Death Be Shifted (The Terra Vane Series Book 6)

by Katie Epstein

  “I’m out of line?” He pushed up off the bed. “I’m looking out for you. And I know my brother. I know how he works.”

  “He said nothing. And he is hurting! You don’t understand—”

  “Don’t understand what? That I’ve always come second best to him. With my father. With you.” He hesitated, trying to calm down. “Whatever happens between you and Cole is your business. I get it. I’m not trying to own you. Or control you. But I know him. I love him, but I know him. And I know you. I know how you beat yourself up about every damn thing. And Cole is aware enough to play that to his advantage. He will control the situation while you’re here so you’ll behave in front of our father. He used the Chris card, the Rosie card. They’re your weakness.” He shrugged, stalking to the door, hovering there and fuming. “But what do I know? I’m just the simpleton who hangs on the sidelines, protecting your ass, a pathetic bodyguard. When it comes to us, Cole will always win in your eyes. And you’ll see everything I say against him as an attack. So carry on. Dance to his tune. But know Chris and Rosie are adults who would never expect you to back down because of them. Not when it’s about doing the right thing. I’ll see you later.”

  He left. No banging doors. No roars or growls. He just sidled on out, and left me there, realizing I’d gotten caught between the Cipher brothers once again.

  I threw the comb across the room with force.

  If only I could be so calm.

  27

  After drying my hair, I visited Mayra. Zax was with her.

  Anya had already been by, inviting them to a cookout in honor of their guests, and also to say they wouldn’t need Mayra’s services for the trapping of the shifter.

  Annoyed, I’d swallowed it, determined to do what Cole said for the time being. I’d stirred up the wasp’s nest—or, in this case, that of a manipulative shifter—and I’d brought trouble to Brent and Anya’s door. The least I could do was play nice for a while.

  Kaleb made himself scarce, but I found Anya doing her chores to prepare for the evening. Somehow, she’d roped me in to help.

  We couldn’t talk much, not with so many shifters within hearing distance, but she’d given me a hug of reassurance, one I’d happily embraced.

  Brent had taken Theodulf, Cole, and Eli—who I was yet to meet—down to the lake to show them where the attack had taken place.

  Anya had told me tightly they didn’t see a reason to take down a small army with them. Not when Terra, a mere human, had gone into the lake twice now. Anya got pissed at that, got enraged on my behalf, but I patted her arm, passed her a loaf to cut from the basket, and continued to spread on the fillings.

  I was out of my depth, and I knew it.

  Kaleb’s mother came in to help with two other female shifters in tow. She smiled at me in passing but said nothing. She seemed to float along, not entirely connected to what was going on, her draping robes floating around with her. Gold bangles dangled from her wrists, and she took things slowly, her actions always reluctant.

  I felt relieved once they sailed on out again, everyone in the kitchen on edge while she’d been there.

  Piling all the food together in baskets on trays, I helped the women carry them out, all of us in a line, laying it out with the drinks stored in large tubs of ice.

  Theodulf and the others had returned, taking their seats by the fire as the guests of honor. They sat with Brent and his Beta. Cole sat next to his father, and a blond stranger with blue eyes and a smug expression similar to his father’s sat next to him.

  Eli.

  That pissed me off, especially when Brent’s Gamma sat next to the Beta on his side. Eli wasn’t the Gamma for the Cipher pack. Kaleb was.

  “Can you offer these round?” a woman asked, shoving a tray into my hands. I took them, not sure what to do.

  Happy to do my share, I knew what the men around the fire would think of me if I handed them their food. It would satisfy them I’d fallen into what they expected of a female shifter.

  Well, screw that.

  Putting the tray down, I saw Mayra and Zax arrive. Kaleb trailed behind them.

  A rush of love came as soon as I saw him. I hated that things were tense between us. He smiled when he saw me. A slight one. But he’d done it, regardless. I smiled back, happy to see them all.

  “Hi, guys. You joining the party?”

  “Sure,” Mayra replied, “but I think we’re going to go get the music started.”

  Zax lifted his laptop. “I can rig something up to their generator. Show them some tunes from the city.”

  “Cool. We’ll join you.”

