Zodiac Shifters Aries Love's Warrior

by Jennifer Hilt

  “If you are not afraid of me, prove it.”

  “Carson, this isn’t summer camp,” she said wearily. “I don’t have to prove it.”

  “What we have scares you.”

  “Go to sleep.”

  “Kiss me. Then I’ll roll over and snore,” he said.

  “You don’t snore,” she said.

  “Maybe I do now. A person can change a lot after divorce. Now about that kiss?”

  “Go to sleep.”

  Carson counted to two hundred silently. Jessica’s turning in the bunk above him ceased.

  “Om, Om, Om,” he said.

  “What are you doing?” She asked.

  “I’m chanting. It helps when I can’t get to sleep. Om. Om. Om.”

  The bunk above him creaked.

  “Can’t you do that silently?”

  “Doesn’t work unless I chant aloud. Don’t worry. Mariko said after an hour one’s sleep partner hardly notices it.” Carson smiled up at the underside of her bunk. He could feel her irritation ooze down at him. God, he’d missed her. There was something so satisfying about annoying her.

  He resumed chanting.

  Twenty-five minutes later, Jessica dropped out of her top bunk. She hesitated at the side of his bed before leaning over. Her long hair drew a curtain around them. Jessica’s lips grazed his cheek.

  “You can do better than that,” Carson said. She’d underestimated the stubbornness of a shifter. He turned his lips to hers. He brushed her hair back, its silky strands sliding through his fingers.

  Her soft lips met his. She widened her mouth and slipped her tongue in his. At the touch of his sweet wife, he pulled her down to his bed.

  7

  Jessica rested her palm on his chest. She liked feeling his fuzzy chest hair through his tee shirt. Her happiness depended on the beating of his heart. She wished she didn’t feel this way with him. The sense of being whole again made her feel more alive than anything else. But it meant she could be ripped apart by him. He was a shifter. She was a witch.

  His beard tickled her face.

  Her toes curled in delight. She’d forgotten how good it felt to be cherished. Jessica sank into him deeper as he moaned. One of his arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her even closer to him.

  Carson. Carson. Carson.

  Her body tingled at his touch.

  He slid his hand up to her breasts, skimming her nipples with his fingertips before palming her. A jolt of pleasure shot through Jessica. Everywhere he touched her, she felt reborn. It was just like the first time they were together.

  His erection pressed hard against her belly. A shudder rippled through her. She’d forgotten what pleasure felt like. It had been so long.

  Beep.

  Beep.

  Beep.

  Jessica startled. “What the—?”

  Carson caught her from falling off the narrow bed with one arm, his other hand reached over the side of the bed. “It’s work.” He silenced his offending cell phone, squinting at the text then dropping it back on the bedside table.

  “You’re kidding.”

  “Wish I was.” Carson flexed his pelvis into her. “Mariko was to page me if anything came up.”

  “I should go to.”

  “You, little witch, are to stay here and not cause trouble. Lock yourself in when I leave and don’t let anyone in but me or Mariko.”

  Jessica crawled back up to her bed, watching Carson pull on his briefs. He had a great ass.

  “You think a lot of her, don’t you?”

  “Mariko?” Carson pulled his Carhartt pants back on. “She’s my partner.”

  Jessica was utterly confused. If his phone hadn’t interrupted them, she was about twenty seconds away from having her panties around her ankles. He hadn’t even been here twelve hours.

  “To be continued.” He crossed back over to her bed. He bent to kiss her forehead. His exit could only be described as a swagger.

  The timing couldn’t have been worse. Carson hated to leave Jessica. Mariko better have found something worth disturbing him for, but knowing his colleague she had. Mariko was an excellent investigator outside the lab, which was pretty unusual for a vamp.

  Outside Jessica’s trailer, Carson sniffed the air. He forced himself to wear a parka so he appeared like everyone else but he couldn’t stand to zip the jacket up. God, his ice bear wanted to rise. Being so close to the sea, ice and with his mate within reach, it was going to be a constant battle to keep himself from shifting.

