The Shifting Storm (Book 4)

by Jeff Hale

  “Shit.” I calmed myself down again, ridding my mind of depressing thoughts, reminding myself that I had Darien and he wasn’t going anywhere. The door stopped wiggling, the posters quit tugging at their bonds, and the pages of my research paper floated gently to rest in a scattered mess around the room. I felt a brief caress of air across my face before it died out entirely.

  I narrowed my eyes at Talon, who had his muzzle resting on his paws. “You know what this is, don’t you?” I asked, tone accusing, as I gestured at the mess. Bianca had her theories, but I still wasn’t entirely sure. She didn’t know about turning into the drake. “You know why I can do crap like this.”

  He regarded me out of his glowing blue eyes, not answering.

  “What the hell am I, Talon?”

  He cocked his head to the side. “I think you already know the answer to that.”

  “But I’m a shifter, how in the hell can I be a sorcerer too?”

  He pushed himself up so that he was sitting on his hindquarters. “Not a clue. Sometimes the Aether just does strange things and not even the vaunted Merlin can figure it out.”

  “Has it ever happened before?” I knew Bianca had told me that it had, that she thought I was a shaman, but I wanted to hear it from someone else.

  “Have there ever been other people with more than one supernatural type, dual Aetherics? That’s what they’re called anyway, and yes, but it’s pretty rare.”

  A thought crossed my mind. “Wouldn’t hybrids be considered those?”

  “Those rakshasa? Like your dad?”

  “Yeah.”

  “No, they aren’t. They start out as one thing and get the second added. You need training, red,” Talon said as a piece of paper still swirled lazily on the floor.

  “I’ve been getting training. Sort of. From Ms. Haid, my Cryptozoology teacher. She’s a fire sorcerer. We’ve only met a couple of times, and last time I was just too distracted. Not sure it’s really worth going back. Don’t worry, though, I’ve been fine this last year. I’ll be fine,” I protested.

  He shook his head, the motion almost comical on the wolf. “As you get more and more stressed, little stuff like this is going to happen more often, stuff you can’t really control. One of these times it’s not going to be something little and you might end up seriously hurting someone. Ask Aerick if you don’t believe me. He still has nightmares about it. Speaking of asking Aerick, why don’t you talk to him about it, ask him if he can spare some time to teach you? I now you mentioned this sorcerer teacher of yours, and she can teach you the basics, but Aerick probably knows way more than she does.”

  “That’s always supposing Aerick would even agree to it. I get the idea he kinda hates me right now,” I said sadly.

  “All you can do is ask, he might surprise you.”

  “Not over the phone though, in person, so he can’t hang up on me. But I don’t want to go to his apartment either, assuming he’s not living somewhere else, too personal. I need someplace neutral to talk to him.” I was unsure about the decision to talk to Aerick about it, but Talon was right, I needed to get it under control before something bad happened.

  “What about his office?”

  “What office?” I asked.

  “He’s working as kind of a supernatural investigator now. He has his own offices. Here, grab up one of those pieces of paper and a pencil and I’ll give you the address.”

  I did as he suggested, noting the address was somewhere in Summerlin.

  “Well, toots, I gotta go,” Talon said, jumping down from the bed. “Think about what I said, go talk to Aerick.” And then he winked out of sight.

  I sighed, flopping back onto the bed to stare at the ceiling, noting a stray sock of mine that had somehow ended up on one of the ceiling fan arms. I wasn’t sure how long I lay there, trying to get up the courage to drive down to that office on the off chance that Aerick was there, hoping that either Darien or Alex would come through the door and talk me out of it, before I finally rolled off the bed and forced myself out the door.

  The office was on one corner of a lot that held a couple strip malls, and I passed an older, violet Mustang as I pulled into the parking lot. I got out of the car, felt my phone buzz in my pocket and looked to see that I had a text from Darien—‘we’re home, where are you?’—plus another I had missed from Sayuri saying that she and Takeo were leaving Henry’s pack and were going home. I sent a quick text back that I would be home shortly, and another to Sayuri telling her I would miss them but I didn’t blame them, only vaguely noticing some movement through the windows to my right. I paused briefly at the office door to gather my courage, then pushed it open and walked in.

