The tour moved on. There was a big meeting hall that the pack used for public events, a small private school for the pack children, a brightly painted playground, and a small medical clinic. Honorera was impressed. The pack was like a town all to itself. "How many are there of you?"
"We have about 200 adults, plus their children," he answered, and she was surprised. She had imagined a group of about 20 or so.
"And they are all able to shift?"
"Most of them."
She would never have guessed there were so many supernatural beings in the world, let alone in one small town. She tried to imagine that her own mother had been a wolf, but she couldn't picture it. She'd seen old, faded, and creased photos of her mother in Tanner's room. Rachel Talbot looked like a small, mousey woman. Honorera’s mother didn't look capable of swatting a mosquito, let alone changing into a mythical creature.
It was past lunchtime when the couple wandered back to the main house, but Elena had left them some sandwiches, potato salad, and a pitcher of iced tea in the fridge. Honorera took a swig of tea and grimaced. "Wow, that's really sweet."
"Darlin', you are in the south now. That's sweet tea." Gabriel drawled, laughing at her surprised expression. "I nearly forgot that you are a Yankee."
She shot him a dirty look and dumped her cup of tea down the sink, before filling her cup with water from the tap. "How have you not all died from diabetes yet?"
He only grinned as he informed her, “Werewolves don’t get diabetes.”
------
When Gabriel had said they would start training first thing in the morning, he wasn't kidding. Honorera had no chance to help Elena with the breakfast because Gabriel dragged her down to the training grounds before dawn. "Let's warm up with a run, shall we?"
"Okay," she shrugged. She did not mind early mornings or running. He set out at a brisk pace, and she easily matched him, even though her legs were considerably shorter than his. He looked at her sideways, "Just how fast can you run, Honorera?"
She gave him a narrowed glance. "Faster than you."
"Oh yeah?" His voice was laced with a challenge.
"Yeah."
"Prove it." He took a deep breath and picked up his pace, and she easily stayed next to him, without even seeming to exert herself.
"Is that it?" she asked carelessly.
Gabriel gritted his teeth and pushed himself into a full-on sprint. She laughed and ran right on past him. She reached the mile mark and slowed down to let him catch up.
"Moon Goddess mother, you should be an Olympic runner, Honorera." He stopped and put his hand on his knees to catch his breath.
"And have all those people looking at me? No way," she refused flatly with a look of distaste.
He led her inside the gym and took her through a series of weight-lifting and strength-building exercises. Although she was a little clumsy and awkward with some of the machines, she proved to be quite strong for such a small person.
Lastly, he gave her a pair of boxing gloves. He held a set of pads and directed her to punch. She tapped at his pads lightly. "What was that? Are you kidding me Honorera? Don't punch like a girl."
"Excuse me?" She raised one eyebrow at his sexist choice of words.
"Punch like you mean it, put some power behind it. Think about some time when you felt really helpless and you desperately wanted to fight back."
Honorera thought of all the times she'd been pushed around at school, the kids who had laughed at her and teased her, calling her terrible names and knocking her books on the floor. She pictured their faces on the pads and then swung. Not just once, she went at it with both hands, with enough force that she knocked Gabriel backward.
"Whoa, now that's more like it. Great job. I knew you’d be a natural."
She flushed, whether, with embarrassment at her own fury, or pleasure at his compliment, she wasn't sure.
"I think that is enough for today. I don't want you to be too sore. Let's hit the showers and then go for breakfast before Mum sends out the search party." He hung up the pads. Secretly, he was more than pleased with her performance. She was so tiny, but she was strong and incredibly fast. She would make a formidable and surprising opponent.
His father had thought she was weak, but appearances were indeed deceiving.
They quickly showered and walked back to the main house, just as Elena and Courtney were setting the food out on the table. Today there was a breakfast casserole, toast, and fruit salad. Gabriel heaped up a plate for Honorera and set it in front of her, before he served himself. "You don't have to serve me!" She hissed as she took the plate. He just smiled and popped a grape into his own mouth.
"I like to," he said quietly. "And I love it when you blush."
Which of course, only made her blush hotter. She ducked her head and wished she had her hair down so she could hide behind it, or her favorite loose-fitting grey hoodie to cover her face. Conversation swirled around her, as usual, but she was learning to ignore it.
