She blew out a breath. ‘So, let’s get on with it.’ She edged past him, careful not to touch him again, and dropped down in front of the bookcase. ‘Are you going to come with me, Bluebelle?’ The cat growled at her, hissing as River came closer. He backed up but Bluebelle still refused to come out. ‘Okay,’ Bron sighed. ‘I get it. You need to get used to them. That’s okay. I’ll leave you some food and water and the window is a little ajar so you can get out. I’ll be back tomorrow.’
She put some more salmon on a plate and filled a bowl with milk and one with water before scooping up her basket. She took an old book from the shelf to the left of the door as she walked past it and put it in the basket too.
River followed her. ‘Why don’t we just start here? Then you don’t have to leave your cat.’
‘Until I figure out how to use my power, the only way to study it without hurting you or me is to use the pack bond. I know Iain is here, but I don’t know him very well, and I think it’s better I use a Were I’m more familiar with as I study your auras. Adam will help.’
River nodded. His wolf snarled.
‘Stop being such an arse. Adam will help her. We don’t have to like it, but it’s necessary.’
He suddenly became aware Bronwyn was staring at him. ‘What?’
‘You were talking to your wolf, then. Weren’t you?’
‘How did you know?’
‘You get this look on your face. And also, the darkness that separates your auras was kind of pushed aside as the two parts of you reached for each other, like a caress. It was kind of lovely.’
River had to choke back an incredulous laugh. The snarling wolf inside his head was hardly lovely. ‘So, Adam can help.’
‘Yes. And Jason too, if Adam isn’t available. Just until I get to know some of the other Were better.’
River didn’t like the sound of Jason being involved. As his Alpha, Jason was already closer to him than he liked. He was also intuitive. A good thing in an Alpha. Not so good when you were trying to hide from your darkest fears. Not to mention he was Skye’s mate, which gave him a triple link to River—through the Alpha bond, the pack bond and the twin bond. He didn’t need him to be involved in any more healings than necessary. But he didn’t say any of that to Bronwyn, just waited for her by the door as she checked her shop.
As she walked past the front counter, she bent and picked up a bag and a book. ‘This is Shelley’s bag and one of the Pack Diaries.’ She frowned. ‘I wonder why she brought this over with her.’
‘Maybe she found something that could help you.’
‘Maybe.’ She tucked it in the handbag and slung it over her shoulder. ‘But she didn’t know how much trouble I was having. I’ll read it when we get home.’ She flashed a smile at him. He couldn’t help but smile back. ‘They’re full of healing lore and even though they don’t particularly refer to someone in my situation—a half-blood Wiccan with powers gifted to me by a full-blooded witch—they might have something in them about you.’
River took the basket from her as she turned to lock the front door. ‘I don’t think there’s been a broken half-Were before. I’m one of a kind.’
She turned to him, her eyes filled with empathy, washing away the bitterness. ‘So am I. Perhaps that’s why this will work. Perhaps we were meant to be here, together. Because I feel broken and so do you, but together we can find a way to build something better. Something new.’
His breath, coming hard and fast at her words, fluttered the hair at her temples as it brushed over her face. ‘Perhaps,’ he managed, his voice husky with need.
She stared up at him for a long moment, then dropped the keys in her pocket, took the basket out of his numb fingers and headed towards the car park. ‘Come on. Let’s get started. It’s going to take some time for me to figure out how to let my power free yours. Wouldn’t it be great if I could do it before the next full moon cycle?’
His breath hitched in his throat at the thought of the next full moon. ‘Yes, it would.’
Chapter 6
‘Bron’s running a little late, but she said to tell you she won’t be long,’ Shelley said as she closed the door behind him. ‘Do you want something to eat or drink?’
River shook his head. ‘You get back to what you were doing. I’ll just head up to the treatment room.’ Shelley nodded absently and drifted back into the study. Nerves screaming with hidden energy, River headed upstairs, although what he really wanted to do was run away. Far away so he didn’t have to go through the hell of a ‘treatment’ again.
