Finding His Passion: A Shifter Mpreg Romance (Greycoast Pack Book 4)

by Jena Wade

  “Watch your place, cousin.” Byrom’s jaw clenched.

  “Brother,” Lyle’s hand settled on his twin. “We trust Lissy with our lives—the lives of our young. How can we not be trusting her with this?”

  “Because this is not birth or an illness or even an injury. This is evil. Pure evil.” Alpha wasn’t wrong. The dark healer was an evil that drew upon the powers of evil. Sucked the life breath and power from any and all animals that she could.

  “I can handle it. I just need the pack’s help. We are in this together.” Lissy’s frustration was palpable.

  “She will kill you where you stand or worse.” All eyes were on me. They didn’t understand what I’d been through. I didn’t even understand it. And I didn’t want it for any of them, not even a fraction of it. Full stop. “Lissy, I appreciate the help, but this is a risk. The pull of dark is strong. You can have any power I can give. You’ll need it.”

  I couldn’t tell her not to. Not when they had already lost so much. Not when I remembered enough to know that the dark healer would not be finished with them.

  “Stop.” Lyle stood up and bared his neck to his brother. “Byrom is our Alpha. That is where the decision lies.”

  I cowered back in my seat, my bolstered strength depleted. I tilted my head in submission and closed my eyes as the Alpha deemed this discussion over until he and the Betas returned to his place. Lissy, Mia, and my input was no longer welcome.

  “I didn’t mean. I’m sorry.” My voice cracked as I brought myself into a ball.

  “Sweet omega mine. This has nothing to do with you.” Gio’s lips caressed my cheek. “This is protocol. You made a point—a solid one—and now it needs to be deliberated as our pack laws demand. Nothing more.” I wanted to believe him. Oh how I wanted to, but I felt the anger building in the room.

  “Stay here with Mia and when I get back, I’ll fill you in or up… your choice.” He kissed me sweetly. “Does that work?” I nodded, still in his arms.

  He got up off the couch and half way through the door, Lissy told him to wait up, both of them leaving together.

  “Lissy is a Beta now?” I asked Mia, who was trying to keep from laughing.

  “No,” she chortled. “But I’d like to be there to see them try and keep her out. In her quest to learn more about light healer, she’s becoming integral to the pack, more so than she was just our healer. Thanks… for what you said.”

  “I pissed people off.” The Alpha at that.

  “No, you helped people see… the evil we are fighting pissed them off. Lissy’s got this. She just needs them standing beside her.”

  “You love her.” Were they mates? Gio never mentioned that, but I could sense the connection.

  Her cheeks pinkened. “Everyone loves Lissy.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Gio

  I reluctantly left my mate and went after the other Betas. We gathered at Byrom’s home, like we did for many of our important meetings. The Alpha’s house served as his family home and also a packhouse for every member of the pack to access whenever they needed. The house was large, accommodating for any size group. It was well kept and maintained, and since Cord had arrived at our pack and given Byrom a pup, it was filled with the pitter-patter of little feet again.

  Cord and the young cub were playing in the front yard. Cord’s belly was already rounded with their second child. He smiled and waved as I approached and I returned the gesture.

  I went up the stairs to Byrom’s study, where he, Kade, Lyle, and Trevor were waiting. Darren was there as well. Lissy followed behind me. She didn’t usually attend our meetings, but her input was needed in this situation. Perhaps that was a permanent change we could make to our set up. She served as counsel to Byrom in an unofficial capacity, so it was time to make it official.

  “So,” I said. “Is there anything that we know that can help us to find this dark healer? Based on what Thorne has told me, she moves around a lot, and isn’t likely to return to the same place twice.” I wanted to get straight to the point.

  Darren’s face contorted with agony, as it always did when the dark healer was mentioned. Having lost his brother to the evil healer’s influence, I couldn’t blame him for his distress. I felt it too when I began to think about the things that my mate must have gone through at the dark healer’s hand. We needed to use that anger to bring the healer to justice.

