Phoenix Aflame (Alpha Phoenix Book 2)

by Isadora Montrose

  Grant’s extended hand loomed large. Its little prize wavered before his eyes. Harrison reached out unwillingly for it. The pouch felt hot. Pleasingly hot. His hand made a fist around it. He loosened the strings and tipped the contents onto his palm. A small, glowing rock lay on his cupped hand. Blue flame licked his skin. It didn’t hurt, of course. But the hot volcanic rock made his whole body vibrate.

  “You shouldn’t have,” he ground out.

  Frankie grinned. “It was the least we could do. Grant went all the way to Mount St. Helens last night. That puppy’s fresh. We wanted to be sure you could enjoy your honeymoon.”

  “No volcanoes in Disneyland,” Grant chipped in. His eyes were bright with mischief. For just a moment he was once again Harrison’s hero-worshiping baby brother.

  Harrison touched the glowing rock with his forefinger. The stone flared and beneath the flames a smooth oval formed. Shift on a stick. This sucker was ready to be transformed into an egg of immortality. But he was going nowhere near this with blood. That reckless path was closed to him forever.

  Frankie’s mouth dropped open. “Did you see that?” She turned to Grant, whose eyes were wide with astonishment. “I thought it was just fairy tales to impress the kids. I so did not believe.”

  “Me neither.” Grant breathed.

  Harrison took his forefinger away. The rock once again glowed like an ember and assumed its jagged appearance. “There’s only one problem,” he ground out. “I don’t have any intention of offering immortality to Tasha. I’ve already had a mate. Stephanie and I were bonded. For life. And beyond. I have never heard of any phoenix having two fated mates. Besides, Tasha is none too enamored with the idea of shifting. She thinks it’s weird. And unpleasant.”

  “But she’s part of a bearshifter clan,” objected Grant.

  “Adopted. She still thinks it’s weird.” Harrison didn’t fully understand Tasha’s objections. But they had seemed to be perfectly genuine. Thank heavens.

  They were both dumbfounded. Frankie recovered first. “I’ve never heard of a married phoenix who didn’t transform his mate.” She exchanged a glance with Grant.

  “Then I’m going to be the first. Tasha is my wife – not my mate.”

  “What’s the difference?” Grant clapped him on the shoulder and chuckled.

  Harrison didn’t relish having to bare his soul. “Stephanie and I were bonded – heart to heart – mind to mind. Tasha is my wife – but she is not interested in sharing my thoughts. Or in being my mate. And that suits me just fine.”

  “I don’t think that the phoenix bond is a choice,” Frankie said hesitantly. “You hang on to that rock, big brother. You’ll change your mind. I don’t know what makes you think you’re not bonded to Tasha.” She held up a large hand. “Don’t try to explain to us. Tasha is the right woman to heal your heart. It’s obvious to us all. That rock will keep its potential for least a month. You’ll change your mind before then. And in the meantime, it’ll remind you of how great the power of fire is.”

  As if he, or any other phoenix, needed to be reminded of the potency of fire. He himself had only recently overcome the temptation to burn away to ashes. Harrison picked up the rock between thumb and forefinger and slid it back into its little pouch, ignoring its pull. Just holding it made flames leap along his veins straight to his heart as if his blood was a torrent of living fire. But he didn’t want that. He wanted no reminders of the phoenix bond.

  Grant had risked a great deal, however, to fetch him this crumb of fresh volcanic rock from a live volcano. Harrison had harvested Stephanie’s rock himself. He had plunged deep into the earth, flying through narrow fissures, wings skimming the still smoking walls, until he had reached the vein of bubbling magma that came directly from the earth’s core.

  Such a flight was perilous for any phoenix. The attraction of all that heat and flaming rock was enormous. Overwhelming. The temptation to plunge into the flowing lava and become one with the primordial core of the planet was difficult to resist. But if you succumbed, that was one fire from which not even a phoenix could rise.

  “That was one hell of a long flight, overnight. Thank you, Grant.” He tied the strings of the pouch and slid it into his pants pocket.

  “No trouble at all.” Grant grinned. “If I’d known what a rush it was to go into a volcano, I would have found myself a mate long ago.”

