by Lauren Dane
Mary put her forehead to Kendra’s as they finished up. “Be sure to eat some protein. It’ll help with the headaches. I’ll see you tomorrow with Renee.” She looked to Max. “It was lovely to meet you. Can you please excuse us for a moment?”
He waited for Kendra to give him the signal, and at her nod, he moved to wait for her in the hall just outside the room. Of course, he could hear the conversation anyway.
“What’s wrong?” Kendra asked.
“Not wrong really. It’s…Kendra, your connection to Max has opened up the taps of your magick in a wholly new way. What we did tonight was something that would have taken at least a month to pick up. You did it the first time you tried. He makes you stronger.”
“I can’t harm him. I won’t do any magick when he’s nearby.”
Max leashed his frustrated growl, but only just. If he made her stronger that was a good thing.
“That’s the thing. I monitored you both while you worked. The way between you is wide open. You draw on it, but when you expend it, it returned to him. You two are like one being in several ways. The tenor of your magick is different. Not weaker at all. I think…I don’t want to say what I think until I do some research. We can talk about it next lesson. Rosemary will be staying with me when she’s here in Boston. I’ll put her to work on it too.”
“If it has something to do with him being a shifter, it’s integral no one gets wind of it. We’d be putting him and other shifters in danger if it got out. They’d start hunting shifters to leash to mages.” Max heard the fear in her voice. “I can’t have that. This is my family and I won’t do anything to hurt them.” There she was, the fear had melted into anger.
“Of course. But you know the others are going to resist even more if it gets out. They’re fearful enough of outsiders as it is. If they learn about some sort of connection between shifters and witches, many of them will see it as a threat.”
“They’re already afraid of what they are; it won’t surprise me if they’re afraid of what others are. We both know it’s going to be an issue no matter what we do. I have to go, but thank you for your help.”
They began to walk toward where he waited, so he pretended to look out the window at the tiny but plant-filled backyard.
“Ready?” He held a hand out, his love for her filling him up, overflowing.
She took it and their connection seemed to click into place on a level she hadn’t experienced before. Their eyes met, hers wide and surprised. He smiled and stole a kiss as he escorted her to the car.
“Wait.” She paused, looking at his car and cocking her head.
“Problem?” He scanned the immediate area, not seeing anything out of the ordinary, not even sensing it.
She turned back to him. “Do you have a knife?”
“Why?”
“Because.”
“I’m sure I’m going to regret this.” He pulled a Swiss army knife from his case and handed it to her. And she proved him right when she sliced her upper arm open, near one of the tattooed marks he liked most. The spice of her blood filled his senses, rich, ripe with magick, thick and velvety. A lesser cat would have had a harder time with the lure of it. As it was, he had to fight the urge to scent her more deeply.
“Don’t crowd me,” she said prissily as she dipped her finger in the welling blood and traced symbols on his tires.
He wanted to grab her, shove her in the car and take off. Instead, he had to satisfy himself with a growl as he moved closer. “Take some of my fucking energy, will you? What the hell are you doing? You’re going to be sick when you finish.”
“God, you’re an old woman,” she muttered, surprising him but amusing him anyway.
He followed her, keeping watch over the area. His cat paced, agitated, concerned for his female.
After a few minutes she stood, paler, but otherwise all right as far as he could see. Certainly all right enough for him to allow some of his temper free. “Damn it, Kendra.” He pushed her into the car and rustled around through the first aid kit in his trunk. “Hold still and let me get it wrapped.”
She held her arm out, not moving as he cleaned and then bound the wound.
Kendra realized she wasn’t even that tired. Usually after her lessons, all she wanted to do was go home and nap for a bit. But just then, tucked into the soft-as-a-whisper leather seats of Max’s car, she was content, and while not in any shape to run a marathon, she was without a headache and feeling well.
He tended to her cut, gentle as he touched. But she felt his temper coming off him in waves. “You want to tell me what the fuck that was all about? Do you think I want you spilling blood for me? I want you at one hundred percent! I want you healthy and always able to defend yourself. I know it weakens you to use your magick. How much?”
