by Niki Trento
When I reach the top of the stairs, I notice Kane standing with his back against the wall. It doesn’t surprise me, not with Pandora on the other side of that door.
“Kane, Gray needs some help to get the cameras ready.”
“I am waiting for Pandora. I have been patient since this nuisance showed up--” I grab him by the throat, dropping cookies on the floor. Rage I’ve never felt before washes over me. I have been pissed at Kane before, but this is far beyond that. This is a rage that seems to have been hiding in the deepest marrow of my bones. It bursts out of me in a deliciously painful way, mirroring the pain I want to deliver on Kane.
“You will NOT speak of our guest like that! She and Pandora have become friends, you will NOT ruin that for either of them! Do I make myself clear?” He gasps for air, clawing at my arm.
“YES,” he wheezes out. I drop him to the ground, telling him to get out.
Before he gets to his feet, I prepare for him to attack. The anger and ambition are there, fleetingly. His muscles bunch as he stands. He doesn’t attack but he gets right up in my space. His eyes like fire as he attempts to stare me down. Jaw clenched, eye twitching. He fights the reflex to look away.
From the doorway comes a gasp of shocked surprise. He flicks his gaze for the briefest of moments to see Pandora who broke his concentration. Kane storms off without a word.
“Barin?” Pandora questions as she watches Kane retreat. “What happened?”
“He dropped our cookies, that’s what happened! What a tragedy!” Celeste puts her hand to her forehead and pretends to faint against the wall.
Pandora laughs at her antics.
How could I not smile?
“My ladies, I do sincerely apologize for losing such sweet goodness. Please, do not wish ill will on my house, I shall retrieve more delights for you swiftly!” I bow with a flourish, and their giggles increase.
“You are such a dork, Barin! I think that is punishment enough. Don’t you agree, Pandy?”
“Yes, yes. Most definitely!”
“Pandora, will you go help Kathleen, please? She should be in her room.” She nods before leaving. “Celeste, can we talk?”
She steps back inside the room and sits on her bed, cleaning up the popcorn that obviously spilled when they rushed to the door.
“I don’t want to ask this of you, but I fear we have no choice.” I cut right to it, get it over with. Rip off that band-aid.
Her face loses all its ‘happy’ at the tone in my voice. I did that. I put that sadness back on her face.
“Will you go to the cave with me?” I explain the video and my theory on why the markings aren’t showing up.
She looks more relieved than frightened.
I wonder what she thought I was going to say.
“Yes, of course! When are we going?”
“As soon as you are ready to go. Is now too soon?”
“Nope. Let’s get this crap over with, I’d like to sleep tonight.” Her determination is evident in the way she holds her chin up.
The plan is to have Zeke, Cole, and Lukas survey the outer area of the cave. We are all equipped with night vision video cameras and flashlights to document and navigate. The group is ready, and we head towards the cave.
When we get there, Cole props a video camera facing the cave opening. My team of four moves into the barely lit cave, cameras, and flashlights at the ready. The mouth of the cave isn’t that dark, especially with our shifter sight, but the deeper we go, the less natural light we will have.
I immediately notice that the markings are missing. I look to Celeste and she shakes her head; she doesn't see them either. I take her supplies and she shifts to check if her wolf self can see them.
After a minute, her fluffy white head shakes. No markings. Suddenly she snaps her head towards the darkness at the back of the cave. We all follow her gaze. When she looks like she is about to shift, I remember the premonition.
Don't shift, Celeste. What do you hear?
I hear nothing, but I smell water. I think it is coming from a lot further in. I need to look.
No! Let me go first.
She stills, looking over her shoulder.
I broadcast my thoughts to the others so we are all on the same page. Stepping in front of Celeste, I smell the water; it is faint. It doesn't smell like the stream nearby; it smells cleaner, fresher, and...sweeter?
I cast my mind’s eye as far as it will reach, but it’s as if something is blocking it.
Celeste keeps herself glued to my thigh. The further in we walk, the more she trembles. I can't be sure if it’s residual from the other experiences, or anxiety of the unknown.
