Zodiac Shifters Aries Love's Warrior

by Jennifer Hilt

  “So your frost lavender potion worked?”

  Jessica released Addy. Her arms were cramping and Addy’s toenails at the end of her orange webbed feet were sharp.

  “It did. Better than I expected. She’s healed rapidly and stronger than before, from my testing.”

  “Who have you shared this information with?”

  “No one. I’m here officially to go through the seed catalog and measure the potency of long dormant seeds. The frost lavender was a side project.”

  “Could it work on humanoids?”

  “I don’t know. It would need more testing but yes, theoretically it could be very helpful.”

  “So there is a reason for other paranormals to want you dead.” Mariko sighed.

  “I don’t think anybody here would.” Jessica began.

  The vamp held up her palm to stop here. “Carson may go in for the naïve school girl routine but it doesn’t work with me. Now if you think of anything let me know. And for God’s sake, don’t go anywhere alone. “

  “Ladies, as much as I’d love to witness a girl on girl smack down with you two, we still have a murderer on the loose.” Carson spoke behind her.

  “By the goddess.” Jessica whirled around. She hadn’t heard him come in her lab, she’d been too busy wanting to strange the superior acting vampire. “Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

  Mariko shrugged and held up her hands. “I’m game if she is.”

  “I’m not game for anything! This isn’t funny. It’s my life. Vamps will never understand you’re so,” Jessica sputtered, searching for the right words and failing.

  “Cold-blooded.” Carson added helpfully.

  “Vain.” Jessica finished.

  “Now that we got that out of the way, let’s focus on who is setting you up.”

  “We have a witness who saw Luanne following you on the night of the murder,” Carson said.

  “That doesn’t make sense. Why would Luanne follow me?” Jessica bit her lip.

  “It may be more than that. Any reason why she’d want to set you up for murder?”

  “That’s ridiculous. She’s a fox shifter. She was a friend of both Teague and Randy’s. Why would she want to set me up?”

  “Because she was jealous of you and Randy?”

  “You’re kidding right? You’re acting like this place is one big scandal. Everyone working here is a respected scientist. They’re not running around like college students on spring break. It’s gotta be the science, maybe the Rumpelstiltskin project is farther along than we thought. Have you thought of that?”

  “I have, but it doesn’t make sense when you have nothing to do with that project and appear to be the target. If you’ve got any other theories I’d love to hear them.

  “You just keep your people out of my lab. Look at what your investigating has done so far.”

  She wanted everyone out of the lab except for herself and Addy. She was tired of being poked and prodded by Carson’s team to see if anything revealed itself.

  Carson:

  After dealing with Jessica, Carson needed a break. He was no further ahead in the investigation than when he arrived. He and Jessica were still deeply estranged. She seemed even more resentful of him. A fact he’d not thought possible before.

  He needed to release his ice bear. His bear spirit would only be suppressed for so long. If he continued that too long, the rebound of his spirit breaking through was a dangerous reality.

  He ordered Jessica to remain in her trailer for the rest of the night with strict instructions not to let anyone in but Mariko.

  Carson stripped down in the former ice fishing shack that shifters now used to store their clothes. It was all fine and dandy to set your clothes down but this far up in the Arctic, a storm could blow back in and bury your humanoid gear. The Station’s Administration required all paranormals to sign out the appropriate gear. Even paranormals had to deal with lawsuits from idiots losing their parkas and gear.

  As a result, a collection of old parkas and boots littered the shack for the unlucky ones who had to go resupply.

  Carson shucked out of his clothes, hung his parka and placed his boots directly underneath. He didn’t need his parka the way the witches, warlocks—or God help those poor Vamp bastards whose blood would freeze in minutes without the proper layers—required them. But the Station required everyone wear them outdoors in their humanoid form. The very simple reason being that a brightly-colored odor-soaked parka was much easier to find than a naked body in the snow.

  Carson was glad to be alone in the shack. Ice bears were last on the sociability scale. He and his other two brothers were considered downright friendly according to other ice bears.

