by Kimber White
“Let me do some sniffing around,” I said. “Adam hadn’t lived in Shadow Point very long. I don’t even know if he had a girlfriend or a boyfriend or what his story was.”
“Yeah, I don’t know,” Baines said. “That didn’t look random. Whoever killed that kid did it out of white-hot rage. And they didn’t seem to care who knew it.”
“You’re thinking it was a crime of passion?” I asked. “Sheriff, there was a bear at the bar. His name was Duncan. I don’t know his last name. He cornered Adam in the alley. He was angry thinking Adam was paying attention to his mate. I don’t know who she is. As far as I know, she’s never come into the bar. Adam swore the guy was reading something into it that wasn’t there.”
Baines frowned. “A bear. You sure he was a bear? Not some other kind?”
I nodded. “I’m sure.”
“You let me know if he comes around again.”
“Adam was human. Since when do shifters start killing humans like that? Adam was no threat to him if push came to shove,” I said.
Baines shrugged. “Maybe. I’ve seen killings like this, Calla. This one was feral or damn close. If I had to place a bet, I’d say it was somebody too far gone to save. This looks like somebody in the sickness.”
“Mating sickness,” I said. I’d seen it before too. If an Alpha shifter went too long without finding his mate, it could drive him mad from it. It got harder for them to control their animals.
“Yeah,” Baines said. “But those burn marks don’t add up. Feral shifters don’t try to hide their kills. That takes a kind of calculated planning they’re not usually capable of anymore.”
“So, it could maybe be someone who is just a little bit sick in the head?” I asked.
Baines shook his head. “I don’t know. It just doesn’t make sense. If he’s far gone enough to start killing, he’s all the way gone. There’s not really a medium level on this.”
“Right,” I said, my voice trailing off. “Right.”
No medium level. I knew this. When shifters turned feral, they didn’t do it halfway. I couldn’t say too much more to Baines. But, I’d seen this kind of thing before too. More than once.
“Well, if you could just keep your ear to the ground for me, I’d appreciate it,” Baines said. “The shifters in this town seem to like and trust you. I don’t know if you get how rare a thing that is for a human like you. We shifters tend to be a pretty mistrustful bunch.”
I smiled. A human like me.
“Will do,” I said.
We’d walked out of the service entrance to the hospital and stood in the parking lot. Baines offered to drive me back to the bar, but I said no. It was only three blocks away and I wanted to walk. More than that, I wanted to be by myself for a minute.
I waited until Baines had turned the corner in his cruiser before I stepped out on the sidewalk. I sniffed the air.
Burn marks. Someone had tried to burn poor Adam. Feral shifters never did that. Baines had a solid point. But that bear wasn’t completely feral.
As I got close to the bar, my pulse began to pound. I should have told Baines about Kian. Not two hours ago I’d found him staggering out of the woods covered in gashes that didn’t look too far off from what had been done to Adam. I’d be an idiot not to think there might be some kind of connection. So why in the hell hadn’t I said something to the sheriff?
Maybe I was losing my damn mind, but every instinct in me told me Kian needed my protection. He wasn’t like that bear. No matter what else happened, I had to get him to tell me the truth about what he knew. Except I felt like my life in Shadow Point was beginning to unravel. Shifter trouble was always the thing that drove Astor and me from town to town. And I always found myself smack in the middle of it.
As if he could read my mind, Astor’s ringtone cut through the silence. It was far past lunchtime. He would wonder why I hadn’t checked in with him yet.
“Hey there,” I said. “Sorry. I stopped by the bar and got caught up in something. You doing okay? Do you want me to stop and get you some bagels?”
“Cut the crap, Calla,” he said. “I know about Adam Webster. It’s all over the local news.”
Shit. Baines wouldn’t be happy about that either.
“Yeah. It’s awful.”
“Shifter?”
“That’s what I’m trying to help figure out.” There was no point in lying to Astor about this. He knew me too well.
“Calla, how many times do I have to say it?”
