Legends: Bloodline Book 2

by Michelle Bredeson

  “Carly,” her father spoke from behind them before Abel could answer. “I’m glad I caught you. I was hoping to take you out to lunch.”

  “Oh,” Carly replied, turning to face him. She’d been giving Howard plenty of space, and he’d been taking it. “Abel and I have plans.”

  Howard frowned as he looked to Abel. “Considering you’ve spent most of Christmas break at his house, I was hoping you could spare a few minutes for your father. Please.”

  “You can take me out for coffee after school,” Abel said, squeezing her hand before he let it go. “Have a nice lunch.”

  “Yeah, you, too,” Carly spoke as he walked past them for the door.

  “Shall we?” Howard asked, stepping to open the door for her.

  “Sure,” Carly relented, and followed him outside into January snow.

  “You and Abel sure have been spending a lot of time together.”

  “That happens when you date someone.”

  “I didn’t realize you two were so serious.”

  “We’re not,” she sighed, stopping at the passenger door. “I mean, just because we spend time together doesn’t mean…”

  “Okay, I was just curious,” he replied, and ducked into the car. He waited for Carly to join him before he went on. “It’s just, you’re still so young, Carly. You’ve got plenty of time in the future to have a serious relationship. For now, you should just focus on having fun.”

  “That’s actually what I’ve been trying to do,” she informed him as he drove out of the parking lot. “Is that what you’re doing with Chandra Phillips? Having fun?”

  Howard’s face reddened. “Chandra and I are taking things slow.”

  Carly wished he’d just tell her the truth, but she couldn’t exactly do that with him right now. She was beginning to understand the nuances of secret keeping.

  “Did you have a good time at Gabriel’s New Year’s party?” Howard questioned. “Katia mentioned you seemed to enjoy yourself.”

  “When did you talk to Katia?” Carly hissed.

  “Last night, at dinner. Paul had Chandra and I over, and Katia happened to be there with Gabriel. She seems like such a bright, young shifter. I can see why both Paul and Gabriel are entertaining the idea of possibly moving to Romania.”

  Carly felt a stabbing at her heart as her father’s words hit her. “What was that?”

  “Paul is currently deciding whether or not to liquidate his business and relocate to Romania. And apparently, if he goes, Gabriel will be going with him. I suppose he’d have to, if Paul sells the house.”

  “But that’s… on the other side of the world.”

  “And I didn’t know it until Damon’s visit, but there’s a sizable colony of shapeshifters there. I’m sure Paul wouldn’t ever admit it, but he’s lonely here without any suitable potential companions.”

  “Suitable?” Carly mocked. “What, like full blood?”

  “We all have different standards, sweetheart,” Howard replied. “Paul wants to find someone to settle down with, but he just can’t seem to find that here. He’d have a whole new set of options in Romania.”

  “So he’d just up and leave and take Gabe with him?”

  “It will be more than a year before Gabriel’s eighteen. He’s not out of school yet—”

  “What if he stayed with us?” she proposed out of sheer desperation. Carly felt foolish as she said it, because she knew what it meant. And she knew how much it would hurt Abel.

  “You want your ex-boyfriend to live with us?” Howard scoffed, pulling into a downtown parking spot.

  Carly shrugged. “I want my friend to not have to move away. Besides, we have the space for it. If not us, he could stay with someone else, but Gabe just… can’t leave. If he were to move away, I… I wouldn’t know what to do with myself. Look, Dad, I know it’s been an adjustment for us both getting used to this place, but I need you on this. I need you to at least propose to Paul the idea of Gabe having a place to stay here, if he wants it.”

  “I guess I didn’t realize that you and Gabe are still so close.”

  Carly bit at her lip. They weren’t close—hell, they weren’t even talking. But whether he was himself or not, whether Katia was somehow controlling him or not, Carly needed Gabe here. She needed him in her life. It was selfish, oh yeah, but she didn’t care.

  “Gabe and I will always be great friends, if nothing else,” she answered, and knew in her heart it was true. “Maybe he does want to run off with Katia. But in case he doesn’t, it would be nice if he had the option to finish out high school here, with his friends.”

  “How about this?” Howard proposed, cutting the engine. “I’ll talk to Paul if you start spending more time at home. I respect that you have a boyfriend. Please respect that you have a father who loves you very much.”

  Carly cracked a smile. “Thanks, Dad. I love you, too.”

  * * *

  Carly explained to Abel her father’s request for her to spend more time at home, and he gladly gave her a rain check on their coffee date. She didn’t, however, explain to Abel the news that Gabe might be moving to Romania, or her need to keep him in Sterling. Those were unfair thoughts, and for now, it was best to keep them to herself.

  Carly made a pot of coffee and hid up in her room to reread the books she’d found in Abel’s attic. She skimmed the now familiar The Psychic Mind. It claimed that it was easier for an individual to tap into his or her psychic reservoir if they already possessed some sort of supernatural ability. She had to laugh; she had more supernatural than she could handle.

