by Zoe Perdita
Felan pretended it didn’t bother him at the time. That the attention Kian lavished on Ari was innocent and not some attempt at seducing the alpha’s mate out from under him. It was innocent, but the alpha didn’t always listen to reason.
As he sat in the piano seat, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. It felt like someone was watching him, and the sensation chilled him enough to turn around. He half expected the ghost wolf to be there, but the space was empty of anything supernatural.
Only the proper sitting room furniture sat there.
Yet, the presence remained.
“Hello?” he asked the room.
The only response was silence.
And now he felt like a fool for thinking it could be anything else.
Felan shook his head and went back to the storeroom. Since this all started the night before, it could have something to do with the load of things Ari got at the Montgomery estate sale. Might as well start there.
He’d gone through everything that had the most potent magical scents and set them aside by the time Ari wandered back down. He heard Ari’s footsteps pause at the foot of the stairs, and almost got up to lead him away from the bloodstains but stopped himself. Since he couldn’t protect his mate from what had happened the night before, the sooner Ari got over it, the better. And coddling him wouldn’t help in the least.
“What are you doing?” Ari asked, leaning in the doorway. His hair was still damp, and some of the color had returned to his cheeks. Though he still looked tired enough to fall over on the spot.
“I thought the wolf might’ve come from something you picked up yesterday. These have the strongest magic in them. If we find out what they are, we might be able to figure out what killed those shifters,” Felan explained.
Ari shook his head. “I’d rather figure out what they were after.”
“You don’t seem as concerned about a ghost shifter as you should. Alwen was right; you’re hiding something. What?”
Ari pursed his lips. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. But, fine. You’re not going to leave me alone, and maybe he wants you to know. Maybe that’s why he did it,” Ari said, more to himself than to Felan, it seemed.
“Who is he?” Felan asked, careful to keep his voice neutral and not let on the storm that felt ready to let loose in his gut. His chest clenched. He’d tried to let Ari live his own life, but the thought of him with another man sent the alpha inside him pacing.
Ari’s fingers twisted together. “Kian.”
Felan stared at him for what felt like an age.
Kian.
His brother was haunting Ari’s house and had killed those men when they tried to attack? It sounded like the most ridiculous thing in the world. But Kian had died there. Had been dying, and Felan didn’t know what to do but bring him to the one person his drug addled brain thought could help. Not a hospital, but a healer.
Ari.
And Kian was fiercely protective of the things he loved, enough that he would’ve gone after anyone who tried to lay a finger on Ari, the same way Felan himself would.
So, no, it didn’t sound stupid. It sounded more plausible than it should.
Plausible and. . . .
“How long have you suspected him?” Felan asked. Forced himself to breathe properly and not raise his voice. Not let the alpha side, the part that was always ready to pounce when Ari was close by, take over.
“Long enough. I thought he was playing the piano last night, and when I went down I heard the burglars and he told me to hide, but they found me first,” Ari said and his eyes flashed with an emotion Felan didn’t recognize.
Felan let that sink in. Chewed on it. If he said he didn’t believe Ari, the healer wouldn’t be happy about it. Plus, that wasn’t true. Felan did believe him. Almost. But it felt worse than belief. It felt like a betrayal of something sacred.
“How long have you known he was here?”
“Why does that matter?” Ari bit out.
“Because I want to know how long you’ve been keeping this from me. And why?” His voice dipped into a growl at the last part, and Felan snapped his mouth shut to stop it.
Too late.
Ari glared at him. “See? I knew you’d take it like this. You’d think I was keeping it a secret for my own sake or something stupid like that. Which isn’t the reason. Kian’s here because he wants to be. If he doesn’t make himself known to you, that’s his choice and not mine. Wonder why that could be?”
A low blow, but one Felan deserved.
“Then why haven’t you told me until now? Did Kian’s ghost say it didn’t want to talk to me?” Felan regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. Not for the effect they might have on Ari, but because he honestly didn’t want to know what Kian’s ghost thought of him. Or think about how he could’ve apologized over the years but hadn’t, not to anything but a grave.
Ari opened his mouth and closed it. “I don’t know what he wants. But he’s the only one who could’ve done that, so it had to be him.”
“And he’s never hurt anyone before?” Felan asked, heart pounding.
Ari shook his head. “Of course not.”
The thought occurred to him instantly, and before he could stop to consider if it was a good idea, the words left his mouth. Again. Ari had that effect on him. “How do you know it’s Kian?”
“What?” Ari breathed and his green eyes widened. Stricken. “Who else would it be?”
“This house is almost two hundred years old and has been owned by healers that entire time. You know as well as I do that other people have died here. Why is Kian the one haunting it? Have you seen him?”
“Yes. And I’ve heard his voice. If you don’t believe me, you can go. Actually, I think that sounds like the perfect idea. Thanks for everything. You know where the door is,” Ari snarled and pointed. His hand shook, and his cheeks were red along the top, sizzling with the same kind of fire that burned under Felan’s flesh.
He felt the nasty smile creeping over his lips, revealing his canines, and told the alpha to stop. Back down. But when it was riled up like this nothing kept it at bay. “Typical. Choosing my brother over me. This is what you always wanted. Have fun with him, Kian.”
