A Shift in the Water (31 page)

Mara slid her arm around his waist and squeezed. She’d done this. She’d fixed him. Not only had she freed him from his wolf, but accepting his feelings for her had changed something inside of him. Despite the scars, and the lingering weakness in his body, he was whole now that he had his mate next to him.

“So tell me about your life,” she said. “What happens now? You can shift at will, right? Like Livie? Can all wolves? Will you run with your pack tonight when they get here?”

The bottom dropped out of his stomach. The mug shook in his hand. He shrank away from her, desperate to escape, but he was unable to force himself from her bed.

“What is it?” Mara set her coffee down and eased his mug from his unsteady hand. “You’re scaring me.” She straddled him, cupping his cheeks and forcing him to look at her. “
Cade
.” The last word snapped out of her like an order, and freed his tongue.

“You’ll never see the wolf again. I can’t shift. I won’t. I wouldn’t come back from it.”

“But he’s part of you. I can see him in your eyes. You can’t ignore who you are. I did and it nearly killed me.” Mara tried to lean forward and brush her lips to his, but he jerked his head away.

“You don’t understand. You can’t. It was more than the starvation, Mara. More than Katerina’s fire charm. I’d given up. Before I realized that she’d let the charm on the earth lapse, I was ready to die. I can’t take the chance that I’d be trapped again.” He grabbed her hands and held on tightly. “I used to love the wolf. Running under the moon. Shifting with my pack. I don’t know if I have a pack any longer—if they’re still mine—but if I do, I sure as shit won’t run with them again. The wolf is dead. Or he might as well be.”

Mara bit her lip. “I freed you once and I didn’t even know what I was doing. Now?” She extricated one of her hands from his death grip and turned her palm up to the ceiling. Her eyes closed. The air in the room thickened. Cade’s skin prickled with energy. The hairs on his chest and the back of his neck stood on end like they’d been rubbed against a balloon. 

Above her upturned palm, an eddy of air tumbled over itself. It thickened, slowed, and turned into a tiny droplet of water. The drop grew, slowly, undulating and elongating until it was the size of a dime. Mara’s cheeks flushed. Her breathing quickened. When she opened her eyes, they were glowing.

“Shit,” he said in awe.

“If you’re trapped again—which I doubt will happen—I’ll free you again. You can trust me.” She focused her gaze on the trembling sphere of water, pursed her lips, and sent the water into her empty coffee mug where it landed with a plop.

Cade dumped her unceremoniously onto the bed. He stood, his chest heaving. He needed Mara to understand, needed her to hold him and tell him it would all be okay. The room threatened to spin. “Seven months. Seven months of rotten meat, being burned and blistered within an inch of my life, always cold but still burning up inside. I couldn’t form a coherent thought. The wolf stole everything from me. I hate him. I can’t ever let him free again. End of discussion.”

Mara sputtered, but he couldn’t even look at her. His emotions were too volatile to be around his mate.

“Wait.”

“No.” He risked a glance in her direction. She sat on the bed with her arms wrapped tightly around her knees. Her eyes burned brightly, her lips pressed together. Anger and hurt played across her face. He had to get away from her. At least for a few minutes. “I need to be alone.”

Mara waved her hand. “Fine. Be that way. I need more coffee anyway.”

She slipped out of the bed and left him alone in her bedroom.

Livie looked up from the couch where she was stretched out watching the morning news. A mug was balanced on the rise of her belly. She grinned at Mara. “Pup makes a good table.” The smile faded from her lips and she pushed herself up to a sitting position. “What’s wrong?”

“Is it that obvious?” Mara headed into the kitchen and punched the button on her espresso machine for another cup. “You want one? Tea? Something without caffeine?”

Livie muted the television, joined Mara in the kitchen, and handed her the mug. “I can handle coffee. Wolves burn it off really fast.  I was sitting out here with the TV blaring so the two of you could screw. And it’s pretty obvious you didn’t.” She folded her arms around her belly. “What’d he do?”

“What makes you think it’s him?”

“He’s male.”

Mara couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped her lips. “That he is.”

