by V. Vaughn
7
Audrey
A mosquito buzzes, and when it lands on my arm I slap at it as Elise and I walk out into the woods behind her house. Telekinesis is my strongest magical gift, but I'm having trouble mastering it. So instead of destroying things accidentally, Ian, Elise's mate, suggested I help them clear a section of their land where they're going to build a cottage for Elise and Kimi to use for their magic. I have to admit it’s a clever idea. As long as I don't take out more trees than they'd like.
Neon pink tape is wrapped around the trees we approach, and Elise asks, "Do you think you can yank them out roots and all?"
"I think so, but aren't you worried you could be injured? As a human it could be deadly."
She smiles. "I thought of that. Ian would never survive as a single parent, so I'm going to wrap myself in a shield."
I chuckle as I imagine Elise's youngest children running wild and climbing the walls as bear. Children of a witch and werebear start shifting as toddlers, unlike regular werebear who do it at puberty. "Smart."
"Good, because yesterday it seemed you have an unusual amount of power reserves. Ready to try to exhaust your powers?"
I nod. When I worked with Kimi and Elise yesterday, it did seem odd that I never ran out of juice where most of us with magical powers have a limited supply. Taking in all the trees I'm supposed to move, it appears this will be a good test, though. There must be at least twenty-five pine trees alone that are a few stories high. And a pile of lumber is already stacked in a cleared area, leaving me room to place the trees I pull up.
"Well then, let’s get started."
When I determine a plan of action, I say, "Activate the shield. I'm ready."
Air fills my lungs as I inhale deeply and focus my stream of magic. I reach my hand out as if I'm going to grab a tree by its trunk and wrap my power around it. Like learning how to drive, I'm never sure how much gas to give something, but I assume the tree has to weigh more than anything I've tried to move, so I punch on my power hard.
Too hard. The tree rips from the earth with so much force the ground shakes enough to knock Elise off her feet. She lands hard onto her butt, and I quickly toss the pine, causing it to knock down a few more trees before I rush over to her. "Oh my god!" I bump into her shield and bounce off of it. Placing my hands on the invisible wall, I yell as if she can't hear me through the barrier. "Are! You! Okay?"
She groans and gets up slowly with a grimace. "Yeah." Her expression turns to one of awe. "But holy crap, Audrey! You're like the Incredible Hulk or something."
I chuckle because even I'm impressed with myself. "I know." I look down at my hands in wonder. "Where the hell did all this power come from?" As soon as the words come from my mouth, the reason hits me. I look at Elise, who has likely come to the same conclusion based on her sober expression that matches mine.
"It came to you because you're going to need it." She quickly returns to business before either of us can ponder more. "Keep going. You've got a lot of forest to practice on."
The first few trees are a test of how much power I need, but I figure it out soon enough. And by the time I'm halfway through, I'm working on lowering the pines to the ground so gently they barely make a sound as I line them up to be cut for lumber. I notice my power is waning, but I'm determined to finish. My ability to be gentle falters, and the trees wobble when I lower them, and I'm on my knees giving every ounce I've got to get the last tree. When it lands with a ground-shuddering thud, I collapse onto my back in exhaustion.
Elise comes over to sit near me with her backpack. "God, I love alphas. I've been bragging about you to all the other witches, you know. Finally, I'm the one everyone's jealous of." She speaks quickly, and I think she was holding back her excitement until I was finished. "You know Izzy up in Canada? Tally tells stories that get more exaggerated each time. And if I have to hear about how she trained Izzy so well the polar bear was able to save Annie with her magic one more time—" She stops to take a breath, and her brow knits as she looks at me with concern. "Do you realize you should have stopped about ten trees ago?"
My body is twitching with overuse as if I physically lifted the trees, and I mumble a reply because even my lips are tired. "You think?"
"I've got something to help." Elise rummages in her backpack and pulls out a quart-size container of chocolate milk. "Drink this, and I'll make your snack."