  The Station was silent at night. No new snow today meant the paths between the buildings were beaten down with various boot prints. He picked up his speed, wondering what Mariko discovered and hoping he could return to Jess. Picking up where they’d left of would be mutually pleasurable.

  Taped to the infirmary door was Mariko’s note. Meet me in Jessica’s lab.

  Carson pocketed the note, his curiosity piqued over what she found. He reached the lab in minutes, stepping inside to chaos.

  Someone had trashed the lab. White paper covered with notes, numbers and charts was scattered across every flat surface. Mariko nodded slightly, acknowledging him.

  Dr. Deegan’s back was to him. She was too busy ripping Mariko a new one to notice him.

  “You can’t just help yourself to my records.” Deegan’s neck was bright red. She waved her arms around.

  Carson hoped Dr. Deegan wasn’t a spitter. Mariko could tolerate a lot in the name of vampire superiority but flecks of spit wasn’t one. The vamp was funny that way.

  He wasn’t sure of the problem, but he guessed Deegan had some perceived turf issue with Mariko.

  “Mariko, I need a status report. Now.” He cut into Deegan’s diatribe. He didn’t have time for ego with a double murder unsolved.

  Deegan turned to him. She narrowed her eyes.

  Fuck.

  Some paranormals couldn’t take a hint.

  “Marshal, I demand an explanation. Your assistant informs me that that is impossible.”

  “Dr. Snow is my associate. She is correct that our investigation is confidential. Right now, I need to know what happened here.”

  “The alarm was tripped for this office. When security alerted me, I investigated. Dr. Deegan was here when I arrived.”

  Carson threw his unused parka over a chair back. “What were you doing here, Doctor?”

  “As the Station leader, I received notification of the alarm.”

  Carson made a note to make sure that didn’t happen again during his investigation.

  “I came over directly hoping to find the perpetrator.”

  Behind the doctor, Mariko rolled her eyes.

  “That was very dangerous,” Carson began. “The shifters who work security here are excellent at their jobs.”

  Deegan snorted. “Cut the crap, marshal. With two dead bodies, you wouldn’t be here if they were excellent.” She created air quotes around “excellent.”

  That really pissed Carson off. He felt his bear spirit rise to the conflict but he quashed it. What made him very good at what he did was that he was experienced.

  The doctor’s defensiveness was in sharp contrast to her eagerness to help him just yesterday.

  Was she protecting someone? And if so, who?

  “Dr. Deegan,” he lowered his voice, leaning against the counter, “do you have any ideas why someone would break into Jessica’s lab?”

  Carson’s timing was impeccable. Deegan was surprised and flattered that he was asking for her opinion. Part of him wanted to laugh. These two women had scores of education beyond him but the ego was not immune to flattery. No matter what kind of paranormal.

  “To be honest,” Deegan dropped her voice to a conspiratorial tone, “I just feel terrible with what’s happened to Jessica. First her roommate, then the warlock dies. And now this. Do you think someone is setting her up?”

  Carson flexed his fingers into the lab counter at his back. Even the mention of Jessica in trouble made him tense.


  “Really? Why?” He struggled to keep his face relaxed.

  She glanced back over her shoulder at Mariko. “I don’t know how much you want to know about her.” Deegan dropped her voice.

  Absolutely everything.

  Christ, this woman was going to be a major pain in his ass.

  “Mariko, could you give us a second?” He hated to do this but if Deegan knew something that could save Jessica, he wanted to know now.

  Mariko shrugged her slim shoulders and slipped out, wearing her all black winter gear like some ninja.

  After the door closed with a soft click, Carson asked. “Now, Dr. Deegan. Why don’t you tell me everything you know?”

  Dr. Deegan pushed off some stray papers from Jessica’s office chair. She sat down and then propped her stubby legs on the desk. “My back is killing me. This cold is playing havoc with my arthritis. I don’t know how you can stand to work with vamps. They make my skin crawl.”

