Brilliant Heart (Dark Wing Series Book 2)

by Ellie Pond

  “Doctor.” First Officer Luca Laurit smiled down at the two of them. “I seem to be breaking up displays of affection from the Larsen clan all day, every day.”

  “Sounds like a personal problem.” Tad smirked and inwardly hoped the giant male knew it was a joke.

  “Sorry, Luca.” Elizabeth squeezed Tad’s hand.

  “No worries. It’s nice to see you out in the fresh air, Doctor. Have a nice night.” He squinted at Tad but waved to Elizabeth.

  “What are you doing tonight?” Elizabeth’s fingers intertwined with his.

  “Right before I get to that, I want to tell you something else first.”

  She leaned back. “That sounds ominous.”

  “Yes and no. I want to tell you now. Shit. I don’t want to tell you at all but . . . after we left the twins yesterday, I went back and talked to the captain.”

  “I’m hoping you’re going to tell me it was about a leak in your cabin or a bad plate of fish in the Hoard restaurant.”

  “I’m afraid not.”

  “Tad.”

  “I’m sorry. In retrospect, I shouldn’t have.”

  “What did you say?” Her cherry lips turned downward.

  “I asked him to listen to what you had to say. That you didn’t have time to do all the work. Somehow he translated that to you needing more space.”

  “I don’t need you fighting my battles for me. I can handle the captain myself.” She pursed her lips.

  “I understand. Afterwards, I thought how I would feel if someone did something like this to me, and ‘pissed’ was the answer.”

  “Don’t get me wrong. The lab is fudge-tastic, and I will forever be grateful to you for being an advocate for it, for me. But you can’t control me. And this doesn’t give you permission to alpha yourself all over my job.”

  His wolf sulked and whimpered at him. What the fuck? His chest ached. She wasn’t berating him. And he’d had clients scream in his face without so much as blinking at them. A crack opened and he couldn’t breathe. They were on the deck of the ship, but he could have been in an elevator headed to the 500th floor. Things were slamming at him like before Violet built his ward up again. He bit his lip. “I understand.” But he didn’t, not in the least. He pushed back from the table.

  “Where are you going?” Her voice was a whisper.

  “I need to go.” He shook his head at her and stormed away.

  “Tad?” she called out after him, but he didn’t turn. Running down the six flights of crew stairs was a good warm-up, he told himself. Shit. He stopped on the deck of the cage match auditorium. His yell echoed in the stairwell. “Shit. Shit. Shit,” he panted. He was fucking out of shape. And his wolf was pissed as hell at him. He shoved him to the corner, to the box he always closed on his wolf.

  28

  Stronger Together

  The speaker above Tad’s bench clicked on.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, shifters of all types, I welcome you to tonight's matches,” Sutton said. The roar of the crowd came through the wall. “Day six—we’re not even halfway through, so much to see and do.” He paused. A thunder of clapping shook the wall this time.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, tonight is a full roster, with a last-minute match added before the main event. I’m excited to tell you about the reason why you are all HERE. It will keep you on the edge of your seats, or maybe you should wait to hear about it . . .”

  “Now, now, now,” the crowd chanted. Tad spread his legs and tried to get comfortable on the red bench he sat on.

  The lynx shifter with blond floppy hair popped around the corner. “Larsen, you’re up.”

  The lynx opened the door to the arena. A security guard nodded at him as he entered. Sweat dripped from his neck. His wolf pushed against his skin. At least one of them was ready for this.

  “Our heavyweights tonight are two bears from opposite coasts. What coast will win? You’ll have to wait to find out.” The crowd booed. “Now we’re getting in deep. Two amazing hunters. Fangs and teeth and fur. Two cerebral betas. There will be some serious strategy going on for this match. Shifters, ladies and gentlemen, I present Tad from Pennsylvania and Landon from Oklahoma.”

  Kanye West’s song ‘Stronger’ blasted through the speakers. The door opened to the end of the tunnel.

  “That’s you, big guy; you’re up.” The floppy-haired lynx shifter pointed him down the caged tunnel that led to the arena.

  Tad nodded, and doubt churned in his mind. His wolf pushed back and flung him down the tunnel. Out of the tunnel, the arena lighting left the crowd in darkness. The arena mat was surrounded on three sides by bars and an imitation rock wall at the back—one they weren’t allowed to use until they shifted in round three.

