“But we have things we need to discuss,” Steve said, from across the room.
“That can wait long enough for them to eat. Do I have to remind you what they’ve been through?” she said, giving Steve a look that ended the discussion.
They’d only been in the kitchen for ten minutes when Justin’s brothers came into the room, looking wearily at their mother. “We waited as long as we could,” Steve said, apologetically.
“It’s okay; we can’t avoid it any longer. These shifters are strong and smart, fueled by the need for revenge, and someone magical is helping them,” Justin wrapped it all up in a nice little bundle.
“That about covers it. But my question is, what are we going to do to stop them?” Steve asked, voicing what the entire family had been wondering.
Justin clearly hadn’t had much time to give it any thought because he paused, chewing his food slowly. “Joslin and I can help.” Annabelle broke in, making him choke on the bite in his mouth.
“No way, that’s not happening,” Justin said when he’d recovered enough to speak. “I’m not putting you in danger.”
Annabelle narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you making decisions for me?” she asked, the tension in her voice clear to everyone around them.
Justin opened his mouth, then closed it again, clearly choosing his words carefully. “No, I’m not. I just can’t bear the thought of losing you,” he finally said.
Annabelle reached out and put her hand on his arm. “How do you think I feel? I’ve already had to save your life once; with our help, you’ll be so much stronger. I can’t just sit here and wait; that’s not the kind of woman or witch that I am,” she said, her eyes locked on his.
Justin was torn; he loved her so much that it scared him to think of losing her, but he knew that he had to let her make her own choices. “Just promise me that you’ll be careful,” he said.
By dinner that night, they’d come up with a plan to defeat the wolf shifters. Justin was still wary of letting Annabelle come with them, but the promise of a witch to counter the magic the pack had somehow found brought a ray of hope to everyone. Joslin had agreed to help; had almost looked excited at the prospect of fighting the wolves, and he began to understand that there was far more to Annabelle and her sister then he’d ever imagined.
After the intense discussion in the kitchen and the heavy meal, Annabelle decided that she needed some fresh air. She and Joslin would be riding horses when the time came to confront the wolf shifters, and she needed to work her magic on them, charming them so that they were docile and easy to ride. When she announced her plan to visit the barn, Chloe begged to go with her, and she couldn’t say no; the child had been cooped up in the house for days.
Justin begged to go just like Chloe had, but she refused him and sent him back to bed. “You still need a little more time to recover, so go back to bed; we’ll be fine on our own,” she said, shoving him toward the bedroom.
They hadn’t gotten more than a few steps out the door when Chloe asked her first question. “My grandma says that you’re a witch, but I think you’re nice,” she said, clearly confused.
Annabelle laughed, “Oh, sweetheart, she means that I’m a real witch, you know, the magical kind.”
“Oh, that’s okay then,” Chloe said, then fired off another question, “Are you going to be my new mother?”
Annabelle wasn’t sure how to answer at first but then chose honesty. “I hope so. Would that be alright with you?”
Chloe beamed up at her. “I think so,” she said.
Once in the barn, Chloe was so full of questions that it was all Annabelle could do to answer them. But finally, she was silent, watching Annabelle as she talked to the horses, murmuring in their ears until she could hear their thoughts and they could hear hers. She was so distracted that she didn’t hear the barn door slide open or notice the four men who came silently into the barn, only the sound of Chloe’s indrawn breath brought her out of her trance.
She turned to find four men advancing on them; at first, she thought they were ranch hands, but then the sense of evil hit her, and she knew that they were in trouble. No one had expected the shifters to come in their human form; they’d all been expecting an attack like the one the night before, so Annabelle was unprepared. The protection spell was barely out of her mouth when two of the men grabbed Chloe and ran out of the barn while the other two grabbed her.
Concentrating all her power on Chloe, she saw that the child was buffeted by her protection spell and knew that no harm could come to her, but just to be safe, she added another layer of protection to the spell. The men had her hands pinned behind her back, but she didn’t need her hands to protect herself; pulling magic from the darker side of her power, she concentrated it on the men.
As if they’d been stung by a thousand bees, they flung her to the ground and began slapping at themselves, changing into their wolf forms in desperation when the torment continued. Annabelle jumped to her feet and ran from the barn, just as the men burst out of the doors and headed into the forest, howling their rage for all to hear. When she got to the front door, it burst open, and Justin came running out, followed by Joslin and Penny.
“What happened?” Justin asked, running his hands over her to see if she was hurt.
“Four of the shifters snuck up on us in the barn; they took Chloe, but I managed to get away,” Annabelle said, the panic beginning to rise, her breath coming in short gasps.
Justin could see the panic rising in her eyes, “Okay, take a deep breath and tell me what happened,” he said, then pulled her into his arms and hugged her.
Annabelle buried her head in his chest and took several deep breaths, Justin’s familiar scent calming her. She knew that panicking right now was the worst thing she could do, so she concentrated on the situation, blocking her emotions with one determined flare of her power. Then quickly and concisely she told them what had happened, including the protection spell she’d put on Chloe.
