The Enchanted: Council of Seven Shifter Romance Collection

by Juniper Hart

  “If I had to wager a guess,” he sighed, “I’d say that the planet as you know it is about to come to an untimely end.”

  There was a horrified gasp from everyone except for Vern, who scoffed loudly.

  “We know that already,” he barked back. “That’s what we’ve been trying to stop.”

  “Dane thinks it’s incredible that we can even drink the water and eat the food as it is,” Elle offered, flopping onto the sofa beside her new lover.

  “We’re mutants,” Avery agreed.

  “Aside from useless guesses, what can you offer us here, Dane?” Vern asked coldly. Dane raised his head and met Vern’s eyes evenly.

  “Nothing,” he said simply. Vern sneered.

  “That’s very helpful,” he snapped. “Elle?”

  “He’s staying,” Elle growled with more sharpness than she’d ever used with the founder in her life. Vern met her gaze steadily, and whatever he saw on her face seemed to back him down some.

  “No one walks in here ready to take on Geoluad,” Elle continued, and she saw Vern’s face pale noticeably. He looked away and nodded slowly.

  “I guess you’re right,” he muttered. Elle felt a splay of goosebumps explode on her arms as she looked around the room.

  Joey wasn’t kidding about Geoluad, she thought grimly, biting on her lower lip. He really wants to do that.

  “I think it’s good to have a scientist here,” Bernice piped up, and Elle looked at her gratefully.

  “Fine,” Vern grumbled. “He stays—for now.”

  Elle exhaled happily and gave Dane a warm grin. He tentatively returned her smile, but as she studied his face closely, she could read the shadows on his face.

  He’s hiding something underneath that cool exterior. I hope I’m not wrong about him.

  But she dismissed the idea as quickly as it had come. She was a Vulpes, after all, and the one thing she knew she could trust wholeheartedly was her gut.

  8

  Dane had lost sense of his inner clock.

  His days were filled with Elle and World’s Worth. He had somehow fallen into a haze, following Elle without question, silently becoming more and more entranced with the fair beauty. There were times when he found himself staring intently at her, her rosebud mouth moving, but he couldn’t comprehend the words escaping. Her passion was unlike anything he had ever seen anywhere.

  Her love for all things living shocked and warmed Dane simultaneously. Elle cared about animals, about trees, about the very air. The group shared a common element, a deep loathing for the disregard others had for their planet. Each member was consumed with their own personal agenda, whether it was the raping of the world’s natural resources or the unnecessary slaughter of wildlife.

  It had become clear to Dane that this group was not the norm. Then again, he had nothing to gauge his perceptions upon, only his deep instincts that he had found the right group to help him unlock his blank memory. World’s Worth was fighting a battle against a force much greater than their members could ever hope to conquer, and Dane had counted only three immortals in the group, including Elle.

  Four, including me, he thought, and the notion that he belonged to them was both foreign and enlightening.

  As a whole, they had managed to slightly sway his unknown generalization of the mortals. All except Vern.

  The feeling was more than mutual, and Vern had made it abundantly clear from the first day that Dane was not welcome, but Elle had held her ground, pleading his case.

  “Oh, come on, Vern,” Dane had heard her hiss at the founder one afternoon. “He’s an environmentalist! This is someone we want on our team. We need him on our team!”

  “It sounds like he’s someone you want on your team, Elle,” Vern had snapped back. “Don’t you realize how dangerous it is to have this man here? He got arrested for something you did! How do you think he’s going to feel about this group when he finds out?”

  “You wouldn’t dare tell him!” Elle cried. “Why would you do that?”

  “I’m not going to say anything, Elle,” Vern relented. “But that doesn’t mean one of the others won’t. You’re not thinking properly. What, are you two like a thing now? I see the way he looks at you.”

  Elle had laughed. “This isn’t about who I am banging, Vern. This is about our cause. Didn’t you hear Dane? Our world is on the brink of extinction. My vagina is not exactly my priority at this moment in time.”

