Kelos: Spring (Shifter Seasons Book 4)

by Harmony Raines

  We’re her mate, of course she can, Kelos answered.

  She needs us to prove that to her. His dragon puffed smoke out of his nostrils. He was right. Amber was not ready to take his word for it. So, he would prove himself to her. First, though, he needed to get them all to safety.

  “Will you come with me?” He held out his hand to her.

  “I don’t have any choice.” She glanced down at his hand before locking eyes with him. There was that question again. Could she trust him, a man she’d just met?

  “I will take care of you all. Your family is my family.” His words were solemn, and she swallowed hard, fighting to hold on her emotions. “Trust me.”

  She slipped her hand into his. “You’re right. For now, I don’t have a choice.”

  He led her from the kitchen toward the open front door, where Shawn was leaning against the wall, swaying slightly. Despite taking big gulps of the fresh mountain air, his eyes were unfocused and his words slurred. “You have a plan?”

  “You heard?” Kelos asked.

  “My brain might still be a little foggy, but my ears are working perfectly.” He glanced at Amber. “If you need to stay…”

  “No, Kelos is right, we’d only put you in danger.” She scanned the street outside. “And there would be a lot of questions.”

  “A lot of questions,” Shawn conceded.

  “Shawn here already attracts a lot of attention,” Kelos said as he squeezed past Shawn.

  “A good-looking doctor must be in need of a wife.” Amber leaned forward and kissed Shawn on the cheek. “Can I see you tomorrow?”

  “I’ll come by as soon as I can.” He caught hold of Amber’s arm. “Do I need to check anyone over?”

  “No, no one’s hurt. But Elliot… He has asthma and we only have one inhaler.” Her mouth formed a tight smile. “I’m sorry to ask.”

  “No, I can get you what you need. But I’d like to examine him first.” Shawn was more himself as he talked about medicine. It was his gift.

  “Sure.” Amber inched her body away from the doctor’s. “We should go. Margie will be worried.”

  “I’ll drive my truck and you follow.” Kelos walked down the driveway to his truck, still holding onto Amber’s hand. Only when they had to part on the sidewalk did he reluctantly let her go. “Drive safely.”

  She nodded, looking tired and he longed to scoop her up in his arms and carry her away to his house. But she had her family to care for and he respected that. His own needs would have to wait. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Shawn. Sorry for the midnight visit.”

  “Anytime, Amber.” The doctor’s expression clouded as he walked to the end of his driveway and watched his friend walk away.

  “Are you okay?” Kelos asked as he yanked his truck door open.

  Shawn nodded and placed his hand on the body of the truck for support. “I haven’t seen Amber for three or four years. And she turns up on my doorstep in the dead of night with her sister-in-law and her kids. Which part of all right do you think I’m not?” Shawn dragged a hand through his hair. “Sorry. I feel bad that I’m in no fit state to help.”

  Kelos shrugged. “Don’t be. You’re allowed to have time off. You lead a hectic stressful life and you could not have known Amber would need your help tonight. As you said, you two haven’t seen each other for years.”

  “If you need me, call me.” Shawn looked up and down the street. “Make sure you’re not followed.”

  “I will.” His brows knitted together as he heard the sound of a door slam. It was only Amber getting into her car, but his nerves were on edge, alert for every sound that might mean danger for his mate. “Do you have any idea what this is all about?”

  “You mean what trouble Amber is in?” Shawn shook his head. “Amber isn’t the kind of person to get into trouble.” He grinned, his affection for his friend obvious. “She’s a bit of a hippy chick. We lost contact when she went off around the world with nothing more than a backpack.”

  “While you came here to raise your child.” Kelos placed his hand on Shawn’s shoulder. “And Jane is your priority.”

  Shawn nodded and cast a glance toward Amber’s car. “But Amber is my friend and she would help me if our roles were reversed.”

  “I’m here for her, too.” Kelos glanced wistfully in his rearview mirror as he started his engine. “I’ll keep in touch.”

