The tension in the air was palpable. Though Vivian’s words were a veiled insult, Raven curled her hands into fists to stop herself from reaching for the strands of energy that begged to be used. She wanted to avoid an incident if possible. Aaron had more than enough experience to handle his mother.
Jackson appeared torn, uncertain who he should protect. If he thought she was in danger, he would risk everything to protect her.
Vivian was no fool. She wouldn’t go for the direct approach, much less openly attack in public.
“Not to worry, Mother. I couldn’t be safer if I was in the bosom of my loving family.” The boy she’d recognize had vanished, in his place stood a young man on the cusp of becoming a very powerful alpha in his own right. One that should make any mother proud, if she were anyone other than Vivian.
While they traded barbs, Raven tracked the movement of the three wolves spread out behind Vivian, watching for any signs of aggression. Jackson wouldn’t be able to go up against his own pack without consequences. She and Aaron had to keep him out of the fight if things went south.
“I expect you are taking good care of my son. If anything happens to him, I will hold you personally responsible.”
Raven nearly snorted at Vivian’s machinations. “No worries. The only way anyone would be able to touch him is over my dead body.”
Vivian’s smile hardened. “Then we are in agreement.”
Without a goodbye, she strode past, walking between Raven and Jackson as if to divide them. The stench of sex wafted off the woman, strong enough to crawl down her throat and choke her. Her goons followed, though they stepped more carefully. None of the three gave any indication that they knew Jackson or Aaron. Raven would venture a guess that they were Vivian’s personal guards. She had a feeling that they’d find out soon enough.
The meeting was timed almost perfectly. Too perfectly. They were watching the house. She expected that, it’s what she would’ve done, but why the staged meeting?
“She was testing our defenses.” Jackson guided her toward the truck with a hand on her back. He went into protective mode, stuffing her and the basket into the truck. He was so distracted that when he reached over and buckled her seatbelt, the back of his arm brushed her breast. He went rigid, realizing what he’d done.
She grabbed his wrist before he could retreat. When he turned his head to her in question, their faces halted inches apart. “There are three of them and three of us. If it comes down to a fight, I would put money on us.”
“She thinks she can take you.” Jackson grinned, both of them knowing what would happen if they were challenged in a fair fight.
Raven matched his smile. “Won’t she be surprised.”
He slammed the door to the truck and circled around. Aaron slipped into the back, and she glanced at him for an explanation. “He’s different.”
“He had nothing to lose before.”
“So how do I get my Jackson back?” Maintaining her distance wasn’t cutting it anymore. It was too late to prevent either of them from getting hurt.
Jackson scowled when he entered the vehicle. “Why don’t you try asking me?”
He pulled away from the curb with a chirp of tires.
“Maybe I would if you would stop dodging my questions.”
“I’m trying to do my job.” He weaved through traffic, stomping on the accelerator.
“Does that entitle you to being such an ass?” Getting more than a little pissed, Raven felt the bite of power build under her skin. She welcomed the distraction, surprised at how much she’d missed the burn of it.
“Give me your gloves.”
The abrupt change in subject threw her. Suspicions wormed their way into her mind, and her immediate response was to deny him. “Why?”
He only held out his hand. Deciding to trust him, she slowly worked the leather off her fingers. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
Chapter Twenty
The park Jackson picked was off the beaten path. The term park being used loosely. Trees crowded the small grove. The grass was overgrown, the undergrowth and deadfall slowing their progress.
“Where are we going?”
Jackson merely nudged her along. “It’s only a little further.”
Grumbling under her breath, she pushed forward, ducking away from a swarm of bugs that torpedoed pass her.
She heard water first, unaware of any streams in this area. Following the sound, she veered away. Trees thinned. The rough terrain smoothed out. She came to a stop atop a small bluff that overlooked their own personal lagoon.
The small pool rested less than ten feet below them. The water kissed the grass, the surface absolutely calm. The trees kept their distance, giving her a good fifteen feet on either side to keep watch for trouble.
Everything was a green so bright that her eyes hurt. The wind blew the smell of cut grass to her that reminded her of Jackson. Pleasure warmed her face, and she turned to ask how he’d found this place.
Her voice dried up to see Jackson charge toward her.
Raven tensed as she scanned the surroundings, frustration bubbling up in her chest when she wasn’t able to detect the danger.
Then Jackson was there.
He bent like a football player and hit her low. Her legs cleared the ground and then they were flying through the air.
She caught sight of Aaron’s laughing face seconds before she hit the water. Raven came up sputtering, her hair coming down around her face as she treaded water. “You bastard. What was that for?”
Jackson dove under the surface, his body cutting through the water with ease. The shadow of him circled below her like a predator closing in for the kill. A hand brushed her hip, another trailed up her spine. She narrowed her eyes, then pried off her shoes and tossed them to shore. She whirled to keep him in view, half expecting him to surface.
Instead, there was a tug on her ankles, and she found herself submerged. She spotted Jackson a few feet away, grinning ear from ear. The smoothness of his movements drew her attention to his body, the flex of all that muscle tempting her to linger and just watch him move.