  Dane hadn’t mentioned overhearing that conversation to Elle, but it had been interesting to hear that she had been responsible for the attack on the market. He wasn’t sure how he felt about it. On one hand, she had come to rescue him from being wrongfully accused, but if she hadn’t done it, he would never have been there in the first place.

  It’s all in the name of saving the planet, he reasoned and therefore didn’t pursue it.

  Nothing seemed important anymore except Dane and saving their dying planet. Even learning about his past had taken a backseat to World’s Worth’s plans. Dane’s sentiments matched Elle’s precisely, and as the days passed, he found himself more entangled in the activist group than he ever thought possible.

  That morning, they were gathered in the office, Vern scowling at Dane’s appearance.

  “Elle, I told you very specifically that this is a meeting for senior members only! Dane, you need to leave,” Vern growled, pointing at the door. Dane didn’t move.

  “No! Dane, sit down! Vern, come on! He’s solid. I can vouch for him. How long are we going to keep doing this?”

  “You know it doesn’t work that way, Elle,” Bernice jumped in before Vern could retort. Elle shot her a dirty look.

  “No one was asking you, B,” Elle told her between clenched teeth. “But thank you so much for having my back!”

  “I don’t care if he stays,” Joey piped up meekly. Dane was surprised he had spoken at all. It was unlike the mousy man to say two words, let alone go against Vern.

  “Oh, I don’t, either,” Bernice chimed in quickly, shooting Dane a shy smile. “I was just reiterating the rules.”

  “Fine. Let’s take a vote then,” Elle challenged. Vern stood up furiously.

  “Elle, do I need to remind you that this is my organization? I don’t take votes, and I don’t take orders from my underlings. If you are this offended by me excluding your new buddy, you don’t have to stay.”

  “She will stay. I will leave,” Dane intoned, already out the door. It was irrelevant if he stayed or went. Elle would simply relay the meeting to him later on. In the meantime, he could wander around and see about reclaiming his memory. He’d spent so much time with Elle, it would be good to see if anything had jogged in his mind without her.

  “Dane,” Elle called out. “I’ll see you back at the cottage?” He gave her a half smile and nodded.

  “Of course,” he replied quietly. He didn’t miss the furious scowl on Vern’s face, and inexplicably, it filled Dane with pleasure.

  Inside the offices, Vern and Elle were glaring ferociously at one another, neither willing to back down.

  “Okay, guys,” Joey chirped nervously. “Dane is gone. Let’s get on with this meeting. No need to perpetuate the animosity.”

  Vern growled something which Elle could not hear, but Bernice guffawed.

  “You know what?” Elle whipped herself around and started for the door. “I really don’t need to be here, either. You obviously have it all figured out without me. All I hear from you guys is endless crap, anyway, so if you change your mind and decide you need my help with something, you know where to find me.”

  “Elle, sit down,” Vern told her tiredly. “We do need you. We have a huge task to overtake. You are one of my most devoted members, despite the fact that you are a huge pain in my ass.”

  Begrudgingly, Elle accepted his convoluted apology and reclaimed her seat beside Joey on the sofa.

  “What are we doing?” she asked, already knowing. She remembered what Joey had told her in the car earlier in the we
ek. She’d been wondering if Vern was sincerely considering endeavoring such a dangerous feat.

  While World’s Worth had been a nuisance to many major corporations, the members rarely did anything which could be construed as more than irritations. There were hundreds of dishonored arrests ranging from vandalism to public mischief hanging above the head of the group’s participants. But tear gas and live ammunition were two very different animals, and Elle wasn’t sure how she felt about crossing the line.

  She’d be lying if she said it wasn’t a combination of elation and terror. Only if people don’t get hurt. That has to be the stipulation. No one needs to get hurt.

  “I want to take on a bigger fish,” Vern was saying as Elle sat back. Her shoulder accidentally bushed against Joey, and he flinched like she had burned him.

  “Sorry,” she whispered. He briefly smiled, turning bright red.

