Nausea twisted my gut and a horrible sense of foreboding took hold of me. I’d never felt anything like it before and I couldn’t help feeling like it had to do with Ivar. I evened out my breathing and slowly, the cramps released their grip and I could function without wincing. However, the unease I felt about Ivar wouldn’t leave me. He didn’t know where I lived or how to get ahold of me and the part of me that wanted him to choose us and come after me could’ve kicked myself. On the other hand, I knew it was better this way. A clean break. We could both heal and move on. That’s what I’d thought anyway, now I wasn’t so sure.
The rest of the morning, I was simply going through the motions. I was even early to the recreational center, beating everyone else including Matthew, the group counselor for Aurora Falls.
As the hour grew closer, a few more guys showed up. I couldn’t even remember most of their names, unless something completely unusual happened, like Joe’s manic rantings and antics. He’d made a bit of an impression. However, he was noticeably absent from the group when everyone began to convene and take their seats in the circle.
“Alright everyone, thank you for joining me this morning. It looks like we’re only missing Joe, so far so I’ll go ahead and get us started. Does anyone want to volunteer to start us off?” Matthew asked, crossing one leg over the other and leaning forward intently.
As expected, no one said a word.
“Ok, well,” Matthew sighed, looking around the circle as he tried to find anyone who would dare make eye contact and doom themselves to the dreaded first pick. I was off my game for the morning, though, with my thoughts focused on Ivar and the previous days. When Matthew looked at me, I looked right back and his lip twitched into a damning smile. “Makenna, you’re up first.”
My stomach turned to a ball of lead and felt like it would drop right out of me. I hated talking about myself and what the hell was I supposed to tell them? Oh hey, everyone, I met my soul mate. He’s a thousand-year-old Viking merman that’s been living in the lake. Me? Crazy? Nah, not at all. Yeah, I didn’t see that going over well.
“I, uh, don’t really have anything to share this week,” I answered quickly, trying my best to avoid his intense blue stare.
A muscle near his mouth twitched and he continued on without so much as skipping a beat.
“Come on, Makenna. You can do better than that. I know you had to have been doing more than just sitting alone in a room since our last meeting. How about the nightmares? Are you still having them? Frequency? That’s all I’m asking here, just work with me a little,” Matthew urged, resting his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward interested and informal.
Rolling my eyes, I sat forward and stared hard at the tile floor and tried to find anything to say. My father used to say that if I absolutely had to lie, I should stick as close to the truth as I could, and I’d better only have one story that I stick to. Praying hard, I wished he was right.
“I met a guy recently,” I confessed quietly, and of course, being the class acts they were, the men present whistled and hooted, hollering like a bunch of Neanderthals. They were well meaning, and it didn’t bother me, I just hated being the center of attention. Chuckling at their antics, they finally all calmed down enough for me to go on. “He’s pretty intense and things got serious fast…but he’s got some commitment issues,” I admitted, letting the real crux of the problem out of the bag.
It was the only part that was well and truly relevant.
“We all do, sweetheart,” said the bearded man seated beside Matthew, who was reclined in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest and his baseball cap pulled down low over his eyes. I’m pretty sure his name was Latham, but I wasn’t sure because a lot of time I would only really listen to bits and pieces of what the guys had to say. A story here and a memory there, lots of loss. We were all the same and all different that way. However, we didn’t associate much outside the group, so there was no reason to know a name, not when I was only in Aurora Falls temporarily…and there was my problem again.
I didn’t know what to do.
“So, this guy, how-” Matthew began, steering the conversation back on course and taking control of the group, but was cut off by the abrupt slamming of the door as it burst open, smacking the wall behind.
Joe stepped through the door, his eyes were wild and scared, that haunted look had taken on a downright scary turn. Everyone was on their feet in an instant, instinctually ready to fight off any attackers. That’s what we’d been trained to do, but this was one of our own. Joe stared at us coldly, his stare was unfocused, and I had my suspicions that he wasn’t really seeing us.
“Hey Joe, glad you finally made it. Do you want to join us?” Matthew calmly answered, holding his arms out to keep everyone else from moving.
Joe was like a spooked animal and there was no telling what he was capable of when he was on edge and hysterical. Reaching around behind him, Joe slid a large hunting knife from the waistband of his jeans and held it firmly in his hand. He held it out, surveying the blade for any sign of dullness or any imperfections.
“They’ve been listening and now, they’ve got their spies in the lake watching me all the time,” Joe rambled, lowering the knife to his side, perhaps realizing we weren’t a threat.
“What are you talking about?” said Latham, who’d taken his seat once again like the whole situation was nothing but a mealtime show to him. “Great, this one finally flew the cuckoo’s nest,” he added.
Hardly able to contain my cringe at the man’s sarcasm, I groaned inwardly as I kicked myself for not having my phone anymore. Sapphire Lake had stolen that from me too. Thankfully, someone was luckier than I was. I could hear the quiet tapping of fingertips against the screen of a phone as I hoped they were trying to contact the police. Joe had gone too far this time.
Stepping further into the room, Joe grabbed the door and kicked it shut behind him before he came a few steps closer and stopped.
