Changing Focus

by Marilu Mann

  “Joie, you tell that rascal of yours my boat needs a tune-up when he gets back, now, you hear? Now we’re going home and out of this noisy city.”

  Micah got in line for a cab. All he wanted right now was to be back in the frigid Wisconsin weather. This so-called Louisiana cold didn’t qualify. He shrugged out of his leather jacket with a curse. Where had his life gone so wrong? From the carefully planned retirement to this insane grief he felt, Micah wondered if he was losing his mind.

  Pain shook him. He needed Olivia badly. It wasn’t right for new mates to be apart. The bonding energy might never complete its cycle. He knew where she was though so that much of the bond had taken. Had hers? Did she feel him under her skin the way he did? Clenching his fist, Micah turned away from Joie so she wouldn’t see his anguish.

  Finally they were next in line at the cab stand. Handing Joie in, he helped the driver load the luggage. Once he gave the address for the hotel, Micah leaned back with a sigh. His phone vibrating in his pocket jolted him out of his reverie.

  “Why aren’t you here?”

  Micah sighed into the phone. “Tony, I’m going to a hotel. I’m in no mood to be around others. You and Carly enjoy each other. I have to do this on my own. Thanks.”

  Joie laid a hand on his shoulder. “Are you sure that’s a good thing? You know Slade and Tony have worked out their differences.”

  “Yeah, I know, Joie, but I don’t want to bring them in on this. Carly’s trying to get her own clinic going and they’ve got the baby to rear. And I don’t want you in this either. I let you come with me because I knew I couldn’t stop you. But I can and I am putting my foot down here. This is my battle. Let me fight it on my own.”

  The exasperated sigh from his side told him this wasn’t going to be easy. “Micah, you can’t do this on your own. You told me on the plane that they were taking the lone wolf angle on this. Don’t you see you are setting yourself up to fail? Are you really as stubborn as Malcolm?”

  The words hurt but Micah ignored the pain. He had to do this on his own. Talia was his and he would retrieve her. He’d make the judge see that he was not a lone wolf just because he refused leadership of a Pack. That didn’t matter, he couldn’t let it matter.

  Finally he got to the hotel and left a very unhappy Joie in the cab. He’d paid the fare to take her back to LaPlace. The prepaid tip had guaranteed the cabbie’s agreement to the out-of-area drive.

  Throwing his coat down, Micah tipped the bellhop and closed the door more firmly than necessary. All he wanted was a few moments of peace and quiet. He had to think. Had to get his head on straight. His phone buzzed again, denying him that silence he sought.

  “Micah Keeps Vigil,” he barked the words into the phone. “What?”

  As his lawyer delivered the hearing details, Micah felt his knees go out from under him. The bed protested as he sat down heavily and he wondered if the Great Spirit were testing him for some reason.

  The hearing would be held at the compound. Fist balled, he slammed it into his thigh. This was bad, very bad. Using Louisiana law and shifter authority, the Compound Pack lawyers named the hearing site using a little-known law about child custody hearings being held in nonthreatening venues.

  “Hell.” Micah bit off the curse as he stood up to pace the room. He had to think. This changed everything. Looking at the phone on his bed like it was a snake, he realized he had to call for help. With the hearing being held at the compound, the Turn Skins would be out in force. He needed the backing of his Pack in spite of his desire to do it all himself.

  Growling, he resisted picking the cell up immediately, knowing from past experience that in this mood he might crush it into useless bits. Micah hit his leg again and winced. Bruising himself was not going to help this situation. He’d lost Olivia. He would not lose Talia and not to the Compound Pack.

  With a deep breath, he pulled in as much calm as he could, forcing the overwhelming desire to shred something to flow out on the exhalation. Five of those cleansing intakes and releases allowed him to gain a modicum of calm. He picked up the phone and started methodically going through his phonebook.

  By midnight Micah knew he’d have friends at the hearing but he didn’t know if it would be enough. If the judge deemed him a lone wolf, he knew he would never be able to rear Talia and it would be at the whim of the Compound Pack shifters whether or not he could even visit his child. My child. Mine. The thought reverberated through him shaking him to his core.

