Fur, Fangs and All (The Elementals Book 2)

by Meredith Allen Conner

  Sucking it up, she turned to face the others. The room caught her attention first. Last time she’d been in this room, she’d nearly leveled it.

  Now, she couldn’t see a speck of dust, much less any resemblance to the destruction she’d caused. It certainly paid to have money.

  She centered her attention on Cam, standing near the window. She wondered if he deliberately stood in profile so his scar would be less noticeable.

  “So,” she began in her best cheerleading voice, “What’s this all about?”

  Cam’s eyes crinkled slightly, before he said, “A couple things. First, I’ve been doing some research.”

  Something about the tone of his voice caused Livie’s stomach to flip flop. Damn it all, she was finally getting back to her normal self. Aiming for the deep breathing technique touted by self-help gurus, she sucked in a lung-full of air.

  Thick, muscled arms wrapped around her waist. Her back met solid heat. She exhaled heavily.

  “I’ve checked our records for as far back as I can.” Cam eyed Sela then Livie. “Our written history dates back to the Middle Ages. The first recording is from 775 – around the time of Charlemagne.”

  Livie glanced at Sela, she shrugged back. Shar-who? She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been in school and catching up on history had never been a top priority.

  “Our clan has always been more concerned with survival than documenting events,” he continued.

  Livie and Sela both nodded. They understood that all too well.

  “Makes sense,” Sela chimed in. “You can’t write in your diary if you’re dead.” She glanced up at Mac. “Who is Sharrymane?” she whispered.

  Livie perked up. Was this why Cam had called them together? Did this Sharry—whoever have something to do with their long lost past?

  She listened attentively for Mac’s answer. Roc tugged her in closer. She scowled trying to stay focused on Mac and Sela as they . . . whispered to each other from the other side of the room.

  Cheeze-its.

  She could hear them without even trying. She had heightened senses. Like a werewolf. Or the mate of a werewolf.

  Roc, Cam and Mac all shared a look. What?

  “Never mind,” Cam said. “It’s not important. What I am trying to say is that ever since then, our history makes mention of the Elements. That is, up until five hundred years ago when we lost track of them.” He paused, eyeing Sela and Livie for a moment. “All four Elements.”

  “So?” Sela asked impatiently.

  Four Elements. Water, wind, earth and fire. Three sisters. Nausea rolled through her. Dear god, what had her mother done?

  Roc rubbed his chin over her hair, offering what comfort he could.

  “Sela, there are three of you, but four Elements.” Cam said patiently.

  “I know that.” Sela huffed. “I asked you about that. You said you were not wrong about us controlling the Elements. Are you saying that you were wrong? Are we just freaks of nature after all?”

  Livie early doubled over at the terror in her sister’s voice. She’d known of Sela’s fears, but to see them head on . . . would they ever be free of their past?

  “No, Sela, that’s not what I am saying at all.” Cam rushed to reassure her. “You and Livie both control powerful Elements. When we find Rea, I am positive that she will control one of the other two Elements.”

  Sela sagged in Mac’s arms. Roc tightened his grip until Livie had to push against him in order to breathe.

  “That leaves one more Element unaccounted for.” The jagged scar along his cheek turned white. “Everything that I’ve read states that the four Elements always reside in four sisters. You and Livie have only ever mentioned Rea.”

  “That’s right.” Sela’s eyes ping-ponged between Livie and Cam. “We’re triplets. It’s just the three of us.”

  The tendons in Cam’s jaw clenched. Livie took pity on him.

  “He’s saying there is another sister, Seals.” Her mouth felt like sandpaper. “We have another sister.”

  Sela gasped, her face drained of color.

  She’d rather face the Order any day than this. Livie didn’t doubt Cam. She knew all too well the nightmare their mother had been. She would not have any qualms about casually giving away a daughter. She’d never wanted any of them. The only question was – why get rid of one, why not all of them?

  Her knees threatened to buckle. “I’ve got you.” Roc murmured. She knew he did. The strength in his embrace held her upright, seeping into her.

