A Shift in the Water

by Eddy, Patricia D.

  “Shit.”

  “You were dead,” Mara murmured.

  Cade peered in the window. Dust covered every available surface. “There’s a back door. The lock never worked right. Come on.” He grabbed Mara’s hand and pulled her around to the back of the building. “Give me your keys.”

  Mara passed them over. Cade pulled the handle up, jabbed her house key against the locking mechanism, jerked the handle to the left, and it popped open. He grinned at her and let her enter the shop before him. Without a thought, he flicked on the lights and moved through the shop that had been his second home for more than five years. The smells, the feel of the wood dust under his feet, the toys resting on his workbench: it all came flooding back to him.

  Mara picked up a train engine the size of a deck of cards. “Goddess, the detail on this is amazing.” She spun the wheels on the bottom of the car with a childish smile on her face.

  “I worked on that my last day. It was supposed to be a ten-car set. The mayor’s kid. Her birthday.” Cade took the car from Mara’s hands and rolled it along his workbench. It needed attention. He picked up a small bit covered with sandpaper and ran it over the back wheel. The grain of the wood shone through. Sawdust coated his fingers. He took a deep breath. Wood had a sweet aroma, comforting.

  The heat of Mara’s body warmed his back. She rested a hand on his shoulder. Over and over the wheels he brushed the tiny sanding rod. The motion calmed the storm of memories buffeting him, colliding and trying to escape his mind.

  When Cade rolled the car again, it skimmed smoothly over the bench. He handed it back to Mara. “There’s a second one around here somewhere.” He rummaged in a bin on the workbench and came up with a caboose. He closed Mara’s hand around the car. “You said something about kids. The man . . . Adam’s kids. Take these.”

  “But . . .”

  “The job was due months ago. The mayor won’t be expecting them. I can’t stay here, Mara. This is probably the last time I’m ever going to see my shop. Take them.”

  Mara tucked the toys into her jacket pocket and shoved her hands into the pockets of her jeans. “You’re going to stay dead.”

  “If I can. It’s the smartest thing. I remember some of it now. She hunted me. Something to do with my father.” He leaned against the workbench. Mara was so close. Her intoxicating scent, her kind green eyes, her lustrous long hair, the beautiful soul who’d saved his wolf when she should have run screaming from him. “Come here,” he said, his voice low and hoarse.

  It only took a step. Cade had his arms around her waist and his lips inches from hers.

  “Cade. We can’t. You said—”

  “If I don’t kiss you right now, I’m going to regret it for the rest of my life.” He dipped his head closer. Her breath whispered over his lips. Coffee, sweet rain, cinnamon, and coconut. She ran her hands through his shaggy hair. His rough, chapped lips brushed chastely against the soft swell of her mouth. A tiny sound, almost a moan, hung between them.

  “Oh my fucking God.”

  The shrill exclamation from the back door startled them both. Mara jumped and yelped. Cade instinctively pulled her behind him.

  The woman standing in the doorway had thick ropes of red scars down the left side of her face. One of her eyes didn’t open fully. Her left arm hung stiffly at her side. She’d aged a dozen years in the seven months he’d been gone, but her blue eyes were as bright as ever.

  “Livie.”

  The female wolf raced towards Cade and launched herself into his arms. He grabbed her with an audible oof. Mara sidestepped the two of them. Cade caught a brief glimpse of sadness in her eyes, but Livie tightened her grip around his neck and he returned his focus to the tiny woman who was like a sister to him.

  Livie sobbed. “I knew it. I knew you were alive somewhere. No one believed me. They said I was stupid for coming back here. Every month. Every fucking month. Shawn hated it. He practically forbade me from coming this month, but I knew. I had to come.”

  “Shawn’s alive too?”

  “We’re all alive, boss-man. Shawn, Ollie, Peter, Liam, Christine . . . God. Peter and I got burned, but we’re okay. Bill died. He was the only one. You’re back. You’re really back.” Her tears soaked into the collar of his shirt. She nuzzled his neck in a familiar submissive gesture, asking for solace from her alpha.

