The Crane Curse Series Complete Boxed Set (Shape Shifter Romance)

by Liliana Rhodes

  "Good afternoon, Mr. LeCroix," Blanche said.

  Rafael flashed her a look and her hands flew up to her mouth.

  "Oh my, your eyes!"

  He was holding back the bear from taking over, but it wanted out. Rafael's body grew in mass and fur began sprouting on his skin as he bolted down the hall to the room he shared with Pinky.

  As he threw the door open, Sean spun the office chair to face him. In his hands were Pinky's red panties from the night before.

  "Mmm, you fucked her, didn't you?" Sean said. "Nothing like a human, am I right?"

  It took Rafael two quick steps to cross the room to Sean. His fist, now a combination of a hand with the size of a bear paw, crashed into Sean's jaw. The chair flew back, crashing into the desk as Sean fell onto the floor. Rafael grabbed him by his neck and threw him against the wall with the settee.

  Seeing Sean's eyes turn gold, Rafael pressed his forearm into the smaller shifter's neck, hoping that would shock him enough to stay human. With his teeth clenched, Rafael fought his own desire to let the bear take control, but he needed answers an animal couldn't give.

  "Why are you here?" Rafael growled.

  "Didn't you get my note?"

  Sean's response infuriated him even more. He could kill him in an instant, yet Sean didn't seem to have any fear.

  "Why. Are. You. Here?" Rafael said between clenched teeth as he pushed harder against Sean's neck.

  "I missed you," Sean said with a smile.

  Rafael looked at Sean's amber eyes. They were wild and crazed. His skin was grey and discolored with tufts of wolf hair pushing through. Sean had let his wolf take control too many times. It was only a matter of time before his human appearance began to deteriorate just as his mind had.

  Stepping back, he released Sean and he fell to the floor. Rafael took a deep breath and regained control over his bear spirit. He wanted to avenge his sister's death, but it wouldn't bring her back. Nothing would.

  "You should've killed me."

  "What for? To reduce myself to your level? Nothing will bring her back."

  "She always loved you better. I could never compete with her amazing big brother Rafael."

  "Is that why you did it? You killed her because you were jealous?"

  Sean's eyes flashed back to his natural blue color. His face fell and his shoulders slumped forward. As he rubbed his neck, he sat on the settee and finally let go of Pinky's panties, letting them drop to the floor.

  "I loved Clare, I really did. I didn't mean to do it. It was an accident," he said, his voice barely a whisper.

  "Then why didn't you say something? Why didn't you call the police?"

  "It was the wolf, I couldn't control him. Even now I can hear him howling in my head to shut up." He put his hands up to his ears, then dropped them into his lap. "She was talking about you like she always did. I don't know how it happened but the next thing I knew, I was squeezing her neck. I let go as soon as I had control back, but it was too late."

  "And you didn't try to revive her to get her breathing again?"

  Rafael felt his anger rising again. He wanted to squeeze Sean's neck and feel that fragile windpipe against his fingers. But he wouldn't succumb to the temptation.

  "I ran. I got scared and wasn't thinking. I was afraid they'd put me away. I've heard about those places they put shifters who can't control their animal spirit. I didn't want to go there. I'll never go there." Sean buried his face in his hands and rubbed his forehead with his fingertips. "But I relive that moment every day. She was my one and only, Rafael. You never understood how much I truly loved her."

  Rafael put his hand on Sean's shoulder. He never thought that Sean might feel remorse or that it was an accident. He never gave Sean a chance. Not as Clare's boyfriend and definitely never as a killer. Not once did he consider the human side of the man in front of him.

  "I came to Leeds Point to find you. You have to help me. I can't control the wolf anymore. You have to make it stop."

  Rafael didn't know what to say. In his own way, Sean was asking Rafael to kill him, to put him out of his misery, and save him from a lifetime at the hands of his wolf spirit. Rafael recognized that the man in control was short-lived and he was fighting a losing battle.

  "I can't do it. I can't do what you're asking," Rafael said. "You need help. There are groups and programs you can try. It's not too late for you."