  “Who?” someone in the back yelled.

  “Geoluad,” came Vern’s confident reply. Appreciative murmurs swelled in the small crowd.

  “Great idea!”

  “I’ve been saying this for three years!”

  “Someone needs to stop the spread of poison to our children!”

  “Those bastards deserve everything we can throw at them!”

  “Yes,” Vern agreed as the murmuring slowed. “That’s exactly what I think, too. That’s why I have developed a very strategic plan to stop their greed and evil influence on the free world.”

  “What do you have in mind?” Joey asked quietly.

  Elle raised an eyebrow suspiciously. He knows exactly what Vern wants to do. Did Vern ask him to roleplay?

  Vern smiled at Joey, and for a split second, Elle felt a twinge of inexplicable fear. She couldn’t help feeling like there was something else going on underneath, something she had no way of understanding.

  “I’m glad you asked, Joey,” Vern told him slowly. “I want them to feel the same pain that they have caused so many millions. I don’t think that all of the petitions and protesting in the world will do a damn bit of difference. They are greedy, money hungry, and backed by the world’s most influential powers. They won’t be stopped. They can barely be slowed.”

  Elle shifted her eyes to look around the room, noting the nods of agreement as her peers stared at Vern, enrapt by his words.

  “If it’s so hopeless, Vern, why are you even considering doing anything? I mean, our numbers are big, but we’re not ‘take-on-a-multinational-company’ big,” Avery commented dryly. The man was a beast, an obese, lumbering giant with poor hygiene and a brusque personality, but Elle adored his devil’s advocate approach to their group.

  Often times, she found herself second guessing herself when Avery casually brought up a flaw in one of her theories. Since she had become employed at World’s Worth, Avery had become a pseudo-consultant for her, and Elle appreciated his no nonsense outlooks, even though the other group members found him too brash and often made fun of him behind his back.

  “I never said it was hopeless, Avery. I said they can barely be slowed. But they haven’t come up against the likes of us yet.” Vern paused and looked around the room. Only the very core people were present; Elle, Bernice, Avery, Joey, and himself. They were the only people whom Vern trusted, having tested their faith in him and the organization time and again. Each individual in the room held secrets which could end World’s Worth in seconds if they ever dared speak them to anyone on the outside. Of course, no one would; they were all loyal to Vern and the cause.

  “Well?” Avery demanded impatiently. “What do you have in mind?”

  “I think we need to take a trip to Missouri,” Vern suddenly said, throwing a curveball into the conversation.

  “What the hell?” Avery leaned forward on his chair, his flabby arms swaying at the abrupt motion. “Why would we go to Missouri? And what does that have to do with what we’re talking about?”

  Bernice lit up a joint and was circling it around the room. It had just passed over Vern, and Elle rolled her eyes heavenward.

  He’s stoned. I wonder if he was stoned the first time he came up with this, she thought, annoyed. Vern was a notorious lightweight for pot, and she braced herself for the beginning of an inspirational diatribe. She really was not in the mood, and she decided that if this meeting was simply a bake session, she was leaving. She was feeling edgy without Dane at her side. The joint reached her hands, burning heatedly in a roach clip. She took a hit and narrowed her eyes expectantly at her superior.

  “Springfield is where Geoluad is based,” Vern answered slowly, a glaze overcoming his dark brown eyes.

  “And?” Avery sounded as impatient as Elle felt.

  “And that is the place we’re going to blow up. We are going to set off bombs in Springfield, starting with the headquarters and continuing through that shithole until all of their toxic products are off the shelves.”

  There was a heavy silence following his announcement. Finally, Avery spoke.

  “Wow. That’s ambitious. And stupid, Vern. More the latter than the former. We’re not killers, we’re protectors.” His mouth twisted into a frown, but Vern’s smile only widened.

  “The most primitive way to protect something you love is to kill whatever is harming it,” Vern replied. Avery’s scowl deepened.

