Cohen

by Emilia Hartley

  The bear refused to listen. It growled and thrashed, but Cohen could see the truth. She’d used them. For what, he wasn’t sure. But, he could see the signs of betrayal. He could see that she might not have ever been his in the first place. Ashe had belonged to this other bear.

  His hand absently rose to the bite mark on his shoulder. No, absently wasn’t the right word. The bear moved his fingers to rub against the lingering scar. She belonged to them, the bear whispered. She was faithful. She was loyal.

  But, Cohen couldn’t listen. He couldn’t even breathe.

  “Are you alright,” Gage asked, his anger slipping into concern. As his brother stepped toward him, the bond of Pack settled over Cohen and his bear. It helped him think straight, helped the bear calm down. “Dad warned us about her. We should have seen this coming.”

  Cohen snarled, unable to control himself. “Wake up your mate. Both of you need to start making calls.” He bit the words out from between clenched teeth. Anger boiled over him, seething and singeing.

  This new bear and the betraying witch would die. No one would come onto his Territory and hurt his people. No one.

  No one.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Ashe’s fear had turned to anger. A man crouched in front of her, a twisted version of her mate. Sampson’s words came rushing back to her, now lit by a whole new light.

  Look out for my eldest son.

  He hadn’t been asking her to take care of Cohen. No, he’d been issuing a warning. She stared back at the familiar honey brown eyes and scowled. His lips split into a smile. He laughed in her face before standing again.

  “So, what do you think?” Killian asked. There was a nervous energy to his aggressive stance. He looked between the shifter and Ashe.

  “I think she’s trouble,” the shifter said. There was a horrible familiarity to him. He looked so much like his brothers, yet there was a vicious light in his eyes that promised untamed violence that made Ashe’s stomach churn. “We should just burn her like Grover wanted.”

  Ashe’s gaze flicked to the man with silver temples standing off to the side. He was watching her with furious intent. She narrowed her eyes and made a silent promise to give the man exactly what he deserved.

  “What are you doing here, Grover?”

  “I’m trying to find an Alpha who will actually step up to the plate and do something.” He gestured to the eldest Vancourt brother, a man she’d never met let alone heard of.

  This shifter looked as though he might have five or six years on Cohen, his beard flush and his arms roped with shiny scars. At the sound of her voice he turned back toward her and crouched. He cupped her chin with his massive hand, not bothering to be gentle as he yanked her forward.

  She could see Cohen in his face and it disgusted her. This man, a Vancourt brother they’d never heard of, was dangerous. She could see that he took after his father, his ruthless streak evident in the way he touched her, in the way he inspected her like a cow.

  “No. No one has need of a witch. The last one had me kicked out of my own Pack and thrust from the memories of my family.”

  Realization was sharp as it cut through her. Her whole body tingled. He was talking about her mother. She looked up at the shifter and he caught the surprise in her eyes.

  The laugh that escaped him was rough, like gravel. “Yeah, that bitch. My father asked her for help when he realized I was going to overthrow him. He had her place a binding over me that kept me from being able to come back. As long as Sampson lived, I couldn’t set foot in Stonefall again.

  “She even went the extra step and wiped my family’s minds. She wiped the minds of her pack to keep them from asking questions. She fucked with my family, so I fucked with her. It was fun to watch her melt into paranoia. Even better when I got to watch her ruin everything as she bound her husband to her for protection from me.”

  It was this shifter’s fault that her mother was dead. He’d terrified her for what she’d done to help Sampson. He’d made her think the only way to be safe was to bind a shifter to herself. Ashe looked back up at the man. He had to have been quite a bit older than Cohen, shifting having slowed the aging process.

  She jerked her chin from his grasp. It was hard to breathe. She could do no more than drag in a shallow breaths, leaving her weak. Sampson had known what his death would cause. Her head snapped up and she found Killian. He’d known, too. He’d grown impatient, her remedies doing too much for the old man, and so he had gotten someone to kill Sampson.

