‘Eloise? Are you there?’
She blinked, frowning at the strange question.
‘Your eyes. They’re flashing from green-gold to swirling gold and back again.
‘Are they?’
‘Yes. Like when your past-life presence took you over. Except, then your eyes were entirely swirling gold.’
She closed them, rubbed at her lids. ‘It must be the dream. I was dreaming of them…her. She must be close to the surface.’
‘So she was making you look at me like that.’
She could lie, deny her feelings, her hunger, but she wasn’t the same person she’d been when she woke up from the coma. ‘No. That was me. The dream made me remember last night. How you made me feel so alive, like I’ve never felt before. I want to feel that again. With you.’
‘Eloise.’ He sounded choked.
‘What?’
‘You undo me.’ He reached for her and her lips were on his, her tongue in his mouth, drinking in his moan, sharing one of hers. Her mind swirled with images and thoughts and feelings, some which she recognised as hers, some which weren’t. But she didn’t care. Didn’t care as long as he stayed pressed up against her, chest to chest, his lips on hers, drinking her in.
A tap sounded behind her on the glass and a voice said, ‘Sorry for interrupting, but Jason is waiting for you inside.’
Iain pulled away with a groan, his breath a hot pant against her face as he leaned his forehead against hers, hands cupping her face in that possessive-gentle way she loved. ‘Later?’
She nodded. ‘I’ll hold you to that.’
Grinning, he hopped out of the car and raced around the hood to open her door. Warm air swirled into the car along with the scents of many Were. Taking a deep breath, she took Iain’s extended hand and allowed him to lead her into the house she’d last been in as an injured cat.
The Templestowe packhouse looked so different from her human height. Bigger and smaller at the same time somehow. For a moment her head span as she tried to rectify the images in her head from Bluebelle’s viewpoint and what her human eyes were seeing now. Iain’s hand on her arm brought her attention snapping back to him.
‘What’s wrong?’
She shrugged away. ‘Nothing. It’s just so strange to be here again. It feels kind of wrong, like I shouldn’t be. The last time I was here, I was spying on you all.’
‘Things have changed. You’ve changed.’
That was the understatement of the year. She’d betrayed those who’d been so kind to her when she’d been here the last time. Now she couldn’t allow Cain to make her part of betraying them again. She had to do this. Had to make them let her wake Cain, and then she would make sure that he could never hurt any of them ever again.
Iain led her down the hallway to the lounge room. ‘They’ll be here soon. Jason and Marcus are just finishing up with a tour of the perimeter and Skye, Cordy and Shelley are finishing up a training session.’
‘How do you know that?’ He hadn’t touched his phone since that one call he’d made before driving up here.
‘It’s a lieutenant thing.’
She nodded. She’d wondered last year if they had some internal way of communicating with each other. ‘What about Bron and River?’
‘Bron just wanted to make sure your coven mates were cared for properly before she left. They should be here soon.’
‘Okay.’ There was a shout outside—little-boy joy—and she went over to peer out. Tom was playing with the girl she knew was his nanny—she couldn’t remember her name. No, not simply playing. They were searching for something. Then he crowed and held up a colourful foil-wrapped egg.
‘What’s he doing?’
Iain stepped up beside her. ‘It’s an Easter egg hunt.’
‘Oh.’ She’d read about them, but never experienced one. She wondered if chocolate eggs tasted as good as they sounded.
The little boy’s laughter reached out to her, even through the thick glass of the floor-to-ceiling windows. It was amazing how joyful he sounded. He’d been so sad when she’d seen him the night before. It was a testament to Jason, Adam, Skye and their pack that the little boy was capable of such joy even in times that were trying for everyone else. He’d lost his parents, his grandparents, his other uncles and aunts in one accident—an accident caused by Morrigan and her desire for revenge. How much more would he lose if she didn’t find a way to stop her? And she was about to save Cain, for Morrigan. She had no doubt Morrigan planned for Cain to do something horrifying when he was back in his body. There had to be something she could do to stop him. Maybe there was still a small spark of her brother in there. Something she could use to her advantage.
