by Petra Landon
“Oh my God” Tasia whispered. Could it be? Had it always been under their noses, she mused. No wonder Bianchi and his henchmen had chased after them, risking an open confrontation with other Chosen just to get access to Sienna.
“Tas?” Hawk inquired.
“You have to excuse me” Tasia said urgently, almost leaping off the bed in her hurry. “I need to speak to the Alpha.”
“I’ll be back, Sienna” she directed at the other wizard before flying out of the room.
“Be careful, Tasia” Sienna called out. “Your arm …”
But Tasia was already gone, flitting across the landing to knock on the Alpha’s room before she’d had time to think things through. Sienna glanced helplessly at Hawk, her eyes full of laughter mixed with a hint of curiosity.
“I’d better go after her” Hawk jumped off his chair belatedly to trail after Tasia.
“I need to talk to you” Tasia demanded precipitously, the moment the Alpha opened his door at her peremptory summons.
The gold eyes took in her tousled appearance leisurely. Dark hair tumbled in waves over her shoulders; her fingers pushing back impatiently at an unruly lock of hair that had strayed into her eye. She wore a plain gray tee over poppy red pajamas with bright yellow ducks on them. He stared at the bright pajamas for a fascinated instant before meeting her impatient gaze.
“Nice outfit” he remarked blandly.
“Huh, Oh … umm … I sleep in these” Tasia floundered, gazing alternately at him and her bright pajamas before deciding that other matters took precedence over her taste in night clothes. “I have something to tell you, Alpha” she reiterated again.
“So I see” he muttered.
“How do you feel, Tasia?” Duncan inquired, strolling up to the door with a glass in his hand.
“Your arm” Duncan prompted as Tasia looked nonplussed by his inquiry
“My arm! Oh yes, it’s much better, thank you. I hardly feel the wound.”
“I’m sorry to interrupt your evening” she apologized to the Alpha, her manners reawakened by this evidence of his enjoying a quiet nightcap with Duncan. “I know you’re busy. But this is urgent. I need to tell you something. In the Pack Room” she added, as an afterthought.
The Alpha nodded silently, his eyes glinting with amusement. The two Shifters watched Tasia stride off urgently in the direction of the Pack Room.
“How can I resist?” the Alpha remarked sotto voice to an amused Duncan as he made to follow her just as Hawk came striding out of Tasia’s room.
“Aah Hawk. In search of our impetuous witchling, are you?”
“Where did she run off to?”
“Pack Room” the Alpha replied. “Join me. She has something urgent to tell me.”
They found Tasia pacing the room impatiently in her excitement. She looked up as the Alpha and Hawk entered the room.
“I know why Rafaelo Bianchi is interested in Sienna” she announced impetuously.
The gold eyes zeroed sharply on her, all amusement leached out of them.
“Today, at the house they were holding us in, his eyes kept straying to the locket around Sienna’s neck as if he couldn’t look away. It was done surreptitiously but I got the feeling that he couldn’t help himself. I can’t quite explain it” she said a tad helplessly.
“It’s fine. I get the gist” Raoul responded. “You think that he’s interested in the piece of glass that Sienna wears around her neck.”
“Yes” she nodded gratefully. “Sienna says that she never takes it off because it was a gift from her Dad before he died. The locket holds only sentimental value for her. She believes that it has no power.”
“Does it?” he asked perceptively. She was after all the only Chosen he knew who could sense magic before it had even been dispensed in the air, so to speak!
“I sense great power from it” Tasia nodded her head vigorously. “I have since the first day that we met her. Until today, I had assumed that she kept a powerful Chosen artifact close to her by choice.”
“Like some powerful wizards do, with the aim of harnessing its power to enhance their magic” Raoul muttered thoughtfully.
Tasia herself had once worn a small vial of her blood in a locket around her neck, in the hope that she could use it to enhance her magic in an emergency. After the fiasco at the vampire nest in San Francisco, she’d destroyed the vial and locket, deeming it too risky for a Blutsauger to come in accidental contact with her blood. The chances of a Blutsauger tasting her blood was a possibility she didn’t intend to risk, now that she could call on the protection of the Pack.
