by R. A. Boyd
“What the hell happened?” Riley asked, eyes wide as she looked down at Willow. “Hey Sara. Boys.”
“Hey,” they all said together. They waved at Riley but kept their eyes on Zeke as he weaved his magic.
Willow groaned as her neck jerked side to side as if drawn by invisible strings held by Zeke.
“They thought Zeke and Willow were the witches with the rogues. They wanted to help.” Audra shrugged and kept watching as her mate worked.
He was focused. His eyes fluttered as he ran his tongue along the inside of his jaw. His strong arms were still as he held them parallel to Willow’s body, but his fingers moved as if he were a master pianist.
“Sweet,” Riley said, nodding in approval. “Not that Willow got pummeled.”
Audra could feel Sara’s eyes on her, and when she looked up at the raven shifter a blanket of curiosity resided on her pretty face. She was taking all of this in. If Sara wanted to take over the Gold Wing clan and force them all in to submission she could have done so. She was methodic and picked up on things quicker than anyone Audra knew. She was a great ally.
“You’re different, Audra,” she said. Her head twitched back and forth like that of the bird hiding inside her. “You don’t seem as… erratic.” She gave a shy smile and clasped her hands together. “You’ve found him.”
“Yes,” Audra said, nodding at Zeke. “We found each other.”
Dean stepped forward and rubbed his wife’s back. “Then you need to claim him so you can get your beast back. The rogue clan is growing and are planning to come right to your doorstep before you all manage to get mated.”
Chapter 8
Zeke sat and watched Audra as she spoke with everyone. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of her. She’d been uneasy since they came back from the clearing. He tried to talk to her a few times but she kept reassuring him that she was fine. She really wasn’t.
Her eyes had lost that beautiful brown that reminded him of milk chocolate. Now they were more amber. The growl was coming back too. She was upset but didn’t want to talk about it. He wouldn’t push her. Maybe she wanted to wait until they were alone.
Most of the Ghosts were here, listening to how fast the rogue clan was growing. Dean, Alpha of the Gold Wing Raven clan, had managed to gather factions of shifters from the surrounding areas to align themselves with the Ghosts. Sara was even able to get a few gorilla shifters to infiltrate the rogue clan to keep track of what they were doing. Gorilla shifters were usually volatile, but Dean made it sound as if they were afraid of her. She laughed it off and steered the conversation back to the rogues.
This was moving faster than any of them had imagined. Even while stuck in their human form the members of the Ghost clan were stronger than most shifters, but they needed numbers. They liked being left alone, but that may have been their undoing. People were afraid of them. Questioned their motives. They knew nothing about them. Most of the New Rose shifters trusted them implicitly but too many others didn’t. Fear made people crazy, and this crazy had created a pack of shifters that had the ability to do permanent damage.
“Anyone talk to Jace,” Willow asked as she got up off of the couch.
“He’s on the oil rig and won’t be back for another two weeks,” Riley said.
Willow massaged her neck as she rolled her shoulders back. “It may not be necessary but he should be checking in every few days. All of you need to be safe.”
She’d been resting for the past hour. For her to be at peak condition she had to rest. Willow glanced at Sara and Zeke could see the annoyance in her glare. Willow would have to suck that shit up. Because of a witch, the Ghosts had been unable to keep Cass from being kidnapped before she’d been turned. A witch was the reason Riley’s ex-husband had been able to incapacitate Teague with a bullet that contained Heaven’s Flame. They had the right to be careful of any new witches in the area.
When Sara got the better of them, he and Willow had been casting a stronger protection spell that required their full attention. Sara had been like a fucking surgeon in her attack. Precise. Fast. Lethal.
Sara’s movements were swift as lightning. She was in front of Willow before either of them knew what was happening. In attire fit for a monarch, she hunched in front of Willow and hit her like a three hundred pound linebacker. Willow’s small body went flying into the large maple tree, and she was unconscious before she even made contact.