“No one can harm her, but we still need to go get her back. They’re not far in front of us; we can catch them if we leave now,” Annabelle said, pulling away from Justin and heading for the barn.
Justin ran and caught up with her. “I’ll go ahead. I can cover a lot of ground and quickly. They’re probably headed for the pass, hoping they can outrun us. Once they get Chloe into Breckenridge, it’ll be impossible to find her.”
“Not necessarily; if I can get close to her, I can sense her, but we need to get to her before that,” Annabelle said, opening the gate to let her horse out, then led it outside. “Go on ahead but be careful; they’re going to know you’re following them.” Her eyes were traveling to the high peaks where the wolf shifters would be taking Chloe.
Justin followed her gaze with his, imagining every mile of the country between there and the top of the pass, trying to think like the wolf who had crossed the line by kidnapping Chloe. Annabelle could sense his anger, knew that it was close to the bursting point, so she reached out and put her hand on his arm.
“Anger is fine, Justin, but don’t let it cloud your judgment. I’ll know when you find them, wait for us; we have to do this as a team,” she said, turning him to face her and reaching up to cup his face with her hands. “I know you feel like this is your problem to solve, but there are a lot of people willing and able to help you, so wait for us. It’s the only way we’ll win.”
Chapter Twenty
***Justin***
He noticed the difference almost immediately when he changed: the new power that seemed to have only increased his strength and agility. Flying through the forest, he discovered that each sound and scent was so much clearer than he remembered; he wasn’t sure if it was just the result of almost dying or the life force Annabelle had given him. Whatever it was, it was a welcome discovery: the edge he’d need to defeat the wolf who threatened to destroy all that was precious to him.
He was feeling so strong that he briefly considered leaving everyone behind and striking out
on his own, but then Annabelle’s words echoed in his mind, and he discarded the idea. Instead, he reigned himself in and let the rest of the rescue party catch up, a group whose numbers had grown as word spread across the valley. When he finally sensed that they were close to the wolves, he signaled a halt and thought about Annabelle.
She’d never explained how he was supposed to call her, only that when he needed her, she’d be there, so he concentrated on her face, on the way her eyes lit up when she laughed. To his astonishment, he looked up to find Annabelle and Joslin coming out of the trees. When she got to him, she dismounted and slapped the horse on the rump, sending it back down the mountain to safety.
“I won’t be needing her any longer,” she said, kissing Justin on the cheek, then closing his mouth, which was still hanging open.
“It might take me a little longer than I thought to get used to the idea that you’re a witch,” he said, just then beginning to understand that Annabelle was very powerful.
“Don’t worry; I only do that trick when it’s an emergency,” she said, then became serious. “Are we ready?”
Justin nodded, then turned back to the group and began explaining their plan, which, thanks to their swollen numbers, was going to be much easier to execute. Before he gave the signal that would put their plan into action, he pulled Annabelle away from the group, took her hands in his, and turned her to face him.
“Promise me that you’ll be careful, that you and Joslin will stay with Penny. She’ll be able to protect you if you get in trouble,” he said, reaching up to stroke her cheek.
“I’ll be careful, but Justin, I’m perfectly capable of defending myself when I need to,” she said, hoping he understood.
“You already made that perfectly clear, but remember what you said: we do this together and we win, but we go it alone and we lose. I love you, Annabelle, and I want a tomorrow that includes us together.”
“I love you too Justin, and you’ll see that tomorrow is going to come. Now let’s go get our little girl,” Annabelle said, reaching up on her toes to plant a quick kiss on his lips, then transformed into a beautiful bird and perched on his shoulder.
Justin was again shocked by the woman he loved. “You didn’t tell me you could do that,” he accused, then laughed when the bird seemed to shrug.
***Annabelle***
Annabelle flew a few feet above Justin, Joslin right next to her until they caught up with the wolf pack again, who had stopped at a little stream to rest. Justin signaled to the group behind him who spread out and disappeared into the forest, their sleek golden coats disappearing into the darkness. The forest was quiet, but Annabelle knew that it was full of creatures, so she reached out to them, gently nudging them away from the coming battle.
Back in her human form, she stood between two huge mountain lions, Joslin at her back, and called to the biggest and fiercest creatures of the forest, sending out the call as far as she could. Only time would tell if her call would be answered, but she sensed an unease in the forest and knew that it was due to the wolf shifters who had been killing more than just deer for sport.
When the cry of a mountain lion split the air, Annabelle knew that the time had come to test herself and her magic. As confident as she appeared, there was a small part of her that was afraid she wasn’t up to the challenge ahead of her, but then she looked at the sleek cat running straight at the biggest of the wolves, her confidence returned. With Joslin and Penny by her side, she headed for Chloe, who was tied up across the clearing, a huge wolf guarding her.
She appeared to be asleep or unconscious, Annabelle couldn’t tell which, making anger boil up inside her, ramping up her power more than any spell could ever do. When she approached the giant wolf, he snarled at her, baring the largest set of teeth she’d ever seen. Unphased, she waved her hand in the air, and the wolf flew across the clearing, landing on two other wolves who had been headed their way.
