Light Beyond the Darkness

by Tami Lund

  She glanced at the window again. At this time of day, it was likely not to be busy, so she and Mica could purchase their goods and be back in no time. She shifted her gaze from the window to the doorway leading out into the hall and to the foyer.

  “Your shifter is still asleep,” Mica said slyly.

  It wasn’t Reid she was worried about, although he certainly would not be pleased if she went without making him aware first. Running into Miguel was her true fear. But honestly, what were the chances? He had to know he was a wanted man. Surely he would not make an appearance at the market, no matter how early and how few lightbearers were there.

  “Okay,” she said, anticipation over the impending shopping trip overcoming her hesitation. As long as she was with Mica, she would be safe. Miguel wouldn’t dare attack with another lightbearer as witness, especially now that he’d stayed hidden for so long. Tanner and Finn and the king’s guards all knew he had been one of the Chosen One’s followers. He would not be welcome with open arms.

  She would be safe.

  * * * *

  As it turned out, the market was far more bustling than Carley remembered. She looked around in awe at all the storefronts surrounding the village square. Dozens of children ran and played in the grassy center, while their parents either shopped or sat on benches, soaking in the sunny, warmer than average temperature. The weather had finally taken a turn for the better. A steady breeze blew in off Lake Michigan, but it carried a hint of spring, not a hint of snow.

  There was freshly slaughtered meat displayed in one storefront and produce from a lightbearer who had an elaborate, heated greenhouse directly behind his shop. One store sold nothing but candy while another was having a sale on winter outerwear, so they could make room for spring and summer clothing. Everywhere she turned, lightbearers wandered here and there, admiring and purchasing goods, contemplating other items, and haggling with storeowners whose prices they felt were too high. It was a wonderful sight, and Carley relaxed immediately.

  “Should we split up?” Mica wondered. “We still have to get back and make breakfast.”

  “No,” Carley said as she seized Mica’s arm. “No,” she said again, taking a deep breath and relaxing her grip. “Sorry. Let’s stick together. It won’t take long. I know exactly what we need.” They set off to purchase their supplies, all courtesy of the king’s credit, which Carley was pleased to discover was once again in excellent standing. Without Tanner’s interference, she doubted very much that would be the case today.

  They were nearly ready to leave, weighed down with bags of groceries, when Mica’s gaze alighted upon the candy store. “I have an incorrigible sweet tooth,” she murmured, and then she said, “I’ll be right back.” Before Carley could protest, she was gone, lost in the crowd of lightbearers milling every which way.

  Carley considered going after her, but she was carrying the heaviest load of groceries between them, and it would be far too cumbersome. She looked around instead for a bench that she could use to rest, while she waited for Mica to assuage her sweet tooth. She wondered if Reid was awake yet, and if he was, was he worried that she wasn’t at the beach house? Mica had scribbled a note, at Carley’s insistence, so that no one would worry about them.

  She spotted a bench a few feet away. There was someone already sitting on it, but there was still plenty of room for Carley to sit without feeling as though she was invading his personal space. She made her way down the sidewalk and sank gratefully onto the sun-warmed wooden bench, sighing as she lowered the bags of groceries to the ground.

  “Lovely day, isn’t it, mate?”

  Carley whipped around, her eyes widening as she realized she’d sat down next to Miguel. He’d shaved and didn’t smell at all badly, like he had when he appeared in the beach house the day they’d rushed Olivia’s babe to the human hospital. He wore a knit cap that covered most of his hair and a pair of large, aviator sunglasses that reflected her shocked expression back at her.

  As she contemplated whether to try to grab her groceries before running, Miguel’s arm shot out and his hand wrapped around her arm, squeezing painfully.

  “If we weren’t out in public, I would kill you right now,” he said, his voice pitched low. Carley made a noise of protest.

  “Shut up,” he snapped. “You’re mine, bitch. You understand that? You’re my mate. And my mate doesn’t fuck animals.” His voice dropping another few octaves as his anger bubbled up.

