by Chant, Zoe
“Sorry, I don’t mean to stare at her,” Ella said, glancing up at Myrtle and looking faintly embarrassed. “It’s just – well, all of this is so… so…”
“It seems that way at first, doesn’t it?” Myrtle laughed, leaning over and placing her hand on Ella’s. “But trust me – you’ll get used to it. I did. So anything you want to ask, just go right ahead.”
Ella nodded, returning her smile. “I’ll definitely take you up on that, once my head is on a bit straighter. Right now, I think I just need to eat something.”
It made Callan’s heart glow to watch them. He hadn’t had time to think about it much, but now that he did, he hoped Myrtle and Ella would get along well – they had a lot in common, after all. Myrtle was US born and raised, but she’d relocated to Australia to study and teach lepidoptery – the study of moths. They clearly both had keen science minds, and over the time Callan had gotten to know Myrtle, he couldn’t imagine anyone not liking her. She was bright, cheerful, and always had a smile for everyone, as well as being keenly intelligent.
He caught Hector’s eye as he glanced away, and he knew they were both thinking exactly the same thing: How did we get so lucky?
And the answer was, he truly didn’t know.
Callan sat down beside Ella, stealing a glance at her profile as he did so. She was so beautiful, and she was dealing with a barrage of new information with an amazing amount of composure.
Amazing. She’s amazing.
Sensing him staring, Ella turned her head to look at him, a small smile twitching at her lips.
“Well, should we eat?”
The pie was perfect – the mashed potato was soft in the middle and crispy on top, and the meat and veg inside were full of flavor. Callan knew most of the things that got cooked in the kitchen here came from the farm, and it was obvious from the quality and flavor of the food. He found himself racing Hector for seconds – shifters typically had metabolisms like furnaces, and he could already see Hector calculating how much of what was left he could gobble up for himself.
“That was incredible,” Ella said, after she’d swallowed down the last morsel of pie on her plate. “I’m really beginning to realize I’ve been missing out after eating so much junk all these years.”
“You’ve got Evie’s wife Penny to thank for that,” Hector said. “She’s an unbelievably good cook. I always miss the food when I’m working.”
“My ears are burning. So you better be saying something nice.”
Callan turned at the sound of Penny’s voice, and a moment later she appeared from the kitchen, a basket of eggs on one arm.
“Of course – who could say anything bad about you?” Hector laughed. “Especially since you make Evie so happy?”
Penny laughed lightly. “That’s what I like to hear.” Her eyes went to Callan and Ella. “Oh, Callan! I didn’t know you were coming. I hope there was enough food for you – I wasn’t expecting anyone else.”
“Plenty, thanks,” Callan said, smiling at Penny warmly. He didn’t know her well, but Hector had invited him to her and Evelyn’s wedding two years ago since he hadn’t had a proper date at the time, and Penny had always seemed absolutely delightful. Her shifted form was a pademelon, similar to a small wallaby, so she looked petite next to Evelyn’s tall, broad frame, but Penny had proved herself more than capable of holding her own in a family of unruly, hot-headed griffin shifters.
As she introduced herself to Ella and they chatted, Callan took the opportunity – now that his stomach wasn’t loudly complaining – to turn to Hector.
“Did you hear back from Robb?”
“Yeah, while you were still asleep. He’s sending Trent and Euan over. And Rhys will be back soon as well. He went out to help Evie move some cattle this morning, but she doesn’t need him for the full day, so he’ll be back soonish I should think.”
“Oh, Rhys is here too?” Callan asked, not without some wariness.
Rhys was Hector’s – slightly – younger brother, but they were close enough in age, looks and temperament that people regularly mistook them for twins. And, along with the brotherly love they obviously shared, they were competitive enough that things had occasionally gotten a little… uncomfortable between them. One particular argument stood out in Callan’s mind as the only time he’d ever seen a game of Monopoly almost come to blows over how much value a hotel added to Mayfair.
