Rebirth (Rogues Shifter Series)

by Gayle Parness

  “Jackie, now’s the time to get over your ‘I can’t do it’ attitude and just focus the damn energy and heal me. I’m bleeding, in case you haven’t noticed.”

  She sounded very calm for someone whose blood was dripping on the table, so I took a breath and did what she said. The heat from the lines built up in my stomach and chest, the way it had when I’d poked at Lily in the woods. I stared at her hand and reached across to hold it in both of mine, feeling the need for physical contact.

  “Send the warmth of your aura out like a bandage to cover the wound and then pull it tightly together to seal it.”

  I concentrated on my breathing, pulled on the current and pushed a flat wave of emerald energy toward her bleeding palm. I felt it make contact with the surface like a second skin and was amazed when I saw the bleeding start to slow down. I sent another strong pulse to push the edges of the skin together and heard Maya shout out loud.

  “Ow, shit that hurt. That was like healing my cut with a soldering iron. You can definitely use some practice.” She scowled from the pain, saying briskly, “Don’t turn away, look!” She held out her hand, palm up. It was perfect.

  “Your trust in my abilities is a little—extreme. What if I couldn’t do it?”

  “I know power when I feel it, and you’re buzzing like a bee hive. Worst case, I would have needed a few stitches. Or I could just shift to heal." She shrugged.

  I didn’t know how I should be feeling. I was embarrassed that I’d done it so clumsily, amazed that I could actually heal a small wound and scared about what this meant. Garrett and Liam had said that a healer can kill using the same energy. I found myself trembling a little.

  “I see you’ve put two and two together, so let’s give that a try, shall we?” She laid her hand palm up on the table. “Cut me. Cut me the way I cut myself. Try not to make it too deep; I’d like to survive the day if that’s alright with you.”

  “I can’t…” She put her hand up to silence me.

  “We had this discussion five minutes ago, just do it.” There was no fear in her eyes or in the relaxed way her hand rested on the table in front of me. In fact, she looked eager, and almost hungry. Maya the scientist and magic user was aching for another challenge. Looks like I was prime guinea pig material.

  I didn’t argue further, taking in three or four deep breaths and then drawing in the power, shaping and sharpening it to a very fine point and pushing it out to quickly flick across her palm. Maya winced but didn’t make a sound. The shock of seeing her skin open up without anything touching it, made me feel a little dizzy and so I took a long drink of coke to calm me. Because it was bleeding steadily I grabbed her injured palm with both of my hands and sent out a strong wave of healing energy to seal the skin once more. This time when I finished she was beaming. Of course, I was happy too, just still too shocked to show it. I tried to stand up to stretch my legs and my knees wobbled. I plopped down again rather ungracefully.

  Maya seemed annoyed by my weakness. She probably wanted to keep experimenting on me. “You need to eat something now before you pass out. I’m going to call Ethan to come and pick you up and take you back to Garrett's.” She signaled to the server and ordered me a cheeseburger and a salad, never asking what I wanted. “You need to get lots of rest tonight. No strenuous training. No strenuous anything, understand?”

  Her eyes narrowed as she looked at me with something bordering on respect. “You’ve accomplished quite a lot today.” When I looked unsure she continued with a scowl, “Don’t you dare feel guilty about your power. You’ll be able to save lives, think about that.”

  “But how do I stop myself from sending out healing energy when it’s not wanted or appreciated. Liam was pissed at first.”

  “I’m not surprised. The fae find it offensive if you use magic on them. You need to practice doing it over and over until your body and your mind are keyed in to what it feels like when it’s happening. It’ll take awhile. Ask Liam to help you. He will.”

  "He said he wasn't allowed."

  "He'll help you. Trust me. I've already seen it."

  When Ethan strode in with the rest of the team, Maya greeted them coolly and then left through the back door, having already paid for my meal. I shook my head watching her leave. Maya had such confidence. I wondered if I’d ever feel that way about my power.

