Mated in Mist

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  But Walker didn’t know that.

  Nor did he take her water away. Instead, he filled her cup again and checked her IV bag. “I don’t know as I’ve met a water witch before,” he said smoothly. “I probably have, but they’re rare, aren’t they?”

  She shook her head. “We’re not as rare as air or spirit witches, but we’re not as prevalent as earth and fire ones. We’re sort of just…in the middle I guess.”

  Walker nodded then leaned against the bed. She was up on one elbow, giving her side a break. “I’m glad we found you when we did, though I’m sure as hell sorry we couldn’t save your brother.”

  A sharp lance to her heart.

  “He was my twin.”

  Walker cursed under his breath. “I’m sorry, Leah. Damn sorry. I’m a triplet myself. I have connections, bonds to the Pack and to my siblings, but there’s something different about how it is with me, Kameron, and Brandon. So, fuck, Leah. I’m sorry.”

  There were three of them that looked like Walker? The Talons were a lucky Pack. Though it was Ryder that kept coming back to her mind. She pushed it out again, knowing it wasn’t worth it. She would be leaving soon, running again. Wouldn’t she?

  “I’m sorry, as well,” a voice said from the doorway. Ryder’s voice.

  She turned quickly and winced when she pulled on her stitches.

  Ryder came to her side, a frown on his face. “Did you hurt yourself?” His nostrils flared. “I don’t smell fresh blood, so that’s good.”

  Walker let out a snort. “Big brother over here is a little overprotective it seems. Your stitches are fine, and I would guess if I gave you a pool of water and let you chant or spell, you’d be able to finish healing at least the main parts. Right?”

  She pulled her gaze from Ryder’s deep blue eyes and nodded at Walker. “Yes, usually. I can’t heal mortal wounds or anything too critical, but I can do some healing. Nothing like you can with your bonds to the Pack.”

  “Can you heal others?” Ryder asked.

  Her powers flared, as if they were a separate part of her, reaching out for him. She couldn’t quite understand it, nor was she sure she wanted to.

  “Sometimes,” she said finally. “It depends on the wound and my power reserves.” She let out a sigh. “I haven’t had much in the way of power for a long time.” That was an understatement, but she wasn’t ready to tell them everything. Though something within her told her that she could trust these two, trust the Alpha and those with them, as well. She just wasn’t ready to reveal her past. She wasn’t sure she’d ever be ready.

  “I’m a healer more than a fighter, though. I know some of the other elemental witches out there feel the opposite, but I don’t like fighting.” She winced. “Sorry for coming at you with the scissors. I…I didn’t wake up all there.”

  Walker shook his head. “If you hadn’t fought back after waking up in a room with three strange men, I would have been truly surprised.”

  Ryder shrugged. “You didn’t hurt us. We’re good.”

  “Well, thank you.”

  “You need more water?” Ryder asked.

  She nodded slightly, and Ryder immediately turned away from her and grabbed a large metal bowl from one of the cabinets and filled it with water. “Warm, cold, or hot matter? And is it okay in metal? Or do you need glass or stone or something?”

  She smiled despite the fact that her mind was going in a thousand different directions. “Metals and water temperature don’t affect my powers. But thank you for being so considerate.” This was one weird conversation, and she was being too polite, but she didn’t have her footing. She’d do what she could to survive.

  She always did.

  Walker helped her sit up, and she didn’t miss the way Ryder’s eyes narrowed at his brother’s hand on her elbow. She ignored it and took the bowl from Ryder’s hands. Their fingers brushed, and she sucked in a breath. She ignored that, as well.

  When she sat the bowl between her legs on the bed, the two men watched her with fascination as she immersed her hands, chanting under her breath. She wouldn’t be able to fully heal the gunshot wound as she didn’t have that kind of power, but she could speed along her recovery.

  It would also help if she could place her whole body within water, submerging the wound and her head, but that would have to wait. For now, she let the magic of her people wash over her, reminding her that she had something more than breath to fight with.

