by S. A. Ravel
He stroked her hair. "Lia..."
She looped her arms around his neck, pulling his lips down to hers. "Don't tell me you don't want to," she whispered. "I know you better than that."
Parker wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her from the ground. For one delicious second, his lips brushed against hers, but he set her back down on the planks of the porch, an arm's length away.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card, holding it out to her. "Ward wants me to make myself scarce around town, but if you need me, call me."
She took the card and shoved it into her pocket knowing she had no intention of ever using it.
Parker turned and walked back down the steps. The details of his clothes and body disappeared as he stepped into the darkness, leaving only his outline, as he walked toward his car.
"Parker?"
He stopped and turned to look at her.
The tears came to her eyes again. "I need to know who killed my sister."
6
The walk away from Lia's house wasn't an easy one. In fact, it was the fucking hardest thing he'd ever done. His bear protested, raging in his mind in a desperate attempt to push him back to Lia. The second he was in the car, Parker peeled off, heading back toward the highway. The longer he stayed near Lia, the longer he breathed the same air as her, the harder it got to stay away.
The second the tires hit the highway, Parker slammed his foot down on the accelerator. Thoughts whizzed through his brain almost as fast as the trees whizzed past the window. In the morning, he'd have to come up with an excuse to give Ward about why he'd gone to the house without him. It was a dumb move, exposing himself that way. But Lia was his mate, and instinct told Parker that he needed to be the one to tell her.
And then there was that damned kiss. If he'd stayed in that house a second longer, he would have claimed her. Rules and traditions be damned. The woman didn't understand what she was playing with, and that was his fault. A few uncomfortable conversations between them could have made things more clear from the get go.
Parker grunted as he turned up the road that led to Blackthorn. As badly as he wanted Lia, she wasn't the reason he came back to the Lost Cost. She wasn't the only one who needed him there when they heard about the change in Melora's case. Branden needed to know, and Parker had to figure out a way to tell his brother that someone had killed his mate.
The cars that took up most of the front yard real estate that evening were gone, but several lights in the house were still on. As he approached the porch, the front door opened and Branden stepped outside. Ethan, their father, stepped through the doorway behind him.
He looked Parker up and down, a sneer coming to his lips. "That's far enough, Agent."
Parker stopped midstride, still two feet away from the stairs. "Nice to see you too, Dad."
His father had been a hardass even during his childhood, but the years had turned him into a grizzled old man, fire in his eyes, salt and pepper hair, and a twisted scar that ran the length of his cheek. That wasn't a good sign.
"Don't talk to me like you came to help the clan, boy. I should kick your ass for manipulating your brother like that. "
Parker turned to his brother. "Branden, I need to talk to you about Melora."
Branden tilted his chin upward. "I've already said everything I want to say about her." He turned to go back into the house.
"How many people knew you were already mated?" Parker asked.
Branden froze, his shoulders slumped. "I don't know what you’re talking about."
"The Coroner found a bite wound on her shoulder. Exactly where a mating mark goes." Parker took a step forward.
Ethan clicked his tongue. "Who said you could move?"
Parker held his hands up in the air. "Did you know, Dad?"
The Alpha set his jaw. "I'm his Alpha, what the hell do you think?"
Parker rubbed his head. "What about the rest of the clan?"
Neither of the other Kane men answered, which told Parker all he needed to know.
"Did Melora understand what it meant?"
Branden shot forward off the porch. He leaped over the stairs, landing on his feet and grabbing Parker by the collar. "Don't you fucking ask me if my wife knew I had claimed her."
"Branden!" Ethan warned.
Branden grunted softly and let Parker go.
Parker nodded. He hadn't meant to hurt his brother's feelings, but he needed to know what they were dealing with. Melora and Branden hadn't broken any laws as neither Belmont nor Blackthorn had any official law on the books barring marriage between a witch and shifter. Tradition and fear of being ostracized worked just as well. Those who broke tradition usually moved out among humans, shunned by both of their communities.
The negotiation between the Councils of Belmont and Blackthorn might have put some of that aside. Melora and Branden's marriage surely would have.
"I'm just...trying to understand the situation here, Branden. If the Council find out you were negotiating in bad faith--"
"We thought of that," Branden said. "Mel was the leader of her family Coven. Now Lia is. She wouldn't let the Council collect on the slight."
Parker raised an eyebrow. "Lia knew?"
"You put the fate of the clan in the hands of a witch you've never even met?" Parker looked back and forth between his father and brother. It wasn't like the Ethan Kane he remembered to be so reckless.
"Melora trusted her. I do, too."
Ethan folded his arms across his chest. "If you're so worried about peace between us, finish your damned report and get the hell out of here."
Parker shook his head. "It's not that simple. It's possible someone hurt Melora intentionally."
Branden's eyes narrowed and then went wide, melting from their normal brown to a brilliant yellow. His nostrils flared. The muscles in his arms tensed and trembled, the veins popped up against his skin like ropes.
Parker took three steps back as the bones in Branden's shoulders cracked apart and expanded, ripping his shirt apart. Branden roared and fell forward as his lengthening spine changed his center of gravity. The skin on his arms thickened and grew into a coat of brown fur.
