by Tami Lund
“My kind, we mate—marry—for life. And something terrible happened in Reid’s past, too, that makes my deception even worse.”
“Love has a way of working itself out,” Roman predicted. “But you have to be honest. That’s the key.”
“I didn’t lie to him,” Carley whispered. “I just didn’t tell him.”
“It’s the same thing, and you know it.”
She sank onto the bed. “What do I do, Roman?”
“Give him time to cool off. Then try to talk to him. Explain yourself. Be honest.”
* * * *
Mica went to work with Carley, Sean, Roman, and the rest of them that evening. Carley didn’t know what else to do with her, and Sean had glued himself to her side anyway, so it seemed like the most logical decision. Besides, if Mica was good enough to cook in the king’s kitchen, she would certainly be good enough to work in the kitchen at a human restaurant.
When they returned home at the end of the evening, Carley noticed that Sean whisked Mica away upstairs. She assumed he was getting her settled into a bedroom for the night. She decided not to consider which bedroom.
When she woke the next morning, Carley was disoriented for a few moments. A storm raged outside, dark clouds spit rain and snow both, as the wind howled and rattled the windowpanes. It was the worst sort of day for a lightbearer. She would be exhausted before she even started her shift at the restaurant.
She rolled over and realized she was alone in the bed. Reid was gone. She had no idea where he went. Had he gone back to his apartment? Had he gone back to his old pack? Had he—out of spite—gone out last night and found someone else to warm his bed?
Her mind sifted through the possibilities, over and over, each one getting worse and worse, until she finally dragged herself out of bed and shuffled downstairs.
No one else was awake, or at least no one had come downstairs and started the coffee. Carley set about doing just that, and then she stood in the kitchen, leaning against the counter and watching the nasty weather outside as she waited for the caffeine-infused drink to fill the carafe.
A shadow passed across the window. She blinked, but she was certain that she’d seen a person—a male—walk past the window. Reid?
She rushed across the kitchen and threw open the back door. If he came all the way here in this raging storm, then he must be willing to forgive her—right?
“Well, hello, mate.”
The voice chilled her far worse than the wet wind blowing into the kitchen. She released the doorknob and shuffled backward several paces.
“I admit I wasn’t expecting it to be quite this easy to get into your abode.” Miguel’s gaze made a swift perusal of the kitchen as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him.
“So this is where you have been hiding from me, Carley? This is where the shifter lives?”
Carley shook her head as she backed away farther, until she bumped into the counter.
“How—how did you find me?” she whispered.
Miguel waved his hand dismissively. “That simpleton, Mica. Such a foolish lightbearer. One of the many fools who believe love conquers all.” He shook his head as if he was perplexed.
“Mica brought you here?” The woman had seemed so convincing yesterday.
Miguel’s mouth curled in disgust. “I followed her, when she informed me that she would no longer help me in my endeavor to, as she believed, win you back. Seemed to be under the impression that my intentions were less than pure.”
He gave her a malevolent smile. “Do you believe my intentions are less than pure, mate?”
“Yes,” Carley whispered.
He snorted derisively. “And here I’ve always been under the impression that you were an idiot. A passable piece of ass and a decent cook. If you hadn’t decided to go against the Chosen One, I probably would have been happy to settle for that. What else does a man need, after all?”
“The Chosen One was wrong,” Carley whispered. “Tanner loves Olivia. And Finn loves Cecilia. There is nothing unpure about their relationships.”
Mine is the only one that is unpure. And that is only because of you, Miguel.
Miguel’s face contorted. “Everything about their relationships is unpure,” he raged. “Everything! Shifters are the enemy. Everyone is the enemy. Lightbearers should be with lightbearers. There is no other way.”
“And you,” he continued as he stabbed his finger in the air. “You broke the rules, too. Not only have you cheated on your mate, but you did it with a shifter. You spread your legs and allowed a shifter to defile you, you backstabbing bitch.”