  The book also touched on the notion of practice—starting out with small things (like moving a pencil across a desk), and working your way up to bigger things (like moving a vase across a room). Carly was fascinated not merely by the idea of practice, but by the notion of having any control over her abilities at all.

  Since moving to Sterling, she’d learned she could shapeshift, see the future in her dreams, hear others’ thoughts, share her own thoughts, and carry another shapeshifter with her into her supernatural transformation. She may have figured out shapeshifting, but the rest of it needed work.

  So, I’ll work, Carly determined as one of her cats, Gargamel, jumped on the bed. She scratched at its ears, taking comfort in her resolve. I’ll start out small, put a little practice into it every day, and see if I can gain control over any of it.

  Carly looked back to her book as she heard the door open downstairs. It was good to read and research, but that would only take her so far. At some point, she’d have to apply everything she was learning to real life. And that was the scary part.

  “Carly?” Howard called out as he knocked on her bedroom door.

  “Come in,” she replied, setting her book aside as she sat up to face him.

  “I was thinking spaghetti for dinner. How does that sound?”

  “Great, thanks.”

  “I’ll get started then. Oh, I’ve invited Chandra and Sharla over for dinner Friday evening. It’ll be great to get to know each other a little bit better, don’t you think?”

  Things were serious if Howard was planning a family dinner. “Yeah,” Carly agreed. “It will.”

  Howard beamed, clasping his hands together. “Wonderful. I’ll let Chandra know it’s a date.”

  * * *

  Carly stepped into an empty homeroom Friday morning and realized she must be early. She’d been up all night shifting, just as she’d been doing all week. She’d spent as much of her time as possible making the supernatural transformation into her fox form and back again, hoping to not only hone the reflex, but perhaps exert more control over her abilities in general.

  The process left her both exhausted and starving. Her stomach growled as she dug in her messenger bag for a stray granola bar, but she came up empty-handed. That’s what she got for leaving the house before Dad made breakfast.

  “You’re here early,” Gabe spoke as he stepped into the room.

  Carly flushed, her hands
stilling for a moment. She hadn’t spoken to Gabe since his party, since she’d tried to kiss him in front of all their friends. She was too mortified to respond, and pulled out her trigonometry book instead.

  “Then again, you always used to get here early,” Gabe added as he took the seat in front of her. He twisted around to face her, drumming his fingers on her desktop. Would he be doing any of this if Katia were here?

  Carly popped open the book, clearing her throat. Maybe if she ignored Gabe, he’d go away. It would certainly make her life easier if she could put him out of her mind.

  “We haven’t been on that chapter for months, Carly,” Gabe laughed as her stomach let out a loud growl.

  She bit her tongue as she flipped to the right section.

  “My suspicions are correct—you’re not talking to me.” He dug in his bag, pulled out a Snickers bar, and set it on Carly’s book.

  Her hunger got the best of her, and she grabbed the candy bar. “Thanks.”

  “So, you do still speak. We’ve got time to grab a cup of coffee before class if you’d like. My treat.”

  Carly ripped into the Snickers, ate half of it in one bite, and shook her head.

  “Wow, it’s pretty bad if you’re turning down a caffeine fix,” Gabe said. “I thought we were friends again, but now I’m not so sure.”

  She dared to meet his gaze, and wondered if Gabe remembered that she’d tried to kiss him on New Year’s. Something flickered in his eyes then, recognition, and a blush burned Carly’s face.

  “I know you were drunk,” Gabe spoke softly. “I know it’s the only reason you made such a bold move like that in front of everyone. But I’ve got to admit, Carly, I really, really liked that you did.”

  “Gabriel!” Katia snapped from the doorway.

  At the sound of his name, as if on command, Gabe jumped up from his seat and turned to Katia. “Hey, beautiful. I was wondering when you’d get here.”

  Katia tore across the room and kissed him in a manner not appropriate for a classroom. “I thought we talked about this? I don’t want you hanging out with her.”

  “Sorry,” Gabe apologized. “I…”

  Carly hopped up from her desk to gape at them. Abel had at least given her a say in her friendships; Katia had given Gabe a demand. And like some kind of soulless Stepford boyfriend, Gabe complied.

  Carly had had her doubts about whether or not Katia was employing mind control over Gabe, but it was becoming difficult to deny the fruits of her labor.

  Katia smirked at Carly. “I am a full blood shapeshifter. What the hell did you expect?”

  Carly gritted her teeth, glaring back at the blonde. She wanted to tell Katia off, put her in her place, make her pay for using Gabriel like that. But the best possible thing Carly could do now was keep her mouth shut.

  So that’s what she did as she collected her things and hurried down the hall for the parking lot. Dad wouldn’t like that she was skipping, but Carly didn’t care. High school was the last thing she could handle today.

