by Thorne, Elle
She stopped, stared at the trees in the near distance, studying them as though her life depended on it, as though she were unwilling to make eye contact with him.
“That must have been difficult for Albani. First, to lose her daughter, all those years ago—” He wasn’t sure how long ago, but it had to have been hundreds, if not thousands. “—and then to lose her sister.”
A stunned expression crossed Circe’s face before she managed to push it aside.
Always on your guard, aren’t you, pretty lady?
He couldn’t fault her for that. He was always on his guard, as well. Except for a few moments ago, when he let the cat out of the bag about Steve, Brit, and Dina.
“It’s been a difficult time for Albani. And she’s grown to hate Mae—my cousin. You met her, I guess.”
“So, that was her attacking Mae? That wasn’t you?”
Circe nodded. “I opened the door. I didn’t expect to see Mae there, and Albani beat me to the punch. Literally. She pushed through me and past my panther before we could react.”
“Guess you finally got control of the situation before she could kill Mae.”
“I don’t think she’d have killed her. If she killed Mae, she would have risked Benithe being unable to return.”
Whoa. What the hell does that mean?
“What’s that? What do you mean, unable to return?”
“Elementals travel from one body to another during death.”
“Only during death? The host has to die?”
“With very few exceptions. Some can travel without the release of death, but most have to have death and an awaiting host nearby to traverse to.”
“What happens if they don’t have a host?”
“The elemental is dead. They don’t wander around like ghosts, waiting for a home. They are done if they don’t have a host.”
“Dead, done—as in not able to ever return?”
“That’s been my experience.”
“So, all those years ago, what happened? When Mae met her shifter? She just up and followed him to Bear Canyon Valley? But why couldn’t she maintain contact with you? With Albani?”
A fleeting expression of guilt made an appearance on her beautiful face before going into hiding.
“I told her to make a choice, and if she chose the shifter, she wasn’t welcome in my life or in the Order. That she was persona non-grata if she did that.”
Harsh.
“You don’t yield much, do you?”
She clamped her lips into a thin line. “We need to get back.”
“Hey, I’m not being critical. I get the feeling of betrayal. I felt the same way when Steve let Brittany cut him out of my life.”
She appraised him with one lifted brow, a dubious look in her eyes. “I’ve beat myself up, day in, day out, worried that—”
Linc couldn’t have said what the hell prompted him to do what he did next. He’d have liked to have blamed his lion, or the weather, or testosterone, or anything at all but take the fault all on his own.
And yet—
He leaned in, pulled her tightly against him, and claimed her lips.
That moment lasted an eternity, an eternity during which he tasted the cinnamon of her lips, scented the aroma of her own reactions to his kiss—positive, for sure—and the way her lips responded to his. The way she leaned into the kiss, the way her mouth opened slightly in surrender.
Just as suddenly, before he could react, though he felt it in the stiffening of her body, in the rigid set to her lips—
She jerked away, a fury so deep, so complete, that her eyes had lost their dark hue and blazed a dangerously golden yellow.
“What the—” She stopped mid-sentence, crossed her arms over her torso, and shoved her hands beneath her arms, as if holding them in check.
The air about them sizzled as she studied him.
Ribbons of electricity slithered around her fingertips, barely in control.
He should apologize, but he wasn’t sorry. Maybe he should be, if that’s how she would react.
“I shouldn’t have—” he began.
“You’re right.” And with that, she was on her feet, and with a quick sound of bone, sinew, and tendons giving way to her shift, she morphed into her panther and leapt away.
What else could he do but follow suit. He transformed into his lion and tried to keep up with her lithe panther, who was much better equipped to handle the sojourn through the forest at a fast pace.
She blended into the shadows, a blur of gleaming darkness and flashing teeth. Every so often he’d catch a glimpse of her black fur, or twitching tail, as they made their way back.
Chapter Fourteen
In her panther form, Circe was fuming. She raged through the forest, not caring if he could keep up or if he’d get lost.
Of course, he won’t get lost. He’ll pick up my scent and be able to follow.
That was what shifters did, after all.
She was livid, but if she had to admit it, she was angrier with herself than she was with him.
Dammit. I kissed him back.
She practically threw herself at him, for fuck’s sake.
She took no time reaching the storage shed where she’d left her purse, shifting mid-stride, thankful that she kept her shifting skills up to date. Lord knew, if shifters didn’t practice their shifting often enough, they became rusty at it, slower, and it was even more painful.
Closest I’ll come to working out, she noted, panting still, from the exerted effort of running through the forest at top speed.
She grabbed her purse and made for the back door.
She’d no sooner stepped inside—no sign of Linc yet, thank goodness—and her purse vibrated in her hand.
Well, not exactly her purse, but rather the cell phone in her purse.
Marco.
What did her brother—the damned traitor, she thought with a smirk—want now?
She pushed her confusion about her submission to Linc aside. She pushed her reaction to the gorgeous shifter into the deep recesses of her mind and concentrated on her brother’s text.
