by V. A. Dold
“No, just my ribs, collar bone, and wrist. I fell off of a three-story building last year when I got too close to a hawk’s nest. I didn’t know they built nests on top of buildings. And who knew they were so touchy about humans getting too close to their hatchlings?”
“Urban birds of prey nest in all kinds of strange places. You’re lucky it didn’t take your eyes out.”
“That’s a comforting thought,” she groused and moaned again. She rocked back and forth, still holding her belly.
“Why do you keep clutching your stomach? What’s wrong?” he asked suspiciously.
“Well… um—” she hedged before spitting out her confession as fast as she could. “I was gut shot two years ago.”
“You were—son of a bitch, Cassidy. I warned you about the pain. Why didn’t you tell me?”
She narrowed her eyes, and if looks could kill, he wouldn’t be breathing. “I’ve withstood more than you can imagine without painkillers of any kind. This is child’s play. If you’re too squeamish, leave the room. I’ll call you when it’s over.”
Marcus cuddled her close again. “Aw, come on now. Don’t get mad. I can’t help the way I react. You scare the crap out of me, and I don’t do unnerved well.”
A few minutes later, she lifted her head from his shoulder. “I think we’re over that hurdle. Now all I feel is a dull pain all over. My joints and muscles ache like I’m having growing pains.” Cassidy said when the stomach cramps subsided, and she was able to breathe easier.
“The normal conversion process is kicking in now that your injuries are repaired. For older men and women, their age regresses. Their entire body reverts to what they looked like in their twenties, but you’re so close to twenty-five that shouldn’t be part of the process for you.”
“If I’m not regressing, what exactly is converting during this conversion?”
“I’m not entirely sure. Other than returning your body to what it was around age twenty-five, I think the rest of it happens on a molecular level. You’re being changed into a shifter, which means you’ll age much slower than a human, amongst other things.”
“Oh, okay. But if I go to the doctor, I’m not going to end up in a laboratory because my kidney is in my chest or something, right?”
Marcus barked out a laugh. “No, sweetheart, everything is exactly where it belongs.”
After a few minutes, she wriggled to loosen his hold. “I think it’s over, and I need a shower.”
He loosened his grip and grinned lustfully when she slipped from the bed, still naked from their claiming. “Do you need any help?”
“Good try big guy,” she teased with a wink and sway of her hips. “What I could use is some food. I’m starving.”
“That I can handle. I’ll meet you in the kitchen in a few minutes.”
* * * * *
Ten minutes later, he heard the padding of Cassidy’s bare feet on the tile floor. Perfect timing. He pulled the leftovers from the Palace Café out of the microwave.
“What smells so good?”
Marcus laid the plates on the dining table with a flourish. “Catfish Pecan and shrimp tchefuncte.”
Cassidy wrinkled her nose. “For breakfast?”
“Woman, you can eat Cajun cuisine three meals a day. Cold pizza in the morning has nothing on Cajun leftovers.”
Laughing, she took a seat and smoothed the napkin he’d laid with her place setting on her lap. “Wow! You can cook?”
Marcus snorted. “Hardly. These are leftovers from the Palace Café that I had frozen for an emergency.”
A grin tugged at her lips. “I’m an emergency?”
“Absolutely. I’ve already resigned myself to a life of action and adventure. You may be a retired assassin, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to slow down.”
She nodded, grinning even more. “True. Although, one of us is going to have to learn how to cook. We can’t go out to eat for every meal.”
Marcus swallowed the bite he was chewing. “If I find some cooking classes, you want to take them with me?”
He sucked in a breath when her eyes started to glow. Damn, she was sexy as hell.
“Yeah. That would be fun. Especially if you find one of those sexy couples’ classes.”
A low growl rumbled deep in his chest. “I’m down for that.”
They ate in silence for a minute before Marcus asked, “Want to try out your lie detector ability? I’m curious to see how it was affected by the conversion. You should have complete control over it now.”
“Yes! Let me see if I can turn it off. I’ve never been able to do that before.”