  Ethan could tell that I was shaky, so he sat next to me and rubbed my back. “Eat your burger and talk to us.” I told them everything. Even though Maya’s pain had been relatively mild, I was troubled by what I’d done. “We’ll use you as a tracker and then you can patch us all up afterward. No one will force you to fight.” He smiled his beautiful smile. “It’ll always be your choice to make.”

  “I’m not afraid, it’s not that.”

  “We understand. You grew up human. Sinc and I grew up with supernaturals. Kyle’s been here for ten years. Injuring someone—killing someone—it’s not easy for any of us. We’ve all killed to protect others. It stays with you.”

  Sync spoke softly. “I killed a child. Kyle and I were chasing a wolf who’d raped and killed a young girl. The gun was knocked from my hand and went off.” Sinc’s eyes held unshed tears. “He'd pushed her into the line of fire. She was twelve years old. I see her face every day.”

  Kyle nodded his head. “Even with Hank, who was torturing Garrett and was probably gonna kill you. I mean, if he’d been in another pack like Aaron’s, he might have turned out an okay guy. I ended any chance he had to change.”

  I looked from Ethan to Kyle to Sinc and found myself strangely reassured by their words. They held themselves accountable for those deaths. Stupid I guess, but I worried that living for centuries with the power to destroy so easily would somehow diminish my ability to show mercy or worse, to feel remorse. I shuddered and took in a deep breath. Some of this was still overwhelming, but I was determined to learn to control this ‘gift’.

  I remembered what Maya had said about seeing Liam helping me with the magic. "Can Maya see the future?"

  "Yes, sometimes. It's kinda spooky. I guess cheetahs end up with different powers."

  "I wouldn't want that one." I looked around the table and smiled gratefully at them. “Thanks. for the help. Maya's pretty intense. I think I want to go home now.” They drove me to my new home, Kyle and Sinc arguing about something they were working on together in the lab. That argument turned into trading quips about what they were wearing, neither of them appreciating the other’s taste in fashion. I sighed and smiled, happy to be in the back seat leaning against Ethan.

  Chapter Thirty-six

  I took a nap when I got home and woke up around 5:00 PM to see Garrett propped up on the bed next to me working on his laptop. “Hey sleepy, Maya emailed me. You had yourself a busy afternoon. How do you feel?”

  “I feel fine, now that I got a couple more hours of sleep.” I touched his arm. I knew immediately that he’d fed because his skin was warm and his aura glowed bright with energy. I sat up, leaning against my pillows, and watched his graceful hands moving across the keys, allowing my gaze to wander up his long arms to his flawless face. His eyes glittered in the late afternoon sunlight. He seemed to be extremely—satisfied. I wondered if I should insist on meeting his ‘donors’. Somehow I knew they’d be women. Did he kiss them when he fed from them? Did they feel like they were gently floating or did they feel the heat and the passion that I’d experienced last night?

  He chuckled softly. “You’re very easy to read this evening. Yes, they are all female shifters. I switch off between five of them so they can fully recover. No I don’t kiss them. There’s nothing sexual about the experience for me or them. Basically I glamour them so they relax, then I feed for a few minutes and they fall asleep.

  “Do you touch them when you feed?”

  “I find its fastest if I hold them.” My incredulous expression made him pause from his typing and ask, “What is it? They’re all fully clothed and fast asleep!”

  “Garrett, if you think
these women aren’t getting off on your glamour or your hugs or your feeding from them, then you are a very naïve 234 year old male. I mean look at you, women must throw themselves in your path and beg to be fed from. You probably have a twenty person waiting list.” I was laughing as I spoke, but the infamous green-eyed monster was starting to prowl around inside my head.

  He continued to type. “Closer to fifty.” He grinned and looked at me. “C’mon, that was a joke. They know the rules, it’s all very professional. No groping allowed. But I like that you’re just a little jealous.”

  “Just a little doesn’t cover it. Do you pay them?”

  He kept typing and didn’t respond right away.”I did promise them that our arrangements would remain private. None of them know each other.” He sighed and looked at my determined expression. “Of course I’ll tell you. I don’t want secrets between us, but you need to keep this information private as well.” I nodded. “I pay for their health insurance, for them and their children. Full coverage with dental.”

