by Vella Day
Pretending to be offended, he opened his mouth. “What happened to being spontaneous?”
“It’s great until we end up on my side, and you get the sheets all soggy.”
“Spoilsport.” She had a point though. “Fine, I’ll dry off some more.”
As soon as he finished, he tossed the towel over the top of the shower door and faced her. “Ready for the ride of your life?”
“You can’t even imagine how ready I am.”
Chapter Four
‡
Elana was so turned on, she wasn’t sure she could keep from mounting him right away, but Kalan had stress in his life too. As mates, they needed this lovemaking to be slow and long in order to replenish their souls.
Kalan picked her up—no small feat—and carried her into the bedroom, something he hadn’t done in a long time. She swooned. “I love you, Kalan Murdoch.”
“I love you more, my sweet angel.”
Kalan placed her on the bed and then crawled on top without breaking eye contact. Her mate was so damn hot. Elana threaded her fingers through his long hair and pulled his face toward her. The moment their tongues tangled, thoughts of her horrible day disappeared, and it was as if they were two carefree people again. Following her lead, he cupped her face and kissed her hard. As their breaths mingled, his grunts and sharpened teeth turned her on even more.
Breathing hard, Kalan broke the kiss and slipped lower. Gently, he pressed her breasts together. “Oh, yes. I need these too.”
The first suck on her nipple sent her soaring. He then slid his hands down to her waist as he continued to lick and love her breasts. Each pull forced Elana to lift her hips. Kalan then slid his hands under her butt and squeezed. His moans came out louder. “Oh, Elana.”
Her cell rang. Shit. She was always asking Kalan to turn off his phone, and now she was the one guilty of forgetting.
Elana patted Kalan on the back. “I have to answer that.”
He looked up “Really?”
“It’s Anna’s ring. It must be important.”
He sat back up. “That’s true. Go.”
Disappointing her mate was the last thing she wanted, but every mother had to put her children first—assuming Anna was calling about Aiden or Ian. Most likely Aiden had created some kind of havoc, and Anna needed rescuing.
Elana rushed over to the dresser, picked up her cell, and answered it.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s Ian. One minute he was fine, and the next he’d spiked a fever. I had to take him to the Emergency Room. I debated even calling you, but I know if you were watching my kids, I’d want to know.”
“Of course. You did the right thing.” Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest, and Kalan was beside her in seconds. “Kalan and I will be right over.” She disconnected.
“What happened?” he telepathed.
She sniffled, trying to stay composed. “It’s Ian. He has a high fever. Anna had to take him to the Emergency Room.”
Kalan wrapped his arms around her. “He’ll be fine. Don’t you remember how Aiden used to do that? Besides, Ian’s bear will help heal him.”
She stilled. “He’s only a baby and has never shifted.”
“Okay, so maybe his bear hasn’t formed yet, but Anna is a good mother. She’ll make sure Ian gets great care.”
“I know.” It still tore her heart in two knowing her baby was in pain.
Less than fifteen minutes later, they rushed into the Emergency Room where Anna was waiting for them with Aiden in tow. Since her two little ones weren’t there, she had to assume Dalton had made it back home and was watching them.
“How is he?” Elana asked Anna.
“The doctor gave him something to bring down the fever.”
Aiden rushed over to this father, and Kalan picked him up. “Hey, buddy. You doing okay?”
He nodded and then buried his sleepy face against Kalan’s chest. Elana’s heart nearly cracked from the show of love between those two. They were so much alike.
“Can we see him?” Elana asked.
Anna shook her head. “The doctor said he would come out after he’s checked him over.”
This was Elana’s worst nightmare. “I never should have left the kids,” she telepathed.
Kalan stroked her cheek. “Anna didn’t cause the fever. Besides, we wanted to have a quiet date night.”
“You’re right, but it still upsets me. I should have been there for Ian.”
“He’ll be fine,” he telepathed.
