Snowy With A Chance 0f Mating (Move Over Fate Book 3)

by Michelle Ziegler

  She couldn't keep reality separated from what she saw here.

  The scent of Caleb filled her nose as she inhaled. Closing her eyes, she breathed in deeply. Instantly her body remembered his touch. Stretching out against the grass of the forest floor, she moaned -- tendrils of need winding over her body like vines.

  He would shield her; he would keep her safe.

  She called out to him, his name a whisper on her lips. "Caleb."

  Her body cumbersome and heavy, her mind, lost in confusion and euphoria, let go. Sleep welcomed her.

  "Open your eyes," a voice commanded.

  Marci struggled to pull herself from the dream in her head. She'd let Caleb have her. Why would she open her eyes?

  The world mixed in her head like watercolors mixed with far too much water.

  Sleep. She should sleep.

  16

  "Caleb, dear."

  He looked up from the coffee no longer attempting to steam.

  The run hadn't cleared his head, and he couldn't go back to his place. No yet. Not when all he could do was smell her on his sheets.

  "Yes?"

  Annie shook her head. "Go after her."

  He stirred the coffee absently. "I think Marci would kill me. My drill sergeant was less scary."

  She came around the table. "Alright. Well, I finally heard back from the Lowensteins about this whole business about the ghost. They said you should have found a note explaining what they fondly called Mara."

  Caleb thought back "Where? I never saw anything."

  The wrinkles on Annie's forehead were more pronounced than usual.

  "Oh dear. I think it explained that she, it, wasn't necessarily evil. It is highly protective, and apparently, over the years they'd figured out if you properly respected her, she was actually quite easy to handle."

  The ripples of the coffee mesmerizing, or maybe it was the thoughts running through his head. "Wait for what?"

  "Listen better, Caleb. That or go get her."

  He ran a hand down his face. "What? Oh. Right, the ghost."

  "Spirit, dear. They actually said there is nothing that can be found on the spirit to make them think it was or ever has been a human. Only humans would leave ghosts. The Lowenstein did say it hates anyone leaving, which you can imagine the trouble it could cause in an inn."

  He took a sip of his drink and almost choked on the icy flavor. He hated cold coffee, even when it was supposed to be and this wasn't supposed to be.

  "Annie. The ghost, spirt, whatever, would have already hurt her, right? I mean it's been a week. Can't it tell she doesn't mean to leave?"

  She gripped her chin within her thumb and forefinger. "I suppose. Maybe Marci was just instantly liked. Best to not tempt fate again. You can imagine why the Lowensteins got tired of that old place though."

  A chill chased along every nerve in his body.

  "No, actually, why did they? I still don't know the whole truth."

  Annie grabbed his cup up and paused. "Well, the Lowenstein's had been talking about retirement for years. They were tired of the forest and wanted to go somewhere different. They stopped taking new bookings and soon had only one or two regulars. They think the spirit must have caught on as they started to pack some of their things. Well, that same week Mara tried to hurt Gretel. That was the last straw, and Mr. Lowenstein loaded up what they had and drove off."

  "So, you think the ghost, spirit, the thing, it's angry when the people it's attached to leave?"

  She shrugged. "Suppose so. Being they'd been there for an incredible amount of time, we can only guess. The only tip I got was to make sure the guests always tell her goodbye. Reassure her they'd come back."

  He stood up so fast his chair tipped. "What if someone tempted fate again?"

  Her eyes widened into saucers. "Perhaps you best head over there. I assume this had to do with your little tiff and that shiny black car out in front of the inn?"

  He was halfway out the door. "Yeah. Marci's ex-fiancé showed up."

  The night air couldn't cool the anger seeping out of him. Jeff might possibly be his least favorite person. He took what seemed perfect and somehow mangled it. Maybe Jeff was a push, to ensure she became Caleb's mate, but it shouldn't have been like this.

  Caleb's hands tingled as he started to shift. His boots grew tight as he pushed his legs to move faster. Not yet. He wouldn't shift, yet.