  Carson formed a polite smile on his face. Witches, vamps and shifters formed one unhappy triad in the paranormal world. This was the second time in hours a witch had complained about Mariko with no basis. He wished he could say shifters were better but if anything, they were slightly less wary of vamps. And that was only because shifters had enhanced physical prowess. Turned out witches didn’t like feeling vulnerable either.

  “I’m sure she doesn’t mean to encourage them. The Goddess granted her a physical body that drives paranormals to distraction. I felt so bad for her with the way all the warlocks trail around after her. But nobody was worse than Randy. He was always sniffing around her.”

  A pounding started at the base of Carson’s skull. Remember, you jackass, you told him to keep an eye on her, he reminded himself.

  “I really felt bad for the poor girl. She just couldn’t get any break from him.”

  “Did there seem to be anything beyond an unreciprocated crush between them?”

  “To be honest, I don’t know. Maybe he was, what’s the expression I’ve heard the young people use? A booty call? Time sure has changed since we were younger, right, marshal?”

  Carson’s brain felt encased in a metal helmet that some sadist was intent on shrinking. There was no way Jessica was having sex with Randy. He knew that. Why did he see red at the thought, then?

  To be sure, he and Deegan were closer in age than he and Jessica. And to be sure, the doctor did not know they were married.

  Fuck.

  When this was over, he was taking Jessica back to Fairbanks and never letting her out of his sight again. Hell, maybe if luck was on his side, he could impregnate her. He smiled to himself thinking of her swollen with his seed and some little witch or shifter cubs running around. That would keep her from running off on these crazy research assignments.

  “Thanks for your time, Dr. Deegan. You’ve been very helpful.” He pushed off the counter, signaling this little convo was over.

  But Dr. Deegan wasn’t quite done.

  “I wasn’t sure if I should say anything before because I didn’t want to muddy the water, but keep an eye on that fox shifter.”

  “Now why would you say that?” Carson wasn’t getting rid of this woman anytime soon. He doubted she knew anything beyond an overinflated sense of her own importance.

  “I’d seen her trailing Jessica and Randy. I tell you, I was beginning to wonder if that witch cast some kind of charm despite that kind of thing being strictly forbidden here.”

  “Do you think she did?”

  “If she did, she suffered from the consequences. I noticed the fox shifter was the first one to arrive after Randy was found. She also showed up pretty soon after we found Teague.”

  “What motivation would the fox shifter have to set up Jessica?”

  “Haven’t you been listening? The fox shifter has a thing for Jessica. She wanted the warlock out of the way.”

  Carson nodded. “Thanks for your help, Dr. Deegan.”

  “Men!” the doctor fumed, dropping her feet back to the ground. “I’m just telling you what I’ve seen.”

  “And I really appreciate it.”

  The doctor let herself out while Carson glanced around the lab. This was going to break her heart. Someone was looking for something here. He had difficulty believing this was all some kind of thwarted love triangle. Sure, he knew first hand from the dissolution of his marriage that witches were a vengeful crew.

  Carson started collecting the papers. Only Jess would be able to make sense if anything was missing. Several of the papers had fresh Addy poop on them. A quick inspection of the lab revealed no Addy in residence. Time to go find his colleague.

  Mariko was questioning the two wolf shifters who provided security for the Station. She’d called them into their makeshift infirmary office. Despite being a vamp, Mariko could still easily pass for a young woman. Doubtless these two shifters were lulled by her youthful appearance when in reality she had more in common with their grandparents.

  “Got a minute?” he asked.

  “Anything else we can do to help, just ask.” The one with a shaved head enthused before his pal pulled him from the room.

  “Is this whole station run on hormones?” Mariko closed the door behind them. She removed her hat only to put it on two seconds later.

  Carson pulled his head back in surprise. He’d been scanning the detailed notes she’d already prepared for him.

  “Deegan thinks the fox shifter is setting up Jessica?”

  “For what reason?”

  “According to her the fox shifter has a thing for Jessica. She was jealous of those close to her. What was she hassling you about?”

