by Welsh, Hope
“It’s okay, Claire,” William interrupted. “Yes, we believe the legend. Rather, we started to believe in the legend when we discovered you could shift.”
Cole frowned. “Why?”
William sighed heavily. “Because,” he started, choosing his words carefully, “I—we believe you’re one of the pieces.”
“Which would make Lana the second piece.” He turned to her then, found her face expressionless.
“I can’t be,” she said simply.
“Why not?”
“If I’m one of the pieces, then why wouldn’t he have come after me sooner? If he’s as powerful as the legends make him out to be, he could have squashed me like a bug.”
William shook his head. “Not if he doesn’t know you’re one of the pieces.”
“How couldn’t he know?” Lana argued.
“I don’t think he knew what the pieces were—just that there were two. The way I see it, if he knew, why would he have waited so long? He could have, using your words, squashed you two like bugs as children since you posed absolutely no threat, or at least any great challenge. My only real guess is he thinks you’re connected to them, or can possible lead him to them.”
Lana didn’t know how to respond to that, Cole realized by the confused look on her face “Okay, so if he doesn’t know yet, is it safe to assume he won’t figure it out? Or could the fact that he doesn’t know work against us?”
William shook his head and shrugged. “Honestly, son, I don’t know. But you need to be careful. If the legend is true, and we’re right, you’re in for more danger than either of you realizes.”
“Do you think he is just a shifter?” Cole wanted to know.
His dad shrugged. “I don’t know, to be honest. With that vanishing act, there really is no telling what he is. Some say he’s a god of sorts—others say he’s one of the original shifters.”
“And where do you think the truth lies?”
“Probably somewhere in the middle. I’ve found that there’s usually some truth, even in lies.”
Claire stood and moved next to Cole, grabbing his hands in hers. “You should just stay here, Cole. I don’t want you in this.” When he shifted his gaze to Lana, his mother quickly amended her statement and said, “And Lana, too. You both should stay here.”
“It won’t work,” Lana said. “If it’s true, I don’t think it’ll matter where we are.”
“Why do you say that?”
“It—he—knows where I live. Knows where my mother lived. If he can find me at those places, even if he wasn’t some…god/shifter, he’s seen me with Cole. If he can’t find me at my home or yours, this would be the next logical place to look, wouldn’t it be?”
Cole nodded solemnly. “It would be.” He squeezed his mother’s hand, cast a glance at his father. “We can’t stay here. She’s right. If we’re in danger, then we’ll handle it—if you’re right, then we’re the only ones who can.” He turned to Lana now, the beautiful woman he’d known only a couple of days, the woman he intended to marry. “We’ll stay at my house.”
“William, do something. Say something,” Claire insisted.
“He’s in this now, love. Whether we want him to be or not.” He walked over, laid a hand on Claire’s shoulder and Cole’s. “As your father, I want you safe. As a man, I understand the need to protect what’s yours.” He eyed Lana. “I wish there was more I could do to assist, something that might help you.”
“You’ve told us more than we expected to find out.” He let go of his mother’s hand and walked to Lana, taking her hand in his and giving it a gentle squeeze. “We’re in this together, and that’s how we’ll finish it.”
Lana smiled up at him, but it was forced. Her eyes weren’t shining quite as bright as normal. “Together then,” she vowed and gripped his hand tight.
Claire cleared her throat. “There’s good breakfast here and we’re not going to waste it. Dig in.”
Cole nodded and sat down at the table next to Lana. He took a bite of his eggs and watched as Lana picked at her food.
No one spoke while they ate. The silence was stale, thick.
Everyone sat with their backs rigid as they ate their meal. The silence around the table was palpable. Nothing else could be done for now.
§§§
Lana sighed as they climbed back into his SUV. “We know more than we knew this morning, but somehow, I’m not quite comforted with the facts.”
Cole turned to her and nodded, understanding exactly what she meant. “I know. For the rest of the day, I say we don’t think about it. What do you want to do? Something fun.”
Lana smiled as he started the engine. “My birthday’s tomorrow, you know.”
“It is? Why didn’t you tell me before?”
“It didn’t really cross my mind until now.” And it hadn’t. With the events of the past few days…nothing else got through.
He leaned over, his mouth next to her ear. “Why don’t we celebrate tonight by spending the rest of the evening in bed?” He nipped at her ear. “I think there are a few things I can give you early.”
Heat bloomed between Lana’s legs. “Promises, promises,” she said, grinning.
§§§
The Evil One watched as they climbed into the vehicle. He considered going after the occupants of the house, but refrained. They were of no importance.
It was amusing, he had to admit, the way mortals talked of celebrating their paltry existences. Twenty years, thirty years, even a hundred years was nothing to commemorate by his standards.
He had taken care of the woman’s mother two months before—once he had been positive she knew nothing. A search of her house had proved that. The daughter’s ignorance toward him proved it further.
Positive no useful information had been passed to the daughter, he had killed the mother. Nothing in her drawers hinted that she knew anything herself or had taken notes if she did.
He had had a millennia to figure out what the pieces were. Yet, all he had been able to determine was the woman’s involvement. Perhaps the man. One of them, if not both, would know where these pieces could be found.
