Shadows and Stars

by Becca Fanning

  There she was; the next Cipher scum to be a part of his plan. There couldn't have been a more perfect choice really. This one was the sister closest to Trent. He would come back immediately. Now all there was to do was figure out who she wanted dead.

  Don't get too comfortable in your perfect little life, Michelle. This hell is coming for you now.

  TWENTY-FOUR

  I FOLLOWED RAY TONIGHT. He drove up to the hill to a town I'd never heard of before. I don't get out much though I suppose. The drive felt like forever, since I'm still recovering from our fight. Ray hadn't been hateful since that night, but he hadn't been nice either. He simply stayed to himself, and barely even acknowledged me. If I hadn't been sure before there was another woman. I was now.

  When he pulled off the highway, I almost turned around. It was some one-lane gravel road, and I was afraid he'd surely see me behind him now. I waited for what seemed like forever before I finally pulled down the road myself. I killed my headlights and relied on the brightness of the moon for a bit.

  The hair on the back of my neck stood up the whole time which should have warned me. Ray always told me when I felt that kind of fear to listen to it, and run. I couldn't turn around now, though. After living like I had for the past year, I owed it to myself to find out the truth. I parked the car and got out when I realized his truck was parked up ahead. Thank goodness I drive a new car that barely sounds like it's running at all or he surely would have heard me as I reversed. I didn't want to be parked that close. The thought of schlepping through the woods didn't sound appealing, but it had to be done. I walked for a good thirty minutes and never came across a house or anything.

  I was just about to turn around and go back to my car when I heard something. Every fiber of my being was screaming to run, but I was frozen. The sound was horrific. I was no longer afraid of just Ray; I wanted him to show up any second so I wouldn't be alone. My fight or flight finally kicked in and I ran. It was hard to tell in the dark, but I got lucky and was running the right direction. I could see Ray's truck to my right through the woods and knew my car wasn't far behind. There was a movement at his car that made me stop.

  My heart soared at first because I thought my prayers had been answered and it was Ray. No matter how pissed he would be at me for following him, he would protect me. I was making my way through the woods to the truck when a giant cat came around the truck. It was black as the night with horrible, glowing eyes of death. I wanted to scream, but it was trapped in my throat.

  The cat seemed to know I was out there, too. It lifted its nose and sniffed several times and looked around. My legs were shaking and tears streamed down my face, and I was sure I was going to die. Then if the giant cat wasn't enough, in the blink of an eye where the cat had been, now stood Ray. He was completely naked and shaking his body off.

  Am I losing my mind? Has Ray beaten me so badly this last time that I've lost the ability to think straight? Is he a Shifter that morphs into a freaking jaguar? Most importantly, does he know that I was in the woods that night? I always thought Ray would change, and that his abuse would end. Now I think I'm more afraid of him than ever.

  Heather put the journal down. How on Earth could this woman not know she was married to a Shifter? If he was a Shifter, wouldn't he have a mate?

  With the thought of mates, Heather's thoughts turned to Trent. She was set to leave tomorrow morning. Michelle had told the rest of the family so they had thrown her a big going away party earlier tonight. It made her heart squeeze at the thought of leaving them. With still no word from Trent, her mind was made up. Boston would be her new home.

  Heather got up and went into Trent's room. She opened his drawers and ran her fingers over his shirts. When she picked one up, his scent swirled all around her. She quickly shrugged the shirt on and went back to her bed. The smell of him comforted her, and she drifted off to sleep.

  The smell of the shirt seemed to have gotten stronger through the night. When Heather woke up, it was like Trent was next to her. How many times had she laid there and craved his touch? Now it was like she could feel his warm heat on her back. She was afraid to move or open her eyes. Then her dream would be over, and he would be gone.

  "Baby, open your eyes. I'm here." The voice was quiet and husky. Heather shot up out of bed.

  "Trent? What are you doing here?"

  "I'm your mate." Heather wasn't sure if she wanted to punch him or kiss him for showing up in her bed like he had every right in the world to be there.

  "Really? Well, I don't have a whole lot of experience with this, but the other mated couples that I know are together. One of them didn't take off minutes after they bonded and never come back. So please get out of my bed."

  "No. We're mated, even though I had to leave, I'm still your mate and can be in your bed. I've missed you. Haven't you missed me?"

  Heather wanted to scream. Had she missed him? Of course she had missed him. She was also sick of being treated like a doormat, though. She refused to back down.

  "Whether I missed you or not has nothing to do with the fact that you're in my bed without my permission."

  "Why is there a suitcase sitting there?"

  "I'm leaving; today." Heather fidgeted uncomfortably at the change in Trent's gaze. He was pissed. She figured he would be. She always figured she'd already be in Boston when he found out. Leave it to the big butt head to screw up her plan and show up the day she was supposed to leave.

  "Heather, do you feel our mate bond? Do you understand how I feel about you, and can you return those feelings?"

  "What are you staying?"

  "What do you mean? You're not answering my questions."

  "Answer mine first. Are you here in my bed because you're done doing whatever it was you were doing?"

  "No, I'm here because I missed you. I'll be leaving soon."

