A Shift in the Water

by Eddy, Patricia D.

  Cade’s fist shot out and connected with Liam’s jaw. The big werewolf stumbled back and landed on his ass. “That’s for disrespecting Mara. This is for disrespecting me.” He reached down and grabbed Liam by the front of his T-shirt. He hauled him up and belted him again, this time in the gut. Liam doubled over with an audible groan. “If you want more, I’ll give it to you. But it’s your choice. What’ll it be?”

  “I’m sorry,” Liam grunted. “I was wrong to attack your intended.”

  “My mate.”

  “She’s not your mate until the full moon,” Liam said, throwing up his hands when Cade advanced on him again.

  “You’re walking a thin line. What’s this really about?” Cade shoved his hands into his pockets so he wouldn’t be tempted to punch his beta again. Liam was rarely the most agreeable man, but this wasn’t like him. Not at all.

  Liam ran a hand through his tousled hair. “Ya came back from seven months with the wolf in control. No one does that. Livie was trapped for three days after the fire. It’s why she’s scarred. When she shifted, she couldn’t speak for a whole day. And yet here you are, not four days later, walkin’, talkin’, and punchin’. I want to know how.”

  “What you’re really saying is that you don’t believe I could come back. Fine.” He took a chair from the dining room table and turned it around, straddling it and crossing his arms over the back. “I’ll tell you what I remember. And when I’m done, each and every one of you is going to go to Mara and beg her forgiveness or leave this pack forever. Your choice.”

  Mara pulled on a pair of gray fleece pants and hugged herself tightly. Cade’s sweatshirt was warm and comforting. She could lose herself in his scent. She stretched out on the bed and closed her eyes, but the angry sound of a fist hitting flesh and a guttural growl set her on edge and she got up and started to pace. A flutter of movement outside had her pulling back the drapes. Livie looked up from her patrol, caught Mara’s eyes, and cocked her head. Livie could help. Or at least explain what the hell was going on in the other room. Mara pointed towards her front door and the wolf nodded.

  Cracking the door, she listened. Cade was recounting his memories of his time as a wolf. Slipping on her shoes, Mara tiptoed down the hall. Peter glared at her as she passed the living room but no one said a word. Cade whipped his head around when her hand was on the door knob.

  “Mara?”

  “I’m going to talk to Livie. Don’t worry about me.”

  His eyes said so much, though he only nodded. I want you. Be careful. I’m sorry.

  It was a cool, damp night. Dew glistened on the windshields of the cars, shining like diamonds in the glow of the streetlights. Livie sat in human form, wrapped in the blanket that Mara had left on the front porch the night before. Her bare toes were pale pink, her cheeks flushed, and her blond hair hung over her eyes. She brushed it away to reveal her scarred eye and cheek.

  “Spill.”

  “Cade said he’d choose me over them.” The words came spilling out, faster than she could think. She told Livie everything that happened in her kitchen. “How can he possibly choose me over his family? He’s known me three weeks.”

  “He’s mated to you.” Livie shrugged. “Or will be after the full moon. It’s how we are. I love Cade. I’d die for every single wolf in your house. But if I had to choose between any of them and Shawn . . . between all of them and Shawn, I’d pick Shawn every time. It’s instinctual and nothing we can control.”

  “What’s going to happen in there?”

  “Cade will read them the riot act and they’ll have to either apologize or leave. Or challenge. But that’s not likely.”

  “Challenge?”

  “Think of it like a coup. It’s rare, but if your alpha goes insane or gets really sick, it can happen. It’s more likely that Peter or Ollie will get in his face and say something to piss him off. It’s too close to the new moon. They’re both bitten, not born. They’ve got less control of their emotions this time of the month than the rest of us. Don’t worry. We run hot—in more ways than one. Even if boss-man does have to throw a punch or two, everything will be forgiven by morning.”

  As if Livie’s words were prophetic, Cade’s deep baritone carried in through the closed door. “Goddammit Ollie, I don’t give a fuck!”

  Mara flinched. “Goddess. I can’t stand this. I need to get out of here.” She tried to get up, but Livie grabbed her wrist and held her down.