Thankfully, he couldn’t access those damned senses of his underwater and use her attraction against her.
She launched herself forward, but by the time she closed the distance, the spot he’d occupied was empty. The thrill of the chase tempted her to forget about her troubles and just enjoy. A hand brushed her ass, and she twisted. But instead of moving, Jackson wrapped his arms around her.
They slowly sank to the bottom of the pool, a hazy light drifting down to them. Her hair floated around them like a cloud, and he carefully brushed the strands away from her face, his fingers lingering on her skin.
Raven grabbed his wrist, and his gaze shot to hers. She smiled then shoved up off the bottom. Jackson was so startled, she slipped through his hold and broke the surface.
He quickly followed. When he reached for her, she allowed the current to drag her away. Laugher bubbled up in her chest at his befuddled expression. Then he grinned and dove after her.
After another twenty minutes of playing and ducking his pursuit, Raven finally surrendered. She crawled to the shore and fell on her back, panting for air. Eyes closed, she basked in the bright rays of the sun on her skin.
When a shadow passed over her, she shivered and cracked open an eye. Jackson. The sight of his wet clothes plastered to his body sucked all thought from her head. The man had been built to bedevil women. He grinned and shook himself like his wolf counterpart, sending a shower of cool droplets raining down on her.
Raven squealed then took her cue from him and knocked his feet out from under him. He landed with a heavy oomph. Before she could scramble out of the way, he rolled, taking her with him until she lay partially under his large form.
He picked up a strand of her hair, flipping the silver tips through his fingers, studying the ragged edges. “I’m not the only one who’s changed.”
“Changed?” The enjoyment of the afternoon faded, col
d seeping into her gut. Yes, she was changing. Old fears and doubts rose again like they’d never left, and the fragile shell she built around her cracked.
“You’re becoming an alpha.”
“Yes.” There was no denying it. She had no choice if she wanted to survive. Though uncomfortable under his scrutiny, she refused to run away from the truth anymore.
“You’re good, but you’re not strong or fast enough yet. You’re adapting to your animals amazingly fast, but the conclave is in two days.”
He fell silent, words locked behind his lips.
She cupped his face. “Tell me.”
“I won’t lose you again. I can’t.”
“So you brought me here to...”
“Aaron is holding back your animals. Even now, I can feel your power building, reaching for me.”
Raven let her hand fall away from him. “You planned this whole thing.”
“Yes.”
Well, at least he didn’t lie to her, but how could she be mad that he would throw away their one chance at a date to protect her. “Where do we go from here?”
He rose, and she shivered without his warmth. He offered her his hand. Raven hesitated then set her fingers in his palm.
He yanked.
Raven flew into the water with a splash. Her head went under the water, and she came up sputtering. “What the hell?”
“I’ve been reading up on electricity. I suspect you can handle a lot more than you believe if you just trust yourself.”
He was so confident that she didn’t know how to answer him. “I burned out that night Taggert and I were being hunted. With the moon call following so quickly, I haven’t had the chance to test anything.”
“But you can now. You have to use everything you possess to survive and thrive in the pack. You can’t hesitate. You must learn to master the two sides of yourself.”
“You don’t know what you’re asking.” Raven waded toward the shore, fine sand shifting beneath her feet.
Jackson waved her back. “Don’t make me throw you back in.”
Raven instantly halted, placing her hands on her hips. “I’d like to see you try.”
“Do you know what you’re problem is?”
Raven raised a brow. “I only have one?”
“You need to trust others. You need to let go.” Jackson slicked back his hair. The action pulled tight the wet shirt he wore. The sight of all the muscle made her swallow hard. It took her a second to realize he was still speaking.
“And I’m going to show you how to follow through on your threat. Durant helped you with your animals. I can already see the difference.”
“You have no idea how dangerous my power can be without control.”
“But I do. It was your power, along with your wolf, that healed me.” He stalked along the banks. “You must think like an alpha if you have any hopes of keeping your pack. You must be ruthless. Stop worrying about hurting us. We’re grown men. We’ve made our decisions. We can’t lose you now. So we need you to fight for us.”
They wanted her to give up all pretenses of control. They couldn’t possibly understand the consequences. But they were correct in one respect. She wasn’t acting like a shifter. They would slaughter her if she didn’t learn. “What do you think you know about my condition?”
“You’re standing in water. It’s a conduit for electricity. Let loose your power and learn how to control it.”
Raven debated the wisdom of his request, but what did she have to lose?
“It’s a hot spring. The water in the pool comes from an underground reservoir. There are no animals or plant life.”
“So that’s why the water is so warm.” Everything was so very well thought out that it eased some of her trepidation. He’d obviously put a lot of effort into planning today.
She gave him a stiff nod then closed her eyes.
And hesitated, realizing that she’d never called upon her full power when there wasn’t a need. She wasn’t sure what to expect, especially after all the abuse last week. The burnout. Part of her feared she might have done her gift permanent harm.
Taking a deep breath, Raven dropped her shield. The energy eagerly escaped its cage and forked through her body. All but an ugly black void in her gut where a spark had burned too bright for too long. Even with her animals accelerated healing, there was no reversing the damage.