  "Fine, than so am I."

  "I need you to answer my questions, now." Heather bristled at Trent's tone. She didn't appreciate him going all alpha male on her. It just furthered her stance that she needed to be her own woman.

  "I feel very strongly for you, yes. However, you have left me once and just told me that you'll be leaving again. I refuse to sit here and wait around for whenever you're ready to figure out what we are."

  "It's not how the mate bond works. I know what we are, and how I feel. That doesn’t change the fact that I have to go. I will not stay here and put you in danger."

  "I don't care about the freaking mate bond, Trent. I care about you, yes, but the mate bond is foreign to me. It means nothing to me if you are going to be gone. I'm sick of being alone. I'm sick of coming second or third to the person I love. I have to put myself first for once otherwise, I'll end up broken-hearted, again."

  She regretted the words as soon as they were out. She should have just gone downstairs and gone away from Trent. Trent looked as if she had knifed him in the stomach. Apologizing now would be a waste though; the damage was done. She folded her arms across her stomach and waited for the fallout.

  It never came, though. Trent got out of bed and stormed out of her room. Heather hesitated briefly, and then followed him. Thankfully nobody was in the kitchen or living room when she got there, but neither was Trent. She checked through the rest of the downstairs when she heard a commotion outside.

  Heather couldn't believe what she saw when she opened the front door. There, where the new vehicle had been, the one she had worked countless double shifts and painfully saved for, was now a wrangled mess of metal. Trent had completely destroyed it. He was in his bear form next to it with glowing, golden eyes. He was angry and had destroyed the one thing in her life she owned: her way out. The only bit of freedom she had ever had. That old Jeep meant the world to her because she had done it all on her own; taken control of her life, and bought her first vehicle to drive to her new life. He had destroyed it.

  Just like every other man in her life, he had taken away her freedom. Anger swelled up inside of her for all the wrongs that h
ad been done to her. Everything she hated about Brian and her father transferred to Trent as she stared at the damage.

  "I hate you! I hate you! How could you do this to me, Trent? You left me alone minutes after making love without so much as a goodbye for weeks. Then you show up and demand we reconnect just so you can leave again. Not before you demand that I can't do the same to protect myself. Then of all the shitty, asshole things to do you wreck the one thing in my life that is truly mine. I wish I would have died that day on the road if it meant I would have never met you. You're just like all of the rest of them. I HATE YOU!"

  Tears poured down Heather's face by the time she finished. All of Trent's family was present now as well. She didn't care. One way or another, she was leaving today. Trent had made it clear that he planned on owning her because they were "mates." Well, she was done being somebody's property. With a final glance around at everybody, she stormed back to the house to collect her things. Everybody was still standing there like statues when she came back out dressed in jeans and t-shirt with her overnight bag on her shoulder. She stopped by what was left of her Jeep and realized it would take too much time and effort to get anything out. Better off probably. Everything in there was things the Ciphers had given her. She never wanted to think of them again. It would just remind her of Trent.

  He was still in his bear form next to her Jeep. She never made eye contact with him as she took off on foot down the gravel road. Thankfully the tears had stopped long enough for her to make her exit. It wasn't until she was out of sight of their cabins that they started again. The pain was so intense she wanted to double over, but she had to keep going.

  She heard a painful roar in the distance and knew it was Trent. Her heart clenched tight, and she had to stop then. She leaned up against a tree and let the pain consume her for a bit. She wasn't sure how she would ever survive it. Heather had thought she had experienced love before in her life, but compared to her feelings for Trent, it had been nothing. Maybe it was the mate bond he had kept preaching about, but it was intense and painful. It had been beautiful too, and her heart broke for that as well. In time she would be able to think about those beautiful times and be glad, but now it was torture.

  Not sure how long she had been there, she decided it was time to get moving again. Michelle's Sedan pulled up beside her then. She wasn't ready to face Michelle or anybody really.

  "Please, just get in the car. We don't have to talk, but I can't let you walk around out here by yourself. Please?"

  Heather nodded and got in, thankful for the ride and the peaceful ease of her friendship with Michelle. It felt nice just to have her nearby even if she probably hated her for what she said to Trent.

  "I didn't mean it," Heather finally whispered as Michelle pulled up to the bus station.

  "I know you didn't. It hasn't been fair of us to ask you to stay for Trent when he hasn't been there for you. We forget that this is all new to you, and we just assume you feel the full strength of the mate bond."

  "I do feel it. I feel it just as much as what I assume he does. The only difference is I don't know if he's coming back. To me, he's just like every other man in my life. They want me to stay behind in the shadows and be there when they need me. I want a life with somebody. I want to be a friend, partner, and lover to somebody. Mate bond or not, Trent doesn't want those things."

  Michelle didn't say anything. She simply nodded as tears rolled down her cheeks. Eventually, Michelle pulled into a bus station. The two got out as Heather grabbed her things and faced Michelle once more.

  "I'm going to miss you, Heather. Please let me know when you make it to Boston? I understand if you don't but I would love to stay in touch. You've been such a great friend to me."