  Once he was dead, Killian’s Alpha could return.

  Ashe had only one choice. Because Grover only knew her as a witch, he hadn’t bound her in silver. The metal meant nothing as long as she wasn’t a shifter. She turned inside herself and found the winged creature. The wide owl eyes looked back at her. It was wise and steady, a predator of the skies who would not be intimidated by this monster.

  Now, she just needed to bring it out.

  Oh, and she needed to learn how to fly very quickly.

  She wanted to fall flat on the ground. How was she supposed to get out of this? The only trick she had up her sleeve was shaky at best. It was sudden death at worst.

  Wait. She was forgetting herself. She had more strengths than the new animal inside herself. She’d had these strengths all along. Forcing her eyes shut, she reached inside herself and grabbed her soul. Yanking it free, she sent it toward Cohen. All she could do was warn him, but it was better than nothing.

  ***

  Just as soon as Gage spotted him, the mysterious new shifter disappeared. Cohen, Gage, and Kaylee hunted through the woods for the shifter, but they caught nothing. The longer they searched, the more the scent became distant. It shouldn’t have faded so fast. It was as if they were already forgetting what the shifter had smelled like.

  When they found human forms again, Gage scowled. “I’ve completely forgotten what he looks like.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  Gage threw his hands in the air. “Exactly what I said, Cock Weasel! I can’t, for the life of me, remember what this shifter looks like. All I know is that he’s here. That’s it. The rest is gone.”

  Cohen’s bear growled. Something strange was going on and it reeked of witchcraft. How long had the witch lurked and waited? How long had she been working for the other side? For Killian and the shifter he’d supposedly been afraid of, because Killian was gone, too.

  He let his head fall back and a roar escaped him that rattled the stars. It shook the world around him, growing and growing until he thought he’d run out of breath. She’d reached into him and ripped out his heart. He was beginning to suspect it was what witches were wont to do.

  A familiar feeling prickled over his skin, an imaginary hand running over his shoulders. It grabbed and pulled him to a stop. He snarled at the invisible specter, slowly forming the shape of Ashe.

  “What the hell?” She jumped back even though she was nothing more than a specter.

  “Go away, traitor,” he growled. He didn’t have time to deal with her. He wanted her gone.

  Gage and Kaylee looked at him like he was mad until their eyes settled on the shape of the witch. Kaylee’s jaw dropped, impressed. He wanted to tell her not to look at the witch. The enchantress had betrayed them all.

  “Will you listen to me at all?”

  “Never,” he sneered. “Your people used my people. That’s all there is to it, right? You make us feel comfortable, make us think we love you, then you break us. That’s what you thought you were doing, right?” hissed Cohen through gritted teeth.

  “No, not at all!”

  Cohen couldn’t listen to more of her lies. He couldn’t stand her presence, swiping his hand through the specter. She grimaced before turning sad eyes up to him. He wouldn’t let it affect him even though the bear howled inside him. It wanted him to crawl to her. It wanted him to throw himself before her and apologize.

  The bear was enchanted. He couldn’t listen to it’s weakness. There wer
e people he had to think about. Gage. Kaylee. Archer and Joanna. The rest of the Vancourt Pack.

  ***

  She could feel the heat of fire pressing against her skin. It was growing hotter and hotter, but she clung to her astral form. Cohen had to listen. He needed to hear her out. Her heart broke, the pain greater than anything the new Vancourt brother could do to her.

  “Damn it, Cohen. I’m not asking for your help. I’m moments away from my own death and all I want to do is warn you.”

  His head perked up when she mentioned her death. She could feel it, hands dragging her unconscious body across the grass. They bound her hands to a post, one they would hoist over a pole in the center of the bonfire they’d built.

  She had to be quick. There were only moments left.

  “You had an older brother. Your father feared him and had him kicked out of the Pack. My mother helped wipe him from everyone’s mind and banned him from Stonefall. He’s… dangerous. I can tell. He won’t show mercy just because you’re blood.”

  “What kind of lie is this?”