Oh, Goddess. She sounded as bad as Morrigan, planning to use someone she loved to her own advantage. But what choice did she have? If she didn’t stop Cain and Morrigan, they would destroy the people who had done nothing but be kind and generous to her. They would destroy the man who had shown her just how strong she could be and encouraged her to find who she really was. She couldn’t let them hurt him. She couldn’t lose Iain just when she realised she loved him.
She gasped, hand to her mouth.
She loved him.
She turned, wanting to shout the words, to let them flow out of her mouth and cover them both with the joy of her discovery.
‘Eloise?’ he said, reaching for her.
‘Iain, I—’
‘Iain, mate.’
Her mouth slammed shut as Adam entered the room. Iain frowned a question at her, but she shook her head and took his outstretched hand. She’d tell him, but not now. Not in front of others.
Adam came forward and the two men shook hands. ‘So …’
‘Yes …’
They slapped each other’s shoulders and then Adam grabbed Iain’s forearm and pulled him forward to bump chests in a strange version of a hug and then stood back from each other, nodding.
Eloise couldn’t help but chuckle, bemused.
‘What?’ Adam asked.
She gestured between them. ‘Other people would have taken a thousand words to get to that level of understanding, but you two did it in two. Plus a handshake-hug-chest-bump thing.’
‘Are you dissing us, Little Bird?’ Iain pulled her to his side.
‘No. I guess I’m just a bit envious of how close you are. That you can communicate in such a simple way.’
Adam’s eyes had widened as he watched the two of them. She stiffened, getting ready for him to start telling her again he didn’t trust her, but then strangely, all the fight seemed to leave him.
His nostrils twitched as he took in a deep breath. ‘It can’t be.’
‘What can’t be, A?’
‘Your scent—it’s mingled with hers, almost as if—’ He shook his head. ‘No, it can’t be possible.’
‘What can’t be possible?’ Eloise didn’t like Adam’s tone. He almost sounded… horrified? No, that wasn’t it. But he wasn’t pleased.
Adam clenched his jaw and swallowed hard, like he was swallowing bad medicine and had to choke it down. Then after a long moment passed, he said, ‘I’m sorry for my rudeness earlier. I hope you can forgive me.’
‘Am I hearing things?’ Shelley said as she sauntered into the room, Skye beside her. ‘Is Adam apologising to you? Next thing you know I’ll see a dodo in the backyard.’
Skye snorted. ‘Shelley, don’t be mean. Adam’s realised he was wrong about Eloise. It’s a good thing—especially given he’s like a weather vane for the pack.’ She beamed at Eloise. ‘The pack are beginning to trust you like we do.’
Looking at Adam, Eloise didn’t think that was it. And from the piercing question in Iain’s eyes—a question Adam was studiously ignoring as he looked beyond her and out the window—she didn’t think Iain believed it was simple acceptance because of the pack.
Shelley touched her arm. ‘Nice to see you again so soon.’
‘I wish it could be under better circumstances.’
‘I
t can’t be helped. You should have seen the drama when I first came into the pack.’ Skye leaned in and gave her a hug. ‘Things will settle down and then we can all truly get to know each other.’
Eloise couldn’t help but feel warmed by their welcome. They really wanted her here. If she’d had any doubts left, they were gone now. ‘That would be nice.’
‘When are we getting this party started?’ Adam asked as he flopped down into one of the cream lounges.
‘Marcus is just discussing something with Cordy,’ Jason said as he walked into the room. He sat in the lounge next to Skye. Her hand found its way into his immediately and he covered it with both of his. It was natural, protective, and they both seemed to relax a little with the touch. Eloise now understood why. She always felt more centred when Iain was with her, especially when he touched her.
‘They won’t be long. River says they’re almost here.’
‘Did Bron say anything about my coven mates?’ Eloise asked. Cain said he wouldn’t touch them, but she wasn’t sure she could trust him about that. ‘Have they recovered from what Cain did to them?’
There was a short silence while every eye in the room landed on her.
‘Why does that matter? They were all part of what happened to Gabbie. They deserve to die.’
‘Adam!’ Shelley snapped.