  Carson thought he masked it well. He learned to be patient and reign in his impulses but it would never come naturally to him. Now he needed to free his bear spirit instead of crippling it deep inside himself.

  Stepping outside, the biting air and stinging ice pellets struck his body. He closed his eyes turning his face to the sea breeze. Not a trace of man or the supernatural, only the fury of winter slammed him, making him take a step back.

  He let out a roar but it wasn’t impressive with his human lungs. Carson began running, cleared the corner of the shed and headed out to the sea. The skyline wasn’t visible yet but he smelled the salty sea water. Overhead, an angry collection of skuas, frigates and gulls mobbed hunting for a shred of food.

  He rolled in the snow, somersaulting twice before his ice bear claws flexed in the snow. The ebony nails cracked the frozen crust. He reared back on his hind legs, surveying his domain. He was alone here. He dropped back down to all fours, racing toward the sea.

  His rolling gait increased his speed with his bear spirit finally free. Overhead the skuas cried but they followed him. For being scavenger birds, they wished him happy hunting. The deep pain inside Carson eased in his bear form. He was no longer a heartbroken man but an ice bear. And a hungry one at that.

  Approaching the shore, he sniffed the air, savoring the wind’s scents. At the water’s edge, he turned south to track along the shore. He smelled walrus. The hunt was on.

  The walrus obliged him with a fight. The cuts to his chest and abdomen were deep but in perverse way his ice bear needed the battle. He relished escaping into his primal instincts with fighting. In addition to his ice bear injuries, the walrus pack needed a new leader. The former one’s significant harem provided all the enticement the younger walrus bulls needed to battle it out amongst themselves.

  After feeding on a victory, Carson’s ice bear paddled around in the sea. He dozed on an iceberg, washed the bloodstains from his fur and rinsed his wounds from the walrus tusks stab wounds.

  After eating his fill, Carson left the skuas to squabble over the leavings in the moonlight. The sun didn’t rise above the horizon this far north now but the slightly less dark sky reminded his ice bear brain that he had other responsibilities. He made his way back to the Station, slower than his outbound trip. He discovered by the time the Station was in sight he was limping. He used the last of his energy to sprint and roll back into human form.

  The transformation left him breathless and lying naked face down in the snow.

  He was getting too old for this shit.

  Carson limped back inside the shed. He changed into his clothes. Now that he was humanoid he was bleeding more than when he was in his bear form. He pulled his pants on with difficulty, added the parka, skipped the shirt and shoved his feet in his boots.

  Using his shirt to apply pressure to his side, Carson noted the shirt quickly soaked with blood. He needed treatment. Up here his choices were limited to Dr. Deegan, which didn’t thrill him. Mariko’s vamp blood worked wonders for humans, but it didn’t work with shifters and witches. He had one other option.

  Good thing his ex-wife knew something about healing.

  9

  Jessica woke up to find Carson standing next to her bed. He’d unlocked her bedroom door from the outside, letti
ng himself in without knocking in the middle of the night. Not particularly surprising behavior for her jailer but pretty weird for an ex-husband.

  Carson swayed unsteadily, leaning against the bunkbed post for support

  “Are you drunk?” Jessica raised herself up on one elbow. She was careful not to sit bolt upright because she’d already knocked her forehead on the lower side of the upper bunk once doing that.

  “Nah,” Carson winced. “Just need a bit of bandage.”

  Jessica leaned over, switching on her bedside lamp. She remembered enough of her short marriage to know if a shifter asked for help it was serious.

  “Let me see.” She leaned forward, opening his coat. Blood soaked the shirt against his side. Jessica swallowed. She’d seen a lot of blood lately but none bothered her more than Carson’s. Plus, the amount was considerable.

  “Lie down.” She pointed toward her bed while she began humming.

  It was a nervous habit. She was aware of it but it right now it was the lesser of two evils.