Marco: Can you join us for a meeting at six o’clock?
She looked at the time on her phone. That was in fifteen minutes.
Damn.
She texted a response: I’ll be there.
She looked at her rumpled clothing. It looked like she’d been wrestling on the forest floor.
Or making out.
She forced that thought far, far away, but not before her panther snarled at her.
So, she pushed the panther aside as well.
First, to freshen up.
* * *
Circe knew better than to be surprised by what awaited her in the meeting room.
Marco, of course.
Mae, naturally.
Mae’s shifter mate, no shocker there.
But there were two more in the room, seated around the table.
A man, clearly a shifter.
A woman. Light blonde hair. Greenish gold eyes. Clearly an elemental. But there was something else. What was it? In a quick second, Circe wasn’t sure, and she wasn’t going to take the time to figure it out, not with so many people around that she should be paying attention to, guarding herself against, and mostly, keeping Albani under control, because she could already feel the hum of Albani’s emotions ramping up.
Just gets better and better, she mused, with no humor whatsoever.
She forced a smile to her face, but didn’t need a mirror to know it was grim, at best.
Circe nodded a greeting, in general, but to no one specific.
Everyone stood.
That was when Circe noticed the light-haired, light-eyed woman was pregnant. Not that she was going to burst any second now, but she was well into her pregnancy, probably entering her third trimester.
Great. She’s in for a good time.
“I’m Astra,” the pregnant woman stated.
“Kane,” said the large shifter next to he
r.
Circe fought the urge to be rude to them—guilty by association with Mae, as far as Circe was concerned.
Then she thought of her visit with Linc. She thought of their last topic of discussion.
Maybe it was time to let some things go, even if she couldn’t forgive them.
“Circe,” she told the newcomers. “Circe Brazos.”
Marco gave her an ‘atta girl smile.’
Circe ignored him. He was still on her shit list, whether she had a new outlook or not. She’d have some reckoning to do with her brother.
They all took their seats, pulling their chairs close to the table.
All except for Marco. “I have a plane to catch,” he said.
Oh, so now he was going to take his traitorous ways to a whole new level. He brought her here, and now he was abandoning her. She narrowed his eyes at him as he made his way around the table and then left the room.
“Circe,” Mae’s voice was soft. “This is Jake’s daughter.” She pointed at Astra.
Circe glanced at the shifter that Mae had taken as a mate.
“Your daughter is not a shifter.” Circe stated the obvious.
“She’s technically my stepdaughter,” Jake said, giving Astra a smile. “But she’s as much my daughter as if she’s my own flesh and blood.”
Mae picked up where she’d left off. “You’re the only one who has the skill to help Astra.”
Coldness still enveloped Circe’s heart. “I’m in the middle of a case, right now.”
“Can’t you make the time?” Kane rose to his feet, put his hands on the tabletop, gripping the wood so intensely that his knuckles turned white and the wood protested with tiny creaking sounds.
No sooner had the words come from his mouth, than Astra collapsed, her forehead hitting the table with a loud thud.
“Oh, God.” Mae’s voice broke as tears came to her eyes.
“It’s been happening daily, lately,” Kane said. “And each time she’s out longer and longer. I’m worried about her, and the baby. And the headaches are much worse.” He looked at Circe, his eyes beseeching. “Please. I can’t lose her.”
Jake took a few long strides around the table and approached Circe. Albani sizzled within Circe, worried about the shifter’s intentions.
“Please. Don’t let my daughter die,” Jake said.
“There’s a little girl that’s in a bad way, too,” Circe told him.
“This bad?” he asked.
In the meanwhile, Kane had taken an extremely ashen-faced Astra into his arms.
“Let’s get her to the infirmary and lying down,” Circe instructed him.
As they all made their way to the infirmary, Linc and Dina intercepted their progress.
Linc looked at Astra, then at Circe, a question in his eyes.
Dina tugged on Linc’s sleeve. “What happened to the lady?”
“I don’t know,” he said, still not taking his piercing gaze off Circe.
She could tell his elemental radar and alarms were going off.
He had a rough enough time dealing with an elemental on a good day. Seeing an unconscious pregnant woman being carried was bound to set him on a different tangent.
What a time for Marco to absent himself, she thought. Then she also had to admit Marco had his own case, and someone else who would need his attention in circumstances that might be as dire as either Dina’s or Astra’s.
“Can I talk to you,” she said to Linc quietly.
He nodded, then turned to Dina and said, “Would you like to play with Miss Marie for a while?”
“Sure.” She jumped up and down with glee. And then she added, “Don’t think for a second I don’t know what you’re doing. You’re getting rid of my elemental.”
Circe opted to say nothing, hoping not to engage Dina’s elemental in a conflict that would upset Dina or cause her shifter animal to become overprotective.
“Meet me in the infirmary in a few,” she told Linc.