When the man leaned over, his silhouette blending in with the woman’s, The Evil One smiled.
That had given him another piece to the puzzle. He knew when he needed to act. How he had to act.
Tomorrow. He knew the two pieces would be found on her birthday.
He would be merciful, this once, and give them their uninterrupted evening.
Besides, it would make his victory sweeter, crushing their joy.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Lana awoke shivering and covered in a cold sweat. She’d fallen asleep only hours before, warm and joyfully exhausted.
Each time Cole had made love to her, he had taken her to new heights, done things to her body she had never imagined possible.
It had been pure bliss.
The dream hadn’t been. It had been terrifying, cold, twisted.
No, that wasn’t right, she thought as she swiped the hair from her face. It hadn’t been a dream exactly. It had been something between a dream and a vision, but still it was…different, somehow. Forced. An invasive attack on her mind that left her weak and shaken to the core.
The battle would be tomorrow. She didn’t know how she knew that she knew that—but she was sure.
The evil shape-shifter must have somehow planted the vision. Her mother’s visions had always happened when she was asleep—but Lana knew this was different.
The evil shape-shifter was the only one she could think of who had that kind of power.
She turned her head into the crook of Cole’s neck. Just the musky scent of him was enough to calm her rattled nerves.
The Evil One.
As soon as she thought the name, chills ran down her spine, goosebumps rose on her arms and she slivered as if she’d been trapped inside a freezer for hours.
She shouldn’t know the name, but somehow she did. Even as she had the thought, she
knew it had another name, though she didn’t know what it was.
Nausea rolled in her stomach and had her crawling out of the bed and walking to the window. She didn’t want to go back to sleep. The dreams would come if she did that, and if they came, the cold wouldn’t be far behind.
She hugged herself as she stared outside. Still dark, but the moon rose full and cast light on the ground.
As she watched, the light slowly turned to shadow. Two blue circles appeared feet from the ground.
Eyes.
Without a second thought, she turned and headed for the back door. It was wrong, she knew as she opened it, to go outside without Cole, but she couldn’t help herself. Emotions swelled in her chest, blinding her to the dangers that might lurk in the shadows.
As she got closer, she met the eyes, continued to stare into them, even as the shadow turned into a face, a torso, and then legs.
In a daze, she reached the edge of woods, her head tilted to the side, staring at the figure as it slowly changed to form a body.
Short black hair, a round face, light blue eyes.
Her mother.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m here because you have a lesson to learn,” Laura Summers said.
Was she a ghost? A hallucination? Hot tears ran down her cheeks even as she asked herself those questions. “There’s nothing I can learn from you. You’re dead!” Her voice, even though she had thought she yelled, came out barely a note above a whisper.
“But there is, Lana. You have the power to destroy The Evil One. You’ve received one of your gifts. I’m here to make sure you accept it. Use it.”
“I don’t understand. Why are you doing this to me?”
“I’m not doing anything to you. I only want to help you.”
“Then you shouldn’t have killed yourself,” she spat out, furious.
“You know in your heart that I didn’t kill myself. You know it, Lana. I taught you better than that, didn’t I?” her mother asked, her voice sad.
Lana hung her head, shamed she’d said it—when she’d never believed it. “I miss you, mama.”
The shadow moved closer. “I miss you, too, baby.”
Lana took a slow, deep breath and met her mother’s stare. “What do you need to teach me?”
Laura’s smile was wan, a little ironic. “Now you know it’s not going to be that easy. I can’t tell you—but I can help you.”
“How?”
“Do you remember what you wanted to be as a child?”
Lana laughed, but it sounded strained. “Yes. I wanted to be a doctor.”
“Before then, Lana,” she told her, her voice urgent. “Remember.”
“You mean a tiger? I was five and thought anything possible. I doubt that’s going to help.”
“You have the power, Lana. It’s inside you.” Laura moved closer, reached out a hand toward Lana’s stomach. It disappeared as it touched.
The touch wasn’t real, Lana knew, but she felt the heat from it, the softness of her mother’s hand, just as she felt the color drain from her cheeks. She couldn’t possibly mean…. “I’m pregnant? But that’s impossible.”
“Is it?”
Lana began pacing. It wasn’t possible. She used birth control. Had it failed? “No—yes. It just…It can’t be true,” she said, half-pleading, half-laughing.
“You’re using your head, Lana. Use your heart. What does it tell you?”
“That I must be insane if I’m talking to the ghost of my mom and considering it the truth when she tells me I’m pregnant.”
“That’s closer. Are you beginning to believe it?”
She thought about it and placed a hand over her stomach. “I—I honestly don’t know,” she sighed. They had been together barely forty-eight hours and regardless how much longer that time felt, it really was a short amount of time. Was she even ready for a child?
Her mother smiled. “It’s in your heart, child. Your brain will catch up.” Laura sobered, all trace of the smile forgotten.
When the figure started to fade, Lana jumped forward, throwing her arms out, trying to catch the shadow. “Wait! Don’t leave me.”
