“You took my Egg?” he asked.
“I ate it,” she blurted.
His body grew hard. And exploded. Great gusts of laughter erupted from him.
“I’m glad you think it’s funny.” Here she had been stewing with guilt, and he thought it was funny. She unclenched her fist. A unicorn is never violent.
“What happened?” he asked.
“Nothing,” she muttered.
“Really. Nothing at all?”
“Not unless you count a tummy ache.”
“Did you, uh, pass it?” he asked.
Her face flamed. “No. At least I don’t think so.”
“It’s probably okay.” He kissed the side of her head. “What were you expecting exactly?”
“Telepathy.” And he hadn’t offered her the gift of immortality, even though they were married. He didn’t love her as he had in Hawaii. Her eyes filled with tears which she had to blink back.
“Oh.” Another kiss. “The gift of the phoenix doesn’t work that way, sweetheart. Particularly not with a cold Egg.”
“Huh?”
“It’s four years old, Samantha. Staler than last year’s news. And there’s an entire phoenix ritual that goes with swallowing the Egg of Immortality.”
“Oh.”
“Yup.” His voice rang with masculine satisfaction. “You’re my wife,” he said carefully. “If you want to become my immortal phoenix bride, it can be arranged.” He paused. “But it’s not like my cautious Samantha to act on impulse.”
He was right. Stealing and eating someone else’s property was so not like her. “I know. I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” she said sorrowfully. “I’m sorry, Rafael. I knew it was wrong when I ate it. But I did it anyway. I’m sorry.”
He hugged her close. “Don’t worry about it. It’s only human to act irrationally occasionally.”
“Unicorns are never irrational.”
“Never?”
“Never.”
He hugged her closer. “Not even when they’ve been under a lot of stress?”
“Not even then. A unicorn is always in control of her emotions.”
“It’s okay. I forgive you.” He kissed her properly.
For a long while, remorse was the last thing on her mind. When he lifted his head, his shirt was unbuttoned and her T-shirt was on the coffee table. They were both breathing heavily.
“Better?” he asked.
She snuggled against him. “Yes. I’m sorry I took your rock without asking.”
“It’s okay. Really. Tell you what, if you really mean it, we’ll have a full phoenix ceremony. I’d like to share your thoughts as you share mine.”
“I can’t,” she explained. “Not anymore.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I lost my unicorn gifts when my horn broke.”
He gaped at her. “All of them?”
“Pretty much.”
He was quiet for several minutes. “I think your dad and I have been talking at cross-purposes.” His hard, scarred face split in a big smile. “You’ve been unhappy because you gave up your unicorn gifts for me. Right?”
She punched his arm. This was the worst thing that had ever happened to her and he was smug and amused. No, it was not the worst. The worst was learning he had died. She punched him again.
He captured her fist and kissed it. “Why didn’t you tell me, Samantha?”
“It’s supposed to be a freely given gift,” she muttered.
“But it wasn’t free for you?”
“No.”
“I’m grateful. Before I was grateful to be healed, but I’m even more grateful now I know what it cost you.”
“I don’t want gratitude,” she grumbled. She wanted him to love her, as she loved him. She tried to stand up. His arm anchored her to his side.
“We’re having a fight,” he said. “That’s normal. Our first fight.” He sounded pleased.
“Unicorns don’t argue.”
“Apparently Pegasuses do.”
“Huh.”
He kissed her again. “I haven’t made any declarations of love to you, my love, not because I don’t feel love, but because I assumed you could read my mind and knew how I felt. But I do love you, Samantha.” He broke off for a long, deep kiss and some serious fondling.
“I love you too,” she said when he let her up for air.
“You are my fated mate, Samantha Belfast D’Angelo. I will love you forever. Forgetting you was like forgetting myself. When you healed me, you healed us. Gratitude is the least of what I feel. The gift of your horn has turned us into a couple. Into a family. Thank you for healing me. Thank you for our daughter.”
