by D. K. Davis
The twins nudged my legs with their wet noses or licked them until I got settled in with their bottles. The babies looked so much older today. When they finished, I sat with them for a few minutes, my butt on the ground, our faces at the same level. My position gave them grounds to kiss my cheeks…and they did. Their little pink soft tongues tickled.
When we finished, Uncle Charlie took care of the bottles, and then we walked to the house.
“So, what did you think of the group yesterday? Anybody give you any hassles?” Charlie hustled along to the house and then stopped by the back door.
“I had a good time yesterday with everyone. I don’t know anyone that well yet, but all the kids seemed happy to be here. A couple of them made comments about how nice you and Aunt Becka are. Guess that says a lot about them.”
“Yeah, we’ve been fortunate having kids that love to be here. Attitude sure makes a difference. I hope you eventually can think of our refuge as something other than your prison.” His head tilted, and he arched a brow. “Rowan, would you mind if I speak with Morgan alone for a moment?”
“No, of course. I’ll see you inside.” Rowan ran up the steps and into the house.
Uncle Charlie nodded toward the corner of the house, and we walked in that direction. “I understand a lot happened last night, and I don’t have all the details, but I want you to know that we love you, Morgan. My understanding is that you’ll be staying at Marcus’ for now, training and learning the way of the shifter.”
I nodded.
“You’re there for you, not because we don’t want you here. When you’ve completed your training, we’d like you to live with us. Make our place your home, even when you go to college if you so choose to do that.” Moisture gathered in his eyes. “Give it some thought, okay?”
I stepped into my uncle’s strong arms and hugged him. “There’s no thought needed and no place I’d rather call home, I’d love to stay with you and Aunt Becka.”
He patted my back, and then we jogged to the back steps.
“You’ve made me very happy, and I know your aunt will be over the moon when she hears you’re staying with us.” He opened the door for me and followed me inside.
Aunt Becka must have heard us coming; she set a steaming cup of hot cocoa down on the table. “For you Morgan.” She poured a cup of coffee, setting it on the table beside my cup. “For you Charlie.”
Rowan was already sitting and eating.
Aunt Becka filled our plates and set them in front us.
My stomach growled so loud that everyone stared at me. “Guess my belly speaks ‘ravaged.’”
My aunt let out her usual bellow of happy and then sat beside Uncle Charlie. “I thought I’d take care of the little caged animals this morning if you’d like to help Charlie feed and water the deer in the big pen. We’ll milk the goats after lunch. How does that sound to you?”
“I can handle the big pen.” Rowan wiped a hand across his lips. “And, I can clean out stalls afterward,” he added, “before you milk the goats.”
“I can clean up breakfast and then do the little cages,” I said.
“Wonderful, that will give me time to look over correspondence on the website? Want to make sure everything’s ready for tomorrow’s three visitors coming from GR, and that Jason’s Kid Kamp will accommodate them for as long as they want to stay. They all filled out the on-line applications for class credit.” Aunt Becka glanced my way. “If you’d like to give those a once over it might be informative on what to expect.”
“Sure, maybe later, before we head back to Rowan’s place. I’ll get the chores done first.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.”
We all gobbled down breakfast in record time. Aunt Becka set a few dishes on the counter. I shooed her out of the kitchen and waved my uncle and Rowan out the door.
Didn’t take long to load the dishwasher, not that many dishes. I peeked outside. The sky had turned hues of pink, purple, and gold. The first beams of sunlight streamed over the barn roof. For the first time in my life, my mind settled, gone were the whirling uncontrollable random thoughts of hurt and disappointment. Thoughts of Mom didn’t faze me. Like Rowan mentioned, she’d found her happy. Maybe I’d discovered mine too, in only four days at my aunt and uncles.
A car door slammed shut. I hurried out to the front porch.
Addison climbed the steps and stopped in front of me. “Well, am I too late for breakfast?” She grinned.