  I smiled at him. “I figured it was something like that. You know that helping them out that way makes you even more attractive in their eyes. I’m sure none of them have mates do they?” He shook his head. “They’re definitely getting off on the whole ‘look into my eyes while I embrace you and suck your energy until you fall asleep in my arms’ thing.”

  He barked out a laugh and then let his voice get deep and soft. “Ah, but isn’t it more important to you that I’m not getting off on it? That I only get turned on by my lovely cheetah with her delicious mouth,—" he brushed my lips with his. "—and her perfect body?” He’d put down his computer and was leaning closer, running his hand up and down my arm and nuzzling my ear.

  I had to admit he was right. That was way more important. Still, I wanted to have some fun, so I tried not to smile when I teased him. "Yeah, I guess so."

  "You guess?" He took both of my hands and gently pulled me out of bed, then wrapped them around his waist to rest on his lower back. He put one of his hands in my messy hair and the other one on the waistband of my jeans, looping a finger playfully through a belt loop and pulling my hips even closer.

  He whispered, “You’re the only one I want to be with.” Then he kissed me with passion, making my whole body sing with heat. He was mine, every hard inch of him. What happened when he fed from those donors meant nothing.

  "You made your point, Monsieur." I whispered then closed my eyes and melted against his chest, wishing that all of the stress caused by Eleanor would evaporate so we could go back to our relatively peaceful life.

  Of course my stomach picked that very romantic moment to growl, so he laughed again and took my hand and led me toward the kitchen. “Time to feed my perfect cheetah.” As I watched him move in his graceful way toward the fridge, I sighed and bit my lip. Yeah, I was definitely hungry, and I knew from our embrace that he was too. And he thought that I was the stubborn one.

  We grilled a chicken breast and some veggies for my dinner. Garrett got a lot of joy out of ‘manning the grill’ while I sauntered back and forth finding the various implements, sauces, plates, etc. He seemed to love watching me eat, so I took my time and made sure to lick my fingers just to tease him. After all, he was the one who wanted to wait, and though I’d promised to be good, I was only human…or close at least. He seemed a little bit on edge, but that was probably because we were going to be discussing strategy with the team later and he had a lot on his mind.

  AT 8:00 PM we met in Garrett’s backyard to demonstrate how the new crossbow worked. Garrett, Rob and Liam were very impressed and Kyle and Sinc glowed with pride as I hit the target every time. Kyle discussed how this could be used with all kinds of weapons and that eventually he hoped it could be used by people who only had a weak link to the lines. Shifters were often victims of more powerful supernaturals, like dark witches, sorcerers and vampires, because their life force was strong. Weapons like this would always be in demand.

  We moved into the living room, Ethan, Sinc and I sat together on the couch, Rob and Kyle in the two leather wing chairs, Liam sitting unobtrusively on a bar stool and Garrett pacing back and forth between us all. Sinc had her laptop perched firmly on her lap and she typed furiously, the clicks and clacks filling the temporary silence in the room.

  Sinc spoke. “I’ve sent out emails to every shifter household on our list. The council is meeting tonight to decide what, if anything, they’ll do to help. I’ve also contacted our wolf allies. How many volunteers do we need to take down Eleanor and Lily and the rest?” Her eyes sparkled with eagerness. According to Ethan, Sinc hadn’t liked how easily Lily had controlled her and she was itching for a rematch.

  “We’ll need at least fifteen volunteers plus our team. On top of that we’ll have Aaron and a few of his pack. Eleanor will probably bring Antoine, who’s older than me and very strong, Lily, Sasha, Yvette and perhaps Heinrich. I don’t believe she’ll come with more than that. She’s made several others but they’re very young and don’t have the impulse control to be effective fighters. The much older members of her nest are in Europe or South America and she won’t be calling them back. She’ll never believe that we have a chance against her, even if we do organize."

  Rob spoke up. “I’ll take on training any of our shifter volunteers. Most don’t know much about vampires or how to kill them.”

