Mystic Realms: A Limited Edition Collection

by Nicole Morgan

  He laughed outright. “Some would see it that way. I prefer to be under no one’s law other than my own.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “So, we cool?”

  “One last question. Have you always known about me?”

  “Even before we first met, I met your father.”

  She frowned, the thought occurred to her and not for the first time, how her father had been trying to pair them. “He brought you into the fold for me, didn’t he?”

  “That might have been his plan, but it was never mine and I think we both figured that one out a long time ago.”

  This time, she grinned into the phone even though he couldn’t see it, she knew he heard it in her voice. “Okay, true enough.”

  “What about you and Ethan?”

  “Not going there.”

  “Fair enough. Now, about Mrs. Ingle Graves. She made bail this morning. Her son is still sitting in jail though, facing several changes and was unable to post bail. I would go after his mother myself, but I’m actually on my way out of town. So, you’re on your own.”

  “Wouldn’t be the first time.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  The distinctive roar of a motorcycle headed in her direction made her shut off her car engine. She didn’t even have to check her rearview mirror to know who’d pulled in behind her. Another minute and she would’ve been gone, but there’d be no way really, to avoid this confrontation. It had to happen sooner rather than later. Looked like now. She sighed and got out of the car.

  “What the hell is going on?” Ethan’s voice might have sounded soft, but such control from him broadcasted his anger to her loud and clear. He’d taken off his helmet and stepped off the bike to face her. “I got up this morning to find you gone, no sign of you in my bed or in my house. Not even a note to tell me why you left. Then, when I try to call you, you’re not answering your cell.” He raked his fingers through his now long loose hair. His gaze locked with hers, the anger as well as the hurt evident in his eyes, clear for her to see . “You’re no coward Edge, fucking tell me.”

  “I tried to tell you last night, but you didn’t want to listen.”

  “Oh, I heard you just fine and that’s a bunch of bullshit. Maybe I was wrong, maybe you are scared. Well, hell so am I, but you don’t see me running from what we could have together.”

  She sighed. “I don’t have time for this. I’ve got to go track down your step momma.”

  He frowned. “Beth? Why? Isn’t she in jail?”

  “No. She made bail this morning and the Clan has marked her.”

  “I have no idea what you mean by her being marked. Nor, is our conversation over.”

  “For now, it is. Look, I have work to do. I earn my keep.” She knew she angered him even more with her remark, the way his eyes narrowed and turned a golden blue. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean that, I’m sure you work hard at what you do too. But really, I’ve got to go.”

  “Fine,” he growled out. “Then, I’ll go with you and you can explain what’s going on with us and dear old Beth, on the way to where ever it is we’re going.”

  She hesitated only a moment, then nodded her head. Either that or argue and she didn’t have the energy. They had a long drive, they would have time to talk and maybe if he saw her on the job, for what she really did, he’d leave her alone. The judgment the Clan made against his stepmother meant death and she would be the executioner. Charged with carrying out her sentence. Her heart hurt at the thought that the only way to let him go was to show him her other nature. The kind that could and would take a life. Not without remorse though, never that, but he didn’t need to know how much. “Move your bike and you can park it here.”

  In no time, they were past DC, then onto Route 50 and heading toward Annapolis. Cole’s information had Beth going that way after she left the jail. Her latest lover had a boat moored at the docks in the downtown historic section of Annapolis and Cole thought she might try to leave the area from there by sea.

  “Okay now, be honest with me,” Ethan said breaking into her thoughts.

  “I am. We come from completely different worlds. You’re bottles of Champagne, I’m a beer. When I splurge it’s a twenty dollar bottle of Chardonnay, on sale is even better.”

  “I hate Champagne.”

  She smiled. “That’s not the point and you know it. My family lives in a three-bedroom two bath, single family home in a working class neighborhood with most of the same people who lived there when I was a kid. You live in a house that can swallow my block. We had a nice yard, so there were always neighborhood barbecues in the summer and everyone brought something to contribute, we didn’t have our meals catered and served from fancy restaurants or caterers. My favorite scent of summer is still my dad grilling burgers and hotdogs on the barbecue out back.”

  “Mine is cut grass.”

  “Which I bet you’ve never mowed a day in your life. Look, I might have travelled all over the country and parts of the world, but not the same parts you’ve seen, certainly not first class, and I was working while I did it. I’ve seen things, done things you can’t imagine, Leo or not.”

  Ethan remained quiet for a moment.

  She could tell by the frown on his face he really thought about the things she said.

  “So what,” he finally stated. “Still doesn’t change who we fundamentally are.” He raised his hand to touch her hair. “Yes, I’ve had a different kind of upbringing and life style, but that doesn’t mean I can’t bring something to a barbecue, something that I didn’t order from a restaurant.”

  “Don’t tell me you cook.”

  “No, but I know where the takeout potato salad is at the neighborhood grocery store.”

  Edge laughed. God, what this man did to her. She couldn’t remember the last time a lover made her laugh.