“Okay. When you’re ready, I’ll tell you three things about myself. Two true and one false.”
Cassidy closed her eyes. Finally, she said, “I’m ready.”
“I’m protective of my family, I love Jell-O, and my eyes are light blue.”
A slow grin spread across her face. “Not even a twinge of lie detection.” Then she frowned. “You don’t like Jell-O?”
Marcus made a stinky face and shivered. “Not even a little.”
Cassidy giggled. “Why not? I thought everyone liked Jell-O.”
“Not me. It wiggles and jiggles. That’s just plain creepy. Food shouldn’t move around like that.”
Cassidy laughed harder, choking on the water she’d just sipped.
Scowling, he took another bite of his dinner before asking, “Have you noticed anything else different about yourself?”
She took a deep breath and looked around the room. “My senses are very heightened.”
He nodded. “All of your senses are exponentially increased. You can adjust them just like you did your gift. If noises are too loud, turn down your hearing, and so forth.”
Cassidy took a bite and nodded. “Okay. I get it.” She pointed at her plate with her fork. “The sense of taste and smell will come in handy when we start cooking.”
“Yeah, I didn’t think of that. It makes a lot of sense, though. Most of the top chefs in the city are shifters.”
Cassidy’s mouth dropped. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope. Not even a little.”
“Wow. I didn’t realize there were so many in the area.”
“Unless you’re a shifter or other paranormal, you wouldn’t.” Marcus winked and said, “We stay under the radar, remember?”
“Yeah, and I’m not going to ask about”—she raised her fingers to simulate quotations—“other paranormals.”
Marcus’s lips twitched, but he suppressed his laugh. “How are you feeling? Are you tired after the conversion?”
She waved her fork as she chewed, then swallowed. “Actually, I feel great. Why, did you want to do something action-packed and adventure like?” she asked with a teasing tone to her question.
The image of her in a bikini swinging on a vine to cross the lazy river flowing outside his window filled his mind. He felt his eyes warm, a tell-tale sign they were glowing. “Although that sounds all kinds of interesting, I was thinking more on the lines of teaching you to shift.”
Cassidy’s eyes widened. “Really! Forget action and adventure. Let’s do that.”
In their excitement, the meal was inhaled quickly. Cassidy put the last plate into the dishwasher, slammed it shut, and ran for the backdoor grinning like a madwoman.
Chuckling, he followed her at a leisurely pace.
“Hurry up, slowpoke,” she called, dancing from foot to foot.
“Hold your dang horses,” he teased back.
The instant his foot left the bottom stair and touched earth, she clapped her hands together and rubbed them. “Tell me what to do.”
“Close your eyes and imagine what you’d look like as a wolf. You have paws instead of hands and feet. You have a warm fur coat instead of clothing. And don’t forget your tail. You have a luxurious tail.”
Cassidy closed her eyes, squared her shoulders, and pursed her lips.
A bark of laughter burst from Marcus when she sprouted wolf e
ars and front paws but remained human.
Cassidy narrowed her eyes at him and bared her wolfish canines.
He raised his hands, suppressing a second round of laughter. “I’m sorry, sweetie, but if you could see yourself, you’d laugh too.”
She stuck her tongue out at him. “Whatever.”
“It’s not the end of the world. Try again, but this time imagine the wolf as a whole instead of the beast’s specifics.”
“I can do this, damn it,” she mumbled and closed her eyes again.
He watched as she shook out her hands and cocked her head left and right. Then she took several deep breaths.
When a gorgeous blonde she-wolf stood before him, he whooped and did a happy dance for her, which drew a wolfy chuff from her throat.
What the heck was that? she asked, apparently startled.
With his hands on his hips, he frowned at her, pretending to be mad. “Your wolf laughed at me. That wasn’t very nice, I was celebrating your achievement, and the ungrateful beast laughed.”
You laughed at her first, she pointed out, amusement in her tone.
Grinning, Marcus repeated his happy dance laughing along with her wolf.