  “Mara, wait. If you want to leave, I’ll go with you. But you’ll tell Cade first. Katerina is out there somewhere and you can’t go running off alone.”

  “Fine. I want to go to Aunt Lil’s. You can go with me, but once I get there, come back and take care of Cade. It’s a fifty-year-old brick building with a secure entrance. Nothing’s getting to me there.”

  Mara cleared her throat when the two women were safely back inside. “Cade? Can I talk to you for a minute?”

  He turned and the pain and stress etched on his face came close to changing her mind. His eyes were bloodshot. The rest of his wolves sat meekly, staring down at the ground.

  “What is it, honey?”

  “I’m going to Lil’s for the night.”

  “No,” he growled. He sprung up and pulled her against him. “Don’t leave. I’ll send them away. Hell, I’ll leave. This is your house. And I . . . I’m falling in love with you. It’s not merely physical. It’s not the mating. You’re strong, smart, funny, and so fucking beautiful. Don’t leave me.”

  “I’m not leaving you,” she said, hoping to reassure him. “I’m falling for you too. But there’s too much stress here. I can’t think. All I want to do is lose myself in you. One night. You can have time with them alone. Find the rest of yourself.” She laid her hand against his cheek and he pressed into her palm. The stubble was almost soft and tickled her fingers. Goddess. What she felt was strong enough to be love. If only she could think, she might know. “I can tell, you know. I can see the man you once were. He’s back. Or he’s getting there. But you need them. They’re your family and I won’t take you away from them or let you choose me over them.”

  “It’s too dangerous,” he insisted. “Katerina.”

  “Eleanor’s there. Aunt Lil has a gun. She knows how to use it.” Mara forced a smile. “One night. That’s it. I’ll have my phone. You’ll be able to reach me.”

  Livie stepped forward. “Boss-man? Let her get her phone. I want to talk to you for a minute.”

  Mara retrieved her purse, keys, and phone from her room. She thought about leaving Cade’s sweatshirt behind, but she didn’t want to take it off. When she returned to her living room, Cade stood with his hands in his pockets.

  “I don’t like this,” he said. “But Livie can keep you safe. Will you call me when you get there?”

  Mara melted at the concern in his voice. “Yes. I will. I left Lil’s number on my nightstand.” She looked over at the blond werewolf she thought she could one day consider a friend. Maybe even a sister. Livie was dressed in her black sweatshirt and jeans and she’d donned a pair of tennis shoes. She clutched a mobile phone in her scarred fingers.

  “I’ll protect her, boss-man. On my life.”

  Cade nodded. “You’d better.”

  Seventeen

  She didn’t want to go. And yet, she was desperate to escape at the same time. Her sister was out there somewhere hunting the man she was quite certain she was falling for. “Don’t do anything stupid,” she whispered in his ear. “Like getting it into your head that you’re going to follow me. Stay here with your family and figure all this shit out. I’ll be back in the morning.”

  Mara leaned in and kissed Cade like he was water and she was in the middle of a dessert, half dead. She couldn’t believe she was voluntarily walking out on him, but she consoled herself with the knowledge that she’d be back. One night. Not even a whole night. It was a little after one in the morning. She’d be gone all of eight hours. She’d spent the past five years living alone. So why did she fe
el so unsettled?

  She pulled away reluctantly. “My spare house keys are on the hook by the door. Lock up after we leave.”

  The pained expression on Cade’s face was a knife to her heart, but she linked her arm with Livie’s and hurried out to the wolf’s rental car. “Head west on eightieth,” she said through a clenched jaw once they were belted in. Cade stood in her doorway, watching her, fear etched in the lines on his face.

  Livie grabbed Mara’s hand and squeezed. “He’ll be okay. And he’ll end this stupid male wolf bullshit that Liam and Ollie have going on. Ollie was a sheriff, so I get him being a hard-ass, but Liam . . . he’s had a really hard time since the fire.” She started the car and pulled away from the curb. Mara stared back at Cade’s shrinking form.

  “Turn left here. Lillian’s condo is only two blocks south.”

  “Really? If it was warmer, we could have walked.” Livie navigated the quiet streets with ease.