  “Okay there, Don Juan, and who do you propose is going to go around dropping grenades on unsuspecting Americans?”

  “Bombs,” Vern corrected. “It must be bombs. We need to make a statement, something that says we’re not playing games and that we won’t back down until they stop messing with our future!”

  No. I don’t like this, Elle thought, casting Avery a wary look, but he was leaning forward, his eyes narrowed into slits as he glared at Vern.

  “Fine. Let’s put that aside for a moment. Who do you have in mind for this?”

  There was pregnant silence, and Elle felt the fine hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She already knew the answer.

  “The most noble person in our group. The most righteous member of our chapter, and the only one with enough balls to pull this off.”

  She didn’t have to look around the room to feel all the eyes on her.

  Not me. Don’t say me, she pleaded silently, but of course her prayers went unanswered. Vern turned his smile to her, his eyes glittering almost maliciously.

  “Elle Jagger, of course.”

  9

  “You’re not eating anything. Are you not hungry?” Elle asked, her brow furrowed with concern.

  “No.” The answer was a lie. Dane was sure he was slowly starving to death. He didn’t know how he had managed to stay alive so long on mere sips of contaminated water, but he suspected that the strange emotions which Elle had stirred from within his indifferent interior had much to do with his continued existence.

  Elle sighed and shoved the salad away from her face. Dane sensed a tension in her that had not previously been there, but he couldn’t understand from where it had materialized.

  After the meeting at World’s Worth, she had found him wandering down the street aimlessly, searching for some semblance of beauty in the city, something to trigger his swiss cheese memory. His walk had taken him back to the cemetery where he’d woken, but nothing of any use had alerted to him to who he really was and how he’d come to be there.

  When they reconvened, Dane had patiently waited for Elle to recap the minutes of the encounter, but she had remained uncharacteristically silent. He was curious by her brooding, but it was not his way to question her inner workings. He was content admiring her outer movements instead. However, as the day wore on, his finely tuned sixth sense told him her mood was falling into a very dark place. Finally, he forced himself to speak.

  “You are discontent.” She looked up from the table, startled by the sound of his voice, as if she had forgotten he was in the room. She shook her glorious head of hair. The front door was open, and a cool spring breeze was blowing the curtains, flickering the lone candle on the basic pl
atform which held their plates. The sound of crickets was the only sound to be heard, and for the first time, Dane noticed there was not excessive ringing in his ears.

  “No. I’m just thinking,” Elle replied softly.

  “You are not communicative.”

  “I’m sorry,” she told him contritely, leaning over to stroke his smooth, pale hands. “I’m distracted by work things. What did you get up to today? Did you take any more samples for your research?”

  No. “Yes,” he lied.

  “Well, that’s good. I wonder what we can do to improve the quality of the soil and water immediately. Do you have any ideas?”

  “Yes.” Elle stared at him expectantly, but he did not contribute any further information. He could tell that she was becoming accustomed to his odd mannerisms, because she didn’t push him. Sometimes, she asked him about his past and where he was from, but his one-word answers seemed to deter her from pressing the issue. He could see that she found him endearing, and he was glad for it.

  “Your world must be destroyed and reconstructed,” Dane informed her without warning. “A phoenix must rise from the ashes.”

  Elle blinked at him, her face paling to a near opaque.

  “Yes,” she breathed. “You’re absolutely right. That’s the only way, isn’t it?”

  Suddenly, Dane wished he hadn’t said anything.

  “What happened at your meeting today?” he demanded. Elle blinked and shook her head, eyes trained on the table.

  “I’m going to need to figure some things out,” she sighed. “But I think you’re right—a massive change is going to have to come.”

  Dane felt a prickle at the back of his neck, and from somewhere in his mind, he heard his own voice.

  “The only way to save us is to become immortal. This world is doomed for the mortals.”

  In his mind’s eye, he saw the scared beings below, dressed in homespun, ancient clothing.

  “You cannot do this!”

  “You are dabbling in the dark arts!”