  “Kaleb Cipher!” Theodulf’s cringe-worthy voice shouted across the way. “Come here. Sit here with your family!”

  Kaleb tensed beside me.

  “Go on,” I urged him along, not wanting to rock the boat. “We’ll be over there if you need us.”

  Kaleb glared at me for throwing him to the wolves. Literally, in this case. I hid a smile.

  “Just you wait,” he muttered before doing his father’s bidding and joining the others by the fire.

  “Oh no, you don’t,” Anya said as I followed Mayra and Zax over to the hay bales.

  “What?”

  She apologized to my friends for kidnapping me then hooked her arm through mine. Dragging me along, she added, “You’re my guest of honor. You’re joining me at the fire.”

  “Anya,” I warned.

  “What? You are.” When we approached the powerful shifters sitting in a circle, she said, “Everyone! Terra joins us as my guest of honor. I asked her to grace us with her presence.”

  “Of course!” Theodulf bellowed, overriding Brent before he could say anything. “Come join us, Terra. I understand you are dating my boy, Kaleb. It’s a wonder he didn’t bring you along!”

  Kaleb sat next to his mother, who sat next to Eli. He didn’t flinch at his father’s words, and his lack of reaction made me rage inside against Theodulf. I clenched my fists. But then I noticed Cole’s silent warning, so I relaxed them, letting the anger go. Or at least I did until I saw Eli’s sudden interest of me, then I couldn’t help but reply, “I told Kaleb to come ahead of me. I had a few things to sort out beforehand.”

  “Then why not take a seat next to him,” Theodulf ordered. “There’s room. Shove up, Talon,” he said to one of his wolves who sat on the other side of Kaleb. The wolf quickly did so.

  Throwing Kaleb a look of apology, I sat down. His face as still as stone, it surprised me when he reached for my hand and clasped it in his. I wanted to shout, ‘Don’t!’ remembering Cole’s words. But torn, the other part of me wanted Eli to come at me. I’d be happy to wipe that smug smile off his damn face.

  Theodulf noticed the move, his eyes moving up to mine before swinging in Kaleb’s direction. Eli got up out of his seat to grab a beer from the cooler next to me. “Hey, beautiful,” he said, stroking my leg as he passed.

  Kaleb growled from beside me.

  “You got a problem, big brother?” Eli asked. I squeezed Kaleb’s hand to calm him. “Nothing to say, eh?” Eli crouched before me, a twisted pleasure in his eyes. “I don’t mind tasting a bit of human.”

  He snapped his jaws only inches from my face. But before Kaleb could react, I grabbed a beer, shoved it in front of Eli’s nose, and told him, “Don’t know about you, but I find beer washes down tasty humans mighty nice.”

  Laughter, some nervous, erupted around us at that. Theodulf’s the loudest. Eli glared at me then his lip quirked up. “Thanks.” He snatched the beer off me and moved back to his seat.

  “We’ve planned to head out in the morning,” Theodulf said, taking the floor off Brent once more. “We’re going to lay traps in the land, lay down some bait.” He looked at me. “We don’t need your witch to catch a shifter. We’re plenty capable of doing such ourselves.”

  Anya stood behind Brent, her arms wrapped around his shoulders. I wasn’t sure if it was to comfort him or to keep him in place while Theodulf laid down his domin
ance. Probably both. I wouldn’t blame Brent though if he ripped out Theodulf’s throat at some point. I’d probably hold Theodulf down for him.

  Saying nothing, I took a beer for myself to swallow down a nasty retort. Cole looked relieved at my silence. Kaleb rubbed his thumb against my hand. Brent wasn’t the only one close to erupting.

  “We’ll head out at about six. Early hours,” Theodulf continued. “I’ve brought a few wolves with me capable of the hunt.” He turned to Brent. “I know you have capable people, but they’re farmers, not warriors, or seasoned, like my lot. We’ll go in, lay a few traps around for you, then lay in wait.”

  “I have people on standby to help,” Brent bit out. “I wouldn’t be able to hold them back even if I tried, Theodulf. You understand?”