  He sniffed the air as he walked up to the inn. The door creaked open to a silence that chilled his blood. Either the spirit had killed them both, or they weren't here. He sniffed the air and followed the threads of her scent. He cringed at the scent of Jeff. Pausing he inhaled again. Jeff's smell, not as strong as Marci's, might mean he'd left, or at the house at least. The scent Marci left behind fresh; she'd been here recently.

  "Marci?" he called out, expecting an answer as he followed her path to the kitchen. It was, empty.

  The pulsing of his own heart filled his ears. His bear began to pace as his upper lip curled back.

  Caleb listened again and still couldn't catch her breathing. Nothing.

  His bear wrinkled its nose at the scents of Jeff, mixed with the fresh paint, the dust, and the wood polish. He sniffed again. Marci's scent was everywhere, yet nowhere. She wasn't here. The ghost, or spirit, whatever it was wasn't here either. No matter when he'd come over recently, he could feel the electricity pulsing at times. Everything lay still now.

  Caleb tried to remain calm, but what if she'd left with the shithead warlock? He couldn't live without her. His bear nudged them to move; it didn't feel like she'd left the area at least. He would know if his destined mate had left.

  The screen of the back door shuttered close as the wind caught it. His blood ran cold.

  Stepping out the door, he blinked into the night catching footprints leading out into the field to the forest. Two sets of prints, although one appeared to be running.

  "Shit."

  Quickly he yanked off his boots and shirt dropping them to the back porch. He tripped over his pants as he stepped into the snow and his bear sprang out.

  Caleb wasn't sure his pants survived as the bear broke free. They landed on all fours, his bear locking onto her scent and barreled out into the night.

  His bear swung its head side to side as they got closer. Her scent disappeared into the trees, and the bear balked as the magic stung his snout. Pawing at the invisible barrier, neither of them knew what to expect.

  The wind appeared to sing his name as they stood and glared.

  "Caleb."

  The bear backed up, instinct telling him that something wasn't right.

  They turned around once and then again, stopping and tracing each of her steps.

  Lowering his head to the ground the bear sniffed at the snow, only then catching the difference in the prints.

  Jeff's prints appeared to have shoes on, Marci's were a mix of odd shapes and a bare foot here and there as if she'd lost a shoe.

  Had the warlock lured her out here?

  His bear roared out into the night. The air electrified around them. Orbs of light wafted and fluttered about behind the curtain of magic.

  "Caleb." A disembodied voice sang his name again, this time definitely not the wind. The bear looked over his shoulder, nothing.

  A flicker in the trees caught their attention, followed by more words. "Caleb. Come for her."

  They turned slowly, his bear never losing sight of a shimmering shadow.

  He puffed out air as if asking a question.

  "In here, Caleb. If you find her, you keep her."

  The bear cocked its head, were the pixies supposed to be able to talk through the barrier?

  He liked the idea of keeping Marci though. Both he and his bear did. Caleb, however, didn't like the idea that this sounded more like a challenge or a game that would most likely have rules no one but the Fae knew.

  As they put one massive paw forward, his skin prickled and tingled. As the bear snout passed through into the invisibl
e barrier of the forest, he shed his fur without consciously choosing to shift.

  "We like you much better this way."

  He righted himself, his muscles cording in anticipation for something, he didn't know what.

  "Who's there? Who is we?" asked Caleb.

  Giggles echoed all around him. He threw a hand to his chest as the gentle touch of a phantom ran fingers over his skin.

  "We are the children of the forest. We do so love shifters."

  He turned in a circle and yet saw nothing at first.

  A deep breath and he slowed his heart rate, channeling the bears hearing and eyes even if he wasn't allowed out.

  Two small, winged creatures flitted about.

  "There you go, shifter. You see us now."

  The two seemed to pause in mid-air, changing. Their unnatural blue skin faded to a more human tone.

  Caleb jumped back as one morphed into Marci, the creature going from thumb size to human.

