by Elle Thorne
“Until now. You already know that she’s willing to kill me.”
A tear rolled down Eden’s cheek. “I’m going to stop drinking the tea. This isn’t the way to handle this.”
He wiped it away with his thumb. “Don’t cry. Don’t. The guilt is killing you. It’s too much. I get it.”
He didn’t get it. He couldn’t imagine throwing something this great away. But he loved her for who she was. Every bit of who she was. A woman with integrity who didn’t want to do what she was doing. He’d respect it, even if it meant breaking his heart.
“Stay with me tonight.”
“Sean—”
“Just tonight. Let me hold you.”
Because tomorrow he was leaving. He wouldn’t watch her go through the misery, and he didn’t want to see what sort of hell would be paid for pissing Piria off. And if he were around, he’d be more fuel to the fire.
Sean left a sleeping Eden and made his way to the kitchen on Tyler’s side. His bear’s senses had picked up the scent of coffee, and he’d heard the voices of Camden and Tyler.
It was time to get the ball rolling. He clenched his jaw.
Camden’s eyes filled with tears. “What are you telling me, Sean?”
“I won’t do this to Eden. I’m leaving.”
Tyler stood at the sink, watching the conversation silently.
Camden put her hand on Sean’s arm. “You can’t leave. I see how happy you two are.”
“She’s not going to drink the tea. She’s letting Piria out. The first thing Piria will do is light a fire. She’ll blame me for being knocked out, for everything.”
“No. Piria won’t know. And Eden won’t tell her. Please give me some time to work this out.”
“What’s to work out? She hates me. She starts fires. She’ll hate me more when she wakes up. And I won’t see all of you endangered. End of story.”
“I’m telling you she won’t know that she was asleep.”
He found that hard to believe. “At all?”
“At all. Personal guarantee from Circe. And Circe knows her shit. Please, don’t go yet. Please.”
He gritted his teeth. It would not be easy seeing Eden, day to day, knowing he couldn’t touch or kiss her.
“Piria won’t know what happened. And I’ve told Eden not to tell her. That needs to come from Circe, one of these days, when she gets back to Colorado.”
Hearing that was like having a sword pushed through his heart.
Chapter Nine
Piria was awake. Eden could feel her, though Piria didn’t say a word. Nothing.
Conflicted, torn with confessing to Piria and telling her the truth or protecting the others from Piria’s fires, it wasn’t a difficult choice. Eden chose to protect the others. She told Piria nothing. She pretended like those days with Sean didn’t exist.
And she ignored her heartbreak. She tried to ignore her panther’s heartache, but that wasn’t so easy. Feeling sympathy for her panther, she opted to give her a run through the woods.
It had been a long time, after all, since she’d given her panther control of their body and shifted into her feline form. For starters, it was something Piria wasn’t in favor of. Eden pushed the panther’s needs and demands aside more often than not in order to keep her elemental happy.
Another snarl from the panther.
Okay, okay.
She yielded control to her panther. It started in her skin. The pulsing, the rippling, the beginning of her panther’s fur to form under the top layer. Next came the tendons, sinew, and muscles, all stretching, yielding to her feline’s size. The agonizing part was when her bones began to transmute, widening, stretching, thickening. Eden gasped at the discomfort.
Within a few seconds, but what felt like an eternity as her body yielded to her panther, Eden stood in the wooded area, next to the hollow tree trunk, a magnificent, well-built black panther with large paws, a muscular chest, and an elegantly arched neck.
“Go on,” she told her panther. “This is what you wanted, get your fill.”
Truthfully, Eden relished the time she spent in her panther’s form and she held a silent grudge that Piria wouldn’t allow her to do this more often.
“Run, girl, run.”
Her panther didn’t need any more encouragement. She sprung forward and began to cover the forest’s floor with long leaps.
After bounding between trees and bushes until she’d released her energy, Eden’s panther settled into a trot, enjoying the warmth of the sunshine, the breeze that slipped between the evergreen branches, caressing and ruffling her fur.
Eden enjoyed the pure simplicity of skirting obstacles and laughing inside her panther’s mind as she became airborne to play with a butterfly that fluttered among the trees.
For the first time in what seemed like forever, Piria had receded to a place where she wasn’t sending blasts of heat throughout Eden’s body, nor was she controlling Eden’s emotions. It was a joy that made Eden want to giggle. Her panther relished Eden’s joy, regaling her with antics.
It was so that Eden and her panther were preoccupied that neither were paying attention nor did they notice anything amiss.
It began with a sting in Eden’s panther’s hindquarters.
She glanced back.
Eden recognized it immediately, the dart sticking out from her panther’s muscular backside.
The first thing she noticed was her unfocused vision, then came the stumbling.
Eden could feel consciousness slipping away, and her final thought was that she’d been Tranqed.
Chapter Ten
Sean kept to his room that evening, passing on joining anyone at the dinner table, or creating more havoc or pain for Eden.
He’d have liked to say that he slept well, but his night was sleepless. How long should he wait? How long did Camden consider a while to be?
It was nearly dawn and his bear was as restless as he was. For different reasons. His bear had no interest in leaving Bear Canyon Valley. And he had no interest in leaving Eden behind.