“Hey, you’re too young to drive, little missy.”
“Yep, true. But, I’m a good driver. Been driving for a few years without a license, more convenient for my parents if I do.” Another grin and her eyes widened. “I can smell breakfast. Are you going to invite me in?”
“Come on. There are some remnants of it in the fridge. I’ll warm it up for you.”
“So, what’s first on the agenda after I eat? Feeding the fawns or cleaning stalls?” Addison followed me inside and took a seat at the table. “Or do we need to scrub another slimy water tub?”
“No green slim for either of us. We’re not good at following the rules.” I chuckled, gathering the leftover sausage links, scrambled eggs, and a biscuit onto a plate. I stuck it in the microwave for a minute. “Rowan’s already helping Uncle Charlie. Aunt Becka is in her room checking the website for the guest helpers coming tomorrow.”
The microwave dinged. I retrieved the plate, grabbed some silverware, and set it in front of Addison.
“Man, does this look delicious.” She dove into it, acting as starved as I was.
I studied her, still wondering how to know what she was. Then her scent slammed into my olfactory sensor like an exploding volcano. “Oh, my, gosh! You’re one of us. I mean, I’m one of you. I mean…”
She jumped up from the table with a giant grin on her face. We ran at each other and embraced like the kindred sisters we were.
“It took you long enough to figure that one out.” She pushed me out to arms distance and winked. “Glad we’re on the same page though. There aren’t many females near my age around here. I’m ecstatic you’ve joined the Pryde.”
“How do you know that I’ve joined the Pryde?”
“Because you’ve exchanged blood with either Rowan or Oakly, they’ve marked you as one of the Marcus Pryde.” She went back to her chair. “And as a mate as well.”
My heart hammered an erratic beat. “What do you mean? The mating thing?”
“Can you read some of Rowan or Oakly’s thoughts, can they read yours? Do you feel a strong connection, like a pulsing current, every time you touch, skin to skin?” She stared at me.
A lump grew inside my throat. Marked as a mate, like a forever couple?
“You’re mine, and I’m yours, but it’s not like what you’re thinking. Please don’t be anxious over it. We’ll talk later.” Rowan’s voice came through my mind, and despite my anxiety over it, comfort and security wove a thread of calm through my system.
“In answer to your questions, yes, Rowan and I accidentally exchanged blood, and yes, the strong connection happened before that, and yes, I’ve heard some of his thoughts, and he’s heard mine.” I grabbed her emptied dish and silverware and stuck them in the dishwasher.
“Are you upset over it?” Addison angled a hip and slapped a hand over it. “Because most shifters never find what you and Rowan have, in human terms called a soulmate. They settle for a mate, because there aren’t enough of us shifters to find our true significant other.” She exhaled an exaggerated breath. “In other words, Morgan, you’re fortunate.”
Part of me zoomed through the air with the excitement of being instinctively drawn to a boyfriend meant for me, but the other part feared I would be giving up my independence right when I’d discovered my true identity. A puzzle I’m not going to address anytime soon.
I let out a long-winded sigh and stared wide-eyed at Addison. “Okay, thanks for sharing that little tidbit of shifter info, and believe me when I say that I do feel fortunate at lear
ning who and what I am. But for today, that’s all the good fortune I can handle. Let’s get to work.” I stormed out the door toward the small cages.
She followed me out, slamming the door behind her. “What’s your issue?” She grabbed my arm to stop me.
I rolled my eyes. “Are you kidding me right now? I’m only seventeen years old. I’m not ready for a mate, fortunate or not. That sounds crazy to me, and I don’t want to talk about it anymore.” I huffed out another heavy breath. “Can we just get the work done. Please?”
“I’m sorry for upsetting you.” Her eyes searched mine.
“How do you know you’re in the Marcus Pryde?” I needed to change the subject. I strolled toward the little cages beside Big Red.
