Born of Embers

by Harper Wylde

  The murmurs of the men stopped the second I walked into the room, trailed by Rini. Well, that didn’t bode well. “Is it that bad?” I asked, my voice wavering slightly before I cleared it and spoke with more vigor. “Well, don’t just stand there looking at me. Out with it.” I crossed my arms under my chest.

  “You’re the rarest fucking shifter we’ve ever seen,” Killian spat out.

  “What Kill means to say is that you’re a Phoenix. As far as everyone knows, your kind has been extinct for hundreds of years, if not longer. I’m not even sure when the last time one was documented,” Hiro smoothed over, looking to Theo as he finished.

  “I’d have to go back and look through the old texts from the elders,” Theo said, “I’d have to find a way to borrow them without them knowing.”

  “Aren’t you going to tell the Council about her?” Cayden asked.

  A series of “No!” “Not yet.” and even a “Hell, no,” rang out from the guys around the room.

  “Eventually, when she’s ready, we will take her to the Council,” Hiro said, “she’s been undetected this long, and it’s not like anyone who comes across her will be able to pinpoint what she is. There are only a handful of shifters who would be able to pick out her species and it’s unlikely that she will run into any of them on campus.”

  “Rini’s got one of the strongest senses of smell of any shifter and she didn’t know what she was until now. Has anything changed about her scent, Rini?” Theo continued.

  Leaning forward, Rini sniffed me. Again. Was this something I was going to have to get used to around shifters? Hello, personal space!

  Damien laughed. I narrowed my eyes at him.

  “No. She smells the same, it’s just more pronounced now. Stronger. It’s still smoke and something avian. I think most shifters would mistake her for a dragon, like we did.”

  “Ok, so she needs to keep a low profile and all of us need to keep our mouths shut about what she is until we are ready to go to the Council. Agreed?” Damien asked, looking around at the others with a serious look on his face.

  Donovan spoke up next, “That’s good with us, right guys? Rini?”

  “Oh absolutely. You’re my new favorite secret!” Rini smiled. I hoped things between us were ok. I gave her a small smile back.

  “Is there a reason we are keeping her from the Council?” Cayden enquired, scratching his head and looking mildly uncomfortable.

  Suddenly he leaned over and grabbed his head slightly as he winced in pain. I dropped my hands and took a step forward. I was getting ready to ask if he was ok but Rini beat me to it.

  “Are you alright, baby?” she asked as she crossed the room to him. Sudden understanding crossed her face and I watched as she glowered across the room. “Damien,” she warned.

  Clearing his throat, he nodded at Rini and apologized to Cayden. “Sorry, man.”

  “Yeah, it’s ok. I hate it when you do that. Always leaves me with a wicked headache.” Cayden shook his head like he was trying to shake out the pain.

  I narrowed my eyes at everyone as they continued their conversations. I was not a fucking bystander in my own life and I was getting tired of everyone talking around me like I wasn’t even in the room.

  “Listen up. I know I’m the new girl and now apparently a hot commodity because I shift into a fucking bird, but I don’t understand half the things that are going down in this room and if you are going to just talk around me, I’m going to walk out.” I gestured with my hands all the way through my tirade, finishing with a wave of my hand toward the door and arched eyebrows. I hoped they knew how serious I was because my list of concerns was growing by the second and I was about to have a panic attack.

  Eighteen

  Hiro

  Damien pushed the broken pieces of thoughts he was getting from Nix to us and I’d never been more grateful for his powers before. You want to talk about rare things? Let’s talk about understanding what a woman’s thinking. Every man’s dream!

  Taking a deep breath, I listened to what was coming through the link he had opened to me.

  Council. Dangerous. Morons. Yeah, I could tell that last word was meant for us and I couldn’t help the smile that overtook my face. She was a wild little thing. She had gumption in spades.

  Silencing the room I stated, “I’m sorry, Nix. We’re all morons.” I smiled when her eyes narrowed at me. “We shouldn’t have been talking around you like that. What questions do you have?”

