A Shift in the Water

by Eddy, Patricia D.

  His eyes fluttered closed and his face relaxed. There was something so pure about him, as if he had no conscious thoughts. No worries, no fears. Or perhaps he was too exhausted to care. He shuddered and Mara laid her hand over his wrist. A thrill of electricity traveled up her arm.

  Her wolf. Her wolf was one of the hottest men she’d ever seen, but he could barely speak or move. What had happened to him? Who was he?

  A delivery truck rumbled by, rousing Mara from a deep sleep. When she opened her eyes, she found herself staring into the luminous blue depths of the man in her bed. “Good morning,” she murmured, giving him a small smile. “Your color’s better.”

  He looked down at his bare chest. “Shit.” His eyes widened further at the sound of his own voice. It was rough and deep, almost clear.

  “Yep. Man. Not wolf.” She grinned, stifling the laugh at his shock.

  He lifted the blanket, peering down as if he wasn’t sure he’d come back fully. Satisfied, he pulled the blanket to his chest again. “Ma-ra?” His brow furrowed.

  “Right again. Still don’t know who you are. I’m pretty sure your name isn’t Bud.”

  His eyes unfocused. “Fuzzy. Think . . . Cade.”

  “Cade?” She tried the word, rolling it along her tongue. Damn. His name’s about as sexy as his body. Mara slammed a lid down on those thoughts. Just because he was naked in her bed didn’t mean anything was ever going to happen. Hell, he’d been a wolf not eight hours ago.

  He nodded. “Uh-huh.”

  “You don’t know for sure. Why not?” Mara propped herself up on an elbow.

  “Too long . . . wolf. Memories . . . fade.” He worked his jaw back and forth and ran a tongue over his teeth. “Mouth . . . strange. Hard . . . words.” Frustrated, he clenched the blankets. A low growl in his throat expressed all of his emotions in a single sound. Anger, longing, and frustration.

  “It’s okay. You don’t have to talk. Not yet. Are you hungry again? Maybe something solid this time?” Mara scooted to the edge of the bed, but didn’t take her eyes off of Cade.

  He nodded.

  “You like bacon?”

  This time, Cade smiled. The lopsided grin sent a tingle down to her bare toes. She couldn’t help herself. She reached out and squeezed his hand. The light in his eyes had Mara grinning in return. “Okay. Relax. If your tongue doesn’t work right yet, chances are your legs don’t either. Don’t try to get up. I’ll be a few minutes.”

  Mara dashed for the kitchen. She needed a massive dose of caffeine if she was going to make it through the next few hours. The espresso machine warmed up and clicked reassuringly. The scent of coffee was home to her, the sign that no matter how strange the past few hours had been, something in her life was still normal. She laid eight slices of bacon on her cast iron griddle and washed her hands. The first sip of French Roast steadied her nerves. A quick press of the brew button and she had a second cup for Cade.

  He’d managed to sit up and rest his back against her headboard. He stared at his hands like he couldn’t believe they were real.

  “Coffee?”

  “God. Yes.” His words were slow and awkward, but his eyes lit up. Mara skirted the edge of the bed and held out the mug. He looked up at her, unsure, then back to his hands. Mara wrapped his hand around the mug. He raised the other, but held it aloft, flexing his fingers. She cupped her hand around his and brought it to the bottom of the mug.

  “Hold,” she murmured. “You remember?”

  He nodded and brought the mug to his lips. His eyes rolled back in his head at his first swallow and a satisfied sound rumbled through his chest. “Missed. This.”

  Mara chuckled. “I’ll bet. You’re okay here?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  Mara returned to the kitchen and flipped the bacon. She tipped a bit of the bacon grease into another fry pan and scrambled a few eggs. Two slices of bread went into the toaster. When the food was done, she fixed two plates and returned to her bedroom. Cade set his mug down on the nightstand and accepted the plate. Mara took a seat on her cedar chest a few feet away. Cade struggled to close his fingers around the fork, but watched her movements and mirrored them. His plate was clean before Mara got through more than two slices of bacon and a bite of toast.

  Cade worked his mouth back and forth with a hand on his jaw. The rasp of fingers against stubble filled the room. Even their quiet breathing seemed loud. The silence between them was overwhelming. Mara leaned forward and traded their plates so he could finish her eggs and the last slice of bacon.

