Shifter Bound

by Leisl Leighton

  ‘Damn it, Eloise.’ His thumbs brushed roughly over her cheeks. He blew out a breath, tried to calm his hammering heart, keep his hands gentle on her face and not pull her towards him like his wolf wanted him to; like he wanted to.

  ‘What? What is it? Is it because you’re worried that I’m not making this decision for myself? That it’s the presence making me act like this?’

  ‘Yes. No.’ His fingers flexed on her face and he tipped her head up, but still she avoided his gaze. ‘Look at me, Eloise.’ She bit her lip and he groaned, the effort of not licking and kissing away the hurt almost more than he could bear. ‘Look at me.’ Her eyes met his in a tentative way that made his wolf whimper. ‘You tempt me beyond all sense. You make my wolf so crazy he’s forever lunging against my skin wanting to lick you up, to take a bite of you, to mark you as his. I want you. All of you. I want to mark you so everyone knows you’re mine. The need is a voracious hunger inside that’s only been growing with every moment I’ve known you. I’ve never felt its like before. It’s not something a Lone Wolf should ever feel, but I can’t ignore the truth of it. I don’t know what that means in regards to my wolf—I don’t know if I can ever give you what you deserve or need from a partner, but I can’t deny what I feel.’

  ‘Iain,’ she said on a shaky sigh that had pleasure curling around his heart. ‘It’s like a clawing pain right here.’ She pressed her hand against her chest, over her heart. ‘A pain that could turn into pleasure with just the touch of your lips.’

  ‘Yes,’ he breathed. She spoke what he felt. ‘But it isn’t the bond. I don’t know what it is. I don’t know what I can promise you.’

  ‘I don’t want promises. I know you’re a Lone Wolf. I don’t care. I don’t care about what happens in the future when the now is all I can think of.’

  ‘You should care. You deserve so much more than what I have to offer.’

  ‘You’re wrong. I don’t deserve more than I have if what I have is you.’

  They stared at each other for long moments, desire a palpable pulse between them. Breath shuddered out of her lips in a rush he found so sexy he thought his cock might break in half as it flexed against his jeans. ‘But now is not the time for this conversation. That’s what you’re trying to tell me, right?’

  ‘Probably.’ He could barely remember anymore when she looked at him like that. His fingers trembled on her face.

  She smiled. ‘Probably?’

  ‘Yeah. No.’ He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to centre his thoughts. ‘The point I’m making so badly is …’

  Her chuckle brushed over him, broke into his words. ‘I don’t think you’re doing too badly. I think you’ve made it pretty clear you want me.’

  He huffed out a laugh. ‘Yeah. But that’s also the problem. I can’t kiss you right now, because if I do, I’m never going to be able to let you out of this car. My wolf is already struggling against the need to keep you safe and the need to keep the pack safe. I know you’re not my mate, but the thought of you doing something that will put you in danger is driving me, and my wolf, insane. If we kiss, you and I both know it won’t stop there, and if we make love again …’ He shook his head. ‘I can’t … I won’t be able to …’

  ‘Shh.’ She put her fingers over his lips. ‘It’s okay. I understand. This is all so confusing.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘And such bad timing. Which is just me all over, really. I never could get the timing thing right.’

  ‘I think you did pretty okay last night.’

  She dipped her head, gaze leaving his, and even in the dark of the car, he could see the deep pink of blush. It made him smile.

  ‘I don’t want to cause you and your wolf any pain, but I’m not going to lie. I want to share with you what we shared last night again. I want to do that again, and again, with you. But you’re right.’ She looked up at him. ‘Now isn’t the time.’

  ‘No. It isn’t.’ Although, by the gods he wished it was.

  Her pulse fluttered in her neck—he could hear it, see it, smell it, feel it inside him. ‘You have to let go. It hurts too much to be this close and no closer.’

  ‘I know,’ he said. She went to pull away but he couldn’t let her. The wolf was growling loudly under his skin.

  ‘Iain?’

  ‘Just give me a moment.’ Touching her might incite his and his wolf’s passions, but it also settled them. Just like a mate would.