And I do?
Sean rolled over in his bed, his sheets a tangled mess, entrapping his legs.
He moved around, trying to set himself free and straighten the sheets without having to actually get out of bed, but finally he gave up. There was no point to it.
He meandered downstairs with the intent of starting a pot of coffee when the aroma of fresh-brewed reached his nostrils.
Someone beat him to it.
He stepped in and found Camden sitting at the table, shredding a napkin and Tyler pacing.
“What’s going on?” Sean grabbed himself a cup and filled it.
Camden sniffled. “Eden wasn’t—she didn’t—”
Tyler put a hand on Camden’s shoulder. “Eden wasn’t at dinner and she didn’t sleep in her room last night. Unless—” He narrowed his eyes. “Did she stay with you last night?” His voice almost sounded hopeful.
The house isn’t burnt down, is it? Sean would have laughed, but the threads of worry were already making their way through his system. “She didn’t. I haven’t seen her since… well, not since before I talked to Camden about leaving yesterday.”
Camden flew out of her seat. “I knew it. She’s missing.” The napkin she was holding became encased in ice and fell to the floor, smashing to pieces.
Her elemental.
Is this what he and Tyler had to look forward to with Tessa and Trista for the rest of their lives? Emotions going out of control resulting in nature’s displays?
“Where would she have gone,” Tyler asked Camden. Seemed she’d be the one most likely to know, what with their being twins and all.
Camden shook her head. “I don’t know. It’s not—we’re not as close as we could be. Because of Piria, I’m sure.”
“So, call her cell.” Tyler thought that would have been the simplest answer.
Tyler pointed to the counter across from the coffee machine. “She doesn’t have it with her.”
; Now that was odd.
A small sob escaped Camden. “I’m calling 9-1-1. The town has a sheriff, right?”
Sean nodded. “But he’s of the human persuasion.”
“What?” Camden whirled around to face him. “In a valley full of shifters?”
Tyler and Sean both shrugged. “Not our idea,” Tyler added.
“Let me call Griz,” Sean said.
“Griz!” Camden’s expression was one of sheer confusion. “I know, I get that he’s a big deal here in the valley, but what can he do?”
“You’d be surprised,” Tyler told her, bringing her in for a hug, tucking her head under his chin. He looked at Sean pointedly. “I don’t think it’s too early to call him.”
“I’m sure it’s not.” Sean put his coffee down. “I’m on it.”
He didn’t want to show how much it concerned him that a woman who had a deathly fear of bears—be they shifters or otherwise—would not be in a good predicament if she were in the forest overnight among bears.
Something had to be wrong, else she’d have come back. Or shifted into her panther and ran back.
Don’t think that way, he cautioned himself.
In his mind, his bear roared.
Sean looked out the window toward the driveway. He’d have headed out solo if Tyler hadn’t been there to stop him.
Griz had asked them to wait, but that’s the last thing Sean wanted.
“Give him fifteen minutes, tops,” Tyler had asked.
And so reluctantly, Sean had done that.
It had been twelve minutes since Tyler made the request. Sean was already tugging a jacket on when Griz’s massive pickup pulled into the driveway. And he wasn’t alone. Two of his nephews had joined Griz in the cab of the truck.
Sean had met them once. Cross and Judge de la Cruz, former Compliance Enforcers of the Shifters Supreme Council.
Awful big guns to bring in for one missing girl.
Griz’s stride toward the front door was purposeful. Cross and Judge followed behind him. All three were large men, tall, broad-shouldered, and definitely the ones you’d want on your side in a fight.
But why would he need them to track and find Eden?
Sean opened the door before they had a chance to knock.
Camden flew past Sean and into Griz’s arms. “Please find her.”
Griz hugged her then held her at arm’s length, his large hands on her shoulders, his expression assured and concerned. “We will. And we’ll bring her home safely. Trust me.”
A partial sob escaped Camden and she swiped at red-rimmed eyes.
“Say you trust me.” Griz locked gazes with her.
“I—I trust you, Griz.”
In seconds, Sean, Cross, and Judge were on the front porch, leaving Tyler and Camden inside. No matter how many times Camden had insisted she was fine and that she wanted Tyler to join them in the search, Griz and Tyler had refused.
Alone and on the porch, with distance between them and Camden’s ears, Sean turned to face Griz and the de la Cruz brothers. “Is it me, or is there something else going on here?”
Griz crossed his arms over his chest, the scar that halved his face from brow to jawline was pale. He then looked at Cross, indicated Sean with a nod. “Tell him.”
“I picked up some activity.”
Sean frowned. “Translation, please.”
Judge let out a heavy breath. “Cross has equipment placed around the area, in case we should ever encounter unwanted visitors…”
Sean nodded, comprehension was starting to settle in, but it wasn’t full understanding. “So, we have unwanteds, somewhere around? And why would these be a concern to us? It’s not like Eden is a helpless little girl. She’s a panther elemental hybrid. She’s probably just lost.” So what, maybe he was trying to convince himself that nothing could be wrong, that she was simply wondering around. And maybe he was lying to himself.
