Animal Instincts (Kindred Souls Book 1)

by Patricia Rosemoor

  Opening the book again, through her tears she scanned the registry of previous owners, going back not decades but centuries, starting with Brigit. Then Cerridwen and Epona and Maeve and Rhiannon. More names, ending with their mother, Dawn. There were a dozen or so lines left. For future generations?

  She knew that began with her.

  The book called to her, a low undertone that rumbled through her bones. She would swear it could sense her unease and was trying to give her its strength. Mom had done this. And so many others before her. It was an inheritance she couldn’t simply put aside. She might be afraid, but she wasn’t weak.

  She wiped away her tears, found a pen, and signed her name on the next blank line in the registry.

  An even more urgent sensation swept over her then, as if The Book of Powers was a living entity... as if it could feel her... as if it accepted her.

  As if it was now a part of her.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Luc ate his frustration as he tried to get through the casino to find Nuala to check on her and was stopped at least a dozen times. Putting on his best face, he exchanged pleasantries with invited guests. Then he straightened out a couple of Kindred who were messing around on the job, and dealt with replacing a security guard who hadn’t shown for a shift change.

  All the while, his mind was on his sister, as it had been since the day before. He’d been distracted by Skye, but now he needed to tend to his own family. He’d already stationed a reliable security guard at his mother’s place.

  Now he had to find out what was up with his sister.

  Nuala had been different lately. Insular at times, emotional at others.

  The way she’d reacted to Skye had amazed him. He’d never seen his sister so vulnerable, not even when she’d learned her lover had been killed. She’d closed down then, had put up a barrier that Luc hadn’t been able to penetrate. So why break down with Skye?

  And how had his sister made the connection between Skye and Shade in the first place?

  Finally able to go in search of Nuala, who was nowhere in the public area, Luc headed for the Lazare private quarters that lay two floors below.

  Added to his own experience with Skye, Luc was getting a very bad feeling about his sister’s psychic connection to her. They didn’t need more trouble. They had enough as it was with the police bearing down on them. Damn shifter fights. Damn whoever had made Jez participate in the sport. He’d had a great deal of affection for his only friend in this underworld. She hadn’t deserved to be ripped apart.

  He couldn’t ask anyone here for help, not even Pop. He didn’t want to think it, but Pop might approve of the fights.

  His fault. He knew it. He’d tried to warn Jez that being friends with him would bring her nothing but trouble. But even he hadn’t guessed to what extent. He hadn’t tried hard enough to protect her.

  Arriving at the door that was a barrier to intruders—only the Lazares and their inner circle were allowed inside—he pressed his thumb to the pad that read his print. The door clicked open to a large reception area in reds and golds, reminding Luc of the brothel area. Beatrix proudly told visitors she herself had done all the decorating. Luc figured his stepmother must equate the decor with royalty. After all, she’d always fancied herself the queen of the underworld. No doubt she believed it. Having no soul, she’d rejected Pop’s attempts to give her a new one. Beatrix was empty of emotion. She felt nothing for anyone, not even her kids. All she desired was more power.

  Luc headed straight for Nuala’s rooms. As he reached the corridor, he heard his sister’s voice.

  “I’m not interested, Doyle, as I’ve told you before.”

  Luc stopped before turning the corner so he could eavesdrop. What was Nik’s toady up to now?

  “Circumstances have changed,” Doyle said.

  “But I haven’t.”

  “You need the proper consort. Someone who can protect you, look to your best interests.”

  “Like you do for Nik?”

  “Well, on a more personal level.”

  Luc instantly wanted to rip off the man’s head. Pulse thundering, ready to do battle, he whipped around the corner, then stopped dead in his tracks. Doyle might be all over Nuala but she wasn’t having any of it. He’d actually dared to cup her behind to pull her toward him, but to Luc’s satisfaction, her expression shifted, revealing the real Nuala beneath the human exterior.

  Her eyes burned like molten copper as she shoved two fingers into the middle of Doyle’s throat hard enough to make him spring away from her.