  "You desire this flesh, do you not?"

  The creatures now-humanlike fingers traced his jawline.

  "Pity. Although shifter, you have not claimed the witch yet." The creature grinned. "Shall we play a little game." The pixie closed in, and he cringed as her scent filled his nose. It might have looked like her, but it smelled nothing like Marci.

  "An unclaimed shifter is really no challenge. The animal within can't be manipulated by our magic."

  Caleb opened his lips, and the creature silenced him.

  "Oh, we can keep him caged up well enough for now. But he won't let you fall into our magic. Now a shifter with a mate, a witch no less, this is much more fun."

  His hands clenched at his sides, wishing for claws. "It doesn't work that way, pixie."

  She giggled, a tinkling of bells, and a shiver ran over his spine.

  "Oh, but doesn't it? You find her and claim her, you get to keep her. If you find her and deny the bear what is his, we keep her and that horrid little man thing."

  He turned his head to the creature. "Jeff?"

  "Is that what it is? A Jeff? Humans are so boring. He'll wither away here in a matter of days. Perhaps we should do you a favor and keep him anyway."

  The thought was tempting, but it wasn't right. "No."

  "Oh, our shifter doesn't like this Jeff." Said a soft voice from behind him. He turned and caught a dark-haired beauty with unnaturally electric blue eyes -- the same as the one that looked like Marci.

  "Let him be. He's done nothing wrong," Caleb growled.

  The two cackled their unnatural laughs.

  "The spirit in the house doesn't like him; it believes he plans to take away your Marci. He isn't innocent. "

  That caught his attention. "What do you mean? Marci wouldn't go with him. So who cares what he wants."

  The two pixies circled, their fingers running along his chest, his shoulders, his biceps. He held his stance; they wouldn't get the better of him.

  "What makes you so certain, shifter? Deny that she is yours too long and perhaps fate can be cruel. Our little spirit likes Marci; it trusts her. It likes you too, shifter."

  The one pixie moaned in disappointment. "Too bad his soul is spoken for by that little witch. He could be fun."

  She giggled.

  "The clock is ticking, shifter. Find her. Claim her, and you shall have her."

  He had no idea what the hell kind of magic these pixies had, Annie needed to work on her initiation of this little club. His bear sniffed in impatience; he had no problem with this little game. His human side did. The cold reality of losing her echoed through him like shots firing among the trees.

  "What if she doesn't want me?"

  The pixie woman moved closer. "Oh, my sweet sexy shifter. I wouldn't worry. She won't deny you." A long forked tongue slithered out of her mouth and licked his cheek.

  He stood rigid.

  "That's not how mating works. Marci has to be allowed to choose me. She has to know her own heart," he said.

  The blond pixie stepped away.

  "You ruin all the fun. Yes, shifter. We know. The rules still stand. She will never find her way out of this forest if you don't claim her."

  His next words burned like acid in his mouth.

  "What about Jeff?"

  The other pixie flitted around, back in her winged form.

  "He can go too, unless he eats something. Then we get to keep him."

  Caleb's hand darted out and grabbed her. He began to squeeze, and the pixie in the Marci-suit hissed.

  "Fine. You keep the human. Release her. You harm any creature in this forest, and you will be breaking the accords between your world and ours."

  He smirked. "I highly doubt the accords allow you to harm humans or any other magical creature or person."

  She shrugged. "Gray areas. Now go. Your time is running out. You might not feel the effects of our magic, but she does."

  Her words slapped him back to reality. Annie had said shifters were the only ones not affected by the forest.

  Without a word, he took off in a direction his bear knew would take her to him.

  * * *

  He crashed through the underbrush for what seemed like hours.

  "Marci. Where are you?"

  He sniffed the air, but her scent had no direction. She was close; he felt her. The bear growled at being trapped. He stomped his paw deep within Caleb's soul.

  What am I missing?