  “We’re hoping that the light healer and Lissy can help us,” Byrom said. He directed his attention to Lissy. “Do you have any insight as to how we can track her down?”

  She ran their hand through her dark curls and placed a hand on her hip. “I don’t know,” she said. “Dark healers had all but died out until recently. This mess with this one and a few rumblings here and there about others haven’t given myself and other healers a chance to learn about them, let alone figure out how to stop them.”

  “Well, let’s do what we can to make sure they don’t make a larger comeback,” Byrom said.

  “It’s not as simple as just driving a stake through their heart as if they were a vampire,” Lissy said. “They’re crafty, and will stop at nothing to gain the power that they want.”

  “Is that what she’s after then?” I said. “Power?”

  She shrugged. “Hard telling. But given that she went out of her way to capture a wombat shifter tells me that power was what she was looking for.”

  “And why is that exactly?” Lyle asked.

  Lissy took a deep breath. “When I met with my mentor, he said that wombats are rare and extremely powerful. It is said that a wombat’s blood can do many things. Many of the old recipes call for their blood to make potions, concoctions, things like that.”

  My stomach turned. “Thorne said she would regularly cut him and use his blood for something. He never knew what. And that she would inject him with things, or force him to ingest foul smelling mixtures.”

  Lissy grimaced. “I was afraid of that. It could have been anything. Their blood is extremely powerful. It holds a lot of secrets. There’s a reason that a group of wombats is called a wisdom.”

  “But how do we stop her?” I asked. My wolf craved order and focus. All this talking made him nervous.

  “Well, my mentor only knew of one potion that could be used to stop her. I’ve never made it and neither had he. He gave me the recipe, but he can’t help us make it. Its power will come from us, and our focus on it. Like many other potions, it could be ingested or simply thrown on the person. If it comes in contact with her skin, it would poison her to the point of death.”

  That’s what I wanted to hear. “How do we make it?” I said.

  Lissy rolled her eyes. “Well, it’s not simple ingredients that you could just buy at the store. It requires a wombat heart, for one.”

  I startled at that. My eyebrows rose. “You mean I’d have to kill my mate in order to take down the dark healer?”

  “No, no, no, nothing like that,” she said. “By heart the old text just means their essence, their blood. But he’d have to give it freely for that purpose and that purpose alone, in the moment. It’s not as if you could make the potion and mix his blood with it beforehand and track down the dark healer on your own. That’s what makes these types of powers tricky and rare, we have to believe it and want it with our souls. Thorne would have to want his blood to be used for this purpose.”

  “Thorne would have to be there to deliver the death blow is what you mean,” I said. “That’s not happening. I’m not putting my mate in danger.”

  “Hold on,” Byrom said. He held up a hand.

  “No. We’ll find another way,” I said. I’d never allow Thorne to be in the presence of the dark healer again. Ever.”

  “Why don’t you let him decide what he wants to do?” Byrom said.

  “This is my mate. I’m not putting him in harm’s way. What if it was Cord and his heart that was on the line? Would you be so willing to throw him into the fire then?”

  Byrom sighed. “Of course n
ot. I’m simply telling you to think it through. This is our shot at ridding the world of an evil. She has tortured and killed our kind. How many more will suffer like Thorne has if we don’t do something?”

  I growled and my fists clenched. “And how do we get the healer here?” I said.

  Lissy’s shoulders tensed. “There are summoning spells you can use, but I can’t guarantee that would work. I’ve never done them before.”

  “I suppose my wombat will be needed for that as well.”

  She nodded. “All of you will be needed in order for the spells to work. The spells get their power from our pack and our desires. We all have our reasons for wanting revenge on this dark healer. We’ll have to tap into that desire to make this work. You can’t have any doubt in your mind that you want them gone, else nothing will work and the healer will then use that to destroy you. Even your reluctance to have your mate there could alter the potion’s effectiveness.”

  “Oh, I want her dead for sure,” I said.

  “And your mate? Does he have the same cutthroat attitude?” Lissy said with a quirk of her eyebrow.