“The McAlister name is an old wizard one and it wouldn’t be out of place for her to own such an artifact” Tasia continued. “But Sienna seems unaware of the power in the locket. She wears it for sentimental value”
There was a short silence while both Shifters stared at Tasia.
“You think that Bianchi somehow knows the true value of this artifact and covets it?” Hawk asked, still confused by it all.
“She’s suggesting that the locket is far more than a powerful artifact” the Alpha answered perspicaciously. “Sinotar’s Scepter” he reminded Hawk cryptically as the other Shifter looked all at sea.
“Hawk, remember that if what we believe is true about her break-in at The Vault, then Lady Bethesda has stashed her magic in an object. What better place to hide it than around Sienna’s neck?” Tasia interjected.
“Good God” Hawk exclaimed softly. “Is that possible, Alph?”
“Not only possible but also highly probable” he answered absent-mindedly, the gold eyes abstracted as he thought furiously.
“You’re sure about the power emanating from the locket?” he directed at Tasia.
“Positive” she answered firmly.
“It’s brilliant” Hawk remarked, in awe despite himself.
“As long as Sienna believed that it was gift from her Dad, she’d keep it safe” Tasia agreed. “When Lady Bethesda was ready to retrieve it, all she had to do was arrange a meeting with her daughter with no one being the wiser.”
“It begins to look like Lady Bethesda is finally ready. That’s probably why Bianchi was dispatched to pick Sienna up. Get Jason and Sienna in here, Hawk” Raoul directed decisively. “They need to be told about this. Duncan too, Hawk” the Alpha added as an afterthought.
“You believe I’m right about this?” Tasia inquired once Hawk had exited the room.
“Yes” he nodded. “It would not only explain what Bianchi wanted with her but also why he was so blatant in declaring his intentions. I’ve been wondering why Bianchi didn’t beat a strategic retreat once he realized that he’d been caught out. It’s out of character for a leech to pick a fight when outnumbered instead of biding his time for a better opportunity.”
“Perhaps he underestimated the support that Sienna could draw on?”
“No, Bianchi knew that we had more Shifters and Guardians on the way. His hearing is as good as mine. He chose to confront us anyway. The question is why?”
“Or perhaps he believes in the old adage of divide and conquer” Tasia suggested quietly, her comment drawing a sharp glance from the Alpha.
“He simply assumed that a coalition of Shifters and Guardians would fall apart before it could challenge him successfully” she explained.
“Perhaps” he murmured in response. If truth be told, Raoul was a little taken aback by this glimpse of her perspicuity. Considering that she’d not been present at the scene, she seemed to have a done a decent job of arriving at the same conclusion as him.
His cryptic response served to remind Tasia of Sienna’s belief in what the Alpha had accomplished out there tonight. Created a little slice of Chosen history as Jason apparently called the endeavor! She watched him silently as he pondered something, seemingly lost in thought, the remarkable eyes focused absently on a remote speck on the wall. As usual, there was an aura of controlled restfulness to him; a quality of absolute self-control that extended to his eve
ry movement. It was a quality that Tasia now associated with him. Whispers of his formidable physical prowess abounded and she’d seen some evidence of it herself. It made Chosen wary to go up against him, convincing them to choose to walk away from a confrontation with Raoul Merceau. Yet if what Sienna believed about tonight was true, he was more than a dangerous Shifter. Much more! Shifters were not known for their strategic thinking. They tended to go more on instinct and react from the gut; this aspect of their life driven more by their beast self than the human counterpart.
“What?” he inquired abruptly as he caught her staring at him.
“Something you’d like to tell me?” he invited as Tasia looked sheepish and a tad nonplussed at being called out openly. “Out with it” he added mildly, his tone encouraging in a way that she’d never heard from him before.