She would have attacked Zeke, but her son called out before she had the chance. It distracted her long enough for Zeke to strike her with a bolt of energy and send her soaring back the way she’d come. But she recovered and started at him again. The next bolt of energy he threw flew past her. She jumped and disappeared into the covering of the large trees.
Sara was dangerous. Thank God she was on their side.
“Our guys on the inside say that the clan has about sixty shifters now,” Dean said as he poured himself a cup of coffee. “We got a few pictures of the members but it’s not like they can ask for a group photo.” He pulled out his phone and gave it to Neil to pass around. “I recognize one from my clan but I haven’t said anything to him yet. Sara thinks we should carry on like we don’t know anything until the right time.”
She was right. If the rogues knew how much or how little they did know they would dig deeper underground.
“Sixty?” Audra scoffed as she smoothed her hair back and started braiding it. “All of us together can take sixty shifters. We should be taking the fight to them, not waiting to have our doors kicked in.” Her eyes flashed black and a deep rumble started in her chest.
Dean shrugged and rubbed the back of his head. “It’s not that simple. That would only fuel the rogue’s fire. You’d be making martyrs out of them. Everyone in the shifter community would think you really wanted to take over. That’s something we already talked about with your triad. It’s just not a good idea.”
The low rumble in Audra’s chest grew louder. She was like a frightened animal waiting for the attack. When had that started again? It all but disappeared last night.
Zeke frowned and ran his finger across the charm she’d given him. Maybe he wasn’t able to calm her beast like she had hoped he would. Like he hoped he would.
He glanced over at her to catch her attention and give her a reassuring smile, but she was already watching him. The intensity in her eyes worried him, and for a moment Zeke didn’t know if Audra was watching him or if her beast was stalking him.
She whispered something and then shook her head as if trying to dismiss it, but everyone noticed. Once she realized every eye in the room was on her she stopped braiding her hair, gave a terrifying smile that split her face open like a scarecrow’s drawn-on face, and walked toward the door.
Riley stood but Zeke put his hand up. “She’ll be fine. I’ll go talk to her.”
He really didn’t think she was going to be fine. Maybe she was going to lock herself back in the cell. She’d been improving but something had changed.
By the time he got outside she was gone. Something was really, really wrong. Audra had promised to talk to him if she felt like she was slipping. He’d heard the honesty in her voice and believed her promise. The way she’d been behaving since they came back from meeting the ravens reminded him of when he first met her. When she’d been locked in a cell.
What the hell made him think he could make such a huge change in her in less than twenty-four hours? Love. Love made him think he could change her. She had already changed him.
A wave of nausea hit him and a jolt of panic raced up his spine. His senses perked up as he stood still and listened. Were the rogues attacking? They would have known if anyone crossed the threshold of the perimeter. He and Willow had set it up to sound like a doorbell ringing if someone outside of their clan stepped on the property.
A crash sounded from a house down the street and a pained scream echoed from inside.
“Fuck,” he gritted out, breaking into a run. “Something’s wrong,” he called o
ver his shoulder to everyone in the common hall.
As he got closer to the three story house where the uproar was coming from, the sounds of war bled from the open door. Breaking furniture, snarls and growls, and the landing of powerful punches led him to a sight he never imagined he would witness.
Audra and Cass were fighting, and it was brutal.
Audra was going at Cass like a wounded animal, and Cass was deflecting every wave of her attack. A steady snarl fell from Audra, her lip raised up on the side as her song of pain poured from her mouth. She was trying to kill Cass.
Zeke was frozen. He didn’t know what to do. Help Audra? Help Cass? He could send a blast of energy to break them up but he didn’t want to hurt either of them.
He took a step forward but Cass put her hand up as a warning. A long, deep gash sat high on her forehead. The blood was almost to her eye. “Stay back, Zeke. I think Audra’s checked out and this bitch has taken over.”