Are you about done? Cassidy asked, laughing in his mind.
“Fine, ruin my fun,” he said as he tapped her snout like it was her nose.
Her wolf sneezed and shook her head. So how do I change back? she asked.
Marcus rubbed his jaw, drawing out the moment. “I don’t know, I kind of like you in wolf form.”
“Marcus—” She growled the words in his mind as her wolf growled with bared teeth.
He threw his hands in the air theatrically. “Fine. Imagine yourself as human again—” Before he could finish speaking, she shifted, naked as the day she was born.
“Hello, the house,” Stefan called from somewhere beyond their line of sight.
Cassidy screeched, ran up the stairs, and into the house.
“What the hell was that?” Stefan asked as he rounded the corner and came into sight.
“As always, your timing sucks,” Marcus snarled, advancing on Stefan. “Why are you here?”
“Calm down. I was at Mom and Dad’s and checked in on Colin. I thought Cassidy would like an update.”
“And you couldn’t pick up the phone?” Marcus demanded.
Stefan narrowed his eyes. “I called. You didn’t answer the phone.”
Marcus raked his hand through his hair. “Shit. Cassidy was in such a hurry I left it in the house.”
Stefan waggled his brows. “What was she in a hurry to do?”
Marcus cuffed the back of Stefan’s head. “To learn to shift, you pervert.”
“What was the screech—?” Suddenly, he burst out laughing. “She pulled an Anna and shifted naked, didn’t she? Cade told me about Anna’s first shift. I haven’t laughed that hard since we were kids.”
“Yes, that was Cassidy,” Marcus growled and advanced on Stefan again. “You’re lucky you announced yourself. If you ever see my mate naked, Mom will be visiting you in the hospital. Got it?”
Stefan raised his hands. “I got it.”
“Good morning, Stefan. What brings you here?” Cassidy asked, coming down the stairs.
She’d just saved Stefan from a beating, not that she knew that. “He has an update on Colin.”
“Really, how’s he doing?” she asked, ducking under Marcus’s shoulder and snuggling close to his side.
“He’s great. Mom and the healers had another session with him. One more healing, and he’ll be up and about.”
Cassidy let out a long breath. “That’s good to hear.” She glanced up at Marcus. “We should stop in and see him.”
“Sure, we can do that. Let me grab my phone, and we can head over there.” Marcus took off into the house, leaving Cassidy to chat with Stefan.
She watched Marcus go, before turning to Stefan. “How’s Jamie?”
“Oh, he’s doing good too,” Stefan answered quickly, avoiding her gaze.
“Knock it off,” she scolded.
He flicked a look at her and just as quickly away. “What?”
“Stop imagining me naked, or I’ll tell your wife you made a pass at me,” she threatened.
This time he looked at her and held her gaze. “You wouldn’t do that.”
Cassidy crossed her arms over her chest. “Try me.”
Stefan swore under his breath. “It’s not my fault. Marcus is the one who told me about your shifting issue.”
Glaring at him, she pulled a throwing knife from her pocket sheath and started cleaning her nails.
“Fine. It’s not Marcus’s fault. But damn it, what’s a man supposed to think about when a naked woman runs off?”
“He’s supposed to think about how his wife would feel if she saw him behaving in such a way.”
Stefan threw his hands in the air. “Woman, that’s wishful thinking. Men are men. We never stop appreciating a fine womanly form. A woman’s body is the finest work of art on the planet.” Then he held up a finger to silence her retort. “That doesn’t mean he’d ever act on that appreciation. I would never do that to El. EVER.”
Cassidy slipped the knife into her pocket and grinned. “Good answer.”
Stefan let out a long breath and wiped the sweat from his brow. “You’re mean, you know that?”
“Yep. Don’t you forget it.” The sound of Marcus on the stairs caught her attention.
Marcus waved her phone. “You have a call.”
Who the heck would call her? Colin and Jamie were at the main house a few acres away, and Jones was dead. Frowning, she took the phone and put it to her ear. “Hello?”