  He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “You. Helped. Me.”

  “Do you know how . . . Goddess, this is insane. How were you turned into a wolf?”

  He swallowed hard and shook his head. “No. Am wolf.”

  The plate threatened to slip from her grasp. “What?”

  “Werewolf.”

  “Oh shit.” Mara scrambled back until she hit the wall.

  Cade tried to sit up, but his body failed him and he slumped against her headboard. His eyes were wide and his fingers clutched the blanket tightly. “Won’t . . . hurt you,” he said. “Never. You saved me. El-e-men-tal.” He struggled with the last word.

  “What’s an elemental?” Wary, she inched forward, not proud of her knee-jerk reaction to run.

  “You.” His eyes unfocused as he grasped for his next words. “Have, uh, water. Control. Broke charm on me.”

  “I think your brain is a little addled.”

  “No.” He shook his head. “Not about . . . this.”

  Mara ran a hand through her hair, giving it a tug to try to focus her thoughts. “One of Aunt Lil’s friends does keep telling her I’m something called a water soul.” Mara smiled, but Cade nodded, as if he’d expected it.

  “You are.”

  She snorted. “Yeah, right.”

  “Knew it when . . . I found you. Hid . . . in your car. You smelled like rain. Fire did this. To me. Water cancels fire.” His words were clearer and easier now, but he fisted his hands in the blankets in frustration.

  “How?”

  “How what?” He shook his head, confused. A hand went to the back of his neck, rubbing absently.

  “How did I free you? All I remember was feeling like I was going to die. You, the wolf, helped me. I wouldn’t have made it out of the living room without you. But after I got into bed, I don’t remember anything but the wolf next to me. I woke up when I hit the floor.”

  “Was worried. About you. Got, uh, humid. Pain. Like ice. Cooled fire charm. There was screaming. I think mine. Your element. The power was over-wh-wh-whelming.”

  Mara shook her head, her chest tightening. “No. There’s no such thing as this. Fire charms? Water elements? There has to be another explanation.”

  Cade looked at her. His eyes were so expressive that she knew exactly what he was thinking. Really? And that would be?

  “Shit,” Mara said.

  “Will you help me? I . . . need to get . . . up. Move. Remember how . . . to walk on two . . . legs. And—” He swallowed audibly, gazing down at his lap, flushed. “Um, you know.” He looked directly at the bathroom door across the hall.

  “Oh.” Mara approached warily. Cade swung his legs over the side of the bed, his bare feet flat on the floor. The blankets were still clutched tightly around his waist. Mara was suddenly terribly aware that he was naked under that blanket. “Wait. You, um, need clothes.” Mara’s cheeks flushed. Cade’s turned a shade to match.

  She rummaged in her closet for her old robe. It was stretched out and at least three sizes too big for her because she’d lost too much weight due to her illness. She took his arm and helped guide it into the sleeve. The other arm he managed on his own. He tried to pull the purple flannel around his waist but his hands couldn’t manage to tie the belt. Mara slid her fingers over his. “Let me.”

  His body was warm and firm under her touch. With the belt tied tightly, she draped his arm over her shoulders and helped him to his feet, looking away unt
il the robe fell closed around the lower half of his body. He teetered for a few seconds, but then found his footing. Still, he leaned heavily on her.

  They shuffled slowly across to the bathroom. At the door, Cade withdrew his arm from her shoulders. “Can manage.”

  Mara blew out a relieved breath. She was not prepared for that. She leaned against the wall, waiting, trying and failing to make sense of his words. Werewolf? He was crazy. She was crazy. Maybe everything she’d seen the past few weeks had been conjured by her dying mind. But that didn’t explain Adam and Lil seeing him. Had that been real?

  When Cade opened the door again, his body was braced against the bathroom counter. Together, they made their way out into the living room. She wanted him to rest on the couch. He was breathing heavily, but he tightened his arm around her shoulders. “Not yet. More.”

  Into the kitchen they went. With every step, he steadied. By the time they’d made another loop and had reached her small table again, he was only holding her elbow for support.

  “Well, that was a quick recovery,” Mara said when Cade dropped into one of her well-worn chairs.