  Garrett looked at me for a moment then turned back to the group. “I’ve made a decision which might solve most of our problems. I plan to challenge her to a personal duel to be held on the island, which is still considered neutral ground. That means no one else can interfere while we’re fighting. If I can take her out, then the rest of her nest will be under my authority and will not be allowed to fight against us. With their maker dead, they’ll have to join me as part of my own nest, pledging loyalty with a blood oath, or I’ll have to execute them. Then no one else would be in danger of getting hurt.

  "If she kills me, and she makes a move toward any of you, then you have the right to fight back. She’ll be in a weakened state from our duel, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to take her out. Even though Antoine is almost as bad as Eleanor, he'd probably want to leave peacefully with the rest of the nest, since he has no personal vendetta against any of you.” While he spoke I could see him glancing in my direction, but I kept myself perfectly still and closed off, not looking at his face or letting him into my head.

  Ethan, Rob and Kyle all started talking at once, the gist being, “That’s a crazy idea…too dangerous…we can take care of her together, etc…” Sinc sat quietly watching my reaction, which was probably what you’d expect it to be.

  First, I was furious that he hadn’t mentioned his little plan beforehand. We’d had plenty of time to talk when I woke up from my nap or when we were cooking and I was eating dinner. Second, I was terrified. How could he fight alone against Eleanor, who was twice his age, and win? She was going to kill him and I was going to lose him forever. Because I knew by the determination in his eyes that we wouldn’t be convincing him to change his mind, I felt helpless, which triggered another wash of anger.

  I took a deep breath and pulled up some magic, ready to send a rather scathing mental remark his way, when I felt a sharp nudge at my wall, one that wasn’t from Garrett. I turned to the only other psychic in the house, Liam. He lifted an eyebrow and I let him into my mind.

  “Garrett is doing the right thing. He knows what he is risking. He understands that you will be angry and may turn away from him. He also knows he may die, but he is thinking about your safety and the safety of his friends and the entire community. He is being selfless. Try to consider that before you attack him with your hurt feelings and your fear because he needs your support more than he ever has before. To win against Eleanor, he must know that you are all behind him, especially you, Jacqueline. That, more than any other power he possesses, will give him the energy and the will necessary to beat her.”

  I closed my eyes and let the magic I was aimi
ng at Garrett float away, then turned again to stare into Liam’s alien violet eyes. Of course he was right. This was how I could help my mate, as terrifying as it was. I’d been a big talker, telling Garrett that I was a woman and not a child, that I wasn’t someone who required saving. Telling him that I wanted him to need me as a partner and not always be the needy one. Well, I needed him to live and I’d do everything I could to make sure that happened, but right now, he needed my help to gain support for his extraordinarily brave, foolhardy....dangerous plan. I bit my lip and clenched my fists. I could do this for him. I nodded at Liam and sent to him along with a formal nod, “Thank you, Liam.” I attempted to smile, holding my fear in check.

  Of course I couldn’t hide it from Liam, who met my eyes and solemnly nodded back. And although his face was serious, there was a warm respect in his eyes which gave me the courage to do what I needed to do.

  Garrett, Ethan, Rob and Kyle were still arguing and even Sinc had joined the fray. I took a deep breath and stepped into the middle of the argument. “Could everyone stop arguing for a minute?"

  “Jackie…I’m...” Garrett began.

  I put my finger on his lips and sent, “Please give me one minute to talk and please, please try not to interrupt me.” He nodded and started to step away but I grabbed his hand and pulled him next to me, looking directly into his amazing eyes with all the reassurance I could muster. “We must form a united front, general.” I smiled and he gazed back at me, looking more than a little surprised.

  Everyone was turned toward me, looking intrigued. “More than anyone else in this room, I want Garrett to live and not get hurt.” I squeezed his hand so hard I might have broken a bone if he wasn’t a vampire. “But he’s been tortured by Eleanor for over a hundred years. She won't hesitate to use all of us against him. She needs to die, right?”

  They all nodded and sat quietly waiting for the rest. “His plan makes sense. If he goes into her territory he’ll be killed or locked up and she’ll still come after us. If she shows up on our island and we all battle it out together, we might beat her, but a lot of us would die. We’re all willing to do that for him but how will those deaths affect us and the community?”