“I was born into it. My mother is a sister to Rowan’s father, and we’ve settled in their territory. With those conditions, it’s an automatic.”
We both looked up as Rowan approached from Big Red.
“Hey, Dad called. He wants us back at the house mid-afternoon for a meeting with Leo. Kick it in gear, ladies. We got a lot to get done before then.” He tapped a couple of fingers under my chin to tip my face upward. His gaze softened into mine. “You doing okay?”
“I’m perfect, right Addison?” I tore my face away from his and smiled at her. “We’re kindred sisters, after all.”
Rowan grinned. “How’d you know Addison’s one of us?”
“Not because anyone dares to volunteer that information, thank you very much.” I shook my head. “I’m one of you now. Doesn’t that mean no secrets?”
“Get back to work. I have a feeling Dad’s going to unload on us.” Rowan tapped under my chin again, something new and not so bad. His eyes found mine and sparked an electric storm inside me. Then he turned away and jogged down the path toward the other barn, probably to clean stalls.
“Come on, let’s do this.” Addison grabbed my arm to pull me away from watching Rowan’s backside.
My face heated, and it deserved to, after all, Addison caught me, like a kid with a hand in the cookie jar.
Chapter Seventeen
Rowan
Time whizzed by, cleaning goat stalls and helping Charlie with another hole in a fence. We broke for lunch, which everyone hurried to finish.
Morgan and Addison received instructions on releasing the mended gray squirrel back into the wild. Becka explained the location of some oak trees, and the girls rushed off.
I milked the goats, took care of the milk and the goats, and then went to see if Morgan had returned. My cell phone vibrated in my pocket. I grabbed it on my way to the house. Dad. “What’s up? You ready for us to come home?”
“I’m calling an impromptu meeting with the Pryde Overlords of Michigan and Florida to take place in Mackinaw City. Becka knows about it and has offered to continue staying at our place during the night with you, Oakly, and Morgan.”
“Why the meeting, what’s happened? Did Leo find out more information from those guys last night?”
“There’s more happening than we realized. Wildlife slaughters, poachers, an export company out of Florida, and murdered victims in both states. You and Oakly survived, but we discovered others did not. The men we’d captured had doused their blades and slugs in poison that only reacts to us.” He sighed and topped it off with another long, drawn-out breath, a sign of Dad’s heightened concern. “Who’s ever behind this attack not only knows about shifters but knows our territories.”
“So, how long do you think you’ll be gone?”
“I don’t know. Oakly’s home and knows to keep his security patrol shift starting tomorrow. I’ve called a couple of others to help out today, and while I’m away. All shifts will only be six hours. I want everyone to carry a cell phone. Oakly’s starts at six in the morning, yours will be six at night, starting tonight.” Someone asked for Dad; he must still be at Leo’s. “I’ll be with you in a minute,” he said. “Son, are you still there?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t know about the danger on our lands now that we’re onto this organized crime syndicate and they’re onto us. We still don’t understand why our territory got targeted. I believe the wild game and pelts were simply a guise of finding us. They were intentionally looking for our pryde.”
My stomach churned, leaving a sour taste in my mouth. “An organized crime syndicate that knows about shifters and wants us dead. That makes no sense to me.”
“Nor does it to us.”
“Will Mom be able to join you in Mackinaw City?”
“I hope so, but she’s still got a lot on her plate. She’s not sure right now.” The voice in the background interrupted Dad again.
“Keep us updated if you require us to do anything,” I said.
“Thanks, son. I’m counting on you and Oakly, especially with protecting Morgan. She’s important not only to our pryde but all of them. Keep her safe.” He clicked off.
I’d never known about organized crime syndicates in our territories. Poachers, yes, and inexcusable wildlife slaughters once in a while, but nothing that encompassed so many prydes and their lands. That must be the organized part working against all of us. Somehow, they found out about us.
I climbed the steps to the backdoor and entered Becka’s house. I found her in the office. The door was open, so I tapped on the doorjamb.