  On her desk was a fishing tackle box she’d appropriated for her portable apothecary. Inside all her various powders and herbs were neatly labeled in clear glass vials.

  “Can I ask who or what were you tangling with?” She searched through her kit and discarded many of her options.

  “Does it matter?”

  “Yes, it does. Having some kind of idea what you tangled with will help me figure out a way to counteract it.”

  “A walrus.”

  “Just a walrus?”

  “A very big walrus.”

  “Thank the Goddess no magic was involved. You could’ve gotten something truly vile in your bloodstream.”

  “Just staunch up the bleeding. I’ll be fine.”

  “It’s bleeding because you have a significant gouge there. I don’t suppose you’d go down to the hospital in Icy Cap?”

  “Just patch me up. I’ll be fine,” Carson said gruffly.

  She felt his eyes on her as she moved around her room. Her thin white nightgown in the room light was most likely see-through. The Station kept the heat high to keep the vampires happy. It meant the witches and shifters, who tended to run a bit warmer anyway, dressed very lightly.

  “You can’t be that injured if you’re still able to ogle me.”

  “I’m a great admirer of natural beauty and you’ve got plenty of it.”

  “Flattery will get you nowhere with me,” Jessica stirred up her concoction. “Drink this.”

  Carson sniffed the mug she handed him. She found a sliver of space next to him on the bed.

  “You asked me for help, remember? Being a marshal is your business. Being a healer is mine.”

  Carson tossed the liquid back like a shot.

  For ten seconds he was fine and then his face turned bright red. “Holy Hell, woman, what was that?”

  “Herbal medicine at its finest. Now relax while I clean this wound.”

  She ignored his grumbling. Instead, she bit back a smile as she leaned over to inspect the wound. The one on his shoulder was less serious. A few tidy stitches would take care of that. The one near his side was below where his ribs ended. Carefully she felt around the edges of the wound, wondering if any bone or tusk was lodged inside but found nothing concerning.

  Her tonic worked. Soon Carson was singing off key and playing with her hair while she worked. The bleeding slowed enough that she could clean it up before applying the frost lavender potion. She mixed this up with a seaweed paste for a thicker texture, which was more likely to stick to the oozy wound. She needed a drier area to suture.

  “You’re so beautiful.” Carson grinned at her. It was the widest smile she’d ever seen from him since he arrived. She missed his smile. He’d smiled often at the beginning of their marriage and none at all at the end.

  “You feeling ok?” She felt his forehead. Hot to her touch. Shifters ran warm but could an infection be settling in so soon? “Did you really have to pick a fight with a walrus?”

  “Absolutely.” He dropped his voice to a loud whisper. “My bear is going crazy being around you. I had to let him run free for a while.”

  “I never met your ice bear.”

  “That part of me is not a pet, Jess.”

  “So it’s my fault you’re all gouged up?”

  He grabbed hand. “No, it’s my fault. It was all my fault. I’m sorry.”

  Jessica was silent. “I was equally to blame. Witches don’t tolerate intermarriage. I ignored that to our peril,” she said quietly.

  They both fell silent then while she sutured his side wound. Afterwards she bandaged and taped up the area.

  “It’ll hold as long as you take it easy. If it starts bleeding again that means you need to slow down. I suppose it’s asking a bit too much that you take it easy until this heals?” She cleaned up the used rags and bandage wrappers.

  “No rest for the wicked.” He sighed. “If I don’t find the culprit, you’ll have to come back to Fairbanks with me.”

  He tugged at Jessica’s heart. He always would. “That doesn’t sound so bad.” Why was it always so much easier to whisper the truth at night?

  “In my bed is one thing. I’d rather not have you in a holding cell.”

  “There’s no evidence to arrest me. I haven’t done anything. It’s just bad luck for Teague and Randy and me that I found them.” Jessica pulled the cover over him.

  He blinked slowly. This was the first time a shifter used her frost lavender potion. Perhaps the charmed seaweed mix was overkill. Next time she’d try a smaller dose.