  “Don’t confuse me with the women you normally prey on.” She shifted again and smiled sweetly, all traces of both intensity and vulnerability wiped away. “I am not available, especially not to you. Touch me again and I’ll rip out your throat.”

  Face darkening, Doyle stalked toward the door, starting when he saw Luc.

  “And if she doesn’t succeed,” Luc said, knocking shoulders with the thwarted man so hard Doyle practically bounced off the opposite wall, “I will.”

  Doyle swore under his breath, averted his gaze, and rushed off. Luc watched him until he disappeared from view, then turned to his sister, thankful she was herself again.

  Giving him a look, Nuala said, “I can take care of myself.” She entered her quarters.

  He followed, saying, “Usually. Last night, it didn’t seem that way.”

  “I had a moment.”

  Luc closed the door and softly asked, “The question is why?”

  Nuala turned to face him. Her expression was fierce. “Haven’t you ever had a moment when you weren’t yourself?”

  “Lots of them.”

  “Then give me a break.”

  She hadn’t talked about it yet and she needed to. “You miss Shade more than you let on.”

  “So what if I do? It’s the soul, not me.”

  Of course, Nuala would blame the soul she was currently using. No self-respecting Kindred would admit to a weakness that another could use against her.

  “What went on between you and Skye?” Luc asked. “How did you figure out who she was?”

  Nuala shrugged and avoided his gaze. “I don’t know. I felt Shade when I got near her. There must be some connection.”

  One that that made his sister vulnerable. Luc caught a glimpse of pain in her expression. “Skye is looking for answers,” he said.

  “Don’t worry, I won’t give them to her.”

  “Good.”

  Though Luc knew Skye Cross wasn’t through with them. Knowing how he felt about Nuala, maybe even about Nik on good days, Luc couldn’t blame Skye for wanting to know why her brother had died. And she had connected his death and The Ark to the shifter fights. Something he couldn’t tell anyone here, not even his sister. Nuala might have cared for Shade Cross, but she was Kindred, first, last, and always. She would protect their secrets with all she had.

  That didn’t bode well for a nosy human.

  If Skye was human.

  A bang at the door was followed by Nik’s voice. “Nuala, are you in there?”

  Her expression annoyed, she crossed to the door and flung it open. “Is there a problem?”

  “Why did you turn off your cell?” Nik asked as he entered.

  “I didn’t turn it off.”

  “Then something’s wrong with it.” Nik eyed Luc but didn’t greet him. “Mother has been trying to reach you.”

  “I am aware of that.”

  “You’re not answering? Why not?” When she simply glared at him, Nik said, “Mother sent me to look for you. She wants you to meet an important new guest.”

  “Not tonight. Actually, not any night anytime soon. If ever.”

  “Nuala—”

  Her face rippled as she glared at Nik. “Don’t cross me. Give her my answer or don’t. Just leave me alone.”

  Nik glared at Luc. “What’s going on? What did you say to upset her?”

  Of course, Nik would blame him. “Maybe you should leave, Nik.” Was it pos
sible Nuala didn’t want to work for her mother anymore? The human part of Luc hoped she was rethinking her options. “Tell Beatrix our sister isn’t feeling well tonight.”

  “Lie for you?”

  “Not for me. And it isn’t a lie.”

  “I’m feeling just fine!” Nuala shouted. “Why do you do this, Nik?” she demanded. “Why blame Luc when he has nothing to do with my decisions?”

  “You’re not thinking clearly.”

  Nuala’s eyes glowed copper once more as she glared at their older brother. “What are you saying? That I can’t think for myself?”

  Then Nik’s eyes flared with dark heat as they always did when he lost his temper. “You know what crossing Mother would mean.”

  Uh-oh. This wasn’t good. Luc had seen his siblings go at each other too many times when they were growing up. When they let loose their anger and frustration, they tended to do damage.

  Knowing he was asking for trouble, Luc stepped between them. “Let’s not do this,” he said reasonably.

