Mercy: Queen’s Birds of Prey: Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Queen's Birds of Prey Book 1)

by Kathi S. Barton

  Production was at an all-time high, and orders were coming in heavily. It was still nine weeks until Christmas, but stores would need product now for it. So long as they ordered by the eighteenth of December, Mercy and Blaze would try to have their orders to them on time. It made for a good relationship with them. She thought about the note from Blaze.

  You really should go and see him. He and Miley are loving the house, and you should have been at the meeting when we welcomed Joel to the family. That was rude of you.

  Blaze had been the one that would always tell her when she was wrong. Well, they all would be, but Blaze was less nice about it than the other four. Today proved that not only was Blaze getting pissed off at her, but she’d also threatened to tell Joel and Miley where she lived.

  Leaving her a note to change things, Mercy decided to ignore her threat. She might tell them, but Mercy could hide better than anyone could. She’d been at it a good deal longer, and she had more magic than the others too.

  Mercy knew that she’d have to go and see Joel soon enough. There were things going on that he would need to be made aware of. For one thing, she figured out that she could make it so that Miley could walk. It wasn’t something that she’d been looking for but reading up on the magic that she’d been left by the queen, it stated that if someone, in this case Miley, were close to her heart, then she could do a great many things to that person that would enhance their life. She figured that walking was something that would enhance anyone’s life.

  Then there was the child. She had gotten knocked up, it seemed, and wasn’t really sure how she felt about that. Nor, for that matter, how he’d feel about it. According to the book that she’d read again, it would appear that Joel was what she was—a falcon. Just because of the magic of finding her mate.

  “Mother fuck. He’s going to be pissed about it all, I just know it.”

  It had been five weeks since she’d been with Joel, less since she and Miley had talked. The girl was smart, much smarter than people gave her credit for.

  Picking up the phone for the hundredth time in the last two hours, she placed the call to his cell phone. Maybe, she thought, he’d not answer it. She’d made sure that her number would be blocked, and maybe he was—

  “Yes, hello?” Fuck, he would be the type to answer. “Hello? This is Joel Oliver. Has something happened to my daughter?”

  “It’s Mercy.” She waited while he didn’t speak, waiting for him to hang up the phone, or worse yet, tell her to fuck off. “I would like to set up a time to speak to you about some things.”

  “Anytime. I’m on my lunch hour now if you’d like to come here. I’m so glad you called, Mercy. I have so much to tell you too.” He laughed a little. “The house. I can’t thank you enough for it. And everything else.”

  “How did you...? Blaze. Or Piper told you.” He said that it was a guess, but she knew that they’d spoken to him. “Can you come here now? Or after work? I get off at four and should be home about four thirty. Miley will be thrilled to see you.”

  Mercy wanted to cancel this. Not to see him. She also wanted to ask him if he’d be glad to see her as well. When he asked again when she was coming to see him, she told him that it would be later, after dinner.

  “I can’t wait to see you, Mercy. It’s been a long time, and I have so much.... I’m so very sorry for the way I treated you that morning. You have no idea how badly I feel for what I did to you.” She cried, her eyes burning with the tears. “I love you, Mercy. I don’t know how it happened, and frankly, I don’t care. But I do love you. I think I have from the moment that I saw you.”

  “You hurt me.” Joel said that he knew he had. And it hurt him that he’d done that to her. “I don’t know what I feel about you. I hurt with every breath I take that you said those things to me.”

  “If I could do it all over, I’d never say that to you. But it’s too late to try and not say that stuff. I truly regret it. I’m so sorry, Mercy.” She heard someone talking to him. “I have to go. You’ll be there tonight, won’t you? I’d like to ask you to promise me, but I don’t deserve that. Just, please, I’m begging you to come tonight.”

  She placed the receiver in the cradle. Mercy regretted calling him, and at the same time was glad that she had. They really did have to talk, if for no other reason than to make him aware of a few things. Not even counting the baby.

  Mercy put her hand over her flat belly. A child grew there, and she had no idea if it would be magical, like she was, or something else. Just yesterday she’d gone to see the old doctor, the one that had been at the castle when they had been. He’d been less than helpful.

  The man was a loon, she decided, and wondered if he saw many patients anymore. She was going to put the word out that everyone should avoid him from now on. His medical practices were of the old ways. He’d actually suggested to her that he find some leeches to bleed out the poison in her body. Walking away from him was much better than she had wanted to do. The old buzzard was lucky to be alive.

  “Now I have to figure out how to tell Joel he’s going to be a father again.”

  Mercy walked around her office. The apartment she was living in was much too small for her, but as she rarely stayed here, it had suited her just fine. Now, with a baby coming, she realized that she didn’t have the room for much of anything. It was time to look at bigger houses.

  The one that Joel and Miley lived in wasn’t suitable either. Yes, it was bigger than her apartment, but it only had two bedrooms and a smallish one that Joel was using for an office. The only thing that it had going for it was the fact that it had a large kitchen. Mercy didn’t cook, but she did love to eat.