“Yes, but don’t worry, Hec and Rhys have promised to behave themselves,” Myrtle said, breaking into the conversation. “Or Evie has promised on their behalf, anyway.”
“Yeah, yeah, best behavior,” Hector said, grinning at her. “You got it. Not like Rhys can cheat at Monopoly anymore anyway, since Penny said she’d had enough and threw out the board after the last game.”
Privately, Callan thought that was probably for the best.
“Oh – would it be all right for me to charge my phone?” Ella asked, taking it out of the pocket of the borrowed sweatpants she’d found in the guest room drawers. “I should probably check my messages, and let people know I’m okay.” She paused, swallowing. “I hope they haven’t been worried. I did leave in kind of a hurry.”
“Sure you can. I’ll go plug it in in the loungeroom,” Myrtle said, taking Ella’s phone from her and leaving the dining room, a fluttering Ruby at her shoulder.
Ella turned to Callan. “Having said that, is there any reason why I shouldn’t let people know where I am?”
“It might be best to keep it vague for the moment,” Callan said. “Though you’re safe here, it’s better not to take any risks.”
“Evelyn, Rhys and I will know if those scumbags come anywhere near our property,” Hector said. “Callan told me about them already. If they’re high up in the sky we won’t be able to sense them, but if they come anywhere inside the borders of the farm, we’ll know how to deal with them.”
“Thank you.” Ella sounded grateful. “You’ve all been so nice to me.”
“Hey, Callan’s like a brother to me,” Hector said, smiling at her. “And so it’s only natural we’d do whatever we can to help out his mate.”
Ella nodded, biting her lip, her eyes downcast.
“But still… thank you. I just… I don’t like to put you all out like this. I know it’s a hassle –”
“What’s a hassle?” Myrtle said, reappearing from the loungeroom, now with Ruby perched on her shoulder. “What, you think we’re just going to leave you high and dry when you need help?”
“No, of course not,” Ella said, shaking her head. “I just –”
“Anyway,” Myrtle said, pointing at Hector and Callan. “It is kind of their job. So the least you can do is make them earn their money.”
Ella laughed at that, and Callan’s heart lifted to hear it. He wanted to take Ella in his arms immediately, to assure her that no one here thought she was too much trouble, or that she was causing anyone a problem.
Myrtle was right when she said it was his job – Callan would be protecting Ella to the best of his abilities even if she wasn’t his mate.
But she was his mate. And that meant that it was personal as well as professional. And Callan would do whatever it took to keep Ella safe.
Within him, his diprotodon looked up, growling lowly, as if to back up what he said. Callan knew that it’d fight to its last ounce of strength if it meant protecting Ella.
I promise you, Ella. No matter what, you’re safe with me.
As if she’d sensed his thoughts, Ella glanced at him, eyes filled with something that looked close to amazement. But then, after a moment, she nodded, her expression changing to one of determination.
Our mate trusts us. His diprotodon was triumphant. She knows we will keep her from harm, no matter what. We have proved ourselves to her at last.
The sound of a car pulling up in the driveway made them all turn.
“It’s Trent and Euan,” Hector said. He grimaced a little. “I know Euan’s the best they’ve got at code cracking, but geeze. He could
smile once or twice in his life, couldn’t he?”
Callan just shrugged. He personally had no problem with Euan – though he realized he would’ve loved to have been a fly on the wall on his and Trent’s drive over, given what diametrically opposed personalities the two of them had. It was possible Robb had sent them over as part of a ‘get along with each other’ strategy.
I wouldn’t put it past him, to be honest, Callan thought, swallowing down a smile.
“Well, that sounds like my cue to get out to the garden,” Penny said, standing. “Myrtle, want to help me weed the raspberry patch?”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Myrtle said, laughing.
“Mee-ehh!”
“And neither would she.” Myrtle scratched a finger over Ruby’s side, making the tiny alicorn wiggle with delight. “Just don’t let her make herself sick, gobbling up all the fruit.”