“I’m being fainthearted and foolish,” she said. “Healing you was healing myself. And yet I’m sad.”
“That’s only human.”
She sighed. “Then I’m not used to being human.”
“It isn’t always easy. But we have each other and we have Carmody. Life is pretty good.” He paused. “Anything else you want to tell me?”
“Like what? I only stole one thing.”
His hand covered her belly and rubbed lightly. He stuck his face in the curve of her neck. Sniffed deeply. Licked the cord running down to her collarbone. Spoke in her ear. “Sweetheart, we’re going to be parents a second time.”
Her head came up so fast she nearly brained herself on his chin. “That’s impossible.”
He chuckled. “Are you using anything?” he asked.
“You don’t understand. Unicorns don’t usually have more than one baby. That’s why there are so few of us.”
“Nevertheless, you are pregnant. You’re a nurse. Think about how tired you’ve been. How queasy. How often you have to pee.”
“I’m going to have a baby?”
“Yup.”
She gazed at him in wonder. Happiness filled her to the brim. “Oh, wow.”
“I was waiting to offer you the gift of immortality, until after you gave birth. I wasn’t sure of its effect on a pregnant woman.”
“Oh. How did you know?”
“Your scent.”
“Right.” A predator thing.
“My folks are going to be delighted,” he assured her.
“Mine aren’t.”
“Too bad. You’re pregnant. You’re mine. Carmody is going to have a little brother or sister. Your mom will just have to deal with it.”
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Sully~
He intercepted the werewolf on his way to the Spindrift Tavern. Mystic Bay’s only bar did not have a bad reputation. Nowhere in Mystic Bay did. But it was understood that locals did not spend much time there. But of course Wolfmann was not a local.
“Drew Wolfmann?” Sully asked, although he knew the answer.
Wolfmann turned promptly. Feral amber eyes examined him warily. “Yes, sir.” He took an automatic step backward and positioned himself defensively. Wally was right. This fellow would make an excellent deputy.
“I’m Gordon Sullivan, deputy mayor of this burg. Come have a beer with me.”
“What’s this about?” Wolfmann asked. His hands were loose by his side, but his muscles were ready.
“We need a sheriff’s deputy to fill in for the rest of the summer. Sheriff Babcock recommended you.”
Wolfmann relaxed instantly. He held out a hand. “Good to meet you, Deputy Mayor,” he said.
“My boat is down at the dock. We can be private there. No privacy at the Spindrift.”
Wolfmann followed him into the night. Sully settled them with beers on the Nightingale’s foredeck, asked a few questions that confirmed Wally’s impression of Wolfmann’s military service. Made sure he wanted the job.
When he had the boy nice and relaxed he slipped in his true concern. “What are you really doing on West Haven this summer?” he asked.
Wolfmann chuckled softly and raised dark brown brows. “And here I thought it was obvious. I’m working construction for Bear Claw, helping to build the
new high school gym.”
Sully shook his head. “It’s pretty good cover until you encounter someone who knows that Drake, Drake and Wolfmann are attorneys of record for most shifters in the Pacific Northwest.”
“I’m not a lawyer,” Drew said.
“But you do work for the family firm?” Sully pressed.
Sully could see the youngster fight an urge to dodge, and decide it was folly. “I do. I’m one of their investigators. I was sent to West Haven to try to trace someone.”
“Uh huh.” Sully waved his empty can at Wolfmann. “Another one.”
“Yes, please.”
He gave Drew his beer. Took his own seat. “So, son, who are you looking for? One of us?”
“I was sent to find a psychic named Christopher Wabash.”
“What’s that sonofabitch done now?” Sully asked. Wabash had married a mermaid and abused Justine Merryman* until her clan had run him off. No way that cowardly bully was going to risk confronting the merfolk a second time.
“Embezzlement.” Drew tipped his can up and swallowed. “He ripped off one of our clients.”
“Wabash isn’t here. Hasn’t been in months,” Sully said sternly. “What are you still doing here?”