  “Understand? Of course, I do. This is your land. Your people. But it’s fortunate we came along when we did. Three injured, one dead. We can help you with the traps. You’re late in doing so but then no one can blame you. You’re new to the role. You are still finding your feet. And your father was a good friend to me. I’m happy to help in his stead.” He patted Brent’s leg. Brent’s knuckles clenched around the bottle he held. “I’m happy to instruct where to lay the traps,” Theodulf continued, waving his staff around like a freaking wizard. Or a king. Did the son of a bitch not realize how much of a dick he looked? “Provide us with a map, and I’ll sort it for you. My people will march out in the morning. Dig up the ground by the spring and by the lake. Lay bait.”

  “What kind of traps will you use?” I couldn’t help but ask. Cole sat up in his seat on alert at my words.

  “The usual kind, of course.” He laughed, looking around for a willing audience to join in. A few did. “Leave it to us. We’ve done this kind of thing before.”

  “Call me intrigued.” I took a swig of my beer, waiting for him to use the female angle. But Theodulf Cipher was wiser than that.

  “We dig into the ground. Put some nets around. Spikes in the floor. Mechanisms that trigger the moment the reptile shifter crosses a line.”

  “You haven’t dealt with many reptile shifters, have you?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “The second a reptile falls into a hole in the ground he’ll burrow through the sides before he hits the spikes. Put him into a net, and his claws will have him out in seconds. Trigger a mechanism, or whatever you call it, and the reptile shifter will gnaw off his own foot to escape.”

  The Alpha narrowed his eyes, but Eli was the one who spoke. “What do you know of it?” he sneered in my direction. “A weak human, daring to give my father advice on shifter business. Know your place, woman!”

  “Oh boy,” I heard Kaleb mutter from the side of me. Cole groaned out loud.

  I raised an eyebrow at Eli. “Who are you again?”

  Mutters rose from our audience. Eli scowled.

  “I said, know your place!”

  “I know my place.” I turned to look at my butt. “It’s called a seat. By the fire.” I raised my bottle to him. “Thanks for reminding me though.”

  “How dare you!” Eli roared, rising to his feet. Kaleb’s hand gripped mine more tightly.

  “Sit down, Eli!” Theodulf boomed. Eli reluctantly did so.

  “I won’t have her speak to me like that!” he said in a petulant tone. He glared at me. “Women should be seen and not heard,” he hissed.

  Okay. Now he’d crossed a line.

  I smiled, no humor or kindness there, and twisted my beer bottle into the ground, nice and slow.

  Mayra came up behind me. “Terra,” she said, hand on my shoulder, “can I have a word?”

  I knew what she was about. Kaleb relaxed, Cole even more so. Her intervention was too well timed for me not to realize her intentions. “Sure,” I replied.

  I got up from my seat, but I wasn’t about to let this go, sick of seeing Kaleb hurt by his dick of a family, sick of the shit that came out of Eli’s mouth, and annoyed by Cole’s silence next to his father’s attitude. Kaleb had the right of it before. I am the leader of the IET.

  And until they fired my ass, I would remain so. Plus, my name was already dirt to Theodulf Cipher if he intended to go for my badge. So why not give him more of a reason to?

  Addressing the Alpha, I said, “Alpha Cipher, thank you for your input. It’s appreciated. Alpha Chaucer. Anya. I thank you for your hospitality. However, whereas you both may be Alphas here, I am the lead agent of the IET. I have jurisdiction on these lands, and while I perceive a threat to be here, one that falls within the realms of my role, I will continue to pursue it in any way I see fit. We’ll take advantage of the dawn, set traps as we originally advised, but I will do so with the guidance of the members of the IET who have certain skill sets to take down a reptile shifter. I will take three of your best shifters to aid us, Brent, seeing as they know the lay of the land. But for now, Alphas of Totem Talamh, please excuse me. I am needed elsewhere.”

  Brent looked smug, Theodulf fumed, Cole put his head in his hands in despair, and Eli looked like he wanted to rip my throat out. But Kaleb ... Kaleb had a grin on his face.

  I turned my back on it all, held onto Mayra’s hand, prepared to let her lead me away from the riled up shifters.

  “Your boss sits behind you, girl,” Theodulf piped up from behind us. “His orders stand above yours!”