“You’re the one who defiled me, Miguel,” Carley burst out, unable to hold back any longer. “You used me for your own ends whenever it was convenient for you. I never had any pleasure. I never wanted it with you. You—you raped me! Reid would never do that. Never!”
Miguel looked momentarily surprised that she talked back. Carley realized she’d never actually done so, not in any of the years they were mated.
His surprise was quickly erased by malice. He took a step toward her. She pressed more firmly against the counter.
“Reid? Is that your shifter’s name?” He paused. Carley glared at him but did not speak.
“I’m going to kill him. You’re lucky I want you to be alive to see it, or else I’d kill you right now. Stupid bitch, you’ve ruined my life!” Although he said he wasn’t going to kill her right then, he lunged at her as if that was exactly what he intended to do.
Carley grabbed the coffee carafe and flung it at him. Scalding, dark liquid poured out, hitting him in the face and the front of his shirt. He screamed, lifted his hands to his face, and dropped to his knees, still screaming. The carafe crashed against the wall behind him and shattered.
There was a sound like a herd of elephants stampeded across the ceiling above her, as Carley stood there, rooted to the spot, staring at her mate while he crouched on his knees and shouted in pain. The herd of elephants stampeded down the stairs, and Miguel stumbled to his feet, staggering like a drunken man, and lurched toward the back door.
His hand went through one of the glass panes and he screamed with renewed pain as he held that arm close to his chest and fumbled with the doorknob with the other. He flung himself out the door just as her roommates and Mica came rushing through the other door.
“Carley,” Roman called out as he muscled his way through the crowd. “You okay?” He glanced at the open door and then at Carley’s ashen face.
“It was Miguel,” she whispered. She heard a cry of distress and assumed it was Mica. The younger lightbearer hadn’t lied to them after all. Considering how quickly Sean was falling for her, Carley thought that was a good thing. The young human deserved a little happiness.
Didn’t they all?
“Miguel? Here?” Mica pulled away from Sean and hurried to Carley’s side. “How?”
“He followed you.”
“Oh!” Mica shoved her fist into her mouth and blinked rapidly.
“Don’t cry,” Carley ordered in a hardened voice. “Don’t you think you’ve cried enough already?”
Mica swallowed the tears and stared at her with widened eyes.
Carley waved at the open door and the shattered glass scattered all over the floor. “Can someone please clean that up? I’ll pay for the damages. Mica, come with me. We need to get dressed. We’re leaving, as quickly as we can.”
She abruptly turned and pushed her way through the crowd, with Mica in her wake.
“Where are we going?” the other lightbearer asked.
“Back to the coterie. I’m through running from Miguel. It’s time to fight back.”
Chapter 17
Roman waylaid her in the front foyer. “Carley, listen to me.”
“I can’t, Roman. I have no idea how much time I have. I don’t know where Reid is, and he’s the one in the most danger right now. Miguel means to kill him. I have to get to Miguel before he finds Reid.”
“I get it, Carley. I’m just
saying that I don’t think you should take Mica with you.”
That grabbed her attention. She paused and gave him a considering look. “Why?”
Roman waved at the stairs. Mica and Sean were at the top, locked in an embrace. Despite Carley’s earlier admonishment, Mica was quietly crying as Sean held her tightly.
“Cut the kid some slack, will you? Let her stay. Besides, when you find Reid and work everything out with him”—he ignored her snort of disbelief—“and stop this Miguel guy, you aren’t going to come back. We need a good head chef at the restaurant, and Mica’s almost as good as you in the kitchen.”
“I’m coming back,” Carley protested, but she knew it was a lie. Even if Reid wouldn’t take her back, she knew, in her heart of hearts, that she wanted to go back to the coterie. Back home.
Roman shook his head, seeing through her lie.
“I can’t leave Mica alone.”
“Does it look like she’ll be alone?” Roman asked as he nodded at the couple canoodling at the top of the stairs.