I sit up, and my hands shake as I use both of them to take the milk from her and swallow some down. Elise must have spelled it to stay icy cold, and the sweet chocolate flavor makes me sigh in pleasure. I wait for the sugar and milk protein to hit my bloodstream, and in seconds I begin to feel energy return. "Wow. That was fast."
"The power of sugar," Elise says. She hands me a cracker with peanut butter on it. "Eat this."
"You are a such a mother." I grin at her before I take a bite.
She chuckles. "What? Peanut butter crackers and chocolate milk are ageless." She takes a bite of her own cracker before swallowing it down with a sip of her own drink.
When we're done with our snacks, I let out a sigh of satisfaction.
"How do you feel?" asks Elise.
"I'm okay. I'd love a nap, but I don't need it."
She points to my empty milk container. "Try to put it gently in my backpack."
I turn my focus to the plastic jug and scowl when it takes more intensity than I thought. I barely complete the task. "Darn it. I think I'm finally spent."
"Good. I need you to be for what we're going to do next." Elise positions herself across from me and drags her pack over to remove a big cardboard canister of salt and some candles. "I believe that depleting all your magic will help you open up your mind." A match flares and she lights the candles. "We're going to try to get in touch with Connell."
I nod. I've wanted to do this since I first found out I had powers, but Kimi was dead set against the idea. She said that my lack of control meant I was vulnerable to magical forces who look for such a weakness. "You're sure I'm strong enough?"
"Weak enough." Elise gets up and salt rushes as she begins to pour a circle big enough for both of us to be inside. "You won't trigger any red flags because you barely have any magic to leak out. I don't know how long it's going to take you to regenerate, but I'm confident we have at least an hour or two."
When she returns to sit across from me, Elise says, "I have one more thing I'd like you to eat. Its super gross, but it will pull down any mental barriers your natural defenses will want to put up."
"But isn't that dangerous?"
"No. I'll be with you the whole time." She reaches out her hand to touch my leg when I frown in skepticism. "Trust me. This is what I do."
"Of course."
Elise pulls out a baggy of what appears to be gray powder and a water bottle that's only got an ounce or two of liquid. I watch as she pours the substance into the liquid and shakes it up. My stomach flutters with nerves when I take it from her. "What am I drinking?"
"Trade secret."
"I guess it would be worse if you told me what it was." I swirl the contents of the bottle which is darkening in color.
"Something like that. Now, down the hatch," Elise says with an encouraging smile.
I twist off the top and guzzle it like a shot of whiskey. But it still manages to hit my tongue, and the taste is so foul I have to fight my gag reflex. "Argh!" I work up saliva to rinse out some of the flavor. "My god, that tastes like what I imagine seagull poop would."
Elise laughs. "Close," she studies me. "This should be pretty quick to work. How do you feel?"
I blink as the world around me begins to waver. "Whoa. Like I'm dizzy."
"Good." She reaches for my hands. "I'm going to be your spirit guide. Just listen to my voice and do anything I say. Ready?"
I nod and close my eyes as my stomach rolls with motion sickness. Bright color swirls behind my eyelids, and my nausea subsides. Elise's voice sounds in my head as if she's communicating telepathically with me th
e way my parents can.
"Can you hear me, Audrey?"
"Yes."
"All right. I want you to picture Connell. What would he be doing if he were here right now?"
I chuckle. "He'd be sketching like a madman and telling us where to place your cottage for the morning sun to come into the kitchen."
My brother suddenly appears in my vision, but he's not happy. His clothing is torn like he shifted in it but kept it on when he became human again because it's all he has. "Connell!" I reach out to him and he looks around as if he can hear me. "Connell! It's Audrey!"
He smiles, and I begin to look for clues as to where he might be. He says, "You've got magic, Two. One must be so pissed."
I'd love to joke around with him, but the cold of the cave he’s in is making my skin crawl, and I have the strong sense we’re not alone. “I'm not sure how long this connection is going to last, so tell me where you are."