The first one had been bad enough, and that had mostly consisted of Bronwyn staring at first him and then Jason—she said she was observing their auras—then touching Jason and having Jason touch him. She’d only once tried to touch him herself with her healing powers engaged, but something inside him had lunged, snapping out at both her and him with some kind of electric jolt. It had left her rubbing her singed fingers and him prowling from the room, both the wolf and the Beast growling for pre-eminence in his throat.
He’d hurt her and she wanted to try this again? It was crazy. He was crazy for agreeing. And yet, when she’d come looking for him to ask, showing him her hand and that no permanent damage had been done, he hadn’t been able to say no. She said she’d learned quite a bit about her new power and how to use the pack link through Jason to help her reach others. She’d been really keen to try again.
So, here he was because she needed him.
He let himself into the room and stood there, breathing in the scent of her. He had a memory of being in a room similar to this when he was a boy. His mother’s room. In the absence of a Pack Healer, she had trained as a doctor. He had a distinct memory of sitting on a treatment table like the one by the far wall, his mother cooing over him as she patched up a cut on his knee. He still bore the scar from that wound, despite his mother’s deft stitches. He remembered his mother kissing his knee afterwards, ‘to make it better’ she’d said. The sticky sensation of her lip gloss had left an imprint of warmth on his skin.
He swallowed hard and paced to the French doors that led out onto a small balcony at the back of the house. He longed for nothing more than to open those doors, leap from the balcony and escape. But there was no escaping from memories and the melancholy they brought.
He absently scratched his scarred face as he pondered the change. His memories used to always be golden. They’d helped him to hold on through all the dark years, a glow of light—the warm, soft smile that always lit up his mother’s face when she looked at her family or as she worked; the way Papa would ruffle his hair and sit River on his knee as he explained one thing or other about his role in pack life; the scent of his mother’s cooking, especially when she baked his favourite apple and rhubarb pie, the fruit taken from their own garden and picked by him—his love of gardening had begun then; the scents of spices and herbs that always hung around his papa; Skye’s laughter the first time she’d lit a candle with her mind; the first time she’d levitated; when he would come to her in the night and beg her to join him for a run through the woods. They had been so safe and secure in their parents’ love, the love and friendship of pack, sure of their place in the world.
Maybe that was the problem now. There was a hope for something better in Skye’s future, but aside from being free from the drugs, nothing had really improved for him. In fact, it was a whole lot worse. He’d always hoped once Skye accepted her powers, once the Curse was reversed, he’d be free. But he wasn’t. And it hurt to remember times when he’d been whole; when he’d been so sure of everything.
‘What happened to protecting Bron from misuse of her powers?’ River turned at the sound of Adam’s voice to see the Trickster slipping into the room.
‘What are you doing here?’
‘Jason asked me to keep an eye on the situation. He’s having a meeting with Marcus and isn’t available today.’
‘Good.’
Adam’s brows rose as he crossed his arms over his chest an
d leaned against the bookshelf that was filled with Bronwyn’s little jars of lotions and potions. ‘Good that I’m here, or good that Jason’s not?’
River’s mouth twitched. ‘Both.’
Adam nodded. ‘Is that because you know this shouldn’t happen and yet you’re too chicken to gainsay our Alpha?’
‘Adam McVale!’ Bronwyn said as she walked into the room. ‘Did I just hear you call River chicken?’
Adam’s lips formed a lopsided smile. ‘It depends.’
‘On what?’
‘On if me saying yes will end in you hitting me.’ He glanced over at River, laughter in his eyes. ‘She may be small, but she packs a mean punch.’
She walked over and punched him in the arm, not once, but three times in quick secession.
‘Ow,’ Adam said, rubbing his arm. ‘What was that for?’
‘The first was for calling River a chicken—which he definitely isn’t. The second was for calling me small.’
‘But you are.’
She punched him again and, ignoring his protest, turned to the shelves next to him to dump a few more jars on them. ‘And the third was just because you deserve it.’