  Cade rubbed a hand over her neck, gripping her blond hair in a controlling and comforting manner, and then set her down on her feet. He touched the scars on the side of her face. “Shit. I’m so sorry.”

  “Could have been worse. My wolf can still run. A little slower than before. Maybe a lot slower, but I manage. Shawn doesn’t seem to notice them anymore.”

  There was something off about her. Something besides the scars. Cade looked her up and down. She wore a pair of jeans over black boots. A loose black sweatshirt tented around her belly and her posture was odd. Her good arm braced the small of her back. “You’re pregnant.”

  Livie beamed. “Five months.” She rubbed her swollen belly. “Little guy’s kicking up a storm already. How the hell did you get here? What took you so long to come back?”

  “It’s a long story.” Cade looked at Mara. She hugged her waist and a pained look spread across her face.

  Livie sniffed the air and whirled towards Mara. “What are you doing with a fucking elemental?”

  Mara raised her hands and took a step back. “I’m not . . .”

  In a heartbeat, Livie pinned Mara against the wall. Her hands grasped Mara’s throat. Mara gasped for air and clawed at Livie’s wrists.

  “Get the fuck off her, she’s mine,” Cade roared. He grabbed Livie’s right arm and pulled with all his strength, but he was still weak and barely managed to loosen her grip.

  The air in the room grew heavy. Droplets of water fell, slithering down the collar of Cade’s flannel shirt. Mara’s eyes were wild.

  “Mara, honey, it’s okay. Livie, let her go, goddammit. She saved my life. Let. Go. Now.”

  Livie’s mouth formed an o and she dropped her arms. A percussive force shoved her and Cade back two feet and drenched them with ice cold water. Mara stood alone, her chest heaving with every breath. Water dripped from her fingers, her chin, and the tip of her nose. Her hair shone. Her green eyes glowed. Her clothes were plastered to her body, draping the curve of her breasts, her slim hips, and her long legs.

  “Cade?” she whispered and collapsed.

  He rushed to her side and scooped her into his arms. He sat on the floor of his shop, wet sawdust clinging to Mara’s body while he prayed. “Mara? Honey? Wake up.”

  Livie sulked against his workbench. “She’s an elemental, boss-man. What if she’s working with that bitch, Katerina?”

  Katerina. Memories crashed over him. Katerina Olmstead. She blamed Cade’s father for her mother’s death. You’re going to pay, dog. You’ll die, but you’ll suffer first. Cade shivered. Too many memories.

  “She’s not,” Cade said, his voice a low growl. “She saved my life. I had one rule. One fucking rule. We never attack without provocation and you break it by trying to kill the woman who saved my life.”

  “I don’t understand,” Livie said. Her voice was small and quiet. She cradled her swollen belly and sank down into her usual chair at the front desk. She’d sat in that chair for years: handling sales, answering phones, and generally watching over Cade.

  “Neither do I. Not entirely. I was trapped as my wolf this whole time. Katerina, she worked some charm that stopped me from shifting. I spent the past seven months in a fucking cage on Orcas Island. She starved me.” He could barely keep going. He hadn’t even confessed all of this to Mara. He wanted to tell her—now that he remembered more of it. He needed her to know most of all. “I was dying. Something happened. I don’t know what, but I dug my way out. My wolf hid in Mara’s car. God, I hurt. Every part of me hurt. But when Mara touched me, it was better. She healed me—the wolf. Fed him, treated his wounds. But still, I couldn’t shift back. Two d
ays ago, somehow her water element broke the charm and I shifted. She didn’t even know she was an elemental.” He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Come back, honey. Please.”

  “Oh my God. Have you claimed her?” Livie asked. She tugged at her right ear, a nervous, uncertain gesture.

  “No. Yes. I don’t know. Fuck. I don’t even have all of my memories. Too long as a wolf—it changes you. When I shifted back, I could barely speak. I didn’t remember . . . anything. There was only Mara. I can’t walk away. She’s mine. That’s all I know. She’s mine. She kissed me yesterday. It felt like coming home.”

  “That’s how I feel about Shawn.” Livie pushed herself up and half walked, half waddled over to Cade and Mara. She dropped down to her knees and checked Mara’s pulse.