Wolfmann shrugged. “We caught up with him out in LA. He’s looking at doing time.”
Wolfmann’s aura suggested he believed what he was saying, but Sully didn’t buy it. “Most companies don’t like the negative publicity of pursuing corporate crime,” he pointed out. “Makes them look foolish to the shareholders.”
For the blink of an eye, Drew Wolfmann’s smile was a white line in the dark oval of his face. A feral expression. “Got news for you, sir. Shifters take being ripped off personally. And our clients are sole proprietors. All shareholders are family. Wabash is going down.” Satisfaction rang in his hard voice.
“Fair enough. In which case, what are you doing still hanging around in Mystic Bay?”
Drew shrugged, a lithe movement of broad shoulders. He crossed his long legs at the ankles. The picture of a guy shooting the breeze. “I took a little vacation from the family business. I like it here, sir. Long time ago, my clan had themselves a little cottage out at Wolf’s Neck.”
Sully snorted. The Wolfmann clan had built a sprawling Victorian mansion that overlooked the long strip of beach that gave the land its name. He nodded at Drew. “I know. A family of crystal gazers own it now. It’s a bed and breakfast.”
“Yeah,” Wolfmann smiled wryly. “The Garricks bought it for the back taxes back in 1938.”
“No shame in that, son. Lots of families went belly-up during the Great Depression.”
“Yes, sir. We know. My great-grandfather tried to sell the property after the crash, but...” he shook his head. “You know the rules about land transfers on West Haven better than I do, sir.”
“Hmm.” Like other hunters, wolves held their land at the discretion of the council. “I don’t know what happened in the thirties,” Sully conceded. “But there may not have been any islanders with the cash to buy your clan out. You here to try to reclaim your land, son?”
Drew chuckled. “Nope. That land has long gone. But West Haven is still sort of legendary in our family.” He sipped meditatively at his beer. His voice lost some of its edge. “I grew up hearing how this island was a refuge for people with paranormal sensitivities of all kinds. I volunteered to trace Wabash in order to get a look at it for myself.”
“And?” Sully prompted.
Drew’s amber eyes looked surprised. “I like it here, sir. The air suits me or something. I figured what the heck, while I had a job at Bear Claw, I might as well hang around and enjoy the atmosphere.”
Sully pounced. “Is that why you’re sniffing around little Felicity?” he snapped.
Drew was taken aback. His eyes narrowed. “Flirting,” he said. “I’ve been flirting with Felicity. She seems to like me. I asked her out a couple of times. She went exactly once. Is there some reason I shouldn’t have? She married or something?”
“She’s seventeen-fricking-years-old,” roared Sully.
Drew went white. He jumped to his feet, hands extended. “I figured she was mid-twenties,” he stammered.
He held up both hands, a gesture of surrender. “And we’ve had exactly one date. Took her home and left her there.” He put his head in his hands and groaned. Sully thought he said, “Seven-effing-teen.”
“See she stays home, Deputy,” growled Sully. “Felicity is my great-niece and I am head mage here on West Haven. If you don’t want to see a weather lord in all his wrath, you give that child a wide berth from now on.”
“Yes, sir. You bet. You have my word on it.”
*Beloved by the Bear
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Rafael~
“Tell me how the ritual works,” Samantha said.
Rafael swallowed hard. But nothing but the bald truth would do. “I put my blood on a piece of live lava, which activates it. You eat it. You become a giant flaming bird of prey. As I do – just a regular shift. Nothing magical. We swap breast feathers and eat each other’s. You become able to hear my thoughts whenever I am in phoenix, and I can do the same for yours.”
“Just like that?” Samantha breathed in awe.
“More or less.” He shrugged. “Bear in mind, it’s a sacred ritual. Private. Intimate. My family doesn’t go into detail because the experience is so linked to their relationships with their fated mates. They just describe the bare bones of the ritual, and skim over the feelings that accompany transforming your mate.”