Are you okay, Celeste?
She dips her head once before shaking her head and stepping back.
Celeste?
Don't you feel that? Her mental voice quivering, she bolts before I can stop her...
Donovan grabs my arm, yanking me back.
Vaguely I hear Kathleen yelling at Donovan through the bond. I fight against him. How dare he take me away? I punch him in the jaw, pulling back for another swing when I hear Celeste yelp. My mind instantly clears. I have to get to her.
When we reach the area near the opening of the cave, Celeste is lying on her side and panting hard.
Kathleen gingerly holds Celeste’s back leg which is bleeding and a bit mangled. Kathleen looks up at us and starts apologizing.
“We have to get her to Vivian or Cole. We were running as fast as we could, but something grabbed her leg and tried pulling her back. Somehow I was able to grab hold of her and pull her out of whatever grasp that was, but I think it’s broken.” Kathleen pets Celeste’s side, repeating her apologies.
As gently as I can, I scoop Celeste up into my arms. Her hurt leg cradled safely away from my body. At the mouth of the cave, the only one out there is Zeke.
“Jesus! What happened? Is she okay?”
“Possible break.” I kneel with Celeste still in my arms. I sense Cole coming from the west side of the cave.
Cole, Celeste is hurt. Hurry. Shifters heal quickly, if her leg isn’t set soon, it could heal incorrectly.
“Celeste? Are you comfortable enough or do you want me to lay you down?”
She nuzzles her nose under my chin; that’s answer enough for me.
“Okay, love, I'll hold you until Cole gets here.” I can see in my mind Cole rounding the last bend now and coming in fast.
“I'm ok, Donovan, really. I'm just worried and I feel horrible.” I hear Kathleen tell Donovan, I know she blames herself for Celeste's injured leg. I can’t reassure her right now though because all my concentration is on the little wolf cradled in my arms.
“You probably saved her life, Kathleen. You need to see that. We don't know what would have happened if whatever that thing was had gotten her.” Donovan is doing his best to comfort her. He is right, though, whatever wanted her could have killed her and I'm sure Celeste would rather have a broken leg over that any day.
I look up to Cole kneeling down in front of me.
“Barin, let's lay her down on her side. I want you by her back. Keep your hands on her so she knows you are right there for her.” His trained hands reach for Celeste's leg as he speaks to her. “Okay, doll, I will be touching your leg to see what we are working with. If it hurts too much, you tell me, okay?”
She nods slightly and he places his hands on her hips.
“Don't tense up. Try to relax.” He moves his hands slowly around, working down her femur.
Smoothing my hands down her neck, I whisper encouraging words to her.
Helpless.
I am utterly helpless.
Yet again, this woman is causing unfamiliar feelings in me. I have always been able to do something in every situation, but this. I can’t take her pain away, I can’t take her fear away. The only thing I can do is run my hands through the fur around her neck.
“Looks good so far, doll,” Cole confirms.
Celeste pants harder the
closer he gets to her foot. A low growl turns into a whimper.
“Okay, doll. It's a clean break to your fibula. We won't have to do much for it. I will put a splint on it and it should knit itself back together by morning.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Barin
Vivian sets herself up to monitor Celeste. She makes a shooing motion with her hands. When I don’t move, she points her finger at the door. Vivian has that angry nurse thing down.
I raise my hands in surrender, knowing that Viv will physically push me out the door if she has to, but she will also watch over Celeste. Nurse or not, caring for others is in her bones. Not wanting to argue with Viv, or disturb Celeste, I back out of the room, my eyes not wanting to leave her sleeping form.
Once the door closes, I keep my mind’s eye on her. My mindsight comes in handy, but it isn’t quite the same as my eyes. For one thing, it means I’m further away from Celeste. With my mind, I can’t see those little details of her face.
Even in wolf form, she’s stunning. Her fur is a complete contrast to my black, coarse coat. The physical embodiment of the Yin to my Yang. The light to my dark, the sun to my moon.