  Mara pulled away and blinked her eyes open. “Get the fuck away from me,” she rasped. She tried to fight her way out of Cade’s arms, but he held her tightly.

  “It’s okay, honey. You’re safe. Livie won’t hurt you again.”

  “I’m sorry,” Livie said, looking down at the floor. “Cade’s like my big brother and my father all rolled into one. I’m a little overprotective. When we . . . before the attack, I was security. It was my job to make sure no one harmed our alpha. I failed and when I smelled you, instincts took over. Elementals aren’t common. I assumed you were with the bitch that did this.” She gestured to the scars on her face. “Cade assured me you’re not.”

  Cade smoothed Mara’s hair. He wanted to bite her neck, to bury inside of her. His reaction to Livie’s attack was visceral and immediate. The possessiveness and fear consumed him. His wolf claimed Mara in that moment. She was his mate. His wolf knew it. He didn’t know how he could possibly stay with her with Katerina still out there, but he was damn sure he was going to try if she’d have him.

  “Why am I wet?” She shivered in his arms and her eyebrows squished together, her gaze cloudy.

  “Your water element. You were in danger and I think it took over. Knocked us back, soaked the floor. If we’d been outside in the rain, you might have drowned us.”

  “I want to go home,” Mara said. “I need . . . Goddess, I need Aunt Lil. Her friend, Eleanor. I don’t understand what happened. I feel strange. My skin hurts. My head. I’m so tired. Shit. I can’t drive like this.” She raised her hand and stared at her trembling fingers. A sob caught in her throat. “No.”

  “I’ll take you home.” Cade looked back at Livie. The blond wolf watched Mara suspiciously, but there was no malice in her eyes, only distrust. “Livie, do you have a car?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Mara, listen to me. I can’t leave Livie here. She’s my pack and she knows more about the fire elemental than I do right now. I need her. I need all of them.”

  A tear shimmered at the corner of Mara’s eye. “You have to go. I understand. Get me to my car. I’ll take a nap. Or a hotel. Jen can come get me. I’ll make it home.”

  “You’re not getting rid of me that easily. I want Livie to follow us. Until you’re better and I talk to the rest of my pack, I’m not going anywhere.” He cast a glance at Livie. “And maybe not even then,” he added quietly. He stroked Mara’s hair, tightening his grip. “She’d need to stay with you.”

  Mara’s pupils were saucers of black; only a rim of emerald remained. Her lower lip trembled. “She doesn’t like me.”

  Livie bowed her head and laid her right hand over her heart. “Cade says you’re no threat to us and I’ll take his word on it. I’ve only met one elemental and she nearly killed our entire pack. But he says you saved his life and so I owe you mine. My wolf will protect you both.”

  Mara nodded and rested her head against Cade’s shoulder. “Fine. She have the guest room. You can sleep . . . on the couch.”

  He didn’t want any part of sleeping on the couch, but despite their almost-kiss and his overwhelming need to claim her, that was exactly where he’d be until he could court her properly.

  Cade sent Livie for Mara’s car and packed up a few things from his shop. He’d polished a burled wooden box the size of his hand in the weeks before he’d been trapped, intending to sell it on the shop’s website. But now he wanted Mara to have it. He tucked it in his pocket for a more appropriate time. He also found his emergency stash: his passport, three hundred dollars, and a prepaid credit card with a two thousand dollar limit. Werewolves were always prepared. They weren’t well known, and while some humans like Maggie accepted their existence, he trained his pack to always have that stash in case the town suddenly decided werewolves were a menace to society. Too many weres throughout history had succumbed to a panicking township.

  While he packed, Mara sat against the wall with her head tucked between her knees. She didn’t look at him or say a word and the silence was killing him.

  “Boss-man.” Livie tossed him Mara’s keys. “Where am I going?”

  “Drive to 1028 Northeast Eightieth in Seattle,” Mara said quietly, lifting her head.

  “Okay. I’m going to call Liam and then I’ll be right behind you.”

  “Where are they?” Cade asked.

  “Ireland. Liam’s family castle. We figured as cold and rainy as it is there, we’d be largely safe from that bitch. Plus, her boy-toy earth elemental can’t fly.”