  Standing in front of the mirror, she tried out several different outfits and discarded them all. She wanted to wear something that said she didn’t give a fuck what he wanted, but also showed that she was all woman. Nothing that she could think of, it seemed, did both of those at the same time.

  Sitting down at her computer, she started looking for homes. It would be big, she decided. And if he were to want to raise their child part of the time, without her, she wanted something that was close to the others. The six birds, she thought, could have a lot of fun with an infant.

  There were three houses that she liked. One of them had nine bedrooms, the other eleven. But the one that she liked the most of all was the larger of the three, which sat on nearly four hundred acres of trees. It had been an arbor at one time, and now that no one took care of the trees, they were in abundance.

  When it got closer to the time for her to leave, she dressed herself in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. It was casual as well as comfy. It seemed that lately she didn’t want to wear heels and dresses. The more comfortable she was, the better she liked it, even going so far as to go barefoot. Mercy had forgotten the feel of carpet and grass under her toes.

  Deciding to fly rather than drive, she sat outside his home for ten minutes before Miley opened her bedroom door out into the yard. She looked beautiful in her jeans and boots. Her sweater was one that she’d shown her herself. Mercy flew down to meet the young girl.

  “You’re here.” Mercy shifted, her body taking on the clothing that she’d decided to wear. “Dad isn’t home, so we can talk.”

  Mercy sat on the decking and watched the yard as she told her that she was coming for dinner. That her father had invited her. Neither of them said anything for some time, and it was Miley that broke the silence.

  “Are you going to tell him about the magic?” Mercy told her that was one of the things they were going to talk about. “Are you going to tell him, too, that you’ve been here with me?”

  “Yes, I don’t like that we were sneaking around. He should know, don’t you think? I was afraid that if I told him before, he might forbid me to come around.” Miley told her that he’d never do that. “He might yet, Miley. We didn’t exactly part on good terms.”

  “He told me. Dad was devasted when he figured out what an ass he’d been.” Mercy laughed with M
iley. “I think every day, he regrets it more and more.”

  “We’ll see. I’ve been meaning to ask you. How do you like your new school? I heard that it’s a very good one.” Miley told her that they were great, and that she wasn’t as bored as she used to be. “That’s good. A friend of mine runs it, and she was glad to take you in after she got all your paperwork. I’m assuming that your dad was all right with you going to a progressive school like that one instead of a traditional one?”

  “Yes, he knew that I was struggling at the other school. But no one told him that it wasn’t that I was behind, but that I was much too advanced to be sitting with children that weren’t. The teacher, Miss Roebuck, told me that I should have been taking advanced classes all along. I might have even been out of high school by now.”

  The door to the house opened and neither of them moved when Joel called out for Miley. When he came to her door to the outside, Mercy felt her belly tense up. When he came out onto the deck and sat with the two of them, no one said a word until he did.

  “I love the view from the back of the house. Whoever built it, they did a great thing by turning the bedrooms so that the person staying in the rooms would be able to see this first thing.” Mercy didn’t say anything, and Joel looked at her. “You did this, didn’t you? This was something you built. Isn’t it?”

  “Yes, I was everything at one time or another. When you’re around as long as we’ve been, it’s easy to get bored. The tin toys that we make, they were pieces that I picked up over the centuries. And when the man who had them sort of fell into a bad place, he sold me the patent on them. I still pay his estate royalties every year, but we’ve made a good amount of money on them.” Joel asked if she was bored with it yet. “Yes, I don’t want to make toys anymore. Blaze is going to take over until we sell it off or close it down, but I’m finished with it. I’m going to have your baby, Joel.”

  Chapter 4

  Joel didn’t know what to say. He was trying to gauge her feelings on having his child. Miley was happy, screaming about having a sibling and excited to have someone to play with. Joel just kept watching Mercy.

  “You’re not saying anything.” He asked her how she felt about it. “If you’re asking me to get rid of it, then I’m going to tell you right now that I’m not.”

  “No, I’d never do anything like that. Never. And I would like to help you raise the baby. I have about ten thousand questions going through my head at the moment, none of them—”

  “Dinner is ready, sir.” Dutch smiled at her. “You’ll be joining us, I assume. I have you a plate of worms and such all ready to eat, my lady.”

  After Dutch left, Miley looked at her, shocked.

  “You’re not eating worms, are you?” Miley shivered as she continued. “I don’t care that you eat them, but please, eat them some other time. I don’t think I could handle that.”

  “She’s joking.” Mercy looked at him again. “I only eat that sort of thing when I’m a bird. Which lately, is a lot. May I still join you two?”

  “Of course.” She followed him to the dining room. He’d made touches throughout the house—mostly Miley would find something online and he’d buy it. It was certainly nice being able to afford things, even if they weren’t something that they needed. “I don’t know what we’re having. I called Dutch this afternoon after talking to you to tell her that you were joining us. She acted as if she knew already.”

  “She did, I would imagine. I told you that she was magical, or at least Piper did.” He said that he had been told. “Things have been well here? You have everything that you need?”

  “Yes, I mean, we’ve had fun buying little things. I have a lot of pictures of Miley and some of both of us that I’ve gotten frames for. But I’ve been enjoying just being at home after working all day too. Will the baby be human?”