In the place of Audra’s sweet voice was something feral and evil. It was deep and more animal than human. “They listen to you. They all do,” Audra said. “Give the order to attack or I will kill you and take this clan from your mates.”
God, no. Audra’s beast had completely taken over. Everything had been fine. What could have pushed her over? He had failed her.
“Audra, please,” Zeke said, walking toward her.
“Zeke,” Cass said as she stepped in front of him and into Audra’s path. “Leave. This stops now.”
Was she threatening Audra? A gentle wrath began to replace his worry for Audra. Even though his mate was losing her shit right now he would do everything in his power to keep her safe.
The clan members that were in the common hall, including the ravens, burst in through the front door. He started to tell Cass to get the hell away from his mate but he didn’t have a chance.
With teeth bared and fingers splayed like claws, Audra ran toward Cass with the force of a freight train. Her black eyes shimmered in the sunlight and he took a step back to brace for impact. Cass was right in front of him and when Audra made contact he would be right there to absorb the force of their fall.
Everything slowed as he watched Audra fly at Cass like an insane chipmunk. Cass squared her shoulders and put her arm up, right hand extended as if ready to catch the bolt of lightning that was Audra. And she did.
Cass grabbed Audra out of the air like she was an annoying fly and shook her back and forth. The power that rolled off of her caught him off guard. She and Audra were almost the same height but Cass held her high enough to keep her feet from touching the ground.
Like a wild alley cat Audra hissed and growled, scratching ribbons of lovely mocha skin from Cass’s arm, but she paid no attention to it.
“I know why your arm wasn’t healing in your cell,” she said, pain etched in her voice. Cass wiped away the tears with the back of her hand. “I’m sorry, Audra.”
Still holding on to Audra’s neck, Cass used her free hand to grab Audra’s right arm below the elbow. She squeezed and yanked it to the side, and the resounding crunch and crack of breaking bone bounded around the room. He hadn’t even realized what she’d done until Audra howled in pain and held her arm tight to her body.
Cass dropped her on the floor and when Audra tried to get up again she said, “Stop it, Audra. Now.” Raw energy crackled through her voice. She just issued an Alpha order.
There was no trace of the Cass he’d come to know in such a short time. The woman standing between him and his mate was an Alpha. He knew now what he’d been sensing in her since they first met.
Power. Dominance. Inducement. He’d finally figured out what role Cass had to play in all this. Well, at least part of it.
Zeke watched as Audra’s eyes faded from rage-filled black orbs to the beautiful milk chocolate that he loved to stare into. They switched back and forth, and her body twitched as both sides fought to gain control. Her bottom lip trembled as shame began to cloud her eyes. She looked up at Cass with regret.
Cass’s shoulders rose and fell as she breathed deeply. “Audra. Go to your house and wait until Jax and Damon get back. If I see you come out of your house you won’t need to break your arm as a distraction. I will break both of your fucking legs.” She turned to face Zeke and the others. Her voice cracked in sorrow. “We have to do something or we will have to put her under.” Tears streamed down her face and mingled with the blood that had fallen down to her chin. “Take her home, Zeke.”
What had she done? How could she let Beastie take over without warning the people she loved?
She hadn’t expected it to happen this way. Not this fast. Other than Willow having her neck broken and probably hating Sara’s guts, things were going so well. She hadn’t heard from her beast since Zeke had stepped up as her mate. That was supposed to make everything better. And now, Cass would hate her. And she had every right to.
She had failed everyone.
Audra grabbed her shirt over her heart and fisted the material. She had never been so ashamed in all her life. If she could die from the pain she had caused her family she would welcome death.
“What happened?” Damon asked as he and Jax sat across from Audra, both looking at her the exact same way they did after she’d locked herself in the cell.
Almost. They were concerned but there was something else hiding in their eyes. Not just disappointment. No. They were looking at her like she was a traitor.
Audra hiccupped and pushed her long hair behind her ear. Zeke stood behind her like a sentry, but who was he guarding? Her or everyone else?