"Take a walk, boy," Ethan said.
The bear snorted and took off into the tree line and higher up into the mountains. Parker could only watch as his brother disappeared. He looked back at Ethan. It was the first time they had been alone together in twenty years.
"You Arcane Affairs boys are shit at giving bad news." Ethan said.
"Saying it gently wouldn't have made it easier to hear."
Ethan scoffed. "The boy I raised gave a damn about other people."
"And the man who raised me didn't play with fire," Parker said. "You had to know the risks, why let him claim her?"
"You think I could have stopped him? Hell, we were lucky they held out for as long as they did. The witches don't understand about fated mates and destined love. We do."
Parker nodded. Yes, he understood. He knew all about love that went bone deep, love that lingered with you for months and years even with nothing tangible to keep the memory alive. He knew about the pull in his gut that he knew would never go away unless the shoulder of his woman bore his mark. The only thing holding his desire to claim Lia in check was his will. If he weakened for even a second, there wasn't a person on the fucking planet that could have kept him from her, except Lia herself.
"I didn't want to come home this way," Parker said.
"Why did you come home?" Ethan asked.
Parker hesitated. He had to call in every favor he had to get the Lost Cove assignment, and hand out a few besides. A few people knew the facts of life well enough to know it was a shit assignment, but Parker had an answer at the ready for them. What agent wouldn't want to say they had brokered an official peace treaty. Nobody questioned him twice, and he never doubted the real reason he wanted the case: to help Branden.
Except Branden made it clear from the moment Parker arrived in Blac
kthorn that he wasn't wanted. He didn't have to get involved in the situation. He could easily file the report everyone wanted him to and head back to HQ. Covens and clans policed their own, they didn't need his help finding out what happened to Melora. And if the situation deteriorated after he left, well nobody back at Arcane Affairs would be surprised.
Leaving was the smart move, the move a man would make if he cared about things like his future and his career. But this wasn't just any case.
"I'm not sure why I came," he said. "But I know why I'm staying."
"You're not staying," Ethan countered. "You're causing disruption in my clan. You can't stay."
"I sure as hell can't go. What do you think will happen if a war breaks out and people hear about it?"
"Nobody's going to hear about it. It's called the Lost Coast for a reason. Nobody gives a damn whether we live or die here."
"War means bodies, Dad, and too many bodies bring questions from far off places. The kind of questions Arcane Affairs can't cover up."
Ethan stepped down off the porch and moved into Parker's space, standing nose-to-nose with him. The Alpha stood a full two inches over Parker, and he wasn't shy about looking down at him.
"Then get in your damned car and get out of here. If you change your mind and want to fight for your clan instead of spying on it...we'll be here waiting."
Parker stepped forward, pushing his forehead against his father's. "This may be my clan by birth, but I took an oath to protect and serve paranormal citizens. Old man, you can't even begin to know what that oath has cost me--"
"I've got a pretty good idea," Ethan snapped. "I can smell her on you."
The frank statement knocked Parker back on his heels for a second. He'd forgotten all about kissing and holding Lia. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Ethan let out a bitter laugh. "Melora was my daughter-in-law. She was practically living here. I know what she smelled like."
Parker could feel the upper hand in the conversation shifting. The more people that knew he had personal connections to the case, the greater the likelihood that one of them would rat him out to HQ. Ethan was especially dangerous. He didn't want a son of his in Arcane Affairs to begin with, why would he care if Parker got kicked out?
"I have it under control," Parker said. It was a flat out lie. Lia was his mate and for the first time in years he was close to her, so close that he could smell her perfume, taste the sweet flavor of her lips as she kissed him. He was as far from in control of that situation as a person could be, but he needed Ethan to think otherwise.
"Like hell. Branden told me the same thing at first. I should have known better. A man can stand up to a lot of things, a bear a lot more, but never its true mate. Blackthorn can't handle another one. This family can't."
Parker nodded, fully understanding the meaning behind Ethan's words. Melora and Branden had been a gamble for everyone, a gamble nobody was willing to make a second time.
"You don't have to tell me why it can't happen, Dad. I know. She knows."
Ethan nodded, but he didn't look convinced. "If you love her and want to keep her, convince her to go with you. If you love her and want her safe, walk away. Either way, you need to go."
Parker shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere. This is bigger than her. It's bigger than the clan, and I'll be damned if I ignore it because it makes things tough on you and Branden. Things are tough all over."
"Save the speeches, Agent, and get the fuck off my land."
Parker held his hands up again in symbolic defeat. An Alpha's word was absolute when given in his territory. There was no use arguing, no sense in refusal. It was better to go back to the hotel and think.
7
Twelve hours after Parker's visit, Lia swirled the spoon in her tea cup for the sixth time as Cora Parris danced around the fact that someone had probably killed Melora. Glen Ward was the one who officially gave Lia the news. Of course, he explained away Cora and Preston Malloy's presence. They were just representatives of the Council, there to comfort one of their own. After all, with Melora gone, Lia was Supreme of the Harper Coven.