  “Carly, you going somewhere?” Abel asked, catching her on the shoulder.

  “Oh,” Carly muttered, the front door right there, her exit in sight. “I’m, uh, I’m not feeling so great, so I’m heading home.”

  Concern washed over Abel’s face. “I’m sorry to hear that. Maybe I could drop by tonight—watch a movie or something?”

  “My dad’s, uh, Sharla and her mom are coming over for dinner tonight.”

  “Oh. Tomorrow then?”

  “I don’t know, maybe?”

  “Sure,” Abel said. “It’s just… you’ve kind of been blowing me off all week.”

  Carly tapped her foot on the tiled lobby floor. “I’ve just been busy. I need to go. Can we talk later?”

  “Sure, go.”

  She knew she shouldn’t have walked away from him then, not without more of an explanation, but Carly just couldn’t be in the same building as Katia and Gabe any longer than necessary.

  She rushed out of the school and home to the comfort of her room and her things and her privacy. Carly set a Rivers Cuomo album to play before she sent a text to her father letting him know she was home. Finally, she was able to take a deep breath and relax.

  Carly sat on her bed and sorted through the books she’d confiscated from her high school library yesterday afternoon. She’d scoured the shelves for anything pertaining to the supernatural that could be of benefit, and walked away with a handful of items. She picked up one of the paperbacks, The Ever-Present Power, and skimmed the first chapter while waiting for a pot of coffee to brew. Once settled back in her room, she delved further into the book, hoping to find something that might help. Page after page seemed to lead to more of nothing until…

  Carly sat up straight as she read the passage again. To control the mind of another, one must first control the heart. Many a madness has been carried out in the name of love.

  “Katia is using him,” Carly determined, finally giving in to her gut instinct. It had been easier not to believe because believing made her feel responsible somehow. She already had an inherent need to protect the amethyst skull. The fact that that same need extended to Gabriel made her wonder if she’d always have feelings for him.

  It made her wonder something else, too. She reached up to finger the hematite pendant at her neck, sick to her stomach as she thought of the shifter who’d given it to her. Abel cared about her so much, but no matter how hard she tried, Carly just couldn’t quite seem to fully reciprocate his feelings.

  And that wasn’t fair.

  She’d have to talk to him, she was finally coming to terms with that, but it could wait. For now, she had more important things to do with her self-appointed day off.

  Carly had taken Abel into her shift with her just once, on accident, and had yet to repeat the act with another living being. Well, that was partially because of how drastically her relationship with Abel had changed after it happened, but there was too much at risk for her to be apprehensive now. It was becoming apparent that if Carly hoped to find some kind of manual mapping out how to be a shapeshifter, she was going to have to write the damned thing herself.

  One thing was certain—she wasn’t going to get anywhere without trying. “I’ll be careful,” Carly assured Gargamel as she picked up the cat off the bed. She carried him downstairs and out the back door, and took off running.

  twenty-one

  Don’t think, just do it, Carly instructed herself, and shifted into her primary form as a small, white fox. She wasn’t sure how she’d done it, or how she knew she’d done it, but the transformation was successful. She could sense the cat’s essence suspended both amid and separate from her own supernatural being.

  Amid and separate—had the skull transformed with her in the same manner? Had Abel?

  You’re thinking too much, Carly. Concentrate!

  She did a few quick laps around the yard, and let out a howl of victory. This was definitely a success. Well, almost. Carly raced back up to her back porch and shifted into her human form on the deck. There, Gargamel materialized as his own separate being, purring in her arms. He peered up at her with squinting eyes, as if assuring her he was okay.

  “Good kitty,” she said, scratching at his ears as she carried him inside to the kitchen. She set him on the floor, buzzing with triumph. On command, Carly had carried another living thing along with her into her shift—and that thing had come out okay. This was a really huge step in her growth as a shapeshifter, especially considering it was a talent none of her friends yet possessed.

  Carly’s immediate inclination was to tell Gabe. He’d been with her from the beginning here in Sterling and had seen her through so much. But his actions lately proved he couldn’t be here for her now.

  She let out a sigh as her fingers fell to the pendant at her neck. The person she should be running to with all this was Abel. The fact that Carly had reservations about doing such a thing only served to cement the reality that her feelings for him were fadin
g.

  Abel, however, would be the least of her worries before the day was through.

  * * *

  “Are you sure you’re feeling better?” Howard asked Carly as she leaned against the kitchen counter, watching him prepare dinner. “If salmon is going to be too hard on your stomach, I could make you something else.”

  “It smells great,” Carly replied as the doorbell rang. She and her father seemed to have an unspoken agreement—he wouldn’t pry about why she’d skipped school if she played nice with Chandra. Easy enough. “That must be them. I’ll get the door.”

  “Thanks, Carly,” Howard replied as she headed down the hall.