I squeezed my eyes shut. “Astor.”
“I’m packing our things,” he said. “We’ve stayed too long. You’re starting to have an effect on them again.”
My throat felt thick. Hot tears stung my eyes. No. He was wrong. I couldn’t go through this again.
“Astor, I like it here,” I said, leaning against the lamp post. “It feels like home. It’s too soon to jump to conclusions yet.”
His breath rattled when he sighed. “Honey, I’m sorry. I wish it could be some other way. You know it can’t. We’ve gotta cut and run before it gets worse.”
“Adam Webster wasn’t a shifter,” I said, turning as a couple walked toward me. They gave me a polite smile and a wide berth.
“He was human,” I said.
“Right. Baines called. That’s how he knew where to find you this morning. I already know you’ve seen the body. You going to try telling me Adam wasn’t killed by a shifter? A feral shifter? Honey. It’s time. It’s not your fault, but it’s time. You think you’re strong enough to handle the shifters in this town. For a while, you could. But it turned. It always turns. Now, just your being here makes it dangerous for them. And it’s a hundred times more dangerous for you. They’re starting to sense what you are. It’s time to go.”
I hated this. I hated that Astor was probably right. Guilt washed over me. He said it wasn’t, but was Adam’s murder really my fault? I let that bear shifter get so close to me the other day. Close enough Kian felt he had to step in. Is that what sent him over the edge?
Then there was Kian. There was something very definitely wrong with him. He tried to hide it, but he seemed worse whenever I got near him. Except, I couldn’t figure out what he was. Was it possible my presence was starting to do things to humans now?
I couldn’t bear to give voice to the question. I was afraid Astor might tell me yes.
“I’ll talk to you later, Astor,” I said. “No matter what else is going on, Owen lost his best cook today. He’ll need me at the bar. Adam was a good kid. He had friends here. I need to see this through.”
“Oh, kiddo,” Astor said. “You’ve got a big heart. I know how tough this has all been on you. I’m sorry for that. You know it. Just...don’t stay out too late. And stop fighting me on this. I’m looking out for you. If I don’t, who else will?”
His stark words cut through me. He was right and it gutted me. I just wasn’t ready to leave Shadow Point yet. I said goodbye to Astor and slipped my phone back in my pocket.
As I walked in the back door of the Blue Heron, it wasn’t grief I felt. Not at first. Instead, it was a wave of heat that hit me square in the chest. My pulse quickened. It took me a beat to recognize the sensation for what it was. As soon as I did, it took my breath away.
Kian. I could feel him through the ceiling where he waited upstairs. For a split second, his pain became mine. I didn’t know what to do with it.
A door opened. I went further down the hall and came to the bottom of the stairs. Kian waited for me at the top, his eyes flashing. Against my better judgment, I went to him.
Chapter Eight
Kian
“I need to know where you were last night,” Calla said. She stood in the hallway as I held the door open.
“I don’t have the answers you want,” I said. Her eyes flashed darkly as she stared at me. The woman had an aura about her, though I usually didn’t believe in such things. But, she was all heat and fury and...woman. Being this close to her short-circuited my brain. It got hard
to breathe, hard to think past the pounding pulse in my head. I gripped the doorknob, struggling to keep my dragon quiet.
“Well, you need to give me something. I’ve stuck my neck out of for you.”
“I didn’t ask you to,” I said. “As a matter of fact, I haven’t asked for any of this.”
“And yet you took my help anyway,” she said. “God. Look at you, Kian. I know a shifter in trouble when I see one.”
“I’m not some shifter,” I said, spitting out the words. I wanted to take them back. The less Calla or anyone knew about my nature, the better.
“Where were you last night? How did you get those scratches all over you? You owe me an answer. A friend of mine is dead. If you had anything to do with it...if you know something about it, you have to tell me.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. Calla was unafraid. It made no damn sense. If she truly believed I was responsible for murdering her friend, what in the hell was she doing facing off with me alone?