  “Why don’t you want the Council to know about me? I thought they were there to help.” She crossed her arms over her chest again. It was more like under her chest, the movement pressing her breasts up against the vee of her sweater. My Kitsune was rumbling loudly in my head with a vibrating purr and I had to stop myself from staring and embarrassing myself. I heard Ryder let out a low appreciative sound before he covered it with a cough.

  Ho-ly fuck. Ryder’s thoughts were projected to us. I don’t know how Damien did it, but he could open the lines of communication and effortlessly push our thoughts to each other as well as being able to speak to us telepathically himself.

  Low groans and murmurs of agreement rang through my head as I gathered my thoughts and decided how to answer her.

  “It’s not that we don’t want the Council to know about you. When they do, they are going to want to summon you. With how rare you are, they are going to want to place you under protection. I’m not sure what other actions they will take, but those two alone are going to turn your world upside down. I know you need time to open up, Nix, but if the Council summons you now, they are going to want answers. I’d rather you have time to get comfortable with us before you decide on when you should go before the Council. They’ve waited this long, they can wait a little longer.”

  Agreement sounded from everyone in the room. I watched Nix mull over what I was telling her and her face cleared a little as her body became less tense. Poor girl, I bet no one ever took care of her, pampered her, loved her. The way she held her shoulders when she was stressed or uncomfortable made me want to slide my hands down her neck, teasing her skin right before digging my fingers into her muscles and massaging her cares away. I could conjure up what her moan might sound like and my mind quickly ran away with the idea of other kinds of stress relief I’d like to give to her. Things that involved my tongue. My fingers. My…

  “Ahem,” I cleared my throat and shifted. “Hot chocolate. Nix likes hot chocolate. Anyone else?” I spun on my heel and headed towards the kitchen, needing to hide the evidence of my arousal before she saw it and I lost all of the ground I’d made with her. I heard Damien chuckling in my head. He’d heard every lurid thought I’d had.

  As I boiled the milk for the chocolate beverage I began to count in Japanese to distract myself. Ichi, Ni, San, Shi, Go, Roku, Shichi, Hachi, Kyuu, Juu…

  You can count to fucking one hundred and it’s not going to help you any when you turn back around, Killian swore.

  Especially because I have her underwear, Ryder snickered

  You WHAT? Damien roared.

  Relax, Gargoyle. They shredded when she shifted. It’s not like I stole them off of her. I just happened to pick up the silky, tattered, hot pink remains, the Cerapter dug himself deeper.

  Theo groaned through the link, How could I fucking forget that she wasn’t wearing underwear?

  And now you’ll all be thinking about the way those jeans must be rubbing against her when she moves, like I have been for the past twenty minutes, Ryder quipped.

  Looking over I noticed that Ryder was standing behind the sectional, his front to its back. Smart man. He could look all he wanted right now and not worry about scaring her off with the obvious arousal I was sure he was sporting.

  I let my eyes wander over his fit physique and the way his tight jeans hugged his legs and ass. I tried to keep those thoughts to myself and out of the mental link.

  “The second part that Hiro hasn’t explained yet, Nix, is that if the Council decided to place yo
u under protection, you wouldn’t be able to attend classes. They might even move you to a remote area. We’re not exactly sure what their course of action would be but it would change your whole life,” Damien interceded on my behalf.

  Anger took over her face again as I watched from a safe distance. I had been surprised when she had kicked at me earlier, but now, thinking back on it just made me grin like an idiot. I liked her fire, and that was a fitting trait for a Phoenix. I wondered just what powers she possessed.

  “So what you’re telling me is that after eighteen years of having no say in my life, this Council will just take away my free will because they find out I can shift into a damn bird?” Nix started pacing as she made sharp motions with one of her hands.

  No. Fucking. Panties, Ryder interjected.