  “Is it a rush?” Frankie asked.

  “Oh, yeah,” Grant said. “It ramps up your phoenix a thousandfold. I’d never felt so strong. So powerful. So at one with fire.” He shook his head and held up his fingers so just a tiny sliver of light gleamed between them.

  “It took all my strength not to plunge into the lava stream. Everything inside me told me that if I did, I would become one with the universe – and able to conquer it. You have no idea how attractive that seemed. I had to remind myself that I had a wedding to attend.”

  “I always thought that was just talk,” Frankie said. “You know, just tales to impress us youngsters with.”

  Harrison shared a look of understanding with Grant. The volcano he himself had chosen to provide Stephanie’s egg of immortality had called to him just as powerfully. And resisting the temptation to immolate himself had forged steel in his character. Made him more resolute. Just as Stephanie’s death had sucked the stiffness out of his spine. He was too much of a coward these days to share the phoenix bond with anyone. Fortunately he had found a woman who didn’t want it.

  Even with leather and a pocket between it and his skin, the egg of immortality burnt into his thigh like a brand. Never mind – he didn’t have to be a slave to his inner animal. He could be perfectly happy with a wonderful, caring, giving mortal woman like Tasha. No phoenix bond required. “We better get back to the party, before Tasha wonders where the heck I’ve gotten off to.”

  Grant held out his hand. “Congratulations,” he said. “I hope you two will be very happy.”

  Frankie stuck out her hand too. Her grip was firm. But her face was puzzled and a little grim as if she sensed his inner conflict. She kissed his cheek. “Allow yourself to be happy, Harry.”

  Now what the hell did she mean by that?

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  “Caroline said it would just be a quiet wedding.” Tasha shook her head. “But she’s rounded the whole family up.”

  “She was a general’s wife,” Cam reminded her. “This isn’t her first campaign.”

  “I hadn’t realized that Frankie’s sister was her twin. Her identical twin, I mean.”

  Cam stared across at Eleanor D’Angelo. Like her sister, Eleanor was wearing her dress blues and her medals. There was so much polished metal and so many bright ribbons in the room that in her plain white dress Tasha felt overshadowed. Eleanor looked exactly like her sister.

  “You think they’re identical?” Cam grunted.

  “Like two peas in a pod.”

  “Huh.”

  “Can I have my wife back?” Harrison asked. He tucked Tasha’s hand over his arm. “You still have to meet my brother and his wife.”

  He and Cam shook hands and Harrison steered her across the room to a man with a Major’s insignia on the collar of his jacket. He was sitting beside an obviously pregnant brunette, but he stood up when they approached. Tasha accepted congratulations and kisses and took Pierce D’Angelo’s place beside his wife.

  “Keep your seat,” she told the other woman. “I know how awkward getting up and down is in the later stages.”

  “Help me find something for Diana to eat,” Pierce murmured to Harrison. They moved off together.

  Diana D’Angelo chuckled. She patted her bump. “Twins,” she confided. “I’m one, and Pierce has twin sisters.” She shrugged. “I’m hoping for girls, but who knows.”

  “No ultrasound?” Tasha asked in surprise.

  Diana’s pretty features became stern. “I don’t open my gifts before Christmas either,” she said. “We’ll wait until their birth to find out what we’ve been ble
ssed with.”

  “It won’t matter,” Tasha assured her. “You’ll love whatever you get. I know you won’t be drinking wine, but can’t I get you a glass of juice or something?”

  “Pierce has gone to get me a tall glass of iced water. Our flight wasn’t long, but it’s left me dehydrated.”

  “I didn’t expect all of Harrison’s family to make it on such short notice,” Tasha said. “Thank you for coming.”

  “When the D’Angelos decide something needs to be done, they get it done,” Diana said. “And of course Pierce wanted to come see his brother get married. He was a bit worried about me, but my doctor managed to settle him down.”

  “I know plane travel is discouraged after a certain point,” Tasha said.