  “Stay out of this, Luc.” Nuala used her mind to keep him from getting closer.

  This wasn’t like her—his sister had learned to control herself years ago. Tonight, her emotions were all over the place.

  Still, Luc tried to reason with her. “We’re all on edge tonight.”

  Nik flared a hand at him, an invisible current zapping off his trademark ring, making Luc stumble backward. Now he was getting open hostility from both siblings.

  “What was that for?” he asked Nik.

  “Didn’t you hear Nuala tell you to stay out of it?”

  Nik’s ire directed itself at Luc. The sensation shot through him like a live wire. He tried to fight it. He always tried to fight it, to keep his beast under control. His fear was that someday his true nature would get the best of him. Again.

  “You should both leave,” Nuala said.

  Luc didn’t like the catch in her voice. Or the way her face suddenly went pale. The tension drained from her in a heartbeat and she turned and fled the room. The bathroom door slammed behind her and she sounded like she was choking.

  Luc beat Nik to the door. “Hey, are you all right?”

  “Just leave me alone.”

  “Let me in there!” Nik demanded.

  When the choking sound ripped out of their sister again, he looked ready to beat down the door. Luc finally realized Nuala wasn’t choking but throwing up. The toilet flushed.

  “She is sick.” Nik sounded shocked. “There’s something wrong with that soul of hers. It’s been making her do things she never did before. She needs to get rid of it before it’s too late.”

  Not wanting to continue the argument, Luc clenched his jaw and grabbed his brother’s arm. Surprise allowed him to shove Nik toward the door. “Let’s go, give her some space.”

  “Take your hand off me if you don’t want it broken.”

  Luc clenched his jaw harder and freed Nik. He opened the door to the hallway and waited. For a moment, he thought it would come to an altercation to get his brother out of there. But finally Nik gave in, pushed past him, and kept going.

  Halfway down the hall, Luc caught up to Nik. “We need to talk.”

  “You may. I don’t.”

  Wanting some answers—he obviously wasn’t getting any from Nuala tonight—Luc grabbed Nik again and stopped him. Let his brother try to break his hand. As much as part of him wanted to avoid a fight, Luc was up for it.

  He got in Nik’s face. “Who’s running the shifter fights?”

  Luc needed to know if they were connected to the attempt on his mother’s life. And Shade Cross’s death. Very likely. And Jez had lost her life because she’d been forced to fight.

  “I asked you a question.” He growled at his brother.

  Nik’s features stretched slightly and Luc fought his visceral response to the rush of anger surging through his brother. To his credit, Nik got tight hold of himself, allowing Luc to settle down inside.

  “What makes you think I’m involved?” Nik asked.

  “Are you the one?”

  “My duties are confined to the casino complex,” Nik said, avoiding a direct answer.

  “That doesn’t mean you can’t have outside interests.”

  “I have enough right here to keep me busy. As for you, little brother, you expressly said you didn’t want to know what’s going on outside this complex, so why do you suddenly care?”

  What went on would be nothing good. His human half drew the line that he would never cross. The complex was Kindred territory, so anything here went. But anything outside—the shifter fights involving humans, even as an audience—crossed that line.

  “Maybe I changed my mind.” Maybe he’d been hiding his head in the sand, Luc thought. “Did you have Jez killed because of me?”

  “Is that what you think?”

  “I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking.”

  “I’m curious. What if I am the one?” Nik’s voice lowered an octave and his nostrils flared. “What if I run the shifter fights and have Kindred who annoy me punished in a very open, very final way? What would you do about it?”

  Was he admitting it, then?

  Imagining Jez after she’d been torn apart in his mind’s eye, Luc’s blood pumped double time. “I would have to stop you.”

  Nik grinned. “Amusing that you think you could.”

  In Iraq, Luc had quickly learned the things he could do—things he had done in anger and frustration when good men he’d fought beside had been slaughtered by the enemy. Once he’d shifted, he hadn’t been able to stop his panther. The violence he’d committed haunted his dreams. All those dead bodies...