  Sean's eyes flashed the shifter yellow for a moment before returning to blue. His eyes narrowed at Rafael as he pushed his hand off his shoulder.

  "If you won't help me, then I'll force you to. I found you here, didn't I? Keep an eye on your precious girl, because when the moment is right, she's mine. I will get what I want."

  Sean shifted into wolf form and rushed out of the room. Rafael had to resist the urge to chase after him, but he knew Pinky was safe with Rose. With the wolf gaining control over Sean, he didn't know what Sean was capable of doing. He could only hope that the part of him that loved and missed Clare was still strong enough that he wouldn't harm Pinky or anyone else.

  But if Sean dared to try hurting her, then he might just get the help he asked Rafael for. Rafael didn't want to take a life, but if it meant keeping Pinky safe, he would do exactly that.

  Chapter Ten

  The sun dipped behind the trees, creating shadows on the porch. Pinky was worried about Rafael. She could tell he wasn't telling her something, but she wasn't going to press him about it in front of Rose. Checking her phone to see if she missed a call or text, her chest felt heavy when she saw nothing there.

  "He's fine, Pinky. Trust me," Rose said as she patted Pinky's hand. "Goodness! Look at the time."

  Somehow time flew by while they spoke, and Pinky never got Rose back to the topic of her father.

  "I'm sorry for taking up your day," Pinky said. "I still want to ask you what you know about my father. My mother is convinced you know where he is."

  Rose stared off into the distance. A soft smile played on her lips. Her eyes moved back to Pinky and as she nodded, a motorcycle roared up the street.

  "Drew is here! I'm so glad. I wanted you to meet him."

  The black motorcycle came into view and turned into the driveway, disappearing alongside the house. The bike went silent and from around the corner a man in black boots, jeans, and a jean jacket stepped onto the sidewalk. As he made his way up the steps to the porch, he ran his fingers through his wavy dark brown hair.

  "I didn't know you had company, Mom," he said as he bent down to kiss Rose, then turned to face Pinky.

  "Drew, this is Pinky Smythe. Jerry's daughter.”

  Drew stroked his lightly bearded cheek while eyeing Pinky. His bright green eyes were the same shade as his mother's, and they moved up and down her body, making her uncomfortable.

  "It's a pleasure to meet you, Pinky," he said. "You look nothing like your father."

  Drew picked up Pinky's hand from her lap and kissed the top of it then winked. She couldn't control the flush that crept up her neck and warmed her body, and she hoped he wouldn't notice.

  Pinky shifted in her seat and checked her phone again, wishing even more for Rafael's return. Drew was incredibly confident and sexy. In a different time, Pinky would have loved to get to know him better. But now that she finally let herself fall for Rafael, no one else could compare.

  "I can't believe you both know my father so well, but I've never met you before," Pinky said as Drew entered the house.

  "I'm sure he had his reasons," Rose said. "You'll have to ask him sometime."

  "Do you know where he is? What happened to him?"

  "The vision is a little muddy, but I can tell you what I know and what I'm able to see. He called me before his disappearance. We spoke regularly on the phone, but this time it wasn't a social call. He wanted to know what I knew about the portal between our worlds."

  "Go on," Pinky said. "Please tell me everything you told him. It might help."

  Rose nodded and smiled softly before rubbin
g Pinky's shoulder. "It will help. I know you'll find him. I can see it."

  As she sat back, Rose began rocking slowly in her chair. Her hair swayed back and forth as she rocked. When she spoke, she chose her words wisely.

  "The portal truly exists. I believe it is the beacon in Leeds Point that calls gifted people there. Some have control over the portal, they can make it appear and disappear although they do not realize what they are doing. They can also call people through the portal. For visits."

  Rose stopped for a moment and raised her eyebrows at Pinky. It slowly dawned on Pinky that Rose was giving her clues. She needed to pay more attention to what Rose said.

  "Centuries ago, people believed those who had the ability to make the portal appear were witches, and this ability was a sign of how cursed they were," Rose said.