  There was a small lobby, with a waiting area off to one side, brightly lit by an overhead skylight and tall windows that reached to the ceiling, and a door on the wall opposite me had a small plaque that read ‘Bathroom’. To my right were two personal offices, separated by a narrow hallway, both with walls that turned into windows at waist height, but the blinds were closed on both.

  What staggered me the most though was the insanely strong lust vibe coming out of the office closest to me, the one I had thought I had seen movement in when I was outside. I knew there were other cat shifters in Vegas, but all things coincidental had me believing Nina was in that office; the sound of female laughter cinched it.

  I flattened myself against the door, pulling enough power around me that I was as good as invisible and moved carefully around the wall and down the hall. The door to the right hand office was open, and when I peeked inside, I just about wished I hadn’t.

  Aerick’s jeans were undone, pushed part way down his thighs, and Nina was on her knees in front of him, her mouth around him, while she fumbled with the ties to the minidress she had put on earlier. Part of me wanted to run screaming back down the hall, but another part, a more visceral part, was drawn by the lust that was rolling off her as well.

  I wanted to step forward and run my hands across the tight skin of Aerick’s ass and rub the rest of my body against him like the cat I was. I caught myself, had yet another test of wills with my inner animal and pushed the desire to just under the surface. But still, I couldn’t seem to bring myself to leave, so I settled for slinking into the room and settling into the far corner, feeling like a voyeur.

  Nina managed to get her dress undone and it lay in a little silver puddle at her feet. Aerick was looking down at her, his eyes glassy, when Nina pulled away from him and smiled, then stood and threw herself onto Aerick’s desk while he got rid of his pants and boots, then reached out and pulled the cord to shut the outside blinds.

  I watched, entranced and a little disgusted, hoping against hope that Aerick wouldn’t continue on with this, that he would push her away, tell her it wasn’t right, but I had the awful gut feeling that he wasn’t entirely in control of the situation either, that Nina had taken his will away. I just didn’t understand why he wasn’t fighting it; he had a strong will, I knew he did.

  He was naked now, Nina having torn his shirt from him, and when he picked her up and melded her to him, I felt as though someone had shoved a knife into my heart.

  “Fuck me,” Nina whispered to him and I had to bite back a scream of anguish.

  He’s mine, not hers, mine. I leaned forward, hands on my knees as I choked back tears, forcing myself to be silent as I watched the man that I loved fall with her to the desk, sweeping everything else off of it, and lose himself in her. I knew she had to have done the same thing with Darien and I was eternally grateful that I hadn’t had to watch that as well.

  I should have left then, I should have just turned my back and not cared, but my feet were frozen to the floor because I knew if I let myself actually move, it wouldn’t be out the door. I was having a hard enough time not ripping my own clothes off and joining them, the only thing saving me the fact that Nina was so intent on Aerick that the vibe she sent out was blunted when it got to me.

  Darien had said she was strong. I hadn’
t wanted to believe him. Now I did.

  Nina’s shrill cry of pleasure had me looking up again, fury singing through me as I watched Aerick find his release with her.

  “Rick… I never thought… I never knew you’d be like this,” she panted and I wanted to cover my ears. “If I had I might have pushed to do this sooner.”

  In that moment I hated Nina, hated her more than I had ever hated anyone before. First she had slept with Darien, and now Aerick, and she knew how I felt about them both. A sudden realization hit me then and I had to bite my knuckle to keep from laughing hysterically.

  It hadn’t been Darien first. It had been Alex. Then Darien and Aerick, although how she had known about Alex I wasn’t sure.

  She had been systematically taking possession of anything that had already been mine, leaving her mark on them, letting me know she could take them from me if she chose.

  Aerick moved across the room, then opened a drawer and pulled out clothing he was keeping in the office. Part of me sighed in disappointment as he covered a body I hadn’t been able to see or touch in way too long.