  "Oh Michelle, I want nothing more than to stay friends. You're the only person I really have in this world. Thank you for everything you have done for me. I'll never be able to thank you enough."

  The two women hugged, and then Heather stepped back and turned to go into the bus station. With a final wave, Michelle was gone. Loneliness like Heather had never felt sunk in.

  She made her way to the counter and bought her ticket. She had a few hours before her bus would arrive. Making her way to the far side of the station, she curled up in one of the chairs and cried.

  TWENTY-FIVE

  TRENT RAN in his bear form until the exhaustion and pain were just too much. He doubled over and roared out in anguish for his lost mate. He understood why she was gone. Why had he destroyed her Jeep, he really didn't know? The idea of her leaving him and going to another state scared him beyond belief. His bear had taken care of the problem in the only way it saw how. It hadn't mattered anyway. She was probably halfway to Boston now and out of his life forever.

  He deserved it. Everybody had been right. Trent had acted just because they were mates, but he didn't have to do anything. Tell her to stay put, and she would. Show up and expect to make love whenever he wanted, and she would. He treated her like scum, and he deserved everything she had said. Probably worse, but Heather was too nice to say them.

  He lifted his head to the sky to let out another growl when the scent hit him hard. He scrambled to all fours and inhaled again. He was positive that it was the scent from the woods. Blind rage took over, and he hunted the scent. If he found the killer now in the state he was in, there would be no mercy. No peaceful taking him into the police. Trent would tear the Shifter apart just like he had done to his victims.

  It seemed like just as soon as he found the scent, he lost it. It just ended. Trent searched furiously trying to pick it back up, but there was nothing. How had it vanished like that? He looked up in the trees in case it was a feline Shifter, but there was nothing. Finally, he realized that this was a gravel road, and there were pretty fresh truck tracks.

  Trent had lived in these woods his whole life, and he didn't recognize the road he was on. He followed it until it finally popped out on the highway by Kidder Hill. This must be how the killer was getting in and out of the woods. Trent had always assumed the road was just a back in place for the cops to hide and catch speeders. Apparently, it was actually a right of way into the woods.

  With the tracks still fresh, he wondered just how much the Shifter knew about Trent and his family. Had he been there when Heather had yelled at him? He would know that she was his mate. Regardless of their current status, they were mates, and that would be the best way for revenge on Trent; to take Heather and torture her. Trent had to get to her whether she wanted him there or not.

  He raced down the side of the highway in his bear form. He figured people who were just traveling the route and not locals were in for a show. He didn't have time to care right now though he needed to get to Heather. Michelle's sedan approached on the highway, and he stepped out on the road to stop her. She immediately pulled over, and he shifted so that he could fill her in.

  "I need to get to Heather. Now! The killer was following you all."

  "I left her at the bus station and she may already be gone. Come on!"

  Michelle gunned it back onto the highway, and immediately took her car through the grassy median and out into the opposite traffic. She drove like a mad woman back into town while Trent searched for his spare clothes in her car. He finished tugging on his shoes when they pulled up to the station. He barely let the car stop when he jumped out and ran inside.

  At first glance, there was no Heather, but then he saw her: curled up on the far side of the sitting area sound asleep. She had cried herself to sleep. He wanted to shake her awake at first and yell at her for having let herself be so vulnerable. Mostly he just wanted to hold her. He gently picked her up and expected her to wake up and fight. Instead, she snuggled into his chest and stayed there sound asleep.

  When he got back outside, he inhaled deeply. There was a hint of the scent in the air which meant the killer had been there. Trent wasn't about to leave Heather again to track him, though. He needed to spend some time focusing on her. With his new found info
rmation about the secret right of way, Trent felt like for once maybe he would be ahead of the killer.

  Michelle watched as Trent ducked back into the backseat of her car, never putting Heather down. She smiled, and silently slipped back behind the steering wheel. Neither of them said a word as they drove back to the house.

  "I don't hate you, Trent," Heather whispered.

  "I know, but I don't deserve you. I promise I'll do better." Trent squeezed Heather tight against him. There may be demons in his life, but with Heather next to him he would defeat them.

  TWENTY-SIX

  THE CABIN WAS a fury of people when they got back. Michelle had called ahead and explained that Trent had picked up the scent he recognized to be the killer’s. Heather watched from the couch as the family tried to figure out how best to defend their territory. They were going to take shifts around the clock, walking the perimeter and checking the woods.

  Heather watched Trent pace. It was as if she took her eyes off of him he would disappear. Every now and then he would quit pacing and sit next to her on the couch. He found ways to constantly be touching her, which she didn't mind. She wasn't sure what was next for them, but with the killer following her, leaving wasn't an option.

  As hard as it would be, she knew she was going to have to halt their physical relationship. Even though they had only slept together the once, it was hard to resist their passion. Even now his small touches here and there put chills all over her body. Every time he ran his hands through his thick mass of dark hair, she wanted to be the one running her fingers through it. She shook her head to pull it out of the gutter.

  "Trent, maybe it was just a coincidence. Surely if he saw me sitting alone at the bus station he would have just taken me then?"