Griz’s expression was grim. “Yeah, by all indications these don’t seem to be accidental trespassers.”
“Then who?”
Griz clenched his jawline, muscles working. “It seems that the witches that killed Trista and Tessa’s parents, who’d like to do the same, have entered the valley.”
“What?” Rage began a slow build in his blood, then rose to a boil. He glared at Griz, Judge, then Cross. “When the hell did you three realize this and why is this the first I’m hearing of it?”
Cross cleared his throat. “I figured it out yesterday after dinner. Reached out to Griz. He said first thing tomorrow we’d get with you all.” He grimaced. “Didn’t figure on this.”
Sean contained his anger. He didn’t know much about the matter of the witches that wanted his little half-sisters dead, nor did he know much about their family in Europe, on their mother’s side, elementals that wanted to have the girls. He blew out a breath of exasperation. “I’m ready to go. I don’t understand why I had to wait for you guys to show up.”
“Well, are you equipped to deal with hostile witches? If you encounter any, that is.”
“What’s to deal with? I’ll shift into my bear, rip their heads off.”
Griz shook his head. “Sure, if they don’t turn you and your bear into stone before you shift. Or if they don’t turn you into a stuffed teddy bear.”
“I’m pretty fast.”
More headshaking from Griz. “Let’s take your SUV. It’ll hold more.”
Sean studied him. “More what?”
“I’ve got a couple of friends on the way.”
“On the way from where?”
Griz glanced toward the dawn’s light, rising above the Bear Canyon Mountain Range. “We’re meeting Mae down the road a bit. They’re with her.”
Chapter Eleven
Eden awakened with a start. She opened her eyes. At least, she thought she did, but she was still surrounded by darkness. She frowned and raised a hand to rub her eyes.
—except her hand wouldn’t move. It was—
What the heck is wrong with me?
She couldn’t move a muscle…
The Tranq!
And she was blindfolded. Now, she could feel the fabric of the material against her face.
Wait, face? No. She wasn’t in her human form. She was in her panther’s form. She’d been in her panther body when she was Tranqed.
So why am I awake now? Shouldn’t I be knocked out?
And if she was awake, why couldn’t she move a muscle? She pushed for a shift, but got no response from her panther.
She screamed in her mind for her panther to respond, to let her shift into her human form, but the only thing that greeted her was silence.
Then she felt it. Another, next to her.
Wait, no, not next to her. In her body
“Piria?”
In her mind, Piria responded, “Yes.”
“What’s happened? Why are you and I conscious and my panther is not? I mean. Well, I know why she isn’t conscious. But why are we?”
“The Tranq does not seem to affect me. And that is transferring to you.”
But that meant she couldn’t shift out of her panther. She was stuck in the animal’s body, unable to move. Then another thought occurred to her. “Piria, why can’t I see?”
“What do you smell?”
Eden took a deep breath. “Horses?”
“It seems they have put a horse blanket over your panther’s head.”
Now why would they do that?
As if reading her mind, Piria answered. “I’m sure they know you have an elemental. I can’t cast at what I can’t see. Who knows what would catch fire.”
“They? They who? Do you know who THEY are?”
Piria didn’t have a chance to reply. The sound of a door creaking open broke off Eden’s internal conversation with her elemental as she paused to listen for whoever had put her in this predicament.
“Hurry up, use the Tranq-reversal. We can’t question a panther.”
In her panther’s mind, Eden concentra
ted on what she’d just heard.
The voice was a woman’s, throaty, with a foreign accent. Eastern European, perhaps? Reminded Eden of the late-night commercials advertising phone sex.
“Reversal?” A different voice said, higher pitched than the first—also female, also with an accent.
“Yes. I told you to bring Tranqs and the reversals. The syringes with the pink juice in them,” said Phone Sex Voice.
“They’re in the bag, in the car,” said High Pitch Voice’s tone grew whiny.
“Then get them,” snapped Phone Sex.
A searing heat started behind Eden’s panther eyes. She knew what that meant.
“Piria, stop. You can’t create flames when you can’t see targets. You’ll burn this place down.”
Whatever this place was.
It was clearly indoors, the two women’s footsteps had fallen on wood, Eden had been able to tell that from the moment the door opened.
The heat that flowed throughout Eden’s panther body did not diminish, gathering momentum instead.
“No, Piria. Do not do this.”
Eden’s words were in vain. She realized that as immediately as the smell of smoke permeated her senses. The acrid smoke made it past the blanket’s horse smell.
Great. Just great. Piria had started a fire.
High Pitch screamed.
“Let’s get out of here,” Phone Sex said.
“What about the panther, the—” High Pitch began.
“I’m not dying for this cause.”
“But Rochelle said we had to get—”
“Then you stay.”
Running footsteps across wood let Eden know that Phone Sex Voice was gone.
A second set of footsteps followed Phone Sex out.
Now what?
Eden screamed for her panther to awaken. Screamed over and over in the mind she shared with her panther. But she knew it was fruitless. The Tranq would keep the panther unconscious.
“What the hell were you thinking?” Eden released her rage on Piria. “We’re all going to die because you can’t control yourself.”