‘They had nothing to do with what happened to Gabbie,’ Eloise said, voice hoarse with emotion. ‘They attacked me. Only me. It was Cain who murdered Gabbie.’
Every eye returned to her. Her knees trembled at the impact but she stood strong.
‘Cain?’ Skye turned to Jason. ‘You never said. But how?’
Lips set in a pained grimace, thumb stroking over her hand, he said, ‘Iain told me what happened via the link. I didn’t want to worry you all until we’d had a chance to talk to Eloise about what had happened and plan from there. I wanted her to be able to tell all of us together, rather than reliving that pain over and over.’
Adam seemed to vibrate in his seat and then sprang to his feet. The motion made Shelley snap her mouth shut, her gaze troubled as she looked between Iain and Eloise’s clasped hands and Adam pacing.
‘This is bullshit. We should just go and kill the fucker right now and be done with it.’
‘Adam!’ Shelley tried to grab his arm but he shook her off.
‘No. Why are we showing our enemies such mercy when they show us none? If none of the rest of you has the balls to do it, then let me.’ He turned and sprang towards the door.
‘Adam,’ Jason was on his feet, in front of his brother, stopping him dead, before Eloise could even blink. Adam snarled at him, but Jason didn’t let go. In fact, he seemed to grow larger, a low growl emitting out of his chest that vibrated through the entire room. The sound made Eloise want to run and hide, cowering. Iain’s hand tensed around hers, but when she looked up at him, his eyes were fixed on his Alpha.
Adam fought for a moment longer, but then slumped, as if all the fight drained out of him in less than a blink. He looked up at Jason, eyes awash. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘I know. You’re being ruled by the pack, their grief, anger, fear. But you’re stronger than that, Adam. You know you are. Just as you know why we can’t behave like our enemies. Mum and Dad taught you better than that.’
Adam dragged his hand across his face, swiping at the tears. ‘I know. I know.’
Marcus and Cordy chose that moment to arrive. Eloise could practically feel Marcus’ wolf bristle in response to the tension.
‘What’s going on?’ Cordy asked, eyes wide, stepping past Marcus, even though he was obviously trying to hold her back.
‘Nothing.’ Jason turned to stand in front of Adam.
‘It doesn’t feel like nothing,’ Marcus growled, his voice a low rasp—honey over gravel—that made Eloise think there was little difference between this man and his wolf.
‘We’re breaking new ground here with pack relationships,’ Skye said, joining Jason. ‘Sometimes things get a little… unexpected.’
Cordy looked between Jason, Skye and then Adam, whose head was bowed, not meeting anyone’s eyes. ‘Trickster stuff?’
‘Trickster stuff,’ Jason agreed.
Marcus nodded. Eloise wished she understood what was going on the way he did.
Cordy walked past Jason and touched Adam’s arm. ‘I think Marcus’ nephew might be shaping up to be a Trickster too. Perhaps you could help him.’
Adam looked up. ‘I’m not sure I’d be any help.’
‘You could chat with him. Tell him what you feel. He’s so overwhelmed, and you better than anyone would be able to empathise. Figure things out together, maybe?’
Adam trembled for a moment and then nodded. ‘Yeah.’ A small smile. ‘I think I can do that. I’m still finding out what it all means, but I’ll do what I can.’
Marcus simply slapped him on the back.
‘What have I missed?’ Bron said as she entered the room, River at her side.
‘Eloise was just going to tell us about how Gabbie died at the hands of an unconscious man.’ Adam crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.
Marcus tensed as if ready for an attack. ‘I can’t believe this! I trust you enough to allow our head Pack Witch to come to your land and now you are accusing us of not doing our job properly!’
‘That’s not what is happening here,’ Jason said.
‘There’s no way Cain has escaped.’ Marcus stood in front of Cordy, arms crossed, chin squared.
‘I’m sure that’s not what they meant,’ Cordy said, stroking his back. ‘Why don’t you calm down and let them explain.’
‘We know Cain hasn’t escaped,’ Jason said. ‘I brought you into this because I trust you to help keep us all safe. I still do.’
‘Then what are you saying?’
Jason looked over at Eloise, brow raised. ‘Can you explain exactly what happened?’