‘And the fourth?’
She turned and flashed him a smile. ‘Because I felt like it.’
Adam gaped at her for a moment, false outrage on his face, then turned to River and shook his head. ‘I have to agree with that Women are from Venus book, because their reasoning is just not of this world.’
River couldn’t help smiling, even though he didn’t know what a ‘women are from Venus’ book was. ‘I think Bronwyn’s reasoning was quite sound. I wanted to hit you, too.’
Adam rolled his eyes and sighed theatrically. ‘A Trickster’s burden is to always be unappreciated and misunderstood.’
Bronwyn rubbed his arm where she’d just punched him. ‘I get misunderstood too.’ Her fingers wrapped around his arm as she leaned up on tiptoes and kissed his check. ‘And even when you are annoying, I appreciate you.’
Adam looked down at her, his fondness for her clear for anyone to see. ‘And I you. We’ll be misunderstood together.’
Watching the friendly tableau, River knew he should feel grateful that Bronwyn had someone else to be interested in, and that it was Adam seemed appropriate. They were alike in many ways, and there was something about Adam that River couldn’t help but like. However, he didn’t feel grateful. He wanted to punch the Trickster in the face until that too-charming smile disappeared and wouldn’t be likely to make a reappearance any time soon.
He wrapped his arms around his chest, gripping into his sides, fingers digging painfully into his skin through his thin T-shirt and said through a throat filled with razor blades of emotion, ‘Can we just get this done?’
Bronwyn let go of Adam with a start and turned to him, her beautiful eyes full of apologies. ‘I’m sorry. I know this is hard for you. And I so appreciate you doing it for me.’
‘It’s not hard. And please, don’t apologise to me. Ever.’
‘I agree,’ Adam said, his arms crossed as he glared at River. ‘Especially when you’re not the one who’s done anything wrong, Bron.’
Bronwyn glanced between the two men. ‘What’s going on here? What are you talking about, Adam? What’s going on?’
River pressed his lips together.
Adam was the first to break. ‘You passed out on Samhain and the night after, both times because you used too much power healing River. Not that I’m against you healing River—it was necessary—’ River snorted, but Adam ignored him. ‘But we kind of thought you shouldn’t be allowed to attempt to do that kind of thing again until you were trained in your new abilities. I mean, it’s obvious, from what you did, that you’re powerful, but you put too much into him. We can’t have you doing that. You could flame out and you know how dangerous that is to a witch.’ He glared at River. ‘He was supposed to say no to you if you pressed the point.’
She crossed her arms, her finger tapping against her forearm. ‘Oh, really?’
He sent a ‘thanks a lot’ glare to Adam and shook his head. ‘Don’t get angry. We are worried about you.’
‘Obviously you aren’t worried enough,’ Adam quipped.
River’s fists curled at his sides. ‘You weren’t there when she asked. You wouldn’t have said “no” either.’
‘Oh, I think I would have.’
‘Yeah, because you’ve had so much practice saying no to women.’
‘Jealous?’
‘Enough!’ Bron shouted, stepping between them. ‘You can finish this pissing match later.’ She turned to Adam. ‘Stop picking at River for doing something you know you would have done if I’d turned my puppy-dog eyes on you and asked you to help me.’
‘I’m not that much of a pushover.’
‘No?’ Her eyebrows went up. ‘So you’re saying that not only, as my friend, you wouldn’t do something really important to me, but that you wouldn’t do something your Pack Witch asked you to do for the good of the pack?’
‘I …’
‘Yeah, as I thought.’ She poked him in the chest. ‘And don’t pretend otherwise. Besides, we had a healing session the other day and all in all, it went pretty well.’
‘He burned you.’
‘No he didn’t,’ she said, holding up her hand to stop River from saying anything. ‘I did something wrong, so any pain I felt is all on me. But I’m learning. Which is what this is about. Now, why are you here?’
Adam blinked at her. ‘To help with the healing. Jason told me to come.’
‘And despite your reservations you still came. How sweet.’