“I should go,” I said. “I can’t help you. And I never should have accepted your help in the first place. It was a weakness on my part. It won’t happen again. I’ll be out of here by the end of the day.”
“Did you kill Adam Webster?” she asked me point blank. A muscle jumped in her jaw.
“No,” I said. I answered automatically.
“Do you know who did?”
“No,” I said again.
“So what happened to you? You got in a fight in the woods last night. I’m trying to figure out if I’ve got a rogue shifter on my hands. They’re dangerous, Kian.”
“You don’t have to tell me that,” I snapped. Just the thought of Calla getting anywhere near that kind of threat drove me even further out of my mind.
She slapped her hands to her thighs. “Okay, mystery man. I can’t figure out what your deal is. I have no idea why I believe you, but I do. My instincts are usually spot on with stuff like this.”
“What are you?” I blurted. My heated blood took over. I could feel Calla’s breath against my skin. An ache went through me. A craving. I wanted this woman, plain and simple. At first, I thought being around her made me better. Now, I felt even more out of control.
“I’m Calla Lazar,” she answered simply. “And I like it here in Shadow Point. Whether they know it or not, the shifters around here need me. I sort of...well...keep the peace.”
“How? You’re a witch,” I said. “I can feel it. You’ve got fire magic. They’ll eat you alive if you get too close.”
“I’m not...never mind what I am,” she said. “The question is, what the hell are you? You’re strong. And you’re sick.”
“Then you should stay the hell away from me,” I said. She did the opposite. Calla took a step closer. I gritted my teeth, wishing I could turn to stone. If she got any closer, if she touched me, I knew I couldn’t keep the fire out of my eyes. She would see. She would start to suspect. I’d asked her if she was a fire witch. She had to be thinking the same about me.
“You’re a fool if you think you can keep the peace among shifters. You’re not one of them. You’ll always be...other.”
She blanched when I said it. My words hurt her. She took a step back. More than anything, I wanted to take the pain out of her eyes. No. More than anything, I wanted to kiss her.
“And you’re not going to tell me what happened last night, are you?” she said.
I stayed still as stone. There was no answer I could give her that would make any of this better. The truth was, I had no idea what happened last night. I tried to imagine her friend Adam in my mind’s eye. He was familiar. I saw flashes of his face. His terror. But, it wasn’t me. It couldn’t be me. If my dragon had done this, they never would have found a body.
Calla grew even bolder. She reached for me. It was my turn to flinch. She ran her fingers down my arm. Even through the thin fabric of my shirt, my fire rose to the surface.
“Show me,” she said, swallowing hard.
“Show you what?”
“Show me the wounds.”
The craving grew more intense. I didn’t want to just kiss her; I wanted to give in to the fire. In my mind I watched it rise up, circle around her, brand her to me. Scales bubbled along my spine.
“You need to go.” My voice came out as a choked whisper.
Calla didn’t listen. She stepped into the room. I took a halting step backward.
“I’ll go after you let me see,” she said.
“Calla, don’t. You should go home. You should stop asking questions about things you could never understand.”
“I’m not leaving this room until you show me.”
She was gorgeous, defiant, infuriating. She had the most penetrating green eyes. Her lips were slightly parted, ready to be kissed, bitten, tasted. I closed my eyes. I could feel her heart beating. She was scared. No. Aroused. Whatever heat rose in me, it was happening to her too. It was impossible. Dangerous. I couldn’t think straight.
“Kian.”
“Fine,” I said, snapping my eyes open. I pulled my t-shirt over my head and threw it in the corner. Calla took a breath, her jaw set with determination. She came to me. I stood rigid, my fists curled. Would she see the scales? Could I keep it together long enough?
Calla touched my chest. Her fingers were cold at first, then instantly warmed. I stared straight ahead. If only I could truly turn to stone. She walked around me, trailing her fingers over my arm. She touched my back. God, she felt so damn good. Her skin. Her heat. Her scent.
