by Olivia Gayle
"Mr. Murphy claimed to have information about a recent death." Mac stepped down to the street, stopping ten feet from the Brahm. The woman looked at Marshall's chest, not meeting his eyes as she continued in a shaky voice. "He wanted to talk to Sheriff Tucker first, said he knew something about Kevin Reynolds.”
Marshall studied the shorter woman, then moved toward her with sure steps. She went rigid, but did nothing as the Brahm took her wrists and studied the still-healing pink skin on her hands. "You tried to save him."
Mac's shoulders drooped, her eyes turning sad. "He was so young, barely even twenty. We all make mistakes when we’re that young, but he didn't deserve to die for his."
The Brahm didn't answer as Marcus came up behind her. The other man met Marshall's eyes for a brief moment before looking away too, and the Brahm let Mac's hands go. He turned to Julian. "Tell us your information." He stepped in close, meeting the other man's eyes. "It better be good."
Anger twisted Julian's features, and Aidan could see him try, and fail, to hold the other man's gaze. His eyes dropped, but the scowl remained. "Kevin Reynolds came into my bank two months ago looking to buy some property outside the city limits.”
“Did you loan him money?”
“Hell no. I didn’t even let him fill out the paperwork.” He glanced at Aidan, hatred in his eyes, and tipped up one corner of his lips in a humorless smile. “I’m very good at reading people; I can tell immediately what makes them tick. Much like how I knew your mate didn’t know the truth as to your relationship.”
Aidan’s lips curled back and he growled, the sound a deep rumble in his throat. Try as he might, however, he couldn’t move a muscle toward the other man; the Brahm’s powers held him in place. “And you wonder why I sent my sister away from you,” he snarled.
The smirk on Julian’s face fell away immediately, and it was his turn to fight the invisible restraints. “She was my mate, you bastard!”
“Enough.”
One word from the Brahm left both men silent and fuming, glaring at one another. Marshall, however, didn’t seem to even notice the tension. “Please continue, Mr. Murphy,” he said, turning back to Julian. “I’m assuming you were about to get to the real information?”
Muscles ticked in Julian’s jaw, but he nodded. “When I found out Kevin was dead, on a hunch I researched that property. Not long after Mr. Reynolds left my bank, it was purchased by a Robert Hendrix.”
Marshall’s eyes narrowed, and his head cocked to the side in thought. “Give us the address, Mr. Murphy, and you’re free to go with our thanks.”
Julian stepped forward, and the Brahm’s head snapped to look at the naked banker. The werepanther’s body halted midstep, but from his expression he was obviously fighting the compulsion. “Please,” he managed through gritted teeth, “I need to see her.”
“Anna Landry is off limits.” Marshall’s gaze bored into Julian’s, but neither man would look away. “Where she is now, you can’t touch her unless you want to forfeit your life.”
“She’s my mate,” Julian raged, obviously struggling for the words. “You can’t keep me away from her!”
Marshall stepped in until he was nose-to-nose with Julian. “Watch me.”
The other man’s hands curled to fists, muscles bulging on his slender frame as if he wanted to hit the Brahm. Marshall just stood there, completely relaxed, his gaze boring into Julian’s until the other man finally relented. Julian sagged, his eyes dropped to the ground, and he stepped away.
Immediately, Aidan felt the compulsion that held him in place fade away. Julian’s gaze found him again, and he could see the hatred in the other man’s eyes, but the fight was gone. Aidan accepted a pair of thin pants from Mac and watched as Julian stalked back up the stairs into the Sheriff’s office. A couple of onlookers eyed his naked body appreciatively, but the other man didn’t seem to care. He came back a moment later, carrying the tattered remains of his clothing, and presented a small folded piece of paper to the Brahm. “Here you are, your majesty.”
Marshall’s arm snaked out and, fast as lightening, he lifted Julian up into the air and slammed him onto the concrete sidewalk. The edge of the slab cracked at the impact, and several people nearby jumped. Aidan moved toward the duo, but stopped as Marshall knelt slowly down beside the prone Julian. The banker’s eyes were wide and dazed from the impact, but he still clawed at the hand on his throat.