  When had this all happened? He tried to look backward to see if he could fit the pieces together, but when Olivia’s face floated in his memory, he closed his eyes. Thinking of her only hurt-his heart as well as other unanswered desires his body still demanded.

  Newly mated shifters had a honeymoon period for a reason and he’d been denied his. If he’d been a different kind of wolf, he might have been able to hit a bar or call an old friend here in New Orleans to find temporary relief. But Micah had never been that kind.

  A soft knock at the door put him on full alert. Who could be at the door at this hour? A quick scenting brought a smile to his face. He opened the door and dragged the visitor in.

  “Tony!” Micah pounded his friend on the back. “I told you not to come. You are such a cat. You don’t listen worth a damn.”

  “Dogs come when they’re called. Cats take a message.” The raven-haired man grinned as he quoted an old joke. “So what do we need to do to get ready for the day after tomorrow, Micah? Carly told me not to bother coming home until we had a strategy. She’d be here but she’s home with TJ.”

  Micah let Tony distract him with tales of his terrible almost-one-year-old before pulling out a notepad. “Let’s draw it out, Tony. Like we used to.”

  The two bent their heads together to begin to list every player involved as well as their angle. Once they knew why the Compound Pack wanted Talia, they could plan their attack.

  At one point, close to three in the morning, Micah rubbed his neck and leaned back from the desk. Heaving a sigh, he looked at his friend.

  “You know, life was certainly simpler when they kidnapped our people and we went in and kicked ass and took ours back.”

  Tony shook his head. “Never thought I’d hear you say that, Micah, but you’re right. The Turn Skins are different these days. Hell, I don’t even call them that much anymore. They are the Compound Pack now. Frank’s done a damn good job of turning that Pack around. I’ve heard they are having some money issues though.”

  Tony hit himself in the forehead. “That’s it, Micah. Money. I’ll bet Curtis left money to Talia and they want to control it.”

  “Money? You think this is about money?” Micah growled fiercely. “They can have the money. I don’t need it. I can take care of Talia without that old bastard’s money.”

  Snarling, he swept the notepad off the table as he jerked to his feet to pace angrily. Money? They’d taken his child for money? Rage built inside him until his ears rang from the pressure. A hand on his arm nearly threw him over the edge until he realized that Tony was still there.

  “Micah, pull it together. We’re just speculating here. We don’t know why they want Talia. We can’t waste time worrying about what we don’t know.”

  Slowly nodding his head, Micah tugged himself back to the hotel room. His wolf wanted to kill something-he couldn’t afford that energy expenditure right now. Sitting back at the table, Micah reached down to return the notepad to the table.

  “We have a strategy. We know we have allies coming. Now we wait. So go home to your beautiful mate.” Micah heard his voice splinter. “And I’ll get what sleep I can. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Tony headed for the door, pausing with his hand on the knob. “Micah, I know you’re mated. I can smell it a mile away. I don’t know why she’s not here, but I’m guessing there’s a good reason?”

  Micah sighed. “That’s a long story. Suffice it to say she doesn’t want to be what she is-a shifter. I can’t worry about her now tho
ugh. She’s safe in her office in New York. I’ll deal with her once I get Talia back.”

  “Shouldn’t she know about Talia, Micah?” Tony’s tone wasn’t harsh but the question lanced through Micah. He swept a hand through his hair and nodded.

  “Probably but it’s too late now. I’ll tell her once this is all over and I have Talia back. Then I can work on bringing Olivia home.”

  Tony nodded. “Okay, mon ami, you know what’s best, I guess. Get some rest.”

  Micah flipped the privacy latch on the door after Tony left. Was he right? Did Olivia deserve to know about Talia? Mulling it over for a few moments, Micah realized he agreed with Tony. He picked up the phone and hoped Olivia was still an early riser.

  When the call went straight to voicemail, Micah hung up without leaving a message. Then, cursing himself for a fool, he called back and left a short statement about what had happened. He told her he would call her when everything was straightened out. Even to himself he sounded like someone trying to convince themselves of a long shot happening.