Electricity slithered under her skin, her body adapted quickly, welcoming the heat. Despite her turbulent past, she didn’t want her gift gone. She only wanted control.
Then she did something she’d never done before and let her power loose on the world. Water swirled around her like she’d been dunked into a fryer. Her skin heated to near blistering, ready to burst under the pressure. Her toes curled into the sand. Gritting her teeth, Raven widened her stance and took the agony. Current sloshed around in her gut, slowly clamping down on her insides.
When her throat began to ache from holding back her screams, the pain finally eased. She opened her eyes to find Jackson standing at complete attention, preparing to rescue her despite the fact that it would almost certainly kill him.
Aaron sat by the basket, a forgotten apple in his hand. He met her gaze and gulped the mouthful of food. “Holy crap.”
She gave a brief smile. “Yours just might not be the most dangerous talent out there, kid.”
“I hid something in the water for you to find.” Jackson seated himself next to Aaron and began removing items from the basket. “You better hurry before the food gets cold.”
“Do I get a hint?”
“That would be cheating. You have to earn your present.” Jackson didn’t even bother to turn.
“Present?” Her belly flip-flopped at the word. Part of her wanted to find what he went through all the trouble to hide. The rest of her wanted to leap out of the water, half expecting the gift would come with strings to tangle around her feet and drown her.
Taking a deep breath, she dove beneath the surface. Every inch of her skin felt sunburned, the current twisting and rubbing against every inch of exposed skin. She’d never been so completely submerged in her gift.
She had to surface for air three times before her body adjusted to the new denseness in the water. On the fifth dive, she hit bottom. There were no weeds. The whole area was covered by tiny granulates of sand and stone that time had eroded.
She circled twice before she ran out of air. “There is nothing down there.”
Jackson smirked. “You’re using your eyes. Did you think I would just leave it lying around for easy pickings? Use your power. That’s the whole point of this exercise.”
He took a big bite out of his chicken wing, his white teeth making short work of the meat, and she could easily picture him feasting in his wolf form.
With another breath of air, she dove under. When she called on her power, the whole pond responded. The shock was so unexpected, so sudden, she gasped. Water immediately filled her mouth, spilling down her throat.
She shot to the surface, choking as she sloshed toward shore. On her hands and knees, she waited for the press of panic to fade.
Jackson and Aaron remained seated, watching with unblinking eyes. She scowled at them, hating that they’d witnessed her failure. And it wasn’t like they could help. This was something that she had to do herself.
Pushing to her feet with shaky legs, Raven turned, splashing back into the water and dove under. Knowing what to expect didn’t lesson the jolt of pain, like being wrapped in frayed wire that gave off a nasty shock, but she braced for it.
Just when she thought she’d run out of air, the pressure on her lungs eased. She used the energy to search for something man-made. Three plastic beer rings, a pair of sunglasses and thirty-seven cents later, she came up for air. She tossed the items on shore.
Since that wasn’t working, she decided to search for something recent. Only the whole floor lit up in a blue glow, thousands of individual pieces of sand twinkling like her own private galaxy. The
unexpected beauty stunned her. She hadn’t realized how many granulates had dropped from the current.
She pushed off the bottom and treaded water. Jackson had fouled up the water when he dove in with her, so she couldn’t trace his movements. There wasn’t any scent to follow under water.
But what could she see? With another deep breath, she settled on the bottom. She pulled the electricity around her then sank it into the sand. Little whirls where she and Jackson had frolicked spun through the water. She also saw her power build in a light blue color where she herself pushed up the bottom or dug for treasure.
A light pure blue illuminated a large rock. Or more specifically, underneath the rock. Swimming forward, Raven gave the small bolder a shove to get it rolling. Beneath rested a small black bag.
She picked it up, caught off guard by the lack of weight. Wanting to make sure it was what Jackson had secreted away for her, she opened the strings and tipped the bag over.
A cord of silver slinked out, the metal cutting through the water in a way that caught the fractured light and sent it sparkling. She pulled out the chain until it pooled into her palm.
A large tear-shaped stone slipped through the water, floating down into her waiting hand. The bright blue stone was encased in a swirling silver lace of vines and leaves. Once the stone landed in her palm, it warmed to her touch. It had to be the size of a quarter, and no doubt very real.
If she accepted the gift, the lace would rest right below her collarbone. When her lungs finally protested the lack of oxygen, she shoved toward the surface.
Lights danced along the edges of the pool. But a foot away from air, the water darkened, offering resistance. It was actually a physical effort to break topside.
She opened her mouth to call out to Jackson when she spotted that they had company. Three men faced off against Jackson while a fourth hovered near the tree line to observe. She immediately recognized him from Vivian’s entourage.
She swam closer to shore, walking when her feet finally brushed the pebbled bottom.
That’s when the shifters noticed her.
Raven halted when the water lapped her thigh, afraid to venture further with all her power sunk into the pool and her animals tamed. “Problems, everyone?”
Electric Moon Page 19