by Kimber White
“I take your point,” I said. “But I’m not going to apologize for getting in the way of a brute and a woman. I think it’s you who should be more afraid of bear shifters. Particularly that one.”
She bit her bottom lip. I saw a different kind of fire in her eyes. She wanted to argue. Calla had a spirit to her. It called to me. At the same time, I could see myself tearing that bear to shreds then burning him to ash right in front of her. If I had...there’s no telling what might have happened. Even the mere thought of letting loose that kind of fire in a place like this was dangerous for me. I couldn’t control it. My fire would have drawn attention for miles. It would have burned so hot I might have laid waste to the entire town in a matter of minutes.
Whatever Calla was, she was better off staying away from me.
“Thanks for the warning,” she said. “And I know what you tried to do. I appreciate it. You’re just going to have to believe me when I tell you I know how to take care of myself, Kian. Now, I’m needed downstairs. It’s just about closing time. Like I said, I talked Owen into letting you stay here for the night. You saw him. He was behind the bar when you walked in. He’s a good guy but very protective of his business. If he thinks you’re bad for it, I can’t help you.”
“Why are you doing it now?” I asked. The question just burst out of me.
Calla’s eyes flashed. She smiled. “I don’t know, Kian. I truly don’t. Let’s just say I’m a sucker for lost causes.”
Her words cut through my heart. She couldn’t know. And yet, she had a sadness in her eyes as she looked at me. As if...she sensed the truth.
I wasn’t just sick. I was dying.
“Thank you,” I said. “I’ll try not to make a nuisance of myself.”
Calla rose. She stood near the door, her shoulders back. She was tall for a woman. Close to six feet, I guessed. She had a trim waist and toned arms. She flicked her hair behind her shoulders then reached for the doorknob.
“So, I take it I guessed right,” she said. “You do need a place to stay.”
“What? Oh. Temporarily, yes.”
“Was it your plan to stay in Shadow Point for very long? Do you know someone here?”
“No,” I said. “I...uh...I’ve had a falling out with my family, you might say. I just needed a change of scenery for a little while.”
She nodded. “Are you looking for a job?”
“No,” I said. “I’ve already got one. I’m...a...I’m a day trader. My laptop is my office.”
It was true enough from a certain point of view. Before the mating sickness started playing with my mind, I’d managed my family’s investments. The Brandharts had several billion dollars amassed over centuries in various holdings. I suppose I could have told Calla something resembling the truth. But, the less she knew about me, the safer she would be.
It was exactly the reason why I should have gotten up and out of that room then and there. I should have thanked Calla one more time and lit out of Shadow Point forever. So why didn’t I?
I didn’t know the answer. I only knew how good it felt when her fingers touched mine. My dragon rumbled through me. Hungry. Fierce.
Calla flinched, sensing something. “Get some rest then, Kian,” she said. “I’ll see you around.”
She lingered, gripping the doorknob for a moment. Then, she gave me a sad smile and walked out.
As soon as the door closed, a puff of smoke billowed out of me. I’d been holding back my fire so hard. My whole body shook. That had been too close a call.
I knew I should leave. At the very least, I should go further up the coast and find some desolate stretch of beach with a cave nearby. That would be the best place for me. But, I’d spent so long underground. For the past year, I’d lived alone in the catacombs beneath Chicago. For a time, it felt better staying close to family. Whenever I felt the beast taking over, it helped to call out to one of my brothers. They kept me tethered, grounded, at least partly sane. They alone understood the pain I felt. They had suffered the effects of the same mating sickness as I did.
But now, one by one, my brothers found their fated mates. Xander had Shae, a human woman who never should have survived their mating. But, Shae was protected by a spell. My brother Gideon mated with Grace, a wolf shifter’s daughter. Finn had found Gemma, a fire witch. Their mating had shocked me most of all. But, they were well matched and my brother was happy. Then, a few months ago, my brother Loch mated with a woman with both tiger and wolf shifter blood in her. Their union ended a vendetta my mother kept against the tiger who killed my father centuries before I was born.
