Shifter's Magic (The Wolvers Book 8)

by Jacqueline Rhoades

  Without waiting for agreement or comment, she spun on her heels and marched away muttering about people who didn't have sense to come in from the cold.

  "Well," Livvy said, "I guess I'd better get a move on or next time she'll be flying out here on her broom."

  "Don't talk about your aunt like that," her father warned with a wink. "Leastways not where your mother can hear." He walked Livvy to her car and spoke a last few words before he closed her door. "I want your promise, Livvy. Don't make any decisions until you two talk."

  She promised though she knew she'd have a better chance of moving the huge outcropping of rock that looked out over the valley beyond than making Brad Seaward do what he didn't want to do.

  ~*~

  Donna found Harvey waiting for her in the hallway. "I finally found her out back, gabbing with Tom like she had all the time in the world. We need to get a move on. Moon'll be rising in an hour or so and I want those youngsters up there when it does." She nudged her mate with her elbow. "If you won't let me run, you can at least let me watch it rise over the treetops at the pond."

  "Always was a pretty sight, you up there waiting for the moon to rise." Harvey leaned in and kissed his mate.

  Donna turned as pink as the sweater she wore. In the light and flirty gesture of the girl she once was, she slapped Harvey's arm. "Oh, you," she said, embarrassed, but still flattered. "Did you find someone to take care of the fire? I thought maybe..."

  "Leave it alone, woman. The food's on its way and the fire'll be lit. Quit your worrying and your meddling. The moon's on the rise. I can feel its pull and my wolf's crying out for a different kind of meddling." Harvey reached behind him for the doorknob to the storage closet. "You've got ten minutes to start it."

  "Only ten minutes," Donna laughed as she was pulled inside.

  "It's enough to start the ball rolling," Harvey laughed as he shut the door. "You can finish up later after the cubs are home and abed."

  It was a little longer than ten minutes, but for once, Donna had no complaints.

  ~*~

  Brad Seaward did not appear to be a happy camper. "He asked you to do it, not me."

  "I know, and I said yes before Cindy Rider's cousin started giving me the old hip bump and wink." Tony mimicked the move with a wink of his own. "Have you seen her lately? I mean, last time she visited was what? Five, six years ago? Remember? Skinny little thing looked like a good wind would knock her down? Not any more, bro. That little cubette has blossomed into something mighty fine. Even my mama would be proud if I brought that one home."

  "You planning on bringing her home?"

  Tony gave him an are-you-crazy look. "Hell no. I just said Mama'd be proud if I did. Come on, Brad. You got no reason to run tonight."

  "Wrong. I've got every reason to run. It's the Winter Moon and it won't be the first time I've gone over the moon without plans for later."

  "So, does this mean your answer is no? Because this is important, bro. This girl could be the love of my life."

  Brad sighed. "Look. Tony," he said like he needed to get the wolver's attention. "I want to go over the moon tonight, and I want to do it alone. I need to shift, man. I need to run. What I don't need is a bunch of teenaged cubs at the shelterhouse."

  Tony spread his arms, palms up. "There you go, then. It's the perfect solution. You need to get the fire going before the little beasties get there. You'll have plenty of time to cross the pond and head into the woods to shift. You won't have to see anybody at all."

  "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

  "I ask again, have you seen this female? Her name is Sasha and she is this close to perfection." Tony used his thumb and forefinger to demonstrate that closeness.

  This time Brad's sigh was softened with a chuckle. "Fine. I'll go. I'll light the damn fire. But you owe me, Tony."

  "Yeah, yeah, you can tell me all about it tomorrow." A can of lighter fluid and box of matches appeared in Tony's hand from where he'd hidden it around the corner. "Wouldn't want you to waste time rubbing two sticks together. Oh, and Harvey wants the pile of split wood moved into the shelter to keep it dry. You'd better get a move on if you plan to beat the little beasties." He waved his hand over his head as he walked away. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do, but if you must, do it well."