Goddess help me. I have gone off the deep end here. Behaving in the ways of every romance novel male lead ever written. Possessive, obsessive, and any other -ives out there. That’s me. I lower myself into the large tub thinking about how ridiculous I sound over someone I had only just met.
Heat from the water soaks into my skin, relaxing the tension from my muscles. It kills me that Celeste is across the hall in pain and there isn’t a damn thing I can do about it.
It will take a day at least for her leg to heal. Until then, Cole said she would have to stay in wolf form so she doesn’t risk a re-break. The water cools down as I lose myself in thoughts of Celeste...again.
My phone quits ringing as I come out of the bathroom. Drying my hands, I pick it up to look at the screen. A missed call from Axel and he hadn't left a voicemail. Before I can call him back, a text message from him pops up.
-Boss. Hope Celeste is ok. When you get this, I need to tell you about Pandora and Kane.
-Give me five. Meet me in the office.
With everything going on with Celeste and the cave, I never got around to getting the information from Axel. It seems more like a month ago instead of a few days when we followed Kane and found him forcing submission from Pandora. Since she had been spending time with Celeste, however, I’ve noticed she is happier and acting more like her old self again.
“Axel. What have you got for me?”
“Well, I was able to get a read from both Pandora and Kane. The good news is that Pandora never intended to go against you. She had taken a liking to Kane, for some reason I just don’t understand, and he used that to his benefit.”
“That’s great, but I don’t understand.”
“It seems he decided he needed a powerful female to help him take over the pack, but we both know there is no way that Kathleen would have followed him. Not without a silver bullet to her back,” Axel chuckled. “And maybe not even then. Anyway, because Pandora is the next dominant female in the pack, and she showed some kind of interest in him, he played her like a chess piece.”
“You are right about Kathleen. It makes sense that he would want to have someone to stand by him if he tries to challenge me. Does she know his plans at all?”
“Not really. We’ve all seen how he controls her with fear.”
“Thank you, Axel. I will let you know. I’m wondering if maybe she has confided in anyone. Pandora is smart and strong, she knows that anything told to another wolf in our pack that threatens me or our family will get back to me. That would give her an out without causing much suspicion with Kane.”
“Only if he allows her to be alone with anyone. He doesn’t let her out of his sight when others are around.”
“You’re right. The only other shifter she has been alone with is Celeste. I wonder if she would tell me anything.” Pandora will be my next best bet. I need to get her to confide in me, or wait for Celeste and the uncertainty that she would even betray Pandora’s trust. “I will see if I can talk to Pandora.”
Vivian, is it ok to come in? I don’t want to knock and risk startling Celeste. In response, Vivian opens the bedroom door.
Celeste is awake and eating; healing burns a lot of calories. With her snout buried in a plate of meat, her tail thumps on the bed when I enter the room.
Pandora sits at the end of the bed eating popcorn and watching Harry Potter. With shifter hearing, the volume can be low enough it won’t affect the conversation. With an over-the-shoulder wave, she continues watching her movie.
“Ladies. How is her foot?”
“Bone has mostly finished knitting together, the swelling has already gone down some and she has her appetite back. At the rate she is healing, I would say within the next two hours she can shift safely.”
“Thank you, Vivian, I owe you.” I give her a hug and kiss her cheek.
Celeste growls.
I quickly turn to see what has her growling.
At the same time Vivian bows her head to Celeste and steps away from me.
When I look at Celeste, she is staring at Vivian.
“I am going to go…check on dinner.” Vivian looks shocked. She leaves quickly, not turning her back on Celeste.
Pandora watches with wide eyes and a toothy smile.
I am thrilled to see that Celeste’s wolf has made her claim. Hell, my wolf is all but doing a jig at the idea. I only now hope Celeste feels the same way.
“Pandora, could you give us a minute?”
“Um, yeah, sure. Ummm…I will make more popcorn. I’ll be back.” She flounces out of the room in a way I haven't seen her behave in too long of a time. Cheerful and unafraid.