“You better stay here, Ella,” Callan said, turning to her. The image of her, carefree in the sunshine, helping Myrtle and Penny in the garden flashed through his mind, and it pained him more than he could say that she’d have to deal with more stress before she could relax. “I might need you to explain a few things about what we’ve seen over the past few days.”
“Like weird shifters?” she asked.
Callan nodded. “Yeah, exactly like that. Like I said, I’ve never seen anything like it before. The more detail we can give, the better.”
“And I want to be here anyway when we decode those documents,” Ella said, her voice determined. “I definitely want to do what I can to help you figure this whole thing out. And if it really does have something to do with my father – which it obviously does – then I want to know what.”
Chapter 13
Myrtle squeezed Ella’s hand, looking warmly into her eyes.
“Just remember, I’m here if you need me,” she said, smiling – a smile that Ella couldn’t help but return.
“And I am too,” Penny said. “I get that my experience and yours aren’t the same – I am a shifter, after all, and I guess there’s one fairly significant difference between Evie and Callan. Well. I hope it’s significant, for your sake.”
The roguish wink Penny gave her made Ella burst out into mildly adolescent giggling, to her own surprise.
“Come on, you,” Myrtle said, taking Penny by the arm and rolling her eyes. “There’ll be time for girl talk later.”
“Oh, I hope so,” Penny said. “But all right – let’s get picking. Ella, you’re welcome to come join us anytime. The garden’s a great place to be if you need to clear your head.”
“Thanks,” Ella said, meaning it. Ella watched as Penny and Myrtle went out into the sunshine, Penny pausing at every garden bed to look over the flowers and plants that grew there. Maybe that was why Evelyn’s attitude toward her had changed so swiftly: she’d complimented the garden that was clearly Penny’s pride and joy.
Ella felt a pang of envy that they got to go out and spend time in it, while Ruby flitted between them, her silvery mane sparkling in the sunshine, pure white wings fluttering. There were all sorts of things she wanted to ask Myrtle and Penny about the new world – the new life – she found herself in.
The thought was a daunting idea – but also an exciting one.
Finding out more about what the mated bond meant, learning how to be Callan’s mate… all of it sent a shiver of excitement down her spine.
It wasn’t just of anticipation, either, Ella thought, as memories of last night drifted through her mind.
That had been… well. She definitely couldn’t wait to explore her new life if there was going to be more of that in it.
Shaking her head, she jerked her thoughts away from the amazing time she’d had last night. Right now, she knew she had to focus. She couldn’t let her mind wander to the feeling of Callan’s fingers on her skin, his lips on hers, his mouth between her legs…
I said stop! Yeesh! There’ll be time for that later! This is important!
Gritting her teeth, Ella forced herself to concentrate. Hector was opening the front door to two men – one tall and rangy-looking with sandy hair and green eyes, and the other darker, more heavily built, and with a glowering expression on his face.
“Hi there. I’m Trent Bowman.” The tall, rangy one made a beeline for her, holding out his hand, his smile set to stunning. “And you are?”
“Ella Woodson,” she said, returning his smile in a little more subdued fashion. This guy was clearly a charmer – but she was very much off the market.
When he took her hand, Trent’s smile faltered slightly, a confused expression flickering across his face. He blinked, before glancing at Callan.
“Ah. Right.” The smile returned in full force as he turned back toward Ella, but this time there was something a little less invitation to debauchery about it, and more hello, new friend.
Ella realized he must have been able to sense the bond between her and Callan. It wasn’t that she expected to be fending off propositions from shifters left, right and center, but that certainly made things a little more convenient, she decided.
And besides… I kind of like the idea that people know we belong to each other, she thought, surprising herself. She’d never thought of herself as the kind to care about that sort of thing. But then again, perhaps this was simply the shifter version of an engagement ring: something that told people you were already with someone.
Only in this case, it’s an invisible ring, around our hearts.