Xander, Gideon, Finn and Loch. I loved them. But they were free now. I could not bring them my pain.
If I listened hard enough, I knew I might hear one of them trying to call to me. They were worried. I’d left in secret after Loch’s wedding. Only my mother seemed to sense something wrong. My strong, valiant mother, Avelina Brandhart. She was the one I wanted to protect most of all. She’d survived the loss of my father and borne that pain alone. When the time came...if the time came... I would need my brothers’ strength to do what had to be done.
But...not today.
The sounds of life below soothed me a little. I heard normal things. Glasses clinking. Laughter. Music. Under it all, I could make out Calla’s voice. She was strong, confident, funny as she handled her customers at the bar.
I looked out the window. The streets were dark and quiet. The bear was long gone, but I could still smell his scent polluting the alley below.
“I’ll kill you if you ever come near her again,” I whispered.
A light came on across the street. It came from a second-floor window of a brownstone six buildings down. My spine tingled. I had the sensation of being watched. Squinting, I made out the shadow of a man. He stood in the corner of the window. His eyes glinted.
I should have moved away but felt rooted to the spot. My fire bubbled up as the man stared straight at me. There was no way he should really be able to see me from this distance. And yet, I knew he was looking straight at me.
The door slammed below, one last time. Calla’s voice drifted up, soothing me. I saw her cross the street. She turned and waved at someone still in the bar. She slung her purse over her shoulder and quickened her step as she went up on the sidewalk. A growl ripped from my throat. The man in the window shifted his focus to her. I couldn’t sense what he was. Just his power. Its source was old. Ancient.
Then, I watched Calla head straight for the brownstone where he was. The second-floor light went off as she closed the door and went inside.
Chapter Four
Calla
Astor was quiet. I hated when he was quiet. He sat in his leather chair near the window, his legs crossed and his hands folded. He’d combed back his white tufts of hair and wore the red fleece robe I bought for him last Christmas. All it took was one frown from his deeply wrinkled face to make my stomach drop.
“Don’t say it,” I said. I’d just finished my shower and changed into my flannel PJs. I barely said two words to him when I came in. He hadn’t moved from his spot. I tore a wet brush through my hair.
Astor had a cup of tea sitting on the small, round table beside him. He raised it to his lips and calmly sipped it. I tossed the brush on the coffee table and took a seat on the couch across from him.
“Okay,” I said. “You can say it.”
He raised a brow and set his tea back down. “Will it do any good?”
I huffed. I knew all of his lines by heart. He knew mine. But, we kept having this same argument over and over again. “I’m being careful,” I said. “Promise.”
He pressed his thumb and forefinger to the bridge of his nose. Astor was almost blind. His left eye was covered in the milky cloud of a cataract. He refused to see a doctor about it. He claimed his sight was far sharper when he didn’t use his eyes anyway.
“Calla,” he said. “I could hear you from all the way down here. Every shifter in the state has probably heard of you by
now.”
“You exaggerate. There’s just the regulars at the bar.”
“That’s too many! They talk, Calla. And even when you’re not trying, you attract them. You can’t help yourself.”
My blood boiled. “That’s their problem, not mine.”
Astor narrowed his eyes at me. “Calla, it is your problem. It’s only going to get worse. I know you think you’re doing the right thing. But, you have to leave the shifters to police themselves. Every time you inject yourself into their fights puts you at risk. One of these days, you’re going to cross the wrong shifter.”
“That’s just the point,” I said. “There’s nobody better than me for dealing with the wrong shifters. And they are terrible at policing themselves. That bear tonight? If I hadn’t stepped in, he would have hurt Adam. I know it in my gut. Then what? You think the actual police would know what to do about it? Well, now he’s got the message. He’ll think twice about messing with anybody at the Blue Heron or in Shadow Point itself.”
