by Tami Lund
He didn’t know if Miguel was alive, or if he was even still in the room. He didn’t care. All he cared about was Carley. He hoped Cecilia went for help. He was afraid to jostle her too much, for fear of making her wound worse. She had already lost so much blood. It was everywhere, pooling on the floor, dripping onto his leg, coating his chest.
Suddenly, two very large and angry shifters filled the doorway. Finn and Tanner.
“What the fuck did you do to my brother?” Finn roared as he strode across the room, lifted Miguel and slammed him into the wall. “And his mate?” He delivered a bone-crunching punch to Miguel’s face.
“Carley!” Cecilia sobbed as she stabbed her finger at Reid and Carley. “Save her!”
Tanner’s gaze traveled over the scene, and then he immediately turned and rushed from the room, shifting into the form of a cheetah as he ran. Finn walked over and scooped Cecilia into his arms. “I can’t leave you alone for ten seconds, can I?” he asked, just before he crushed her against his chest, hugging her as if he never intended to let her go again.
“I guess not,” she admitted, and they walked over to stand next to Reid, silently offering their support as he held Carley’s bleeding, limp body.
Tanner finally returned, excruciatingly long minutes later, with Alexa and Jake in tow. “Save her,” he commanded, stabbing his finger at Carley’s body.
“Not again,” Alexa said on a breathless gasp as she rushed across the room and dropped to her hands and knees next to Reid. She murmured an incantation and the sword instantly disappeared. She grabbed Reid’s shirt and tore it into two pieces. “Hold this,” she commanded, and Reid pressed the material to Carley’s back, while Alexa held the other bit of material against the hole in her stomach and began murmuring another incantation.
“Save her,” he whispered.
“I’m trying,” Alexa responded. Sweat beaded on her face. Jake hurried over and placed a hand on her shoulder. His hand flared with magic. She tried to shake him off.
“Let me help you,” he said.
“I don’t need your help.”
“Yes, you do.”
Alexa grimaced, but did not ask him to remove his hand again.
“Holy hell, what happened to your back?” Jake asked Reid.
Reid growled. Alexa’s eyes popped open. “What?”
“Just save her,” Reid snapped.
“She’ll fix you next,” Jake commented. “Trust me, I know. She won’t stop until everyone’s back to normal.”
Back to normal? What the hell was that?
“Knock it off, Jake,” Alexa said through gritted teeth.
“Just do your damn job, Alexa,” he replied. His hand glowed where it held Alexa’s shoulder. Unless Reid was mistaken, Jake was feeding her his magic, giving her what she needed so she could fix Carley. Reid felt a grudging appreciation for the male lightbearer’s presence.
With a great gasp, Carley suddenly came awake, her body instinctively bucking and stretching, even as Reid struggled to hold her. Her eyes blinked rapidly, as she looked around, appearing disoriented for a few seconds, before she focused on him.
“Reid,” she whispered, and then she grabbed his neck and hugged him. “I’m so sorry,” she said as she sobbed.
He awkwardly patted her back, conscious of their audience. “It’s fine,” he said. “Let’s just—”
“He’s gone.”
Reid’s head whipped up, and his gaze followed the path Cecilia made with her finger, to the space on the floor where Miguel had been lying in a ball, cupping his injured balls.
Tanner and Finn both swore roundly. They’d all been too preoccupied with worrying about Carley to notice when he slipped out of the room.
“Let’s go,” Tanner said to Finn. “Round up the guards. We’re gonna find this motherfucker once and for all.”
Reid stood, taking Carley with him, and then he gently handed her off to Cecilia. “I’m coming, too,” he called to Tanner.
“No, you aren’t, buddy,” Alexa said. “Not until I heal you.”
“I’m fine.” He started to reach for his shirt and realized it was in two blood-soaked pieces on the floor. Carley’s blood.
“No, you aren’t. But you will be, as soon as I’m done.” She waved her hand across his back. Light flared. He heard her whistle. “Some of these scars are years old.”
“Yeah. So what?”
“I wish…”
“Damn it, Alexa,” Jake growled, “You aren’t a fucking god.”