Ella took a deep breath as the golden glow she’d felt in her chest pulsed brightly at the thought. Apparently, that was exactly the right way to think about it.
Trent went to say hello to Hector and Callan, and Ella turned to the second man who’d come in with him. He didn’t introduce himself, though – he simply nodded to her, his expression still stony.
Ella wondered if she should at least introduce herself, but before she could, Trent spoke up again.
“Don’t mind him – that’s the nicest he’s been all day,” he said. “His name’s Euan Hawkins, and he’s the code cracker.”
Ella knew from experience – usually doing the networking rounds at university functions and fundraisers – how unpleasant it could be to be forced into being social if you weren’t a social person, or you just weren’t in the mood for it. So she simply returned Euan’s nod, and left him alone.
“All right then,” Trent said, clapping his hands together. “I don’t know about you, but I’m about ready to get this show on the road. Callan, Ella – sounds like you’ve had a bit going on. So let’s hear it, and then see what we can do about this code.”
Trent was clearly the gregarious type, but Ella had to admit, his enthusiasm was infectious. She looked at Callan, who seemed to be waiting for her cue. She nodded.
“Sure,” Callan said. “Let’s get started.”
* * *
Ella glanced around at the men’s faces as Callan finished his detailed report on what they’d been doing and what had happened over the past two days. Hector, who’d heard it before, looked thoughtful, and Euan’s face didn’t give much away, but Trent looked confused.
“Wait – you’re saying that guy had two shifter forms? The thylacoleo – that’s the marsupial lion – and the eagle?”
Callan nodded. “I didn’t see the other one’s second form, but he shifted in the same way – like he was turning into boiling molasses. So I assume he has two shifter forms as well.”
“I’ve never heard of anyone having two shifter forms,” Trent said, frowning.
“Me neither,” said Hector, his voice dark. “But something tells me that since we’re dealing with Hargreaves, nothing should surprise us.”
Ella caught her breath. From what Callan had told her about Hargreaves, she thought she could see what Hector was getting at.
Callan nodded. “It’s sure as hell not like anything I’ve ever seen before.”
“I know from experience that Hargreaves has some kind of… serum, I guess you�
��d say, that can suppress or take away the ability to shift,” Hector said. “From the way they talked when they gave it to me, it seemed like it only had a temporary effect. But knowing that, would it be so strange for them to have developed something that could give a shifter a second shifter form?”
“Possible.” Euan’s voice was a low rumble. “But not likely. The ability to shift is mental as well as physical – you need both. You need to be able to reach out to your shifter with your mind. Physically, you can still shift. But mentally, you’re cut off from it.”
“That would make sense.” Hector nodded. “When they injected me with that shit, it was like I couldn’t contact my griffin anymore. I don’t know if I would have regained the ability on my own. It was lucky Ruby was there to completely heal me, but we can’t count on that.”
“But this sounds different though, doesn’t it?” Ella spoke up, feeling a little nervous. What did she know about shifters, after all? She’d only found out they even existed yesterday. “I don’t know much, but it seems to me that to add another shifter form, you’d have to be fundamentally altered on a cellular level. I don’t know how the process works, but I think what Hector’s talking about and those guys’ abilities are two very different things.”
“You’d honestly be the most qualified person in this room to know about that,” Callan said. “None of us are biochemists, that’s for sure.”
Ella bit her lip. She had to admit she was fascinated. Shifters were a whole new and exciting area for her.
But I can’t let myself get distracted. I have to stay focused.
“Maybe,” she said. “On the other hand, should we concentrate on decoding the documents we found?”
“I think you’re right,” Trent said. “We’ll worry about those arseholes when we need to worry about them. For the moment, let’s get cracking on this code. Euan’s the magician there. I’m just his lovely assistant.”
Annoyance flickered across Euan’s face, but then he simply rolled his eyes. “Fine. If you’ve got the documents, let’s have a look.”