She found her water bottle and he made that cute little growl as she drained it in seconds. It was dreadful of her to be so entertained by his temper, but it was cute and she was utterly defenseless against it.
He slammed the trunk lid down and got into the car, belting in and staying silent for long minutes.
“Should we stop and get you something? Are you all right? I heard Mary tell you to be sure to be hydrated and to eat protein. Should I stop and get us dinner right now?”
“Do you have any question you’d prefer to have answered first?” She knew she was poking at him, but it amused her and he always looked dangerously hot when he was agitated with her.
“Kendra.” One dark eyebrow winged up and she knew it was time to give him a break.
“I’m fine. When we get to Renee’s I’ll get some juice and grab some cheese and crackers to fill me up until dinner is ready.”
“That’s question one.”
She’d driven with him enough to know she shouldn’t watch the road, cars, pedestrians and whatever else he careened around. Instead she turned, resting her head against the seat while watching him. Much better than the road any day.
“I put protective sigils on your car. My blood will carry the magick better. I gave it freely. It didn’t harm me. Blood is a carrier agent. It can be used negatively, but not all of it is bad. It just hit me that you’re out and about and our relationship is pretty public knowledge. I want you to be safe.”
He frowned, but not for long. “You’re going to take years off my life, you know that?”
“Pfft.”
“Pfft? Don’t blow me off. This is important!”
“Hey, buster, fuck you. I’ll do what I want when it comes to protecting the people I care about. And you can’t stop me so get that right out of your head. Don’t tell me what’s important. Like I don’t know myself? Like I’m too stupid to figure it out?”
“When have I ever said you were stupid? Never. Because I don’t think so and I wouldn’t say that.”
“I’m not some weak child playing with spells because she watched Charmed or whatever.”
“Hey, that’s not my doorbell, Kendra. That’s not even my neighborhood.”
“Yes, but it’s mine.” Oh God, she was going to cry. She dug her nails into her palm, feeling the blood seep into the bandage as she flexed, opening the wound again. Shit.
“If you told me what it was, I could avoid it in the future. I’m not going to judge you, you know.” He paused, nostrils flaring. “You’re bleeding.”
“I hate that,” she muttered.
“Too fucking bad. You wrote on my car with your blood and you did it at harm to yourself. I don’t like that.”
“And I don’t care.”
“Why do you have to be so stubborn?”
“We’re here. We’ll talk later.”
“We’ll talk now.” He turned toward her, pushing her sleeve up and re-dressing the slice she’d made. His hands gentled and he looked to her and she saw it. Stark fear. For a man like him, it had to be a pretty unusual emotion.
Max was a fixer and she wasn’t a problem easily solved.
She took a deep breath. “You once asked me why I didn’t d
rink. I drank too much at one time and I made mistakes. Big ones. I don’t blame the alcohol, but it doesn’t make me a good person.”
“This is about your ex?”
“I really can’t do this right now. I have to go in there and there’ll be at least five other people, and if I’m all emotional, Renee will notice and feel bad and want to fix me. And I’ll be pissy because I’ve had enough of people trying to fix me.”
“Don’t you understand? I love you. I want to know you. I want to understand you. This is part of what it means to truly be with someone. To be my family and let me be yours. Family shares stuff. You’re part of that for me.”
She closed her eyes. She should tell him he couldn’t love her, but it would have been disrespectful. And a lie. And she knew he did. Knew he was sure of how he felt about her. She couldn’t say with a straight face that she didn’t want or need his love. It was a lie. She did want it. She did need it. No matter how impractical, or silly. She’d wanted it for as long as she could remember, and that was the crux of her fear.
The stuff about what happened with her ex, that was part of it, but a blip really. She was over it, past it for the most part. But there was this place inside her, the insecurity at times was powerful.