“No, but I am a healer, and if I can still help, then I should.”
Jake grumbled some more, but Alexa ignored him as she placed her hands on Reid’s back. He winced at the initial impact, but her healing magic instantly began to pull the pain away, and after just a few heartbeats, he couldn’t help the sigh of relief.
Chapter 20
Despite her fear that he would not, Reid joined Carley in her bedchamber that evening. Without a word, he slipped into the bed and under the sheet, covering her body with his own, blessedly naked and incredibly turned-on body. She was sprawled on her stomach, and he lay on top of her, his front pressed to her back. His erection pressed into her backside. She lifted her hips, and he rolled his own in response.
“M-m-m,” she murmured, enjoying the feel of him, relieved that he’d come, glad he had apparently forgiven her. It felt like a lifetime since they’d slept in the same bed together.
“You like this?” he whispered against her ear. He pushed her hair out of his way and kissed her ear.
“I like everything you do,” she replied as she turned her head to give him better access.
The trail of kisses was hot and wet as he made his way from her ear to her shoulder. “I want you to be mine, Carley,” he whispered. “Amongst my kind, this will make you mine.”
“I want to be yours. Make me yours.”
He cupped her ass with one hand, smoothed his hand across her soft skin, slid his fingers through the crack and the wetness there. She was ready for him. She was always ready for him.
With his body bent over hers, he held himself up with one arm while he grasped his erection with the other, guiding it to her opening.
“I have never wanted something so much as I want this, Carley,” he said a moment before he thrust, pushing himself into her, connecting them. Mating with her.
She made a noise of desire as she arched her back and curled her fingers into the soft bedding, pushing her backside against him, encouraging him, asking for more.
He gave it to her. He gave it all to her. He pushed them both, until they were panting with need and desire, until she was just on the edge, almost there. And then he snaked an arm around her waist, held her tightly and thrust harder and deeper, pushing her over and following almost immediately. He collapsed next to her, gasping for breath, his heart hammering.
“Does this mean I’m forgiven?” she asked a short time later.
He turned his head to look at her. His eyes were glowing so brightly they lit the room as well as a lamp would.
“There’s nothing to forgive.”
“I wasn’t honest. I should have told you about Miguel.”
He reached over, stroked his fingers along her cheek. She nuzzled his hand.
“I hate to say this, but if you had, I might have walked away. I don’t think I would have even given us a chance. I wasn’t in the right place yet. I’ve grown so much since meeting you. Since falling in love with you.”
She choked on a sob and lifted her hand, cupping the one that lingered on her face. “I love you, too, Reid. So much.”
“Good. Because you’re mine now.”
“But…Miguel.” She hated to say his name. She hated everything about him. Everything he’d stolen in her life, but especially this. Her future.
Reid rolled away from her and climbed out of the bed. “You’re only his mate so long as he’s alive.” And then he was gone, stepping into the bath chamber and closing the door behind him. Carley waited a reason
able length of time, and then padded across the room and tapped on the bathroom door. When he didn’t answer, she twisted the knob and pushed the door open.
He wasn’t there. The window was open, the curtains fluttering in the cool night breeze. He’d flown away. Carley turned to the mirror and stared at her tousled image. Was he serious? Did he really intend to kill Miguel?
She fled the room, barely taking the time to pull on clothes in her haste.
* * * *
“He’s going to kill Miguel!” Carley burst into Cecilia and Finn’s chamber without bothering to knock. And discovered she and Reid had not been the only ones who had needed to connect in the way of the shifters.
“Fates be damned,” Finn barked when he pulled away from Cecilia, rolled onto his backside and pulled the sheet into his lap. “What is it with your family and their inability to knock?” he demanded, glaring at his mate, who demurely pulled a robe over her shoulders.
“Who’s going to kill Miguel?” Cecilia asked, ignoring Finn.
“Reid!”
“No less than he deserves,” Finn grumbled. “I can’t believe he was hiding so close and I never knew it.”
“He was able to hide his scent,” Cecilia reassured him as she stroked his arm. “It wasn’t your fault.”