  “Look, I’m not saying our backgrounds aren’t different,” he continued, “But it doesn’t mean we’re different. So different that we can’t be together, because I want to be with you. I want to be with you more than I’ve ever been with anyone in my life, kitty kat. And say what you want. I’m not giving up my wealth nor am I apologizing for it and I’m not giving you up either. And if it’s beer you like, just tell me the brand and I’ll make sure the fridge is stocked with it and if you’d like to invite your folks and their friends from your neighborhood over to my house for a BYOB that would be great too. I love homemade potato salad, hotdogs and hamburgers. And while I won’t fire the gardener, I might be tempted to take a spin on the ride on lawn moor a time or two.”

  She wanted to cry, but she was driving and couldn’t bring herself to say anything because if she opened her mouth, she might sob. After a few deep breaths when she thought she had her emotions under control she said, “That’s only part of it. I’m not—I’m not giving up my job either. I love my job.” God, she couldn’t believe she even contemplated this, but she needed to be honest, had to let him know and see everything. See who and what she really was. Then and only then, would he truly know what having a relationship with him would mean to her.

  “I’m not asking you too,” he replied. “I can see you’re good at what you do. You caught me didn’t you? But I’d just ask that you be careful and I don’t mind coming with you, if and when I can.”

  “I don’t think you have the stomach for this job. Ethan, I don’t only chase fugitives, human fugitives, I also hunt Atrox. Atrox who have been sentenced by the Clan Council of Elders.”

  “So?”

  “Clan council usually only have two types of sentences, there’s only one kind bounty hunters like me enforce.”

  “Wait a second, are you saying one of those sentences is death?”

  She kept her eyes on the road, not brave enough to see the look of disgust she felt sure marred his face. “Yes. I’m the executioner. Your stepmother has been sentenced by Clan law and she’s broken human law, but Clan law will always prevail…it must. She cannot be allowed to be trialed and sentenced.”


  “Secrecy. Of course, she can’t be imprisoned for any length of time.”

  Edge nodded, glad he at least understood.

  “But why you, why do you have to carry it out?”

  She did look at him then and saw the anguish on his face. Finally, finally he understood what she’d been trying to tell him all along. “Because after Cole, I’m the best there is at tracking.”

  “Have you—have you…?”

  “Have I ever killed before? Twice, both sanctioned under Clan law, but I also give the hunted a fair fight. I face them head on.”

  “What?”

  “Well, I’ve done that in the past. I’m stronger than most shifters.”

  “You’re not stronger than me or Cole.”

  “That’s because you’re full shifters. I’d never take on a full shifter like that. I’m not stupid. The shifters I have executed were both partial shifters, like your stepmother.”

  “And if I asked you to give that part of your duties up? The part where you have to execute Clan law, then what?”

  “Then, that means maybe one person goes free who shouldn’t have and is free to kill again.”

  “Why does it have to be you?”

  “There are so few of us.”

  “Funny, seems to be a whole hell of a lot more of us around in the last few days.” He rolled his eyes at her.

  “You know what I mean. There really are just a few hundred of us in existence. There are more of us drawn to this area because of the Council but there are fewer of us in the world.”

  “I understand, really I do. I just wish it wasn’t you who had to do this. Where’s Cole?”

  “He’s hunting down someone else and out of the area. Besides, the order came directly from the Council to me.”

  “The Council can bite me.”

  She grinned, but it really wasn’t funny.

  Silence reigned for the rest of the drive.

  Ethan didn’t know what to think. Even if her background differed from his, he didn’t give a shit. She remained perfect for him. He couldn’t avoid the real question though, could he be involved with someone who killed people for a living? Would he have the same problem if she were a police officer? Put that way, yes. Although for different reasons, then he would just worry about her safety and that she might have to defend herself by killing someone.

  As a Clan executioner, she actively hunted people with the intent to kill them. Atrox who’d broken Clan law and even he knew the prime law was you did not take a life and taking a life for an Atrox meant certain death. Sharon was Atrox, Beth had signed her own death sentence when she killed her.

  He understood all of that. What bothered him is the fact Edge had to be the one to dispense justice. He had trouble dealing with that knowledge, but deal with it he would, because one thing was certain, he would not, could not give up Edge. In a short period of time, she’d gotten into his blood and there was no getting around that. They were compatible, he’d already mated her the Atrox way but was he ready to claim her?

  They found a parking garage near the water and made their way to the dock. A short conversation with the Harbormaster’s Office got them the information they needed, along with the rental of a speedboat. They found that Beth and her current boyfriend just left the dock ten minutes ago. They also had a conversation with the guy at the gas station who told them the boat had fueled up while the owner told him they were headed for one of the islands that had a place to eat on it before heading out to sea.

  The speedboat would be faster than the sailboat Beth was on. Hopefully, they’d be able to catch them still on the island. They did have the general direction Beth’s boat headed along with the name and description of the boat. Since it was midweek and the sun would be setting in another couple of hours, there weren’t a lot of boats out on the water. Something in their favor. Edge kept close to the shore but headed south, toward the nearest island.