  Thorne was a touch more nurturing than I. He had a softer heart, despite what he had been though. And of course, there was the fact that I knew without a doubt that I didn’t want him near her ever again.

  “And you, Darren? Is another person’s death what you want to witness right now?”

  The man looked conflicted. His face was pale. “I want justice for Mitch for sure,” he said. “But I’m no executioner.”

  Lissy sighed. “I wish there was a magic wand we could wave to fix this, I really do. But it is more complicated than that.”

  I let out a long, deep breath. Nothing about the situation was easy or fun. I shouldn’t have expected it to be, based on the road my mate and I had already traveled. I wanted him safe, happy, and free to live his life without threat of harm. Was that too much to ask?

  If taking down the dark healer was the only obstacle in our path to a happy life, then I’d kill her twice if I had to.

  “Thank you, Lissy. I really appreciate all you’ve done for us, for Thorne,” I said.

  Byrom nodded and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Our pack is blessed to have you and your gifts. We are forever grateful for you and all you’ve done.”

  She nodded and looked at each of us, a tentative smile on her face. “I’ll gather the supplies to make the potion. When it’s time, we’ll all work on it together. It will be a fun pack project.” She gave a half smile that I returned.

  “Can’t wait.”

  “All right. Lissy, keep us informed.” Byrom grimaced. “Now we need to let Cord and the other omegas know. If I know them, they won’t want to sit this one out. Especially if Thorne has to be there for the fight.”

  I scrubbed a hand over my face. The very idea of going head to head with the dark healer either alone, or with my fellow Betas and Alpha at my side was terrifying. The thought of having Thorne at my side, in danger, was gut-wrenching.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Thorne

  “I feel bad saying this,” I closed the book, “and I know you’re an amazing teacher. I’ve seen it, but—”

  “Nothing is sticking because your mind is elsewhere.” She took the book from me as I nodded. “Then lesson over. Let’s do something fun instead.”

  “Fun?” I looked around the place. “Gio has stream time.” She tilted her head to the side. “You know, where you can play movies whenever you want them?”

  Her lips formed an O. “Yeah, how about we bake?” She set the book on the coffee table and headed into the kitchen, where she had three cabinets open before I managed to get myself there.

  “What are you looking for?”

  “Ingredients.” Because that explained nothing. Next thing I knew she had some chocolate bars, a box of crackers, and some brown sugar that was as hard as a rock on the counter. “Please tell me you have butter?”

  I grabbed it from the fridge and she shook her head. “The kind that comes in a stick, this is the spreadable kind for toast. How do you two even survive?”

  I found the stick butter and she started making Almost Toffee as she called it. I was pretty sure it would be awful. Then again, I’d had some of Mia’s baked goods before, so maybe I was wrong. Who cooks butter and sugar together only to pour it over a tray of stale crackers and bake it?

  Mia. That’s who.

  “Now comes the fun part.” She held up the chocolate bars.

  “Eating chocolate?” I was down for that. And really, I had to admit, Mia had done a great job of taking my mind off of things.

  “No, we break it into tiny pieces.” She smacked hers against the counter, paused, then reached to the knife block and took out the biggest one. “We should probably cut it, actually.” She sighed, as if not slamming it against the counter was the equivalent of getting your birthday picnic rained on.

  We had the chocolate in tiny bits when the timer dinged for the disaster in the oven to come out, only it wasn’t a disaster, it was bubbly, sugary goodness and the scent was amazing. Maybe this was going to work out to be yummy after all.

  We sprinkled it with the chocolate and she sang the ABC song, insisting I sing with her the second and third and fourth time. From there, she spread the now-melted chocolate and handed me the spatula.

  “What do I do with this?” I asked.

  “You lick it before it cools.” She shook her head, smiling. “I hear your mate… be sure to save me some of these.”

  “What do I do with them?”