  “I borrowed her medical logs. I was surprised she noticed. That’s not usually a problem I have.” Mariko’s rare smile featured her fangs.

  The vamp would’ve made a successful criminal if she’d turned her talents elsewhere.

  “Did you find anything that could lead us to Root?”

  “The most interesting thing I learned was Deegan’s got an online gambling habit. I read everyone’s medical records. Nothing to make me suspect Root was hiding here.”

  “Yet all evidence pointed he was heading here. And the recent killings support that.”

  “I’m almost done questioning everyone.”

  Mariko worked fast. He suspected her glamouring was moving things along, but right now he wanted to find the bastard creating all this chaos.

  “And both witches. When do the toxicology results come back?”

  “Later today. It’s a Saturday but I put a rush on it.”

  “Let me know when they’re back. Did you see any birds in the lab when you arrived?”

  “By the time I got there the door was already open. I found Deegan standing by the desk. She said she’d just arrived herself.”

  “Any way to verify that?”

  Mariko shook her head. She raised her dark eyes to him. “How about I glamour her just to verify?”

  “Go easy on the glamour—remember it doesn’t hold up in court.” Carson opened the infirmary door. “You didn’t mention anything about Jessica and me to anyone, right?”

  Mariko let out a low hiss. By the Goddess, vamps were so damn touchy.

  “Just checking. Deegan was going at Jess’s fan club here pretty hard when we spoke. I wondered if she was baiting me for a reason.”

  “Deegan’s got a chip on her shoulder about being a wiccan physician in a field dominated by vamps. That being said, I wouldn’t underestimate her.”

  “Thanks for the warning.”

  “Where you going?”

  “To see a witch about Addy.”

  8

  Jessica spent half of the next day cleaning up her lab. Despite the loss of two of her paranormal friends to gruesome deaths recently, the destruction of her lab scared her.

  Teague and Randy’s deaths were awful but seemed random at the time. This attack was directed at her research.

  Carson told her the lab was empty but when Jessica returned, the puff
in was hopping around outside the trailer. When she opened the door, Addy flew back inside.

  Jessica, to her horror but unable to stop herself, had held Addy ever since. She needed to finish the review of what was missing but Carson’s vamp’s arrival distracted her.

  She tried to figure out what she disliked about her ex-husband’s colleague. She couldn’t pinpoint anything beyond Carson’s obvious respect for her, which Jess found herself jealous over.

  That and the Vamp always had her shit together. Couldn’t she at least have a bad hair day?

  “The lab results came back.” Mariko eyed Addy squirming around in her arms. The more Mariko stared, the more Jess clamped down and the more Addy resisted.

  “We found toxic levels of frost lavender in Teague and Randy,” Mariko continued.

  “That’s not possible. I never gave any frost lavender to either of them. Addy here is the only one who has ingested it.”

  “Could it have saved them?”

  Jessica’s eyes teared. “The bleeding was too fast and too strong. It would have washed back out of the wound again. Due to the cold, Addy’s wing wasn’t bleeding so heavily.”

  “Any idea who would want to frame you for murder?”

  Jessica shook her head. “Living in such close quarters here, everyone grates on each other’s nerves. But we try to focus on the great opportunities here since our visits are limited.” She twisted her fingers together. “I broke the rules when I added a healing charm to Addy’s lavender potion. I couldn’t stand to see her suffer. Besides, she isn’t bothering anyone.”

  Mariko’s eyes focused on Addy again. Addy struggled in her arms. “Please stop staring at her like she’s dinner. You’re making her nervous.”

  Mariko folded her arms across the chest. “I’m glad one of you has some survival skills.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?” Jessica snapped. Now she was positively squeezing Addy to her chest.

  “Someone broke in here last night, intent on doing some harm. But your Addy here escaped.”

  “For which I’m very thankful. Who knows what the thief wanted. If Addy was injured it would have been my fault. I was afraid she wasn’t ready to be back in the wild. It seems the Station has plenty risks of its own.”