by Dana Archer
Mira stared at Kade’s retreating back. After he’d dropped his bombshell, she’d been unable to form any words. Why would she kill Josh? Unless…unless she actually thought to mate him. Well, try to.
She dropped her head into her hands and groaned. She wanted Josh. Craved him. She wrapped her arms tightly around her chest. Each day, her certainty of Josh being hers grew. But was it real? Or desperation? It was the latter that worried her, and the outcome she needed to avoid at all costs. It would tempt her to break the rules, guaranteeing Kade’s vision would become reality.
It wasn’t often their creators spoke to them. When they did, their words became unbreakable divine law. Visions they could bestow freely, wishes were theirs to grant on a whim, but verbal commands altered the fabric of the world. The edict surrounding a Royal’s ability to mate a non-Royal was simple. Only a male Royal could form the union necessary to share their immortality.
To soul-bond.
The complete weaving of souls—both mates’ and animals’—was the ultimate bond, guaranteeing the partners lived and died together. It was mystical, powerful, and dangerous. In order to accomplish the meshing of souls, the bond had to occur at the point of the non-Royal’s death. If something went wrong, there was no do-over. Ever. The male Royal would face eternity knowing he killed his mate. Mira would suffer the same if she thought to challenge Heaven’s mandate.
No. She refused to risk Josh’s life. Better she let him go than hold on to false hope.
On shaky legs, she walked to the spot on Rafe and Jazz’s property where she’d added her scent to Josh’s wounds and set them both on this painful journey. She sat on the wooden swing, weariness making her limbs heavy, and allowed the gentle flow of the small stream to captivate her.
Water lapped at the rocks. A few fish meandered in the calm current. Butterflies flitted over the nearby flowers. A sense of acceptance settled over her. Her decision, though hurtful, was the only one she could come up with. There were different forms of love. For both their sakes, they had to embrace them.
If they didn’t know what they were missing, they’d be able to move on.
She didn’t believe her rationale for a minute. The doubt didn’t change anything. Her path was set.
Mira pulled her phone out and dialed. “Hi, Aron.”
“Mira? Hey sweetness, what’s up?”
She took a deep breath to settle the sick feeling churning her belly. It didn’t help. She hated what she was about to do, yet it was best this way. Like ripping off a bandage.
“Are you serious about courting me?”
“I wouldn’t have come out of seclusion and traveled halfway across the world if I wasn’t.”
“Then meet me at the Black Widow tomorrow night at nine. I want to go dancing for our first date.”
Silence filled the line. Finally, Aron said, “I don’t know if that’s wise. Josh will be working.”
Tears pricked her eyes. “And? If you haven’t noticed, there isn’t much to do here. It’s oldies night at the bar. I went there a few weeks ago. It was fun.” She plastered a smile on her face hoping it would make her shaky voice stronger. “Besides, Josh knows you’re courting me. He’s going to have to get used to seeing us together.”
“Didn’t Kade visit you? He approved of Josh’s request to court you, too.”
A tear rolled down her cheek, followed by another and another. She gave up on the fake grin and coughed into her arm to clear the lump in her throat.
“Yeah, he did. He also told me not to neglect my other suitors.” She scrubbed at her cheeks. The wetness irritated her skin. “So, do you want to go out or not?”
Aron sighed. “Yeah, sweetheart. I’ll meet you there.”
“Great. Looking forward to it.”
Mira ended the call, dropped the phone, and gave in to her crying fit.
Josh was dreaming. It had to be a dream. If it wasn’t, he’d slipped into some crazy alternate dimension. Because he was a cat.
He padded across the hardwood floor and peered at his image in the mirrored wall above his bar. A lion’s tawny face stared back at him, complete with a big, shaggy black mane. The scar on his cheek even showed on the animal’s face. He turned slightly to examine his flank. The jagged white line of another old wound showed too. He could even see his tattoos through the fur. On his shoulder, his inked tiger bared its fangs and the cross with his nephew’s name, John, stood out as a permanent memorial on his front leg.