“It’s not your job!” Astor’s voice bounced off the walls. He immediately erupted into a coughing fit. I went to him and patted him on the back as he leaned forward. God, he was skin and bones. I had to be careful not to use too much strength when I touched him. Astor put a hand up, waving me off. He recovered and leaned back in his chair.
“It’s not your job,” he said, more quietly. “You’re getting complacent. Careless, even. If Owen feels he needs a shifter bouncer, he can damn well hire one. It can’t be you. You got lucky tonight. Exactly what was your plan if that bear hadn’t backed down?”
Sightless or not, Astor could still focus a withering stare at me. We both knew I was more than capable of handling a keyed up bear shifter if I needed to. At what cost though? That was always Astor’s point. Tonight though, there was a different answer. One I couldn’t seem to bring myself to tell him about. That bear shifter hadn’t turned tail because of me. Kian was the one who had scared him away. I still had no idea how.
“He did back down, Astor,” I said. “As for the rest of it? I’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”
Astor let out a sigh. “Honey, we’re already over the bridge. That’s my point. I know you don’t want to hear this, but Shadow Point isn’t safe for us anymore. It’s time to move on.”
My heart twisted when he said it. I’d been expecting it for a while now. Hating it. This time, I wanted it to be different.
“I’m tired of moving on,” I said. “God. I’m so tired. Aren’t you? I like it here. The fresh air is good for you. The people here are pretty low key. I like my job. I’m making great money. This apartment is within walking distance of every place you ever want to go. It’s perfect for us.”
“It’s been almost two years, honey,” he said.
“I’m not ready to leave,” I said. “Besides, we haven’t even planned for it. Where would we go? You’re too old for us to just pack up and leave in the middle of the night like we used to.”
“I’ve already got somewhere in mind,” he said. He spoke so softly I almost didn’t hear him. Still, his words hit me like a sledgehammer to the chest. He had been planning for us to leave Shadow Point. And he’d done it in secret.
“No!” I said, hating that my tone sounded like a pout. “No,” I said more calmly. “We’re not leaving yet. You’re overreacting. One bar fight with a bear shifter is no big deal. He had it coming, and he knew it. He was just getting territorial with Adam. Let’s not assume the apocalypse, Astor. Not yet anyway.”
He looked tired. He’d been waiting up for me. It wasn’t good for him. “Did you eat dinner?” I asked, grateful to change the subject. “I left that lasagna in the fridge. All you had to do was heat it up.”
I didn’t wait for his answer. Instead, I went over to the fridge myself. I frowned as I opened the door and saw the plastic over the casserole dish undisturbed. Two could play at the nagging game.
“Really?” I said.
He waved me off. “I had some soup. I don’t need much.”
“You need calories,” I said. “If you don’t start taking better care of yourself when I’m not here, I’m going to have to hire someone to come in.”
Astor grumbled. He’d been an old man my whole life. He wasn’t just old. He was ancient. He was also the only family I had. He was gruff. Infuriating. But, if I lost him, I’d have no one.
I closed the fridge door. The man was just as stubborn as I was. I didn’t want to hear any more from him about leaving Shadow Point. The truth was, I doubted whether Astor would survive another move. It was catching up to him even if he didn’t want to admit it. By the time I made it back to the living room, Astor was already starting to doze off.
“Come on, old man,” I said. “Let me help you to bed.”
He adjusted himself in the chair and hit the button to recline it. His feet popped out and he kicked off his slippers. “I’m fine right here. Quit fussing.”
“I’ll stop fussing over you the day you stop fussing over me,” I said, but the fight had gone out of me. He smirked as I grabbed the afghan he kept folded beside the chair. I spread it out and tucked him in.
“Sleep tight,” I said. “I’ll make you eggs in the morning.”
“Not too runny,” he said, yawning. I leaned down and planted a kiss on his forehead. He was cold to the touch. I pressed the back of my hand to his cheek.
