“And Dougal got stabbed, plus he’s got Collar fatigue.” Graham’s voice might not be up to his usual volume, but he’d held on to his strength of will.
“I’m better,” Dougal said. He sat up beside Graham, leaning against the van wall. “What hurt was the magic. Now that Oison’s gone, so is the spell.”
“No kidding.” Graham had his other hand around a bottle of water. He’d insisted on drinking, so happy to be able to again, though Andrea had joked it would all come out the holes if he didn’t quit.
“He’s not good.” Andrea said now. The slim woman put her hand on Graham’s bloody stomach. “Too much blood loss, too long under a spell, dehydration, exhaustion. All that on top of his wounds. I’m going to need a lot of help.”
“I’m here,” Sean said. He put his hand on his mate’s shoulder, his other on the hilt of his sword, which rested tip-first on the van’s floor.
“What can I do?” Misty asked, not liking the sword so near. She knew what the swords of the Guardians did—were used to release a Shifter’s soul when the Shifter didn’t make it. “There has to be something.”
Graham tried to squeeze her fingers. “You’ve done everything, love. You found me. Twice. You rescued me. Twice. You tased Oison, then you shot him.” He chuckled. “That was fun to watch.”
“Shut up, Graham.” Misty kissed his scraped and blackened cheek. “Save your strength.”
“You’re going to need it to heal,” Andrea told him. “Misty, the touch of a mate helps. Put your hand next to mine, and think about how much you love him.”
“She’s not my mate,” Graham rumbled.
The others in the van turned heads to look at Misty, and Xav glanced back over the front seat at them. Misty found herself pinned under Feline and Lupine stares, including those of the cubs.
“She never accepted the claim,” Graham said. “Sucks, but there it is.”
“What are you talking about?” Misty put her hand on Graham’s chest, feeling his heart beating hard and erratically beneath her fingers. “We argued about this, remember? You said I didn’t refuse.”
“But you didn’t accept, either.”
“Well, shit, Graham, I don’t know everything there is to know about Shifter rituals. I’m going out with a man who doesn’t tell me anything.”
“Hey, don’t blame this on me, sweetheart—”
Dougal broke in. “Misty, you say, ‘Under the Father God and Mother Goddess, and in front of witnesses, I accept the mate-claim.’”
“See?” Misty glared at Graham. “Would that have been so hard?” She took a deep breath and spoke quickly. “Under the Father God and Mother Goddess, and in front of witnesses, I accept the mate-claim.”
“Oh, yeah.” Graham grasped her hand again and squeezed it. “I feel better already.”
The mood in the van lightened. Andrea’s face softened into a smile, and Dougal whooped. Even Reid, in the front with Xav, gave Misty a quiet nod. Sean grinned, and Xav gave them all a thumbs-up as he kept driving.
Dougal launched himself at Misty and enfolded her in a hard hug. “Thank you, Misty.”
The twins rammed into her other side, hugging her tight. Sean and Andrea had brought their clothes, which they’d put on more or less right, except Kyle had his shirt on inside out. “Aunt Misty!” They shouted. The cubs let go of her and jumped up and down together, then ran at her and hugged her again.
All the while Graham lay there, his eyes softening. “Thank you, Misty.”
Misty leaned down, being careful not to hurt him, and kissed his cracked lips. “Anytime, love.”
Graham tried to kiss her back, the glint in his eye telling her when he felt better, she’d need to watch out. Misty didn’t care. She loved Graham, she loved sex with him, and she yearned for him with every part of her.
Graham smiled the best he could as she rose from him, then he looked past her. “And you two,” he said to the twins, with a hint of his old firmness. “Goddess help me. I don’t know whether to lock you in your room for two months or take you out for pizza.”
The twins sprang away from Misty and high-fived each other. “Pizza!” they yelled.
“Earplugs,” Graham said, wincing. “I’m buying a bucket load.”
Laughter began, and then healing magic, as the van rocked and swayed through the dusty desert night.
