by Tia Louise
Her blue eyes go round. “I don’t care about that!”
“Well, I do. I’m not going to take you out of here until I can take care of you.”
“What are you trying to say?” That confidence I just saw in her slips, and I hate what I’m about to say.
“I’m going on to California. Alone.”
“What? No you’re not. I’m going with you!”
“You’re going to stay here where you have a place to live and food.”
Fire flashes in her eyes, and she pushes hard against my chest. “NO! You are NOT leaving me behind!”
Catching her wrists, I hold her against my chest. “It’s the right thing to do,” I say firmly.
She struggles several moments trying to fight me, until she finally gives up. Her face drops to my chest, and her body jerks with an inhale. She’s crying, and the noise of her quiet sobs almost rips me apart. Swallowing the thickness in my throat, I try to make her see reason.
“I can’t take you from all you have here to nothing with me,” I say softly. “I can’t let you live on the streets or in the woods while I try to find work. You deserve better than that.”
“If you leave, I’ll never see you again.” Her voice breaks along with my resolve.
I loosen my hold on her wrists, catching her chin so I can see those beautiful eyes. They’re flooded with tears.
“Hey…” I smooth the wetness off her cheeks with my thumbs, fighting the pain twisting my insides. God dammit, I can’t fight Mercy. “You think I can live without my soul? As soon as I find a job and a place for us, I’ll send for you. I promise.”
Her head is shaking before she even starts to speak. “I’m coming with you. I’ve got a plan. I’ve been saving for this for years.”
“California is a tough place.”
She clears her throat, ready to argue to the end. She’s such my little lynx. “We’ll go to San Francisco together. We’ll find a gym… Andy will give me a good reference, and I’ll speak for you. Once we’re out there, we’ll find a place, the two of us together — we’ll make it Koa, you’ll see.”
“I won’t let you carry all the weight.”
“Of course not!” She’s blinking fast, struggling to smile. “But would you at least sleep on my couch until you don’t need me anymore?”
“Mercy,” I groan, and she steps into my arms, pulling her small body tight against my chest. “I’ll need you til I die,” I say holding her, kissing her head.
Her arms tighten around my waist. “My Koa,” she says softly, and it’s all over. With those words, I’m fucking screwed. She can have anything she wants. Hell, seeing her cry nearly gutted me. “We’ll be all right. We will.”
My jaw is set, but she’s won. I hold her pretty face and look down into her eyes so bright with optimism. “You don’t fight fair.”
Another grin, and she steps back, reaching up to touch my cheek. “I’ll go and talk to Andy now. Meet you at Doris’s later?”
“Okay,” I say with a tight smile.
* * *
Mercy
I’m at the mansion, standing in my sister’s office, watching as she leans back in her leather chair to scowl at me. This afternoon has not gone the way I’d envisioned.
I went into Andy’s office intending to resign and ask for a reference for my relocation to California with Koa. He simply replied, “Go home and talk to your sister first.”
Immediately, I knew Dylan had been behind Koa’s firing — more of me associating with the “wrong kind” of people, I’m sure. She probably told Andy to warn him away from me in the first place. I stormed out of his office straight into the alley behind the gym.
I was furious, and I didn’t have any time to lose. A quick scan of the area told me no one was around. Discarding my clothes quickly, I shifted and ran at top speed all the way to the mansion and up to my room to pull on jeans and a shirt.
“You’re not going anywhere,” Dylan says. And with that she leans forward, returning to whatever crap she has on her desk. Lord knows I have no idea what she does with her time.
“I didn’t come for permission. I came to inform you.” I infuse my voice with the same authority as in my self-defense classes. “I’m leaving… tomorrow.” Although, Koa and I haven’t set a timeline. “I’m moving to San Francisco.”
“With the panther?”
So she does know. “Yes. We’re together now.”
“Mates?” Her lips curl in disgust.
“Unofficially…” I hate being in front of her without a plan. Dylan has the most infuriating way of making me feel every bit the youngest sister.
