by LeAnn Mason
I chose to believe that I felt that way because my parents were around and giving me silent strength. Maybe it was the reason I didn't feel completely broken by the last events of my life.
Now, if I was being touched by some random ghost…? I'd be changing my tone from reassured to creeped out and ready to flee. I sincerely hoped my ghosts were the ones getting handsy. “Miss you guys,” I whispered, letting a lone tear escape to trail the angles of my face and gather at my jawline.
A wisp of pressure flicked the droplet before returning, pressing to mold from ear to chin. Back and forth, a touch lit my skin at the corner of my mouth.
Mom.
“I love you.” Emotion clogged my throat, more potent than it had been the last few days. Maybe my period was coming. That could explain the mood changes. Or the fact my entire life had been destroyed as if a child swept its arm across the game board in a petty fit, leaving the few remaining pieces scattered and broken.
I love you.
CHAPTER 23
“You're getting pretty good at this,” I complimented as we wandered through the halls of Rory's family home in search of the day's quarry. He had done well with Josie, only Shifting once in several days. His one slip was the day he'd been caught off-guard when his mother had marched into the library, demanding Josie “provide the latest numbers.”
For who or what, I couldn't fathom. I was sure there were a myriad of "numbers" the queen kept her eye on. Not the least of which being how many humans we're in Grimm Hollow or how many days I'd been allotted to “fix” her son. The golden glare I'd received upon Rory's wild shift told me my own days may be numbered. Rory was to be ready for presentation to the Shifters on his birthday, at which time he would officially become the Prince Regent. Meaning he would be formally accepting his role as at least the interim leader of the Grimm Hollow Shifters until his father woke. If, heaven forbid, the king did not wake, Rory’s title would officially change to King.
The thought made this particular mission bittersweet. Rory had worked his way through the staff of his estate and been able to keep himself human. Did he do it on his own? No. Did every song work? No. Did the constantly pulsing melodies being pushed into his ears, into his psyche, take a toll on his attention and retention? Yep.
Was it worth it?
Gosh, did I hope so.
“My control should be better than this. I shouldn't need any kind of… aid to help me make decisions.”
I couldn't argue that, but I didn't know the first thing about his struggles. “You're a prince and a lion. Obviously, you're alpha, and that… need is so strong that it often overrides your consciousness. We can work on a more long-term solution in tandem with our immediate efforts, but for now? Baby steps.”
“Baby steps,” he huffed, the sting from his biting sarcasm potent.
This excursion was another first and amped up Rory’s nerves. We were going to leave the estate. He’d done well with one-on-one meetings so far. I wanted to see if he could control himself around several unsuspecting Shifters or Mages or Vampires… whatever. So we walked along the street, taking the same route I’d taken on my way back from the Archives, or his estate, each night. It was late morning on an autumn day. Cold but not freezing, I shoved my hands into the pocket at the front of my hoodie so the digits didn’t lose feeling.
“What are you listening to today, Prince Leone?” I questioned in an attempt to loosen up the ball of nerves at my side. Luckily, we had a few minutes to get him relaxed enough that maybe he wouldn’t shift and take a swipe at some random passerby. So far, the music wasn’t making a big enough dent.
“Here, why don’t you take one? I know you’ll appreciate it too. Maybe it’ll be good for both of us.” He plucked out a black wireless Bluetooth earbud and passed it over.
“I’m still amazed how similar this place is to the outside world,” I laughed, pushing the little speaker into my ear, trying not to think about the fact that it was kind of intimate. Sharing music that no one else could hear? I hadn’t heard his song choices since that first day with Josie when he had used his phone’s internal speaker. The song was new to me, at least that I could remember, but when I heard the lyric about laying the singer’s six-foot-four-inch butt out on the ground, I couldn’t help the quick burst of laughter that rushed forth.
“What?” Rory asked, a glimmer in his dark eyes that was mirrored in his quirked lips.
