“The man, the shifter, he threatened something. What was he saying?”
Gage’s throat closed. His foot pressed harder on the gas pedal.
“Gage?” She gripped the door handle, her eyes growing wild. “You should slow down.”
His breath came fast. His heart pounded inside his of his chest. He wasn’t sure he was going to make it back to Vancourt house without shifting. The bear pounded on the edges of his mind. It scratched and clawed as it roared. Kaylee would be safe once he took her home. But, no matter how many times he reassured the bear, the words fell on deaf ears.
He slammed on the brakes. The car slid to the side of the street where Gage shoved it into Park. Shoving his door open, he stumbled into the cold air. Kaylee didn’t hesitate to follow him as he moved into the woods. His fingers curled in his hair, threatening to become claws.
“Hey!” Kaylee grabbed him and spun him around with her newfound strength. She pulled him into her body, much like he’d done with her earlier. Her hand touched the side of his face and made him focus on her.
What would he do without her? Who would he be?
Together, they sank to their knees. Cold seeped through the knees of their jeans. His arms wrapped around her, holding her tight. Soon, she would be gone forever. He would have to savor this moment. He would have to remember it forever. Nothing good would ever last.
That was all he’d learned in life.
“You’re freaking me out, dude.” Her words attempted humor, but fell flat when she couldn’t hide her fear. “Calm down. Everything is going to be okay. It’s all going to be all right. I’ll leave town and the problem will disappear.”
Her words were a barb through his chest. All of Gage’s life, he’d run. When challenges presented themselves, he turned his back on them. He saw trouble at home and, instead of standing his ground, he’d walked away with his brothers. They walked away from the pack. Later, when Cohen left, Gage didn’t hunt his brother down and drag him back into the family. He’d turned his back and lost himself in vandalism.
Now, when faced with the thought of losing Kaylee, he was falling apart. For the first time, he wanted to stay in Stonefall. He wanted to tell her how he felt, to see if she might stand beside him for the rest of their lives. But, that couldn’t happen. Killian’s feral shifters would claim her the moment he let his guard down.
They had every right to because it’d been one of Killian’s shifters that changed her. It meant that until she pledged to a Pack, she was officially part of their pack. The thought made him cling to her. His arms wrapped around her and pulled her tight to his body.
She had to go home. If she was far away from Killian’s influence, she would be safe. Gage pulled in a steadying breath. There was one other way he would know she would be safe once and for all. Archer wouldn’t like it, but he didn’t have to tell Archer.
After the long moment that stretched, both of them on their knees as they hugged each other, Gage managed to pull himself together. He knew what he had to do. Pulling back, he touched Kaylee’s cheek. She would live a normal life, as normal as it could be now, and he would make sure no one would follow her.
***
The phone rang in her ear. Her heart thumped. She should have done this a while ago, should have been a better daughter.
“Honey? Are you there?”
Her mother’s voice filled her heart and she let out a long breath. “It’s me, mom.”
“Are you all right? Is everything okay?” Her mother’s worry fell out in a rushing flood. Beyond that, she could hear her stepfather ask if she was talking to Kaylee. Her mother hushed him, and she caught a grumbling response as he fell into a chair.
It was surprising how much more she could hear over the phone. The device picked up everything that happened around the speaker, but only now could she hear the nuanced sounds.
“Mom. Mom, calm down. Everything is fine.”
“Then why haven’t you called us back? It’s been weeks!”
Kaylee stewed over the story she would tell her mother. She wasn’t about to unveil the truth to her over the phone. Hi mom! I had a run in with a supernatural being and I became one myself. I’ve been learning how to control the animal spirit inside of me so that I don’t come home and tweak every time you yell at dad. I mean, it would also be awful if I did literally rip Ben’s face off.
Like hell could she tell her mother anything like that. Instead, Kaylee found a lie to feed her mother. “I’ve met someone and just kind of got tied up in the whirlwind.”
It wasn’t too far from the truth. Gage had taken up nearly all of Kaylee’s time. He filled her world, making her lack for nothing. She played with the fraying threads of her jeans as she leaned into the phone.
“You met a man?” She backtracked. “I mean, it’s alright if you met a woman, too. I’ll support whoever you love as long as they’re good to you. That’s all I want.”
It made Kaylee smile. They were familiar words ever since her youngest sister came out as bisexual. Their mother had old-fashioned feelings, but did her best to give her children what they needed. It made Kaylee’s heart ache for home.
“Are they hot?” her stepfather shouted in the background.
Her mother hissed at him, but Kaylee laughed out loud. She thought about burly Gage, with his twinkling eyes and smirk. There were tattoos that circled his muscled arms, not her mother’s favorite thing to see on suitors even if they’d been okay on her father.
“He is quite hot.”
“Will you be bringing him home with you?”
“Uh,” Kaylee battled with herself. The first word to come to her lips was yes, but she clamped her lips shut. That wasn’t her decision. She shouldn’t have even told them about Gage. “Probably not. I have too much to do when I get back home. I’ve been out of work and have a bunch of catching up to do.”
“I see,” her mother said. “It was a fling then? That’s healthy, too. You deserved a bit of happiness without being tied down.”
