27
We sleep for hours and I mean hours. We were both completely exhausted and no one bothered us. When we wake in the morning, there’s still plenty of work to be done. More paranormals depart. Merrick and his pack wait for us to come downstairs before leaving. Solomon and Ford said they’d help teleport them. My aunt and uncle wouldn’t go without saying goodbye to me first.
“You could always relocate here,” I offer Zayda. Not that I think she’ll accept, but it’s worth a shot. I also think my mom has loved having her nearby. They’ve been talking, catching up. It’s been nice to have Zayda here. It’s good for us.
“Our home isn’t in North Carolina, but that doesn’t mean we won’t visit,” she says. “And you can teleport up whenever you want. There’s an open invitation for you and your pack. You’re all welcome.”
Aries steps up beside me. “And you and your pack can come here whenever you like. We’d love to have you.” He then turns his attention to Merrick and extends his hand. “I don’t have the words to properly thank you for all you and your pack have done for us. I’m sorry for those you lost along the way.”
Merrick shakes his hand. “It was our pleasure to fight alongside you. There was always this part in the back of my mind whispering that one day I would have to confront my brother, but never did I think he would be as far gone as he was. He attacked my pack. His pack killed members of mine. There was no turning back. At least we can find peace now that he’s no longer upon this earth.” Merrick still lost his brother. Good or bad, he was family to him. I imagine it’s a wound that cuts deep.
Zayda hugs me, then Merrick steps over and wraps his arms around me as well. My cousin lingers in the background. As my eyes meet his, I see a blush creep up his cheeks. No, I won’t embarrass him this time by hugging him in front of everyone, but next time I see him, I’m definitely going to. We’re family after all.
Ford appears in the entryway. His hair is neatly combed, his signature leather trench coat on, and his jeans haphazardly tucked into his black boots. He looks well put together, but his eyes don’t lie. There are big bags under them, making me wonder when the last time was he slept. I deliberately don’t go rifling through his mind. If he wants to talk to me about Sienna, I’m here. If not, I’m still going to be here for him. That won’t change. He will always have me as a friend. I’ve never been the type of person to make friends and toss them away as if they mean nothing. My friends stay with me always.
Solomon, Ford, Rion, and I spend time teleporting Merrick, Zayda, and their pack back to eastern Pennsylvania. It’s sad to see them go, though I’m sure they will be happy to sleep in their own beds again and get their lives back to normal. Or a new normal rather. Lives were lost. They can mourn in peace.
When we’re done teleporting them, my mom finds me in the kitchen shoveling food into my mouth. I haven’t eaten in a while, and I swear this wolf in me eats enough for ten people. She better burn it off as well.
“Sienna wants to see you,” Mom says. “She’s upstairs in the room she’s sharing with Galina. You two can be alone. Galina will step out when you get there.”
I place my fork on the plate and set it down on the counter. Suddenly, my appetite is gone. There’s nothing I can do to change the fact that I killed her father. If she hates me forever, I’ll understand. At least she wants to talk to me. Hopefully, it’s not to chew me out. But if she does, I’ll take it. While I don’t regret killing those I did, I would understand if she didn’t want to speak to me again.
Upstairs, I knock on the door to their room and wait as footsteps approach on the other side. Galina opens the door. She smiles and steps aside so I can enter. The door clicks shut behind me after she slips out without saying a word.
Sienna is on the bed, pillows behind her back as she rests against the headboard. The off-white comforter covers her from the waist down. The grey shirt she’s wearing I immediately recognize as one of Ford’s. But it’s her smile that causes me to freeze. It’s not wide or full of happiness; however, its presence tells me there’s some hope. Maybe she doesn’t hate me as much as I thought she would.
Sienna’s blonde hair is pulled back in a high ponytail, her green eyes are bright. She looks fully healed, for which I’m grateful. That’s only on the outside, though. I’m sure internally she’s dealing with more than I can imagine. Not only did she lose her mate but her father as well. Add in the fact that she was basically a vampire’s snack for days on end and held captive. Yeah, I’d probably be rocking in the corner with tears streaming down my face.