After both mugs were filled, Livie gently took Mara’s elbow—careful not to bruise her again—and led her back to the sofa. The two women sat in silence for several minutes, not paying attention to the commercials streaming by on the television. Mara leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees. Livie waited patiently for her to explain, sitting back and balancing the mug of coffee on her belly. The commercials came to an end and a blond reporter’s face filled half the screen. “Oh my God.” Livie snatched the remote off the coffee table and turned up the volume.

“An early morning fire in Bellingham burned through an entire block of storefronts, including the law offices of Baker and Folsom, the First National Bank of Washington, and a children’s bookstore. A second fire destroyed a row of townhomes next to Maritime Heritage Park. This was the second suspicious fire near the park this year. Back in May, the Whatcom Mariner Apartments burned to the ground, killing seven local residents.”

The perky blond reporter on the screen went on to say that the fire department investigators suspected arson in both cases as the fires burned hotter and longer than usual. The townhome fire was thought to have killed five. The fire department weren’t sure what accelerant was used, but Mara knew. It wasn’t an accelerant. It was her sister. “Maggie. That’s Maggie’s house. Oh Goddess. Katerina’s in Bellingham.”

Mara sprang up and ran for the bedroom with Livie at her heels. When she burst into the room, she found Cade sitting on the floor on the far side of the bed, staring out the window. He wore jeans but nothing else and his eyes were bloodshot and red rimmed.

“What is it?” he asked. His face didn’t light up when he saw her. His shoulders slumped, and his head barely lifted. Something in Mara’s stance must have conveyed her horror because he quickly got to his feet and grabbed her by the upper arms. “Honey, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“There was a fire. Katerina killed Maggie.”

Cade pulled Mara against his bare chest and wrapped his arms around her. His entire body shook, though with anger or fear she couldn’t tell. “It’s my fault,” he whispered. “We shouldn’t have gone to Bellingham.”

“You don’t know that,” Livie replied. “This is Katerina we’re talking about. For all we know she would have burned down the whole town to get to you. She clearly has no qualms about killing an innocent old woman. Your shop is gone, along with every business on that block.”

“We need to leave,” Cade said, tucking Mara in the crook of his arm.

Mara looked up at him. “Why? She couldn’t possibly know where I live. I haven’t had any contact with Katerina for eleven years. I was living in Sacramento then. I’m not in the phone book. My only family is Lil and she certainly would never tell. And if Katerina
did
know where we were, she would have found you already. The fires happened in the early hours of the morning. If I remember anything about my
sister
from our single encounter, it’s that she doesn’t have a shred of self-control.”

Both werewolves stared at Mara for several tense seconds. Livie broke the silence. “She’s right, boss-man. It’s been like eight hours since the fires. If that bitch knew where you were, she’d already be here. I don’t think we should be shouting your presence from the rooftops or anything, but as long as we stay in the house, I think we’re safe here.”

“I’ll call Eleanor,” Mara said. “Make sure Katerina can’t track us somehow. I don’t understand how her fire element works. Hell, I barely understand how my own element works yet. As long as Eleanor thinks we’re okay, I say we stay here until the rest of your pack arrives.”

“And I’ll let Liam know what’s going on.” Livie left Cade and Mara alone.

Cade buried his face in her neck and inhaled deeply. “It would kill me if anything happened to you,” he said, the subtle vibrations in his chest reassuring, even if his words weren’t.

“Nothing’s going to happen. I’ve got two werewolves protecting me.” Mara smiled.

Her words registered like a slap to Cade’s face. Flinching, he released her. He stalked over to the window and stared out into the street. “I told you. I won’t shift.”

“I wasn’t asking you to,” Mara replied with a tiny shake of her head. She ran her hands through her hair and tugged, hard. The pinpricks of pain along her scalp focused her thoughts and helped her get past the frustration with the man standing in front of her. “Even if you never shift again, you’re
still
a werewolf. The sooner you get that through your head, the sooner you’ll feel steady again.”

A rough snarl escaped his lips. “Goddammit, Mara. Stop reminding me of who and what I am. Don’t you think I know? Don’t you think I wish I could shift again? Fuck.” Cade stormed out the door. “I need a shower. Alone.”