“I don’t tolerate disrespect well, Mr. Murphy,” the Brahm said softly, leaning down to make sure he had Julian’s full attention. “Your father is one of my oldest friends, but I won’t hesitate to gut you if necessary. Do we have an understanding?”
Julian was truly choking; his face had gone red and his lips blue. Aidan didn’t see the other man nod or make any motion indicating he understood the Brahm’s request, but Marshall let him go, standing to his feet. Julian rolled over on the cement, wheezing and coughing.
Aidan eyed his father cautiously. “Everything all right?”
The Brahm gave him a tight-lipped smile, green eyes curiously bright. “Right as rain.”
Around them, the street was dead silent except for the wind through the trees. They’d attracted quite the crowd, and many faces were watching Marshall with some trepidation. The Brahm didn’t exhibit his powers that often, at least not in public like this. Most residents of Arcadia understood he was powerful and could protect them, but displays like this could make them uncomfortable.
Hell, Aidan had lived with the knowledge his entire life, and even he was keeping a safe distance from his father.
Not for the first time, he wondered what would happen if Marshall Tucker ever really went crazy. The man was old, far older than anyone else in the town, probably among the oldest in the world. He’d never gotten a straight answer from his father as to his age; he claimed anything from the time of the pyramids all the way through the Revolutionary War. Most of the time, Aidan couldn’t tell when he was joking or telling the truth.
Either way, he was old. There were stories of what happened when the old shifters went rogue, and the bodies they left in their wake before they could be taken out. Aidan’s oldest brother, Warren, was an Enforcer, tasked with the thankless job of hunting down any shifters that went after human populations, or risked their exposure to the world at large. He was powerful, currently on loan to the Brahm of New York City.
Nobody Aidan knew, however, was even slightly a match to their father’s powers.
He didn’t realize he was maintaining eye contact with his father until something shifted in the other man’s gaze—an excitement, as if his father relished another battle of wills. Aidan hastily averted his gaze to the ground, not wanting to run afoul of his father’s suddenly mercurial temper. “I need to find my mate.”
“She’s with Eleanor, she’ll be safe.” He handed Aidan the slip of paper Julian had given him. “Text Davis and give him that info. I want to know everything about this Hendrix, down to what he had for breakfast this morning.”
Davis Landry was Aidan’s half-brother and twin to Anna, Julian’s pseudo-mate. Only twenty-five years old, Davis knew more about modern technology than everyone in Arcadia combined. It was his job to make sure any and all mention of the Shifter world stayed out of public record. The boy spent most of his days behind his massive computer with multiple monitors, doing…whatever it was he did. Aidan’s eyes usually glazed over when Davis talked about deep web and servers and furries, the latter of which he still wished his brother hadn’t explained. Hell, Aidan had issues with his smartphone being smarter than he was.
Sometimes, it really sucked being old.
Aidan’s thoughts turned to Ever. He knew his mother could fend for herself, but too much was going on at the moment for Aidan to think anyone was safe. Especially not a human surrounded by shifters. He should be by her side in case anything happened, in case…
“You coming?”
His father’s voice brought him back to the present. The burning need to be wi
th Ever warred with the desire to figure out what was causing such uncharacteristic chaos within their community. Marshall just watched him placidly, no emotion showing on his face.
Aidan blew out a breath. He trusted his mother to keep Ever safe. The sooner they figured out what was happening, the better. Maybe they could figure it out and be done with it by the time he went to get her again.
One could hope, at least.
Chapter 21
“Men are idiots.”
The phrase seemed to be the older woman’s mantra; she’d said it three times already since Ever had climbed into her car.
Of course, Ever agreed with her completely, so she didn’t mind it being repeated. Repeatedly. With much repeat.