“Sorry, that just reminded me of you. Like I pictured you getting knocked out.” I cleared my throat self-consciously. Would he take it the wrong way? “The thought of you getting hit that hard… I dunno, it was funny to me. I can’t imagine it.”
“I’m glad you have such faith in me. I’ve been lucky so far. No one has challenged me for position.”
“I read about that. That a Shifter monarch can be dethroned if challenged by another and defeated. So that’s true?”
“Yep.” He was starting to lose the tension he’d carried since I told him about our field trip. His gait lengthened and arms swung a little freer. His eyes cut to me watching him, making him do a double-take. “What?”
“You’re getting more relaxed. Is the music helping?”
“Sharing it with you is.”
I tripped on a crack that jumped up and bit me, from like out of nowhere, sending my arms pinwheeling as I pitched forward. A steel band wrapped around my belly, keeping me upright. With a curl of his arm, I was spun around to meld to his side, tucked neatly under his free arm, which wrapped across my shoulders.
“Your heart is racing,” Rory observed tightly.
What did he have to get spun up about? I was the one who was on the arm of one of the town’s most eligible bachelors. People were starting to notice we were in their midst. We got several double-takes and a few straight-up changes of direction as we drew closer to the middle hub of Grimm Hollow. When a couple passed us, each dipping their chin to Rory in deference, I felt a shudder run through his body, and his arm clenched me tighter to his side.
Maybe I could distract him a bit. The song that coursed through my lone earbud was one I knew well. A catchy and upbeat piece, I figured I could be comic relief if nothing else. So I added a little bounce to my steps and let the music take hold. My head started nodding along and… “Living like I should.”
“Wouldn’t change it if—”
“Whoa, I’m so sorry. Excuse me,” I laughed.
“Watch where you’re going,” Rory rumbled at the poor man I’d bumped while too wrapped up in the song and Rory’s rendition. He took a step aggressively toward the man, a growl leaving his throat and eyes lightening to a glowing amber.
His lion was close, but he hadn’t shifted. I could still steer us away without incident.
“I’m sorry, Rory. I’m sorry.” the man murmured, backing away quickly. He shuffled from the sidewalk and into the street, giving us a much wider berth in hopes of appeasing Rory.
“Hey. Look at me,” I grabbed Rory’s cheeks, pulling the much larger Shifter down to my level and looking him square in the eyes.
“That’s not helping, Mae. You can’t stare an alpha in the eyes without it being perceived as a challenge.” His breaths were coming in heavy drags as he tried to push the lion from rising. His eyes still glowed, but no other physical attributes emerged.
“Do you want to hurt me, Rory?” I asked boldly, still staring into his golden eyes. Would this backfire? So far, he’d done everything possible to keep me safe. Did that include from himself?
Those bright eyes closed, pinched, as Rory brought his forehead to rest against mine and inhaled deeply. I couldn’t have torn my eyes away from his chiseled face if I wanted to. I swore the male descended from the most perfect specimens of manhood. Bronze skin, cut cheeks, that little dimple in his chin… gorgeous.
“You’re awakening him in a new way, Beauty.”
“What do you mean?” I breathed huskily, in an effort to keep my intake semi-normal. People were walking around us on the sidewalk where w
e stood, frozen, in our little bubble. I didn’t notice any of them. Neither, it seemed, did Rory.
I’d take that as a win.
“Wha—” He cut off my question, pushing forward those last couple of inches to meld his full lips to my open mouth. Snapping my jaw closed allowed for my bottom lip to seek his. Instinctively, I sucked at the pillowed flesh. He tasted faintly of peppermint like he'd been sucking on a candy sometime before.
How had I missed that?
Too soon, he pulled back, away from my clumsy, seeking lips. “This is probably not the best time, or place, for a kiss, huh?” he murmured, watching as I dazedly opened my eyes and pulled back from the lusty haze. Slowly, reality filtered back into my senses, and a hot blush stole up my cheeks. I touched my lips. Still wet. I hadn’t daydreamed the kiss. It had happened. Rory Leone, the Shifter prince, had kissed me.