  “Yeah. It’s my condo. I bought it as an investment when I moved to Seattle. When my dad died, the real estate market was at its lowest. I wanted to be out of shared walls, so I bought the house and sublet the condo. Then Aunt Lil moved into it when I got sick.”

  Livie parked and turned in her seat. “You were right, you know. What you did. Leaving.”

  “It doesn’t feel right now.” Mara rubbed the back of her neck. The headache hadn’t fully left her. She should have had more water. “Why does Liam hate me? Besides my relationship to Katerina.”

  “Oh babe, he doesn’t. He doesn’t trust you, but he doesn’t hate you.”

  “Then what is it?” Mara shivered.

  Livie angled her head towards the condo complex and they both got out of her rental. “He fell in love once. He doesn’t talk about it, but she was an air elemental. He would have mated with her.”

  “What happened? I mean . . . can I ask? I don’t want to overstep anything.” Mara dug in her purse for the keys to the condo building’s secured outer door. She’d called her aunt to let her know she was coming, but she didn’t want Lillian to get out of bed in the middle of the night and navigate the halls. Her aunt was still spry, but her steps had turned a little more hesitant in the past year.

  “She died.”

  Mara turned back to look at Livie. “Oh Goddess, I’m—”

  She tensed. Something moved in the corner of her eye. Her hands shot out, catching Livie in the chest. She shoved Livie. Hard. The petite wolf flew back, landing in a small hedge. Fire arced through Mara’s limbs, forcing her to the ground. She rolled, calling on her element. It was easier here in the humid nighttime air. A light mist fell steadily. Her hands tingled and the subtle vibrations of the water droplets surrounding her were a frantic symphony inside her head. One note at a time, she searched for them, drawing as much of the life-giving and strengthening element inside of her as she could to counteract the heat coursing through her limbs.

  Livie’s pained howl pierced the night air. Bones popped and cracked. Mara crawled towards her, scanning the parking lot for Katerina. She’d seen her sister—hands glowing with fire—only seconds before the blast. She couldn’t let Livie be hurt, even in wolf form. Not with the baby. “Go,” Mara croaked. “Run.”

  A growl answered her: Livie’s wolf. “No.”

  “Mara Taylor.” Katerina’s sing-song voice was like glass shattering to her ears. “And a bitch. We could smell you at that dog’s shop. All three of you. Now where’s the other one? Bowman. Upstairs?”

  Livie barked and leapt in front of Mara.

  “I nearly killed you once, bitch. I can do it again,” Katerina spat. She stepped out from behind a van, hands glowing. A tall, gangly young man stood at her back with his hand on her shoulder. A slight blond woman stood a few paces away, palms raised and mist swirling around her.

  “Livie, get back,” Mara said harshly. “You know where to go to hide.”

  The wolf made an inquisitive sound, and then almost immediately growled her refusal.

  Mara glared at her sister. “The wolf you’re after isn’t here. He left. This morning. And the only one upstairs is my eighty-five-year-old aunt. How the hell did you even know to come here?” She kept her arms down by her sides, not wanting to appear threatening. As far as she knew, Katerina didn’t know she was an elemental, or at least, didn’t know the extent of her power.

  “I’ve kept tabs on you, sister dear. Bella smelled you and the dog together. Water. Really? How the hell did you end up with water as your element?”

  Shit. She does know.

  “I didn’t know if you still lived here, but I thought I’d keep watch for a day to find out.” Katerina took a couple of steps closer. Mara and Livie shrank back.

  Mara forced a laugh and sidestepped Livie. “My aunt lives here now. And unless you’re going to burn down an entire building, you’re never getting inside.” She threw her hand out and called forth a stream of water, shooting the dropped door key into the sewer drain. It clattered, clanked, and dinged its way down the pipe.

  Katerina let loose with a shrill scream and blasted bright orange flames towards Livie.

  “No! Run!” Mara threw herself in front of the wolf, praying she had enough control. She wrapped Livie in a wall of water. Frightened, Livie ran yelping across the parking lot, as far from Katerina as Mara could manage.

  The fire hit Mara in the chest. The sound that filled her ears was so foreign, she didn’t even recognize it as her own scream until she ran out of air and it ceased. Every nerve ending throbbed in agony. Her body thrashed on the ground. A lead weight settled over her. Can’t breathe!