• • •
Andrea’s skill, bandages, Misty’s touch, and time healed Graham’s wounds, though he was the most impatient patient Misty had ever dealt with.
Graham was up and down constantly while he convalesced, picking at the bandages, reopening the closed wounds, grumbling when they were bandaged again. He said he couldn’t stay in bed when he had to take care of Dougal, and the cubs, and Shifter business, and run his half of Shiftertown, and fix his bike, which had gotten shot, if she remembered.
The Shifters would have to rebuild the house that had collapsed, away from the ley line this time. Plus, they needed to get the Shifter Bureau off their backs about the Collars—though the soldiers had tested every one and found them all functional. Still, the fact that a seed of doubt had been sown meant Shifters had to be very, very careful about the Collars. But Collars had to come off and be replaced with fake ones as soon as possible, now that Shifters knew about the Fae and their nefarious plots with the swords.
Then there was the question of arranging for the mating ceremonies with Misty, and Graham breaking it to his Lupines he was mating with a human.
The Lupines already knew, of course, because nothing could be kept quiet in Shiftertown. Wolves would walk by his house while Graham healed, staring up at his bedroom window, and not always out of concern for him. They left him alone for now, but Graham said that a time would come for confrontation.
Paul had taken over looking after Misty’s flower shop and its cleanup, so Misty could stay with Graham and help him. Paul proved to be good at the store, and Misty decided that once Graham was healthy again, she’d ask Paul to go into it with her as a full partner. She could do that for him, and Paul could finally begin his life.
Ben returned a week into Graham’s recovery to congratulate Misty on her victory. Graham almost ripped Ben’s head off as soon as he stepped inside through the kitchen door Misty enthusiastically opened for him.
“You asshole,” Graham said clearly when he had his hands around Ben’s throat. Graham’s Collar sparked, but he didn’t seem to notice or care. “Misty told me all about you. You sent her straight into danger—alone. Never mind about your little spell book. If not for you, she’d have stayed the hell out of this.”
“Maybe,” Ben said, unruffled, even though Graham’s fingers bit into his neck. “But she wouldn’t have learned how to find you or fight the Fae’s spells, and you’d be a Fae slave now. Or dead. Maybe both.”
“I don’t want her to fight the Fae,” Graham snarled. “I want her to stay safe.”
Ben brought his hands up between Graham’s and snapped his hold away. Graham stepped back in surprise and glared at him, but didn’t renew the attack.
“I want her to stay safe too,” Ben said, his look serious. “That’s why I taught her how to defend herself and save you.”
“Yeah, well . . .” Graham’s growl was low, and his Collar quieted.
Misty released a breath of relief. She knew Graham well enough now to know he’d gotten his initial rage out of his system and might start listening.
“So when I found the box of books at the flea market,” she said, rummaging in the refrigerator. Now that Graham was done choking Ben, both men might want beer. “Did you make sure I’d buy it? Or was it a coincidence?”
Ben winked at her. “I don’t believe in coincidences.”
Graham rumbled. “Of course you don’t, you cocky son of a—”
“What about Matt and Kyle?” Misty interrupted. “You said they were spec
ial. Very special Shifters, you called them.”
“Ah.” Ben accepted the beer. Graham grabbed the other from Misty and twisted off the top, his movements still a bit stiff.
“I came to tell you about that, actually,” Ben said. “I didn’t realize what they were at first. I didn’t think there were any left. But I did a little research, and I’m right.”
“Get to the point.” Graham leaned against the counter near Misty, protecting her even now, and fixed Ben with a Shifter stare. “Damn creatures from Faerie love the cryptic.”
“They’re Guards,” Ben said.
Graham stiffened. “Guardians?”
Ben shook his head. “Guards. Back when Shifters were created, Fae made a special breed of them they called Guards. They were a little bigger and more ferocious than typical Shifters, and created to guard the highest generals, the clan leaders, and the emperor.”
“Rear guard, you mean,” Graham said. “To take care of the cowards who wouldn’t go out in actual battle.”