  Brad watched him go thinking that finally something was going his way. He had no intention of shifting tonight. If Livvy wasn't shifting, then neither was he, not unless he needed his wolf to sniff her out and track her down. He'd been looking for a way to do it discreetly, not an easy task in Gilead where everyone was watching them all the time.

  The Mate was right, but for the wrong reason. He needed to talk to Livvy Dawson, but it wasn't to work things out. He had questions. He wanted to know what magic she'd used to bewitch him. It was the same magic she'd used as a cub, but she was better at it now and the effects were getting worse. He couldn't sleep without hearing her call his name, or that stupid question of why, why, why. He'd always dreamed of her, but now the dreams were constant. He slept, but got no rest.

  Awake, he was no better. He couldn't complete the simplest task without his mind wandering off to some memory, real or imagined, of Livvy. If he closed his eyes he could feel the silk of her skin beneath his hands. He could hear her whisper his name as if it was a prayer or a blessing. Eyes open, it wasn't any better.

  He'd be stripping out the guts of a car interior and suddenly be on his bike, feeling the wind rush by as they sped through the hills. He could feel the way she wrapped her arms around him, fingers splayed against his chest. He could feel her laughter through his shirt as she pressed her body to his back. She didn't have to hold him that tight, damn it! But she said his closeness made her feel safe as if they were one person in the bodies of two.

  He could no longer take the wreckers out. Twice, he found himself on stretches of highway far past his destination, unsure of where he was or how he got there. He'd forgotten to set his flashers when he pulled in for a tow. He was a danger to himself and others.

  He was angry, and he had every right to be. She was the one who left him! Why was he the one being punished?

  Seeing her in person only made it worse. It was a reminder of how in sync they were, thinking the same thoughts, or sharing an inside joke. And those smiles. Livvy Dawson had a dozen different smiles and he knew the meaning of each one. Those damn smiles could make a wolver forget his name. They were like the first rays of sunshine after a storm. They made you feel like everything would be all right. They made you forget your anger. They were enough to make a man believe the filth of his soul could be washed away. They were part of the magic and she'd used it on him again tonight.

  He needed to confront her. Once the pack had gone over the moon, he would track Livvy down, have it out, and bury his feelings for her once and for all.

  Chapter 21

  Hands on hips, Livvy surveyed her handiwork, unsatisfied with the result. Something was wrong, but no matter how many times she went over Donna's checklist, she could find nothing wrong. Setting up a food line for teenagers shouldn't be this big a deal. They could care less if the napkins were forgotten. She finally decided there was nothing wrong with the table. It was only her fear of Aunt Donna's complaints.

  A glance at the sky told her she had a lot of time to kill before the moon began to rise. She couldn't leave, not without securing all the hot dogs and treats, and there was nothing to secure them in. With the cold weather, coolers weren't necessary, and even if she had a few, she'd never met a raccoon who couldn't figure out a simple latch. She'd already seen a couple of the little bandits skulking along the edge of the light thrown by the lantern that hung from a bracket on one of the posts.

  Damn Donna for her super efficiency and damn whoever was supposed to come and take care of the fire. If they were here, she'd at least have someone to talk to. She needed a distraction from her thoughts. With no plastic tablecloths to secure and no paper plates to stack, she had nothing to do but take
in the changes in the structure of the shelterhouse, changes that had been made by Brad's own hand.

  This was their place. Was he thinking of that when he replaced the beams and rebuilt the roof? Was he thinking of the times they'd made love in the rain and laughed or complained about the blobs of cold water that splattered their sex heated bodies? How many times had they talked of clearing the chimney of the debris left by birds' nests and the leaves and sticks blown by the wind?

  They'd never done more than clear a corner of leaves and cobwebs after that first, wondrous encounter. Any improvements they made might be noticed. Too many improvements might attract others to the place they considered solely theirs. Did Brad think about that while he and Matt made the repairs?