Everything looked different through his eyes. The darkened room appeared brighter. The variations of gray stood out sharper while the vibrant colors in the posters and beer signs he knew should be there, weren’t. They looked washed-out as if somebody had thrown a bottle of bleach on them.
He squeezed his eyes closed and shook his head. When he opened them, a lion’s reflection still gazed back at him and the world around him still held an eerie quality no pair of night vision goggles could touch.
After a moment, the mirror fogged. Black mist spread over the surface. A woman’s hand extended from the shimmering wall, exactly as it had in the last dream he’d had. He locked his muscles instead of moving closer.
What was wrong with him? He’d never had recurring dreams before.
A sense of desperation settled in his heart, along with frustration.
Neither emotion belonged to him.
He took several steps back. The woman curled her hand, piercing her own palm with her talons. Golden blood dripped. The sight triggered a memory of apple pie and—
Zoe’s curses yanked him out of his dream. He jumped to his feet and glanced around. Thankfully, the bar looked normal, darkened with all the right colors. He breathed a sigh.
Another spout of profanity preceded a woman’s piercing scream.
He ran down the hall leading to the employee entrance. The shouts grew louder. Realization dawned. He knew the other woman speaking.
Abby.
He inwardly cursed. The woman didn’t know when to take no for an answer.
He flung open the back door. Zoe had a handful of Abby’s hair wrapped around her palm. With a tug on the fisted strands, she slammed her foot against the base of Abby’s spine. Abby shrieked.
He glanced between Zoe’s sleep shirt and Abby’s skintight black outfit. What? Had Abby come here to spy on him?
“What’s going on?” Josh demanded.
“Go back inside.” Zoe waved at the prone woman at her feet. “I’m handling this. I was simply explaining to Abby what happens to stalkers.”
Josh noticed the black ski mask lying on the ground near them. He leveled a hard look on his one-time lover. “You were spying on me?”
“No, she was trying to break in.” Zoe gave Abby’s hair another tug. “Guess she didn’t know you’d moved.”
“I knew. I was looking for…” Abby pressed her lips together.
“For what?”
“Nothing.”
Drugs, probably. Zeb wasn’t the only member of the Ernest family who had a problem with addiction. Actually, half the town did. That happened in rural areas when people got bored and looked for a little fun.
He knelt next to Abby. “Leave. Don’t come back. Understand?”
She nodded.
He really wanted to get a restraining order against her, but he couldn’t risk angering Zeb. So far, Zeb hadn’t acted as if he questioned Josh’s version of the fight or his miraculous recovery. Josh wanted it to stay that way. Waving around police orders would negate the shaky peace between them.
“Let her go, Zoe.”
She did with a small kick to Abby’s behind as she scrambled up.
Abby glared at his sister. “You’re going to regret messing with me, Zoe Jane.”
“Doubt it.” Zoe shrugged. “I’ve been through hell and back. You can’t top it.”
“Yeah, well, I’ll find a way. Maybe take something away you want.”
Zoe snorted. “Good luck. Vince already accomplished that.”
“And you
’re still telling that lie? Vince didn’t do anything. He—”
“Go home. Now.” Hands balled at her sides, Zoe took a step forward. “Before I commit murder too.”
Abby blanched and took off. Whatever she saw on Zoe’s face had no doubt frightened her. With Zoe’s back to him, Josh couldn’t tell. He could guess, though. Rage. She kept it buried, but the dark emotion was always there, bubbling under the surface.
Josh caught Abby’s wrist as she hurried past him. She glanced from his mouth to his groin. He gave her hand a little squeeze. “Up here, sweetheart.”
She looked at his face. The bloodshot, unfocused eyes staring back at him angered him more. He didn’t scent alcohol on her breath. That meant she’d taken something illegal recently. Probably the same thing Zeb had been on. No wonder she was snooping around. Hoping she could get a free fix.
“If you even think about touching my sister, I’ll make sure each one of your brothers gets a nice pair of crutches to go with their broken legs.”