  “What’d you put in that thing? I can’t keep my eyes open. Lie down with me.” Carson tugged her hand to his chest.

  Jessica felt herself easily swayed. He looked vulnerable. Now that she was done with her work, her eyes drifted to his naked torso. Her fingers itched to feel the hard planes of his chest.

  “That’s a good girl,” Carson murmured when she laid her head on his chest, careful to avoid his injured side. She closed her eyes, lulled by the dub dub of his heartbeat.

  She was still bent at the waist, her bare feet now cold on the floor. Carson sensed her discomfort, sliding his hips slightly to make room for her beside him.

  “What’s in that stuff?”

  “Frost lavender.”

  “The stuff you used on Addy?”

  “That’s a pretty bad wound. It’s the first time I used it on a humanoid, though. How are you feeling?”

  “It feels like jet fuel is running through my veins.”

  “I added a healing charm for a little boost.”

  “Thanks.”

  “If you start feeling worse, let me know right away.”

  Jessica wiggled over. She rolled on her side. His arm reached across her waist, blocking her from sliding farther off the narrow bed.

  She lay quietly enjoying his body heat and thankful he wasn’t more badly injured. God, loving an ice bear was exhausting. Yes, she still loved him even if she wished she didn’t. It was just all the damn conflict in their lives.

  Her father and her sisters freaked about her marriage. She’d disregarded that fact when she married Carson because surely one Amazon warrior marrying a shifter wasn’t that big a deal.

  Apparently it was.

  The holy hell that rained down on them was a nightmare. For Jessica, it was everyone she knew in her world turning against her. Sure, she worked at the University of Fairbanks but being a warrior was more than her job it was her identity. She’d given up the fighting part, but all the history and connections remained. Having her Amazon sisters give her the cold shoulder for being a traitor was awful. Then Aries began with the death threats against Carson. Some subtle, some less so.

  Things weren’t any better for Carson with the ice bear shifters but at least he had his work. No one in the marshal’s office cared if he was married to a witch.

  The pressure became too much for Jess. She was scared and ashamed. Her love for Carson couldn’t be right if it caused so much
pain. She gave in and left him. Hoping that her father would do the same.

  Her own heartbeat hammered in her ears. His injury was serious. She hoped the frost lavender would do the trick like with Addy. She tried to calm herself, to remind herself that everything would be all right.

  “Paranormal Law Enforcement is less concerned about the truth than you realize.” Carson breath tickled her ear. He moved his hand from her waist to smooth back her hair before replacing it.

  She hated when he read her mind. It was so disconcerting. Not to mention rude.

  “You may have wrangled a divorce from me but we’re still mates,” Carson said. “That’s never going to change.”

  “What’s that got to do with anything?” Jessica glanced back at him. Wrong move. His eyes were on her lips.

  “We’re linked in every way. Mind and body.” He flexed his hips against her.

  Even though his jeans, the hard length of his erection distracted her.

  “You should be resting,” Jessica reminded him.

  “I’m feeling better. I know what would make me feel even better.” Carson’s lips brushed her ear.

  “What?’ Jessica regretted the word as soon as it left her mouth.

  “I thought you’d never ask,” Carson said. “I can talk dirty to you all night, baby. That white night gown is driving me crazy. Is that the one I gave you for our wedding night?”

  “You know it is.” She meant to get rid of it. She really did. It was a designer cotton and lace with little cap sleeves. It appealed to the whimsically romantic part of her that wished she lived in a Jane Austen novel no matter how ridiculous that was.

  What happened in this room was between her and Carson only. No one needed to know about it. She waited with baited breath for his dirty talk to begin. She needed it bad. And she needed it now.

  All that greeted her was the soft sound of his regular breathing. Her dirty-talking lover hadn’t been lying—he snored.

  10

  Carson wouldn’t sleep with her until they were married. No one would believe that if she told them. Her girlfriends took one look at this alpha male shifter self and asked if he had a brother.