  Tad’s opponent mirrored himself. His wolf pushed hard against his skin. The first round in skin, he chanted back. The referee held both of their hands in the air. Tad planted his feet firmly. The referee sent them to their corners. Landon pulled his shirt off. The crowd of human females screamed. Tad pulled his off too. More screams. He didn’t roll his eyes. The bell rang and he flung himself to the middle of the ring. Landon landed a punch to his gut, sending him flying backwards across the cage, towards the platform rocks.

  Tad stumbled up. He shook his head, dazed from the blow. He took two unstable steps forward towards his opponent. As he reached Landon, Tad threw a sharp jab, cutting across his jaw, sending him backwards. Landon stumbled and bounced off of the cage into Tad, who caught him before throwing him backwards. He whimpered. A sluggishness came over him, like swimming underwater. He found it hard to move.

  Tad jabbed Landon repetitively in the gut before they separated. Tad took a step backwards, and Landon surged forward, swinging widely. His head cleared; his fist made contact. Tad’s eyes glazed over. Both of them gasped for air. The referee now held Tad’s hand up in the air. He wouldn’t have thought himself the winner of the first round. Two broken ribs and the gash across his eye made it hard to see.

  An arena assistant squirted water at him; some even made it to his mouth. A hand reached through the bars and grabbed his ankle. He jumped forwards, away from the hand. A security guard pulled the woman away from the bars. Tad watched her go. The bell rang, and Tad had barely stepped forward before Landon knocked him over and straddled him. He swung punches at him at a furious rate. Tad’s arms protected his face. Tad bucked up and Landon went flying, but not before the bell rang. Shit. The referee held Landon’s hand in the air.

  “Next round is in fur. Shifters, take your corners. Shift at the second bell.” The referee pulled the cage door closed behind himself. From the rounds he’d watched earlier in the cruise, Tad knew the second bell was random. Two minutes or ten—the fighters didn’t know. The first bell of round three rang. No shifting until the next bell, he told himself. Next bell, he pushed at his wolf to wake him. Tad focused on Landon’s feet. They were his tell, pointing to his actions. Tad dashed towards Landon, and the second bell rang.

  Landon’s black wolf ripped out of him before Tad had a chance to remove his pants. Before Tad could tell his wolf to shift, Landon’s claws sank into Tad’s skin. Tad grabbed the wolf’s hind leg, pushing him away as he shifted. Slow and clunky. The shift took time. Landon’s claws raked down his torso. Blood trailed down his haunches. Tad’s shaggy hackles stood straight up towards the sky. His lips parted backward, showing his canine teeth. Landon's larger wolf with jet-black, sleek, smooth hair returned the gesture, growling at Tad from the opposite side of the arena. The two wolves circled each other slowly, growling, coming closer and closer.

  The crowd screamed and yelled, some yelling Landon's name, some yelling Tad's name back and forth. The crowd grew louder and louder as the wolves tightened their circle. Landon thrust into Tad’s side. Tad swerved at the last moment. Landon connected with Tad’s back right leg. Landon’s teeth grazed him. Tad circled back and darted across the mat as he slid across the edge of the match. Tad jumped onto Landon's back, sinking his large muzzle into his
opponent’s neck. Landon's paws collapsed onto the mat. A low moaning sound rumbled from Landon’s core. The referee blew the whistle from outside the cage.

  Tad reluctantly lifted his canines from Landon's neck. He separated with hesitation at first. Reluctantly, he made it to his side of the cage mat. Both wolves paced in their corners. The crowd grew louder. The thirty seconds between rounds felt like hours.

  Blood from his torso dripped down to his front paws. He panted. His eyes ran wildly around the arena. With a sense of desperation, he tried to control his wolf. The bell for the fourth round rang. Tad jumped. The two wolves circled each other again. Canines flashed. Snarls and growls grew louder. Loud enough that Tad couldn’t hear the roaring of the crowd. He scurried across the mat as he jumped on top of the first landing. Landon bounded past him to the second, but Tad caught his leg and ripped at Landon's soft underbelly as the wolf launched over him. Landon howled in pain and landed on his side near Tad. The ledge where Tad stood was big enough for only one wolf; the one above it was large enough for two to maneuver. Tad jumped up just as Landon found his footing.