She took a finger and ran it along my spine. A growl started, low in my belly. My whole body rumbled with it. But, I found the strength to remain absolutely still. Calla came back around so we were facing each other. Her eyes flicked over me, then went up and up until she met my gaze.
God. Help me.
“What are you?” she asked. I had the same question for her. It burned through me. The truth was there in front of me. I could touch it. Taste it. Then it slipped away.
“Something you should stay far away from,” I said.
“You think you can hurt me?” she asked. There was a challenge in her question, a spark in her eyes.
“I think I can destroy you,” I answered.
Calla lifted a hand and pressed it flat against my chest. She was testing me. Or maybe, she was testing herself. It was a trick. Some spell she cast. I closed my eyes and tried to feel around the edges of it. There was fire in her, I was sure of it. But, she was no witch. Unless I was slipping and she’d managed to hide even that from me. There was something very powerful and ancient about her. I sensed shifter strength, but there was no animal hovering just below the surface. She was unlike anything I’d ever been near.
“Is that what you want?” she asked, her voice a sultry whisper. This woman had no idea the kind of dark magic she courted. It was almost like she fed off it. The more she stirred my beast, the more powerful she felt.
I closed my fingers around her wrist and pulled her hand away from me. “Stop playing games,” I said. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Don’t you?” she said, cocking her head to the side.
“You got what you came here for,” I said. “You’ve seen me. You’ve felt me. You have to know I had nothing to do with your friend’s tragedy.”
“You still haven’t told me what happened to you last night. I saw those claw marks on your back. You were bleeding. Something tried to rip you apart. And Adam...he was...whatever he ran into...it was savage. He was almost torn in half. It wasn’t a coincidence. If it was that bear, I need to know it. Are you protecting him?”
I dropped her hand. “I’ve got nothing to do with that filthy bear.”
“Did he come after you? Dammit, Kian. I need to know. I can’t fix this if I don’t know…”
“Fix this? How the hell do you plan on fixing this?”
She ran a hand through her hair. I watched it cascade around her shoulders. I had the powerful urge to twist it, pulling her head gently back to expose her throat.
I wanted to devour this woman. She wouldn’t be safe near me much longer.
“He was burned,” Calla said. Her words slammed through me. No.
“What do you mean burned?”
“Adam had burn marks on his skin...what was left of it anyway. The coroner thinks somebody might have tried to burn his body. Or, it could have happened when he was still alive. He’s not sure yet.”
I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. Burn marks? Oh, God. No. Was it me? Had I done this? In the faint distance, I could still hear my brothers’ calls. If they knew. If there was even a chance I was that far gone…
“You should go,” I said. “I mean it. Calla, I don’t know what happened to your friend. I swear, I don’t. But, you should stay the hell away from this. If you don’t…”
“What?” she said. “What do you know? You have to tell me!”
I went rigid and silent. Finally, I got my breathing under control and met her eyes again. “I don’t know anything. Nothing that could help you. But, whatever this is, you will get hurt if you go chasing after some killer. If it was that bear, he’s too strong for you. And he’ll fight to protect himself. If it’s something...else...it could get even worse.”
We were at an impasse. She knew I was speaking in half-truths. Strange as it was, she seemed to believe in me. I don’t know what sixth sense she had, but this impossible woman didn’t think I was guilty. She still thought I was worthy of her help. Nothing made sense about her.
Her phone went off in her back pocket, startling us both. At the same time, there was a soft knock on the door.
“Calla?” It was Owen. “Calla, hey. I’m sorry to interrupt. There’s some trouble, though. I think.”
Calla’s eyes widened. She turned and opened the door. Her phone had stopped ringing.
“I think it’s your grandpa,” Owen said. He gave me a tight-lipped smile. Calla wasn’t afraid of me, but Owen clearly was.
“My...what...” Calla turned back. She checked her phone and her face fell. “I’ve got to go,” she said.
“We’re finished here,” I said. She shot me a hard look, but pushed past Owen and tore down the stairs.