Gabriel's phone rang halfway through the meal, and he excused himself from the table to answer it. When he saw who the caller was, he answered impatiently, "Jerry, I told you I'm not --"
"Hold your horses, cowboy, I'm not calling to offer you a job this time."
"Oh. Well, why are you calling then?”
"Just wanted to pick your brain a little bit. Didn't you say you were just in Vermont?"
"Yeah?"
"Well coincidentally, my mark was in Vermont."
"Really? Kinda small-town for a mark isn't it?"
"You ain't kidding. It don't get any smaller than this." Gabriel could hear Jerry drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. "So here's the funny thing. I got to the place... and my mark is not there... there's the smell of old blood... and there is YOUR smell all over the place."
"Say what?"
"What the fuck were you doing in Vermont, Rico? Seems like you got to my mark before I did."
"Who was your mark?"
"A girl."
"A girl?"
"Yeah... don't ask me why there’s a contract on some dumb red-neck kid. But you already knew that, didn't you? What the hell, are you two-timing, Rico?"
"No way. My business in Vermont was strictly personal."
"And my mark?"
"Who holds the contract?"
“You know I can't tell you that."
"Then I can't tell you anything either. Later Jerry."
Gabriel hung up the phone with shaking hands. How was this possible? Why on earth would someone take out a contract on Honorera? He thought about her mysterious origins... the unknown person who had paid Mortem to keep her hidden away in the woods with Talbot. Who would do that and why? He thought about asking Honorera, but he was certain that she knew nothing. She simply believed that her mother had abandoned her to her cruel uncle.
He sighed and returned to the table, but his heart was deeply troubled. If there was a mark on Honorera, her life was in danger. If he hadn't taken her to his home, she would already be dead. The thought of losing his mate now made his blood run cold. He couldn't lose her. He couldn't go back to his solitary life. He had to find out who had taken out the contract, and why... and eliminate them before they got to Honorera.
He'd already tried to do his own investigation into Honorera's origins, but he had come up empty. There wasn't even a birth certificate in her name or a social security number. There were no medical records, and no record at all prior to her being enrolled in Kindergarten at the Mount Tabor school. Honorera Talbot didn't seem to exist at all. He'd dug around a bit on the mother, Rachel Talbot, but there was nothing particularly interesting there. There was no record of her being pregnant, and the woman had virtually disappeared from the planet around the time that Honorera had been dropped off with TannerTalbot.
When breakfast was finished, Gabriel caught Elena's arm. "I need to talk to you, mum. Alone."
Elena knew at once by the grim expression on Gabriel's face that something was wrong. She nodded and lead the way into the study, closing the door behind him. "What's wrong, son? Is it work?"
Gabriel ran a hand through his hair. "Yes and no."
"I thought you were going to stop, now that you have your woman."
"I was! I am!" Gabriel paced the small room. "It's Honorera mum. There is a mark on Honorera."
Elena blanched. Gabriel never talked about his work, but she’d always suspected it was something terrible. Now her worst fears were confirmed. "What?? How can that be? She's just a kid?"
"I don't know... there's something weird about everything... and something special about Honor that I can't put my finger on yet."
"They wanted to give you the contract?"
"Maybe. I got a call on the way down here. But I refused. So someone else picked it up."
"Do they know she's with you?"
"I don't think so. Not yet. But they know that I'm involved. They recognized my scent at her home. Along with her blood. Right now, I think they think I killed her. That maybe I took an outside contract."
"Oh, my Goddess... this is complicated." Elena began to pace the small confines of the room.
"We have to hide her mum. We have to keep her safe... and I've got to figure out what the hell is going on."
"Who is this girl, really Gabriel?"
"I don't know. Officially, she doesn't even exist." He balled up his fists. "I don't care who she is or where she came from. She's mine. She's MINE."
"Shush, don't raise your voice. Of course, she is, Rico. The Moon Goddess mother does not make mistakes. She paired you with this girl for a reason, it's your fate, your destiny... and hers. What will you do?"
"I have to find out who she is... and who holds the contract. And kill them before they get to her." He sighed and dropped into a chair. "We have to tell the others not to talk to anyone about her... not to reveal her identity or her whereabouts."
"Do you love her that much?" His mother asked softly.
"From the moment I laid eyes on her, I couldn't live without her." He replied seriously.
"I'll tell them, dear." Elena stopped pacing and stood in front of her son. She reached up and squeezed his shoulders. "Don't worry. It will all work out."