Ari’s face hardened into stone, and Felan knew he should apologize right away, but the old hurt that had burdened him for so long kept a hold of his heart. He stalked out without saying another word.
Stealing Felan’s mate when he wasn’t even alive anymore to appreciate him.
Looked like Kian got the last laugh, after all.
5
Fisk, the cat shifter burglar, came over not long after Cage (wisely) left. If he’d stayed, Ari might’ve resorted to violence, which he didn’t like to do. But sometimes a fist to the gut was the only way a stupid alpha listened.
Ari stalked back and forth in the kitchen for a while, snarling at nothing in particular and trying to ignore that ball of dread that took root in his gut. The one that told him he was missing something painfully obvious about the attack that morning.
And perhaps, even the tiniest bit, that Cage (the asshole) had a point. Maybe. About one stupid thing.
Why had Kian lured Ari out of bed if he knew those burglars were dangerous? They hadn’t made a move to come upstairs yet. And if they had, Ari could’ve snuck down the servants stairs and been outside before they knew he’d been there in the first place.
But he heard Kian tell him to hide.
He knew that voice.
Could pick it out of a million others in his sleep.
He’d felt Kian’s presence in the house since that night, but if he told that to Felan, the alpha would probably come up with an excuse about grief that Ari didn’t want to hear. His grandmother died in the house too, and he’d mourned her. Still, she didn’t haunt him the way Kian did. In fact, the only ghost that Ari knew of was Kian.
That meant he wasn’t crazy or making it up. He just didn’t understand Kian’s reasons for doing certain things
. It happened when Kian was alive too, so not much had changed on that front.
When the knock sounded at the door, it shook Ari from his thoughts.
Fisk came with a man who looked like a bodyguard. Big and dark-haired, like Conner Sharp without the scars on his face. It took Ari a moment to remember his name. Breaker. Right. Ian Black’s beta wolf.
They both stared at the chalk outlines on the floor, then at each other in what Ari could only describe as a knowing look. Something lovers shared when they did that annoying thing where they practically read each other’s minds.
Ari sighed. He forgot to mention the part about the shifters who broke in dying a horrible death at the hands of a ghost wolf.
Oops.
“The burglars died. But that’s not why you’re here. Seth said you might be able to figure out how they broke in with all the windows locked.”
Breaker frowned at the chalk outlines, and Fisk snorted. “Right. He’s just trying to get me back for blowing open his last case. Listen. The doors being locked doesn’t matter. Any burglar worth anything can get into your house. You don’t have an alarm, for one. Also, no wards against shifters. Right? I’d be able to smell those, wouldn’t I?” Fisk looked at Breaker for the answer.
The beta wolf gave him an indulgent smile. “You should be able to. Not sure if a cat’s nose is as delicate as mine.”
“Whatever. I didn’t smell a bunch of magic at the perimeter. That’s all the matters. You guys can’t hide that smell. Well, unless you bathed it in silver or something. That might work.”
Breaker snorted.
Ari frowned. He needed to open his shop, and his head pounded. But no way in hell would he take a day off work for this. For one, he didn’t have anything else to do.
“Fine. Look around and make it quick. I have to get to work soon. Muscles here can help me load the car, if that’s okay with you?”
Fisk smirked. “Sure. It’s always a good idea to talk him into doing something. Makes him feel useful.”
Breaker laughed and rustled Fisk’s hair as the cat strolled out of the room.
By the time Ari and Breaker had loaded the last of the boxes, Fisk had finished his look around.
He met them outside, hands on his hips. His T-shirt and shorts didn’t look like something a member of an infamous mobster’s group would wear. But Ari had known Fisk and his twin brother before they ever got mixed up with the Black Wolves. “They used a thin knife to pop the locks (which all look original—you might want to fix that) and locked up behind themselves. But they did it from that high window in the laundry room so Seth and Conner obviously didn’t see the dust that had been disturbed on the sill. If they were that brazen, they probably thought they’d just run out the backdoor. What’d they try to steal?”
Ari wished he could’ve suppressed the shudder that went up his spine. How long had they been rooting around his house before he woke up? That wasn’t a pleasant thought at all. “I’m not sure. They said they couldn’t find whatever it was.”
Fisk and Breaker shared another look that shouldn’t have annoyed Ari as much as it did. He used to be able to do that with Felan, but that felt like a million years ago. And after what happened today, he doubted they’d ever get it back. As if he ever even wanted it back in the first place.
“Where’d all that stuff come from?” Fisk asked and nodded at the boxes in the backseat.
Ari told him about the Montgomery estate sale. “Why?”
“No reason. But the fact that they broke into your house and not your shop is telling. They were looking for something they think you have. How did they know you had it here and not at your shop? Just a few things to think about. Also, if you can, get someone big to hang around and scare them off next time. Breaker’s taken, but Ian might be able to find someone for you. He’s been getting friendly with a few bears lately, and we know a couple tigers too.”
“Might even be able to spare a dragon,” Breaker put in, and Fisk rolled his eyes.