  “Yup. And I am as big as a house, and ready to pop, but where there is a will, there’s a way.” Diana gurgled. “Anyway the doctor said it was okay, so Pierce put me into his Cessna and flew as low as his flight plan would allow and here we are.” She leaned forward to whisper, “It’s nice to be coddled sometimes. I was married before, and there is no comparison. These D’Angelo men know how to treat a woman.”

  That was certainly true.

  Harrison and Pierce returned. Pierce had two plates and a glass of water. Tasha stood up and let him sit beside his wife.

  “Gotta keep moving.” Harrison took her elbow. “You haven’t met Beverly and Harding.”

  Tasha frowned. “I thought your brother was Lincoln.”

  “Harding is the baby.” Harrison scanned the room. He led Tasha over to a woman holding a baby.

  Beverly D’Angelo kissed Tasha’s cheek. “I have to apologize for my son interrupting the service. He’s prone to the hiccups and has them as regular as clockwork – and always when it is most inconvenient.”

  “Oh dear,” said Tasha. “May I?” She held out her arms for the baby. He smelled like milk and sweetness. “Did you have the hiccups?” she crooned.

  Harding cooed. His face became thoughtful. Harrison thrust a wad of paper napkins under the baby’s chin just as he spat up.

  “Anyone could tell you’ve met a baby,” said Beverly absently. She retrieved her son and did a fast cleanup with a wet wipe from her purse. “Did you get any on your dress?”

  Harrison’s face was stiff again. And then he examined the bodice of Tasha’s dress until her pulse quickened and her color rose.

  “Behave,” she hissed.

  His face was hard now. But with lust. He smiled wolfishly. “Perfect.” He tossed the soiled napkins onto a plate.

  Beverly stood back up. She handed Harding to his uncle. “Here. I’m going to powder my nose. Coming?”

  Tasha had no overwhelming desire to go to the powder room but she obediently followed her new sister-in-law to her bedroom. Beverly was laughing as she closed the door. “I don’t know how much Harrison has shared with you about being a phoenix,” she began.

  “Almost nothing.”

  Beverly nodded. “Arrogant bunch of Alpha males. Gotta love ‘em. But sometimes those boys need kicking.”

  “What do you mean?” Tasha prepared to defend Harrison.

  “I just want to warn you. First, I knew that Lincoln expected me to become a phoenix was when he hauled me out of our wedding reception to a cliff and offered me his gift of immortality. We missed most of the dancing and everything.”

  Tasha closed her mouth. She swallowed with a dry throat and shook her head. “Harrison knows how I feel. I don’t want that.”

  “It’s not so bad.” Beverly laughed. “Actually, it’s pretty good. Only it was something of a shock. One minute I was chatting with guests in the marquee, and the next I was being hustled out to the desert.”

  Despite herself, Tasha was curious. “You don’t look any different – I mean than any other woman.”

  “Except that when I want to I can become a gigantic flaming bird of prey,” Beverly said dryly. “Flying is pretty cool. And having improved vision and hearing is super cool. It’s the bit where Linc can read my mind that I wasn’t prepared for in any way.”

  “Read your mind?”

  “When we are both in phoenix. It helps us stay in sync. But it is bizarre to have even Lincoln strolling in and out of my thoughts. I love him, but there are limits.”

  “Harrison hasn’t said anything to me about any of this.” Tasha did not know whether to be angry or apprehensive or thrilled.

  “Wait until he produces the burning egg for you to swallow,” Beverly said. “Talk about your total trust.”

  “B-b-urning egg?” Tasha stammered. “What burning egg?”

  “Linc gave me a red-hot, glowing rock to eat. And bam, I was a great bird and we were having our nuptial flight.”

  It sounded enticing, terrifying and unbelievable. What the hell had she gotten herself into?

  * * *

  “I think we’ve defanged Sutcliffe,” Lincoln said as soon as he and Harrison were out of earshot of the others. “He’s having to explain why he took out five separate life insurance policies on Rebecca. I understand he has a smooth line of patter, but the insurance companies aren’t buying any of it. I don’t say he is going to go to jail – not unless they find some evidence that he killed his grandmother – but he can no longer use his kid as a get-rich-quick scheme.”