Kalan was so strong and supportive that Elana often forgot how much he suffered, too. Right now, pain was rolling off of him.
“Let’s sit down. Aiden is getting heavy.”
That was a total lie, but she appreciated it. It took over an hour before the doctor came out. He walked up to Anna.
Elana jumped up. “I’m his mother.”
“Mrs. Murdoch, your son has a small infection, which was what spiked the fever. I’d like to keep him overnight for observation.”
“Will he be okay?” she asked. Kalan stepped up behind her and clasped her shoulders in support.
The doctor smiled. “He’ll be fine. He just needs fluids and some rest. Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of him.”
“Thank you. May I see him?”
“He’s sleeping right now. I think it would be best not to disturb him. But if you leave your number with the nurse at the desk, she’ll call you tomorrow and let you know when you can pick him up.”
While Elana was relieved that Ian would be okay, she didn’t want to leave her son. Her eight-month old baby had only been slightly ill one other time, and if he awoke, she wanted to be there for him. He’d be so scared. Besides, Elana had never heard of a relative being denied access, though if she were honest, as much as she wanted to pick up Ian and hold him, he’d probably wake and fuss, making it hard for him to fall sleep again.
“Can’t I at least look in his room? I promise I won’t pick him up or anything.”
The doctor pressed his lips together. “Okay, but just for a minute. Come with me.”
She turned back to Kalan. If Kalan came with her, Aiden would fuss. “I’ll be right back.”
The doctor led her to Ian’s room. True to her word, when he opened the door to his room, she only peeked in. Ian was asleep, and she smiled. She turned and mouthed her thank you.
In the waiting room, Aiden was resting on Kalan’s shoulders. “Ready?”
“How is he?” Kalan asked.
“Sleeping peacefully.”
Kalan let out a breath. I gave the nurse your number already.”
“Then let’s go.”
Elana then turned to Anna. “I so appreciate you doing this.”
She rubbed Elana’s arm. “I know you wanted to have a peaceful night together. I am sorry to have ruined that.”
“I’m so glad you were with him and that you brought him here.”
They hugged goodbye and then headed home with Aiden asleep on Kalan’s shoulder.
*
Kalan planned to go into work later than usual the next morning in part because he wanted to make sure Elana was okay. She kept fussing over Aiden all morning to make sure he didn’t have a fever like his baby brother had. Elana had called the hospital several times to get an update on Ian. According to the staff, Ian was improving, and that as soon as they did a few more tests, she could pick him up. Elana said she couldn’t stand to be away from Ian and planned to camp outside his room until he was able to go home.
“Ian will be scared if he doesn’t know where he is,” she told Kalan.
“Don’t worry,” he told Elana. “The doctors know what they’re doing. I figured you’d want to watch Ian all day, so how about I drop Aiden off at my mom’s on my way to work. She’ll take him to school at nine. Promise you’ll call me the moment Ian is home from the hospital though?”
“I will.”
After dropping off Aiden as planned, he drove to work. Once he parked, Kala
n entered the station. As he neared his desk at the station, Dalton looked up. “How’s Ian?”
“Elana is at the hospital waiting for him to be released.”
“I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
“That’s what I told her, but you know moms. They fret.”
Dalton huffed. “Tell me about it.”
Kalan was actually more worried about Elana than he was about his son. He’d just gotten her to relax last night when they’d received the call, and her anxiety level shot through the roof. And here he was thinking about discussing having another child. He’d have to table that discussion for quite some time.
The station’s front door opened, and Kip Landon, who worked for McKinnon and Associates, rushed in. Kip was a Wendayan who was mated to Teagan Pompley, a good friend of Elana’s. His jaw was tense as he strode toward Kalan.
“I’d like to report a missing person,” Kip said very matter-of-factly. His friend was clearly distraught.
Kalan sat up straighter and motioned for Kip to take a seat. He pulled out a piece of paper. “Okay. Who is missing?”
“Sean Treacher.”