  Livie forced her legs to quit trembling. She would not meltdown again. She’d had enough of that crap.

  “Do you . . .” She swallowed, tried again. “Do you have any idea who or where she is?”

  Cam shook his head, his jaw so tight Livie heard his teeth grind. “No. I’m sorry.”

  She nodded absently, her mind whirling as she tried to remember something, anything their mother might have said or done that would help them.

  “We have to find her,” Cam emphasized. “In the past, when one of your relatives came into their power, the others followed suit.”

  Oh shit.

  “Hell.” Roc growled. “That would be a disaster.”

  Mac picked up a still shaken Sela and began pacing back and forth across the room.

  “I don’t understand.” Livie hated her sister’s too quiet voice. “We can defend ourselves better once we have use of our Element.”

  “We can, Seals, but if our sister is out there alone, without a clue that she can manipulate either earth or fire,” She sighed, unable to imagine the scope of the damage just waiting to happen. “She’s a walking time-bomb.”

  A swing of her arm indicated the entire study. “I’ve always known that I would control an Element and look what happened here.” Bitterness edged her tone. “Yeah, I really control the wind.”

  She glanced up at the freshly painted ceiling. It had nearly crushed Sela.

  “How is this other sister supposed to take charge of her Element if she doesn’t even know she has it?” Livie hadn’t ever wanted to use her power. Not simply in terms of good or bad. She hadn’t wanted to use it period.

  Sela and Rea didn’t view it as an ego trip either. Hard to build up self-esteem when they’d been constantly berated. Unwanted and hunted, their Elements were at best tools to be used for protection. At worst the source of every hardship they’d ever faced.

  What would their unknown sister view it as?

  “How do we locate her?”

  “Where were you born?” Cam asked. “We can start from there.”

  Livie sighed. It just got better and better. They were going to hunt for the proverbial needle in a haystack the size of the planet. “We don’t know. We don’t have birth certificates either.”

  Furious curses issued forth above her. Roc picked her up and settled into the corner of the couch, pushing her head into his chest as he continued to vent. “It’s incredible that you were able to survive this long.” He snarled.

  Oddly, his anger soothed her. Maybe she wasn’t quite so unlovable if he could get this furious on her behalf?

  Something to think about. Later.

  “I bet your birth certificate is fake too.” She didn’t need an answer to that one.

  He scowled. “It’s different when you’re a . . .”

  “Do not say man.” Livie and Sela said together.

  Running a hand down her back, he said positively, “You could never stand against me.”

  Granted. However . . . “Most men out there are not six and a half foot tall werewolves.” She shook her head. Now was not the time. “Bottom line is we did survive.”

  Placing the sweetest kiss imaginable on her forehead, he husked, “For which I will be forever grateful.”

  Her heart stuttered. Was he . . . Was he truly beginning to care for her? She tried to swallow around the lump in her throat and discovered she couldn’t. Livie turned, seeking refuge for a moment in the broad expanse of his chest.
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br />   “We can hire one of the fairy detectives to find out what they can.” Mac said impatiently. “You mentioned a couple of things, Cam. What’s the other one?”

  Sela had described Mac once as someone who dove into battle headfirst. At this moment, Livie was very grateful for it.

  “I think I may know where Rea is.”

  Chapter Twenty

  “You know where Rea is?”

  On a scale of one to ten decibels, Roc figured Sela’s shriek hit somewhere around two hundred fourteen.

  Livie flinched in his arms. He rubbed the tender skin just below her ears, knowing she hadn’t had time to adjust to her new sensitivity.

  Brows drawn together as if in pain, Cam nodded. He quickly held up a hand before Sela could emit another ear piercing scream. “At least, I’m fairy sure I know where she is.”

  The subtle shifting of her weight distracted Roc from Cam for a moment. Gray eyes wide with hope, Livie’s gaze was glued to his Wolven.