“Maybe we should call it a day?” I breathed, stepping back, hoping that space would bring my mind back online. Slowly, reality began to filter back in. My breathing slowed to normal. I felt the bite of the cold weather, saw the now gawking onlookers, and heard the song filtering through my ear canal. Rather perfectly, the vocalist waxed on about being let down easy. It was very catchy and all-too-perfect for the moment because man, did I need to be let down easy after having my first true kiss.
In public. On a busy sidewalk. Surrounded by otherworldly creatures among which I didn’t know if such things were a breach of etiquette. My roving eyes caught on another pair of glowing yellow irises, these ones attached to a model-worthy blonde vixen, or rather, lioness. If looks could kill, I would have expired on the spot.
“Perfect,” I mumbled, breaking the stare, choosing to look at the ground instead. It seemed my safest option.
“I thought so,” Rory returned. I could hear the satisfaction in his voice.
I didn’t fill him in on my Risa spotting. It was a stressor we didn’t need right now. I wanted this outing to be a success, and I had a feeling it wouldn’t be if I played the weak human afraid of the catty Shifter. So I plastered on a smile and forged onward.
“How are you doing? Do you want to continue? Maybe just walk the street a little more? It looks like the diner might be hitting a rush. That might be a bit much for the day…”
“I dunno. I kinda feel like I could take on the world right now,” Rory quipped.
I smiled in return. Seeing him happy and smiling, especially away from his safety zone, was amazing. I felt accomplished, like I'd done something worthwhile in my time here. If nothing else ever came of my studies, my efforts in this place, I'd be satisfied that I helped return Rory Leone to life.
CHAPTER 24
“Maybe we should try again… some other time. She doesn't look to be here, and I'm quite certain she wouldn't want me here. This area was explicitly labeled as off-limits my first day here.” Rory was raring to go again today, completely invigorated by his successes yesterday, and dragged me along behind him as he exited the stairs on the dreaded second floor of his mansion home.
We’d continued our walk after that shattering kiss and talked about all kinds of random things. I might have even babbled randomly about how I’d wanted a pony for Christmas for like five years running and had made the request my only item on my Santa Wish Lists for each of said five years. I had laughed remembering how my parents had been so put out after the second year.
If I made a list this year, all I’d have put on it was to have my family back.
Another unattainable request of an imaginary gift giver.
I slowed my steps, hesitating to move further into the hall. The only room I knew to be in the area was Rory's bedroom, and I was not in a frame of mind to endure being in that particular space alone… with him. Even after sharing a devastating, if quick, kiss. It felt really intimate to be in someone’s personal space. The garden didn’t count. It was just somewhere Rory went to feel normal. It wasn’t filled with all manner of personal objects and sentiment.
Maybe I projected my insecurities about showing Rory my room. Being alone with him in my space.
Rory didn't let me fall behind with my hesitation, instead, reaching to wrap his big, callused hand around my wrist to tug me forward. The heat that suffused me at the touch was almost embarrassing, but like a glutton, needing the contact kept me moving.
We'd kind of flirted, skirted, and touched fleetingly over the last week, our sessions taking on a much more positive turn the days prior. Then, there was yesterday…
But it had still been a job, a task that needed completing so Rory could take on the duties of leading his kind. Whether he liked it or not, with his father down, he needed to step up. And he only had a short time until he officially took over the role.
“Who is handling all the Shifter things your father normally would if you haven't been?” I had a feeling I knew the answer.
“My mother.”
Called it.
“Does she not want the position?” I figured she'd thrive in it. The woman fed off of power and lording herself above others, or maybe just me. I couldn't imagine her as soft toward anyone that wasn't her son, but who knew? Stranger things had happened, surely.
“She’s only acting as Regent because I am not yet of age.” Rory reached out and grabbed the carved knob of a closed door we found ourselves outside of. With a quick push, the heavy door opened on silent hinges.
Oh, Lord. Here we go!