  When she was finished, her side ached only slightly, more like a dull throb now, and both men had wide eyes. She smiled softly and lifted her hands out of the bowl. Water slid over her skin until it absorbed into her greedy reservoirs of magic.

  She’d always loved to watch that happen. Roland used to make it dance along his skin and hers to make her laugh when things were dark.

  Now, she wasn’t sure she could do it herself, not when it would only remind her of happier times. Though thinking of the dark as happy only depressed her so she ignored it and nodded in thanks to the two Talon wolves who watched over her.

  Walker took the bowl away in silence as Ryder studied her face.

  “Are you feeling better now?” he asked.

  She nodded. “Immensely. Thank you.” She turned to Walker as he removed her IV. “Thank you both.” She swallowed hard. “I will be forever grateful to you for healing me.” She pressed her lips together. “I’d like to see my brother if that’s okay.” She let out a shuddering breath. “And then I’ll get out of your hair so you can focus on what you were doing before I fell into your lives.”

  “You’re not leaving yet,” Gideon said from the doorway.

  She stiffened and looked at the Alpha wolf to her right. These damn brothers kept startling her. She’d have to be better at noticing when they were near, though they were wolves, and she didn’t have the extra senses they did.

  “Excuse me?” she asked.

  “Oh, honey, you suck at commanding sometimes.” A smaller woman walked around the large man and patted him on the ass as she walked by.

  Leah raised a brow even as Ryder, Walker, and a fourth man that stood behind Gideon chuckled.

  “Hi, Leah, I’m Brie. Gideon’s mate.” The slightly taller-than-average-sized woman held out her hand for Leah to shake. Brie only looked tiny compared to Gideon and the rest of the brothers, but the woman also had a…fragile air surrounding her that Leah couldn’t quite explain.

  “Uh, hi,” Leah said then took Brie’s hand. A sense of calm spread over her and she frowned.

  Brie winced. “Sorry. I’m a submissive wolf and I can’t help but want to comfort. Usually, it’s just with Packmates, but sometimes, my wolf reaches out to others. Anyway, what Gideon meant was you don’t have to go, and frankly, we’d like you to stay so we can figure out what happened. We haven’t contacted the local Coven to tell them we have you because we wanted to wait until you were awake and all, but we can do that now if you want.”

  Leah held out both hands. “Please don’t.”

  Brie’s eyes widened, and the rest of the men moved around the bed to face Leah.

  “Is there something we should know?” Gideon asked as he put his hands on his mate’s shoulders. The large Alpha wolf looked so fierce compared to the soft Brie, and it boggled Leah’s mind that an Alpha would mate with a submissive. But, it wasn’t Leah’s business, nor was it something she should be focusing on right then.

  “I…I should just go.”

  Ryder gripped her wrist gently and she met his gaze. “Just tell us, Leah. We can’t help you if you don’t tell us. You were running from someone. Who was it? Why don’t you want us to talk to the Coven? We’re fighting a war on one side with the humans, but we need to know if we’re fighting elsewhere, as well.”

  She let out a breath. “I wasn’t born into a coven. Roland was all I had.”

  “I thought that’s what you meant when you said you were alone before,” Ryder said softly.

  She jerked. “You heard that?” Heat slashed across her cheek
s and she tried to pull away. Only, he wouldn’t let her.

  Brie cleared her throat. “My aunt Hannah wasn’t in a coven either. She’s an earth witch.”

  “It’s not uncommon for witches to not want to join forces. We’re not as…connected as wolves. We don’t have bonds or the same kind of structure you do. Each coven has its own Council, and there’s even a larger Council that tries its best to rule all the covens.” She let out a breath. “That’s actually the local Coven.”

  Gideon let out a little growl. “That much we know,” he said. “They tried to summon us for a meeting to discuss the Unveiling, but one does not summon a wolf.”