“Hey, Cassidy, it’s David.”
“Oh, hi. How’s it going?”
“As well as can be expected. Gary and a few other guys helped me destroy all traces of our association with Jones, so we’re in the clear with the law. There were six of us planning to make a break from Jones when you made your move, so we were already erasing our records weeks before the compound went down. The hard part is trying to reintegrate into society without a history of existing until a few weeks ago.”
“What about everyone else?”
“Most of the true believers, as we call them, are dead. The few that survived the clean sweep were taken away by some guys I’ve never seen before. I’ve never met anyone that scary. I’m telling you, Cassidy, those guys put us to shame.”
“Don’t worry, they were with my crew, kind of. We called them in to do clean up as we hightailed it out of there.”
“Jesus, Cassidy. I don’t like the idea of you hanging out with guys like that.”
“Don’t worry about me. They’re Marcus’s friends. Now about your background issues, I might be able to help you with that. Let me check a few things out, and I’ll get back to you.”
“That would be awesome, but it’s not the reason for my call. The guy that took the contract out on Marcus Le Beau is still out for blood. I heard from a friend that he’s trying to take out another contract.”
“You’ve got to be kidding?”
“I pulled his information from Jones’s computer when we hacked in to scrub ourselves. I had a gut feeling you’d need it. I emailed the file to your private email. Cassidy, he isn’t going to stop. You’re going to have to put that guy down.”
“Thanks for the heads up, David. I’ll get back to you about your background issues.”
“Thanks, Cassidy, I appreciate any help you can give.”
She slipped the phone into her back pocket as she said, “We have a problem, boys.”
“What’s wrong?” Marcus asked concern etching his brow.
“I’ll know more once I take a look at the file David emailed to me, but the guy who wants you dead is at it again. He needs to be eliminated.”
Marcus nodded, then glanced at Stefan. “I’ll go over the situation with Cassidy. If Etienne can take care of it”—he twirled a finger next to his head—“we’ll go that route. Oth
erwise, he’ll need to be stopped another way. Let Dad know about the problem and tell him that I’ll call a meeting when we decide what to do.”
“Will do. He’s at the office, and Etienne is at the mansion in the Quarter, so I’ll head to the city before I do my chores at the ranch.”
“Thanks. As soon as we check on Colin and Jamie, we’ll take a look at that email.”
Marcus escorted Cassidy to Colin’s room.
The instant Colin saw them coming, he pushed himself into a sitting position, pressing his back against the headboard.
Marcus held out his hand to his brother-in-law. “Hey there, Colin, how are you feeling?”
Grinning, Colin took it and gave it a shake. “A lot better. Well, I mean, I won’t be hitting a dance club for a while, but when I do, I’ll knock the ladies’ socks off.”
Marcus grinned at Colin’s attempt at levity. “I’m sure you will. I have some things to discuss with my mother, so I’ll leave you two to catch up.”
“Thanks, Marcus,” Cassidy said, lifting her face for a kiss.
With her brother watching, he only gave her a quick brush of lips on lips and left it at that. He didn’t feel it was his place to explain their relationship to the boy. Cassidy could reveal what she felt comfortable telling. “I’ll come back for you in a bit.”
Marcus headed for the kitchen first. His mother loved to feed people, and with guests in the house, she was sure to be there. He smiled when he caught the scent of fresh bread. She was definitely in the kitchen.
“Is that bread for me?” he asked as he gave his mother a bear hug and kissed her cheek.
Emma hugged him back. “You can have one loaf. You’ll have to fight your father for the rest.”
“One loaf will do. I can add it to my dinner menu. Speaking of that, I need to learn how to make red beans and rice.”
“Oh! That’s easy enough. Let me jot down the recipe.” She grabbed a pen and paper and started listing the ingredients. After writing out extensive instructions, she handed the paper to Marcus.
From the pinched expression on his face, she knew he was in trouble. “Let me guess. You don’t have any of the ingredients.”
Marcus screwed up his mouth. “No.”