Lulled by the unexpected encouragement from this surprising corner, Tasia allowed her curiosity to get the better of her.
“Sienna believes that you created Chosen history out there tonight.”
“I wouldn’t go as far as that” he responded easily.
“Is it true?” she persisted, gazing into the unfathomable depths of gold eyes that gave nothing away as usual. “Did you … weave together the coalition that stood up for Sienna?”
“I had a hand in it, certainly” he acknowledged. “A word here and a gentle nudge there. Throw in some threats and the aura of power that hangs around an Alpha. You get the picture.”
“The Merceau reputation does have its advantages” he alluded gently as Tasia stared at him mutely; astonishment, shock and even a hint of awe writ large on her face. “I never make threats that I cannot carry out.”
“What, you thought being an Alpha was about fighting off every Shifter that challenged you” there was a glint in the gold eyes that held hers so compellingly. Tasia nodded, a little hesitant in her response. “Physical strength is important in controlling a Shifter Pack. No Shifter will listen to an Alpha he is not intimidated by. That’s how it works for us. The Shifter who inculcates the most fear amongst the other Shifters is the one who gets to lead the Pack. But I’m not just a beast; I also possess a human part. And my human part tells me that a smart man only fights his way out of a situation if he cannot resolve it any other way.”
“Your human part seems very intelligent” Tasia muttered, taken aback by this evidence of unexpected depth in the man who’d always seemed to embody the Alpha that every Shifter aspired to be.
“I’d like to think so” he responded blandly, no inflexion in his voice.
Arrogant beast, she thought silently although without any rancor for once. Tasia’s eyes fluttered away from the hypnotic gold gaze of the handsome beast before her while she attempted to hide the smile that seemed determined to cross her lips. Her perception of this man might have shifted in the last few minutes but she hadn’t been completely wrong about him. Raoul Merceau was as arrogant as ever. She’d been absolutely right about that aspect of him. What had changed was the realization that the façade he presented to the world hid a much more complicated man than she’d guessed at before. Unparalleled brawn bundled up with a canny and resourceful intellect made for a dangerous combination in any Chosen - in a Shifter it could be devastating. She’d been absolutely on the ball in her assessment of him that first night – he’d make for a relentless and dangerous enemy.
“Anything else you’d like to know while I’m in the mood to share, Big Eyes?” he inquired softly. His voice held the hint of a tease although the expression remained as bland as ever.
Tasia glanced into the depths of the gold eyes, her own eyes reflecting her inner confusion. He seemed almost playful tonight, a characteristic she’d never associated with him before. This whole situation had a surreal quality to it. She in her pajamas with her feet tucked up in a chair under her as she chatted comfortably with the man who’d been her nemesis since the day their paths had crossed. It helped that they were finally in a room that held no ghosts of conversations past between them, she decided.
“Have you always wanted to be the Shifter who intimidates everyone in the room?” she dared to ask. Tasia could sense that he bore no ill-will towards her in this little game that they seemed to be engaged in and it made her bolder. Also, this small glimpse of playfulness from the big bad Alpha fascinated her.
His expression hardened imperceptively in response though he continued to meet her inquisitive gaze. Tasia cursed herself inwardly. She should not have engaged with him in this whimsy, not unless she was ready for him to revert to the usual Shifter she found so difficult and intimidating to deal with.
“I was determined to be in control of my own destiny” he answered in a hard voice. The gold eyes reflected some long forgotten pain for just an instant before they reverted back to their usual impenetrability. “Being top beast in my Pack was one way of achieving it” this time he said it in his usual impassive manner.
But Tasia had caught a glimpse of the pain in his eyes. She felt an unexpected and deep sense of empathy for this man before her. It made her tread more carefully.
“You seem to have succeeded quite spectacularly” she commented softly.
“I do what I want” he acknowledged quietly. “The only man who gets to command me occasionally is Faoladh. Him, I allow the privilege out of respect.”
Control of my own destiny - I wish I knew how to accomplish that.