  “Cohen, don’t be a Pussy Waffle,” Gage snapped. “Why do you think we can’t remember this guy?”

  “Because she’s doing some kind of magic to keep him hidden from us!” Cohen flung his arm out toward her. The accusation hurt. She couldn’t help but cringe.

  But, before she could change his mind, she felt the tongues of fire lick over her feet. Her concentration would soon break. She offered him a weak smile when he turned glowering eyes upon her.

  “I hope you know I loved you,” she whispered. Pain flared through her. It consumed her mind. Her connection wavered, but a second before it broke, she saw Cohen’s face light up with true fear.

  She slammed back into her body. A scream escaped her mouth. It filled the night, followed by laughter from those who watched. Her nerves were frying, the pain climbing through her body like claws from the inside out. No, wait. That wasn’t the fire.

  An odd sensation unraveled around her heart. It glowed with warmth and spread through her in the shape of something new, something untamed. Love had broken through the walls inside her. It had crashed through the cage her beast had been caught in.

  The owl screeched. It clawed to be free. Wings beat against the inside of her. She knew it was now or never. Like throwing a door open, the beast surged forward. Her body crumpled with agony. Her shoulders barked in protest, bound in the wrong direction. Her fingers slipped away, and feathers replaced them.

  Wings fumbled in the air, but the hot air rising from the fire propelled her upward. Voices shouted below, but she caught an air current and swerved away from them. The owl looked down at the fools stuck down below. As long as she remained far above, they could do absolutely nothing to her.

  It filled her with pride and satisfaction. Then she heard the click. She looked down and saw the gleam of gunmetal moments before Grover pulled the trigger. Bird shot split through the air. Pellets stung her wings and body. She cried out in pain, but forced herself forward.

  She slapped the air. She would live through this. The new form had saved her from the fire that had killed their mother. She could survive this night. She would prove that she hadn’t betrayed her family. She would fight alongside her mate.

  Chapter Sixteen

  A bird fell out of the sky. It plummeted like a stone. Cohen ran for it, unable to stop his body, unable to tell himself no. He moved on instinct alone. The larger than life owl crashed into his arms.

  It was beautiful. White feathers covered her body, tipped with soft silver. Rings of dove grey surrounded her eyes, making them seem larger than possible. He ran his hand along her head, willing her to wake up.

  He looked into the sky, wondering what had caused her to fall. Finding nothing, he looked back down. When he ran his hand over her, it came away wet with blood. His heart lurched into his throat. As much as he might try to remind himself she was a traitor, an enchantress, he still found panic welling inside him.

  He clutched her close. Others ran out of the house. What could he do? She wasn’t healing like a shifter. Whatever happened to her hadn’t happened here, yet it hadn’t healed yet.

  “What the hell is that?” Kaylee scoffed, her eyes wide as she took in the beast in his arms.

  “Ashe,” he said, his voice breathless. “It’s Ashe.”

  “Well, fuck me. She’s gorgeous.”

  “She’s dying,” he snapped.

  He could hear Kaylee’s heartbeat pick up. She jumped into motion, running back into the house. What did she think she was doing? She was no healer. Cohen wanted to sink to the ground, but he forced himself to stagger toward the house. The moments from driveway to the front door seemed to drag on, lasting forever. He carried her to his bedroom, laying on the bed with her curled into his body.

  He rubbed his cheek against her, wishing he’d never said the awful things he’d said. She was his goddess, the light to his darkness. She was not a goddess of death, but the spring light that brightened his life. His Persephone.

  His bedroom door swung open. He snarled, but Kaylee only raised a brow. There was a first aid kit in her hand.

  “What are you going to do with that?” He snapped. “It’s not like you’re a damned veterinarian.”

  She didn’t look at him. She didn’t even answer him. Instead, Kaylee knelt on the floor. She reached for Ashe’s face and gently forced the owl’s eyes open. “Hey there beasty. I know what it’s like to be free for the first time. I know the confusion and exhilaration and fear, but you need to give the reins back to Ashe. If you don’t, the both of you will die.”