  Shut the fuck up, unicorn! Killian snapped. Man, this girl really must have him hot and bothered if he was already that volatile. He was always a little gruff around the edges but Kill was a great guy. His Puca was fun and we often enjoyed seeing what mischief he would get into next. I’d need to talk to the red-headed Celt later, once Nix went home. My Kitsune growled and surged forward at that thought.

  “That won’t happen. That’s why we all agree to keep our mouths shut and give us all time to process what you are. Right, guys?” Damien demanded an answer out of the group at large and a series of, “Yes” “Of course” “Damn right” and “Absolutely” echoed around the room.

  Finished preparing her hot chocolate and finally under some semblance of control, I moved back into the living space. “Nix, why don’t you sit down and we can talk more.” I motioned to the couch; I had to get this girl to sit down before one of my brothers acted in a way that he’d regret.

  Sighing, she rolled her shoulders and sat down on the couch again, occupying the same spot she’d claimed earlier. I noticed she was shaking when I passed her the hot chocolate, taking care not to touch her.

  “So now that the Council is out of the way, what else is bothering you?” I prodded.

  “I know you said it was unlikely, but how worried do I need to be that someone else will realize what I am?” She was looking anywhere but at one of us. The skittish side was back.

  “Very unlikely,” Rini piped up.

  “Are you hiding from someone, Nix?” Theo asked point blank. God, sometimes he had no tact. The logical side of him often overlooked likely emotional responses in his quest for knowledge.

  Her eyes snapped to his and she hesitated, unsure of what to say, but Damien projected her thoughts loud and clear.

  YES.

  Low growls sounded around the room, the sudden surge of aggressive noises making her jump and give a small yelp of fear, splashing the hot chocolate on herself in the process.

  Enough! Damien demanded, pushing power at us through the mental link and cutting off our verbal upset.

  “Who?” Killian pressed.

  “I never said I was.” She gripped her mug so tightly that her fingertips were turning white. The visions of her abuse flashed through my mind again and my eyes hardened as I thought about what she must have suffered. It made me ill to think of anyone beating her, touching her. My Kitsune rushed to the surface as I started pacing the room myself.

  “No one will ever lay a finger on you again,” Killian promised, his jaw ticking as he made his declaration. Growls and approving sounds filled the room.

  Her eyes widened before she surged to her feet. “What are you talking about? What do you know?” Her questions shot out in rapid-fire; her chest was heaving as she took fast breaths and her face was sheet white. Her muscles were so tense she was shaking, nearly quivering, from head to toe.

  Killian’s eyes narrowed at her as he fired back, “I know enough.”

  Setting her mug down on the side table she turned to face the group, locking hardened eyes on Killian. I preferred the angry flush of color that infused her cheeks to the deathly pallor of moments before. “You know nothing, Jon Snow.” she bit out in a cold tone before she moved past us all and left the house.

  Nineteen

  Nix

  I half walked, half stomped down the street in anger, heedless of the fact that I wasn’t wearing either shoes or a coat in the chill. The sun was low on the horizon and the sky was a deep blue as I walked. How dare he! How dare they! One get-together and they think they know you. Just because I let them see me partially naked didn’t mean I was about to share my life story with them. I knew I wasn’t normal, but I didn’t think I had done horribly for my first attempt at a social gathering. I mean, yes, I had a temper problem. I had a trust problem. I had problems in fucking general, but overall I was very proud of myself for staying in that room for the last couple of hours. I had spent my life mostly in solitude, and I counted this as a success. Now I was worried it was all ruined the moment I stormed out.

  My attitude swung back and forth like a pendulum. First I was mad with them, then I was mad at myself. Back and forth it went. I wouldn’t blame the guys for never wanting to see me again. All I seemed to attract in life was trouble. It wasn’t fair of me to ask the guys or Rini to keep my secret for me. It wasn’t fair that I was embarrassed for them to learn about my past. It wasn’t fair that I had to worry about news of my shifter form getting back to Michael, or anyone else for that matter. It wasn’t fair that I knew I should stay away from them to keep them safe. It wasn’t fair that I was probably losing the only potential friends I’d ever had.