  Leah let out a snort. “I wouldn’t think so. You guys tend to bite, I would think. As for the Coven? Well, they don’t really care if you have claws or fangs. They don’t care if someone shares their blood. The local witches, at least the ones in power, aren’t used to hearing the word no. Their word is law. At least to their own ears.”

  Gideon tilted his head, much like his brother had earlier. “I had a feeling. We would like you to stay here, but,” he looked down at his mate, “we will not force you. It’s not safe out there, but if you are on the run, then we need to know what—or who—is after you.”

  She met the Alpha’s gaze for a moment then looked away, not able to handle his dominance. She didn’t think most people could. “They were humans. They knew we were witches and were trying to capture us. Kill us.”

  The fourth man in the room let out a slight curse. He winced then sighed. “I’m Brandon, the Omega. Hell. The humans were after you?”

  She nodded at Walker’s triplet brother. “Yes, they were. I don’t know what they saw, but Roland had to use magic to save us.” She swallowed hard. “I don’t know exactly why they were after us. We’ve been running from them for a few weeks, and before that…well, we had to hide who we were from the witches, as well. But that…that I can’t talk about.” She looked at Gideon again. “I’m sorry I can’t talk about it, but the most pressing thing is the humans.”

  Gideon let out a growl, and Ryder put his hand on her shoulder. She immediately relaxed at his touch, even as her body heated. What the hell was wrong with her?

  “We couldn’t find who was after you, but we’ll help you,” Gideon said. “When you feel more comfortable with us, I hope you’ll tell us why you were running longer. Running from the witches. But as you say, you have no home, no one to run to. Considering where we found you, I’m guessing you and your twin were running either toward us or the Redwoods. Let us offer you shelter.”

  Something filled her, was it relief? A sense of…hope? She wasn’t sure, but she couldn’t quite come up with the words she needed to say. She’d never had a true shelter. Even before the humans had hunted her and Roland, she’d always had to be careful, oh so careful, of whom she was. But these wolves, wolves who knew nothing about her except what she told them, were offering her sanctuary. They had their own pains, their own battles and troubles, yet they offered their home to her.

  They were nothing like the beasts those that shunned her spoke of, nothing like the animals the media tried to portray them as.

  “I…I would like the time to rest.”

  Gideon nodded as if he’d known all along that would be her answer. “We have a few homes empty. However, we have more wolves coming in from the outside world now that they are no longer safe.”

  “And you don’t want to waste space on someone who might not be staying for too long,” she finished for him. Plus, she wasn’t Pack. It would make sense that they wouldn’t want her too far away from their careful watch. That way she couldn’t pry to deeply into their lives as well, since they’d be the ones watching her and not the other way around.

  “She can stay with me,” Ryder blurted.

  She froze, then looked over at him. His eyes were wide—as were his siblings’. “Huh?”

  He cleared his throat. “I have a guest room. She can stay with me. I’ll make sure she doesn’t get lost in the den.”

  That reason seemed like a stretch, but she couldn’t formulate the words for why that would be a bad plan. A very bad plan.

  Brandon, the Omega, stepped closer to her and studied her face. She pulled back, not knowing what he was doing. Ryder’s hand on her shoulder tightened.

  “I think it sounds like a good idea,” Brandon said softly then stepped back.

  She swallowed hard and nodded. “I don’t mind. As long as I’m not in the way.”

  “You won’t be in the way,” Ryder said.

  Brie looked between the two of them before smiling. There was something in that smile that scared Leah to no end. There was hope there. But there was no hope where Leah was concerned. There never had been and there never would be.

  “If that’s what you want,” Gideon said finally. “I’d like to know more about you. In fact, since you’re in my den and with my Pack, I’m going to insist on it.” Ryder growled. “But first, you will heal.”

  His tone didn’t surprise her, he was an Alpha wolf, after all, but she still didn’t appreciate it. She should be grateful that they were letting her stay while she found her bearings, but she could barely think.