She pats the bed beside her. Her voice is light and melodic. “Come sit, Ariane.”
I drop down next to her, not nearly as graceful as I intend to be. I focus on the wall on the far side of the room.
She speaks before I can open my mouth and apologize for taking her dad’s life. “I missed you,” she begins. “After we moved, I thought about you. I wanted to tell you what I was when we were younger, but Mom wouldn’t let me. I wasn’t allowed to talk with anyone about being a shifter. Then we moved and were welcomed into a community of other fox shifters. We didn’t live in a pack, as you do here, but fairly close to one another. I felt like I belonged, but in all honesty, I never felt like an outcast when you were with me. Maybe something inside of me knew you were a shifter as well. I’m not sure.”
I smile. “No one knew I was going to turn out to be a shifter. Not even Rion. I think everyone was pretty floored.” It feels like just yesterday I shifted for the first time. Time has been going by in the blink of an eye since I met Rion.
“I’m not mad. Mom told me you killed Dad because he was attacking you. I can’t blame you for defending yourself. This life we lead, sometimes it’s tough, and sometimes it’s very rewarding, but I never take a day I’m given for granted.” She’s so kind. I’m not sure I would be if the roles were reversed. I give her a lot of credit for holding herself like she is and offering me friendship I don’t feel like I deserve.
“I’m sorry, Sienna. I didn’t know it was him.”
“Nor could you have. We didn’t talk after I moved. You had no clue I was part of this paranormal world, let alone the fact that Travis was manipulating my family in one great big scheme to get to you.”
I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. There’s a part of me that warms knowing I’m getting my friend back. She’s accepting what I’ve done. “I’m sorry about your mate as well.”
“That... Eli was my entire world. He didn’t deserve to be caught in this. Travis considered him nothing and wasted no time having Benedict kill him right in front of me.”
Reaching over, I take her hand in mine. “I can’t imagine how difficult that must have been for you. If I lost Rion...” I shake my head. My entire world would come crashing down.
“Eli was a good shifter, who was doing what any mate would have done, and that was to protect the ones he loved. But he was no match for a wolf and a vampire.” I’m sure there are some great perks to being a fox, but brute strength can’t be one of them. Poor Eli didn’t stand a chance.
“You and your mom are welcome to stay here as long as you like. I know Aries and Cassandra won’t mind. Lealla would love to have you, and so would my mom.”
“They’ve been very kind to us. Lealla stopped in this morning. She told me we could stay here, and her fox shifter pack would welcome us as well. But Mom wants to go back to Portland. It’s where all of our belongings are and all of my dad’s things.” She pauses for a moment. “I’m sorry about your dad as well. Your mom told me what happened.” A tear escapes my eye and leaves me wondering how Sienna is able to hold it together after all she’s lost.
“I got revenge,” I state with a shaking breath, willing the other tears not to fall. “Travis can’t hurt anyone else.”
“I’m glad you took care of him and that Ford and the others killed Benedict. Neither of them should have been allowed to live. What they did to everyone... What they did to me... It’s inexcusable.”
“Have you spoken to Ford?” The words slip out before I have time to think about what I’m asking. It’s a dumb move on my part. I highly doubt she wants to discuss her ex-boyfriend with me.
“You’re close to him, right?”
I nod. “We’re bonded, although I’ve never figured out the how or why of it. He’s saved me many times, and some of my loved ones. He’s become one of my best friends.”
“I’m glad he has you. I worried about him after we parted ways. He was always so tough on the outside, but inside, there was a much deeper side to him. It’s too bad he hasn’t found someone yet.”
I keep the fact that he already did to myself. There’s no doubt in my mind that Sienna holds a decent portion of Ford’s heart. He still loves her. That much is evident. However, I’m not sure what he’ll do about it, if anything. Plus, Sienna just lost her mate. It’s not like she’s going to want someone else.