Deep within there was the girl whose mother had left her. The girl whose sister got to have that mother every day. And then she was gone, and Kendra couldn’t get past feeling alone, even surrounded by people. Even having a grandmother and an uncle, being raised by Rosemary, who loved her without question hadn’t quite quenched that unspoken question. Was she a burden? A problem to be solved? Or was she a gift?
It was stupid. She got that. Her family, her mother’s family, loved her. She saw that love in Renee’s eyes, felt it in everything her sister did for her. But what you knew and what lurked inside were sometimes very different.
How could she explain to him what it was like for her to see him with his family? When Renee had had a horrible childhood and Kendra at least was raised by her aunt who loved her? Kendra felt selfish and guilty for even thinking it. He’d never not known what it meant to wonder where he fit, if he was loved. He was next-in-line, the golden boy who achieved, the male who fixed things. She was entirely sure he’d been that way the moment Imogene gave birth to him.
None of those things were subjects she wanted to delve into. Especially then and there.
He cursed. “Shit. Renee sees us. She’s waving from the porch.” Thank the heavens for her sweet, nosy sister.
She grabbed her bag and he growled when she put her hand on the door. “Oh for God’s sake, Max. I can open my own door.”
“Why do you have to try to push me away when you know you like it? You like it when I take care of you and I like doing it. Sit there or I’ll tell her about the cut and she’ll make you drink some nasty-smelling tea.”
“You’re diabolical.”
He snorted and got out. She waited.
Chapter Seven
He hovered, making sure she kept drinking and staying hydrated. Happily, she seemed to accept his need to do it. She did eat the cheese and crackers, and he brought over some fruit too. Renee noticed, her eyes narrowing as she took in the scene. He wasn’t kidding, he would sic Renee on Kendra if his little witch even thought about not taking care of herself.
Jack came in with Akio and a wolf Max had never met before, though he scented alpha right away.
“Renee, I brought a guest. Hope that’s all right.”
Renee turned, tipping her face up to receive a kiss. “Of course. We’ve got plenty. Galen’s in charge, you know he always makes enough for five or six extra people.”
Jack sent an affectionate look to Galen before turning back to Renee. “Gorgeous, this is Gabe Murphy. He’s one of the Alphas of Pacific Pack. Before that he was the National Mediator and we worked together. In fact, the place Grace and Cade live is where he lived for years. He’s in town for a few days, and as Grace wouldn’t stop singing your praises, I figured I’d better bring him by so he could see my beautiful mates.”
“He hasn’t shut up about you and Galen since I arrived so I figured I should come over and see you two in person.” Gabe bowed slightly. “It’s my pleasure to meet Jack’s mates. I’m in a triad as well so it’s always nice to see another working relationship like mine.”
Renee blushed. “You’re mates with Grace’s sister-in-law Tracy, right? She was telling me about your little girls. Do you have pictures?”
Gabe’s face lit at the mention and Max’s estimation of him rose.
“That’s us.” He pulled his phone out. “Always happy to show pictures.”
Kendra joined them, looking over Gabe’s shoulder. Max knew wolves mated for life, had heard this one was mated not just to one wolf, but two, and he had no romantic designs on Kendra at all. And yet, her proximity to another male stirred his agitation, even as logic told him it was silly to feel that way.
“This is Rose.” Gabe smiled down at the picture on his phone of a little girl with mischief in her smile, what you could see of it around all the chocolate. “She just turned two. She looks so much like Nick, he’s her other daddy, it’s not funny. This is Lianne, she’s going to be five soon and ready for kindergarten. The older two in this one are Chris and Haley, Nick’s niece and nephew. They’re ours too. We’re very fortunate to have such a beautiful family.”
“I was raised by my aunt. She’s more of a mother than the one I was born to could have been.” Kendra’s smile at Gabe was filled with emotion and Renee hugged her. Max moved to her, Renee stepping aside so he could touch Kendra.
Gabe looked up, met Max’s gaze and nodded, getting it. “We’re happy to have you with us tonight, Gabe. Please make yourself at home. You have a lovely family, just as Grace said. Would you like a glass of wine? Juice? Soda?”