  The bear blinked and closed his eyes. Caleb didn't have time to argue and did the same. Standing there he tried to use his other senses. Hearing did no good; he hadn't heard a single word from her.

  He tried to remain still, keep the anger and fear buried. That's when he felt it. A tug - a pull from his core. Following the strange feeling, he moved, opening his eyes the instant the tugging grew tighter, stronger.

  His eyes focused on the luminescent blue and at a figure lying in a small patch of low ferns. He nearly tripped as he ran to her.

  "Marci?"

  Grabbing her shoulders, he crouched down and pulled her against him.

  "You're not Caleb."

  She didn't reach for him.

  "No. I am. It's me."

  Her glassy gaze flicked to him and started to clear, her pupils focusing.

  "Is it?"

  Her eyes narrowed.

  "It is," he answered.

  Something on her face said she didn't believe him. The pixies were wrong, and he was already too late.

  "Smile for me," she asked.

  His eyes widened. "Okay."

  He smiled as her fingers traced his lips. He nuzzled into her hand. The warmth of her skin everything his body craved.

  Without another word, she pulled his face to hers, and she kissed him.

  Her taste was sweet. It had been too long since Caleb had tasted her. He pushed in and kissed her harder, longer, deeper.

  Pulling her in closer, her body leaning into him, as she controlled the kiss. She pulled herself up, climbing him, trying to get closer to him and God, he was willing to hold her as close as she wanted.

  She pulled away.

  "You're naked. Why are you naked? None of the others have been naked."

  What? "What others?"

  She started to shake. "So many of you and yet not you. None of them were you. So many of them. What if I picked the wrong one? My magic doesn't work here? I'm stuck here."

  She began to ramble and shake. Caleb tried to hold her tighter, tried to keep the words from tumbling from her swollen pink lips.

  The glossy look in her eyes said more than her words. She wasn't here at the moment, she was, but something wasn't right.

  His bear snarled, angry at being trapped. Right now all he could do was follow their instinct.

  17

  Marci blinked and still couldn't clear her head. Was he real? He felt real. He tasted real. His smile the same that she remembered.

  What if it wasn't him though? Was it cheating if she didn't know? Did it matter? If she died here, wouldn't it be be
tter to die in his arms?

  She covered her eyes with the palm of her hand blocking out the twinkling of the forest. Her rationality sitting just behind the drunken thoughts of whatever this forest did to her.

  What was the forest doing to her? Her soul ached for something only he could offer and her body pulsed with a need more significant than anything she'd ever known. The hunger for him so great she couldn't handle the pain.

  "Is it really you?" she whispered. They couldn't lie to her.

  He pulled her in tighter.

  "It's me. Breathe. I'm here."

  She couldn't hold back any longer. Her heart needed Caleb. The longer he touched her, the less it hurt. She could finally breathe. Taking in the air, she instantly found a new need.

  No more waiting.

  "I'm yours." The words far away to her ears, but they were right. She was his. There was no one else for her, she'd meant to tell him tomorrow, but if today were her last day she had no choice.

  The deep spice of him took over her senses as his lips mashed into hers commanding they follow him.

  Yes.

  Need coursed through her. She needed him now. Her fingers trailed down the solid muscles of his abdomen, following the trail of hair down a short way where her hand stopped. There was no need to guess what he wanted as she wrapped her hand around his long hard shaft.

  His lips pulled away, leaving her hungry.

  "Look at me," he said.

  She blinked and did as instructed.

  "Marci, look at me. See me." He shook her gently. The fog lifted, leaving way for clarity.

  "Did you mean what you said?"

  She had to think back. What had she said?

  "Are you mine?" he asked.

  Biting her lip, she nodded. Those words. She meant them.

  "Yes. Yours. And you're mine."

  She nearly fell as her legs shook under her weight.

  His hands wrapped tight around her.

  "Marcy, look at me."

  She tried to blink away the clouds coming back. Raising her hand to his face, she let the stubble along Caleb's jawline remind her he was real. What was real, and what wasn't, crashed into some in-between here.