  “Do that. And take care, Kelos. You might have lived for a long time but that doesn’t make you invincible.”

  “I know. I have a strong sense of self-preservation.” He did not admit that his need to preserve the life of his mate superseded his own self-preservation. “Go to bed, Shawn.”

  Shawn raised his hand and waved as Kelos started his engine and drove off. The doctor backed up toward his house and watched Amber pull out from the curb and her car follow the truck. He remained on the sidewalk until the two vehicles disappeared from view.

  Does he know more than he’s saying? Kelos’s dragon asked.

  I don’t think so. He’s worried, that’s all. As am I. His jaw tensed. There were so many questions he wanted to ask his mate. But he could not bombard her with words when they reached his house. His first job would be to get the children settled in bed and then make sure Amber and Margie were all right. He suspected they all needed a good night’s sleep before he would get any of the answers he needed.

  We have waited this long for our mate. We have plenty of patience, his dragon said.

  Do we? Kelos asked as he drove down the steep road that was the only way in and out of Cougar Ridge. As his headlights illuminated the way, he kept checking in his rearview mirror to make sure his mate was still following.

  Part of him was worried he’d gotten himself drunk at The Happy Bear Club and this was all an alcohol-induced dream. However, if he had dreamed up his mate, he was certain he would not have conjured a mate who was in trouble.

  You wouldn’t have dreamed up a damsel in distress? his dragon asked. A woman who needed rescuing?

  I’m not sure Amber does need rescuing, Kelos told his dragon. I think she can look after herself just fine.

  Then why go to Shawn? His dragon puffed smoke out of his nostrils. Should we be jealous?

  Of Shawn? Kelos contemplated his dragon’s words for a long moment. No, they were friends, no more.

  Are you certain? His dragon apparently was not.

  Yes. There was no tension between them. Nothing that hinted they were more than friends. And even if they were that is in the past. Shawn is our friend and he would never do anything to jeopardize our relationship with Amber.

  With the conversation over, Kelos concentrated on the road ahead while his dragon took himself off to sleep. It was late and Kelos was also tired. But he doubted he would sleep much tonight. His head was too full of images of his mate and his body seemed to vibrate with excitement, each of his nerve endings tingling at the thought of her touch.

  Maybe you should be thinking more about Amber’s reaction when she sees the state of the house. His dragon arched an eyebrow before he closed his eyes and slept.

  When he’d offered to give Amber and Margie somewhere to stay, he had not thought about how she might react to his fixer-upper. He’d only owned the property for a couple of weeks and he’d barely begun the huge amount of work it needed before he would transform it into the cozy home. When he’d viewed the house and decided to buy it, he had not anticipated his mate arriving in his life so soon.

  Why would he when he had waited so long for her already?

  Too late to change his mind, unless he stopped the truck and offered to take them all to the nearest hotel, he figured he’d have to use his imagination and describe how the house would be when he’d finished renovating it.

  Whenever that maybe. Kelos hadn’t exactly put any plans in place to finish the house in a hurry. He was enjoying the process of stripping the house back before making it all new.

  But a stripped-back house would not appeal to his mate. Not when
she had to think about the comfort and safety of her sister-in-law and her children.

  There was no point worrying about things he could not change. No doubt, his mate would just be happy he could provide a dry, safe place for them to shelter from whatever they were running from.

  But who was running? Amber or Margie?

  As he turned off the road and drove along the bumpy trail that led to the house, the trees crowded on them. Approaching his house was like driving down a dark tunnel. The trees lining the trail leading to the house were one of the reasons he’d bought the property. They gave Kelos a sense of privacy, as if he could shut the world out and slip back in time to when life was a lot simpler.

  His dragon huffed in his sleep. The arrival of their mate had complicated things more than he’d like. As a dragon shifter, he’d learned to live a secretive life, only telling those he trusted what he really was. He was one of the last of his kind and he had no wish to be hunted to extinction like many of the other dragons who had once roamed the skies.