“Stop fussing,” he said again. “I’m fine. I’m just old. But, I’ve still got plenty of magic left to last for years, Calla. Decades maybe.”
“Good,” I said. “Either that or you’re too damned ornery to die.”
He opened his good eye. “You’d be lost without me, Calla.”
He was joking, but there was truth to it. As much as he drove me insane, I loved him dearly. As I smoothed the hair back from his forehead, he started snoring. I watched for the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest. Astor’s breathing came easy tonight. Thank God.
“Pain in my ass,” I whispered, smiling. Then, I left him to his dreams.
Chapter Five
Calla
That night, my dreams were restless and filled with fire. It chased me and lifted me off the ground. I felt untethered from the earth. I floated in space, riding on a wave of flame. It didn’t burn me. It never did. I heard Astor’s voice, calling out a warning. I turned away from it. Two green eyes glittered like emeralds in front of me. Another voice reached me, deep and commanding.
Kian.
His face floated above me. The heat from his touch spread through me. I ached for him. He called my name. I arched my body toward his. Then, green and gold fire consumed us both and I woke tangled in my sheets and drenched in sweat.
It was the most vivid dream I’d ever experienced. So much so, I felt certain Kian was somewhere watching me. I slid out of bed and rushed to the window. The street below was empty and quiet. The sun had just begun to peek over the horizon. I could still hear Astor’s rumbling snore from the other room.
A spark went through me, like static electricity. I jumped. My hair fell over my shoulder and something caught my eye.
“What the actual hell?” I whispered as I ran my fingers through my hair. I went to the bathroom mirror. I almost didn’t see it. If I hadn’t felt the fire in my dreams, I might not have known to look. I grasped a lock of hair between my fingers and leaned closer to the mirror. The ends were singed. I could still smell the faint scent of smoke.
My heart raced. I went back to the window. There was no one out there, except I could feel something. God. Maybe Astor’s paranoia was starting to rub off on me. There was no way I could ask him about this. No way he’d understand. Or, if he did, I knew he’d have our bags packed by the time I came home from my shift at the bar. Whatever this was, I’d keep it to myself for now.
It was just after six in the morning. Shadow Point didn’t really start moving until eight. It was a magical time. I had a good hour before Astor woke. Plenty of time to get in a run. It would do me good to clear my
head. Plus, if that bear shifter did try to come back to town, I knew I’d be able to sense him. Forewarned is forearmed.
I changed into some running shorts and a sports bra and laced up my tennis shoes. Twisting my hair into a knot, I grabbed my earbuds and clipped on my smartwatch. With any luck, I’d be gone and back before Astor so much as opened his eyes.
I chose the boardwalk path that morning, loving the scent coming off Lake Sammamish. It was just me and a few industrious fishing boats out this early. I gave a friendly wave back to one crew as they pushed off the pier.
As I ran by the Blue Heron, I checked for any signs of trouble. The windows were dark. Owen wouldn’t be in for hours. I picked up speed and chose some classic nineties grunge to get my blood pumping. I was in my own world. My world. As much as Astor wouldn’t like to hear it, Shadow Point was becoming home.
I’d never had a traditional one before. We never stayed in one place longer than a year my whole life. Astor wanted to protect me. He’d been doing it for as long as I could remember. I loved him, but I just didn’t want to leave this place. Not yet. I wasn’t finished. Though, the moment I thought it, I couldn’t say exactly what I was trying to complete.
My blood heated as I rounded the next curve. God, it felt good. It seemed like I had the world to myself. My legs were strong and fast. I wasn’t afraid of a bear or any other shifter. That was my secret. That’s what worried Astor the most.
I could do it. I could let my power out. If not here, if not now, then when? There was no one around. Maybe just a little. Just to see…
I took the next curve, following the shore. In another quarter of a mile, the pavement would end. Today, I wanted to keep going. A run through the woods would be the perfect thing to clear my head. I had to come up with a good reason to give Astor for us not to leave. He might bring it to a fight. I had to be ready for that.