“Real smart, Mercy. One of your best ideas yet.” Her sarcasm is even worse. “Not that it matters. You can tell your panther goodbye. You belong to Hayden Cross.”
At that I see red. “I most certainly do NOT belong to Hayden!”
She stands and circles the desk to my side. “You’re the youngest sister of the fourth Quinlan generation. By order of the High Council, you belong to Hayden. He’s coming to collect you next week.”
My mouth drops open, but it takes a few seconds for my brain to catch up. “What the hell are you talking about!?” I’m almost shouting, but Dylan isn’t bothered.
She continues past me to the small table holding a decanter and two tumblers. “Scotch?” she says.
“Explain what you’re talking about this instant!”
My pulse ticks higher as I wait for her to remove the crystal stopper and pour herself a drink. I’ve never seen her drink during the day. She lifts the glass to her lips before continuing.
“I had hoped you might develop an attraction for him through our dinners. That is, until the panther showed up.” A deep breath, another sip. “Once I saw how you felt, I went to Chicago to try and plead your case. I spoke to every person in authority I could find. Most wouldn’t even see me. Hayden’s claim on our family is established. What’s done is irrevocable.”
I fight the pressure building behind my eyes. “What claim? I’ve only known Hayden two years. Did our parents arrange our marriage and not tell me?”
I can’t believe my beautiful mother would do something like that to me.
“If only it were that easy,” she mutters. “Hayden is a very powerful immortal, Mercy. When Woodland Creek was founded, one of our ancestors killed his immortal mate. Our family has been paying for it ever since. Every fourth generation, when his last Quinlan daughter dies, he comes here to claim his next one.”
For several moments, all I can do is stare at her, waiting for this to be a sick joke. I wait… I wait… She simply stares right back.
My panic starts to rise. I feel as if my world tilts on its side. “I… I don’t believe you. There has to be some way…” My voice has dropped to a whisper. “Please,” My eyes are burning, and I’m begging her. “Please, Dylan, tell me there’s a way out of this.”
“There is no way out of it. I was informed of the arrangement after our parents died, when I became the alpha of our family.”
I can’t believe it. I can’t… At the same time, all the pieces are clicking into place. It’s why Autumn could leave and I couldn’t. It’s why I’ve never been allowed to leave here. My entire life has been building to this moment, and no one ever told me.
Breathe, Mercy, breathe… My head is spinning, my emotions flying between soul-twisting panic, overwhelming anger, and heartbreaking despair. I have to calm down. I have to find a solution to this problem. My life cannot be over.
“You said he’s coming to collect me. What does that mean?”
She walks slowly over to a framed map of the forest. It shows the lake and the curved creek cutting through the trees. It shows the university observatory. My eyes drift to the small meadow not on the map where I met Koa for the first time. My Koa… A cramp twists my stomach.
“The town was founded by five very powerful families, wizards and shifters. A ley line cuts through the heart of Woodland Creek, and near it is a small passage t
o Hayden’s world, the underworld, where he rules.”
Instinctively, I wrap my arms around my midsection. I’m trembling, and I do want that scotch now. “What’s a ley line?”
“It’s a straight fault line in the earth’s tectonic plates. Magnetic energy and magical forces work through them. They draw mystical creatures and occult phenomena.”
“Why haven’t you told me about this before?”
“Like I said, I first hoped you might find him attractive, want to be with him. Then, I hoped I could get the High Council to end our family’s servitude. You’re the third Quinlan daughter to be handed over to him. I had hoped my legacy would be to end his claim on us. I’m sorry I failed you.”
It all makes sense now, and it’s so much worse than what I imagined. Dylan doesn’t hate me. She isn’t trying to dismiss my dreams. She knew I had no right to dream them in the first place. My hopes have only ever been castles in the sand. Now a cyclone is blowing them all away.
“What if I talk to him?” My voice is barely above a whisper. “I could ask Hayden to let me go. He might say yes.”