“I’ve been stalking Ben’s shop,” her step-father said in the background. “I left him awful reviews on Yelp!”
Kaylee snorted. She couldn’t deny it; she missed home. It ached inside of her and left her feeling torn. Her time in Stonefall had become something special, a part of her rooted in the place where she’d become a shifter.
“Tell him to stay out of it. Writing fake reviews isn’t very professional.”
“He’s bored without you or you siblings around. Hannah is off somewhere in Cambodia and Jason is on his honeymoon. If writing fake reviews for Ben’s business keeps him occupied, I’m not going to stop him.”
Kaylee repeated herself, feeling bad. She shouldn’t have brought her family into it, but she couldn’t help but laugh at her parents. She assured them she would be coming home soon. No, she didn’t need any money. She hadn’t paid for the bed and breakfast the whole time she’d been in Stonefall so she had some pocket cash for gas. No, she didn’t need a ride. She had someone bringing her home.
Her mother swore up and down that she missed Kaylee while her stepfather griped about Ben’s latest tattoo, as if that might bring Kaylee running home sooner. For a moment, she considered her stepfather and Gage in the same room. Then, she imagined Gage meeting Ben. The thought made her smile as she hung up the phone. Gage was easily twice the size of the slimy man she once worked with.
Setting the phone down, she looked around. There were signs of life starting to fill the house. Dried coffee cups sat on the side tables. Piles of keys on the table by the front door. The air smelled of air freshener and bacon, as if the supply of bacon never ran out.
Kaylee couldn’t identify the feeling that tightened her chest. She walked around Vancourt house, aimless and lost while she prodded at the feeling. She wondered if she knew what the feeling was, but wouldn’t admit it to herself. So much had changed in such a short period of time. As much as she wanted to turn away from everything that happened, she knew it was impossible.
“You look like you’re buried in your thoughts,” a female voice said. It was sweet and gentle, so low Kaylee might not have heard it if it hadn’t been for her heightened hearing.
She turned to find a plump woman leaning against a doorway. Her eyes were hidden behind thick-framed glasses, half covered by the sheet of her dark hair. When Kaylee’s eyes met hers, she offered a small smile.
Kaylee shrugged. “A lot has happened lately.”
The woman nodded, her eyes shifting away as if she couldn’t stand to hold her gaze for long. “And a lot more will continue to happen. I’m afraid this battle isn’t half over.”
“Battle?” Kaylee’s stomach turned.
“Yeah, I, uh…” The woman paused, as if her words stuck in her throat. “I’ve seen more strife. I’m afraid the boys will have to go places they won’t like to overcome this.”
“You’ve… seen?”
The woman gave a few short nods, her freckled cheeks growing dark. She pushed the glasses higher on her nose before responding. “I’m a bit half and half. From my mom’s side I inherited a bit of witchcraft.”
Kaylee shook her head. Shifters was one thing, but… witchcraft? She guessed it wasn’t all that far fetched once she thought about it. If she could shift forms from human to coyote, Gage from human to bear, then witchcraft couldn’t be all that ridiculous. Right?
“The cards like me so they warned me of what was coming toward Stonefall.”
“The cards… like tarot cards?”
She nodded and patted the bulk of her jacket pocket. Kaylee guessed there were cards in her pocket, like she never went anywhere without them. It sparked an idea in Kaylee. Her lips twisted to the side and an ache grew through her. Everything was a mess, her life so jumbled she couldn’t see straight.
“Do you think you could read the cards for me?”
Before the woman could answer, Cohen entered the room. Kaylee watched the woman’s eyes grow wide, her lips parting ever so slightly. When her gaze shifted back to Kaylee, she leaned forward and offered a few words.
“I don’t have to. I already know you have a happy ending.”
Her prophecy shared, the woman darted out of the room and disappeared. Cohen’s brows furrowed, his eyes tracking the fleeing woman. Kaylee studied his face while he was distracted. He was clearly confused by the mystery woman, and it was almost laughable. Almost.
Then, Cohen’s gaze dropped to Kaylee and she felt her coyote back into a corner. She dropped her eyes to the floor before he became offended.
“What are you still doing here? I thought you wanted to go home.”
“I do,” she said, her voice smaller than she would have liked. Where had her strength gone? She pulled in a breath and decided, in that moment, that she was more human than coyote, and pulled her eyes back up to his. “We’re leaving tomorrow.”
“We?”
“Gage offered to drive me. He said he didn’t want me to be alone.”
Cohen pinned her to the spot with his eyes. She felt a force slam into her, as if his presence became physical and it burst through the room. It made her waver on her feet, but she stood her ground. He was creepy, she thought. How her smiling Gage was related to this lurking monster, she’d never understand.
“You really intend to leave? You want to go home and never look back on Stonefall?”
Her throat grew tight. There it was, the source of the feeling that made it hard for her to breathe. She would miss everything, everyone, here. Still, she had a life and a family to get back to. She had to pick up the pieces of her business, had to reassure her mother that she was still alive.
Kaylee nodded, able to pour conviction into her movement, but not her words.
