by Sammie Joyce
“And most of these shifters haven’t hurt a single human either but that’s not stopping you from attacking, is it? You’re hunting them, scaring them and putting them on the offensive. I’m surprised they haven’t come at us full force yet.”
“Someone has to keep us safe!” Craig insisted but there was an uncertainty in his tone that told me that perhaps my words were resonating with him after all.
“This is not the way to keep anyone safe!” I growled. “Having a shootout, getting attacked by wolves and leopards. Use your damned brains—assuming you have any left.”
Craig and Morris had the decency to look down but Charlie held my gaze steadily, malice twinkling in his eyes.
“Are you in love with that shifter?” he rasped. The query filled me with a dozen emotions, none of them good.
I knew there was no right answer to this question.
“That’s not the point, Charlie,” I told him softly. “It doesn’t matter how I feel about him. What matters is that this needs to stop.”
“You love him.” There was a resignation in his tone that I didn’t know what to do with.
“Charlie…”
“Come on, boys,” Charlie called to his friends. “We’re done for tonight.”
“For tonight?” I yelled out after his retreating back. “Or for good?”
He didn’t answer me and I felt my gut swish as he disappeared into the woods, leaving me alone again to deal with my confusing emotions.
I didn’t feel like the matter was settled, not in the least, but I did know that Marcel and his friend were safe for the moment.
I turned and trudged back up to the cottage, tears of despair welling in my eyes. I felt like I’d lost everything in two days. I cursed myself for inviting Marcel up to the mountain. If I hadn’t I surely wouldn’t have ever been the wiser about who he was. I was ashamed for thinking that way but I couldn’t help but feel like we would have been ignorantly happy for a long while if the truth never came out.
It’s better this way, I told myself, entering the cottage. I gasped in shock when I saw who was sitting on the sofa.
“W-what the hell are you doing here?” I demanded. Rachel smiled at me and shook her auburn waves. She looked so different out of her scrubs, her cheeks slightly windblown.
“I came up here to check on you,” she replied. “And it looks like I found an entire party.”
I scoffed and ran a hand through my own messy tresses absently.
“How did you get up here? The roads are blocked…” I trailed off and looked at her. “How did you even know where I was?”
Slowly, my confusion melted away as I stared at her hazel eyes and the memory of the leopard jumped front and center into my mind.
“Y-you’re a shifter!” I gasped. Rachel shrugged and nodded.
“Guilty,” she replied lightly. “Sorry to disappoint you.”
I shook my head in disbelief.
“H-how did I not know that about you?”
“We don’t go around advertising—for obvious reasons.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat and hung my head in shame. How different it was knowing that Rachel was a shifter compared to how I’d been learning about Marcel. There was nothing scary about my friend, the nursing student who had climbed a mountain to see how I was doing. She was still just Rachel, wasn’t she?
What makes Marcel so different?
More shame overtook me and I sank onto the couch next to Rachel.
“I’ve been so stupid,” I mumbled. “I reacted so badly.”
“It’s almost understandable,” Rachel replied and my head jerked up to look at her.
“Almost?”
“Well you made me a liar,” Rachel told me flatly. “I told Marcel that there’s no way you would ever sanction an attack but he wasn’t so sure. Looks like he was right.”
My brow furrowed in confusion.
“What?”
“What what? You called your brother in to take care of him, didn’t you?”
For the first time, I heard the hardness in her tone and my mouth gaped in shock.
“What?! Of course not! Charlie and the boys followed you from the hospital!”
Rachel’s face went strangely blank as she returned my stare.
“What?”
“He stumbled upon Marcel because of you—oh my God! Marcel thinks I set him up to be attacked?”
I had never been so horrified in my life. How could he believe that about me?
“Well…” Rachel cleared her throat and rose from the sofa. “It looks like we have some explaining to do.”
I eyed her warily.
“How? He’s gone, isn’t he?”
Rachel smiled.
“Then I guess you’re just going to have to find him, aren’t you?”
16
Marcel
I shifted back into my human frame long before I reached the town limits, not wanting to risk more unwarranted attention. It was a long trek home but I barely noticed it, my mind on the incredible events that had unfolded over the past week.
Again, I played that game of “what if” in my head but as I drew closer to reality and my house on the outskirts, I realized it was a fool’s game and forced myself to stop it.
I had been set up by a human I’d been stupid enough to fall for and I couldn’t pretend it hadn’t happened. There was nothing to do now but go home and face the music with the Council and my Protector mates.
But if she set you up, why did she stop it?
I reasoned that she had been afraid I’d kill her brother and I would be lying if I said I hadn’t been tempted in that moment. I’d never felt so much rage as I’d pinned Charlie, all the fury I’d stowed for Anticlaw ready to burst free in that moment.
But Vivian’s hand on me had put me at ease, as if her simple touch could keep me from flying off the handle and I had stood down.
I was regretting it then, after I had time to think about it. After all, she would have brought it on herself if something had happened to Charlie. She shouldn’t have called him.
I realized that I likely hadn’t seen the end of Charlie or Anticlaw. There would be other opportunities to end the madness before it escalated—or at least that was my hope.