  Livvy rubbed her arms more to rub these thoughts and questions away than for warmth. The shelter did a good job of blocking the wind, but a fire in the hearth would add a bit of cheer to the place that a simple lantern couldn't supply. If she had a box of matches, she'd light it herself.

  At the sound of an approaching truck, Livvy's wolf became alert. The fire starter was here. Livvy heard him stop by the woodpile Harvey had dumped at the side of the shelter. She started to call out that the fire was already laid and awaiting a match. The words stuck in her throat when she realized her wolf's attentiveness wasn't caused by the arrival of an ordinary visitor. The animal's growing excitement was for Brad.

  He stopped in the doorway with an armload of wood, stared at her for a moment, then nodded. "Saw your car. I didn't expect it. I almost turned around."

  What could she say to that? "I don't have any matches," she said stupidly.

  "I figured when I didn't see any smoke."

  "If you'd turned around, Donna would have bit us both."

  That earned her a smile, a small one, but a smile nonetheless. She returned it with a larger one of relief.

  "Not me," he said. "She doesn't know I'm here." He set his load down in a neat pile beside the fireplace. When he turned to her, his smile had slid to the side of his face in a frown. "Have you met Cindy Rider's cousin?"

  "Yes," she answered cautiously. Was he trying to tell her something? "I met her when I brought a batch of cookies over to Opal's. She volunteered to help watch the little ones tonight. Why?"

  "What does she look like?"

  She looked like a stork, but Livvy wasn't about to say that aloud. "Tall and um, slender, very slender," she said diplomatically. The girl was skinny to the point of emaciation. "Brown hair, big eyes. Pretty eyes," she added because it was true. There was no need to add that the woman's nose was as long and pointy as a beak. She shrugged, at a loss for what kind of description he was looking for. "She seemed very sweet," she said, which was also true. "Shy, but sweet. Why?"

  Brad's frown deepened. "Not the kind of girl who'd give a guy a hip bump and a wink?"

  "Good heavens, no." She couldn't help the giggle. "She's the kind of girl who closed her eyes and blushed when RJ said hello and gave Opal a peck on the cheek." RJ was Opal's mate and about as staid and affectionately undemonstrative as a wolver could get. Brad's tongue was in his cheek and he was nodding his head. "Why?" she asked again.

  "I think I've been set up."

  "With Sasha?" It shouldn't bother her, but it did. She didn't like the idea of Brad being set up with anyone.

  "No, with you."

  "Me?"

  "Yeah, you. Tony said he had a hot date with Sasha and wanted to stake his claim before the run. That's why I'm here."

  Livvy tried to hold her laughter back. It spurted out in an unladylike snort. "You never know. Maybe he's run through everyone else."

  "Yeah, sure, and maybe hell just froze over."

  "Hell freezing over would be your fault." She pointed behind him. "No fire."

  "Guess I should take care of that, huh?"

  "Or face the wrath of Donna, because you can bet I'm not taking the fall."

  "That's okay. Donna hates me anyway." He set his load of wood by the wall and then stooped before the wood stacked and waiting in the fireplace.

  "No, actually she doesn't. She thinks you're a fool, though, for not telling me about the money you spent on my tuition. I tend to agree."

  "No one was supposed to know," he grumbled.

  "This is Gilead. Everyone knew. Everyone but me."

  Brad's growl was a low rumble in his throat as he bent to the fire. He didn't need the lighter fluid. The kindling she'd lain beneath the logs lit as if by magic with one strike of the match. By the way his eyes blazed, he probably didn't need the match, either.

  His shoulders suddenly relaxed and he spoke to the growing flames. "I always wondered what it would be like to have a fire in here."

  "You never tested the chimney?"

  "No," he said. His shoulders heaved upward and then fell. "It didn't seem right somehow. I left that to your brother. He needs practice blowing smoke."

  Livvy was smiling at the joke when he arose to his feet and turned. Her smile died at the desperate look in his eyes.