“Oh. I already swallowed your blood,” she pointed out. “It burned my mouth.”
“When?”
“In the bathroom at the cabin. After I broke the tip of my horn off in your heart. You were bleeding. I kissed your wound.”
“Right. I remember. However, I’m working in the dark here too, darling. But whatever will be, will be. Let’s go flying together tonight just for the exercise. We can worry about rituals another day.”
They sat for a long time, just cuddling. Their sexual urgency had passed for the moment. This silence felt comfortable. But he could tell his mate was still regretting her lost unicorn talents. Which was natural. He had spent four years too scared to shift. Grieving his phoenix soul. Sure, he had told himself that sightless flying was crazy. But the truth was he had just been too chicken.
Maybe Samantha needed to shift into Pegasus. Get used to her talents. Taking your animal morph was how shifters discovered their talents at puberty. Would it be any different if you experienced a cataclysmic alteration to your original morph?
Come to think, he too needed some time in the air. He had regenerated after Samantha had stabbed him, and his wings had felt distinctly new-fledged. He kissed his wife’s head.
“What are the gifts of a Pegasus?” he asked her temple.
Her voice was small and puzzled. “I don’t really know.”
“There must be some. Besides becoming more fertile.”
“You’re right.” She withdrew mentally even though she snuggled closer. Was she thinking? Or was she pissed?
“Remember when you came into your unicorn at puberty?” he asked.
That produced a soft giggle. “I do. I wrecked six sets of sheets shifting in my sleep. Unicorn hoofs are sharp!”
“Me too.” The memories made him smile. “For over ten months, my mom made my bed up with the rattiest collection of patched sheets you ever saw. And I kept ripping them up with my talons and beak.”
“What’s your point?” she asked.
“Just that from being born into a phoenix shifter clan I sort of knew what to expect from my talent long before I reached first shift. Certainly knew it was coming and looked forward to it. But no two shifters have precisely the same gifts. It took a lot of flying and deliberate changing before I knew precisely what my talents were and had full control of them.”
“Me too.” Her voice was dreamy. “Mom and Dad used to take me out to the Old Fo
rest to shift. We used to dance together. And of course I always knew I was destined to be a healer.”
“Hmm. I think we should go flying tonight.”
“What about Carmody?” she asked. “I don’t like to leave her alone.”
“I’ll sing her another lullaby. She won’t budge until morning. But in any case, we should stay nearby. Overhead, but close. We won’t miss an object as large as our daughter leaving the house. And for sure I would hear her moving around. Even if she only went to the bathroom. Just think of me as the original baby monitor.”
“All right. I guess I could use the practice. Flying seemed, I don’t know, natural, I guess. But weird too.” Samantha hesitated. “I felt exhausted. As if I had had all my grace, all my talent drained away when my horn broke.”
“Using that much talent is exhausting,” he said.
“Hmm.” She was quiet and still. Contemplative. He thought.
“What’s the matter?” he asked after a while.
“I don’t want you to feel you have to face a volcano for me, Rafael. I know how terrifying your flashbacks are.”
He kissed her. “I haven’t had one in two weeks. I think they’re gone forever. And I am no longer afraid of fire, which is a huge deal for a phoenix.”
“That’s good.” She kissed him and time slipped away. Every time felt new with his wife. But eventually they recalled their mission.
They stripped in the living room. He admired his wife’s ripe curves with his eyes and his hands. She traced the scarring on his chest and arms with soft fingertips. Kissed each gouge and lump tenderly.
“I love you,” she said. Her purple eyes were luminous.
“I love you more.”
“I don’t know why your eyes healed but your scars remained.”
“Regeneration only restores you to what you were before. I had been too scarred for it to restore my skin to a pre-accident state. You healed my hurts, but not my scars. Doesn’t matter. No longer hallucinating and being able to see are enough.” He kissed her again. “I promise.”
Fated for the Phoenix: A Shifters in Love Fun & Flirty Romance (Mystic Bay Book 5) Page 17