  Chapter Fourteen

  They didn’t find the boat docked at the first island stop, but it was moored at the second. Edge pulled up to one of the empty docks. Only one other boat besides the one Beth was on, sat there. Ethan jumped off and tied the boat to the dock, then waited for Edge to turn the engine off.

  Together, they walked over to the boat they thought Beth might be on, but before they even climbed up, they sensed no one on board.

  “I think we missed them,” Ethan voiced his thought.

  “Yeah, I don’t think anyone’s on board either.” She called out a greeting but got no response. “Come on, let’s look around. They couldn’t have gone very far.”

  Ethan glanced around the pier. “The area seems deserted. Not many places to go.”

  One restaurant and a gift shop took up the real estate on the small island. There were a few tables placed in the front, so the patrons had a view of the water. The day seemed warmer than usual, but no one sat on this side of the building.

  They rounded the corner of the restaurant and spied the only occupants at one of the tables. As soon as Beth looked up and saw them, she stood and left the table, heading in the opposite direction. The man with her continued eating. They ignored him and followed her.

  She entered the restaurant, but they couldn’t see her in the empty room. They headed toward the door to the kitchen. Only one person was there and he shook his head at them.

  “Did a woman with blonde hair just walk through here?” Edge asked.

  “Yep. She went that way.” The man held up a wooden spoon and pointed in the direction of a door at the other end of the room.

  “Thanks,” Ethan said taking off in the direction, Edge right on his heels. They pushed the door open. It led right into a driveway but a trash receptacle stood on the other side and just beyond that a short fence, followed by a stretch of sand leading to a wooded area. A flash of yellow told them that’s the way Beth went. They took off running after her, both leaping the fence without breaking stride.

  As fast as Beth ran, they moved faster. It didn’t take them long to corner her at the edge of a cliff. The only way out of there was over the side or past them. Beth wasn’t going to make it past either of them. Ethan glanced behind them, they were relatively screened from any prying eyes by the foliage and there were no ships on this side of the island. The sun would set in a few minutes, giving them further cover in the shadows.

  Beth glanced around wildly, then over the edge to gauge her chances of jumping, but whatever she saw, helped her make up her mind. Crouching into an attack position, she unsheathed her claws. She knew the laws of their kind, as they all did. They could not be jailed. Fight it was. “Bastard,” she hissed at him. “Just like your damn father. But I defeated him in the end, he couldn’t stop me and neither can you.”

  Ethan was just about to unsheathe his own claws when her words made him pause. “What do you mean?” But the ice snaking down his spine told him what her words weren’t quite saying.

  “He thought he was so clever hiding what he was, but I knew. I knew from the first time we met, but he didn’t know about me. For all his damn superiority, he couldn’t even tell cat when he was up close and personal with one.” She laughed but it wasn’t a sound of pleasure. “I knew I just had to bide my time, find some proof to hold over his head to get him to do what I wanted. Him and his damn legacy, he would’ve done anything to protect you and his family legacy. He never even realized I was Atrox too, and had just as much to lose if not more than he did, if I let the world know about us. I knew it would be my own death sentence, if I let the truth out about him out.”

  “But you signed your death sentence anyway?” Edge asked as she stood at his side. Slowly, she began to slide away from him.

  Then, Ethan moved in the other direction.

  Beth now needed to divide her attention between them. She laughed again. “So I did, but that bitch Sharon thought she could get rid of my grandchild and disregard me and my wishes, just like your father. And just like your father, she learned I was not to be ignored. One
way or another I get what I want.”

  “Why didn’t you try to blackmail me?”

  “I didn’t have you on video doing a partial shift,” she snarled. “And I wasn’t sure about you. I couldn’t pick up on your cat, not until last night.”

  “Did you kill my father?” The question came out as a growl, one the woman in front of him should have heeded, but she was oblivious to everyone and everything except her own greed.

  “The fool thought he could go back on our agreement, once he found out about the established Clan in the area, he thought he could appeal to them for help. I had to stop him.”

  Ethan’s claws released and the roar issuing from his throat erupted from the very depths of his soul for the senseless murder of his father, and even for Sharon and her unborn child. He’d begun to shift, even as he leapt in the air. His clothing ripping apart hanging off him, when he heard a faint popping sound coming from his left. The bullet caught him in the side in mid-shift. He landed hard on the ground in time to see Edge and Beth leaping for each other’s throats.

  Ethan couldn’t focus on the women fighting, he needed to take care of the threat to Edge. He turned his head and saw the man Beth had been with, holding a gun in his hand. He realized the man hadn’t fired again, because he didn’t want to chance hitting Beth. Those moments allowed Ethan to catch his breath and shut out the pain. While the man’s attention remained centered on the fight, Ethan rose to his knees fully cat and leapt on the man.

  A swipe of his claw ripped open the man’s jugular. A high pitched scream had him twisting in time to see both Edge and Beth going over the edge of the cliff.

  “NO!” He raced to the ledge, laying flat he shifted back to his human form and peered down.

  Beth’s twisted body lay on the jagged rocks below, water lapping at her legs. Her eyes were open staring straight up at the sky, while blood trickled from her mouth. As the sun lowered beneath the horizon, the light of life left Beth’s eyes.