He shrugs. "A cave. I have everything I need to survive but I can't get out, and I haven't seen anyone since..." He scowls and shakes his head. "I'm not sure. How's California?"
"I'm not—"
Elise's voice comes to me. "You don't have time for small talk. Get more clues."
"Tell me about the cave, Connell. What do you see when you look up?"
He tilts his head. "Light, but I can't reach it. It's so far..."
His image begins to waver, and I think I'm running out of time. "Connell, we're going to find you." He's barely an outline now, and I yell. "Keep trying to talk to us! Please! Your—"
“Audr—" Elise’s scream is cut off as another vision slams into place where Connell was. Only this time it’s like I'm watching it on a screen. I recognize my sexy stranger right away, and he's with a girl. She's tall with a long dark ponytail. She's wearing a tank top, and I notice her muscular arms. She has my true mate pressed up against a wall and kisses him. "No!" Rage fills me at the idea of my true mate allowing another woman to kiss him.
Elise steps into my vision. "Audrey?"
“Audrey! Audrey!”
I open my eyes with a start as my skin tingles with my anger and the urge to shift. "What the hell?"
"What did you see?"
"I saw—" Fear twines its way through my veins like an icy cord set out to strangle me. I have no idea why, but I feel as if I can't tell Elise what I saw.
"Audrey, after Connell disappeared, what did you see?"
I shake my head. "I'm not sure. It's already gone." I flat-out lie to her. What I saw is burned in my memory like I've been branded, and anger is making my bear want to knock down a few trees of her own. Something else occurs to me though. "What happened? I thought you were going to be my guide. You should have seen it too."
"I know." Elise scowls. "Something glitched, which is why I yanked you back to this world."
Anger simmers in me as I recall my mate with the girl. How dare he? It occurs to me that because he’s human his attraction to me isn’t as intense as mine is to him. That’s what I focus on anyway as I take deep breaths to push my bear back and return to thinking about my brother. "Did you hear what Connell said? How are we ever going to find him? There's got to be a million caves on Earth."
Elise says, "I know, but let’s concentrate on the good news." She smiles. "He's alive, Audrey!"
I give her my best impression of a genuine smile in return, and I am happy Connell is alive. I wish I could focus on just that, but something bigger is brewing. I have a strong feeling the woman I saw kissing my true mate is a danger I'm going to have to face in order to get Connell back.
8
Josie
Axe backs up with mock fear in his eyes as I stalk him like prey toward his bed. One of my hands is on the button of my jeans as I push him with the other. He bounces on the mattress when he lands and watches as I begin to unzip my pants. But I barely get started when a bloodcurdling female scream makes me freeze. It's coming from the room next door, and in a flash I'm sure it’s Madison.
My training kicks in, and I fly out of Axe's room. Without a second of hesitation I slam my bare foot into the door separating me from Madison. Wood cracks, and I shove my shoulder into the opening to widen it enough to get inside. My roommate locks eyes with me for a moment before she grabs the sheet to cover her chest. I survey the room and find Trent standing nude with his hands in the air. "It's not what you think."
I don't know what happened, but I've been trained to kill, and every ounce of me is ready to make Trent my first victim. I take a step toward him before Axe grabs me around the waist. "Hold on, Josie. Let the guy explain."
I’m tempted to disable Axe with a quick move, but I do have a sense of justice and look at Madison to give her a chance to save Trent. "What happened?"
She shakes her head as tears roll down her face. "I don't really know. We were— he—"
"Oh my god!" A girl screams, and I turn my head to see people crowding around the door.
"It's fine!" I call out, and I yank Axe's arms away from my waist. I turn on my charm and chuckle. "The spider never stood a chance."
"Spider?" The girl laughs, and others join in.
Axe steps in front of the door and surveys it with a look of awe. "I definitely overreacted to save my girl."
"Aww," coos more than one female, and I clench my teeth, wishing I didn't have to pretend to be that girl. "We've got this," Axe says. "Now, can we get some privacy please?"