  As he approached the end of the tunnel of trees, the beam from his headlights lit up the open area in front of the house. It looked like a building site, with lumber stacked to one side and bricks to the other. He’d never looked at it critically, but he did now, and his heart sank.

  Maybe they would be turning around and going to a hotel after all. He would offer to sleep outside the room and guard them from danger.

  Kelos stopped the truck and got out as Amber’s car slid to a halt next to him. Standing back, he waited for Amber and Margie to get out of the car and pass judgment.

  His suspicions were correct. Margie was looking at the house and then saying something to Amber. Kelos forced himself not to listen. But her expression, complete with arched eyebrow, told him the sister-in-law was displeased.

  Amber got out of the car first and came toward him, her arms folded across her body as if she were hugging herself. “Thank you so much for doing this for us, Kelos.”

  He resisted the urge to tell her he would do anything for her. “I know it doesn’t look like much.” He looked at the house he’d become fond of over the weeks he’d been working on it. “But it’s dry inside and there’s plenty of room for all of you.”

  “For all of us,” she corrected him. “I don’t want to push you out of your home.”

  “Home.” He glanced at the house with it’s rotted-out porch roof and gave a half-smile.

  “You don’t see it as your home?” she asked as Margie opened her car door and got out. Her feet crunched on the gravel beneath her feet as she walked around the car to join her sister-in-law.

  “I do.” He nodded. “I just hadn’t realized it until now.” He focused on his mate. “I haven’t had a place I’d call home since I was a child. I move around a lot.”

  “That sounds like someone else I know.” Margie glanced sideways at Amber. Then she thrust her hand out toward Kelos. “I’m Margie, by the way.”

  “Kelos.” He slipped his hand into hers and shook it firmly. Maybe a little too firmly. When he let go, Margie flexed her hand as if trying to restore the blood supply.

  Amber hid a small smile. “Is there somewhere we can put the children to bed? They’re sound asleep. If we carry them carefully, they might stay that way. It’s been a long day.”

  “Sure.” He nodded. “They can either sleep in my bed or take the sofas. There are two of them in the living room, but only one bed upstairs.”

  “Maybe they could sleep in your bed and I can sleep with them,” Margie suggested hopefully. “That way you two can take the sofas.”

  “Sure, I can always bunk on the floor otherwise.” Kelos looked up at the stars. “Or even sleep out here.”

  “I think we should all sleep under one roof, don’t you?” Margie asked, looking at the car nervously. “Just in case.”

  “No one will find us here.” Amber went to her sister-in-law and put her hand on Margie’s upper arm. “It’s okay. We’re safe.”

  Margie glanced at the house and sighed. Was she worried the house wasn’t safe? Didn’t she know he would never suggest his mate enter the building if it was dangerous?

  Maybe Amber has kept that piece of information to herself, his dragon suggested.

  Maybe you are right. Kelos hoped Amber wasn’t in denial about their relationship.

  She probably doesn’t want to get into a discussion about it at this time of night, his dragon sought to reassure him. If Margie doesn’t know about mates, it’s going to take some explaining.

  His mate switched her attention to Kelos. “Thanks for letting us stay.”

  “No problem. I’ll help you carry the children.” He followed Amber around the car to the left rear passenger door, while Margie went to the right side. The women carefully opened the car doors and unbuckled the children’s seatbelts.

  Kelos was no expert on children but he put their ages at around seven for the youngest child, a boy, and nine for the eldest, a girl. Margie was incredibly blessed to have two beautiful children and his need to protect them all strengthened.

  “Shall I?” Kelos asked as Amber leaned forward to pick up the child.

  “I can manage.” She glanced up at him and gave him a soft smile. “Thank you.”

  He hovered at her shoulder. “What can I do?”

  “Could you get the bags out of the trunk?” She glanced across to Margie. “We’re not exactly traveling light.”

  “No problem.” He stepped backward a couple of paces and popped the trunk. Amber was not wrong, the car had a large, deep trunk and it was packed full of luggage. Reaching out for a couple of backpacks, he slung them onto his shoulders before grabbing a couple of large suitcases. They were heavy.