  “Rick, you have no idea how good that was. I don’t think I’m going to be able to walk out of here anytime soon. My legs are shaking. We are so going to have to do that again,” Nina said, voice husky and low.

  “I’m thinking… no. That will never happen again. Ever. We shouldn’t have done that in first place,” he told her and I could hear something in his voice, guilt perhaps, maybe a little remorse.

  Good, he should feel guilty, and I was too upset to keep silent any longer.

  “You’re right. That should never have happened.” I said snidely, dropping the power that allowed me to remain unseen. I looked reproachfully at Aerick. “Are you in the habit of taking advantage of all shifters during or near their first change?” Although it had been more like me taking advantage of him at the point in time, but I was mad, and when I was mad I got mean.

  They both swiveled toward me, Aerick to stare in shock, Nina to smile smugly.

  “K-kat?! H-how long have you…?” Aerick asked, almost stuttering in his surprise.

  “Long enough. Long enough to know how badly you’ve obviously wanted her. It showed, believe me,” I told him, not bothering to hide my disgust and disappointment.

  “I don’t know… I…” He stopped, shaking his head as though trying to shake the hold of something.

  “Yeah, that’s right. You sense it now, don’t you? That same feeling?” I’d demonstrated the lust aura once, and only once to him, then had promised him I would never use it on him unless he asked me to. I pushed off the wall and walked over to him, still in a temper, still wanting to drag him to me and have my own way with him.

  “Listen, don’t feel bad about giving in. If you were around her long enough, it would have happened eventually. It’s partially my fault. I shouldn’t have let her out of my sight.” Should have locked her in a dungeon and thrown away the key. “She must have come to you thinking that you could help her. I won’t hold it against you; you obviously didn’t know what had come over you. Hell. Maybe we can continue this… all three of us. Huh?” I pressed up against him, basking in the feel of him so close to me, and sent out my own wave of lust. My intent was to prove a point to him, but I almost hoped he would give in, just so I could have him again, even if it meant Darien would never forgive me.

  “No. Kat, back off. This isn’t right.” Aerick pushed me away from him. “Not like this.” I watched the play of emotion across his face, knew it was affecting him but he was fighting against it.

  “So, you can fight it. She’s powerful, I’ll give her that, and why, I don’t know. Still, what you did with Nina wasn’t right either, yet somehow you not only gave in, but you exulted in it. I felt it coming off of you like a scent. You enjoyed that in ways that you never enjoyed what you had with me,” I said, putting all the hurt and betrayal I could into my tone. I stepped past him to Nina, not wanting to have anything to do with her, but feeling a responsibility at the same time, at least to get her away from Aerick.

  “Can we go, Kat?” Nina asked, throwing a glance Aerick’s way and then giving me that same look she had earlier, the one that said she had won.

  “Yeah, let’s get out of here. After today, I’m pretty sure you’re gonna be changing soon.” With as much power as she was putting out, it had to be. I put my arm around her shoulders so I could guide her out of the room. I didn’t trust turning my back on her. I sighed. “You have a lot to learn, Nina, but we’ll get through this.” I hope.

  “Kat,” Aerick said, voice low and quiet.

  I turned to look at him and I couldn’t keep the tears back this time.

  He continued, “What we had… have… whatever…. It is special to me. I didn’t know what was going on when Nina hit me with whatever it is you two can do. Maybe I didn’t want to… I don’t know.”

  “It’s lust, Rick. A type of… enhanced seduction, I guess. We can focus on the animal instinct to mate and pull it to the fore. It’s even more effective if you are actually attracted to the person using the ability, and devastating on those who have a deep seated love or lust for the user,” I told him, although I wasn’t entirely sure on the last couple parts; I just wanted to make sure he felt bad. I glanced at Nina. “Nina’s going to be a cat shifter, like me.”

  “Then she pulled at the lust. Because that’s all that was, Kat, it was just lust that I felt for her during that.” Aerick dropped his eyes to the floor, unable to meet mine anymore.