My hand, gripped tightly in his, must have been clammy. My free hand sweated, and I rubbed it across my jean-clad hip, both to help dispel the moisture and to take my mind off of where we were. My eyes were glued to the broad back of the tall, strong Shifter male who was dragging me behind him. He took up the entire doorway both in height and width.
Color me impressed. Again.
“I come in here every day, several times. I talk to him, beg and plead for him to wake up, to return to us, but it never works,” Rory said solemnly. Releasing his hold on my hand, he bent to a kneeling position.
With a different type of lump in my throat, I realized we were not in the room I'd thought. This one scared me for a number of other reasons. Heavy with trepidation, I removed my eyes from where I'd trained them on Rory's person.
Rory knelt on a shaggy rug, head bowed and hands clasped desperately around one even larger than his own. My eyes followed the line of the arm up the shoulder, across a broad chest to a beautifully masculine face that could be mistaken as sleeping.
The king looked nearly peaceful in his respite, only the furrow between his slashed brows belying the outward placidity. He fought for his life, and though his struggle could not be seen, it would be fierce.
You caused this.
“What are you doing in here? I explicitly told you not to enter!” The queen charged toward me, hands tipped in vicious, dark, curved claws ready to eviscerate me. A perfect example of a lion engaging its prey, one arm extended to wrap around my side while the other came at me from above, aiming for my neck or shoulder.
A death grip.
As time slowed with the magnitude of my sheer panic, I had time to notice that the woman was fast leaving humanity behind. Her eyes glowed a bright amber and were rounder than a human's, her canines elongated into little daggers ready to rend flesh from bone. My bones.
A violent and shattering roar sounded, the sound the only precursor to a giant tawny-freaking-lion standing sentry between my spot rooted to the plush carpet and the open doorway where a gaping, and once again human, queen stood frozen in shocked silence.
Rory's tail twitched as he stared his mother down. Heart hammering in my chest and pounding in my ears, I barely made out her order.
“Get out. Now,” she seethed, hatred shining in her eyes. I had no idea how I’d earned such malice in the span of a couple of weeks, but it was there.
Figuring this meeting had gone exactly the opposite of what we'd hoped to achieve, I conceded. “I'll be out in the garden, Rory,” I murmured as I sidestepped to maneuver around the mag
nificent animal at my front. Without thinking, my hand reached out and grazed the short fur of the beast's back, trailing to his shoulder as I passed. The action wasn’t missed by the queen and was certainly not appreciated by her.
It was reflex to assure him, calm him; touch him. Crazy that it was easier while he was a gigantic predatory cat than when a teenage human prince.
Because we'd traversed the estate countless times over the last week, I knew how to get out to the garden once I'd made it to the central stairs.
Breaching the patio doors, I gulped in lungfuls of air, giving myself permission to breathe now that my body might uncoil from the feeling of impending doom. Face upward and eyes closed, I took a moment to let the ambiance of the greenspace seep into my bones. The air was heavy with moisture, the feeling like a warm blanket enfolding around me. Rustling leaves and the gurgling fountain couldn’t drown out the sweet song of my lark.
I could count on her melodies to soothe my frazzled nerves. Pulling my borrowed phone from my pocket, I shot off a quick text to Allya, telling her it wouldn’t be the best day to test Rory’s control seeing as it had already been broken.
What a spectacular fail. I knew I shouldn’t have been on that floor, but I thought with Rory, maybe I’d get a pass. I couldn’t fault the queen for her reaction. Her husband, the ruler of their kind, was completely defenseless and vulnerable, neither things one would like advertised lest they be exploited.
My head jerked to the dual terrace doors when a booming crash rent the air, disturbing the melodic peace of the garden. Even my lark took flight away from the menacing sound. Another crash sent splinters flying outward from the wooden barriers. A thunderous roar emanating from the other side of the rapidly weakening structure sent me stumbling backward. The sheer force of the blows and menace of the deep cry made me want to run, to leave this place behind.
To leave Rory behind.
Because it had to be him on the other side of those doors.
With another strike, the doors split apart, remnants of the structures flapping against the stone exterior of the mansion like clapboard on a shack in a storm.