  “Will they come?” Cade bent down and helped Mara to her feet. She shook him off and stood under her own power.

  “Of course they will,” Livie said. “There’s nothing we wouldn’t do for you.”

  Eleven

  Cade thanked whatever deity brought Mara to Orcas that he remembered how to drive. Once he got behind the wheel, he knew what to do. Turn signals, merging onto the highway, how to handle a four-way stop. Mara curled up in the passenger seat and stared out the window. He had the heat in the car turned up to maximum. They were both still soaked from Mara’s charm. Ten miles passed without a single word from her and he couldn’t stand it any longer.

  “Talk to me, honey.”

  “Keep the clothes,” Mara said quietly.

  “What?”

  “The clothes. When you go. You can take one of my suitcases. I won’t need them anymore.” She turned her head enough for him to see tears glistening on her cheek.

  “Goddammit, Mara, you’re not dying. Not when I’m around.” He slammed his hand against the steering wheel and she flinched.

  “No, you’ll be back with your pack before I lose this fight.”

  “What the hell? Why are you so certain I’m going to leave?” His knuckles turned white and a headache throbbed behind his brows. Rain pelted the car in time with the pounding in his head.

  “Because I’m asking you to go. I don’t want you to watch me die. And make no mistake, Cade. I am going to die. Soon.” Mara lifted her hand so Cade could see her trembling fingers. “This is how it starts. Every time. Elemental . . . power . . . charms . . . whatever’s going on with me, it doesn’t matter. It’s not healing me. I had a little remission these past few days, but it won’t last.”

  Cade wanted to pull Mara into his arms and protect her, but at seventy miles an hour, all he could do was trail a knuckle against her cheek.

  She shifted away from his touch. “Don’t. It’s hard enough knowing that I’ll never have another Thanksgiving, see Adam and Lisa’s kids grow up, or swim in the ocean again. I can’t let myself want . . . something else I can’t have. I’m really tired now. Wake me when we reach Northgate. I’ll give you directions from there.” She reclined the seat and pulled his jacket over her shoulders.

  He listened intently, capturing the moment when her breathing changed. If they mated, he’d know everything about her. His wolf—forever now only allowed to exist within his human form—would memorize the pattern of her heartbeat, her breath, even the flutter of her eyelashes. If she was still dying, he was damn well going to be there at the end. He wanted the last sight she saw to be his face, the last sound she heard to be his voice. She wanted him. That simple admission gave him all the resolve he needed. He’d d
o anything to keep her safe and his.

  The miles sped by. Mara made the occasional quiet mewl and twitched in the seat. Cade reached over and laid his hand on her thigh. The connection between them seemed to calm her. Twenty miles out of Seattle, she shifted and her hand came to rest on top of his. Thank God she doesn’t drive a stick, he thought.

  Her mobile phone buzzed in the center console. Cade flicked his gaze to the screen. Aunt Lil.

  Mara flinched and withdrew her hand. “Was that my phone?” she asked, sleepily. She reached for the phone and snatched it up as soon as she saw the missed text. Her fingers flew over the touchscreen. Another buzz, another response, and she set the phone down. “She and Eleanor will be at the house when we get there. We should . . . figure out how we’re going to explain you. Neighbor? Stay with the gas leak story?”

  “No.” He risked a quick glance at her. “This woman, Eleanor. She knows about elementals?”

  “Yes. Apparently.”

  “Then she’ll know about werewolves.”

  “Cade.” Mara’s voice was edged with exasperation. “You can’t.”

  “Give me one good reason.”

  Mara sputtered for a minute, looked out the window, and ran a hand through her damp hair. “I give up. Clearly you don’t listen to me.”

  “I listen. I hear you, Mara. You’re scared and so am I. But that’s why I won’t hide who I am from your aunt and Eleanor. They’re going to figure out pretty quick that I’m not some random neighbor.”

  “Only if you tell them.”

  “You let random neighbors do this?” He took her hand and brushed his lips to her inner wrist. A quick sniff verified that she was not currently ill and that settled his mind. She blushed. “The only way we’re going to be able to stay safe is to put all of our cards on the table. You’re important to me. I won’t hide it.”