“Oh, Mercy,” she laughs bitterly. “You’re so sheltered and naïve. He might seem aloof at Thursday night dinners, but Hayden Cross is very serious about his property.”
NO! I am NOT his property! I have to stay strong. I won’t go down without a fight. I’m a fighter — self-defense is what I do every Saturday! I might not be able to take on the fucking Lord of the fucking Underworld using self-defense maneuvers, but I can talk to him, reason with him.
Self-preservationist anger burns in my chest. “Where is Hayden? Where does he stay? I’ll go there and talk to him myself. I’ll make him listen to me.”
Her brow creases. “This is his house.” She motions around the large room. “All of this is his — the grounds, the money. Our family has nothing. It’s how he ensures we won’t renege on the deal.” She sighs wearily. “But that’s not all…”
“Are you trying to say it could possibly get worse?”
“The way the pact is written, if we refuse to hand you over, he has the right to slaughter our entire family, possibly even the town, although I doubt he’d go that far.”
I have to sit down. She’s shown me his trump card, and I don’t know anything stronger. Slaughter us all? My blood runs cold.
I can’t think about that. I can’t let it weaken my will to live. Instead, I look around the room slowly. “Everything is Hayden’s?”
She gives me a sad little smile. “We live here because of you, Mercy. When he takes you, you’ll spend the rest of your life with him. Then after you die, he’ll return for the next Quinlan daughter.”
No… no… no…
“How do you talk to him? How do you get him to come here?”
“He comes here every Thursday for dinner.”
My heart is beating so hard it hurts. “Yes, but he said you called him. You asked him to pick me up from the gym so I wouldn’t ride the bus…”
“I’ve never called Hayden. I don’t know how.”
“Oh my god!” It’s too much. I crumple to the floor, overwhelmed. My arms are on the couch, and I can’t breathe. I press the heels of my palms against my chest where the pain radiates. “I can’t breathe.”
Dylan seems to move at a glacial pace. She leans forward, handing me the tumbler of scotch. I take it in my trembling hand and drink deeply. It doesn’t begin to kill the agony.
“I’m sorry,” she says before slowly leaving her office.
I sit on the floor for a long time trying to process what I’ve learned. After a while, I see the sky is growing dark. I’m glad because I want to crawl beneath my covers and never come out again.
In a zombie-like state, I walk slowly through Hayden’s mansion to the enormous foyer. I climb the stairs one at a time, making my way to my bedroom as if I’m moving through thick syrup. Once inside, I pick up my phone and type a text.
Can’t meet you tonight. Will explain later. I hit send and my phone slips from my fingers.
* * *
Koa
Mercy’s bedroom is dark as I stand out at the tree line looking up. The waning moon tips the grass in silvery light. I told her I wouldn’t sleep with her here, but that text has me worried. I’m even more worried because she hasn’t replied to any of my follow-up texts, and my calls go to voicemail.
I’ve gone from insisting she should stay here and wait for me, to standing at the edge of this well-manicured lawn, ready to carry her out of this pampered life as fast as I can.
Lifting my head, I scent the air. Nothing. I haven’t detected the strange, ominous presence in almost a week, and I’m starting to wonder if I might have dreamed it. The only instance that keeps me grounded was at Doris’s church. I hadn’t been tired, and I was wide-awake on the lawn in broad daylight. Something was there.
Either way, it’s not here now, and I creep out of the shadows, silent on my panther feet, and run quickly to the side of the house. In two leaps I’m on her balcony, listening. No sounds come from her room, and it only takes a moment for me to shake the magic away. I touch the handle of the glass doors. They give easily, soundlessly.
The room is dark, but I can hear her breathing. I want to see her, so I push back the heavy curtains to allow the moonlight to shine in. Her face glows in the bluish-white light. Her small body is in the center of the bed, and a surge of warmth fills my insides at the sight.