“We have to stop him,” Carley said.
“Why? Unless I’m missing something, you sure seem a hell of a lot better off with my brother than with that other asshole.”
“Well, yes, of course, but—but—what if Miguel wins?”
Finn scoffed. “He won’t.”
“But—”
Finn cut her off with a scowl. He bunched the sheet in his hand and slid off the bed, carefully ensuring Carley did not see more of him than was proper.
“I’ll go find him,” he muttered. He stalked into the walk-in closet. When he stepped out again, he wore a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. He stabbed his finger at his mate. “You. Stay here. Do not come up with some stupid-ass plan that will put you or her in danger. Got it?”
Cecilia lifted her hands, as if in surrender. “Just go, make sure your brother doesn’t get himself killed.” Finn strode across the room toward the balcony. He pulled open the door. A blast of cool wind swirled into the room, and then he was gone, flying away in the form of a hawk. Completely unconcerned about her nakedness, Cecilia stood, walked over to the door and gently pushed it closed. Then she turned to Carley.
“So, what’s the plan?”
*
Finn found Reid in the house where Miguel had tied him to the bed and whipped him with a belt. “What are you doing?” he asked as he stepped through the door.
Reid rolled his shoulders, but there was no pain, not even the normal tightness he usually felt, the reminder of the whipping he’d received from his crazy-ass pack master. Alexa deserved a freaking gold medal. Despite what Jake said the day before, she really was a god, at least in Reid’s eyes.
“This is where she lived with him,” he said as he waved a hand to encompass the house. “Look at it. There aren’t any pictures. No personal touches. That kitchen isn’t even a kitchen Carley would ever want to use. This is where she lived, but it doesn’t feel like her.”
Finn looked around with dispassionate interest. “Maybe because this was never where she belonged,” he suggested.
“She belongs with me,” Reid said fiercely.
Finn nodded. “There’s only one way to make that happen.”
“I know.”
“Are you prepared to have that hanging over your head? Killing a man in cold blood? Have you ever killed before, Reid?”
“No.”
“I have. It eats at your soul. It never goes away. No matter how happy that life you’re thinking about in your head right now, the way you got there will always, always be in the back of your mind. You will never, ever forget.”
“She should be mine. Not his. He doesn’t deserve her.”
“That’s true.”
“There’s no other way.” They both knew it. Just as shifters mated for life, so too did lightbearers. Happily wasn’t always part of the ever after.
“She’s worth it,” Reid added.
Finn let the comment hang in the air for a few moments, until he said, “I figured as much.”
Reid glanced at him and arched an eyebrow. Finn sighed. “Let’s go. Let’s get this over with.”
Reid watched his brother walk toward the door. “Where are you going?”
Finn stopped and mocked Reid’s earlier raised eyebrow look. “Did you forget who happens to be one of the best trackers of our kind?” he asked coolly.
“Oh. Right.” He followed his brother out the door.
*
“Are we really going to the kitchen to cook?” Cecilia asked as she followed Carley down the stairs and turned to the left, toward the kitchen suites.
“Yes. What did you think I meant when I suggested it? I told you it was crazy to want to go out searching for Miguel again, and you said you were bored, so I suggested cooking. Why not?”
“Because we should head down to the village to use you as bait and try to lure Miguel out into the open.”
“And then what?” Carley asked, not bothering to hide the exasperation in her voice. As much as she wanted to sever ties with her mate, as much as she had come to the conclusion that the only way she and Reid could be together was if Miguel was dead, she knew she and Cecilia were no match for him. Given what he’d done to Reid the day before, she worried that even he might not be successful. Knowing Finn had gone off to help him slightly eased the constriction in her chest, but only slightly. What if he didn’t get to Reid in time? What if Miguel had already killed him?
“You would know it if Miguel has gotten to Reid,” Cecilia commented, accurately guessing her thoughts. “Or if Reid got to Miguel. It’s this thing with lightbearers and shifters. We can sense each other’s emotions, almost like we share them. It’s weird, but you get used to it.” She shrugged, as if it was of little consequence.