She grinned at the thought, then frowned, peering curiously down into her coffee mug curiously. What had the other woman put in her tea?
“Don’t worry, I didn’t drug you.” Eleanor bustled around the kitchen. “I just always wished someone had given me a nice strong hot toddy when they explained the world of Shifters to me.”
Ah. Ever raised her cup. “More please?”
The older woman’s laughter bounced off the walls of the small room. “Coming right up. So, what do you want to know?”
“Everything.” For now, Ever was content to watch the other woman. “Thanks for rescuing me, by the way.”
“I know how the men in this town can be.” Eleanor busied herself putting away some dishes. “Calling them overprotective can be an understatement. All right.” She grabbed a teakettle and the bottle of Jack, and sat down with Ever at the kitchen table. “How strong do you like it?”
Ever grinned. She really liked this woman. “However strong you did it last time. I didn’t even notice the alcohol.”
“Coming right up.” Eleanor refilled the mug, then added a dash of both honey and Jack to the mix. “You’ll be fine as long as you don’t let it get cold.”
The mug steamed in her hand, smelling good, but Ever still held off on taking another sip, just stirring slowly. She wasn’t sure where to start with her questions. “Where’s Derek?”
“He left to track your sister right after you and Aidan left.” She added a very liberal helping of Jack to her own tea and glanced at the clock. “He keeps a satellite phone on him in a pack around his neck. If he finds anything, he’ll call it in.”
Ever sipped her tea thoughtfully, not sure how to ease in to this conversation. “How old are you?”
“You should know, my dear, that a woman never reveals her age.” Her lips tipped up into a grin. “But if you’re asking how long I’ve been a shifter, I’d say around a hundred and sixty years or so.”
Ever absorbed this, taking a large gulp of her tea. “What do you change into?”
“Ah, here’s where it gets tricky.” The other woman leaned forward. “How much do you know about the Change itself?”
“Nothing. I mean, I only just found out about you all yesterday.”
Eleanor nodded. “Basically, everybody’s Change is different. A child of two shifters may not end up being the same animal as either of its parents. It’s dictated more on the personality of the person, the core of them, as to what they will shift into.” She sighed, sipping her tea. “Then there’s me. I’m a chimera, able to shift into anything I can picture.”
“So pretty much everyone else can only change into one species of animal?”
“Yes.”
Ever absorbed that piece of information. “Aidan said you were attacked by a rogue shifter.”
“Yes. I should have died from my wounds, but got lucky enough for the Change to take over instead.”
“How rare are chimeras?”
“Very. With the ability comes great power, and within this community great responsibility. There are only two others I know about: Marshall, who you’ve met, and a woman who runs the Shifter sanctuary, Refuge. Nadine has the power of clairvoyance; she can see the future, or at least aspects of it. Marshall is telekinetic, or something similar; he can manipulate Shifters to obey his commands.”
“What about you? What’s your power?”
“I can calm even the angriest of souls.” She sighed. “Maybe that’s why Marshall and I did so well together for so long.”
Hearing the Brahm’s name made Ever think of another question, one that had been plaguing her. “Aidan told me you and his father were together for years. What changed?”
Eleanor sighed, leaning back in her chair and staring at a point behind Ever. “Basically? I met Derek, and knew instantly that he was my mate.”
Ever frowned. “Just like that?”
Lines puckered the other woman’s forehead. “There was no ‘just like that’ when it came to leaving Marshall. In fact, I resisted the urge for several years because I thought I was already in love.”
“Really?”
Eleanor nodded. “You have to understand, I’d already been with Marshall for nearly a century. He’d been the one to save me, and there was chemistry between us. I thought I was in love, even if the man himself was insufferable at times. You’ll learn that it’s a common trait amongst male shifters. And then…”
She trailed off, the furrow between her eyes deepening. “Then I met Derek, and suddenly everything was different. It scared me, I won’t lie. One minute I was in a perfectly good relationship with a man I admired, and the next I couldn’t stop drooling over this newcomer. Derek has family who were long-time residents of Arcadia, but I had never met him before he moved here.”