  Fuck animals? She assumed he referred to the fact that she was sleeping with Reid, but how did he know?

  “Let go of me, or I’ll scream,” she warned him. “The guards are still looking for you. Do you want me to bring you to their attention?”

  He squeezed harder. Tears sprang to her eyes as she bit her lip to keep from crying out.

  “You are a lousy bluffer,” he scoffed. “Listen here, mate. I meant for you to die when I pushed you down those stairs.”

  “I figured as much,” Carley snapped.

  “And now you’re fucking a goddamned animal.”

  “I am not—” He gave her a shake, cutting off whatever she planned to say.

  “I don’t want to hear your drivel. I’m just here to warn you. I will kill you. The next time I try, I won’t fail. Do you understand me?”

  Carley did not respond. He squeezed her arm tighter, and she squeaked, too petrified to do anything else.

  “But I’ve decided that I want you to suffer before I kill you. So I figured I’d let you know: I plan to kill your pet shifter first.” He gave her a smug smile.

  Carley screamed.

  Chapter 15

  “What the hell were you thinking?” Reid admonished for what Carley was certain was the seventeenth time since her encounter with Miguel.

  “I was thinking that I wanted to stock the shelves at the beach house,” Carley replied tersely, ratcheting up the tension that already simmered between them.

  They were on their way back to Chicago, much to Carley’s relief. She’d created a scene when she screamed in the middle of the village square earlier that morning. Miguel had given her a disbelieving look—he obviously had not believed she would hold true to her threat—before he leaped from the bench and disappeared into the crowd that immediately swarmed around her.

  She’d lied and said someone tried to snatch one of her grocery bags and she’d overreacted a tad. She hadn’t wanted to cause further stress by admitting she’d just been sitting next to Miguel Santiago, one of the Chosen One’s former followers who was still sought by the king’s guards. Especially because she did not want to admit to Reid that she was mated to the horrid man, and especially because all she wanted to do at that point was get out of the coterie, go back to Chicago, and stay as far away from this place as she could—forever.

  He threatened to kill Reid. Her heart constricted. The idea that she would be the one to cause his death was unbearable. She’d come to care for the shifter—more than care, really—but it was more than that. It was as if she was repeating history for Reid, and it was her own damn fault. She clenched her hands in her lap and stared straight ahead, willing her heart to slow and her breathing to settle into a more normal range.

  “I can tell you’re stressed out,” Reid commented after a brief silence. “You might as well tell me what’s going on.”

  She shook her head. “I’m worried we won’t be back in time and I’m going to be late for work.” She glanced at the side mirror, relieved that the coterie was so far behind them that she could no longer see the fake image the magical wards portrayed to all those on the outside. She would not be fully comfortable until they were across the state line, back in the city and surrounded by hordes of humans. She doubted she would ever be fully comfortable again, but at least she would feel reasonably safe. And Reid would be safe too. That was really what mattered.

  They reached the car rental place with plenty of time to spare, and then Reid asked if she wanted to go back to his place with him, or if she wanted him to take he
r home. She wanted them both to go to her home, where they would be surrounded by humans.

  Her human shields, Reid had called them when they first met. He was right. She felt guilty for treating them as such.

  “Come home with me,” she said. “I’m sure everyone will be happy to see you, too. You’ve become a part of the family, you know.”

  He arched his brows as he lifted his bag over his shoulder and then grabbed the handle of Carley’s suitcase, and they began to walk toward the train station. “You think Sean missed me while we were away?”

  Carley smiled for the first time since running into Miguel at the market. “No, not Sean. But certainly everyone else. Roman really likes you.”

  “Roman likes to kick my ass when we play his video games.”

  “Vivian likes you.”

  “Vivian doesn’t like anyone. Except you.”