  He glanced up at Amber who had lifted the girl into her arms and cradled her against her shoulder as she turned toward the house. Had his mate packed up her whole life into the car?

  “This way.” He strode toward the house but didn’t take them in through the front door. The old timbers which made up the porch were not safe enough for them all to walk on and so he headed for the back door which led into the kitchen.

  The door wasn’t locked, there was nothing worth stealing inside the house, and even if there was, the door was not overly secure if anyone wanted to break in. A point he needed to keep in mind if his mate and her family were in danger. Fixing the front porch and the doors…and windows…jumped to the top of his to-do list.

  Kelos shouldered the door open and reached for the light switch before changing his mind and walking across the room. Placing one of the suitcases down on the worn linoleum floor, he ducked down and switched on an under-cupboard light that cast a muted light across the kitchen that was less likely to wake the children.

  Picking up the suitcase once more, he headed down the hallway to the staircase that rose to the second floor. The stairs creaked under his weight, but it was sound. The two women and their precious cargo followed him up the stairs, although they moved slowly, the weight of the children growing heavy as they climbed. Kelos could have carried one child in each arm with ease but he didn’t offer his services.

  They wanted to protect the children and he had not earned their trust yet. But he would.

  Chapter Four – Amber

  Amber laid Lauren down on the bed, the young girl’s head resting on the pillow as she muttered something in her sleep. Bending down, Amber brushed a kiss across the child’s forehead before she pulled the bedcovers over her. A wave of emotion swept over her. She hated this. Hated the life the children had been thrust into.

  She moved away as Margie finished tucking Elliot in and then came around the bed and kissed her daughter goodnight. Only as she stepped away from the bed did Margie’s chest heave and a huge sob rattled through her body. Amber slid her arms around her sister-in-law and hugged her close. “We’re safe now,” she whispered.

  Margie nodded and allowed Amber to lead her from the room. As she passed by Kelos, Amber reached out her hand and placed it over his. With
a squeeze, she mouthed, “Thank you.”

  He nodded and took a quick glance over his shoulder at the two sleeping children before he followed them out of the room. Kelos carefully pulled the door closed behind him but then had second thoughts and left it open an inch. As a child, he’d been afraid of the dark and the unknown monsters that might lurk there. That was before he learned that to some people, he was one of those monsters.

  “Shall we go downstairs?” Amber asked as she let go of Margie, who wiped tears from her eyes and kept her head ducked down. The emotional upheaval of the last few days had caught up with Margie. She was done in emotionally and physically. They both were, but Amber couldn’t let herself crash, not yet.

  “Yes. Do you want coffee? Tea?” Kelos asked as he walked lightly down the stairs trying to avoid the treads that creaked the most. Warmth bloomed in her belly and spread out through her body leaving her skin tingling. She liked the guy.

  Her mate. She closed her eyes and pushed that thought away, not ready to deal with the repercussion of being the mate of a shifter. Not yet.

  “Tea would be great,” Amber said. “If it’s no trouble.”

  “No trouble at all.” He went to the kitchen and they followed.

  “I’ll go and get the rest of the luggage,” Amber offered, needing to clear her head.

  “I’ll come with you.” Margie’s voice cracked with emotion.

  “I can do it for you,” Kelos offered. “While you make the tea.”

  The dim light of the kitchen was not enough to hide the strain etched into the lines on Margie’s face. Their escape had taken its toll on Margie.

  “We can manage,” Amber replied. “I think we could both do with stretching out the kinks.” She put her hand on the small of her back and stretched. “We’ve been sitting in the car far too long.”

  “And I could do with some fresh air. But thanks for offering, Kelos.” Margie walked to the kitchen door, disappearing into the darkness beyond.

  Kelos nodded and turned to make tea while the two women went outside. As he put the kettle on to boil, Amber paused and watched him, taking comfort in his presence.