  Micah stretched out on the hotel bed. When his feet hung off the edge, he groaned and flipped to his side to draw them up. Closing his eyes firmly, he waited for sleep to come. He dozed fitfully until his alarm went off.

  Sitting up he thanked the years of surveillance that had taught him to grab sleep no matter what was going on. Feeling as rested as a few hours could make him, he put in an order for room service and got in the shower.

  The remnants of his meal were being wheeled out when Tony poked his head in the door. “Ready?”

  Micah glanced around the room to make sure he had everything and headed down to the car where a familiar blonde woman and a short brunette male waited. “Carly, Nolan, it is good to see you.”

  Nolan threw his arms around Micah, hugging him fiercely before stepping back. “I had to come see you, Micah. I won’t go onto the grounds with you, but I’ll be waiting for word. You need to come by Animalia before you go home. I know, bring Talia in for dessert after the hearing. I’m sure I can whip up something she’ll like.”

  Micah smiled and put a hand on Nolan’s shoulder. “Thank you, little brother. You can be sure we’ll stop by the club before we go home. I’ve missed your étouffée.”

  Nolan grinned and stepped back, giving his place to Tony’s mate who also wrapped Micah in a tight hug before touching his face with one cool hand and looking straight into his eyes.

  Dr. Carly Pantera smiled gently. “It’s good to see you and I wish it were under better circumstances, Micah. You need to stop by New Orleans more often. Enough of that, now let’s go get your daughter.”

  The cool determination of the human did more to build Micah’s confidence than anything else the day had brought so far. She’d faced the Compound Pack under the misguided angry rule of Slade, so for her to willingly return was a statement of her loyalty and courage. She and Tony were indeed well matched.

  Thinking back over their combined past with the Turn Skin Pack, Micah still marveled at the changed wolf that Slade was. His tiny human wife had turned him around completely. He wasn’t nearly as angry or bloodthirsty as he’d been then. By the same token, Micah also understood the pain that held his friend Nolan. The Turn Skins had killed his mate, Derik, and he still struggled with anger against them. Nolan waved as they got into the car to head to the hearing site. Looking out the back window, Micah watched Nolan’s head drop as he turned to cross the street to his own car.

  The trip to the compound was quiet with each lost in their thoughts. Micah tried to imagine his world without Talia. Though she hadn’t been with him for long, his life had become so much more vibrant with her in it. The fact that she and Olivia had come to him so close together, a mate and a child to bring up, making them an immediate family, had to be a sign from the gods that they were truly meant to be together. The sobering vision solidified his decision to get his child back one way or the other. If he had to, he would steal her and disappear on one of the reservations.

  He knew his way around reservations, having grown up on one, and knew he could easily take Talia and no one would ever find them. Those who lived on the reservations wouldn’t tolerate interference from outsiders and he could go far enough away that no shifter would ever find them. Shaking his head, Micah pushed those thoughts aside. He didn’t want that for Talia, though, to live in shadows and fear. He wanted to bring her home, hear her laughter ringing through his home and be able to tuck her in at night and watch her grow. First he had to get his daughter, then together, maybe they could convince Olivia that she belonged with them too.

  Tony turned into the familiar drive. Micah nodded as he noticed the shifters guarding the gate. Though they wore security company uniforms, he knew they were members of the Pack living here. Their scent alone confirmed that fact. The men suffered a brief pat-down search and when one of the guards turned toward Carly, Tony couldn’t stop snarling at him as his wife was subjected to the same. Only her quiet reassurance held him back. Micah didn’t even feel the body scan. His every fiber was set on getting into the house and getting this hearing over and done with. My daughter belongs with me.

  Search completed, the guards told them the hearing was in the great room of the white mansion. Carly reached for Tony’s hand and he brought it up to his mouth for a brief kiss. Micah wasn’t sure who was comforting whom and wished he had the support of a loyal mate as he walked through the doors of what had most recently been hell.

  “Can you get me to this address?” Olivia shoved the paper under the nose of the cab driver.