Abby grinned, not the reaction he’d expected. She skimmed her free hand over his lower belly. He jumped back, and she laughed.
“You are a challenge.” She stepped into his personal space. He held his ground. “And I enjoy challenges.”
He lifted her and set her an arm’s length away. “Then I hope you enjoy losing too. I’m not a prize you’ll ever win.”
She slowly perused his body. The grin on her face widened into a full, wicked smile that chilled his blood.
What had he been thinking when he’d decided to sleep with her? He hadn’t. That was the problem. He’d always felt as if he was waiting for someone. In the meantime, his one-night stands had served their purpose—to get off. He should’ve stuck with his hand, less hassle that way.
“Oh, you’re definitely a prize, the ultimate one.” Abby winked at him. “See you later, Josh.”
He watched her walk away and couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d screw him over. And not in a good way, either.
Chapter 13
Josh leaned against the wall, hands clasped in front of him while he surveyed the people milling around the bar. Despite it being a weeknight, a good-sized crowd filled the room. The sight didn’t exactly surprise him. Oldies night was one of the local favorites’.
The Zeppelin song that had been playing ended and Metallica’s Enter Sandman came on. Hoots from those people seated at the bar cheered the new selection. He had to agree. It was one of his top picks too.
If it was up to him, Metallica would play every night, but he left the entertainment choices up to the DJ. Well, he had until his old one had decided to drop everything and follow his girlfriend to California. Josh needed to hire a replacement. Lucky for him, he was related to someone who’d be perfect for the job, if he could convince her to take it.
“Are you going to help me out, kid?”
Zoe sighed and rolled her eyes. The attempt to appear exasperated didn’t fool him. He saw the sparkle in her baby blues. She liked the idea.
“I suppose. Somebody’s got to avert another torture session. When Def Leppard’s Pour Some Sugar on Me came on and your buddy started singing, I thought I was going to puke. That song deserves better.” She scrunched her nose. “And I wasn’t the only one disturbed. Your customers looked ready to bolt.”
He glanced at the wolf shifter in question. At the moment, Xander’s twin had one hand down some girl’s shorts and the other fisted in her hair. The female wore that drowsy look women got when they were ready to give their lover anything they wanted.
Josh gave the wolf five minutes before he disappeared with his conquest for the night. As if the couple heard his prediction, they broke apart and headed for the door.
Josh shook his head. “It’s free entertainment.”
“Karaoke night is the only one where he should be allowed to sing.”
He chuckled. “Okay, little sister, you’ve made your point, and I agree. I also think you’d make a better DJ than Donny ever was. I’d like you to start tomorrow, on one condition.” He waited for her to motion for him to go on before he dropped the deal-breaker. “You don’t take off unannounced the next time the mood to roam strikes you.”
Her shoulders slumped, and a pout formed. “Aww, come on. That’s not fair. You know I can’t promise that.”
He was asking a lot from her. He got that, but he couldn’t allow her to leave town. Kade would flip out when he discovered his beloved human had disappeared, and Josh didn’t want to deal with his whining.
Josh mentally went through the list of arguments he’d come up with when he’d planned their talk. None of his lame reasons why she should stay sounded as good as they had earlier. Still, he picked the one least likely to cause a rift. “You’re not getting any younger. It’s time to take on some responsibility, set down roots, and go back to school.”
Zoe hopped off the stool and stood in front of him. One hand on her cocked hip, she glared at him. “Just because you’ve turned into Mr. Responsible doesn’t mean I want to go that route again. I like being single, free to come and go as I please.”
“I’m single too.”
She snorted and took the position next to him. “You keep thinking that, buddy. You’ve got the cat woman.”
“I don’t have a girlfriend, but I’m working on it. Kade’s given me his permission to court Mira. It’s the green light I needed. She’s not getting away from me.”
Zoe turned slightly, peeking at him through heavily mascaraed lashes. “Court? They do realize everyone else in the world calls it dating now, don’t they?”