“Will do.” He took Dina’s hand and led her in the other direction.
Chapter Fifteen
Circe studied the woman on the gurney-style bed then turned to her mate, Kane. “So, this has been happening often, this passing out thing?”
“Well, it started with headaches. Then she’d faint every so often, but recently, it’s become a daily thing. That’s why we’re here now.” He tucked Astra’s hair back, caressed her forehead.
On the other side of the bed, Jake and Mae stood, watching silently.
Circe turned to Jake. “Mae called you Doc…”
He nodded. “True. Medical doctor. I mostly take care of the shifter community. That keeps me busy enough.” He put his arm around Mae. “She’s got this goal of rebuilding the valley to the shifter population it used to have.”
Circe nodded, but didn’t react. This was still a sore subject for her, but it also wasn’t the time to deal with her hostilities.
“What do you think?” Mae asked.
“What do you think?” Circe countered.
Mae wrung her hands together, and kept her eyes glued to Astra’s face.
Circe took the opportunity to study her cousin. Mae had not aged much. Shifter’s mates worked that way, not much different from being a shifter, actually. But Mae was showing the ravages of the stress this had wreaked on her.
Finally, Mae turned back to Circe. “I think she’s got two elementals in her.”
“What makes you think that?”
Mae stumbled over a few words before she finally came out with, “It’s—I don’t know. I’m no expert. I left here too early to know anything really.”
“Yes, you did.” This was one thing that Circe agreed with.
“Please.” Mae’s eyes flashed a sapphire flame in the dark chocolate depths, her elemental making her appearance. “Please don’t hold my sins against my mate’s daughter. You’re better than that. I know you. I know your heart, Circe.”
Circe wished she knew herself some days. She’d been so damned hardcore when it came to Mae’s decision. She’d burned the bridge between herself and her cousin. No, Mae had been more than her cousin. She’d been Circe’s best friend.
“I wouldn’t make Astra pay for another person’s sins. I wouldn’t do that.”
A single tear breached the gate of Mae’s long lashes. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. I haven’t done anything yet. I don’t know what to do. I think your suspicions are right, but I’ll have to go in to be sure.”
A soft knock sounded at the door, interrupting further conversation.
That had to be Linc.
“I’ll be right back.” She slipped out the door and found Linc there, arms crossed, waiting. “What’s going on?”
“Well…” She took his arm and moved him away from the door and down the hall. She didn’t want everyone listening in on her conversation with Linc, and Jake and Kane were shifters with their supernatural shifter hearing. She knew all about that. She was blessed with the same super hearing herself.
They walked down the hall a bit, until they reached the end.
“What was that about? That unconscious pregnant woman, she’s got an elemental in her?”
Circe nodded. “Maybe two.”
He cocked his eyebrow, a quizzical look on his face. “What the hell? Seriously? That can happen?”
“It’s extremely rare.”
“And how does that turn out? Or should I take the fact that she’s unconscious as a sign that it doesn’t turn out so well?”
“I think that’s a safe bet. Without intervention, it’s a doomed situation, usually.”
“Intervention.” He frowned, and looked at her pointedly. “And you’re that intervention?”
“I am.”
“Is it dangerous? For you, I mean.”
“It can be.”
“Have you ever done it before?”
“Not instigated it, not personally. I’ve seen it done,” she told him.
“So, tha
t’s a no, isn’t it?”
“That’s a no.”
“Why would you risk your life to do that?”
“I’m in the Order. It’s my calling.”
“Your calling sucks, if you don’t mind my saying.”
She bristled at that. “I don’t think it sucks to help people.”
“If you might die? Yeah, it sucks.”
“Do you tell law enforcement officers that? Do you tell firefighters that?”
He leaned against the wall, shoved his hands in his pockets and studied the pattern on the carpeting, then shrugged. “Point taken.”
That wasn’t enough for Circe. She didn’t want what she did misinterpreted. “I help people. I’m going to help Dina.”
The day’s events became a bit much for her. She swallowed back a lump of emotions in her throat and fought back the tears from her overwrought and stressful day.
“I help others.”
Chapter Sixteen
Linc bit back the reply he wanted to make. He wanted to tell her she wasn’t allowed to do that. She couldn’t risk her life like that. He had all sorts of arguments against it.
But he had no rights.
All they had was a half-kiss, from which she pulled away as if she’d made the largest mistake in the world.
What the hell am I supposed to say, by damn?
The best he could come up with was: “Does your family know you’re doing this?”
“My family? My brother and my sisters? They’re not around. All of them are out of town.”
“And you’re going to do something that could potentially hurt you? Kill you? And no one is here who can help you if you need it? What the hell are you going to do, woman?” He fought the urge to grab her by the shoulders and shake sense into her.
“I’m going to let Albani take me to a different world.”
“Into a different world? What the—what does that even mean?”
“Albani and I will go into the realm where Astra’s elemental—or elementals—reside and find out what is happening that is rendering her unconscious.”