  Pinky had read about that in some of the research she once did, but she never pieced it together with what was going on now. Everything was becoming clearer. She was finally putting together the connection between the Crane Curse and the portal. But she still needed to know more. Rose hadn't said anything yet about what had happened to her father.

  "Throughout the centuries, many people have tried opening the portal," Rose said. "They believe that by exposing it, the inhabitants in the spirit world will willingly re-enter our world and allow themselves to be controlled. They don't realize that the portal prevents either world from populating the other–when one goes in, one must come out."

  Pinky's eyes opened wide and her heart sank as she realized what Rose was saying. She got some answers, but now she had even more questions. "So my father went through the portal, but how would he open it? If he was meeting with Hannah for her to open it, she would've told me."

  "He didn't meet Hannah. He was going to meet Faith."

  "Faith? Hannah's aunt? But I thought she was only a charmer."

  "Faith is much more powerful than a simple charmer. She just hasn't fulfilled her destiny," Rose said. "Unfortunately, I can't see much from that night. I don't know if Faith showed up or not, but I can see the portal and I know your father is inside."

  "So he's trapped in the spirit world. But that means someone from that side took his place out here. Who?"

  Pinky rose to her feet. She had to get back to Leeds Point immediately. All she could think about was finding that portal and getting her father back. There had to be a way and if she could find the spirit who took his place, maybe she could get them back in and her father out.

  "You need to find Penelope," Rose said. "Penelope Crane. She's been hiding."

  "Penelope Crane? You mean Pea?"

  The puzzle pieces came together…the portal, the Crane Curse, her father's disappearance, it all made sense. The curse was more than Crane family's ability to open the portal, it was that throughout time, those who wanted to use the portal for evil discovered the Cranes and their power.

  For the first time, Pinky felt in control. Every moment in her life led to this, and she wasn't going to blow it. She had to rescue her father.

  "'Thank you, Rose. Thank you so much for your help. I have to get back to Leeds Point right now. The moon is going to wane soon and I don't think my mother can take another month without my father. And neither can I."

  Rose stood beside Pinky and gave her a hug. "Please visit again. Your gift will appear soon, you just need to be open to it. Remember I'm always here to help. Now go get your father. Your car is waiting."

  Pinky heard the hum of the Camaro's engine before the car pulled up in front of the house. Rafael walked up to the porch, his eyes stony and focused. Something was bothering him.

  "Ready? We need to head back to Leeds Point," he said.

  "I was just going to say the same thing," she said. "I just need to get my stuff from the inn."

  "Everything is in the back of the car already."

  His expression softened as their eyes met. Pinky wondered what happened to make him ready to return, too. Taking his hand, they walked back to the car. Despite his rushing, Rafael took the time to open her door for her and waited for her to get in. With his hurry to get home, that simple gesture meant even more to her.

  As he put the car in gear, she could see his mind was elsewhere. She wanted to prod and get him to talk, but there was already so much she had on her mind and she was running out of time. She would have to find out why he was acting so odd another time. With everything she learned, she was still trying to wrap her head around what happened. She needed help and she knew exactly who to call.

  Chapter Eleven

  Once the car reached the highway, Pinky pulled out her phone and dialed Hannah. Pinky's heart beat faster with each ring.

  "Why isn't she answering?" she said, hanging up as Hannah's voicemail picked up.

  "I'm sure everything is okay," Rafael said as he put his hand on her knee.

  "What if it isn't? My dad is trapped in the spirit world and my best friend who has been taking care of my mother isn't answering her phone. She's the only one who can help me. What if something happened after I left?"

  Pinky leaned over to check Rafael's speed, planning to tell him to drive faster. He was already doing 80, she couldn't tell him to speed any more than he already was. The sun had already set, making the road and the pine trees dark. The countdown had begun on how much time she had left to get her dad out of the spirit world.

  Rafael glanced over at her but didn't speak. She still wanted to know what happened when he left and why he left, but she was dealing with too much as it was. Deep down, she knew if she found out, she would be even more panicked, and that was the last thing either of them needed.