  I didn’t care. I only had it in me to forgive once for something like this and Darien had gotten my only ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card. I was hurting and I wanted to hurt Aerick back.

  I put as much ice in my voice as I could, then said, “Either way, you still gave in and reveled in it instead of fighting it. I’d expect that of someone else, a human, and… I don’t know, maybe there’s just something about Nina. But I figured better of you. You should have been able to shake that off with ease. You didn’t even try.”

  Just as we got to the door and I opened it, Aerick called out to me again. “Wait. Kat… that pack. Henry’s pack, they aren’t…”

  I threw a glare over my shoulder at him. I just wanted to get out of here, away from him, away from them both. I didn’t really give a flying fuck about Henry’s pack at the moment. “I don’t want to hear it, Aerick. I don’t give a damn what you think of shifters right now. Stay out of my life.” With that I pushed Nina through the door and slammed it behind us.

  I dragged Nina outside with me, pulling her with such force along the pavement that she stumbled as I spotted her car. I must have been blind not to see it earlier, but I had been so scared at approaching Aerick that I probably hadn’t noticed a lot of things. Now I was just pissed.

  “Kat! What the hell? Ow!” Nina protested, hopping on one foot as she tried to readjust her sandal. I gave her a little shove as we got to her car. “What is your problem?”

  I rounded on her. “My problem?! Oh, that’s rich, Nina, really. Why? Why did you do it? What did I ever do to you that you found it necessary to hurt me that way?”

  She leaned against her car and gave me a shrewd look. “I wasn’t trying to hurt you, not really,” she said, although there was no apology in her tone. “I just… I’m stronger than you are, I can feel it in here,” she splayed her hand against her chest, “and I wanted them. And not having them just because you had put your mark on them first just seemed so… weak.”

  “This was some sort of dominance game?” I asked, astonished.

  “I guess, yeah. I would have been fine just sharing them with you, but you just wouldn’t take to the idea.”

  “I’m not a submissive,” I said.

  “No, you aren’t, nor are you like Darien. That actually made it a bit more challenging.” She gave me a patronizing tap on the nose and I snapped at her finger with my teeth. “Exactly. Look, I still consider you my friend, Kat, and I’ll make you the promise that I won’t try to seduc
e any of your men again, unless they ask me to. I may still need your help in the coming weeks, I can feel her, under here, wanting to break free.” Nina rubbed her hands up and down her arms and shivered. I knew what she meant; I had felt the same thing before the first time I had shifted.

  I wasn’t sure if I still considered her a friend or not, but I knew that shifters had a hard time controlling some of their base emotions. If for nothing more than making sure she didn’t run wild on the streets, I’d still keep an eye on her.

  I’d noticed that she didn’t bother to apologize to me for what she had done.

  I wasn’t sure if it would have made a difference.

  EIGHTEEN

  DARIEN

  It was a good hour after sending me back a text that she would be home soon before I felt her as she pulled into the apartment complex, anger spilling off of her. I’d been busy going through my emails, particularly troubled over some from my father, when Kat slammed through the front door and stomped off into the bathroom.

  I looked up from the computer, not a clue as to what had her upset—at least I didn’t think I’d done anything this time—and figured I would let her cool off before asking her about it.

  The sound of glass shattering in the bathroom changed my mind and I was up and on my way to see what had happened when she stormed back out of the bathroom, pushing past me, shaking her hand. I could see blood and rapidly healing cuts on her knuckles. I peeked into the bathroom, saw that the mirror above the sink was now in so many pieces around the sink, and sincerely hoped that Kat wasn’t superstitious.

  I went back out to where Kat was now pacing the kitchen, or closer to the truth, prowling it. Angel had taken a perch on top of the refrigerator and was watching Kat carefully.

  “All right. So what happened? What’s got you so wound up?” I asked as I came around to the dining room. I rubbed at my arms. The air felt like it did right before a big storm, when there is that certain zing to the atmosphere. I took a quick glance out the patio doors but the sky was clear and blue.