“You got it.” Ben nodded and took a sip of beer. “Unfortunately, the Fae made the Guards a little too good. When the Shifter-Fae war came along, the Guards turned around and defended the Shifters instead of the Fae. They knew a lot about the habits of the highest-ranking Fae, and they used that knowledge to take them down. They fought the Fae to the death. The main reason the Shifters won that war is because of the Shifter Guards. Unfortunately, ‘to the death’ meant literally. The Guards died to the last one. Extinct. Or so we all thought.” Ben gestured with his beer bottle. “Those two cubs are Guards. I guess the genetics made it through. Who was their father?”
Graham shrugged. “I don’t know. Their mother was one of my wolves—she died bringing them in, and she never would say who the father was. None of my other Lupines would admit to it, so I figured she’d found a wolf from another Shiftertown, or maybe one who’d stayed in the wild. She died without naming him.”
“Hmm,” Ben said. “Interesting. Well, keep an eye on them.”
“Great,” Graham said, though the anger in his voice had lessened a long way. “They’re out with Dougal right now. Probably watching Dougal chase tail.”
“They’ll take care of Dougal,” Ben said. “Who’s babysitting whom, that’s the question.” He chuckled, took another sip of beer, and glanced out the window. “Hey, Graham, looks like your wolves are ready to parley. Enjoy yourself.” Ben set his bottle by the sink, came to Misty and kissed her cheek, then grinned at the snarling Graham, and exited through the front.
“Crap.” Graham slammed down his bottle, winced, and touched his side. Shifters healed quickly, he’d said over and over to Misty this week, but even so, Graham wasn’t ready for a full-blown fight.
Graham walked out of the house to his back porch, Misty following. Graham pulled himself up straight to face the crowd of Lupines who’d gathered at the edge of his yard. “She accepted the mate-claim,” Graham told them, his voice as strong as ever. “Get over it.”
“We know.” The wolf called Norval fixed his gaze on Misty. “We don’t accept it.”
“Don’t care,” Graham said. “I formed the mate bond with her. What am I supposed to do? Throw that away?”
Several of the wolves moved uneasily. The mate bond was an almost sacred thing—to come between two Shifters who shared it was cruel, not to mention dangerous.
“Other Shifters have given up the mate bond for the good of their clans,” Norval said.
“True,” Graham answered. “Other Shifters, not me. And that was in the wild, where those choices meant survival. These days, we don’t have to deny a mate bond so full-of-themselves Shifters don’t get their knickers in a twist.”
A few of the wolves chuckled. Norval only looked more angry. “Watch it, Graham. I’ll challenge for Shiftertown leadership if you break this faith.”
“Go ahead.” Graham shrugged his large shoulders. “I’ll slam you down. Then your second will climb over your dead body to take the clan leadership.”
More movement, some of the Shifters drifting away from Norval, others gathering behind him.
Misty saw Dougal approach and stand on the edge of the crowd. Graham shook his head ever so slightly, and Dougal nodded back, silently staying where he was.
“I accept the mating,” a female voice said.
The Lupine woman Jan stepped out from behind Muriel. Her arms were folded, she wouldn’t look at anyone directly, but she glanced defiantly out of the corners of her eyes. “Misty Granger will be a good mate for Graham,” Jan said, her voice firm. “She’ll have our backs.”
Norval bristled. “You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”
“Yes, she does,” Misty broke in. A hiss of distaste went through some of the Shifters—a female, human, speaking to dominant Shifters—unheard of. Misty jabbed a fist in Jan’s direction and grinned at her. “Jan and me, we’re sisters under the skin.”
“Misty saved me from being taken by the Shifter Bureau,” Jan said. “For that, I stand by her.”
“I do too,” Muriel said. “Jan told me what happened. While you alphas were skulking around avoiding the Bureau men, Misty was saving Jan’s ass. She also saved Graham’s. We wouldn’t have a leader right now if not for her.”
“She also got Graham into trouble in the first place,” Norval said angrily. “He got shot and nearly taken by the Fae because he went running after her.”