  She needed time to process. Time to reflect. Would she be staying here for long? Or would she be running again? She didn’t know, but sitting in a room with a bunch of wolves she didn’t know probably wouldn’t help her make that choice.

  Gideon’s phone buzzed in his pocket, the sound echoing in the room, and he pulled it out. He read the screen and cursed before showing it to Brie, who paled.

  “Oh, dear goddess,” the Alpha’s mate whispered.

  “What is it?” Ryder asked.

  Gideon met Leah’s eyes. “It seems they were filming you and Roland when they attacked.”

  Leah’s heart raced.

  “Only they showed the parts where Roland used his powers to save you and himself. Nothing about their attack on you.” He paused. “The witches have officially been Unveiled.”

  And it was her fault.

  She’d shown the world that her people exist.

  Now it wasn’t only the wolves who had to watch their backs; who didn’t know what the future would bring. The entire witch community would have to watch their every move, as well.

  And it was all her fault.

  She’d broken the rules, tried to save herself, and now the world would have to deal with the consequences. It wouldn’t only be the witches that would see their lives shattered. As the humans realized that more and more of what they’d thought was myth was all too real, they’d have to face not only their mortality, but also their deepest fears. The dynamics of how each race reacted and lived together would change with each breath.

  And she’d unwillingly been part of that.

  The Coven that rejected her had once told her mother that Leah and Roland would one day be the downfall of many. She just hadn’t realized they would be right, that it would be something like this.

  Chapter Four

  Ryder’s wolf pressed into him, needing Leah’s touch more than air. The man, however, knew better than that and refused to give in. Though the pain in Leah’s scent was palpable, he wasn’t about to do what his wolf wanted to do—claim her so they alone could care for her.

  They sat in Walker’s living room since his home was attached to the clinic. They hadn’t called for the entire family to watch the footage, as they could easily watch at home, and there would be a meeting later to discuss it anyway. However, Brandon, Gideon, Brie, Walker, Leah and himself remained to watch the world change yet again.

  Leah sat next to him, as his wolf wouldn’t let any other arrangement work. He’d tried to keep a respectable distance between them, but then Brandon had sat on the other side of Leah, and Ryder had not so subtlety pressed his leg into hers. The others had noticed, of course, but he’d noticed the way her shoulders had lowered at his touch.

  Whatever was happening between them wasn’t one-sided, it seemed.

  An
d that would only make things that much harder when the time came to do what must be done.

  “As you can see, witches are real,” the newscaster was saying, bringing Ryder back to the present. “No word from their official leaders but the evidence cannot be ignored. We don’t know much regarding who these two witches are or why they are trying to drown humans—”

  “That’s not what happened. They were trying to kill us.” Leah kept shaking her head, her hands in her lap.

  On the screen, Roland used his magic to create a wave that smashed the humans into the rocks. Careful editing had made it look like Roland was the one starting the encounter, rather than the other way around. The screen changed to show Leah on the ground, her hand out as she used magic, as well. Though he couldn’t tell exactly what kind of spell she was doing, the effect of the editing was the same. It looked as if she and Roland were causing harm to humans with no cause.

  It wasn’t good. Wasn’t good at all.

  Ryder threw caution to the wind and put his arm around Leah’s shoulders. She immediately sank into his hold. “We know that. The media twists what it doesn’t understand. And sometimes it deliberately twists what it does.”

  The anchor continued her news story. “We also have unconfirmed reports that the witches are in talks with the wolves. As you know, the wolves were forced to come out into the public eye in a shocking way. Since then, there have been numerous reports of violence on both sides. The public is scared, and Washington has issued statements, but no action has been taken on the wolf problem. No word yet how the witch problem will factor into this matter.”

  Gideon growled loudly, then turned off the screen as the news switched to the weather broadcast.

  “What have we done?” Leah whispered, her gaze on her clasped hands. “The Coven will want my head for this.” She murmured something so low that even his wolf ears didn’t catch it. He’d have asked her what she said, but he wanted to wait until they were alone.