In the meantime, I’d have to forget about Vivian and the past week as if I’d never met her. Oh, how I wished I’d never met her…didn’t I?
I’d never been so happy to be home and I had to break into my own house because my keys were still in Vivian’s car. I wondered if I should even bother trying to get them back or if I should just start fresh. I had a feeling that it would be easier to make a clean break rather than risk seeing her again. Who knew if she might try to set me up again?
But are you sure she really did?
I sighed and wriggled through the second story window, falling to the ground in an unceremonious thud. It was only after I’d turned on the lights and settled into the kitchen with a scotch on the rocks that I thought about Rachel.
We’d taken off from the scene together but when I’d turned around, she’d been gone. I could hear Vivian yelling at her brother but I didn’t circle back. Rachel was a shifter too and should be able to take care of herself.
Yet I couldn’t shake the guilt as I thought about her. She had been caught in the crossfire just as much as I had. If something happened to her…
I reached for my landline and gritted my teeth as I tried to recall Landon or Tony’s numbers. I was as much a victim of speed dial as anyone else I knew and without my cell, my contacts were all but lost. Still, I had to find a way to get in touch with the leopard Protectors. One of them was sure to know where to find Rachel Drake and ensure her safety.
I rose from the kitchen island and wandered to my computer, hoping to find the information I needed there but before I could flip open my MacBook, the doorbell rang.
I jumped at the unexpected sound but without hesitation, I rushed to answer it. Somehow, I knew I wanted to see who was on the other side.
“Hey,” Rachel said, shoving her way inside. I barely paid her any mind as my eyes rested on Vivian who remained uncomfortably on the porch. She averted her gaze from my stare but I didn’t falter.
“What is she doing here?” I growled, barely remembering to be grateful that the leopard was safe. “How did you even get here?”
“She rode down on my back,” Rachel explained and the answer almost stunned me silent. A few hours ago, Vivian had been appalled by all things shifter. Suddenly she was riding down the mountain on the back of a leopard.
I eyed Rachel warily, wondering if the woman had magic inside her. After all, she had convinced me to go back to the cottage and now this?
“What does she want?” I grumbled, still not speaking directly to Vivian.
“She wants to talk to you,” Rachel called from inside my living room. I raised an eyebrow.
“I’m not sure I want to talk to her.”
“Oh stop being a child and let her inside,” Rachel barked at me as if she was the oldest of us all. I stood awkwardly for a moment, unsure if I wanted to do that. “Marcel, let her inside! You’re letting all the heat out!”
It was only then I turned to scowl at Rachel who had made herself comfortable on my sofa. She reached for the remote control.
“How can you be so flippant about this?” I demanded but I realized that Rachel had a point—I was running up the electricity bill. “For all you know, her brother could be a sniper in the bushes right now.”
“He’s not!” Vivian and Rachel snapped in unison.
Begrudgingly, I stepped back and Vivian shuffled in, again avoiding my gaze.
“You can stay there,” I said warningly but Vivian made no move past the foyer anyway. She sighed heavily as Rachel settled on a television program. I frowned at her. “Seriously?”
Rachel shrugged without looking at me.
“I’ve already heard what she has to say and I’m good,” Rachel replied, waving a hand dismissively. I hardly knew what to make of any of it but I turned my attention back to Vivian.
“Well?” I demanded angrily. “Did you come to finish the job?”
“I never started the job,” Vivian said, her voice oddly flat. “I didn’t call Charlie to the mountain.”
I scoffed dubiously.
“So it was just a coincidence that he was out there when I happened to be?”
“He followed Rachel from the hospital. Anticlaw has scouts everywhere now. They look for suspicious behavior and stay on the trail until the catch their suspect shifting. Then they go in for the kill. You were an accident. Rachel was their target.”
Surprise overwhelmed me and I spun to look at Rachel. Without looking at me, Rachel piped up, “I already had Landon hack into the hospital security cameras. It’s true. Those two buffoons were waiting for me. It’s my fault we were attacked.”
I was speechless and I gaped at Vivian, a combination of shame and relief consuming me. On one hand I was happy to know that Vivian hadn’t been responsible for what happened but on the other, I’d always known that, hadn’t I? Why would I have thought that about her?
She seemed to read the expression on my face and her own softened.
“I get why you thought I had something to do with it,” Vivian said quietly. “If the roles were switched, I would think the same.”
I heard Rachel guffaw and I knew what she was thinking. She had said the same thing to me when we were in the woods.
I should have put myself in Vivian’s shoes to begin with. Instead, we both let our emotions get the best of us.
“I really didn’t want to believe it,” I muttered, feeling abashed. “But I’m glad we cleared that up.”
There was a moment of uncomfortable silence between us as I weighed where we would go from there. She seemed to read my question with blinding clarity.
“I behaved really badly,” she confessed and I raised my head to meet her eyes. They were swimming in tears but I didn’t know why.
“It was a lot to process and given what you think you know about shifters…”
“What I thought I knew,” she corrected me. “I clearly have a lot to learn on the matter.”
Hope sprang through me but I was cautiously optimistic.
“Do you want to learn?” I asked quietly. She nodded slowly, her face pale as she inhaled.