  I snorted to myself, moving faster to help warm my body and escape the bite of the cooling evening temperature. Potential friends, that was a joke. I didn’t need to burden anyone with my past. What if it came after me? Would I put them within Michael’s reach? God help me if my foster brother searched me out and found Rini in the process! What kind of friend would that make me, putting them in situations where they could be hurt? That didn’t even take into account my own issues! I could barely allow them to touch me, I couldn’t handle anyone yelling near me, I couldn’t be near certain scents or sounds without having flashbacks that absorbed me. In general I had issues with sarcasm, bitchiness, feelings of inadequacy, and anger.

  Crossing my arms, I rubbed my hands up and down my upper arms trying to warm up as I walked, completely absorbed in my own thoughts. I had been taking care of myself practically my entire life, and now that I was free from Michael and all of the foster families, I didn’t need protection. Part of my running so far away—if you called it running that is—was that to me this was another rebirth.

  The sound of a car coming had me stepping onto the damp grass. The last thing I wanted was some idiot driver plowing me over and me having to regenerate in the middle of the street. The battered, gray car slowed as it passed me and I scowled. If it was one of the guys I was so going to light back into them. I tensed my hands into fists as I kept moving. A second car sounded from behind me and the first sped up, flying past and sending a spray of dirt over me. I swore, brushing it off. The second car was actually a large black truck, set high above the ground.

  “Hey!” My eyebrows rose at the unfamiliar voice. I glanced over to see a young man leaning out of the truck window, staring at me. “Are you ok?”

  “Fine.” I stated shortly, continuing my trek.

  “You don’t have any shoes or a coat on. Are you drunk? Did someone hurt you?” He continued to toss out questions as the truck crept along beside me.

  “I said I’m fine.” I turned to glare up at him. Everything about him read as average. He had fair skin, light brown hair, and pale grey eyes. Not a face I would probably remember. Taking a deep breath to try and control my temper I caught a whiff of a familiar scent. Magic, my Phoenix whispered to me. I took a step back, more wary now than I had been before. There’s no way he could be part of the Council, right?

  He sent me what I guess he thought was a flirtatious smile and wave of energy crackled around me. “Oh, come on, pretty girl. You’ve got to be freezing and I’m sure your feet are sore.” I hadn’t even realized i
t until he mentioned it, but he was right. I was shaking slightly from the cold and my feet ached sharply, the tender skin bruised from stepping on pebbles and sticks.

  As I debated the ride, I took an unconscious step towards the truck, which he had parked next to me, but before I could get any closer my Phoenix went crazy. Hissing, calling, and spitting she rose to the surface, making my skin ripple. “What?” The word was ripped from me as I had to begin to fight her for control. Heat crashed over me, a wave that left me stunned. I wrapped my arms around my middle, trying to prevent myself from shifting. Suddenly fire rippled from my scorching hot fingertips, hitting the side of the truck square on.

  “Fuck this shit!” The guy spat out before the truck peeled away.

  “What the hell was that?” I stared in awe at my own hands. My Phoenix let out a smug call, curling back into me. Bad. The word scrolled on repeat through my head, touched with pride and humor.

  “Apparently you have some offensive fire powers.” Hiro’s cool voice from behind me had me groaning.

  “You followed me?” The question came out with a snarl.

  Hiro stepped from the trees behind me, surprising me with the flash of anger I felt from him. “Not all shifters are nice, Nix. The same as humans. You’re going to have to learn to be careful.”

  I snorted. “What do you know about careful, Hiro? Hell, what do you know about fear?”

  He stepped towards me, leaving a full arm’s length of space between us. His eyes were cool and hard on mine as he studied me from head to toe. With a sigh, he shrugged out of his jacket and tossed it to me. “You’ll probably see Andrei around campus.”

  “Andrei?” I wrapped the coat tightly around myself, enjoying the warmth and the mossy scent that rose from the soft fabric.

  Hiro crossed his arms, continuing to study me. “The guy who just tried to lure you into his truck.”