Ari ignored the last part. He wasn’t hiring bodyguards. No fucking way. And he especially wasn’t asking Jin Yue for any favors. “You think it’ll happen again?”
Fisk looked at him as if he’d just said the full moon didn’t compel shifters to change forms. “If someone hired them it will. Most burglars don’t do it for the thrill. Believe me. That part sucks. We do it because we were hired to, or we know something inside will fetch a high price. These guys were shifters. Foxes. I bet I can tell you their names. Georgie-boy and Tommy Fingers. They’ve been working in Haven for months, and we’ve been trying to pin something on them that’s strong enough to stick. I know someone hired them for this job. No way they’d break in here otherwise.”
The chill turned into a block of ice that encased Ari’s spine. “And you think it might be something from the sale yesterday?”
Fisk shrugged. “Ever have a break in before?”
“No,” Ari admitted.
“There’s your answer. You want someone here while you’re at work? I do owe you for Seb’s medicine, and you did take care of these two pains in my ass. A bit over the top, but if they hurt you, it can’t be helped, I guess,” Fisk said but grimaced nonetheless.
At least the thought of killing was still distasteful to the cat. That meant he hadn’t been totally corrupted yet. Not to mention, having a mate seemed to have improved Fisk’s mood, and Ari wished his brain wouldn’t let those thoughts pop up without his expressed consent. Especially since he knew damn well a mate (which he didn’t want) would do nothing for his mood (which was only messed up because of Felan being an asshole, and the dead foxes who broke into his goddamn house in the first place).
And accepting help from a thief? Maybe not the best idea. “No offense, but I’d feel more comfortable if Seb were here. Thanks for your help.”
Fisk nodded. Smirked. “That can be arranged.”
Breaker patted Ari’s shoulder.
He watched them go before he locked up and went to his shop. The sensation of leaving something terribly unfinished followed him around the rest of the morning, but he wasn’t going to call Felan and ask him to babysit the house.
Not after what he said.
Choosing Kian over the alpha.
Right.
That’s what he was doing.
Stupid jealous alpha wolf.
By lunch, Ari was about to close up shop and take a damn nap somewhere. He’d unpacked the new items and called some clients he thought might be interested in what he had. At one point, a group of three teenagers wandered in, snickering to themselves, and Ari glared at them.
No kid that age had any interest in his shop, usually, unless they were members of an old family. But these kids were very obviously human. No tint of magic hummed around them at all.
The leader seemed to be a girl, of about sixteen, who led around two boys that were probably the same age. She wore a slinky sundress and trailed her fingers over everything while the boys followed in her wake, eyes scanning the shop like they were on the lookout for something to steal.
Ari cleared his throat. “Can I help you with something?”
“Just looking,” the girl said and her eyes had a dangerous sparkle to them that set Ari’s teeth on edge.
“I don’t think you’ll find anything of interest here,” he said through gritted teeth. He felt like a grumpy old man while he did it—damn kids.
“I think we might,” one of the boy’s said. “Something really interesting. Like those swords.”
The girl punched that one in the shoulder. “That’s not it, idiot. Look at the hilt.”
The boy glared at her and snorted, crossing his arms.
Ari’s head pounded. Putting up with dumb teenagers looking to make trouble was the last thing he needed. “Okay, get out before I call the cops. Now.”
“Hey, what did we do?” the other boy demanded.
“You annoyed me, and I’m not in the mood. Out,” Ari said, lowering his voice into a grumble. He’d never a
dmit it to Cage, but that’s where he’d learned it.
The girl threw him a dangerous glare. “Whatever. Your shop sucks anyway.”
Normally, that wouldn’t get to him, but with the rest of that shit going on Ari’s nerves had reached their damn limit. Especially when the girl passed the display of unique postcards (pictures of Haven’s secret underground tunnels and a few other places considered haunted by humans), and tipped it over.
The display crashed as the teens ran out of the shop.
Ari shot around the counter, frowned at the mess, and leaned outside to shout after them. “If you come back, I’ll make you sorry you ever showed your faces here again!”
He swore he heard them laugh.
He ordered a triple shot latte with his lunch, but even the extra caffeine didn’t seem to be working. And it didn’t pair well with his ham and cheese sandwich either.
Ari was about to call it a day when the chime to the door rang. Looking up from his spot behind the counter, he noticed Margaret smiling at him.
“Ari. What did you do? Stay up all night unloading your haul?” she said as her eyes wandered the shop.
“Something like that. Did you get anything good?” he asked and tried to force his face into the semblance of a smile. It strained his cheeks.
“Third room. Lots of furniture, but I’ll make a killing off of it from the locals around Lake Orlando. You know what they’re like with antiques, especially when one of the mansions opens its doors to us plebeians,” she said and let out a giggle.
He did. The old families probably kept the both of them in business for the better part of ten years.
“And you, sneaky as usual, sprinted on ahead and got the last room before anyone could even glance at it. Anything good?” she asked and leaned against the glass case that doubled as a counter. She peered into it at the rings and pendants inside.
The glass had a ward on it to subdue the magic that radiated from those objects, and one to keep it from breaking. Though, Ari wondered if they were still as strong as when they’d first been cast.