“I want to learn,” she replied. “But I’m worried about Charlie and the other shifters. Things are escalating.”
“Then we need to deescalate them,” I replied before I could consider what I was saying.
“How?” Vivian murmured. “I have no idea if I got through to Charlie or if he’s angrier than ever.”
That might pose a problem, I admitted but it wasn’t one I wanted to think about too much, not when I had Vivian in my grasp again. I wasn’t going to let her go again. The few hours I’d spent without her had been agonizing and the thought that I might never see her again had nearly crippled me.
“It doesn’t matter,” I said.
“It doesn’t?”
I could read the hope in her face as she stared at me, willing me to say what I knew she was thinking.
“No,” I replied. “It doesn’t matter because we’re not going to live our lives worried about what everyone else wants for us…”
I trailed off, hoping that I wasn’t going too far out on a limb.
“…unless you’re too worried about the repercussions,” I continued.
“Oh for the love of all gods!” Rachel groaned from the couch. “Just kiss and make up already!”
She finally spun around to stare at us, shaking her auburn head of hair.
“Vivian, are you willing to accept me and Marcel and any other shifters that you might encounter in the future for what we are?”
“I-yes, I am,” Vivian stuttered.
“And you, Marcel. Are you willing to overlook the fact that Vivian is related to a trigger-happy vigilante who may or may not come for you?”
“When you say it like that…” I muttered and Vivian groaned. “I’m kidding! I know Charlie and you aren’t the same person, Viv. Yes, I am willing to ignore the fact that your brother wants to kill me.”
“Maybe,” Vivian insisted. “I feel like I got through to him.”
“Charlie is only one of a larger group,” Rachel reminded me. “You can’t just alienate anyone who has contact with Anticlaw. You’ll live a very lonely life.”
“I don’t want to live a lonely life,” I said firmly, reaching for Vivian’s hands. "Not when my mate is right here in front of me.”
I saw her cheeks tinge pink and Rachel clapped her hands gleefully.
“Good. Then by the power invested in me, I pronounce you dating. You may kiss your mate.”
I chuckled at Rachel’s theatrics but before I could respond, Vivian threw herself into my arms and placed a long, sweet kiss on my lips. I felt a familiar surge of warmth course through my body as my arms encircled her waist and I drew her closer to me, relishing the nearness that I’d thought I’d lost forever.
“Ugh come on, you two. Get a room!” Rachel crowed and Vivian fell back, laughing.
“Last I checked, this was my house,” I muttered, my eyes still fixed on Vivian’s face. Gone was any trace of the fear I’d seen earlier on the mountain. In its place was love radiating outward to warm every crevice of me.
“I love you, Vivian Hunt,” I told her her huskily.
“I love you, Marcel Rhodes,” she replied, dropping her head on my chest to hear my heartbeat and I stroked her hair.
“Seriously, get a room,” Rachel muttered. I grinned and pulled back, taking Vivian’s hand.
“You heard the woman,” I whispered. “Let’s get a room.”
Epilogue
Six Months Later
Vivian
The hospital hadn’t bothered with air conditioning yet, even though it was almost ninety degrees inside. I knew there was no point in complaining—unless a patient died of heat stroke on our watch,
nothing would be done about it.
As if reading my mind, Rachel groaned loudly.
“Does someone have to drop dead before someone turns on the air on? Don’t people realize that global warming is occurring?”
“You should save your energy,” I chuckled. “Anyway, we’ll be out of here in two hours. Just drink water and pray that the next few hours go by effortlessly.”
“I think I’m stuck to the chair,” Rachel sighed and I laughed again but the sound died on my lips as I heard the nearing scream of an ambulance. In seconds, Rachel and I were both on our feet, snapping on latex gloves to assist.
“Oh shit…”
Rachel saw him before I did but when my eyes fell on the bloodied body being wheeled in, I understood why she’d reacted as she had. It was a double shit, actually.
First, I had no doubt that this man had been mangled by a shifter. The teeth marks were still fresh and oozing and the slashes were too even to be a knife. Beyond that, however, I knew it was the work of a shifter because it was Morris who lay on the gurney, unconscious and near death.
“His blood pressure’s dropping!” I cried, jumping forward to take over from the paramedics. Gloria stepped back and watched me work as Rachel remained at her side. Through my peripheral vision, I saw Rachel’s jaw twitch and she turned away.
Guilt shot through me but I continued to work, applying pressure to the gaping wounds until the on-call doctor appeared to bark out orders as he administered the proper medications to get Morris’ heart pumping again. I went into full nurse mode, my hands working automatically until Morris began to resemble the man who had served with my brother in the Marine’s a lifetime ago.
I knew why he’d found himself in the ER. I’d be an idiot not to. Despite the plea I’d given Charlie and his friends, Anticlaw was as active as ever. Even so, I knew that Charlie had relinquished his position of whatever group he was leading but I suspected he was still lurking in the shadows. We had reached an uneasy truce, one that kept us far away from one another. Another move hadn’t been made on Marcel or Rachel but that didn’t mean I couldn’t sense their presence, as if Charlie had someone watching their every move.