His mouth worked for a moment as if he were swallowing back some choice words, but then he just pointed at her and said, ‘You’ll keep.’
‘I’m sure I will.’ She flashed him a grin. ‘But Jason was wrong. I don’t need you in here today. I made some great observations yesterday and worked some things out in my head while I was sleeping last night. So you can go.’
Adam crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the treatment table. ‘I think I should stick around anyway, just in case something goes wrong.’
‘Don’t you trust me?’ She pouted at him and batted her big cinnamon eyes. River almost chuckled at her tactics. He could feel the big man at his side tense, as if fighting against those eyes, but knew the minute he gave in. It was a moment longer than he would have lasted himself against those eyes—he had to give Adam credit for that.
Adam threw his hands up in the air and said, ‘All right. I give in.’ He turned to River, his dark eyes suddenly serious. ‘If you let her hurt herself again …’
‘As if I would,’ he growled.
‘Adam! Stop it. Nobody is going to hurt anyone. Now get out.’
‘Call me if you need me. I’ll be right outside.’
‘I assure you, everything will be fine. Now close the door behind you and don’t let anyone disturb us.’
The door closed with a quiet snip.
She turned to River. ‘You need to stop letting him rile you. You’ve done a nice thing. Get over it.’
He just stared at her, suddenly too aware they were alone. ‘Are you sure you don’t need Adam?’
Her brow furrowed a little. ‘I want to try something and I won’t be able to do it with the distraction of him in the room. If it doesn’t work, I’ll just call him back in.’
‘You said you dreamed of something?’
‘Yes.’ She was rubbing her hands together, seeming nervous all of a sudden.
He wanted to put her at ease. ‘Do you dream of solutions to healing very often?’
‘Sometimes that’s how the Goddess chooses to speak to me.’
‘Is it like a trance or a vision or something?’
Bron shook her head. ‘No. It’s just a dream. But I’ve learned to trust them.’ She swallowed hard. ‘Can you just take your T-shirt off? I want to get started. I’m running late enough as it is and I’ve got things to do later.�
�
‘Yes ma’am.’
If River’s smile wasn’t enough to drool over, Bron’s mouth went dry as he reached for the hem of his T-shirt and pulled it up over his head. She’d seen him shirtless before with his clothes in rags, but both those times other people had been around and the urgency of the moment meant her mind was full of healing.
This was different.
He was undressing in front of her. And there was nobody else in the room. Suddenly the world receded and her entire attention was completely taken up with River.
He was still too thin for his frame, but oh she could see the promise there as his muscles flexed and rippled over that frame. He had that mouth-watering combination of wide shoulders, tapered waist and sixpack stomach, the muscles on his chest, back and arms shaped and firm. Even though he’d been drugged up for twenty years with all the medication his grandmother gave to him to keep his wolf at bay, he wasn’t a couch potato. All that gardening he’d done in the grounds of Cantrae House during that time had sculpted and toned him into male perfection. That and his Were genes.
He turned, bent over to lay his T-shirt on the chair near the head of the table, his gorgeous arse outlined as his jeans stretched tight. Was she drooling? She touched her mouth just as he turned back to her.
‘Where do you want me?’
Oh Goddess! She knew where she wanted him, and it wasn’t in her treatment room in the packhouse, with Adam just outside the door, a listening audience. She wanted him …
‘Are you okay?’
She jumped as his voice rumbled close to her ear. She glanced back at him, saw him frown. What the hell was she thinking? This was River. Her best friend’s twin. He needed her help. He wasn’t someone she should be having sex fantasies about for Goddess’s sake! Disgusted with herself—she knew better on so many levels not to look at patients like that—she said, ‘Just hop on the table and lie down.’
River moved more like a cat than a wolf, his actions smooth and sinuous, his muscles bunching as he hoisted himself up, then stretching as he lay down. Her mouth went dry again as she watched the flex of his sixpack. She snapped her mouth shut and turned away to the shelves behind her. What the hell was wrong with her?
Moon Bound Page 7