I reached for my bear from the corner of my mind and let it take over, embracing it entirely as the change consumed me. My vision tunneled, and my body heaved before I took my second form.
Levi stared with his mouth hanging open. “You’re a bear.”
I stood there. I wasn’t ready to change back yet. It took too much energy. The elevator opened, and I really hoped it would be Jared.
“Do I want to know what you did to her to make her shift?” Jared’s familiar voice sent a wave of relaxation through me.
Levi kept his eyes on me as he responded. “I asked her to prove she wasn’t a witch.”
“She’s not a witch.”
“No, but she seems to think you are part warlock or something.”
“I do have magic in me.” Jared sounded completely unapologetic.
“That’s insane.”
I shifted back. I wanted to be able to talk. The shift back to my human form happened quicker, and Jared jumped in front of me and handed me my clothes.
Levi laughed. “You do really like this girl.”
“I do, and I’d appreciate if you’d stop staring at her when she’s naked. You have your own mate to worry about.”
“My own mate? You want a bear as your mate?” Levi’s eyes widened.
“Yes. I don’t know how much Vera told you but the whole inter-species or even inner-species taboos are pretty much gone soon.”
“Soon? Oh yes, because you come from the future.” Levi rolled his eyes.
“We do. I know it sounds insane, but it probably makes sense if you think about everything I’ve said today.” Jared seemed calm. I wasn’t sure how he was holding it together.
“I heard I was supposed to meet my mate.” Levi smiled. I couldn’t tell if he was being serious or teasing.
“You were. Unfortunately she’s on her way back up to New York to reconcile with Blackwell’s grandson.”
“Uh, what?” Levi’s forehead furrowed.
“Yup. Tiffany, that blonde witch, messed with her. The problem is if she chooses him he becomes king because she’s an enchantress and…”
“Just stop.” Levi held out his hand in front of him. “This is getting ridiculous.”
“Levi.” Jared put his hands on both of his arms. “Would I ever mess with you about this? I swear Allie is your mate. It’s the girl from your dream. You two belong together.”
“I belong with a girl from New York who is dating a Blackwell? By the way, Blackwell doesn’t have a grandson.”
“He does. And he’s a legitimate heir. This is important.”
“So what is it you want me to do?” Levi tilted his head slightly. He was listening.
“Go get her. Stay away from Tiffany. Georgina says—”
Levi interrupted, “Wait. Georgina? You talked to my grandma before talking to me?”
“He thought she’d be more likely to listen and have answers,” I quickly jumped in.
“And did she?” He leaned forward.
“She believed us, but she didn’t have the answers because I’m not magical here.” Jared’s body tensed. He didn’t like discussing his powerlessness in our situation.
“There’s no way you’re part warlock.” Levi shook his head. “I can’t buy that part.”
“I didn’t really believe it until I woke up here, and then I somehow pulled Vera back with me.”
“Yeah, how did you get into all this?”
“I kissed him.” There was no reason to beat around the bush.
“Kissing him did this?” He pointed up as though we’d appeared through the air. “And you still want him?”
I laughed despite the precarious situation. “I thought it would make him wake up, but yes. Kissing Jared is kind of addicting.”
“Great information to know.” Levi pulled out his phone and glanced at it.
“Expecting a call?” Jared asked.
“No, just seeing if my mom ever texted back. She said you came by.” Levi raised an eyebrow.
“I did. To make sure you guys weren’t playing a truck on me.”
“What did you tell her?” Levi looked horror struck.
“I asked about Allie, that’s how I found out the hotel was recently sold.”
“Why are they related?”
“Allie’s the owner’s daughter.” Jared let out an exasperated breath.
“Oh yeah? I went for a rich girl?”
“She’s embarrassed by it. She doesn’t fit the mold.” Jared smiled. I assumed he was reflecting on his early memories of Allie. The two had an interesting friendship.
“So you like her?”
“You’re talking like you believe me.” Jared’s face brightened.
“I don’t know what else to believe. I guess anything is possible.”
“I do like her. She’s cool, and she doesn’t put up with any of your crap. Or mine. We’re good friends.” Jared smiled.
“Is he being serious?” Levi turned to me.
“Yes. And she seems cool from what I’ve seen.”
“Cool is a good thing.” He smiled slightly.
“We have to go.” I didn’t have a watch on, but I didn’t need a clock to realize time was passing quickly. “I need to make sure Casey’s ok.” I refused to let Murphy get near her.
“Who’s Casey?” Levi asked.
“My little sister,” I explained.
“Okay. Got it.” Levi nodded.
Eventually we’d have to explain she was his half-sister too, but that could wait until we were closer.
“We’ll protect her. I promised you that.” Jared touched my arm gently.
“You know Toby will kill you too if you don’t.” Then I remembered something. “Well, if he ever meets her.”
“He’s going to get back together with Allie if we don’t get moving,” Jared grumbled.
“Wait.” I froze. I hadn’t quite processed what Jared meant about Allie returning to New York. “What?”