She took a steadying breath, and with Iain’s hand on her hip, his arm a comforting weight around her waist, she told them about the attack, by her coven mates and then by Cain in his Shade form. She told them what Cain had asked of her and what happened to poor Gabbie when she refused. ‘He would have killed Iain too if I hadn’t agreed.’ She realised her face was wet with tears. ‘I’m just so sorry I didn’t agree fast enough to save Gabbie too.’
Iain held her tighter, hand rubbing up and down her arm. ‘There was nothing you could have done to stop him. He wanted to make a point and so he did.’
‘Holy fuck!’ River said, turning accusing eyes on Bron. ‘You didn’t tell me that.’
‘I didn’t know all of it. I just heard that last part myself.’
‘Why are we here discussing this?’ Adam barked.
‘Bloody right.’ Marcus pulled his phone out of his pocket. ‘That fucker has to die.’
‘No!’ Eloise stepped forward as if she was going to wrench his phone out of his hand. ‘You can’t. He’ll kill you all.’
There was a snort of derision from Marcus, but Iain said, ‘Listen to her.’ His voice didn’t carry the Alpha command, but silence fell none the less. ‘Just listen to her.’
Adam looked as if he was struggling not to say anything more, shifting back and forth as if he wished to pace again, but couldn’t. Marcus vibrated with suppressed anger, but when Cordy placed her hand on his arm and said, ‘Listen, lover,’ he grunted his acquiescence.
‘We’re listening,’ Jason said. ‘We’re all listening.’ The others all nodded.
‘Tell them.’ Iain’s words whispered in her ear. ‘Tell them what you told me.’
She took a moment to collect her thoughts. When she spoke, her words were slow but certain, her voice clear and showing none of the tension trembling in her stomach. ‘I know waking him is dangerous, but he’s in your custody.’ Her gaze went from Cordy to Skye to Shelley to Bron. ‘I won’t lie and tell you I’m not hoping you can help save him. There’s a darkness in him, a darkness that didn’t used to be there. I don’t kn
ow what it is, but it’s in Morrigan too and I’m certain it’s making them do things they wouldn’t normally do.’ Bron’s gasp as she grabbed hold of River’s hand made her stop. ‘You know what I’m talking about?’
‘Yes.’ She looked at the others. ‘We’ve come across it before. I banished it from River.’
‘You did?’ Hope rose inside Eloise. It must have shown on her face, because Skye sat forward.
‘We don’t know what it is, though,’ she said.
‘Bron isn’t quite sure how she got rid of it,’ Shelley added.
‘And getting it out of me almost killed her.’ River pulled Bron closer, as if afraid she was in danger again.
‘I understand.’ She swallowed hard. ‘But even if you can’t get rid of it, I think you have ways that can keep him contained so he can’t hurt anyone else once he’s back in his body.’ She looked at Cordy, who blanched but nodded.
‘I don’t understand how letting him live is better than killing him,’ Marcus said.
‘Because if I don’t help him, if we kill him,’ she said, her gaze flying to Marcus, to Adam, ‘or let him die,’ she added, looking to Jason and Shelley, ‘then while he is a Shade, he can go where he likes, he can take over anybody with a speck of magic, and if he touches you, he will drain the life from you just as he did from Gabbie. As he almost did from Iain.’
‘He can’t last as a Shade for long. His soul will fly apart without the anchor of his body,’ Cordy said.
Eloise swallowed the bitterness in her throat. ‘He is able to tap into Morrigan’s life force, and mine, so he can last for longer than a normal Shade. Can you take the chance of him roaming free with the power he has? Even if he only had a short time, a few hours, he’d come right for the people in this room and kill you all and there’s nothing you could do to stop him. If you touch him, he will drain you. He’d decimate your packs. He’d ensure Morrigan’s success.’
‘Is this true?’ Adam asked Cordy.
She was frowning, her expression strained. ‘We don’t have much lore about Shades, but what we do have suggests it’s the darkest of dark magic. There’s not much we can do to fight that, not without a lot more research and study.’
‘Or without using dark magic ourselves,’ Shelley said grimly.
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