“I never had that connection with Miguel.”
“Of course not,” Cecilia scoffed. “First, you have to have an emotional attachment to the person. Second, I’ve not heard of it between lightbearers. I’m pretty sure it’s something to do with our two species. Sort of makes the whole “archenemies for five hundred years” concept laughable, doesn’t it?”
Carley stepped into the main kitchen suite and frowned. It was empty, which was strange aside from during the middle of the night. There was always someone in the kitchen, whether preparing for the next meal or cleaning up after the last one. Granted, it was late in the evening, but something about the scene felt off. Especially given the dirty dishes stacked in the sink and the broom lying on the floor, a pile of dirt next to it.
“Something’s wrong.” She stopped walking, and Cecilia bumped into her back.
“You’re right,” Cecilia said, completely nonplused. “The whole situation is wrong. It isn’t fair that the only way you can have a happy life is if Miguel dies. I mean, I’m not an advocate for killing people, by any means, but let’s be honest. Miguel tried to kill you, when he pushed you down the stairs. Not to mention whipping Reid like that. And who knows if he’s injured or killed anyone else? I bet he has. Wait—he has, right? You told me you were pregnant when he pushed you over the cliff. So he killed your babe. He deserves—”
“Your babe?” The masculine voice echoed through the empty kitchen, causing both women to freeze, and drawing their gazes to a walk-in pantry a few feet away. The door opened, and Miguel stepped out, kicking aside what looked like a pair of legs lying on the floor.
“Nona,” Carley cried out, recognizing the dress bunched around the woman’s knees. Cecilia grabbed her arm to keep her from rushing to check on the elderly undercook.
Carley lifted her gaze to Miguel and gasped. He looked terrible. His face was distorted and puckered from the burns caused by the hot coffee she’d tossed at him when he showed up at her house in Chica
go. His nose was crooked, clearly broken, and there was dried blood on his face. When he opened his mouth to speak, she could see several missing teeth.
The look in his bloodshot eyes was pure, unadulterated hatred.
“You were pregnant?” he asked. When she didn’t respond, he said, “You killed my progeny.”
“No, you killed my babe.”
“I’m going to kill you,” he said. He lifted his arm. His hand glowed brightly for a moment before a sword appeared in his grasp. “And I’m going to kill that one, too. The Chosen One wanted her dead. This is my chance to see to his final wish.”
“My brother has been dead for months, and he’s still messing with my life,” Cecilia commented, as she tugged Carley backward.
Carley stumbled and Miguel charged, screaming some sort of convoluted battle cry as he did so. “Run!” she shouted, and Cecilia fled to the other end of the kitchen. Carley lunged for the nearest counter, grabbed the steak knife lying there, and twisted round just as Miguel reached her and lifted his sword with both arms. She stabbed him in the thigh. He screamed and jerked away from her, the knife still protruding from his leg. His leg crumpled under him and he grabbed the countertop to hold him upright.
“Bitch,” he said on a snarl. “You’re dead.” Carley scrambled away from him. She felt the rush of air as he clumsily swung the sword, missing her by a wide berth. Cecilia rushed toward the nearest door, and Miguel threw a charm at it, locking it. Cecilia turned around and smirked.
“You think that’s going to stop me?” she taunted. She placed her hand on the knob, and it automatically twisted under her grasp.
“Cecilia, move!”
The bloody knife flew through the air and caught her hand, leaving a wide slice before clattering to the floor. Cecilia cried out in pain and cradled her injured hand to her chest. Miguel had already shifted his attention back to Carley. She walked backward to ensure she kept him in her line of vision, lest he decide to throw more knives. She bumped into a counter, knocked over a metal bowl full of beans soaking in water. The water poured across the floor, mingling with blood, the pile of dirt, and soggy beans. The colander bounced and bumped along the floor until it came to a stop near Nona’s body. Carley could see the older woman’s torso from her current vantage point, but she couldn’t tell if the woman was still alive. She hoped so, as she deliberately moved away from her prone body to draw Miguel’s attention away from her, just in case.