  “No, I’m not, snd as of the moment that we touched, neither are you.” Joel dropped his fork and looked at Miley when she laughed. Mercy picked up the roll that had been knocked off his plate and handed it to him. “I had to do some research on things. I was given a book on the magic when we were turned into what we are. Here, you need to drink something or breathe. You’re making me nervous.”

  Joel drank down the entire glass of water and looked at Mercy again. “What sort of magic do I have?” She asked him if he was comfortable in his suit. “No, not really. I come home and change, but I wanted to— What the hell was that?”

  “You can now just change into whatever you think about. And you should know that Miley can do that as well.” They both looked at his daughter when she giggled. A dizzyingly amount of clothing changed on her body in a matter of moments. “I have had it since I was made. You, again, since we touched.”

  “Why a touch? What I mean is, why did just a touch do this? I would imagine that you’ve touched a great many people in your time.” She nodded, and said it was because they were mates. “I see. Not really, but for now, I have an answer I can work with.”

  “So, I can do this all the time? Change my clothing? Into anything I want?” Mercy told her that was right. Even a gown if she wanted. “Great. No more going shopping for clothing. I hate that. The rooms are much too small for me, and my wheelchair gets stuck all the time.”

  “I can heal you.” Joel dropped his fork again. “You keep that up and I’m going to put a bib on you. You’re making a mess.”

  “You can’t say something like that and expect me not to react. What? How can you heal her? With a touch?” Mercy shook her head. Before he could ask any more questions, Miley spoke.

  “I don’t care what you have to do to me, so long as I can walk. I’ve never done that, you know that? Never taken a step in the grass. For that matter, I’ve never felt the grass beneath my feet. I don’t know what it’s like to pee in a toilet. That might seem stupid to you, but to me, it would mean the world.” Miley started crying. “Dad, you have to allow her to do this for me. I want this so badly. I would have been all right with never being able to walk, but I have an opportunity to take steps that I never was able to do before.”

  “Miley, honey, I want you to be able to walk as well. But we have to figure it out. I’m sure that Mercy has thought of everything.” He looked at her and she nodded. “See? Didn’t I tell you she was the best? So, what do we have to do?”

  “It’s not just healing her that we have to worry about. Or be concerned about.” Miley started to speak when Mercy cut her off to continue. “You’ve been in a wheelchair all your life, right? You haven’t any idea how to walk, balance or, as you said, go to the bathroom. This is going to take work. On all our parts. You have to take time to get the basics of being on your feet, doing things that require you to stand. Balance is just one of them, as I mentioned, but you will need to learn to bend at the waist, with your knees. I’m sorry to say it this way, but you’re going to have to be treated as an infant. Simply because you never learned these things as one.”

  “Okay, I can understand that. But I’d like to get started as soon as possible. And, if we can, I’d like to keep this between us.” Miley asked him if he thought it was going to fail. “No, never that. But I think that it will be a wonderful surprise when you’ll be able to step out of that thing and walk, don’t you?”

  “Yes, yes I do. I’m so excited.” Miley looked at him. He could tell that she was trying her very best to not demand that they do it now. “What do we do first?”

  “You need to shift.” Joel didn’t even ask. He figured that if Mercy said it that way, then it was possible that Miley could shift. “You can as well, Joel. Again, since we touched. Miley can because she’s in my heart. As my child.”

  He didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t even sure that he could speak around the lump in his throat. She loved his daughter—loved her like her own child. And when Miley rolled around the table to hug her, he got up to join them. Kissing them both on the head, he told them that he loved them too. With all his heart.

  They were silent for a f
ew moments, then Miley said something about breathing, a minor thing, that he laughed about when there was so much love around the room. Just as he was sitting down to eat, Mercy dropped another bombshell on them.

  “You’re both immortal too.”

  For as long as he lived, which apparently was going to be a very long time, he didn’t think he’d ever drop his fork at a meal like he had this one. Clearing his throat as the other two ate, he decided that he needed time. Or at least some guidelines about telling him things. But they were laughing, at him, and Joel found that he didn’t care. He’d drop his fork the rest of his days if it made them this happy.

  The process to help Miley wasn’t as bad as he thought. Yes, she had to shift, which worried him more than he could admit out loud, but Miley was excited. Mercy was careful with her to the point where he could see Miley wanted to bash her head in.

  “All right. So, I just think of a falcon and then wait for her to contact me.” Mercy said that was right. “To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one, except in books. Can you—I don’t want to cause you any trouble, but can you make one for me?”

  “It’s no trouble, but my bird sometimes has a mind of her own. She may sit on your lap.” Miley made a joke about not being able to feel it. “I just don’t want her to get into the habit of doing it. She has great talons, as well as she is a little nippy. Don’t let her if she wants to hurt you. All right?”

  “Yes, but one thing first, I know that you’re Dad’s mate and all. And I’ve never called anyone this before, but can I call you Mom?”

  Mercy’s shift from human to falcon was swift.

  “Did I make her mad?” Joel said that the bird, he reminded her, had a mind of her own. “She did say that. I hope that I didn’t make her mad.”