Kalan wrote down the name. “Do I know him?” The name kind of sounded familiar, but he couldn’t place it, which was surprising since Kalan knew most of the people in the small town of Silver Lake.
“Sean Treacher is another Wendayan.”
Kalan had no idea. “Tell me what you know.”
“I’ve known Sean since grade school. His talents are extensive, and when he showed off any of them back then, the kids became afraid of him. Over the years he became more and more withdrawn.”
“Where is he now—before he disappeared that is?”
“He lives in the woods.” Kip held up his hand. “He actually lives in a small cabin off Route 1225. It’s quite remote, so he has to use the sun for power and collect his own rainwater. He’s not a wacko though. He owns a car to go shopping when needed, but he mostly hunts for his own food.”
“What you’re saying is that he’s basically a recluse?”
“I guess so. I stop by every week to drop off some things he might need. He does have a phone—which he tries not to rely on—but he knows he has to be able to communicate with the world.” Kip chuckled. “Believe it or not, he was a lawyer in my firm where I worked at one time.”
Kalan wagged a finger. “That’s how I know the name. I remember him now. Big guy, dark hair, and with intense blue eyes.”
Kip smiled. “Yup. That’s him.” His friend looked around. “Can we go someplace more private?”
People were coming and going behind them, and Kip might want to talk about some sensitive information. Kalan pushed back his chair. “Sure. Follow me.”
Kalan showed Kip into one of their nicer conference rooms. “Let me turn off the microphone and cameras.” He flipped the switches and then sat down. “Okay, go ahead.”
“After my twin was taken by the Changelings a few years back and had his magic stolen, it freaked out Sean. I can’t say that I blame him. In the back of my head, I’ve always worried they’d come after me too.”
“I remember how bad Randy suffered until his magic was returned. I take it Sean is not at his cabin?”
“No. I went there two days ago on my usual day. His car was parked in front. At first, I thought he was out hunting, but his front door was open. Considering it was snowing at the time, I thought that suspicious. He chops wood for his fireplace, so he knows about conserving heat. I wrote him a note and said I would return in two days.”
“I take it when you returned, nothing had changed.”
“Right. I’m worried, Kalan.”
Since Kip worked with Kalan’s brother and many of the McKinnons, he was surprised they weren’t out searching. “What did Jackson say?”
Kip shook his head. “I thought it was a matter for the police. Besides, we’ve been slammed with cases, which is a good thing for the company. It was why I didn’t feel right asking them to comb the woods for Sean. I looked a little bit but found no sign of him.”
“Since Sean has special powers, are you thinking the Changelings might have had something to do with his disappearance?”
“I don’t know, but it certainly crossed my mind.” Kip stabbed a hand over his head and then stilled. “Oh, I forgot to mention that I found his phone on the kitchen counter. While he doesn’t like to use it, Sean knows that if anything ever happened to him in the woods, he’d need to call for help. He always has it with him.”
“That could imply foul play. How about I ask Dalton to come with us, and the three of us can check out his cabin for clues?”
Kip let out a big breath. “Perfect. I really appreciate it.”
Kalan figured that when the hospital released Ian, Elana didn’t need him around to fuss about her. His mate would want to focus solely on Ian.
He and Kip left the room and headed back to the main area. Wes was at Dalton’s desk discussing something. Their boss had also asked Dalton to help out the new guy. When Wes returned to his desk, Kalan called Dalton over.
“Hey, Kip. What’s up?” his partner asked.
“We have a missing person case involving a Wendayan.” Kalan kept his voice low.
“Tell me what happened.” Dalton’s ability to get right to the point always impressed Kalan.
Kip gave Dalton the abbreviated version.
“If you have the time, I’d like the three of us to check out Sean’s cabin,” Kalan said. “You and I can cover a lot more territory than Kip can.” Kalan would be in his bear form and Dalton in his tiger form. If they were spotted, only Dalton’s presence would cause any stir since he and his sister were the only white tigers in the area. They didn’t need anyone to get any ideas about putting him in a zoo.