“Celeste, as much as I want to discuss what just happened, I prefer to talk with your human side about that. Right now, I just have a couple quick questions about something else. Is that okay?”
Of course, Barin. Is everything all right? Did the boys find something in the cave?
No, love, not yet. It’s about Pandora. I am happy to see her acting like her old self again, and I owe a lot of that to you.
Me? What have I done?
I forbade Kane from being anywhere near you and because Pandora has been with you more than with anyone else…
Ah. Kane. I don’t trust him.
I haven’t trusted him for a while, and if I am being honest, I wasn’t trusting Pandora, either.
I understand. You want to know if Pandora has said anything to me about him?
Yes, but only if you are comfortable telling me. I would go to Pandora, but it is so difficult to get her alone, or rather, away from Kane, long enough.
I will tell you only because I know how much it hurt her to admit to it to me, to you it would be a lot worse. Kane alienated her. He made her believe that he was in love with her and used her. It took time, but she realized on her own. She wanted so badly to believe that he loved her; she overlooked everything he was doing. If you want, I will talk to her and get her to talk to you about it.
I appreciate you telling me, and yes, I would like that. Perhaps there is more information there that I need to make sure he doesn’t hurt her.
Again?
AGAIN?! My blood boils at the thought of Kane hitting Pandora.
No! NO! Not like that! He hurt her heart. At least, that is all that she told me about.
Just then, Pandora knocks lightly on the door. “Are y’all decent in there?” she snickers.
I roll my eyes as I open the door.
With the same flourish as she left, Pandora breezes through the room and carefully sits on the bed so she doesn’t cause Celeste any discomfort.
When you can shift, I would love to take up that other conversation.
Celeste winks at me and sniffs at the popcorn that Pandora has mixed candies into.
I linger in the doorway, not ready to leave Celeste now that I know how
her wolf feels.
“Enjoy your movie, ladies. I will bring your dinner when it's ready.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Barin
Vivian is wrapping ears of corn in foil at the table while Cole and Rock laugh over the grill outside. Grabbing some of the wrapped corn, I go outside and hand them to the chef.
The hammock strung between two large oak trees is practically calling for me. I grab a beer from the cooler and climb into the hammock. There is the perfect amount of shade here during the day and the trees block the sun as it inches its way to hide below the horizon. The lack of sleep over the past couple days finally catches up with me. I’m asleep before I have the chance to open my bottle of beer.
Wake up.
Stretching, I take a deep breath. Immediately I open my eyes and look around. Something isn't right. As my eyes focus I realize several things aren't right. I’m not smelling the barbeque, or hearing the chatter of the pack, nor am I lying in the hammock. The ground is cold and hard under me, it’s dark, and the air smells like some kind of sweet water. When my eyes adjust to the dark, I realize I’m deep in the cave. How the hell did I get to the cave? Where were Cole and Rock?
Cole? Rock? I wait a moment for them to answer before trying again. Either they are hurt or too far away. Shifting is my best bet at this point, my wolf is faster and stronger, not to mention with my black coat it’s a lot easier to hide.
I strip from my jeans and t-shirt; my boots must still be by the hammock. I call for my wolf, crouching down to prepare for the shift. But nothing happens. No tail, no fur. Not even fangs. Why can't I shift?
We are waiting.
I spin at the sound of the disembodied voice. It comes from nowhere, from everywhere. My ears throbbing, my heart racing, and I can't see a damn thing. Not with my eyes or in my mind. I have to try using my nose, even as a human my sense of smell is extraordinary. I follow the smell of water -- I am going to get to the bottom of this.
I walk slowly because I’m blind this far in. My arms stretch out, I keep hitting walls. In every direction, walls surround me. There are no openings, no crawl spaces, no cracks. Just smooth walls. The space I’m in is too small, it only takes about ten steps to get from one side to the other. I run my hands along the wall as I walk; there are no corners. How in the hell did I get here? The overwhelming sweetness of the water burns my nostrils.