  Landon thrust forward and sank his muzzle over Tad’s neck. Tad kicked at him with his back legs, and Landon skidded across the platform to the far edge. Teeth bared, he backed Landon into the rocks. With a swift move, Tad tried for Landon’s neck but failed. Landon retaliated and failed when Tad twisted out from his grasp. Tad fell on Landon. He thrashed, but Tad held him tight to the ground. He tried to reach for Landon's underbelly, but this time Landon knew what was happening. He caught Tad's muzzle with his own. Tad shook free. Blood cascaded from his torn lip.

  Tad landed hard on Landon and locked him to the ground. His muzzle ripped at Landon’s back. Landon rolled, and the two lay on the mat side by side, their claws ripping at each other. Their claws continued slicing until the bell rang. Tad rolled away and limped down to his corner, Landon doing the same.

  “Round four, no victor. Keep it fair. Both of you.”

  Tad paced. A chuff came from his wolf. A disgruntled chuff. The bell rang, the break over.

  “Round five,” the referee said from outside the cage.

  Tad’s ears perked up. His mate was here, her smell clear—strong cherry and meatloaf. The bell rang. He bounded to the top rock. Landon followed to the second rock, nipping up at him. Searching the crowd, it didn’t take long to see her, hands in her lab coat pockets and a scowl contouring her face. Mate, his wolf resonated. Mate, he agreed.

  The first thing that the two of them agreed upon. He needed her. Not because fate said so. No, while he’d been thinking of the two of them as the same, they were anything but.

  Landon snarled his way up the rocks. Tad didn’t tell his wolf to attack, and the wolf didn’t possess him as it had in the past. Instead, they leapt as one. Wholeness overwhelmed him. That and fur ripping through his mouth. Landon pulled away, tearing a fresh hole in his shoulder before he backed down to the mat.

  The moment passed, and Tad’s humanity took hold again. But for a brief moment, they were one. Tad jumped from the top rock, landing on Landon’s tail before knocking him to the ground. He pounced and pinned Landon’s neck to the ground. He needed this over. They needed their mate, not he needed his mate. It was a simple thing his father had told him as a child: he was the wolf, and the wolf was him. Thirty-two years later, he realized his dad was right. Where the witch fit in, he didn’t have a fucking clue. But despite the spells pulling him apart, he joined his halves together. There was no shame over his wolf anymore, only pride and honor.

  The bell sounded. Tad rolled off Landon. They both lay on the arena floor bleeding and panting. His leg lay at an odd angle. He took a breath in, the lime and cherry scent gone. Stretchers came out. Mike shook his head at him as he loaded Tad onto the stretcher, still in fur.

  Guess I have more in common with Duncan than I thought. And he passed out.

  29

  Not on My Floor

  She tamped down the urge to scream at him; he didn’t need her doubt. He needed to heal. She’d yell later.

  “What the hell were you doing out there?” It came out, there was no stopping it.

  With glazed-over blue eyes, he lifted his head a fraction off the table before dropping it back. He blinked and closed them. His fur was matted with blood. She wanted to yell, you might have died!

  But in two years, no one had come close to dying in a cage match on the Dark Wing. Tad’s cousin’s match was the first that had ever been stopped. She’d seen shifter healing save some horrendous injuries. Shifter healing, she reminded herself.

  She put her hand on his leg. Blood oozed from a deep cut that went to the bone. But she didn’t treat shifters in fur. He needed to shift back. She rubbed his leg again. His eyes popped open.

  “Tad, honey. You need to shift back. I can’t treat you in fur.” His eyes closed again in a firm ‘screw you.’ He was losing a lot of blood. And while Elizabeth didn’t doubt that he would be fine in the long haul, she wanted him fine now. Quickly, so she could kick him in the ass. She snatched the squeeze bottle of cleansing solution and rinsed out the deep wound even though he was still in fur. He lifted his head and glared.

  “Nurse Smithfield, can you get in here, please?” The puma padded in with quiet steps, so quietly that Elizabeth barely heard her. Tad opened one eye.

  “Wolf, you're in trouble,” Anna grunted.

  Elizabeth shook her head no.