“It’s only been twenty-four hours,” Carley said in wonder. “Does it really happen that quickly?”
“Look at how fast it happened for you and Reid, and the two of you both have some pretty deep-seated issues,” Roman pointed out.
Carley hesitated. “She’s just like me,” she said, finally. “She needs the light.”
“That seasonal disorder?” Roman said with a nod. “We’re already used to working in an overbright kitchen.” He shrugged. “Maybe she and Sean and me will all head down to Mexico and start a new life.”
Carley thought that wasn’t such a bad idea. Roman would be closer to his estranged family, and she suspected that so long as they were together, Mica and Sean would be happy anywhere.
Roman dug a key ring out of his pocket and held it out before him. She blinked. “You have a car?”
“An old piece of shit truck that I keep in storage two blocks over. The only time I ever use it is when somebody calls and says they need help moving.” He thrust his hand at her. “Take it. My gift to you.”
“But why?”
Roman shrugged again. “You made me realize that the world is made up of more than any of us can even fathom,” he said cryptically.
“Oh.” Her throat constricted. She was going to cry, but it wasn’t about Miguel or even Reid. It was about the unconditional friendship that this one human man offered.
“I’ll never forget you, Roman,” she whispered, and then she pulled him into a fierce bear hug. When she released him, his face was pink and his eyes were misty, too.
“If Reid won’t see reason, maybe you should come back. You and me, we’ll really do it. We’ll go down to Mexico and live. Okay?”
She gave him a watery smile. “Okay. Thanks, Roman. For everything.”
And then she was gone, running through the sleet and rain, splashing icy water everywhere, ignoring the wetness on her face as she kept a diligent eye out for her one and only enemy: her mate.
But Miguel didn’t show his scalded face, and Carley made it to the garage where Roman stored his truck without incident, and soon she was behind the wheel, trying to remember everything Reid told her about driving, as she clumsily pulled out of the structure and guided the truck toward Reid’s apartment building.
When she arrived, she pulled the ancient truck to the curb, twisted the key to stop the engine and leaped out onto the sidewalk.
A human wearing a sharply pressed uniform stopped her before she could rush inside. “You can’t leave that truck here, ma’am,” he said. His voice was even but she could tell by the look in his eye that the old truck bothered his high-class sensibilities.
When she felt the urge to laugh at the notion—she cooked for kings, and he thought she was beneath him?—she realized she was holding onto her sanity by only a thin thread. She needed to get to Reid. She needed to ensure he was okay, he was alive. She needed to warn him about Miguel, and beg him for his forgiveness.
Her original plan had been to go straight to the coterie, and maybe if Mica had gone with her she would have done that. But left to her own devices, she had not been able to resist coming here, to Reid’s apartment.
She did not know if he would speak to her, but she knew she had to try. She had to warn him, if nothing else. He would probably scoff at her for the warning—shifters did tend to believe they were at the top of the magical food chain, and Reid no doubt was confident he could beat Miguel in battle—but she still felt the need to say something.
If he gave her the chance, she would tell him she loved him, too. Despite the fact that she was mated to another, she loved Reid. She loved everything about him, and she wanted to tell him that he really was perfect and whatever female was lucky enough to win his heart, she would be the luckiest female in any world. Carley knew that female was not her—she already had a mate, unfortunately—and that hurt so badly that just thinking about it made her want to cry. But she still needed to tell Reid. She wanted him to know.
Carley focused on the attendant, who stood on the sidewalk holding an umbrella and looking down his nose at her. Since joining the human world, the only time she used her magic was in the kitchen, and then only to ensure her dishes were fabulous. Considering the hours she worked at the restaurant, she had precious little magical stores anyway.
Today was different. Today, she was desperate and more frightened than she had been since she left the coterie five months ago.
She waved her hand in front of the attendant’s face, pulling on her magic as she did so. His eyes glazed over and he blinked blankly.