“The military. They’re watching us, they’ve got spies living in the lake. They’re probably watching all of us. They only would know how to find me if one of you told them. We’ve got a rat in our midst,” he ranted, growing visibly more irritated with each passing moment.
Just as Matthew opened his mouth and was going to begin the task of talking Joe down from his heightened state, the door swung open behind him and a very large, very familiar man stepped through the door with his stormy gaze locked on mine.
Everything happened so fast I could hardly keep up as a mentally unstable man wielding a knife stood between me and Ivar. He found me instantly and the moment of relief was enough to give a weaker man his chance.
Joe spun, startled by the sudden invasion, brandishing the knife as he went. Ivar hardly had time to realize what was happening before Joe lunged and sank the knife into my mate’s belly, just below his ribs, burying it to the hilt.
“You won’t take me!” Joe exclaimed, releasing the knife in his shock.
He couldn’t believe he’d stabbed Ivar any more than we could, or Ivar for that matter, who was staring at the knife sticking out of him with the pained realization.
“Ivar! Oh my god! Grab him!” I ordered, kicking chairs out of my way as I bolted for my man.
Everyone began moving at the same time, scrambling to subdue Joe, call the authorities, and check on Ivar all at once. Before anyone could reach him, Ivar did the one thing he shouldn’t have, he grabbed ahold of the blade and jerked it back out. All I could focus on was the red of his blood which was seeping from him too fast and then, he collapsed.
8
Ivar
When I had woken up that morning and realized Makenna was already gone, I hadn’t known what to do. I’d double and even triple checked every room, nook, and cranny in the cabin and the woods nearby, but it was useless. Her things were gone too, and I was running out of time. It was the day I had to go back to the lake or claim my mate. If the latter didn’t happen, I’d have to wait a whole month before I
could go after her and tell her exactly what I wanted, and I didn’t know enough about her to know where to look on my own.
Makenna had said she had a meeting this morning for former military where they could talk about their struggles re-integrating into society and deal with the things they did and saw overseas. I didn’t understand the need to talk about those things, but it seemed to help her, so I wouldn’t complain…but I did need to find out where that meeting was being held.
Unlike his brother, Jaxxen, I knew Kris had set up shop in town…or more like bar. He had enough connections and was more familiar with the town than I was and hoped like hell he could help me find out where that meeting was.
When I ventured into town, Club Scales wasn’t difficult to find. It was a large squarish building butted up to the forest. Mixing the town’s merfolk, tourist-drawing legacy with musical notes were a nice touch though.
Pushing through the front door, a woman hollered from the back office.
“We’re closed, can’t you read?” she said, stepping into the doorway of what I assumed was the manager’s office. Her gaze raked over me, taking in everything about me like a shrewd investigator. Perhaps the woman knew more than I first thought. “Can I help you with something?”
“I’m looking for Kris or Jaxxen,” I answered, looking around the room for someone other than her.
From behind her, Jaxxen poked his head out the door. He looked like he’d seen a ghost when I saw me. It had been a long time since I’d seen him, before he’d taken to his sleep and mated, which became very clear as his hand curled protectively around the woman’s hip.
“Ivar, what’s going on? What brought you out of the lake?” Jaxxen asked, his brows knitting tightly together, and the corners of his mouth drew down with a frown.
“His mate. What else brings you all out of the lake?” she teased, eyeing me with a knowing gaze.
I nodded once, confirming her suspicions, and Jaxxen’s mouth dropped open, completely slack-jawed.
“No fucking way,” he whispered.
The small woman beside him elbowed him unceremoniously, “that’s rude,” she hissed.
“It’s not rude. You know how reluctant I was to take a mate and I was sure I would never take one? Well, I was even more sure that he wouldn’t take a mate than I was about myself,” Jaxxen answered, stepping out of the doorway and tipped his chin toward me. “Step into my office and we’ll see what I can do for you.”
Thankfully, his mate, Blaire, knew the group I was trying to describe. The meeting was being held at the local veteran’s hall and wasn’t more than a couple blocks away from the club. Jaxxen had also helped me with another little problem, I would need to find a way to support a family now that I would return to the land. He said he knew some people who might be looking for a guy like me to fill out their lumber crew in the next town over.
It was with that weight taken off my shoulders that I hurried toward the veteran’s hall and hoped like hell Makenna would be there. The itch in my skin told me my time was growing near and if I didn’t hurry, I could find myself in a much direr situation. Fish don’t survive outside of water and I would be no different if I refused the lake’s pull before the full moon passed.
When I saw the letters for the hall, I picked up my pace, eager to lay eyes on Makenna once more. Tugging open the big metal door, I stepped inside and was met with an empty lobby. Both to the right and left were hallways lines by three or four doors. Ahead, laid the stairs to the lounge in the basement level.
“Fuck,” I groaned.
I decided there was only one way this was going to work and that was to start ruling out rooms in my search and hope I didn’t get the authorities called on me before I found her. The first three rooms were locked, but the fourth and final room in the hall was not. It was empty, though. As I closed the door, I heard the door slam shut down the other hallway. The way the building was set up, the sound carried and echoed, amplifying it.