  I turned around, looked at Kaleb before addressing his father. “Not if it’s a conflict of interest they don’t.” I stared at Cole, daring him to intervene and stand against me. But he didn’t. To Theodulf’s fuming face, I said, “Have a good evening, Alpha.”

  And then we walked away.

  28

  A knock on the door of the cabin woke me from a deep sleep. Kaleb stirred at my side. I pushed the covers back, trying to find my way through the dark.

  “Who is it?” Kaleb mumbled, pulling a pillow over his head.

  “I’ll find out,” I replied groggily, grabbing his sweater to throw on.

  “Ask who it is first,” he groaned.

  Moving across the cold cabin floor, I did as he said. “Who is it?”

  “Brent.”

  Lifting the latch without hesitation, Brent, with a meek smile, stood waiting with two coffees in his hand. “Courtesy of Anya. May I come in?”

  “Sure.”

  Closing the door behind him to ward off the cold, I heard Kaleb mumble from the bedroom. “Who is it?”

  “Brent,” I called back, flicking on the light.

  “Ah, man!”

  Brent laughed. “He never was a morning person.”

  “Yeah. I’d give him several minutes if you want comprehension. What’s up?”

  “I wanted to inform you Kaleb’s father has already called me and my shifters forth to lay the traps. He didn’t see any reason to wake you when it’s shifter business.”

  “What?” I growled. Then I realized why Brent had brought us coffee. “Oh.”

  “Yes. I know. I didn’t want blood spilled on my lands after seeing your face last night.” He smiled. “I thought it best to give you a heads up.”

  I took the coffee from him and sipped it. “Thanks. For this and the heads up.” I frowned. “It makes you wonder why Alpha Cipher is so eager to be the first to catch a shifter on your lands, doesn’t it?”

  “I was thinking the same thing. He’s keen to get the glory for it all, and he’s willing to go over your head to do so.”

  “Well, that part is not so much of a reach. I’m like a mouse trying to be heard by a pride of lions. But the fact he’s desperate to sneak around to do so is strange. I would think Theodulf Cipher snuck around for no one.”

  “I know. That’s why I gave you the heads up. And to explain why I…” He hesitated. “Why I didn’t stand up to him last night as you did.”

  “I didn’t stand up to him, Brent.”

  “Yes, you did. And Anya loves you for it. But Theodulf is not someone to be trifled with. Not when I have unrest in my pack. He has the backing of many shifters acro
ss our land, and if they all banded together, they could make life difficult for us. But I also know how important it is for him to understand I’m Alpha here. So know that I intend to keep reminding him. In my own way.”

  “You don’t have to justify yourself to me.”

  “I’m not. I wanted to explain it because I get it. I understand your impression of me. Especially with all you’ve been through.” He sighed, looking awkward suddenly. “Last night, out of earshot of the others, Kaleb told me some of your history. I hope you don’t mind.” I shook my head, and he continued. “He told me about how you were in the hospital. Some of how people treated you. He also explained how coming over to Portiside saved you, and of how hard you fought to get through the academy. Oh, and how much he kicked your ass to make sure you did so.”

  I laughed at that, wrapping my hands around the warm mug. “He sure did.”

  “He also told me why you did it. Why you kept going. And the abuse you’ve suffered, and still suffer, for being the only human on the force. And you’re a woman. To a shifter that’s…”

  “Unheard of?”

  “Strange.” He placed Kaleb’s coffee on the table. “But I understand, especially with a mate like Anya. I know how strong females can be. And I can see why Kaleb…”

  “Why Kaleb what?”

  “I’ll let him tell you that part. But know he thinks a lot of you. It’s good to see. I also understand that when you rise against others, it’s not out of naivety or rudeness. You do it because you have to. You do it defend yourself. But we don’t all have that luxury to walk away once we’ve stirred the pot.”

  “I’m not intentionally stirring anything.”

  “I know that. I wouldn’t like you if you were. But I do like you. And I respect the job you have to do.” He went to say more but thought against it. “I need to go. We’re starting the traps on the south side of the forest. Kaleb will lead you in. It’s up to you how you play it after that. But know that if you keep stirring things as you are, then you’re going to become an enemy of Theodulf’s.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” I shrugged. “I’ve recently learned I already was before I even stepped foot onto your land. May as well give him a reason to come at me.”