  Where was Livie? Mara tried to look around, but not even her head obeyed her commands. Her vision darkened at the edges. Why can’t I breathe?

  “Where’s the she-wolf?” Katerina shouted.

  Another female voice answered, “I can’t smell her. That damn water obliterated any bit of her scent.”

  The man called from a dozen feet away. “I’ve got tracks, but they disappear when they hit the street. She ran away.”

  Katerina’s pinched face and jet black hair hovered over Mara. “She’s about to pass out, Bella. Release your charm.”

  Air flooded Mara’s lungs, sweet and rich. She gulped in huge breaths, too weak to escape or call on her element to protect herself. Katerina dropped to one knee and slapped her hand in the center of Mara’s chest. A low chant escaped those blood-red thin lips. “I call upon the earth’s fiery core, flow through me and settle in this body. May the Goddess’ will be done.”

  Mara’s lips cracked in a single blink of her hollow, scratchy eyes. Her tongue turned to sandpaper. Every breath sent daggers through her chest. Her element was gone. Taken in an instant. She couldn’t move. “Why?” she croaked.

  Before Katerina could answer, the lanky young man thrust Mara’s wallet forward. “Babe, she was telling the truth. She’s got a different address on her driver’s license.”

  Katerina glanced over at it. “Shit. Bella? Do you smell the dog at all?”

  Air swirled around Mara. It allowed her to take a single breath that didn’t threaten to overwhelm her with agony, but the respite didn’t last. All too soon the breeze fell still. Not even the mist that prickled against her face helped. It was as if every molecule of water went to keeping her heart beating.

  “No,” a soft voice replied. “Only on her. I told you earlier. The wolf isn’t here.”

  “Take her, Jeremy. We’re going to pay my sister’s house a little visit.” Katerina leaned closer to Mara and whispered in her ear. “Don’t worry. That charm I put on you won’t kill you. It’ll hurt a bit, stop you from using your own charms, but I’ll release it once I’ve killed the dog and you’ll be fine. Maybe you’ll even come to forgive me for it.”

  Never. Goddess, please let Livie get there in time.

  The man—Jeremy—hauled her up and over his shoulder. Mara tried to wriggle, to do something to throw herself off balance to escape the strong arm that banded around her thighs, but
she was too weak. A single tear was all her dehydrated and overheated body could muster. As she was dumped into the back of a van, she prayed. Please Cade. Run.

  Cade paced, waiting for her call. He didn’t know how close Lillian lived, but he wouldn’t settle down until he knew Mara had gotten there safely. Livie had pulled him aside while Mara had retrieved her phone. “She needs this,” Livie had said. “Trust me. She loves you, boss-man. Give her tonight. I’ll talk to her and you can kick all of their asses into next week for scaring the shit out of her. And tell Liam to get his head out of his ass. He’s pissy because he’s never gotten over her.”

  Few people knew the true details of Liam’s lost love. The air elemental committed suicide by jumping off a cliff. Her body had never been recovered. Mike had told him in confidence that Liam had wanted to mate with the woman. Now that Cade had the chance that Liam had never had . . . Liam’s prickly demeanor made sense.

  The front door of the house shuddered. A mournful howl pierced the night air. Livie. Cade raced for the front door. Liam, Peter, and Shawn were only steps behind him. He threw open the door and the female wolf bounded in. She howled again and shifted back into her human form. She was drenched from head to toe. Shawn pulled her to her feet.

  Livie gasped for breath. “Mara . . . Katerina was there. Mara saved . . . my life. Katerina has an air elemental. She can track us. We have to get out of here. Now.”

  “Where’s Mara?” Cade grabbed Livie’s shoulders. “Why didn’t you protect her?” He was shouting now, desperate and out of his mind with fear.

  “I tried. God, Cade. I tried. There were three of them.” Tears streamed down Livie’s face. “Fire, earth, and air. They thought you were at Lil’s. Mara used to live there. They could be here in minutes. We have to run. Now.”

  “If she got away, she’d come back here,” Cade said, protesting.

  “And what if she didn’t? What if Katerina’s already killed her?” Liam asked.