Ever waited a moment, but the other woman seemed lost in her memories. “How did Marshall take it?”
That seemed to snap the older woman back to the present. “I denied it to myself for a long while, but he’d always been a perceptive one. Derek was patient too, didn’t try to stake a claim like many males would. It literally took years of me avoiding Derek before Marshall finally confronted me.”
“What did you do?”
“I denied it.” Her mouth turned down slightly. “You don’t lie to the Brahm, but I didn’t know what to do. Marshall was—is—a good man, but living as long as he has brings with it ghosts. He’s a man of honor who always tries to do right by everyone, even if it means sacrificing something for himself. His sons take after him that way.” She lifted a shoulder. “So he kicked me out of the house.”
“Seriously?”
“Yup. I wasn’t going to leave him any other way.” A reluctant smile tipped one corner of her mouth, reminding Ever of Aidan. “Oh, he was pretty rude about it too. Said some things that, for years afterwards, made me pissed off every time I looked at him. That anger’s faded with time, however, and I know he was doing what he thought best.”
She looked out the window sadly. “Afterwards though, he shut down. Doesn’t leave that giant house much anymore. He’s become more of a hermit than a community leader. I think he wanted a mate so badly, he convinced himself that was us until Derek came into the picture. I think he still cares for me; he’s gone out of his way for my twins before, giving them privileges most residents around here don’t get.”
Ever shivered. “I don’t know if I could do it,” she murmured, gripping her mug tightly. “I hate that there’s no choice in who you love.”
“Oh, honey.” Eleanor reached out and took a seat beside Ever, grasping the younger woman’s hand. “There’s always a choice. Just because the chemistry is there doesn’t mean you have to act on it.”
“You did.” She didn’t realize how her words sounded until they were already past her lips. Ever looked away. “I’m sorry, that was a low blow.”
“No, it’s a valid point, but you know what? I adore my husband. Did you know that Marshall and I never officially married? At the time, I didn’t think about it, but now I wonder if we both always knew our relationship was temporary. With Derek, we didn’t even last a year together before we rang those wedding bells as loud as possible.”
“But how is it a choice?” Ever couldn’t wrap her brain around it. “How is it not
some biological imperative you can’t fight?”
“My daughter would like you.” Eleanor sipped her tea, not breaking eye contact with Ever. “A modern girl through and through. She and Davis are my youngest, twins with my Derek. You know she left town to get away from the man who would be her mate because she didn’t actually like him?”
“I did hear something like that, although the fight broke up the details.”
“My baby, Anna, is my youngest and probably about your age. She felt that ‘biological imperative’ on someone she couldn’t stand, so left town.”
“Good for her.”
Eleanor smirked. “I’m proud of her. She’s blossoming away from home, able to have her own life.” She looked at Ever. “Just because you feel insta-lust for someone doesn’t mean you have to go through it. Some people need to grow up before they get a mate, and Julian Murphy is a prime example. Anna didn’t feel the need to fix anyone—that’s their job, not hers—so she left to go her own way.”
Outside, the dogs began baying, loud barks that echoed. Eleanor frowned, turning to look out the kitchen window at the kennels. “Stay here,” she said, standing up, “I’m going to see what has them riled.”
Ever sipped her tea again, gazing around the small room. She hadn’t been inside the house before, but it felt just as homey as Aidan’s house, and she wondered if his mother had helped him decorate. Standing up, she looked at the family pictures on the wall, and couldn’t help but notice how old some of the photographs were. There were none of Aidan any younger than he was now, but he was in a few, including one where he carried a pair of children on his back. He was laughing along with the two kids, who Ever guessed were the twins Eleanor had talked about.
It was a good picture of him, and seeing his laughter made Ever’s heart ache. He really was a good man, she could see that in everything he did. Ever wanted to think that, even if she’d met him as a human with no “mating” urge, she’d still be attracted to him just as much.