  The thought flickered through his mind but then was cast away again. His wolf could never mate because it would always be driven by that rage of need burning inside him to be alone, to roam. The one didn’t go with the other.

  Eloise didn’t pull away. Instead, she covered his hands with hers and leaned her forehead against his, instinctively knowing what he needed. Their breaths—panting, hot—mingled, hers caressing his face, across his lips, adding to the sensation of being touched.

  After a long moment, he was able to pull away, his wolf settled just enough for him to have control. It was a control he knew he needed to hold onto. Because she needed him and he would be there for her in the way she needed with no uncertainty. Certainly not the uncertainty of whatever the hell was going on between them. They had to have time to figure it out. And tonight wasn’t it.

  As he pulled away she shivered and wrapped her arms around her middle.

  ‘Cold?’

  He went to pull off his jacket but she shook her head, shifting away from him. ‘No.’ She broke away from his gaze and stared out the windscreen at the green landscape around them, lush with farm fields spread before them and the blue-ish haze of bush-covered hills in the distance. It was twilight. A time of magic as day dissolved into night. He couldn’t believe that only yesterday they’d woken with none of the heaviness of destiny upon them. Gabbie had been alive. Eloise hadn’t known Cain was a Shade. She hadn’t even known her coven mates were on their lands.

  He wished they could go back to that time, save her from all this pain and worry, but that was as impossible as wishing they were actually mates. He watched as she took in their surrounds, registering the barn. ‘Is he in there?’

  ‘No. This is only a blind. There’s a shaft that leads to old mine tunnels and natural caves deep below the surface. He’s being kept in one of those.’

  They hopped out of the car and moments later were in the barn. Hay dust rose in the air around them, golden in the shafts of late-afternoon sunlight coming through the door and high windows.

  He closed the door behind them then gestured forward. She followed him to the hidden lift at the back. He pressed a panel and watched her amazement as the wall shifted sideways with a groan and the lift was revealed. ‘After you.’

  When they were inside, he pushed the button that would take them to the bottom of the mine. The door slid silently closed. She shuffled slightly closer to him, grasped for his hand. He knew he should let go, but couldn’t. Her fingers gripped his tight and he realised she was frightened. ‘It’s quite safe.’

  ‘I would have thought all the caves would make this area unstable.’

  ‘Not necessarily. It depends on what you’re doing to it. How you’re treating the land. And if it’s one thing wolves know how to do, it’s look after the land.’

  ‘Why is that?’

  ‘It was our only source of survival at one time.’

  Tension vibrated down her arm as the lift jerked, but when he looked at her face, all he saw there was determination. As if sensing his gaze, she glanced up at him, her golden-green eyes almost glowing in the dim light of the lift. ‘I have to do this.’

  He touched her cheek—couldn’t stop himself. ‘You are so brave.’

  ‘No. I’m not.’ She licked her lips and he had to hold back a groan. He’d wanted to kiss her before, but that need ramped up to a ravaging urge as he looked down at the soft, slightly wet flesh, wanting nothing more than to taste them, taste deeper, feel that little pink tongue glide next to his.

  But he couldn’t. Not now. Not before they saw Cain. He couldn�
�t distract either of them in that way. She looked up at him, her golden-green eyes glowing in the low light as if she could sense his turmoil and shared it. He could drown in those eyes.

  The lift jerked and shuddered as it reached its destination, the doors opening with a gasp. The sound broke the tension between them and she pulled away from him. He knew he should be relieved that the moment was broken, but he felt lost.

  Sighing, he turned to face the gloom of a long horizontal mineshaft lit only by lamps hung on the rafters. Deep, tangy mineral scents curled around them.

  ‘How far underground are we?’ Eloise asked as she ventured into the tunnel.

  ‘Far enough. Most of the structures the McClunes use are closer to the surface, but your brother was a special case, and it was thought best to keep him as secure as possible, far from anyone he might wish to hurt.’

  Eloise looked up at him, unable to read his expression in the low light, but there was something in his voice that sent a warm glide through her, despite his words. Protective. Of her.