Once the crowd has cleared out, Trent speaks with a soft voice directed at Axe. "I started to—" he lifts his hand to replace the word with a wave. "She saw my teeth."
"Jesus fuck," I say as I realize what he's implying, and my anger ramps up again. "Aren't you supposed to have control over shifting?"
Trent's eyes widen. "You know what I am?"
Adrenaline rushes through my veins as I begin to piece together what might have happened. I'm restraining myself by a mere thread, and I'm actually glad when Axe notices and grabs my arm again. I clench my fists. "You're an idiot. Were you going to bite her?" Suddenly I understand Lana’s and the rest of the Eradicators’ disgust for werebear and their primitive ways, and I spit out, "Make her your mate?"
"What? God, no." He gazes at Madison. "I swear that's not what I was going to do."
"Yeah, Josie," Axe says as he rubs my arm, as if the motion is going to soothe me. "Trent wouldn't do that to her. Do you know what would happen?"
"I sure as hell do." I whip my arm up to release Axe's grip and step out of his reach to glare at Trent. "And believe me, I'd have killed you for it."
He looks past me at the door and chuckles with the cockiness of a werebear who thinks I can't make good on my threat. "I believe you'd give it a hell of a try."
I'm tempted to show him, but Madison speaks up. "What the hell are you guys talking about?" Her face is clouded with confusion as she gazes at me.
Even though I'm still pissed as hell, I think the danger is over and try to let my anger go. I force a calm voice. "I'll explain everything to you, but I think we should get out of here."
As I squat down to gather her clothes, Trent says, "I should do the explaining. Do you know about true mates, Josie?"
The silky fabric of Madison's shirt is cool on my fingers as I hold it. "Yes. I gather you're hers?" He nods, and I say, "That's the only reason I believe you wouldn't intentionally hurt her." I glance down at his flaccid dick. "But, man, get some self-control already."
I move toward Madison and toss her the clothes. The poor girl looks lost, and tears are rolling down her face. My Grinch of a heart softens for her. "It's okay, Madison. It's all going to be okay."
She looks at me through her tears and darts her eyes toward the guys. I turn to them and say, "Turn around so Madison can get dressed."
"Josie," Axe says. "We need to talk. Come back to my room and let them be alone."
"You think I'm going to leave him alone with her?" I cross my arms. "I'm not going anywhere without my roommate."
Trent moves toward the bed, a
nd I step in the way. He looks around me and says, "Madison, please. Let me explain."
"Josie? I'd like to let him," she says.
It occurs to me that the information I have might not be completely accurate, and I let out a sigh. "Fine. Tell her what you are, Trent. And what she probably is too."
Trent has the good sense to grab his boxers and step into them, and I take the T-shirt that Axe hands me to put on over my bra. Madison is sitting on the bed, and Trent sits beside her to take her hand. I watch her let him willingly, curious about the way the true-mate bond makes it easy for her to trust him.
"Darling," he says with love in his voice that would make me want to gag if I didn't think it warms Madison's heart and makes this easier for her. He wipes a tear from her cheek. "I'm a werebear. I am half human and half bear, which means I can shift into either form at will. Well—" He pauses. "There are certain situations that make things harder to control. Being with your true mate intensifies a lot of things, but I swear to you, I wasn't going to bite you without having your permission."
"I believe you, Trent. It's okay." She frowns. "The true-mate thing. Is that why I have such strong feelings for you?"
"Yes. And the reason you can has to be because you have werebear in your genes."
"I'm—" Her face pales, and she swallows hard. "My father."
"I think so," says Trent. He grabs her other hand. "I'm going to find him for you."
"I'd like that." She pulls her hands away and draws in a long breath before blowing it out slowly. "I'm not sure what to do with this."
"I can imagine it's overwhelming," Trent says as he raises his hand to touch her. But when she flinches, he pulls back. "I'll answer anything you want to know."
Madison looks over at me. Her eyes widen in surprise, and then her brow knits in confusion before she asks, "You know all about this?" I nod, and she stands up. "I want to go back to my room now."