Thankfully, Mel had prepped Lia on the backhanded compliments and petty schemes that passed for politics in Belmont. Mel knew there was a chance that her marriage to Branden would come at a price, and Lia had to be ready to take charge if she was pushed out.
"If you think someone killed my sister, why are you here talking to me instead of finding out who did it?"
Glen leaned forward in his chair, his hands clasped. "It's not that simple, Lia. Most of the damn town has experience with magical herbs and half of them are poisonous."
"Which one?"
The color drained from Ward's face. "I can't tell you that, Lia. It's an open investigation."
Cora spoke up. "Hold on now, Glen. Like you said, lots of people in town work with herbs. Maybe Mel had been experimenting or trying to give a boost to a ward or potion. "
Lia couldn't help but glare at Cora. Mel and Cora had never gotten along, but the two women always pretended to be best friends. If two covens in town couldn’t agree on who got to use the auspicious ocean side gathering area for ritual on the full moon, that fell to the Council. If a warlock suspected a local witch of spiking his tea with love potion, that fell to the Council.
According to Mel, it helped to have a friend nearby, even if it was a friend in name only. Lia wasn't in the mood to play the same games.
"There's nothing in our repertoire that uses poisonous herbs" Lia said. "Nobody in our bloodline's ever been dumb enough to try."
"Forgive me for saying it, Amelia," Preston said. "Melora was due to move up to Blackthorn soon, I believe. It's not beyond the realm of possibility that one of the bears--"
"Hold on now, Pres," Glen said. "Nobody's accusing the bears of anything."
"Of course not! I'm sure they feel the same grief over Melora's loss that we do." Cora pressed her lips into a tight, curving line that she probably thought passed for a smile.
Out of the people in Lia's living room, Cora had the most to lose if tensions rose between Belmont and Blackthorn. Before Mel met and fell in love with Branden, Cora had championed an inter-community relationship for years. She'd been the first member of the Council to side with Melora about the marriage. Lia suspected that she delighted at the prospect of a single Council ruling over both communities, with her as the Supreme of all.
"Branden would never let anyone in his clan hurt Mel," Lia said. "She wouldn't have gone there is she wasn't sure. Whenever you decide to let me go up the mountain and talk to him, I'm sure he will tell me that himself."
Glen raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "Lia, I'm not sure that's such--"
"Melora Harper was a sister in my coven. As Supreme, it's my duty to offer comfort and counsel to those she left behind, whether or not they joined my coven."
Lia wasn't stupid. Cora and Preston sat there watching her, waiting for her to crack. If she wasn't fit to rule, she couldn't lay claim to the status of Supreme. The Harper Coven could be stricken from the lists of Belmont witches. When Lia was calm and rational again, she could choose any Coven in town to join, but the Harper Coven couldn't be restarted unless she found a solitary warlock and had children with him.
The only way to avoid any of that was to assert her independence and fully claim her position as Harper Supreme. She had to look strong, even if the revelation that someone had killed her sister made her feel anything but.
Cora folded her hands over her black lace skirt. "I was under the impression that you would be joining one of the established covens in town."
Lia turned to her and plastered the most fake smile to her face that she could manage. "No, you weren't, and no, I'm not."
Glen cleared his throat again. "Lia, I know Agent Kane asked before, but I need to ask again. Can't you think of anyone who might have wanted to hurt Melora?"
Who joined what clan and when was way out of his purview as Sheriff, and Lia could see from the
way he shifted in his chair that the subject made him uncomfortable.
Lia shook her head. The mention of Parker took some of the edge off the conversation. Not much, but enough for her to think clearly. Enough for her to realize that the worst thing she could do was look emotional.
"Have you had any trouble with the other covens in town?" Ward asked.
Preston and Cora visibly bristled at the comment.
"No more than usual," Lia said. "Actually, less than usual. With Melora spoken for there were fewer attempts to get us to join other covens."
Cora shifted in her seat, letting Lia know that her little dig had hit home. Good.
"Was Mel or anyone else in the house working with poisonous herbs?" Ward asked.
Lia shook her head again. "No. Never."
"You're sure?" Cora asked.
Lia glared at her again. "Positive."
Cora nodded, but Lia could tell she didn't plan to let the issue go. Everybody already assumed Melora's death was an accident. For the sake of Belmont, and the alliances between the covens that allowed the town to flourish, that had to stay true.
Lia stood up and smoothed the hem of her shirt. "If you'll excuse me, I have things to get settled."
"Of course, you do," Cora said as she stood and grabbed her pocketbook. "We've taken up so much of your time, my apologies. Oh, before I forget, the next Council meeting is in two weeks."
Lia nodded. "I'll be there."
Sheriff Ward followed Cora outside. Only Preston Malloy lingered.
Like Cora, Preston was more of a politician than a warlock. Unlike Cora, his first instinct wasn't to Belmont, it was too himself and his coven. Since his father died the previous winter, Preston and his coven were one and the same.
He's a snake in a suit, Melora often said. But knowing that makes dealing with him easier.
Today's ensemble was black, like he was the one in mourning.
"I apologize for Cora," he said. "You know how it is for her. Belmont first, Belmont last, Belmont always."