She waved me in.
“Dad said he talked to you about staying the nights with us. Are you okay with it?”
“Of course, you know I am.” She typed away, entirely focused on her laptop screen.
“Want some help with something?” I stepped over and noticed the picture of a new Overlord in the U.P. “Mom is working in the U.P. with Burr Evart. He’s new to the Overlord position. She’s aiding him with some training and expertise on getting his assistant and other necessary roles filled as he transitions. At least, that’s how she explained it before she left a few weeks ago.”
Becka clicked a key, and Burr Evart’s page disappeared. She rolled her chair back and spun it toward me. “Do you know anything else about him?”
“Only that he’s a healer, probably something like Morgan.” My eyes widened with a sudden thought, and I eyed Becka. “Is he—”
Becka nodded before I finished. “He is Morgan’s father, but he doesn’t know it, yet.”
* * *
Morgan
“Look at that little guy take off. He knows exactly where to run, right up to an oak tree.” Addison chuckled.
The excitement of releasing the squirrel back into the wild had a profound effect on me as if my heart swelled with rainbows that streamed through my arteries and veins. Why did that crazy thought come into my head?
“Let’s race back to Becka’s. We’re only a couple of miles from the house.” Addison waved good-bye to me and sped away before I answered.
“I’m going to kick your butt,” I hollered, and my system cranked into an energy rush. I bounded past her, not quite like a blur, but enough to throw a frown on her face.
“Hey, are you on drugs?” she screamed.
I turned my head toward her, sticking out my tongue, but the rest of my body kept my forward trajectory. I cranked it up another notch. Sudden pain crushed my entire frontside and sent me to the ground. Everything went black, except for a voice resonating inside my mind. “I’m coming for you.”
* * *
Rowan
A slew of erratic thoughts whirred through my head from Morgan. “I’m coming for you,” I threw her a mind-communication as pain sliced my chest and my vision telescoped as I walked out the backdoor of Becka and Charlie’s house. I barely made it down the steps when my knees buckled and slammed to the ground. The penetrating ache subsided but left an awareness that Morgan had suffered an injury. I experienced her pain. Something new to me and understated in the lessons regarding mates.
I ran toward the small cages to pick up her scent. Her smell ingrained in my olfactory like a flashlight beam leading me straight to the girls. Morgan lay next to a tree
with Addison bent over as if inspecting. Blood covered the middle of Morgan’s T-shirt.
“What happened?” I panted, the adrenaline rush making me breathless. I dropped beside her and ripped open her shirt. The bleeding had stopped, and her skin had already started to knit together. Knowing she’d survived might explain why I couldn’t tear my focus away from her tight-muscled abdomen or the delicate curve of her waist. The branch had pierced her sternum, tattering her bra nearly in half. Her chest rose and fell with even breaths. The want to touch her overwhelmed me. My hands trembled as I reached.
Addison snapped my ear, dragging me back into the moment. “She ran past me like a dang cheetah, turned to stick out her tongue, and crashed straight into that tree.” A stunned expression froze her face, Addison pointed at a bloody broken branch, chest level for Morgan, “It’s like her senses shut down. Is that possible?”
I shook my head to remove all previous thoughts drawing me physically to Morgan.
Addison stared at me, her eyes narrowed. “Was that head shake your answer to me, or is it your way to pull your crap together? You don’t get to be handsy on my watch.”
I chose to ignore her shot at me and said, “She is new at understanding the ways of a shifter since she just found out yesterday she is one. Morgan has no idea about our kind other than what comes to her naturally through blood wisdom.” I lifted her head onto my knees, and the familiar charge between us danced through my system from my fingertips touching the back of her head. Again, the draw to touch her slid into my head with urgency as my heart beat a thunderous rhythm.
Her eyes fluttered open. She stared into my eyes as if she could see into my soul and perhaps read my need.