His lips twisted wryly. “Power can also be a liability, Big Eyes, as you’ve no doubt realized. It makes some people want to take advantage of you while others try to pit themselves against you in challenge. More than anyone, I understand that.”
That is one of the reasons I offered you Pack protection. So that you’d never find yourself helpless as others trampled all over you for your magic. But Raoul didn’t say that out aloud. Partly because it was something he wasn’t ready to acknowledge yet, even to himself.
Is that what happened to you? But how - how could anyone ever control this formidable man.
But Tasia stayed silent. He’d chosen to give her a glimpse into a part of himself that she suspected he showed very few people. She would accept this with the respect that it deserved and pry no more.
Raoul studied the witchling who gazed up at him, her expression a curious mix of uncertainty, astonishment and understanding. The plain tee she wore had the word ‘princess’ stamped on it. He smiled inwardly at the sight. No one would ever use that moniker to describe her. Duncan’s handiwork had produced a swatch of efficiently tied bandage around the wound on her upper arm. It made for an incongruous accessory at first glance until you took a closer look at the girl who wore it. The big eyes reflected strain and the small delicate face was pinched as if bone weary, giving her an air of fragility. Even the brightly colored pajama bottoms could not quite hide the stress this evening had placed on her. He’d done the right thing by sending her back to the Guest House with Duncan, Raoul realized. Encounters with leeches always seemed to leave her inexplicably drained and anxious.
“You did well tonight” he stated abruptly. “With the leeches, I mean - both Sienna and you.”
She stared at him a little uncertainly, wondering whether he would bring up her request for time to Mfector the room she’d been held in.
“And for putting it all together regarding Sienna’s locket, Bianchi and Lady Bethesda” this time his tone was openly complimentary.
“Thank you” she stammered, unused to compliments from him.
“Since we’re baring our souls here, perhaps you’d like to return the compliment” he invited evenly. “Is there anything else you’d like to tell me about this evening?” he inquired, his voice unusually gentle as she hesitated. Like why leeches frighten the wits out of you! Or how you managed to kill the leech that attacked you!
The gray eyes stared up at him, a hint of uncertainty and a lot of confusion in them. Raoul waited patiently. He didn’t really expect her to confide in him though he wished fervently that she would. One thing he
was sure of. Something had finally changed between them this evening. They’d conversed easily in this room tonight, exchanging questions and ideas like two people working together. None of her usual constraint with him had been on display. Their conversation had allowed him to discover an unexpected acumen in her and he sensed that she’d realized that there was more to him too. There had been no calculation or hesitation on her part to share her deduction with him the moment she’d put the locket and Bianchi’s interest in it together. She’d hot-footed it to tell him of her discovery. Her deduction had not been offered to him because of the bargain they’d made. Instead, for the first time in their association, she’d acted like a member of this team.
Tell me, he found himself urging her silently. Take a leap of faith. Trust me!
“I … uh … used some magic to fight off the vampires coming at me” she confessed slowly, the big eyes troubled. “Nothing extraordinary, just a little more than an L2 should command. Sienna might have noted it though she hasn’t said anything to me about it.”
It was Raoul’s turn to be disconcerted by her confession. This was not exactly what he’d expected her to divulge when he’d encouraged her to talk to him.
“Our deal was no magic without your permission” she reminded him softly, as an explanation for her confession.
This time he had no trouble finding the right words. A flash of guilt shot through him as he recalled hoping that she’d be circumspect and trust in him rather than risk the use of her magic to deal with her kidnappers. From all accounts, she had trusted him to come to their rescue and only resorted to the use of her power when the leeches had attempted to snuff out her life at their master’s orders.
“Our deal also promised you protection. Instead you were left with no choice but to use your magic when the leeches attempted to take your life” he responded, his voice hard with a trace of regret.
“Sienna and I were confident that Jason and you were on your way” she rushed to assure him. “We just ran out of time” the last was said simply with no censure or castigation.