  She wrung her hands together and started cracking her knuckles, one by one pushing down on each finger until it gave a loud pop. Rafael put his large hand over her hands, stopping her. His warmth soothed her. She took a deep breath and looked out the window. There was nothing she could do but wait. She never had the patience for waiting.

  Her phone chimed and she clumsily picked it up off her lap, almost dropping it onto the car floor. It was Hannah. Quickly sliding her finger across the screen, she answered the phone.

  "Hannah? Where are you? Is everything alright?"

  "Hey Pinky, I'm sorry I missed your call. I was talking to my mom. Everything's fine here, but my mom is freaking out a little bit."

  "Freaking out? What happened?"

  "I don't know. This isn't like her. I have no idea what's going on with her," she said, sighing. "She thinks she saw Pea in the garden. You know, Pea's garden behind the house. It doesn't make any sense. My mom hasn't spoken to Pea since she died. And the last time I tried calling Pea, she didn't come. I don't even think she can leave the clearing. You think maybe my mom's seeing things?"

  "No, Hannah, she's not. That's why I called you. I think Pea is out. She's in our world. I need your help so we can talk to my father. I don't know what happened, but I think he took Pea's place."

  Hannah was silent. Pinky knew her friend well enough to give her time to process what she said. Hannah was naive sometimes, but she wasn't stupid. Pinky tried cracking another knuckle while she waited for Hannah to respond.

  "Where are you?" Hannah said. "This is the last night of the full moon. Meet me at the clearing and let's call your dad."

  "That's exactly why I called," Pinky said. "I can probably meet you there in about an hour. We're making good time. I also need to call Faith."

  "My aunt?"

  "Yeah, that's who my dad met the night he went missing."

  "You think she did something? I really don't think she'd want Pea out, running around freely in this world. You know how much she resents her."

  "I know. If she did something I'm sure it wasn't on purpose, but I have to find out what happened."

  Hannah gave Pinky Faith's number before hanging up. Pinky took a deep breath and called Faith, listening to the rings as her mind spun. She wasn't sure what she was going to say, but Faith had to know something.

  "Hello?" Faith said as
she answered the phone.

  "Hi, Faith? It's Pinky Smythe. You know, Hannah's friend."

  "Yes, of course I do. How's your father? I haven't heard from him in a few weeks. I really thought I'd hear from him before the full moon."

  "Erich didn't tell you? He's missing. He's been gone since the night you met at the clearing."

  The phone went silent. Confused, Pinky looked at her phone to make sure she didn't lose the connection.

  "Faith?"

  "I'm sorry, Pinky. I'm just in shock. I wish Erich had told me, but he didn't know I met with your dad that night. He was doing some Council work and I didn't think it was important enough to tell him we met. But nothing happened that night. I feel bad because I wasted your dad's time. What happened to him? Do you know where he went? Was it something I did?"

  There was sadness in her voice. Pinky knew enough about Faith to imagine what she was thinking. Faith had a funny way of taking the blame for things she had no control over. It dawned on Pinky that they were a lot alike.

  "Faith, it's not your fault. I'm about an hour away. Can you meet me at the clearing? Hannah will be there, too. My father is trapped in the spirit world. It seems he went through the portal. I have to get my father out and I'm going to need your help."

  "Of course, Pinky. I'll be there."

  They hung up and Pinky leaned back into the seat and sighed. As she looked out the window at the passing trees, now black with night, her heart sank. She couldn't save her father. Who would take his place?

  ***

  Pinky and Rafael drove past Hannah's house to a cul-de-sac at the end of the street. As he brought the car to a stop, Pinky looked up at the bright full moon in the cloudless sky. Along the curve of the cul-de-sac was the entrance to the woods. The forest was home to many mysteries in Leeds Point, and Pinky was ready to solve one of them.

  As they entered the woods, Pinky thought back to her younger days when she would meet her friends with whatever alcohol they could steal from their parents and drink in the clearing. Sometimes they would share stories about the crazy things they heard happened there.