Cohen’s lips pressed together in a grave expression before he nodded. “Then I think I’ll send someone else to take you home.”
Her jaw dropped. “You don’t get to tell him what he can and can’t do!”
He pushed past her, ignoring her complaints altogether. Feeling bold and angry, Kaylee reached out and grabbed his arm as he passed. He spun on her, lips threatening to pull back from his teeth. She jerked back, as if her hand had touched a flame.
“I do this for his wellbeing,” Cohen snarled.
Kaylee couldn’t help but shrink back from him. She glimpsed the monster in his eyes, furious as it raged against his control.
“Accept a different escort or make the trip alone. It’s your choice.”
Kaylee wanted to fight his decision, but the coyote in her cowered. Her heart hammered uncontrollably as she pulled her gaze away. She hated herself for it, being unable to control her interactions. This never would have happened if she’d still been human. She wouldn’t have had to become a pile of groveling mush.
She glared at Cohen’s back as he stalked off in the direction the mystery woman had run. She wished the woman good luck if he was hunting her and turned back to the house. There was a desire to tattle on Cohen and to tell Gage what his brother had decided for him but when she found Gage, she thought she understood.
Gage’s eyes lit up when she entered the room. She caught the glimmer of joy when they landed on her and felt guilt jab her in the stomach. He moved toward her, closing the space like he was a magnet, irrevocably drawn to her no matter where she was. She wanted to smile, to let herself be drawn to him, too, but she knew she couldn’t.
She had to go home. Her lips parted, a question lingering there, until she swallowed it back down.
“What is it?” Gage’s face was lined with concern.
Kaylee offered him a small smile and quickly searched for a quick explanation to cover what she’d really wanted to say. “If it’s my last night, we should do something fun. Is there anything exciting to do in Stonefall?”
On the other side of Gage, Archer coughed and choked. “Shouldn’t you be more concerned with laying low? A night on the town isn’t exactly laying low.”
She supposed he was right, but she wanted more than she was allowed to have. Gage had a life here, family that loved him. She couldn’t ask him to leave it all for her, but she also didn’t want to let go of him just yet. She wanted one last night with Gage. Even if it was wholly selfish. She couldn’t help herself.
Gage’s face split with his signature smile, a smirk at the corner of his mouth and a gleam in his eyes. He turned toward Archer, his brother shaking his head in response.
“Worry about yourself, you old maid. Where is your mate anyway?”
“Mate?” Kaylee interjected. The word rang through her mind as if somehow familiar, though she was sure she’d never heard it before.
It was Archer who responded. His eyes shifted from her to Gage. “Joanna is dress shopping. Apparently, I’m not allowed to accompany her while she picks out her wedding dress.”
“I could have told you that,” Gage said. “A mate is a human or a shifter who completes a shifter. A magical bond forms between them that can’t be broken. Means no divorce. Like, ever.”
Intrigued, Kaylee pulled out a chair and sank into it. Her mind spun, unable to stick to any one thought. “How can you tell when there’s a bond? Does every shifter get a mate?”
Archer’s eyes drifted toward the ceiling, probably thinking of the cantankerous old man resting upstairs before shrugging. “We’re not sure. Growing up, it wasn’t something we ever talked about. Dad didn’t have a mate, so we just assumed it wasn’t a real thing.”
“Corrections,” Gage interjected. “You didn’t believe it was a real thing. The rest of us are far more romantic.”
“But he has a mate?”
Gage nodded. “Joanna is cool. She’s the Alpha of Archer’s pack now
that he’s left us behind.”
“I haven’t left you.” Archer scowled, studying his brother’s face. “I’m still right here. I’m just using my time to help the Pack get back on their feet. Is that so awful?”
Kaylee could see the rift growing between the brothers. Archer desperately wanted to reach across it, but Gage wouldn’t even look in his direction. Guilt stabbed her again. He thought his own brother had left him and she would be leaving in the morning. The thought must have hurt, but he covered it up with that smirk.
Chapter Ten
“What are we doing here?” Kaylee asked, trying to peer through the dark window of the car door. “It looks like someone’s… house?”
Gage let the car roll past the house before pulling onto a side road and putting it into park. “It is someone’s house. I thought we could have an eventful night.”
“I don’t get it.”
“Can you grab the crowbar from the trunk for me? Old man Faulkner probably moved his car by now, but I’m sure there’s something else we can do to torment him.”
“I’m still lost,” Kaylee said, even as she moved to the back of the car to retrieve the crowbar. They were nearly invisible under the guise of night.
Above them, stars twinkled. She felt a small bit of sanctuary, standing beneath them. The night encapsulated them, like a snow globe caught in time. If she paused and let her head fall back, the night would never have to end. The creepy shifter would never come for her. She would never have to face her old business partner again.
She’d thought she was ready to go back, to pick up with her old life. Yet, something caught her and pulled her back to Stonefall. Come morning, she would just have to deal with it. Her family and her career waited. And, the creepy shifter who bit her still waited.
Gage touched her arm, gently directing her forward through the dark. She leaned into him, savoring the moment they could spend together. She breathed his scent in deep. There might come a day she would forget what he smelled like and that scared her.
Outcast Box Set Page 22