  *

  Maybe Carley was right about her friends missing him. When they arrived at the house she shared with her human coworkers, Vivian gave him a one-armed hug, while Roman gave him a high five, and Sean turned red in the face when he realized he and Reid were wearing almost the exact same outfit. He had noticed the kid watched him all the damn time, but he thought it was jealousy over his relationship with Carley. Now, he wondered if the kid wasn’t trying to emulate him. It was a weird thought, but not an altogether unpleasant one.

  Carley clearly did not want to move back to the coterie, so if they were going to make a home in Chicago, he was glad to be surrounded by friends.

  She retreated upstairs to her bedroom to unpack and change for work, while Reid dropped onto the worn and comfortable sofa in the living room. Roman appeared at his elbow with a beer in each hand. “Want one?” he asked, and Reid accepted it, grateful for the distraction from Carley’s spiked emotions.

  He’d just about gotten used to feeling her emotions, at least until earlier this morning, when he’d shot out of what felt like a drug-induced sleep, as her fear sliced through his system. He’d stumbled out of bed, feeling disoriented, confused, and desperate to get to her. She wasn’t there, not in the bed, nor in the room, or anywhere in the immediate vicinity. He managed to pull on a pair of warm-up pants and a T-shirt before he stumbled into the hall, still feeling the effects of…something. He was not normally one who felt groggy and confused upon waking.

  Cecilia happened to be walking down the hall, and she took one look at him and shouted Finn’s name. Like the dedicated mate he was, Finn came running. Cecilia wordlessly pointed at Reid, and Finn immediately rushed to his brother’s side, wrapping an arm around his back and helping him stagger farther down the hall.

  “Carley,” he said, his voice raspy with sleep or…something.

  Cecilia peeked into the bedroom. “She isn’t here,” she said, as if it was perfectly natural for him and Carley to share a bedroom. “Where is she?”

  “Danger,” he said.

  Finn shoved him into Cecilia’s arms, commanded her to take him to Olivia, who had healing abilities and would be able to fix whatever the hell was wrong with him, and then Finn shifted into a hawk and flew away.

  When he returned, Reid was recovered from what turned out to be a sleeping draught, and Finn had a frightened Carley and a confused Mica in tow. Carley took one look at him and launched herself into his arms, for once oblivious to their audience.

  And then she pushed him to arm’s length and said, “We have to leave. Now.”

  “It was him, wasn’t it?” he had said when he followed her to the bedroom and watched as she began to throw clothing into her bag. “The guy who abused you. You saw him, didn’t you?”

  He was so furious when she numbly nodded that he wanted to turn around and go back to that damn market and find the guy and beat him to a pulp. He didn’t normally have such violent inclinations—not since the same thing happened to him—but when it came to Carley’s safety, all bets were off.

  “No,” she begged him. “Let’s just go. I just want to go home,” she insisted, and when she looked up at him with her big blue, haunted eyes, he knew that he would do whatever she wanted, so long as it would take that look out of her beautiful eyes.

  On the way home, he’d let her have it, verbally, as he berated her for doing something so foolish as to go to the market alone—

  “I was with Mica,” she had said sullenly.

  “Two females,” he had scoffed. “Neither of whom are remotely trained in any sort of defense, I’ll wager.”

  She hadn’t had a response to that.

  “You knew he was still there,” Reid had accused. “You knew, and you’re deathly afraid of this guy, and you still put yourself in harm’s way?”

  Her argument, unfortunately, had been sound.

  “We were at the market. That place is packed with lightbearers during most daylight hours. I didn’t think he would approach me in the middle of a crowd.”

  “Does anyone know about it? Did you ever tell anyone you were abused?”

  He wished she’d tell him. Not that he particularly wanted to hear the details, but he did think she would feel better, if she had someone to confide in, someone to listen and not judge her.

  “No one knows,” she confirmed. When she didn’t say more, he didn’t push. He hadn’t wanted anyone to push when he didn’t want to talk about his issues either.