  He nodded and tossed her carryon on the backseat. She watched the city change from modern to quaint to narrow row houses and then to large spacious holdings as the cab took her to the place Gareth said the hearing was. Clutching her purse, she flexed her fingers, trying to relieve some of the tension.

  Climbing out of the cab, Olivia didn’t wait for the driver to unload her bag, she yanked it out of the car herself. She pushed too much money at him and faced the guards at the gate. Guards. Why are there guards? Shaking the useless worry away, she strode up to the gate.

  “I’m here for Talia Genaro’s hearing.”

  One of the men lifted his head scenting the air. “You smell like one of us but I don’t know you and you aren’t on my list. If you want in, you need to show what you are.”

  Olivia gasped. “What? You want me to change here in the open?”

  The man scoffed as he pointed toward a small guardhouse. Jerking a finger at it, he clipped out, “Go change in there if you are shy. No one is going to see you out here but Pack anyway.”

  A statue might have been more mobile than Olivia in that moment. Her feet had frozen to the ground. Surely her heart had stopped beating as well. There was no way she could shift. She’d sworn to never turn from human to wolf again.

  I can’t do this. I have to do this. Micah needs me. Struggling with her fear was only half of it. Olivia swallowed heavily. What if she failed? What if she couldn’t shift? Would these men harm her? Would Micah lose Talia because she was too scared to try?

  Olivia, get a grip right now. You are going to walk over there and do this. She remembered the freedom she’d felt as a wolf. And she thought about how much she had wanted to stay in that form that first time. Now her fears were twofold. If she did manage to shift to wolf, could she shift back? Micah had been there to help her-to encourage her-both times.

  A tear tracked down Olivia’s face as she opened the door to the small building. If she couldn’t help Micah, he might lose the child he loved. And, if she allowed her heart to open that much, the child she cherished as well. She loved him too much to let that happen. It was time for her to overcome her terror and embrace the beast inside her.

  Stepping inside, she laid her tailored jacket on the desk and followed it with her skirt. The rest of her clothing followed, then Olivia stood there shivering in the damp air. Focusing on the feeling she’d had before when shifting from wolf to human, Olivia closed
her eyes and took a deep breath.

  And nothing happened.

  Her eyes flew open in horror to see her well-manicured nails in front of her instead of furry paws. Squinting her eyes shut again, Olivia tried to will herself into wolf form again and on opening her eyes again, was still met with her human self. Pacing in the small room did little to alleviate her fears. She could feel her heartbeat increasing and in spite of the chill in the air and her nudity, she felt sweat starting to break out on her forehead.

  “Monster.” She whispered the word to herself. Clenching her teeth and her fists, Olivia strode back across the room. For so long she’d kept her fears about the monster living in her body at bay-through therapy, medication, meditation and everything else she could think of or had heard about. To consciously reach for that monster…

  Not a monster…not really…Micah isn’t a monster, Gareth and Talia and Pete aren’t monsters. They’re my friends and, they could be my family…

  That thought-so out of the blue but so bone-shakingly true-nearly tripped Olivia as she crisscrossed the small room.

  “Family.” That word she said louder than the previous one. “My family is a bunch of doctors, lawyers, waitresses, housewives, factory workers, real people who just happen to be wolves too.”

  As soon as she gave voice to what Micah had told her that night of the Gathering, Olivia knew. She belonged with them, she belonged with Micah and Talia and the rest of the wolves in Wisconsin. Stopping in the middle of the room, she glanced outside. A long tree-lined drive led the way to the man she loved and the child she wanted to claim. All she had to do was be true to herself, true to her own nature, accept who and what she was.

  “Okay, Olivia, okay. You can do this.” Coaching herself out loud helped a bit. She searched her mind for images of wolves, imagining herself running in the woods, remembering seeing Micah playing in the snow, running with Micah, making love with Micah, seeing the pride on his face when she’d shifted. A ripple pulsed through her body at the sight of a blonde wolf in her mind and she knew she was seeing her wolf form for the first time. A smile crossed her lips as she reached for that form with her whole being. She could do this. Micah believed in her. She believed in herself.