I’m still unsure how this whole mate thing works if one of them dies. Can they move on and find another? Or is there only ever one mate for each shifter? Whatever the case may be, I hope Sienna and Ford find peace, whether it’s together or apart. Both have been through a lot, and Sienna needs time to mourn and heal. Hopefully, she’ll let Ford in as a friend, if nothing more. I think it might provide him with the closure he needs after seeing her again.
“What are you going to do now?” she asks, changing the subject to a lighter topic.
“Well, I have to finish high school. It will be through homeschooling, though. No way am I going back to public school.”
“What about after?”
“I haven’t thought much about it. I want to spend time getting to know Rion more than I already have. We haven’t known each other too long, and everything that has happened between us feels like it was done at warp speed. We have to figure out this new life we have together and what we’re going to do with it.” There’s a lot we have to learn about one another. Simple everyday things. Stuff normal couples learn as they start dating and fall in love. Things we skipped, like going on dates to the movies or out to dinner. The good stuff.
I squeeze her hand before letting go. “I don’t want to drift apart again, you and me. I’d like to talk more. I could visit you in Portland, or I could teleport you here. Oh! We could go to Australia! Remember how we used to always talk about visiting there when we were little?”
She laughs. “You used to have this little kangaroo figurine, and we’d pretend we were on vacation there.”
“Hey, we can make that dream a reality.” I smile. I hadn’t realized how much I missed Sienna. It’s going to be great having her in my life again, and I’ll forever be grateful for her forgiveness.
28
When I exit the room, Ford is standing across the hall sans trench coat and boots. He’s leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and a look I can’t decipher. Grabbing his arm, I silently pull him down the hall to an empty room, wanting to put as much distance between Sienna and us as possible. She doesn’t need to hear our conversation, though she still might with those strong shifter ears.
I shut the door as Ford drops down on the perfectly made bed. Everyone is back in the mansion again, so things don’t look like a cyclone tore through here. Whoever cleans this place, I bet they are paid very well.
Sad eyes meet mine. “She opened up to you.”
I nod. “But you have to remember, I’m not you. She’s going to have an easier time speaking to me rather than to her ex-whatever you paranormals call yourselves after you break up with someone.” I do my best not to probe into Ford’s mind. Whatever he has to say to me, I’ll wait.
“I loved her back then,” he starts. “She used to be my entire world. Once I saw her again, everything faded away. It was only her and my need to get her to safety. To run my hands over her and make sure she was okay. But I failed. Benedict took her again and did things, which I’m sure will haunt her the rest of her life.”
I walk across the room and sit beside him. “You did everything you could.”
“I never thought to look in Alaska. Had I, maybe we could have gotten to her sooner. I knew her parents used to have a place there.”
“But Benedict didn’t take her to her parents’ place. He took her to his, and by the looks of it, he’s had it a long time. I honestly think it was a sheer coincidence that his home was near their vacation house.”
“There was a strong block up in her mind after the first time we saw her behind my house. Somehow, she let me see that little part of Juniper, but that was it. I didn’t see more until she was safe again. He was in Alaska to torment her. Every memory she has of being there as a child is now tainted. Did you read her mind?” I shake my head. “He brought her to that home—the one she used to go to as a child—and he tortured her there. He did things...” Ford’s hands tighten into fists. “Had I known what he did to her, I would have dragged out his death for the next hundred years. I would have made each day, every minute, an unbearable hell of pain.”
Reaching over, I grip his hand in mine, easing his fingers loose. It’s then I realize how bad he’s shaking. “You can’t keep looking back, Ford. We can’t change the past. It’s not worth dwelling over or wondering what would have happened if you had done something different. All you can do is focus on the future. Everything we do, everything that happens, we learn from it.”