“Sounds like a plan. Let me grab my coat.”
Kalan drove the three of them. The trip to the forest took about fifteen minutes, and another fifteen to reach Sean’s place. Just being in the woods helped calm him. As a bear, Kalan always had the urge to shift and run, but it wasn’t often he could get away to let loose.
“Turn here,” Kip said pointing to a dirt road.
Kalan wasn’t sure he could have found Sean’s cabin by himself. “He sure is isolated out here.”
Kalan didn’t think he could live away from civilization for long, assuming he even wanted to. If he had to live in the woods though, it would be as a bear, and it would have to be by a stream. His fishing skills were good enough to feed him and his family all year.
When they arrived at the cabin, Sean’s Land Rover was parked in front. “The door is closed,” Dalton said.
“I closed it,” Kip said.
The three of them exited Kalan’s Jeep—a vehicle better suited to back roads than the sheriff’s cruiser. Kip called Sean’s name and then knocked. When no one answered, he went inside.
“He’s not here,” Kip called.
Just as Kalan was about to go into the cabin to look for clues, Dalton called out. “Hey, guys?”
Kip hurried outside. “What is it?”
“I see some heel drag marks. There is snow mixed in with the dirt, but something happened here.”
As a tiger shifter, Dalton had excellent skills. Kalan crouched down and sniffed but detected nothing. While it had snowed lightly yesterday morning, most of it had melted. He looked up at Kip. “What do you make of it?”
“I don’t know. Sean is a big man. The only way for a person to be able to drag him would be if he drugged Sean first.”
“I’m going to shift and search for him,” Dalton said.
“We can cover more area if I come with you,” Kalan said.
“That works.”
Kalan turned to Kip. “How about seeing if anything is different in the cabin? I’m wondering if Sean let some stranger inside and then was drugged, or if he stepped outside to see who’d entered his property. Also check Sean’s most recent calls. His abductor might have called him.”
Kip held up a hand. “I know
what to do. I didn’t search before because it was an invasion of privacy, but now…”
“I get it. Sorry.” Considering Kip worked at a security firm, he’d be well-versed in protocol.
Both Kalan and Dalton entered the cabin, stripped, and placed their clothes by the entrance. The hardest part of shifting was stepping outside in the freezing cold before changing form. At least his bear would keep him warm once he did.
As soon as they cleared the entrance, they shifted and took off. There was one path away from Sean’s house, so that was where they headed. Every once in a while, one of them would see something and check it out while the other kept searching.
Something kept bugging Kalan though. If Sean had been drugged, the only way to get the big man out would be to drive him away. He’d never heard of any underground tunnels or bunkers that would lead to the Changelings’ headquarters near here, especially since the Changeling headquarters was farther west. It made little sense for them to take the trail, but that didn’t mean they’d stop looking.
After an hour, Kalan turned around and lumbered back down the path until he met up with Dalton. Together, they headed to the cabin, where they both shifted and rushed inside.
Kip looked up. “Anything?”
“No, but we should search the road. Like you said, if someone did drug Sean, he couldn’t have carried him far.”
Kalan and Dalton quickly dressed.
“Good point. His rifle is here, so he didn’t go hunting,” Kip said.
“Did you find anything out of place?” Kalan asked.
“No.”
“Then let’s head out,” Kalan said.
They spread out and searched the road on foot. A few minutes later, Dalton waved them over, and both Kalan and Kip joined him. “What is it?” Kalan asked.
“I found these tire track impressions, and they don’t belong to your Jeep or Sean’s Toyota.”
Kalan looked around the area. “Hey guys? I found two sets of footprints, sunk into the cold, hard ground deeper than they should be. It looks like there might have been two men here. These other impressions could be drag marks.”
Kip snapped a photo of the tire tracks as well as the footprints. “I’ll ask Jackson to run these.”