  His chest tightened. Livie and her sisters should have been coddled from birth. Taught from an early age how to control and manage the incredible force they held within.

  Instead they’d been abused and neglected. Hunted like animals. Livie viewed her Element as something awful.

  Knowing the little bits and pieces of her life, he couldn’t say he blamed her.

  “I placed a tracking device on one of the vehicles when we met with the Order. Shortly afterwards, that car drove to California. It’s still there. I’ve made some inquiries and more members of the Order have been arriving in the last couple of days.”

  “You didn’t mention this tracking device before.” Roc said stiffly.

  Eyes hooded, Cam looked at him and then Mac. “No. I didn’t.”

  Setting Livie carefully on the cushion next to him, he rose slowly. The fabric of his shirt tightened around his chest while he fought for control.

  “You used our mates.” Sharp claws dug into his palms as his rage mounted. “You used them to distract the Order so you could put a fucking GPS on one of their cars.” He snarled. “That’s the reason why you wanted them at that meet. To use them.”

  Blood dripping down her skin. Shoulder dislocated. Wavering on her feet as she fought.

  He wrapped his hand around his Wolven’s neck, so enraged he didn’t remember moving.

  “You used Livie.”

  A soft hand stroked over his chest. Shocked, he glanced down. She’d never touched him voluntarily before. His beast frightened her. His wicked claws and deadly fangs terrified her. So why was she trying to put her body between two of them?

  Both his and Cam’s claws were out, as well as their fangs, and from the gruffness in his voice he knew his face had begun to distort.

  She put her hands on his face, her skin cool. “It’s all right.”

  He snapped his muzzle toward Cam. “No. It’s not.” She’d suffered enough. He wouldn’t let her be used. Not even by his Wolven.

  “Roc.” Her touch light as a feather, he let her turn his head toward her. “I would do anything to find my sister.”

  Tears filled her eyes. She blinked rapidly. Determined, he knew, not to show that hint of weakness. Releasing Cam, he cradled her to him, stunned again by the sense of rightness that came over him when he held her close.

  A hand gripped his shoulder. He met Cam’s determined stare.

  Hell and damnation.

  An abrupt nod was all he could handle. As Wolven, Cam put the safety of the clan first. Always. Sela and Livie were now part of their clan. Cam would not consider them completely safe until he had all of the sisters under his protection.

  Hopefully, in a few hundred years, the image of her injured and bloodied body would not haunt him quite as much.

  “Where exactly in California?”

  “San Francisco,” Cam said, eyes pained. “Chinatown.”

  Could it get any worse? The clan had chosen this location in Southeastern Idaho for several reasons, the two most important being the large game population and the lack of humans.

  In the past few decades some humans had moved closer, but not enough to worry about. The ones that tried to move into their town were subtly discouraged.

  The massive population of San Francisco posed several problems. It was much harder to hide their Were forms in a concrete jungle, and with the Order involved, it was almost a guarantee that they would shift.

  More people equaled more scents as well. He could track a deer from over three miles in the woods and a hunter even further out. But add a group of hunters together and it became slightly difficult.

  And Chinatown? Talk about muddying the damn waters. The spices alone would reek havoc on his nose.

  Hell.

  “You’re sure she’s there?” Livie asked in the voice of someone who’d had her hopes dashed one too many times.

  Cam’s eyes softened. “No, Livie. I’m sorry. I can’t promise you anything. They could be preparing for some sort of meeting. But this is the same behavior the Order exhibited when they located you in New Orleans.”

  Livie winced at the reminder then her hands clenched Roc’s biceps hard.

  “They’re a single-minded group – the Order. Their priority is to track each of you down and capture you.” Cam frowned. “Since we just discovered this group, I don’t know if this is how they have always operated or if this is something new.” He ran a quick hand through his hair. The strands stood up on end and Roc realized he had never seen Cam so distracted. Usually Cam looked like someone who could enter the marines without the buzzed haircut. Something else had to be bothering Cam, but what?