  “What do you mean he's not in trouble? He's bleeding all over your table. He better be in trouble. You need to shift your furry behind back. I need to clean you up, and I’m not cleaning up your wolf, Tad.” Anna bustled around the room and cleaned up the floor. “Mike is helping Katie with the other one.” Anna turned back to Tad and whispered in his ear.

  “We need you to start healing yourself. Or we are gonna have a few words when you shift back.”

  Elizabeth put pressure on Tad’s leg with a large gauze pad. “Hold this for me?” Elizabeth asked Anna as she pulled out more pads for when he shifted. Hopefully soon. Tad’s wolf’s eyes followed her around the exam room as she gathered the things she thought she would need. “Tad, honey, can you shift back for me?”

  “Dripping blood onto my exam room floor. You want me to mop it up? He needs to stop bleeding on my floor right now. He needs to shift and stop bleeding on my floor,” Anna yelled at the wolf.

  Elizabeth didn’t remember Anna talking to any other match patients this way. His eyes fluttered open again. Bones creaked and cracked into position as he lay there on the bed. A full-grown naked shifter.

  “Welcome back, Mr. Larsen,” Anna said.

  Anna was holding onto his leg even through the change. Elizabeth didn't think it was possible.

  “You do know how to listen. Good.” Anna began cleaning the gash on his leg.

  “You didn’t give me much of a choice.” His voice was hoarse and gravelly.

  “Glad to see that half of you is agreeable.” Anna put her hands on her hips.

  “Aren't you supposed to be fixing me?”

  “You'll heal on your own, and you know it.” Anna dressed a smaller wound on the opposite leg from where Elizabeth stitched the deep fissure. Elizabeth nodded to the saline bags in the corner. Anna hooked up a bag, and while her disapproving swagger distracted Tad, Elizabeth added antibiotics and some pain medication to make him sleep. It also tended to make the match patients more docile. Tad might not remember much about the next hours.

  Anna pointed her finger at him. “You—you need to heal yourself. Stop leaking on my floor and get out of my infirmary. You scared the crap out of your mate. I will not have you doing that again.”

  “Anna.” Elizabeth broke her silence.

  “See you both later.” Nurse Smithfield thundered out of the room. Elizabeth watched her go before pivoting back to Tad.

  She reached for a bottle of antiseptic from the cart next to the bed and rinsed a wound that stretched from his clavicle to shoulder. “This is deep, deeper
than your leg was. It might sting a little.” She squirted on the wound, and Tad hissed.

  “Shit.”

  “I warned you.”

  “I think you are enjoying that too much.”

  “Perhaps.” She shrugged and wrapped his ribs, although those would heal before morning, if he was anything like other shifters. With a quick dab, she cleaned his top lip. She put a few stitches in a small gash above his eye. It didn’t need it necessarily, but the kit was out, and it would keep it from scarring. Tad followed her every movement. Last fall, there’d been a doctor who she treated and everything she did he had a comment for. Not Tad. Elizabeth sensed he trusted her. An urge to do something questionable to see if he would speak up overcame her, but she couldn’t let herself.

  With the last gash stitched up, she wiped the blood away from his hairline. She grabbed him a warm blanket from the warming oven in the lower cabinet. She tucked in his feet and wrapped him up as he had so expertly wrapped up the twins earlier in the week.

  Tad snuggled into the blanket. “Has anyone told you Anna has a horrible bedside manner?”

  “No, you're the first. Patients love her.” Elizabeth peeled off her gloves.

  “You’re mad.” He focused on her as she cleaned up the room.

  “No. Not mad. Frustrated.”

  “Okay.” He played with the edge of the rapidly cooling blanket. “I would be mad.”

  “Tad, I’m not you.”

  “I get that now—and that’s a good thing. That first dinner we had, I thought, here is me but in female form. I will finally understand a female. How wrong I was. I’m truly sorry.”

  Her face scrunched up. “I’m no saint either, Tad. But I get that some strange things are blowing up your world. Mate, family, pack politics and . . .” she whispered. “Magic. I understand. I questioned your wolf. You took action. An action my friend helped you out with . . .” She glanced into the hall. She would have a chat with Oliver later. He didn’t need to find a last-minute cage match spot for Tad.