She rushed to Chloe and began untying her; the girl stirred immediately, her eyes big but full of the kind of fight she would have expected from Justin’s daughter. As soon as she was free, Chloe jumped to her feet and changed into a mountain lion, letting out a cry that momentarily distracted Justin, who had been in a stand-off with the leader of the pack: a man who was intent on destroying him and all he loved but was still unknown to him.
Thinking he had the advantage, the wolf lunged for Annabelle and Chloe, but Justin was too fast for him, knocking him to the ground with enough force to send him tumbling across the clearing. When he jumped back to his feet, it was to find Justin standing in front of his targets, his eyes glowing green in the dark night. For only an instant, there was fear in his eyes, and Justin knew that they’d won; with his added strength, the wolf was no match for him.
The fear vanished quickly, replaced by the same kind of hate Justin had seen before, but this time when their eyes locked, the wolf couldn’t hold his gaze. He let out a piercing howl and looked around the clearing, only then realizing that most of his pack was down, either dead or badly wounded, and would be of no help to him. With a howl of frustration, he changed back into his human form and ripped something off his neck, then held it up in the light of the fire.
***Annabelle***
Annabelle couldn’t help but gasp when she saw what the shifter held in his outstretched hand; beside her, Joslin made a strangled noise in her throat and grabbed a hold of Annabelle’s arm. “It’s the amulet,” she whispered.
“I know, I can see it,” Annabelle said. “But it’s turned to the evil side; there’s a locking spell on it.”
Joslin seemed to absorb this information with resignation. “Can you break it?”
“I don’t know,” she said, opening herself up to the amulet, knowing it was a risk but hoping that her connection to it would override the evil it was locked in.
She could feel the amulet appealing to her, asking her to unlock the good inside it, to balance what had been thrown out of balance by the wolf shifter. But before she could use her magic, the shifter began to recite a spell, and the amulet began to glow with an unearthly light, pulsing in his hand. It had suddenly become a deadly weapon in the hands of a man intent on destroying the man she loved.
Justin looked back at her, a question in his eyes, then nodded his head understanding that he needed to keep the shifter busy while she found a way to defeat him. He did the only thing he could think of and changed back into his human form to talk to the wild man standing before him.
“What is it that you want from me?” he asked.
“That’s simple.” the man snarled, “I want you dead and out of the way so I can take what should have rightfully been mine. Until you’re gone, I’ll never be the true leader of the valley.”
When Justin only stared at him, he went on. “Bet you didn’t know that you had a half-brother, that your father got an innocent woman pregnant, then deserted her.”
Annabelle could see that Justin was stunned, but he managed to recover quickly. “So, you think that you should be the head of the family, that simply by being born you’re entitled to the valley and its people? You haven’t earned it, brother, you don’t deserve it, and I’m going to see to it that you never set foot in the valley again.”
“Oh, I’ve earned it. I earned it all those years I had to live hard while you lived like a king. Do you know what it was like to grow up knowing that you weren’t where you belonged, that your life should have been different? Now it’s my turn to live like a king, to rule over the weak and innocent like your father,” he said, then began reciting the spell again.
Annabelle felt the power building in the amulet, felt its destructive forces beginning to coalesce into something powerful and unstoppable. Knowing she had only one chance to stop it, she stepped in front of Justin just as the amulet exploded with a piercing light that hit her squarely in the chest, knocking her to the ground. She lay on the ground trying to get her breath; the impact of the burst of energy from the amulet had stunned her, but not as m
uch as the feeling of having all her energy sucked from her.
Justin felt the impact almost as much as Annabelle did and fell to his knees, but he was instantly back up. Feeling the extra power Annabelle’s life force had given him beginning to drain away, he knew that he only had one chance to stop his half-brother. But he knew that Annabelle was growing weaker and weaker, the life force being drained out of her by whatever had been released from the amulet, and he was torn.
Finally, he did what he knew Annabelle would have wanted and sprang at his brother, morphing into a mountain lion in mid-air. The impact when he hit him sent them both sprawling, but Justin came out on top, his anger so refined that it fueled a strength he never thought he was capable of. Without the amulet, which had exploded in his hand, it took Justin only seconds to pin his brother to the ground and deliver the fatal blow.
He momentarily felt bad, but then he looked over his shoulder to where Annabelle lay on the ground, her chest dangerously still. Joslin was bending over her, crying and reciting one spell after another in a desperate attempt to stop what was happening. Dropping the body to the ground, he ran to Annabelle and knelt next to her still body, tears running down his face when he saw how pale and lifeless she was.
“Don’t leave me, Annabelle. I need you. I love you,” he said, over and over, then noticed that his scar was burning as if to remind him that this woman had saved his life twice.
Then he remembered the open wound on her hand and scrambled to find it in the darkness of the clearing. When he spread her fingers, he saw that it was still open, the flesh as raw as the day she’d cut herself to save him. Without questioning the decision, he pulled out his knife and cut his palm then placed it directly on the wound, then began to chant her name over and over, calling out to the forces that moved the Earth to save his love.
Justin (Fairplay Shifters Series Book 1) Page 12