Jack indicated a chair at the large table. “Have a seat Gabe. I’ll get you some juice. Renee squeezed it this morning.”
Galen stepped forward as Max let go of Kendra, who relaxed against him one last second.
“I’m Galen. Nice to meet you. This is Renee’s sister Kendra and my brother Max.”
“Two witches. Interesting. One of the humans who just mated with one of my wolves is a witch. He hasn’t taken the change. Are you going to?” he asked Kendra after taking her hand in his.
“Max and I haven’t really had that conversation. I…I hadn’t considered it. I’m not opposed to the idea. How did it work out for him, do you know? I mean when he bonded with a wolf. Did his magick grow or feel any different?”
Max smiled briefly, Galen caught him and his smile echoed his brother’s. Kendra hadn’t argued being his. Ha.
“I can give you his contact information, if you like. He’s open enough, I’m sure he’d talk to you about it.”
Kendra smiled. “Thank you. I’d like that.”
Gabe turned to Max and nodded. “You’re alpha.”
Max nodded. “Next-in-line.”
“Kendra, can you help me with something?” Renee called out.
Max put a hand on Kendra’s shoulder, a gentle caress and she leaned into it for a moment. He asked Renee, “What do you need, babe? I’ll do it.”
Renee rolled her eyes at him, she knew his game. “Girl stuff. I believe tampons may be discussed.”
Kendra snorted a laugh and the two of them disappeared off into the bedroom.
“I have no idea why you thought you could hide Kendra’s pallor or the fact that she’s been bleeding from Renee. She doesn’t need our sense of smell for that. Or that you could sway her from getting an answer.” Jack plopped down at the table. “She all right?”
“Magick lesson.” He wasn’t going to go into detail with Murphy there. He trusted Jack like the family he was. But he didn’t know Gabe Murphy from Adam, and there was no way he’d take a chance and expose Kendra to any danger if he could help it.
“Magick makes her bleed?” Akio spoke then. Max liked the wolf who served as Jack’s right hand in Boston. He
’d taken up a lot of the slack, doing much of the travel across the country as a representative of the National Pack since Jack had mated with Renee and wanted to stick close.
“No. She cut herself after the lesson. I field dressed it. Tried to get her to go to the doctor but she refused. It’s a shallow cut.”
“You’re so gone for her I should laugh. But I remember the early days when I first brought Renee around and you were the first to stand behind us. I’ll tease you, but not enough to make you cry like a pussy.” Galen snickered.
“Shut the fuck up, pretty boy.” Max shook his head and tried not to laugh. “I am gone. Like beyond gone. She lets me be. It works out.”
Galen and Jack burst out laughing. “Those two may not have grown up together, but damn, they’re so much alike it’s not funny.”
“You wanna tell me why you’re so pale?” Renee demanded once they’d gone into the bedroom and closed the door.
“You know they all have super hearing, right?”
Renee waved a hand. “Yes, worse than a bunch of old ladies with the eavesdropping. But since Max obviously knows what’s up, you can tell me. Also, Galen has good manners most of the time. They’ll listen in, but feel bad about it.”
“I’m fine. I just had a particularly draining lesson. I cut myself.” She motioned to her arm. “Needed to ward Max’s car. He took care of it there, so stop glowering at me. I had to do it the strongest way I knew how. I’m worried for everyone.” And she was. It hit her as she’d walked out of Mary’s, hit her that while she and Renee had some means to ward off an attack, the others relied on tooth and claw, but the assholes out to steal magick didn’t care about that. They cared about power. Kendra didn’t want them to figure out how much energy shifters possessed.
She patted her sister’s arm. “Get your frowny face off. You’ll get forehead wrinkles. Anyway, the cheese and crackers really did help. Hey, and dinner is almost done so I’ll pig out and get to blame it all on magick depletion. Bonus. I’m going to bed early tonight and I promise to get lots of rest. To be totally honest with you, everything is…I don’t know, different. My ability to spool up energy is better, smoother. It feels different, but I can’t describe it just yet.”