  “Good to know.” Harrison wanted to break mountains when he thought of Blaine Sutcliffe plotting to kill Rebecca. “Do you think that there’s much chance that the authorities will be able to connect him to his grandmother’s death? It’s been years since Nancy Callahan died – or was murdered.”

  Lincoln’s smile was feral. “I’ve put some of my best investigators on it. If he was running the same insurance scam, my guys will find the money trail.”

  Harrison shook his head. “I don’t like to think of Becky having a convicted felon for a father, but prison is where her dad belongs.”

  “For damn sure, that guy’s a total psychopath. I’ve arranged to keep him under surveillance. And I have a team that is going to accompany you until you get to Yuma.”

  Harrison raised his brows. He spoke through his teeth. “I’m perfectly capable of taking care of my own family.”

  “Humor me, Harry. I have a funny feeling about this. Call it phoenix intuition. Ames and Gardiner are as good as they come in the FAs. A couple of tough cats. You won’t even notice them. I’m not sure which way Blaine Sutcliffe will jump, and I want you to just relax and enjoy your honeymoon.”

  “When you say cats, you mean big cats?”

  “Ames is a cougar, his partner is a lynx. They are ex-Marines, calm, and cool and very, very competent.”

  “Seems like overkill. But if they stay out of sight, and don’t bother us, I guess we can humor your intuition.”

  Lincoln held out his hand. They shook. “Deal.”

  “Mom tell you where we’re going, Linc?”

  “Disneyland. Good choice. Quincy and Becky will love it, and you can make it just romantic enough that it’s still a honeymoon.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  The party was winding down. Pierce had carefully escorted Diana away. Tasha assumed he was tucking his exhausted wife into bed. Lincoln and Beverly had headed upstairs to put a sleeping Hardy in his cot.

  Both girls were wound tighter than tops. Overcome by too much cake and emotional excitement, Becky was clinging to Tasha’s skirts, reluctant to leave her side, unwilling to go to bed. Harrison stalked across the room with Quincy in his arms. She was chattering at him nonstop.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  “For what?”

  Harrison pointed with his chin to the doorway where Caroline waited with suitcases and a big smile. “Disneyland.”

  Quincy began to bounce in his arms. Becky began to revolve. “Disneyland,” they shouted in unison.

  “I thought it would make a nice honeymoon,” Harrison explained. “The plane’s ready for us. All we have to do is get aboard.”

  She hadn’t expected a honeymoon. She didn’t kno
w what she had expected. But the girls were already quivering with fresh excitement. “Do I get to change my dress?”

  “When we get there.”

  The girls slept on the plane. Tasha was almost nodding off herself, and Harrison seemed preoccupied with being the pilot and disinclined for conversation. It was just as well. She had a lot to process. She had decided that when Harrison offered her a flaming rock to swallow, she should say no. Shouldn’t she?

  Much as she had loved her adopted parents, much as she loved Cam, she had never understood why anyone would want to transform into an animal. And she certainly didn’t want immortality even as a gift. The prospect of living forever was not enticing. Not in the least. The plane droned on into the night, and eventually even her chaotic thoughts could not keep her awake. She dozed off.

  She woke to Harrison’s voice. “We’ll be landing soon. There will be a limo to take us to the hotel.”

  The girls were fast asleep when they landed and didn’t rouse even when they were buckled into matching car seats. With his usual efficiency, Harrison had booked them a suite with two bedrooms. Tasha and Harrison wrestled Becky and Quincy out of their dresses and into pajamas. Their headpieces had long since vanished. They tucked them up together in one of the two double beds in their room.

  Harrison put his arm around her waist and kissed her ear. “Would you like something to eat? We can order room service.”

  “I’m full of canapés and champagne.”

  “Bed it is.” He swept her into his arms and carried her into their bedroom.

  “Why Disneyland?” she asked.

  “I was pretty sure you did not want to be separated from Becky right now. Not after the fire and everything. I know I want both girls close. I thought it would be interesting enough for us, and the girls would love it. Did I get it right?”

  “You did.” She looked around at the elegant bedroom which was furnished with a massive four-poster bed and seafoam taffeta drapes and bedspread. “This is a beautiful room.”