“Stupid alpha male bullshit.” Mara belted her robe tighter around her body and headed for the kitchen. She needed to call Eleanor and make sure that Katerina couldn’t track her. In the hall, she nearly ran right into Livie.

“What’s up Cade’s ass?” Livie asked. “He growled at me on his way to the bathroom. Even in wolf form he’s not usually that angry.”

“I don’t know if I should tell you,” Mara replied. “He’s your alpha.”

“And you’re his mate. Which makes you part of the pack whether you want to be or not. We’re a family. There aren’t any secrets among wolves.”

“But isn’t it kind of like tattling on dad?” Mara asked. “I don’t know any of the rules. You obey him. Right? I heard him yelling at you earlier. I’m sorry for that.” She rubbed her arm and gestured towards the living room sofa.

Livie shrugged. “He was right to. I shouldn’t have hurt you. And yeah, he is kind of like my father and big brother rolled into one. Which would make you my big sister. Assuming you ask the pack to accept you as his mate.”

“Would you? They? Um, accept me?” Mara held her breath.

A serious look darkened Livie’s blue eyes. “When I found him—both of you—he was hurting. I’d never seen him so weak. It wasn’t physical, though he still looks too thin. He was haunted. This morning, everything changed. He’s back. He’s my alpha again—the wolf I’ve known for years. You did that. So we’re solid. I can’t speak for anyone else. But the way things work is that Cade’s the strongest wolf. Liam’s next, our beta. I’m third. It’s all based on bloodlines and how much Lycos is running through our veins. You’ll need to convince Liam, but boss-man’s claim on you will go a long way towards that. And if anyone challenges, they’d have to fight his wolf. No one wants to do that.” Livie grinned, but Mara stifled a groan.

“And what if he refused to shift?”

“Huh? Why the hell would he do that?”

Mara looked away, focusing on a tiny bird hunting for food on her frost-ravaged lawn. “Forget I said anything.”

A low growl rumbled in Livie’s chest. “Not a chance. Tell me why you said that.”

When Mara didn’t move or speak, Livie pushed herself up. “I’m getting to the bottom of this.”

She strode towards the bathroom with Mara at her heels. The shower shut off as Livie wrenched open the bathroom door. Cade pulled back the curtain and glared at the two women. He made no move to cover his nakedness. The hair on his chest glistened. Mara couldn’t tear her eyes away from his body.

“What the hell, Livie?”

“You won’t shift?” The female wolf jabbed Cade in the chest and stared up at him. Water dripped from Cade’s arms, his hair and he growled at Livie. Mara stepped forward and handed him a towel.

Sorry
, she mouthed. He spared her a single glance, made a deep, rumbling sound in his throat, and wrapped the towel around his hips.

“Answer me,” Livie demanded, then thought better of her tone and lowered her voice. “Please.”

The look of betrayal on Cade’s face cut Mara to her core. His eyes filled with pain. Memories shadowed his face, hunched his shoulders. “I can’t shift. Not anymore. I won’t survive it. I don’t expect you to understand. Either of you.” He pushed past the two women, heading for the guest room, where the door slammed firmly.

Mara leaned against the sink. “Well, that went well.”

Livie’s lower lip quivered. “I know that look in his eyes. It’s the look Shawn gets when I forget about this”—she gestured to her left arm, hanging awkwardly at her side —“and try to reach for something heavy or when my wolf tries to run and trips. It’s fear. Guilt. I spent three days as my wolf after the fire. I was too injured to shift back. When I did, I could barely remember how to talk, let alone think properly.”

Nodding, Mara remembered Cade’s hesitant first words, the shake in his legs as he stood, his fingers fumbling to write, and the uncertain look in his haunted eyes every time she left the room. He’d been afraid to be alone, afraid Katerina’s charm would capture him again and force him to become the animal he now hated. He was wrong about one thing. She
did
understand a little. She’d been trapped in her own body for months. Unable to see anything but death in front of her and memories behind. Oh she lived, as much as she could, but the threat of her own mortality was always there.