“When I come back,” she said, “my truck will be here waiting.”
“Yes,” the attendant said in a vague voice.
Satisfied that her magic was working, Carley turned and hurried into the building.
He wasn’t there.
After making a quick perusal of the place to ensure he really was not there, Carley stood in the middle of the glossy granite and wood kitchen, staring at the island where all the supplies Reid had purchased for their cooking lesson still remained. She thought about the day he walked into her restaurant and the subsequent month, during which he very deliberately courted her.
She thought about the cooking lesson and how she’d boldly asked him to kiss her. How that kiss had led to so many other pleasurable activities. Her body warmed at the memories.
Memories were all she had now. While she had no intention of going back to Miguel, she knew she could not be with Reid either, not now that he knew she was mated to another. She figured for the rest of her life she would be alone. She took a small solace in the knowledge that Reid had taught her that sex was not something to be endured. It was something to enjoy, to revel in. Something wonderful and special, shared by two beings who cared for one another.
At least she had that.
Chapter 18
It took two days to get to the coterie. She barely knew how to drive, and became terribly lost. Then she ran the truck out of gas and had to wait for a helpful human to come along and explain what happened, and give her enough fuel to get to the nearest gas station.
The storm raged that entire first day, sapping what little strength she had. By dusk, she could barely keep her eyes open, so she finally pulled over and spent the night in a motel.
The next day was still overcast, but the storm had relented overnight, and the day was marginally brighter than the one before. After consulting a map at a rest stop, Carley finally determined the correct direction to the coterie and headed on her way. She arrived at nightfall. Luckily, the guard on duty recognized her and allowed her through the wards. Otherwise, she had no idea what she would have done.
She guided the truck up to the pole barn, left it parked there, and dragged herself wearily up to the front door of the beach house. She pushed the doorbell, and Tanner opened the door, greeting her with a stony look. Why in the world was he angry with her?
“Hello, Tanner,” she said hesitantly. “I—I’v
e come back. I need—” What did she need? She needed Reid, but she doubted Tanner would understand. Nor would he be able to help in that endeavor. She sagged against the doorframe.
Tanner pursed his lips and scooped her into his arms and carried her inside. Ignoring her protests, he carried her upstairs and deposited her in the same guest room she’d used last week.
“You’re exhausted,” he said. “Sleep. You can explain in the morning. Nearly everyone else is asleep anyway. The storm has left everyone fairly weak. Good-night.” He turned and left the room, closing the door behind him. Carley kicked off her shoes, climbed under the covers and did just what he said: she fell instantly asleep.
*
Reid didn’t act on his initial thought, the urge to return to Wyoming to try to claim the right of pack master. Nor did he tell his brother about that idea. Finn would probably kick his ass on principal. Besides, now that he’d put distance between himself and Carley, the need to fight, the kamikaze attitude had dissipated.
Now, all he wanted to do was find Miguel, to punish him for what he did to Carley. He was still angry with her for lying to him, wasn’t sure he could ever forgive her, yet he still felt a burning need to be her champion, to take care of her problems for her. Otherwise, she would live in fear for the rest of her life, and no one deserved that.
He, Finn, and Jake had spent the day searching for Miguel. While they didn’t find the lightbearer, it hadn’t taken long to find his hiding place, in the woods, not two hundred yards from the beach house. Jake helpfully explained that the reason they hadn’t found it until now was because Miguel had warded it against detection. But the wards had to be renewed regularly, and he hadn’t done so recently.
Which meant he had no intention of returning. Reid wondered if that meant he had run away for good this time. What else could it mean?
Tanner had gone into a rage, furious with the guards for allowing such a dangerous being to live so close to his mate and her family for so many months.
But everyone had assumed the Chosen One’s followers either left the coterie or came groveling to the king for forgiveness. It never occurred to anyone that one of them would simply hide out in the woods for all these months.