“Tiffany sent Allie back to him. Messed with her mind.”
“Oh crap.” Had things seriously gotten that much worse?
“Oh crap is right.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” I straightened up. “We need to take care of all of this. Now.”
“We were waiting for Levi to agree to help.”
“I have to, don’t I?” Levi held out his hand to the side. “I don’t have another choice.”
“But what about Tiffany? Can we really leave her here set loose?” I asked.
“She would have been loose anyway. At least Levi now knows who she is.” Then Jared stopped. “We need to make sure Owen understands too. You tell him. He won’t believe me.”
Levi nodded. “Good point.” He pulled out his phone and walked a few steps away.
“You and Owen had a messed up relationship even before Levi became King.”
“Believe it or not, it’s actually better in the real world.”
“I don’t quite get it, but I do.” Most relationships, including friendships were strange, complicated things.
“Whatever that means.”
“You know what I mean.” One of the best parts of being with Jared was that he got me. He understood me in a way that few ever had.
He nodded. “I guess I do.”
"Is she ok flying?" Levi pointed to me.
"Of course I am."
"She's a bit of a flying junkie." Jared grinned. "I think it's because she likes to be close to me."
"You have nice big wings. Are we done?" I cocked my head to the side. I wasn’t in the mood for games. We had no time.
Levi laughed. "She's the female version of you."
"Is that a bad thing?" I put a hand on my hip.
"I like Jared, and you are the more attractive version, so absolutely not."
"Good." I probably shouldn't have been so comfortable with Levi, but I was. There was something about his personality that made it impossible not to like him. I knew that underneath his tough exterior, there was something
far more real than what most people were. Jared was the same way. There was way more there than reached the surface.
"We can't be seen by Tiffany." Now that we had a basic plan, the details were important. We wanted Tiffany to stay in New Orleans looking for Levi instead of following us up to New York where she could make things much worse for all of us.
"We'll take the passages.” Levi nodded as if agreeing with himself. “We will come out far enough away that she won't be watching."
"I'm sure someone will be watching, but there is always the possibility we could get lucky." I didn't want to sound discouraging, but we had to be realistic. And careful. I wasn't generally the most cautious person, but sometimes it was completely necessary.
"It's dark, and no one knows about this exit. It's not an entrance, and I'm one of only a handful of people who even knows about it or has access."
"My dad probably does." Jared’s face darkened.
I'd forgotten about that. Not completely. I obviously knew that Jett Florence was in cahoots with Tiffany, but with all the other craziness I’d pushed the significance of that from my mind.
“Good point. He might slow us down, but I can tell if he's down here. If no one’s been down here, then we're all clear."
"We should go." Jared didn’t move to correct Levi on why Jett would be a problem. I assumed he was doing it to save time, and I wasn’t going to mess with that.
"We can get Casey first." Jared met my eye.
"I didn't ask."
"But she's the one in potential danger. I can't say I love Toby, but we all know he isn't going to hurt Allie." Jared was thinking through things logically. I was having a harder time with that. The only thing on my mind was protecting Casey. After we had her with us I’d be able to concentrate on everything else.
"Although I might hurt him if he touches my mate." Levi laughed.
I wondered if he’d be laughing later. "Already territorial before you even meet her?"
"If she's the girl from my dream, then yes.” He grinned.
“That actually sounds kind of sweet.” It sounded like the Levi I’d met before.
“And I’ll take that as our cue to go.” Levi turned and headed further into the dark basement. I followed behind, hoping his whole secret exit idea worked. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with Tiffany again. We needed to get to Casey first.
Jared wrapped his hand around mine. “We’ll get to her.”
“How did you know I was thinking about that?”
“I know you.” His words were simple, but they packed a punch. They meant far more than he probably thought.
“You do. Almost too well.”
9
Vera
Levi led the way down the long dark hallway. Jared kept his hand wrapped firmly around mine. I wasn’t afraid for myself, but I was terrified for Casey. Murphy wasn’t usually that quick to act, but I wasn’t going to relax until my little sister was safe. The problem was she was going to have to swallow a whole lot of information quickly—especially if we were never able to erase the veil. I still didn’t understand how that worked. Did the veil become part of real time? Hopefully I’d never need to know.
Levi stopped in front of a large gate and looked into a screen where a laser scanned his retinas. There was a beep, and he opened the metal gate.
“High tech.” I nodded toward the scanner.
“Too bad it doesn’t help when the ones you’re worried about are in charge of security,” Jared mumbled.
“Very little can help that.” I squeezed Jared’s hand. He was busy reassuring me, but he had a lot on his plate too. I loved how strong he was, but sometimes everyone needs someone to lean on.
“I’m guessing there’s a story behind that?” Levi watched us carefully.
“Quite a long one. I’ll share it when we have the time,” Jared explained.
Levi nodded. “There’s a lot you’ll have to explain at some point.”
We continued through another dark tunnel and another gate with a scanner before Levi turned and started up a set of steps. He pushed open a thick metal door. This one wasn’t protected by a scanner.