From where I stood in the hallway, I could hear raised voices coming from within the room. Something about the whole thing felt off, and I headed off toward the room to investigate. As I got closer, I heard a man yelling, but his words were muffled and then another answered, quieter and further from the door. Grabbing ahold of the door handle, I pushed it down and pulled it open wide.
The moment I stepped through the door and my gaze landed on Makenna, I breathed a sigh of relief. She was still here. Her expression wasn’t happy to see me though. Instead, her eyes were wide, and her posture was tensed. There were many others there with us too and all eyes were on me.
Movement to my right caught my attention and I saw the flash of a steel blade. When I’d seen Makenna, my momentary distraction had pulled my focus from where it needed to be, on the man who’d entered the room. It felt like I’d been punched right before the searing pain flamed through my belly. My hand went to cover the affected area, but the handle of a hunting knife was protruding from my middle. I knew I was in shock and my body wasn’t registering the pain that I was enduring. I saw red at the base of the knife and looked to Makenna. The horror on her face was all the confirmation I needed. I was well and truly fucked.
The pain was radiating out from the blade and before I thought more about it, I grabbed the handle and jerked the five-inch blade free of me, careful to take the same path it had entered with. As soon as it was free, I realized my grave mistake and saw blood spill freely, soaking the thin material of my shirt and spread quickly. My head felt like it was floating and then my knees buckled, sending me to the floor.
A flurry of motion swirled around me and I couldn’t focus on anything other than clutching the hole in my belly and Makenna’s face. When my knees gave out, she’d started into motion almost instantly, coming to my side. She was laser-focused on me as she set to work.
“Makenna,” I groaned, feeling every joint protest and nausea roll through me. I was out of time, feeling the pull of the lake and the life draining from my body. “Sapphire Lake,” I hissed through clenched teeth as she tore off her sweatshirt and held it to my stomach with more force than I would’ve given the small woman credit for.
Her cognac gaze flitted up from her work for a second to lock gazes with my own. She understood what I meant.
“I need help getting him up! We’ve got to get him to my car. We don’t have time to wait for an ambulance,” Makenna ordered, keeping her iron grip on the cloth and me.
My limbs felt like they were made of lead and I wanted to sink right into the floor, but she wouldn’t let me.
“Stick with me, Ivar. I’m getting you out of here right now,” she said, eyes clear and pleading.
She was a healer, a battle-hardened in her experience. Trusting her with my life was easy and the men around us seemed to trust her too, because everyone moved on her orders. Two men grabbed me and lifted my dead weight, out the door and back outside. The sun had climbed higher in the sky and I had thought I’d have longer, but the moon cycle was near its completion. If I got to the lake, there was a chance I could shift and heal. My toes had begun to get tingly and I knew that wasn’t ever a good sign. Each breath was harder than the last to take and it felt like there was a full-grown man lying on my chest.
Voices swirled around me, yet I couldn’t make out what any of them were saying and I barely noticed when Makenna leaned in and pressed an urgent kiss against my hair, before shutting the door.
“Listen, Ivar, I need you to hold this. Do you think you can do that?” she asked, the fear in her voice was palpable. She knew exactly how serious my condition was and so did I.
Pressure on my chest grew intense and when I opened my eyes to look, I saw that Makenna had tied a bandage around the wound tightly and the pressure was coming from her attempt to stop the bleeding. I groaned and tried to get through it without pushing her away.
The pain was too much. Sweat soaked my shirt, or maybe it was blood, but I was too weak to lift my head and look. The men carried me and slid me into t
he front seat of a car waiting at the front door. Makenna left me to run around the car and hop into the driver’s seat, but just before she stepped in front of the car, one of the men from the group grabbed ahold of her arm and halted her.
I couldn’t make out what he was saying and if I’d been in my right mind, I might’ve punched him for touching Makenna. For his sake, he was lucky I was out of commission for the time being. He pointed down the road and looked like he was giving her directions and then he looked directly at me. I wasn’t sure whether or not I’d really seen what I thought I had. When I’d looked at the man speaking to Makenna, he had my brother’s eyes…the rest, though was different. My brother, Fenn, had found his mate thirty years before and I hadn’t seen him since he’d left Sapphire Lake for good. The man nodded to me before leaving as Makenna climbed into the car. I didn’t have time to think too much about it; my consciousness was slippery at best, leaving me in and out.
Throughout the entire drive, I would notice Makenna watching me nervously like she was afraid the next time she would look it would be too late and I would already be gone. Hell, I couldn’t feel my feet anymore and I was beginning to fear the exact same thing. Everything was getting colder and my limbs wouldn’t work the way I wanted them to. Every movement was clumsy and awkward and that was if I even had the energy to attempt it in the first place. Every breath was a fight and even when I would draw in as much air as I could, it never felt like it was enough. I was suffocating and bleeding out and I was completely aware of it. When I couldn’t force them anymore, I let my eyes fall shut so I could save my energy for the real fight- staying with Makenna.
The vehicle jostled over the bumps, but I couldn’t even muster a groan when I wanted to scream like birthing woman.
Warrior’s Kiss- Mountain Mermaids Page 7