  * * * *

  He walked her to work. Actually, he walked with the entire group, although when they reached the restaurant, he managed to pull her to the side and get in a little bit of one-on-one time against the side of the building.

  “We had way more time to ourselves when we were in the coterie,” he commented as he nuzzled her neck.

  Her smile was bittersweet. “I know. But we’re safer here.”

  Safe from whoever abused her before she met Reid. The one who was the father of the babe she’d lost.

  When he started to pull away, to let her get to work, she grabbed the lapels of his coat. “What are you planning to do while I’m at work?” she asked urgently. The fear was back in her eyes.

  He gently pulled her hands off the leather. “Unpack. Do laundry. Sort through the mail. Pay bills. Terribly exciting stuff,” he said with a grin.

  “Be careful,” she whispered. “And watch your back.”

  But he wasn’t the one who needed to worry. Actually neither of them had to worry anymore, now that they were back in Chicago.

  * * * *

  He was waiting at the back door when the kitchen staff locked up and left the restaurant later that night. Carley looped her arm around his waist and clung tightly to him. He could tell she was exhausted.

  “Spend the night with me?” she asked.

  He arched a brow. “At your place? With all the humans?”

  She flushed. “Yes. Is that okay?”

  “I suppose. Is there a reason you don’t want to go to my place?” He’d hoped to have her to himself until it was time for her to go back to work the next day.

  She shrugged. “No reason. I guess I missed my roommates.”

  Reid considered pointing out that she’d just worked with them all evening, but he decided it didn’t really matter. His place or hers, he honestly didn’t care, so long as he could be with her.

  And so, instead of having a nightcap with the rest of the crew, as he’d once done before he and Carley started sleeping together, Reid climbed the stairs with her, and they retired to her bedroom. He lay on his back with Carley curled by his side, holding her as she fell asleep.

  He thought about how nice this was, the way they’d fallen into this routine. He liked that they both assumed they would spend the night together now. They hadn’t talked about the night he’d asked her to mate with him, and a small part of him was frustrated that she hadn’t answered him, when it was so clear they were perfect together.

  He convinced himself it was the stress of returning to the coterie, the fear of potentially running into her ex-lover—and then having it actually happen. These were the reasons
she had not answered him and had not brought up the subject again. There was no other reason that they should not mate.

  It would happen. He was certain of it.

  *

  The next morning, Carley came awake as the sun slowly climbed high enough to pour in through the bedroom window. She was on her stomach, with Reid sleeping half on top of her, also on his stomach. She shifted, and so did he, pressing his erection into her backside. She sucked in a breath when he did it again.

  He nuzzled her hair and sighed as his hand lifted to cup her chin. “Carley,” he murmured as he pushed her hair out of the way so he could kiss her neck. “Let me take you like this,” he whispered as he rolled his hips.

  Wet heat pooled between her thighs as she squirmed beneath him. With Reid’s hot, hard body pressing into her from behind, it was hard to resist this temptation. She imagined it would be good…damn good. Everything he’d introduced her to so far had been damn good, hadn’t it? She squirmed again, and his hand slid under her body to cup her breast.

  “Yes.” He grabbed his erection with the other hand and positioned it. “Mate with me, Carley.” His voice was an urgent whisper.

  Mate with him? Realization dawned and with it came panic and fear. She rolled onto her back, so quickly that Reid was left crouching with a confused look on his face and his dick in his hand.

  “You—you want to mate with me?” Her voice was a squeak. She blinked up at him, her chest rising and falling with her erratic breathing.

  He propped himself up on one elbow. “I…yes. That was my intention.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Sorry. I think I was still half-asleep.” He peeked at her through his fingers. “You okay?”

  “I…I think so.”

  “Do you want to talk about this?”

  “What, exactly do you want to talk about?”

  “Uh…what just almost happened?”

  Carley shook her head. “No. I don’t want to talk about it. It—it’s too soon. Don’t you think?”