large homes dotting the woods in the distance on either side. By far the largest of the homes, a true mansion, stood at the end of the drive, three imposing brick stories adorned with dormers and black shutters. An awe-inspiring sight with the late-afternoon sunshine filtering down through the surrounding hardwoods, making the randomly planted azalea bushes gleam like rubies.

Pleasure stirred, and the desire to share the pretty sight with Maria pinched inside her. She hadn't even been able to tell Maria good-bye. Often, life's chapters refused to wrap themselves up in neat little packages. She knew that from long, bitter experience. But her sojourn in Warsaw had ended on a particularly ragged tear. Fate had thrown a wrench into the works when Maxim walked into her life. She glanced at him now as he sat in the front seat beside Vhyper, eyeing the mansion with a look that told her he was unimpressed.

Vhyper, who'd picked them up at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C., pulled up in front of the house, parking the Hummer among the variety of other vehicles already there. He tugged on the snake earring that hung from one ear. "Welcome to Feral House. Home of the wildest animals in Fairfax County."

Faith looked at him in the rearview mirror, uncertain whether he was being wry or self-important. Wry, she decided at the hint of humor lurking in his eyes. Definitely wry.

"Then I will civilize them." Maxim's tone made it clear he was serious. Painfully serious.

That hint of humor in Vhyper's eyes fled, his expression turning cool even as a smile lifted his mouth. "Good luck with that."

Faith didn't need a formal education to recognize a rough road ahead when she saw one. She'd known Maxim only a matter of hours, but it had become increasingly clear the man was utterly without a sense of humor. Which was too bad since she had one. But Maxim was educated and cultured. A good man, or the animal would never have marked him.

Vhyper turned off the ignition and swung his long frame out of the car, a bright beam of sunlight slicing through the trees to illuminate his bald head. Faith reached for her door handle, uncertain if Maxim would insist on opening the door for her. His attention to her since he'd picked her up that morning had been erratic. One moment, he treated her like a queen with formal, old-world manners. The next, she wondered if he remembered she existed.

As she hesitated, he swung out of the car, shut his own door, and started up the brick walk to the wide front stoop alone. With a sigh, Faith let herself out of the car, glancing at Maxim's retreating back with a stab of uncertainty. Was he just preoccupied? Certainly that would be understandable under the circumstances. Or was he embarrassed by her? Heaven knew she wasn't of his class. Not even close.

As her gaze tracked farther, she caught sight of a man standing in the open doorway, a man as tall or taller than Maxim though perhaps not quite as broad through the chest and shoulders. Sunlight struck short brown hair that curled just a little at the edges, weaving into it fine threads of gold that set off a handsome face with sharply arched brows over dark eyes.

As Maxim reached the steps to the front porch, the man stepped forward and thrust out his hand - too far, nearly to Maxim's jacket button.

"I'm Hawke. Welcome to Feral House."

Another Feral Warrior. But she'd suspected as much.

Maxim looked down his nose at the proffered hand, making no move to take it.

"Do you speak English?" The Feral's tone remained even though it had lost that layer of warmth.

"I do."

"Grasp my forearm, then, just below my elbow. It's the way we greet one another."

Maxim hesitated, then did as the Feral directed, looking somehow awkward as he did so. As they grasped one another's forearms, Maxim lifted his chin. "I wish to confer with the Chief of the Feral Warriors."

Hawke gazed at him calmly, his expression cooling more, just as Vhyper's had.

Faith's heart sank at Maxim's attitude. He was acting like a prince forced to consort with peasants. She wanted to like and respect this man whom fate seemed to have chosen for her. But she was finding it increasingly hard to do so.