  She trembled at the thought of what that might mean. What it promised if only she could be strong enough to reach for it and hold on. The rich, warm scents of him—like a sun-bathed ocean next to a forest—rose around her and she couldn’t help breathing it in. Holding that warmth to her like a secret prize that was only hers, a security blanket shielding her from the cold dankness of these tunnels and the bitter edge of Darkness she could sense up ahead.

  ‘Are you okay?’

  She nodded.

  ‘Okay, then let me show you around.’

  Her steps were jerky, and not simply because of her twisted foot as she followed him down the tunnel. She wished there was some way out of this, but there wasn’t. Her fingers tightened against her sides as she hugged her arms around her. She was so afraid that despite everything they’d planned, someone would get hurt. Cain should be weakened and disoriented and no danger to anyone for a short time after the procedure, as she’d told the Were. But there was a creeping feeling at the back of her head that kept whispering questions to her. Why hadn’t Cain demanded to be removed from here before the procedure to somewhere much easier to escape from? What did he know that she didn’t? She couldn’t figure it out. Maybe he was just truly desperate to live and thought he could figure his way out of his incarceration afterwards. Maybe he thought Morrigan had a plan to get him out. She didn’t know. Couldn’t know. But maybe she could get Cain to tell her.

  She stopped. ‘Actually, can you take me straight to Cain? I need to see him now. To prepare myself.’

  Iain gestured down a side tunnel. ‘Follow me.’

  She moved more certainly now. She had to see his body. Speak to Cain while touching the flesh that was related to her. They had a twin connection of sorts. Hopefully she’d be able to tap into it through his body and figure out what he had planned. And when she knew, she could stop him.

  Chapter 21

  The room Eloise was led into was like a hospital wing—bright, white lights, white walls, gleaming concrete floors, beeping machinery. There was a nurse at a desk and a guard on duty. They were chatting quietly and turned at their entrance. They both nodded at Iain, but as their gazes fell to her, their smiles froze, eyes glacial, hostile. In the past that would have made her go skittering away, hiding from the hostility. But not now. She was stronger now. She didn’t need people to like her.

  Who knew a little bit of trust and respect would go such a long way?

  So instead of cringing, fists at her sides, she simply nodded to them and gestured at the curtain on the far side of the room. ‘Is he there?’

  ‘Yes,’ the nurse said.

  She swallowed hard, hoping none of them could hear how hard and fast her heart was beating, and said to Iain, ‘I need to see him by myself, first.’

  ‘What if his Shade comes?’

  She looked around. ‘It’s not here now. If it comes, I’ll call you.’

  He watched her for a moment before nodding. ‘I’ll chat with Alistair and June, see if they’ve heard from the others, if Cordy’s been able to get what she needs for the binding charm.’ He touched her cheek gently before crossing the room to the other Were.

  Making her stiff legs move, she limped to the curtain and twitched it aside.

  Cain.

  He had a face that would make angels weep, especially with that mop of chestnut curls tipped in gold. He almost looked like the boy she’d idolised when she was little; the brother who she’d looked up to, who’d protected her from those who teased her about her leg, her stutter, her shyness and her unpredictable power, always certain about his way forward. She hadn’t been surprised when Morrigan picked him out to train. He had always been remarkable in her eyes. Still was. The things he could do… they’d take her breath away if they didn’t make her tremble in fear.

  He had always been full of life. Gentle and kind. Now he was lifeless, his bones harsh slashes pressing against too-pale skin, his soul cruel and twisted.

  ‘Oh, Cain.’ She stumbled forward, grasped his freezing hand. His chest rose, up, down. Slowly. Too slowly. She didn’t need the machine beeping away to tell her his heart was beating—she could see it in the pulse of blue veins on the side of his pale, pale neck. He had once been all sunshine and laughter—in a time so distant it almost seemed another life. That boy was gone and in his place was a man she hardly recognised. A man moulded by Morrigan. ‘What did she do to you? What did she do?’

  Bron had done a good job with his injuries. He was fully healed—in body. Bron couldn’t heal his soul. Nobody could, except him. But his soul didn’t need to be healed to bring it back to his body. It just needed to be pulled to him, the rift sewn up with darkest blood magic.