Levi stepped out first and held open the solid metal door for me. Jared followed behind.
We were standing in a dark alley between two buildings. I surveyed the alley and the street at the end. I didn’t notice anyone, but that didn’t mean no one was watching.
“We have no choice.” Jared pulled off his shirt and released his long black wings. Levi did the same.
“I know.” I waited as Jared wrapped his arms around my waist.
“This is going to be a longer and higher flight.” He took off without giving me a moment to reply. It didn’t matter. It didn’t matter how long we were airborne as long as we got there. I wasn’t born with wings, but I was born to fly. I’d never get tired of the feel of the wind or watching the ground get smaller and smaller as Jared moved us higher in the sky.
“She’s a natural.” Levi grinned.
“She is. There are perks to being with a shifter. I don’t have to worry so much.” Jared sounded lighter. Happier. Flying seemed to always be the best medicine for him.
“You don’t have to worry about me at all.” I didn’t like him worrying about me. I could take care of myself.
“Just like you don’t have to worry about me, but you still do.”
“True enough.” I smiled. I enjoyed worrying about Jared. I enjoyed caring about someone other than my family. It was a new feeling for me.
“Wait, you’re agreeing with me too easily. Are you feeling okay?”
“You know what I’m feeling.” I closed my eyes for a moment and then reopened them.
“We’re getting there.”
“I know.” I decided to change the subject before I got upset. “I bet this is easier than flying three of us.”
“When did you fly three people?” Levi asked.
“It was three bears, and right before I ended up back here. There’s so much more to tell you, but first we need to get Casey and Allie.”
“Is Allie her full name, or is it short for something?” Levi soared up a little higher.
“Allison.” Jared followed.
“Okay.”
“But she doesn’t like to be called that.”
“I’ll try to remember that detail.” Levi laughed.
“Don’t. It’s much more enjoyable when you annoy her.”
“I thought you wanted us together?”
“I do, but that’s not how your relationship works. Especially not in the beginning, and you still argue now.”
“And I like that?” His voice lilted slightly.
“Yes.”
“Good to know.”
I laughed. “You’re weird, Levi.”
“You’re calling the future king weird?” Jared teased.
“Yes. He doesn’t intimidate me.”
“That’s good… maybe.” Levi took off ahead of us.
We fell into silence as we continued the flight. I don’t think any of us had enough light banter left.
I went back to my thoughts about Casey and Murphy. And about how much of an idiot I’d been to trust him and leave my family behind. Being young wasn’t enough of an excuse. Neither was finding out my true identity. I never should have left Casey, even if I was trying to help her. If only one of us was going to college it was going to be her, and I wasn’t going to subject her to me. I’d been a bad influence. But in the end, leaving had left her open to getting hurt. She’d felt abandoned, and that changed her life in ways I never imagined. I wondered what she’d say when she saw me. This time she won’t understand why I left. I sighed. There was nothing I could do about that. We had to protect her, even if that meant she hated me.
Finally we started to descend.
“You know where I grew up?” I asked. He must have since he’d flown us there.
“Yeah. I make sure to look up any locations that could be useful or important.” He spoke off handily.
/>
“Should that freak me out?”
“No. It shouldn’t. It’s his job. He’s going to be my director of intelligence.” Levi winked.
“Yes, he is.” Once we landed in the shadows of my parents’ backyard, I stepped out of Jared’s arms. It was strange to be back in a place I’d spent so much of my life. Yet the place seemed like a world away. The smell of recently cut grass permeated the air, and the near silence was in sharp contrast to the city we’d just left. We were back in the ‘burbs.
“Oh wait. I guess… so how do you do in the position?” Levi asked with interest.
Jared retracted his wings. “I do fine, but I quit once I found out about my dad.”
“What does your dad do that causes you to quit?” Levi retracted his wings and pulled on his t-shirt.
“I told you I would explain all that, but not yet.”
“How are we going to avoid my parents?” For some reason that question hadn’t occurred to me before.
“We’re not.” Jared pulled on his shirt. I’d miss the view, but at least he looked more normal that way.
“Uh, yes we are.” I wasn’t ready to face my parents yet, and they weren’t going to just let us take Casey with us.
“Are you forgetting who Taliana is?” He used my mom’s first name.
“Wait.” I stopped. “You think she can help?”
“She will believe us. No question. Especially when we tell her about Norco and your father. Plus, she knows more about the healing arts and their version of magic than Gemma. She may know something about erasing a veil.” Jared was so animated. He had hope, and I didn’t want to dash it, but there were some realities we needed to face.
I chose my words carefully. “Chris isn’t going to like this.”
“Who’s Chris?” Levi asked.
“My dad. Not biological.” But he’d always be my dad. I hadn’t appreciated him enough. He’d been there for me even though he didn’t have to be. I owed him so much.
“Okay…”
“Her mom ran away with her daughters. Chris is her friend, and he helped,” Jared gave a sufficient description of the events.
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