  “Food helped. Coffee too. Man, having a human mouth again feels so weird.” His words were still slow, but they were clear.

  “Complete sentences. That’s another improvement.” Mara made them both more coffee. “You take anything in it?”

  Cade shook his head and savored a sip. “You saved my life. The wolf . . . my wolf . . . he was dying. I was dying inside of him.”

  “How? This doesn’t make any sense. How does it . . . work? The two of you . . . you’re separate? Where’s the wolf now?” Mara cocked her head, chewing on her lower lip.

  “He’s inside. Not caged. Not trapped. He simply is. He’s part of me, but he’s separate too. When he takes over, then I’m the one inside. Not trapped. Not before the fire . . . the bad woman. Only resting.”

  She took a few seconds to process his words, staring into his eyes. Their color had deepened, sharpened. “You remember? When he was in control?”

  “Some of it. My brain feels like Swiss cheese. More holes than memories right now. I remember seeing you wherever I was before.” He grinned. “Nice bikini.”

  Mara choked on her coffee and blushed. “Orcas Island.”

  “Shit. I was so close.”

  “What is it?” Mara stepped closer. She wanted to touch him. His shoulders slumped and he gritted his teeth, staring down into the coffee cup.

  “My pack. The other werewolves I was responsible for. I’m pretty sure they’re all dead. The woman who did this to me killed them.” He drained his mug and stood up, wavered for a minute, and then walked over to the sliding glass door. He pressed his fist into his chest, winced, and took a deep, shuddering breath. “I shouldn’t stay here. I don’t want to put you in danger.” He looked down at his body, wrapped in purple flannel. “I need some clothes. If she finds me here, she’ll kill us both.”

  “She?”

  “The bad woman. A fire elemental. She trapped me in my wolf form. She explained how she did it, but I can’t remember it. It hurt. All the time.” His voice cracked. “I felt like my blood was boiling. I remember flames. My pack burned, I think. Six of them. No. Seven. She killed them all.”

  “Who is this woman?” Mara asked, laying her hand on Cade’s shoulder. He leaned into her touch for a moment, closing his eyes.

  “No one you should ever want to meet. Please, Mara.” Cade turned and took her hands. “You saved my life. I remember you stopping the man from euthanizing me. You stitched up my side. You fed me when I couldn’t even move. There’s a lot—even from the past few days—that’s still a blur, but I know you saved me. Help me disappear. I need clothes, maybe a hundred bucks so I can get a bus ticket and some food for a day or two. But I need to run. I can’t pay you back.” He looked over at her Christmas tree. “She trapped me back in . . . summer. It’s been months. I couldn’t stand it if she found me here and hurt you. She’ll kill you.”

  Cade’s grip was strong. The heat from his body rolled over her. Under the flannel, the muscles of his chest flexed and his biceps strained against the sleeves. Mara had to fight the urge to wrap her arms around him.

  “She’ll have to hurry. I’ll likely be dead in a month anyway.”

  “What?” Cade said, his voice a low growl. His hands tightened on hers.

  “I’m dying, Cade.”

  Eight

  Cade pulled Mara over to the sofa. Confusion twisted his gut and he held onto Mara’s hands tightly. “Explain.”

  Mara shrugged. “I’ve been sick for a while. My blood doesn’t carry oxygen like it should. You knew it—when you were a wolf. Every time I felt badly, you’d whine and you wouldn’t leave my side.”

  He shook his head. “The wolf doesn’t process information like we do. Different brain chemistry. Short-term memories are the strongest.” His eyes unfocused for a minute. “Last night. I was scared. You fell. You didn’t smell right. I remember trying to help you. And I remember smelling the sickness when I got into your car. But the rest is all fuzzy.”

  Mara smiled and it sent goose bumps down his arms. Her smile lit up the room. He wanted to see it every day. Wanted to see her smile at him every day. “You made me feel better. When I touched you, whatever’s wrong with me faded a little. Adam thinks it had something to do with stress. Therapy dogs are used for cancer patients. Endorphins make chemo easier. That sort of thing.”

  Cade’s eyes narrowed. He lifted Mara’s hand to his nose and sniffed the inside of her wrist. “You smell fine now. Strong. Balanced. Like a spring rain.”