Crossing to her, I carefully slide back the heavy duvet. It’s cool in the room. Her shifter blood keeps her warm, but she doesn’t seem to be sleeping peacefully. Her face is troubled. She’s curled deep in the blankets, and it takes several seconds to unwrap her small body. As soon as I touch her, she jerks awake with a little yelp.
“Shh,” I reach for her face, smoothing her dark hair back. “It’s me. I was worried about you.”
“Koa, No!” She’s instantly frantic, catching my hands and putting them down, looking over her shoulder and around the room. “You have to go.” Her voice is a desperate whisper.
I don’t move as she tries to climb across me, ending up in a straddle on my lap. My hands are on her waist, and I’m holding her. “What are you afraid of?”
Her chin drops, and she lunges forward, wrapping her arms around my neck. I feel her entire body shudder, and protective anger rises in my chest. My jaw tenses.
“Who’s threatening you, Mercy? Tell me, and I’ll take care of it.” I’m ready to find whoever has her so frightened and kill him.
Her head shakes against my shoulder, and another little shudder ripples through her body. “You can’t. Neither of us can.”
I rub my hands up and down her torso, trying to calm her trembling. “Let me decide that. Tell me what’s got you so upset.”
She inhales deeply and sits back. Her blue eyes are huge and swollen from crying. My hands still on her narrow body, and I’ve reached my limit on patience. I can’t see Mercy cry.
“I-I talked to my sister. I came to tell her we were leaving, and…” Her chin drops, and her shoulders pull together. “I can’t say it.”
“Jesus, Mercy, you’re killing me here. Tell me what happened!” I don’t mean to be forceful with her, but I can’t help it.
Curling into my lap like a kitten, she presses her face in her hands. “I’m so afraid, Koa. I don’t want to go with him.”
I’m pretty sure I’ll have a coronary if she doesn’t explain this, but I try to hold it together, to coax it out of her. “Nobody hurts you on my watch. Tell me who’s threatening you. I’ll kill the son of a bitch.”
She clenches tighter, and I lean down, wrapping my arms around her. “Please tell me what’s happening, Mercy. I need to know.”
A few moments pass where I’m only holding her as she’s curled on my lap. Finally, she seems to find the strength I know she possesses. She moves slowly, rising up my body, holding my arms as if for stability.
“My family has an obligation… a pact that has existed for more than a cen
tury. The youngest daughter of every fourth generation is promised…” she takes a shuddering breath, and I’m hanging on every word. “Sorry… I’ve been promised to Hayden as his tribute.”
The only noise is the overly loud ticking of her bedside clock marking the passage of time, and the silent shush of our breath. I’m struggling with what she just said, trying to understand what it means.
“You’ve been promised to—?”
“To Hayden Cross. The guy who came for me at the gym—”
“I know who the fuck he is. How… What the fuck does that even mean? You’re his tribute? You have to marry him?”
“Dylan said one of our ancestors killed his immortal mate back when our family had just come here. The recompense for his loss, his loneliness, is I have to go with him. I have to live with him in the underworld… until I die.” Her voice breaks on the last word, and she crumples forward against my chest.
Rage flames inside me. There is no fucking way I’m letting that asshole take Mercy from me. Fucking Kanaloa. I knew I felt him that night in the woods. He clearly felt me, too. Mercy holds me and I think about that. He felt me, too… He sent a pulse of energy my way so hard, as if he were trying to kill me or at the very least scare me away. That asshole doesn’t know who he’s dealing with. At the same time, if he were trying to kill me…
“It’s not going to happen.” My voice is flat.
Mercy’s chin lifts, and she finds my eyes. “Dylan said she went to Chicago to meet with the high council. She said she tried to find a way out of it, to end the tribute, but no one would listen to her. Hayden’s too powerful.”
“So the high council decided this?”
“The founding families made the agreement. He threatened to destroy the entire town if my family didn’t make reparations for his lost mate.”
“I’m not going to let him take you.” It’s as simple as that.