  The owl pulled its eye closed again.

  “Nope. This isn’t how we’re going to do this. Listen to me beasty or else you won’t have another chance to disobey me. I know you rank higher than me as his mate, but you have to listen.”

  “She’s right,” he croaked into the owl’s head. “You need to shift back. I need you to live.”

  The owl shifted against him. It let out a breath and his heart stopped. The bear’s agony was a roar inside his head, a sound that drowned out all others. No, she couldn’t be dead.

  Not long ago he’d thought she’d betrayed him and his family. He’d been ready to watch her die for what he thought she’d done, yet watching her like this broke him in half.

  Then he felt something writhing in his arms. He opened his eyes to find the owl shape shifting. It pulled back, feathers sloughing away and disappearing to reveal a very naked Ashe. He held his breath, knowing their kind shifted back to human when they died. What would he do if she…

  Then, her head titled back, and she looked up at him. Relief washed through him. It felt like his body broke apart. He let out a long breath and watched a soft smile brighten her face.

  “Alright,” Kaylee said in her most matter of fact voice. “Roll you ass over so I can tend your wounds. You can, uh, declare your affections once I’m done and outside, so I don’t have to listen to it.”

  Cohen glowered at his packmate, but she seemed unaffected as she focused on finding the source of the blood on Ashe. There were small pellets of silver birdshot lodged in her arm and side. Once Kaylee pulled the pieces out, they watched Ashe’s wounds begin to close. The silver would have brought anyone else down from the sky. She was lucky her mixed blood lessened its effect on her.

  “I think we need to have a conversation,” Cohen muttered into her hair.

  She looked back with fear written across her face. It was a stab through his heart. He shook his head. It was nothing like that. He grabbed a bathrobe for Ashe while Kaylee slipped out. She shrugged it on and slowly, hesitantly, tied the sash around her waist. As if she wasn’t ready to turn around and face him.

  Cohen couldn’t wait any longer. He spun her around and dropped to his knees.

  “I owe you an apology,” he confessed.

  ***

  Ashe’s body ached all over, but seeing Cohen kneel before her made her head light and her body weightless. She
clutched the bathrobe wrapped around her and tried to keep herself standing. It helped that Cohen couldn’t keep from touching her, his hands rising up her legs to rest on her hips. He held her steady.

  “I was an asshole and jumped the gun. I was ready to believe the worst and there’s no forgiving that.” He went on apologizing with his shaky voice.

  “To be fair,” Ashe began. “I didn’t exactly give you the best impression. There were moments when… moments when I almost did betray you. I almost turned on my own people out of fear.”

  He let his head fall against her stomach. “How the hell are the two of us supposed to do anything? We’re two broken idiots.”

  Ashe laughed, a fractured sound. She swallowed and tried to gather her thoughts. “We do the best we can. Right?”

  He looked up at her. She couldn’t help but run her fingers through his hair, watching the gold and bronze strands flow. His eyes melted into gold and her core warmed. She felt his fingers tighten on her.

  “I thought I was going to lose you. Several times.”

  “I never left, Cohen.”

  It must have been hearing his name in her mouth. He launched himself off the floor and captured her mouth. She staggered back, but he held onto her. She groaned and leaned into his warmth, into his strength.

  Her body protested, the ache of the wounds she’d had only moments ago biting through her. She did her best to ignore it. The pain seemed to blend with the growing warmth in her core. She wanted this. She needed this.

  Cohen pulled back, one hand clutching her jaw. He tilted her head back and studied her eyes. “You never betrayed me?”

  The edge to his voice sent a thrill through her. “Not once.”

  He groaned and leaned into her. His lips crashed into hers, all hungry teeth as if he might devour her. He lifted her off the floor and spun her around to throw her onto the bed. She bounced on the groaning mattress. Cohen was on top of her before she could move. His hands slipped beneath the thin fabric of the bathrobe, pushing it aside.