  He feared if he lost control with Nik and shifted in mindless fury as he had there, he would become his brother’s worst nightmare.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Shade spent the night in Skye’s apartment, curled up on her couch. Nice that he could leave his apartment courtesy of being joined with Boomer. The cats watched him with distrustful eyes, but they didn’t let him out of their sight. After he awoke, it took him a good part of the morning, but he finally convinced Skye to take him to see Ethan. His old partner needed to be part of this, and Shade hoped that perhaps Ethan’s involvement would bring back his memory.

  When he walked into Area North on a leash, cops he’d known and worked with for years turned to look. Not one of them recognized Boomer or told Skye she couldn’t bring a dog inside. She didn’t hurry, undoubtedly because this could be the last time he would ever see their faces again. Shade stopped and looked around. Dad wasn’t at his desk. Regret washed through him so he felt hollow inside. Shade had thought he’d see Dad one last time. Then again, Dad would probably tell Skye to “get that dog out of here,” and that would be the end of that.

  “C’mon,” she murmured, tugging at the leash to get his attention. “We need to get to Ethan before someone stops us.”

  Ethan was at his desk, chipping away at a stack of files. Shade glanced around at the nearly empty inner office. Detectives were either at lunch or out on a case as Shade wished he could be. This was where he should be. Ethan appeared distracted and impatient dealing with paperwork. That feeling he did remember. And so many other details of being a cop.

  Having to accept his own life being over hit Shade harder than any fist could.

  So, the blood thing—how could that be? Must be some logical explanation.

  To his shock, Shade heard Ethan’s thoughts.

  A combination of human and animal blood in all three victims. That’s not possible.

  It was the first time he’d been able to hear anyone’s thoughts since he’d taken the bullet. It seemed the connection with Boomer had brought back his psychic ability.

  He’s thinking about the case, Skye. Some weird shit.

  Ethan suddenly spun around in his chair to face them standing a few yards away. He seemed uncomfortable, and he frowned when his gaze lit on him at Skye’s side.

  “How long have
you been watching me?” he asked.

  “Just for a minute.” Skye smiled at him. “You looked busy and I didn’t want to disturb your thoughts.”

  “What’s with bringing Boomer here?”

  Shade quickly moved toward his best friend, intending to give him a doggie body rub, but Skye pulled on the leash and stopped him. She quickly glanced around the office as if to make sure no one else could hear.

  “I have something important to tell you.”

  Ethan gave him a wary look. “Hey, Shade didn’t leave the pooch to me?”

  “No. But I need to tell you about the dog and Shade being—”

  “You know you shouldn’t be here,” Ethan interrupted. “Well, the dog shouldn’t be here.”

  “What about Shade?” Skye asked. “What if he was here?”

  Ethan leaned back in his chair. “The ghost story again? Sorry, I don’t see him.”

  Yeah, I’m here, buddy. C’mon, open up that mind of yours.

  “Actually, you do see him,” Skye said. “We, uh, figured out a way for him to get out of the apartment.” She nodded to Shade. “Boomer. Sort of inside Boomer. They’re bound together, so to speak.”

  Ethan groaned. “I know how upset you’ve been over Shade’s death, and I wish I could magically make it better for you. I’m sorry. I wish I could help you.”

  Shade groaned. I told you he could be hopeless. We have to convince him.

  “You can help me,” Skye told Ethan. “A lot has happened in the last few days, starting with what we thought was a dogfight.” She shook her head. “But if you can’t believe that part of Shade is still with us, you’ll never believe the rest.”

  The challenge seemed to set Ethan further on edge. Skye’s gaze seared his partner, making him soften until he raised his hands in mock surrender.

  “Try me.”

  “The other night at the raid,” she said, “I picked up on the images the wild dog showed me. I used the images as kind of a mental map and found my way into a very unusual casino—”

  Since Ethan was his best friend, Shade had long ago told him about his and Skye’s psychic abilities. Unfortunately, Ethan had simply poked fun at the idea.