  “They’ve always found me,” Livie offered. “Other than New Orleans, I don’t think I’ve spent more than a few months in one place since we separated.”

  Sela shrugged and nodded.

  “And New Orleans was definitely the exception.” Livie sighed. “It’s easier to get and stay lost there.” Sorrow clouded her words. “They’ve had so much to deal with. So much chaos.”

  He’d see to it she had nothing to worry about after they found Rea.

  “I always found a quick job and low rent digs because I knew I would have to move soon. I carried everything in a backpack. When the Order came for me, I was always ready to fly.” Livie looked at Sela, eyebrows raised in question.

  Wrapped in Mac’s arms, Sela blinked rapidly for a moment. “Yeah,” she finally said softly.

  Mac stroked her back, hands moving constantly as if he could keep the memories at bay. Just like his own, Roc acknowledged ruefully.

  Livie’s still too-thin frame shook slightly under his touch. She’d put on a few pounds in the last several days. It looked damn good on her, but she had a ways to go yet.

  With another few weeks of rest and regular meals she would be up to a healthy weight. He looked forward to cuddling her lush ass then.

  “When do we leave?”

  Roc tightened his grip on her waist. “What do you mean we?” She grunted and he immediately softened his touch. “You’re not going anywhere, Livie. I’ll find Rea, but you’ll stay here.”

  She snorted.

  His fangs lengthened in response. Did she not understand what it meant to be the mate of a werewolf? He would not allow her to be in danger.

  “How exactly do you think I survived without you all these years?”

  He butted her nose with his. “Not very well.” She flushed. He bit back his next few words. “Damn it, Livie . . .”

  “Livie and Sela have to come, Roc.” He snapped his head up in Cam’s direction, but his Wolven didn’t notice, too busy wrestling through a set of papers on Mac’s desk.

  The sun peeked through the clouds at that moment, shining through the big picture window. A flash caught his attention. Mac’s sword displayed on the wall.

  The sword slicing down toward his neck.

  Hell. He forced the image down. He did not have time for that right now.

  Cam turned back, holding up a map. “This is Chinatown.
It’s roughly one square mile, but that mile is made up of over one hundred thousand people, homes and businesses.”

  The skin on the back of his neck itched at the thought of so many people living together in such a small space. More than a mile separated his home from Mac’s, his closest neighbor.

  “It won’t be easy to track Rea there.” Cam studied the map. “The Order just started to narrow their search to Chinatown a few hours ago. We’ll have to move fast and split up once we get there if we want to find Rea first.” He stared at Roc then Mac. “It’s the same plan as before. Rea won’t trust us. We need Livie and Sela with us if we’re going to bring her home.”

  Shit.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Livie pressed her face to the window, wishing she could roll it down and breathe everything in. She couldn’t begin to imagine the scents that abounded here.

  Someone had clearly disregarded the rental car’s no-smoking policy. The old, stale smell of the used smoke hovered over the upholstery and filled the air, seeping into her lungs and nostrils, even coating her tongue.

  “Why can’t we roll down the windows?” She groaned, hand pressed to her nose.

  Cam muttered something. Her window slid down and she eagerly stuck her face outside, inhaling heavily. She nearly gagged, throwing herself back into the SUV and onto Roc’s lap.

  “Roll it up,” Roc barked at Cam. As soon as the window sealed shut, he removed his hand from her mouth and nose. Eyes watering, she blinked rapidly, stomach rolling.

  “Your senses are too strong right now,” Roc murmured, stroking her hair. “You’re not used to it, yet. And we’re nearing Chinatown – you’re on overload.”

  “Add to that, we’re traveling fairly fast. It’s a sensory bombardment.” Cam stated.

  “Couldn’t you have told me that before you rolled the window down?” Livie grouched. She pressed a hand to her stomach, trying to quell the tossing and turning.

  She narrowed her eyes at Roc. “I thought dogs love to hang their heads out windows.” She’d never had a pet, but she’d seen enough postcards and photos to get the idea.