  Breath shuddered in her chest, rattling up her throat, squeezing.

  Blood. It always came back to blood.

  ‘How did you do this? How could you?’ Hot tears splashed on her hand where it held his.

  ‘Our Mistress required it of me.’

  She jumped at the whispery echo of his voice in her ear, dropped his hand, backing away from the bed, gaze frantically looking for his Shade. Please don’t let it be here. She wasn’t ready to be bitten by its touch, not again. Not so soon. But there was no sign he was here at all. Then how was he talking to her?

  ‘We are linked by blood. Besides, you’re standing beside my body—that makes it easier. I’m almost disappointed you came—it would have been such fun to play the Shade harbinger of doom. That Were’s life energy was so good. I don’t think I’ve ever felt as alive as I did when I was taking hers.’ A sound like a sigh.

  She flinched. ‘You took a life. How can you be so cavalier about that?’

  ‘Easy. It was fun. And I’ll take more than one life if you don’t do what I ask. I’ll even take yours if I have to.’

  ‘I thought you loved me.’

  ‘I do. But Morrigan told me the truth when you were playing at being cat. Told me what our blood could do.’

  ‘And what is that?’

  ‘It can take over the world. We could control all the witches, destroy the Were, take back what is rightfully ours. And after tonight, that’s exactly what we will do and your powers are the thing that will help us do it.’

  ‘No.’ She stumbled back, almost into the curtain. ‘I won’t do it. I won’t help you after I wake you up.’

  ‘You won’t have any choice. You’re already linked by a blood-bond to me, little sis. After tonight, that bond will be so much deeper. I’ll have control over you, over your power. With you by my side, nothing will be able to stand in our way.’

  Horrified, Eloise shook her head. ‘You can’t. You can’t do that.’

  ‘I can and I will.’

  ‘I won’t let you.’

  ‘And how will you stop me? You have to bring my soul back to me or I will kill all the Were I can get my hands on before I fade away. And their deaths will be your fault. I will make sure they will feel every ounce of pain and suffering they c
an before they die. And I will leave your Shadow for last so he can watch everyone he knows and loves die painfully, knowing that fate is coming his way.’

  ‘No!’ She couldn’t stand the thought of Iain being hurt, in pain. ‘I’ll fight you.’

  ‘You won’t win. You know I’ve always been stronger than you.’

  ‘This is wrong. Can’t you see it’s wrong?’

  ‘This is what Morrigan wants.’

  ‘Morrigan is wrong. She’s being controlled by something dark that cares about nothing and no-one, not even her.’

  ‘Liar.’ She winced as his shriek echoed in her head. ‘It loves us. Needs us.’

  ‘It needs you, but it doesn’t love you. It doesn’t care about you at all. It even made Morrigan break her own law. Blood matters. It’s always been her most sacred tenet and yet she’s breaking it even now asking you to force me to do this. By using me in this way.’ There was a pause. Was she getting through to him? ‘You know I’m right, Cain.’

  ‘No. No. She isn’t breaking her laws. She cares about them still. She told me what you said about River and Skye can’t be true. That monster isn’t related to her. Her sister would never have done such a thing as to mate with an animal. And who would know better than our mistress? It’s the Were who lie.’

  ‘Oh, Cain.’ She pressed her hand against her lips to stop them from trembling. ‘You’ve been brainwashed. We all have been. By Morrigan and her need for revenge.’ She gestured over her shoulder. ‘These are good people. They don’t deserve to be destroyed.’

  ‘They aren’t people. And the witches who side with them deserve anything and everything our mistress metes out to them.’

  She closed her eyes and cried inside for the boy who had been her brother. He was obviously long gone and in his place was this cold, implacable man filled with hatred and a borrowed need for revenge that was based on a lie. But he was so twisted, he would never see it. Sighing, she opened her eyes and, unable to look at his body, stared at the wall. She had to find out why he was so certain he would still be of use to Morrigan after she brought him back to his body. ‘It won’t matter if you have me or not. The Were will never let you leave here. You are their prisoner.’