  They stared at each other for a long moment before they spoke one on top of the other.

  "Why did you leave me?"

  "Why didn't you come when I needed you?"

  They stumbled over the words and the replies.

  "I was so alone. Your business was everything. You didn't need me."

  "You never said you needed me. You said you were fine without me."

  Livvy's knees gave way and she sat heavily on the seat of the picnic bench nearest the fire, and looked out over the pond. "You should have..."

  He sat at the other end of the same bench. "So should you."

  She nodded. "I should have told you how lonely I was. I should have told you I felt lost without my pack. Without you."

  "I thought you understood the business was for you, for us. You needed the money."

  "You never said."

  "Looks like we never said a lot that we should have."

  "Why didn't you ever come visit me while I was at school?" Her doubts began when Brad kept finding excuses not to come. She was only a few hours away. She'd told him he could spend the night. She and her roommate had an agreement about overnight visitors, though her roommate was the only one who benefitted from it. Brad was attentive enough on her visits home, but when she was away at school, she felt as if she didn't exist.

  She waited for him to answer, but when he continued to stare out over the pond, she wondered if she should push it. She no longer cared if the answers were good or bad. She only wanted truth.

  "The truth will set you free," she mumbled.

  "Have you been talking to the Mate?" Brad asked.

  "Not lately. Why?"

  "She said something like it to me the other night."

  "Hmm, wise woman." She waited a beat. "Why didn't you visit?"

  Brad looked up at the rafters. "Why did you leave me? The other night, I mean."

  She didn't want to revisit that night, the best and worst of her life. "I asked you first."

  "And if I answer, will you?"

  She closed her eyes and nodded. "Yes."

  He moved a foot closer along the bench and leaned out from his seat to look pointedly at her hands which she held in her lap, one across the other.

  "I'm not fifteen," she pouted.

  "The last time I caught you crossing your fingers you were twenty. Show me the hands."

  "That was different."

  "Just making sure."

  She saw the bulge in his cheek where he ran his tongue along the inside. It was a sure sign he was holding back a smile. She didn't think he'd remember her crossed fingers.

  It was a silly game they played. He would ask her if she wanted something simple like a burger or milkshake. She always said yes. She was young. She wanted to please. He accused her of lying. She swore she didn't. Lying was a sin. Then he discovered she crossed her fingers to negate the lie and ward off the sin. Brad's playful punishments for finger crossing were imaginative and fun and usually meant
they had no time for the burger or milkshake if he was to get her home on time.

  Livvy showed him her hands – after she uncrossed her fingers. "Okay, I promise."

  Brad looked like he wished she hadn't. His face was so bleak, she couldn't bear it. Sliding closer to him, she reached for his hand. His eyes closed at her touch as if it might be painful, but he didn't pull his hand away.

  "Livvy." He said her name in such a way that she felt she'd touched something more than his hand.

  "I'm here, Brad."

  "That's the thing, Liv. You shouldn't be." He looked at the hand holding his. "There are better things out there for you, a lot better than me. I've always known that and I always figured you'd find those things when you went away. I didn't want to mess that up by coming around. I didn't want to make it harder for you or embarrass you."

  Now it was she who tried not to laugh. "You're kidding, right? Someone who looks like you? I would have been the envy of the dorm."

  Truth be told, she'd been looking forward to the jaw dropping envy. Freshmen in college weren't that much different than seniors in high school.

  He didn't deny it. He'd always known how good looking he was and the effect he had on women. He didn't brag about it, though sometimes he joked about it. More often, he was annoyed by it. For Brad, his looks were just there, like blue eyes or brown hair. That didn't stop him from using them to his advantage – like getting extra butter on his popcorn.

  "Maybe so," he said, "but sooner or later, I'd have to open my mouth. You're smart, Liv, always were. Now you had friends who were smart, too, and getting smarter by the day. I heard it the first time you came home. All the things you were learning, the words you were using. The way you spoke. The way you acted."