  “Let them cool, then break them into pieces and then put the pieces in your mouth.” She gathered up her books just as Gio walked in. “Your mate made you some treats. You really need to invest in some baking ingredients like… you know… flour, sugar. Also some kitchen supplies. Would it kill you to have a cooking sheet?”

  Gio grinned. “But if I had all those things, then I wouldn’t need you, and I prefer your extraordinary talents to my non-existent skills.” He thanked her and she walked out, and I heard her greet Lissy, explaining her hurry to leave.

  “How did it go?” I crossed the distance to him, needing to feel his warmth.

  “Depends on how much you like being cut open.”

  I jumped back. “They hurt you?”

  “No, sweet man. Not me… they just think…” He took me to the couch, where he told me their plan. The plan that put so many people on the line. Not just me, but all of them. Sure, I was the one whose blood would pour by our hands, but that didn’t mean mine would be the only blood pouring.

  They didn’t see the things I saw, know the things I knew, experience the things I experienced. I didn’t even know all I was a part of, my memory still intermittent at best.

  I wasn’t someone who could just kill another… possibly not even her. I could, however, give them that… give them my blood and my intention. I wanted her off this planet, away from those she would do harm. I wanted no animals to be tortured the way I saw her torture them. I wanted no innocents lured into her influence where she would groom them for darkness. I wanted no families to be dismantled the way she did mine.

  My stomach filled with rocks as the details pieced together, my wombat pushing forward as I started to slip back. I closed my eyes, using Gio’s voice as my anchor. I couldn’t disappear now. I couldn’t, no matter how much my wombat wanted us out of this situation—out of anything remotely connected to the dark healer. That was fair. He faced the brunt of her torture, protecting me the entire time.

  It’s our turn to protect them. Protect our pack.

  My wombat backed out, a picture of my brother passing through our shared consciousness. My wombat got it. He was scared and broken and unsure, but he understood the reason we had to do this. We were getting closer to being one. It would still take time, and quite possibly we’d never be all the way there, but that moment sparked a new hope in me.

  I just needed to help save my pack first.

  I could do this. I h
ad to do this. We could do this, my wombat and I.

  Even as decided, I knew agreeing would break my alpha’s heart. His wolf was so close to the surface I could feel him, but he wasn’t fierce or fighting, the way he had been the other times I felt him so near. This time he was scared and filled with sorrow. He didn’t think I’d make it through this.

  But I could.

  I would.

  Gio was my life now and we didn’t have enough time. We hadn’t even marked each other. We hadn’t raised our babes.

  “I told them it was all you. I would never make you do it. I won’t even suggest you do.” He cupped my cheeks. “I need you safe.”

  “And I need you safe. And Mia and Lissy and the pups. Emmett, Cord, Ozzy. Everyone.” I didn’t want to do this. No one wants to be the bait—the sacrifice—the one on the wrong end of a blade. Of course I didn’t, but I needed to. I needed to be brave for the family that was now mine. Maybe if I had been braver, smarter, stronger, I’d have been able to save my mother and brother. And maybe… maybe I did, but deep down I knew they were gone. I couldn’t let that happen to my pack. “I need to do this. Please—let me.”

  He pressed his forehead against mine. “I will always support you in everything you desire, and wanting to keep you safe and in a little bubble is selfish. I know this. I just—I need—”

  “Me?” I offered.

  “You.” He kissed me slowly, sweetly, and filled with so much love it made my knees weak and my heart sore.

  “I have dessert,” I spoke between kisses. “Made it myself… with Mia, but it looks yummy.”

  “I had another dessert in mind. Raincheck.” He took my hand. “The dessert is in there,” he pointed to the bedroom, “in case that was unclear.”

  “Raincheck.” I started running toward the room, dragging him with me. “Definitely raincheck.”

  We spent the afternoon wrapped in each other’s arms, making love and expressing with our bodies everything that we felt until we were knotted together and breathless, his eyes closing as slumber took over. I forced myself to stay awake, listening to his breaths, fearing that if I let myself slip into slumber that I would wake up in my fur, unable to help my pack.