He squeezes my hand. “I’m not sure where to go from here. I thought I could walk away from her, once I knew she was safe, but I don’t think I can. There’s this need in me to protect her.”
“That’s because she’s your forever, Ford.” His gaze snaps to mine. “Don’t deny it. I don’t need to read your mind to understand the depths of your feelings for her. You can kid yourself all you want, but you will always come back to her.”
“I thought I moved on. I thought I was doing a good job of living without her. Then I saw her again and everything changed.”
“What are you going to do?” As much as I don’t want to see Ford leave, he has to do what’s best for him. Though, I’m not sure following Sienna around is it. Yes, it will ease the part of his mind that worries for her, but the rest of him will be torn apart every time he looks at her and knows he can’t touch her or be near her.
“What I want to do and what I should do are very different. I’d love to hold her again. To spend the rest of my days protecting and loving her. I want to build a life with her—the one I used to dream of. But I can’t do that. She just lost her mate and her father. Everything in her world has been flipped on its axis; adding me into the mix wouldn’t be smart. She needs to heal. I’d be nothing but a nuisance.” My heart shatters for him. I want good in his life. I want him to be happy, to be loved.
“I think you had the right idea before, when you said you needed time to yourself. You should get away from things. From here, Portland. Go explore and focus on yourself. Maybe when you come back, Sienna will see you again like she once did.”
He shakes his head. “You mate for life, Ari. She won’t ever see me as anything other than a friend.”
“Maybe the rules aren’t that clear. Who’s to say what’s going to happen. You don’t know. Maybe Eli wasn’t her true mate. Or maybe she gets two in this life. If you’re meant to be together, then the two of you will reconnect again. But you can’t do that right now. Not like this. She has a lot to work through. However, so do you. You’re not in a good place mentally. A lot has happened in these past months. We all need time to adjust to what our lives will be going forward.”
“I certainly don’t want to hang around here and watch you and Orion truly begin your life together,” he huffs, though I think it’s more for show.
I lean my head on his shoulder. “You love me, that’s true. But not the way you do Sienna. No matter where you go, I’ll always be here for you. You’re one of my best friends, Ford.”
“You’re my only best friend, Ari. I’d do anything for you.”
“You’re forgetting about Wake
.”
“What about him?”
Pulling back, I look him in the eyes. I can’t believe after all this time he hasn’t realized the friendship he and Wake share. “He’s your best friend, too.”
He scrunches up his nose. “No, he’s not.”
Laughing, I say, “You’re such an idiot. You and Wake may drive each other up a wall at times, but you’re closer than you realize. Besides, you need a guy friend, and I don’t think Rion is the one to fill that slot.”
“Why do I need a guy friend? I have you. You’re tougher than most paranormals out there.” I smile, loving the compliment. I’m a strong, kick-butt woman now, but it is not the time to relish in all my vampire strength.
“You two have more in common than you realize.”
He groans. “Can we not talk about Paige and Wake?” Ha! So he got my hint.
I turn quickly, excitement flowing through my body. “What do you know? I need details. Paige cares for him a lot, but I can’t get any feeling off of Wake. He doesn’t want to admit anything for anyone.”
Ford stands. “I’m not doing this with you, Ari. We’re not having a girl talk or whatever you call it. You need to talk to Paige or Wake but leave me out of it.”
“Maybe you should talk to Wake.”
“I already have.”
I spring to my feet and rush to him, my hands gripping his shirt. “Tell me!”
He swats me away. “Would you get ahold of yourself? It’s none of our business.”
“Are you kidding me? She’s my bestie and has a crush on a boy. This is huge! Paige has never been in love before. Not that she’s necessarily in love now, but it’s at least a crush. I need to find a way to get them together.” I’m rambling. I know it, but this is so exciting!
“All right, I’m going to go. This is crossing into crazy woman territory and I want nothing to do with it.”
He opens the door and takes a step out, practically running into Rion.
The Crucial Shift (The Ariane Trilogy Book 3) Page 19