Laura’s voice lowered to a murmur. “Listen. Allow yourself to hear the truth, feel it. Believe in it and your gifts.” The figure grew fainter and fainter until it the shadow stood where her mother’s figure had been.
“Mama.”
Lana stood, unmoving, as she contemplated her mother’s visit, her warnings. She had psychic abilities edged with some empathic ones, knew of and made love with a shape-shifter, had an evil one after her, and yet, seeing a ghost was something she hadn’t quite imagined.
Especially the ghost of her mother.
§§§
Cole rolled over, his arm instinctively moving to rest on Lana, to pull her close. He frowned and opened one eye. When had Lana turned into a pillow?
He sat up, looking around the room. Lana was nowhere in sight.
“Where the hell did she go?” he muttered as he slid out of bed.
A quick search of the house made it clear she wasn’t in it. He walked back into the bedroom and rubbed a hand over his jaw worry beginning to set in.
He passed the window and glanced outside. A silhouette caught his eye, had him taking a step back.
Lana? He continued to look out the window quizzically for a moment. Why the hell did she go out there?
He turned on his heels and ran out of the bedroom and out the back door. He stopped abruptly as he reached her. She was beyond pale, with an almost translucent look to her.
“Lana?” he said again as he grabbed her arm. It felt frozen, even though the temperature outside couldn’t be below sixty. When she didn’t respond, he brushed a hand over her hair. “Darlin’, can you hear me?” Still nothing. “Lana!” he shouted, giving her a small shake.
“Cole?” A single tear slid down her cheek, causing more alarm.
“I’m here.” He continued to brush his hand over her hair, her face and down her arm. “Are you okay? What are you doing outside?”
“My mom was here.”
He rested his forehead against hers and stared into her eyes. “Honey, your mom is gone.”
She shook her head vehemently. “No, she was here—a ghost.”
“What are you talking about?” Could the shifter have played a trick on her? He waited for her explanation and checked for any obvious injuries. Had she come outside and hit her head?
“I had a bad dream and woke up. I don’t know why I came outside, I knew I shouldn’t, but I did when I saw the shadow. It was my mom, Cole. She said….”
He pulled her back. “What did she say, Lana?”
She shook her head. “It wasn’t right.”
God, she wasn’t making any sense. “Come on, Lana. Let’s get you back inside. You’re freezing.”
She nodded and said nothing else as he led her back inside, into the bedroom. He made her lie back on the bed, got in next to her and held her close after he’d pulled the blankets over her.
“She wasn’t right. She couldn’t have been,” Lana said sleepily.
Would she never stop shivering? “Shh. It’s okay, go to sleep, love. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”
“So afraid,” she mumbled, her voice barely above a muffled whisper.
He bit back a vile curse. “I’m here now, and I’ve got you.”
“Cole,” she breathed.
If that bastard did something to hurt her…. He tried reining his temper in. She was alive. Obviously exhausted and cold, but otherwise she seemed to be fine.
Tomorrow he would find out what exactly had gone on. He slipped his arm under her and brought her close to his body, his other arm resting over her stomach.
It seemed to take forever, but finally, she began to warm up.
He barely slept a wink. Lana slept beside him, though fitfully. She tossed and turned the entire night and he, already worried, had woken anytime he felt her body move or whenever he heard a s
trange noise.
“Cole?” Lana said as she turned over and met his stare.
Immediately he brushed a hand over her hair. “I’m still here.”
“Was it all a dream?” she asked as she stared up at him, her sleepy eyes tinged with sadness.
How did he answer that if he wasn’t sure of the answer himself? “I don’t know, darlin’. You believed it to be real last night. Has anything changed?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Then you probably have your answer, don’t you?” he said, his tone gentle. He felt her nod against his chest.
“Yeah,” she sighed. “I suppose I do.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
She looked up, met his gaze. “I seriously doubt you’ll believe it. I don’t even believe it, not entirely.”
“Tell me, Lana. I’ve believed everything you’ve told me so far, haven’t I?”
“Yes, but how can I expect you to believe a ghost…. I’m not even sure I do” He raised his eyebrows, but said nothing. She let out a frustrated sigh. “Oh, all right. She—she said I’m pregnant.”
His hand froze mid-stroke. “What?” he croaked.
She had a triumphant glint in her eyes that he found annoying. “See. I told you so.”
“But…we only—she can’t be right.”
“You try telling that to a ghost.”
He paled. “Pregnant?” Slowly, he moved his hand over her hip, rested it apprehensively on her stomach.
She laughed at him. “That’s about how I’m feeling,” she said as she covered his hand with hers. After a moment’s silence, her smile fell. “I know it’s really fast and completely unexpected—but I don’t even know if it’s true, so we shouldn’t worry yet.”
“Why would the ghost of your mother lie to you?”
She sat up, pulled the covers up under her arms, even though the room wasn’t cold. “Maybe it wasn’t her.”
“It could have been Martians,” he teased.
“No. I’m thinking more along the lines of The Evil One.”
Cole shook his head, dismissing the idea. “I don’t see him playing a game like that. I’m not sure what types of games I’d see him playing, but that seems…I don’t know. A bit extreme and doesn’t seem like it’d help him.”