  “Really?” Mara laughed. “Good to know.”

  “Don’t laugh. Even as a man, my sense of smell is better than most animals. I remember what you smelled like before. You’re not sick now.”

  “I am. You want to see my medical file? Talk to my doctor?”

  A fiercely possessive flash of emotion seized Cade’s heart and twisted it in a vise. “Yes.” When Mara frowned, he dropped her hand. “How do you feel now?”

  “Fine. Better than fine. I haven’t felt this good in months. But it won’t last. It never does. Last week my numbers did have a little uptick. But no one’s been able to figure out why I’m dying, or how to prevent it. I get transfusions of blood that keep me alive, but no one thinks it’ll keep working for much longer.”

  “You’re not sick,” he insisted again. “I’d know.” And I’d fix it. The overwhelming need to take care of this woman was his only clear thought. Clearer than his own name. A shiver went through his body and he wrapped his arms tightly around himself.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Cold,” Cade said. “I was overheated for months. Now that I’m back to a normal temperature it feels like I’m freezing.”

  Mara took the blanket from the back of the couch and wrapped it around him. “You need clothes. There’s a Target right up the road. If I go shopping for you, will you promise me that you won’t go all overprotective male and leave before I get back?”

  Cade’s lips quirked in amusement. “Yes. I promise. I’d rather not get arrested for indecent exposure.”

  Mara handed him a pad of paper and a pen. “Write down your sizes for me while I take a quick shower and get dressed.”

  Cade sat on the couch for a long time holding the pen over the paper. Even the act of writing felt foreign to him now. He could barely manage chicken scratch and only had a vague idea of what sizes he wore. He knew his shoe size was twelve, but he couldn’t remember how tall he was or how much he was supposed to weigh. He knew he’d lost weight.

  His shift in Mara’s bed had terrified him. Her element seeped into his pelt, water infusing his body with a cool, soothing balm. The fur was absorbed back into his skin. A shaggy mop of hair sprouted from his skull. Lacy pain spread out over his entire body. The bones shattered, lengthened, and reformed. The wolf howled until his voice box grew and his Adam’s apple popped free, and then the noise changed to a hoarse moan. T
he entire transformation had taken less than a minute. He hadn’t been able to think. Not until Mara had talked to him. Her touch calmed his frantic mind. He didn’t understand all the words, could barely answer her, but somehow she’d known what he’d needed. He looked down the hall. Come back.

  Waking up with her this morning he’d been shocked at his humanity. He’d thought it was all a dream. But it wasn’t. Mara was here. He could touch her, talk to her, even hold her if she’d let him.

  When Mara emerged from the bathroom wearing jeans and a soft green sweater, he handed her the paper with trembling hands. “I don’t remember.” He stared down at his bare feet, not recognizing his own body.

  “It’s okay. Come with me.” Mara took his hand and led him into the bedroom. Her fingers were warm and soft. Cade didn’t want to let go. She rummaged in her dresser and came away with a flexible measuring tape. “Arms up.” She wrapped the tape around his waist. “Twenty-nine. Skinny one, aren’t you?”

  “She starved me,” he whispered. “If you hadn’t been there, I don’t think I would have lasted another few hours.”

  “Well, then, maybe a larger size and a belt for you. And some chocolate.” Mara smiled. “Height? I’m guessing six foot two?” She backed him up against the wall to measure. “Six-one.” She handed him the end of the tape measure. “Um, inseam.” Cade looked away as he tucked the end of the tape at the juncture of his thighs and Mara read the length of his leg back to him. “Go on. Write it down. I’ll wait.”

  Every letter and number was easier than the last. What else had he forgotten? He didn’t know where he was or where the bad woman was. He couldn’t even remember her name right now.

  He didn’t want Mara to leave. When she tucked the paper into her pocket, he grabbed her wrist. “How far are we from where you found me?”

  “We’re in Seattle. Three hours total. Ninety minutes by ferry and the same by car. Why?”

  “The elemental who did this to me—I don’t know where she is or how to find her. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “I’ll be perfectly safe. Target is all of two miles from here. I’ll be back in less than an hour. Besides, how in the world could she find you?”