“Pay attention,” Muriel said. “The Fae would have grabbed Graham any way he could. Misty brought him home and kept the Bureau from finding out we’re digging under the houses.”
Norval’s eyes narrowed. “Are you ‘sisters’ with her too?”
“No,” Muriel said. “But I’m not stupid. You want Graham to mate for the good of his Shifters, or so you say. Or maybe you’re trying to force a match that’s for the good of you.”
“Muriel,” Norval growled, giving her his alpha stare.
Another young female Lupine came forward, followed by another, more reluctant, but with her shoulders squared. “We’ll stand by Graham’s choice too,” the first one said. “We’re a little irritated that our clan leaders are trying to mate us off to him. It’s our decision who we pick as a mate, not theirs. We’re tired of being treated like chattel.”
Norval swept his gaze over them. “Is this what city living does to Lupines?” he asked. “Clan leaders let low-dominance females speak without permission?”
“Clan leaders can get used to it,” Misty called to him. “If I’m going to be the Shiftertown leader’s mate, I’ll teach the ladies to not let themselves be pushed around. They should all be like my friend Lindsay.”
Norval went almost purple. “Dear Goddess. Graham, control her.”
Graham shook his head. “I can’t. She’s human. She does what she wants.” He rested his fists on the porch railing. “My decision’s made. I mate-claimed Misty, she accepted, the sun and moon ceremonies will be soon. Suck on it.”
Norval and a few others looked as though they wanted to continue the argument, but Graham did his Graham thing of turning around and walking away, showing them his uncaring back. Misty gave Jan a grateful smile and retreated into the house after Graham.
Graham grabbed Misty around the waist as soon as she came out of the kitchen and had her against the wall in the hall. “You’ve got a sassy mouth.” He leaned to her. “I’m going to bite it.”
“Mmm.” Misty laced her arms around his neck as he took her bottom lip between his teeth. The little pain of the bite shot excitement through her.
“Mating frenzy,” Graham said. “It’s rising and doesn’t care about these damn bandages.”
Misty put her hand on his jeans and slid it down to his zipper. “I see that.”
Graham rested his hands on either side of her head as he licked across her mouth. “I need you, Misty. I’ve been needing you . . .
it’s making me crazy.”
Misty lost her smile. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“It’s supposed to be me saying that.” Graham nipped her chin. “I want to do everything with you, love. I want you to suck my cock. I want to drink you. I want you riding me, and looking at me with your beautiful eyes when you do it. I want you on your hands and knees, like in your garden, in the moonlight. I want to be in you, buried there, and not come out. I want it all.”
Warm excitement built. “I can go for that.” Misty pressed her hand to his chest. “But not until you’re well.”
“I’m well. I’m with my mate.” Graham clasped her hand, pressing it harder into his chest. “And I have the mate bond. It’s hot inside me, connecting me to you. Can you feel it too?”
The look he gave her was so hopeful, so utterly raw, no barriers between them, that Misty’s eyes stung. “I feel warmth right here.” She pressed his hand between her breasts. “I feel happy whenever I see you, even when you’re yelling. I love looking at you, and watching you look at me as though you want to devour me. I feel lighter whenever you’re around me. I told you in the cave that I loved you, and why. Want me to tell you again?”
“I heard you,” Graham said. “Even that far gone, I heard you.” He touched his lips to hers, the kiss the gentlest brush. “It brought me back to you.”
“Graham.” Misty loved saying his name. She laced her hand behind his head, rubbing his short hair, and made the next kiss deeper. She loved doing that too.
Graham opened her mouth with his kiss, brushing her cheek with his thumb. His body came hard against hers, pressing her back into the wall.
When Graham broke the kiss and looked down at her, the tenderness had left him. “I’m done being nice.” The strength and the savage growl had returned to his voice. “Can you take that?”
Excited heat spun through her. “I think so.”
“Better know so.” Graham took a step back and flashed her his most wicked smile. “Run, sweetheart. I want to hunt.”
Misty’s eyes widened. Graham’s little growl made her heart flutter and then beat very fast.
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