She sniffed and rubbed her broken arm. Cass was good. She’d broken her arm with the intention of bringing her back. She knew the whole time Audra was in the cell why her arm hadn’t healed. And Cass had done her the honor of not mentioning it.
“I panicked after I thought Zeke was being attacked. I didn’t— It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. When I got to the clearing and saw him standing there it was like I just went blank.”
Everything but Zeke had disappeared as they walked back, him carrying Willow and the ravens following behind them. He was the only thing on her mind. He was hers to protect and nothing any of them were doing would bring them any closer to keeping him safe. Except eradicating every single rogue shifter.
“Dean mentioned there were only sixty of them and I just thought we could kill them all. I could kill them all.” Audra shook her head and stroked her healing arm. “No. My beast thought that we could kill them all. And then the idea that none of you were moving fast enough to—” She snarled at the thought of Zeke getting hurt but then averted her gaze when Zeke put his hand on her shoulder to calm her. “I’m so sorry,” she sobbed. “Does Cass hate me?”
Damon took a deep breath and rubbed the hair on his chin with his thumbnail. “She doesn’t hate you. She’s just sorry she had to hurt you.”
“And she’s afraid,” Jax said, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “She’s afraid you won’t be able to control yourself and that you’ll have to be put down.” He brought his hand to his forehead and massaged the spot above his nose. “Damn-it, Audra. Why didn’t you say something to someone?”
Her tears made a zig-zap pattern down her face as she violently shook her head. “I didn’t get a chance. I was listening one second and then it was like I fell asleep. When I came to I was on the floor in your house and Cass was telling me she’d break my legs.” She gave a heart wrenching sob and covered her face with one hand. “I’m so sorry.”
Zeke walked to the other side of the chair and slid next to Audra. He pulled her head down to his chest as she cried. She wanted to take comfort in his closeness but she couldn’t. She wouldn’t. She didn’t deserve comfort. For hurting her family, she deserved to be locked away in the cell that Zeke had called home for so long. She deserved to be cast to the inner circles of hell for betraying her brethren. Her body shook with anger and sorrow.
Jax pursed his lips and made a clicking sound behin
d his teeth. “What the hell are we supposed to do.” It wasn’t a question. It was a testament to the confusion they all felt.
“I have an idea,” Zeke said, gathering Audra’s hair to the nape of her neck to keep it from falling in her face. “I’ve been trying to figure out what Cass was since she grabbed me yesterday. She’s more than you think she is. I think Cass was chosen to lead the Ghost shifters alongside you. She isn’t just simply the Third in your Triad. She’s the glue that holds this entire clan steady. You do realize that, don’t you?”
A muscle twitched in Jax’s jaw and he sat back in the chair. “Yeah. Me and Damon knew she was different. Special.”
“We thought it was just because she was ours,” Damon said. “At first. But she’s more. Do you know what she is?” His voice was low. Worry pooled in his eyes, and so did pride.
Audra felt the same way right now, once she managed to move past shame and fear. Pride at knowing her sister was capable of doing things they hadn’t even imagined. And fear knowing she was going to be the barer of something unknown.
Zeke shifted in his seat, tracing his fingers along Audra’s broken arm. “When I was a Watcher we would use certain humans to fuel the advancement of entire groups of people, and I think that’s what Cass is. She is a conduit through which the Creator is giving all of you back your shifter abilities. And your grace. Without her none of you would be able to claim your beasts again.”
Audra shot up just in time to watch Jax and Damon stare at Zeke for a few moments, completely dumbfounded by his admission.
Holy shit. He’d just blurted out that he was a Watcher. He always said that it was something he kept guarded so no one would judge him. So that no one would feel threatened by his presence.
“How the fuck did you escape?” Jax asked as he looked between Audra and Zeke. “You’re a Watcher?” His blue eyes grew dark as he sat up straight in the chair.