He tweaked her nose exactly as he’d done since they were kids. He loved having Zoe home. He’d missed her.
“And you realize they’ve all lived through the Victorian Era, right?”
She waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “Yeah, right. Immortals. That’s got to get boring.”
His curiosity spiked. Josh bent his head to get a better view of his sister’s face. She abandoned her study of the crowd and met his gaze. “If things had been different and you fell in love with a shifter first, wouldn’t you want to live forever?”
Zoe shook her head, the swatch of hair she’d left free swishing with the movement. The rest of her hair was pulled into two off-center pigtails, courtesy of Megan. His niece always fixed her hair, and anyone else’s she styled, unevenly.
After his brother died, Josh hadn’t known how to take care of the little girl he’d become responsible for. He could never figure out how to get those darn ponytails right. Megan would laugh hysterically after looking at his handiwork. He eventually gave up trying to make them perfect. She was happy, so it was good enough for him.
“No. I’d burn out after a century and turn into some old spinster who sits by a fire with a lap blanket and electric foot massager while I knit misshapen baby blankets.”
Human females shared in their shifter mate’s immortality. They didn’t age. He’d explained that to her along with the reason why he and Mira had been dancing around their attraction for months, but he knew the real reason Zoe resisted every guy’s attempt to get serious with her—she refused to replace her one true love with another man.
Instead of starting an old argument, he nodded. “Good, then I don’t have to warn you to stay away from them. They’re all about the conquest, sis.”
A big grin spread over her face. “Really?” She licked her lips. “I bet they’re hung like horses too.”
He cringed. “Jesus, Zoe.” He scrubbed his hand down his face. “Now I’ve got images in my head I don’t want.”
She waggled her brow. “I’ll take a couple of them for test runs and let you know if the pictures I have in my head are accurate.”
“Keep dreaming. Kade won’t let anyone touch you. He’d break their fingers.”
“I’d like to see him try to stop me.”
So would he. It would be amusing but wouldn’t end well for Zoe or Kade. “You do that, and he’ll get all territorial on you. You’ll en
d up mated to him.”
“Not likely.” She slipped her hands off her hips and curled them tight at her sides. “Anyway, stop changing the subject.”
“I wasn’t.”
“You were. We were talking about Mira.”
Hearing her name quickened his pulse. He widened his stance and rolled his neck. He’d complain that it was getting hot in here, but he suspected he was the only one burning up.
“So what happened to the guitarist you were hanging out with?” He asked to change the subject away from Mira. Thinking about her left him edgy.
He wished he wasn’t working so he could go see her tonight. Her smile brightened his world and made him feel…right. Goodness knew he needed that. He hadn’t been able to sleep since yesterday. He’d prowled the house restlessly all night. Every time he’d closed his eyes, he’d dreamt about that hand reaching for him from out of a wall of black mist. Suffice it to say, it’d freaked him out enough to make sure he didn’t sleep.
“He asked me to move in. I snuck out through the bedroom window and hightailed it out of there.”
Classic Zoe. He wasn’t surprised. However, it was that type of behavior Josh had to squelch, or else he’d have a ticked-off predator breathing down his neck. “You never answered me. Do you promise to stick around? I’m going to need help with the girls.”
Zoe separated one pigtail and tightened it by yanking on the strands before repeating the process on the other side. “They are adorable, but I have to admit I feel silly carrying on a conversation with a cat.”
“Cub,” he corrected her.
She gave him a small smile. “Molly is a cute cub. It’s hard for me to grasp the fact that she’s in there with her cat. It must be hard. I have trouble sharing my head with my own conscience, let alone another entity. It gives a whole new meaning to split personality.”
From what he’d heard, being a Royal with three animal spirits was incredibly hard, but not one shifter he’d talked to would want it any other way. They loved their animals, even if they drove them nuts at times.
“Ask them. The shifters love to talk about their animals but won’t do so unless you start the conversation. They’ve been prosecuted and hated because of what they are so many try to hide that part of themselves.”
