Infinite Harmony (14 page)

Joshua had learned to accept who and what he was a long time ago. There wasn’t room in his life for petty things like jealousy or envy, but sometimes, in extreme circumstances, he found himself wishing he was more like the Shifters. At that particular moment, he longed to possess their ability to quickly locate prey. He’d been all over the Serenity Shores resort, and thanks to one phone forgotten on the kitchen table and another whose battery had died exactly thirty-seven minutes ago, he couldn’t find Scout or Talley anywhere. He was about to text Liam (who Joshua knew was on the other side of the county since the Alpha Male had the sense to keep his GPS-enabled phone charged and in his pocket) when he opened the door to the banquet hall.

“I’m not wearing it,” Scout’s voice bounced off the concrete walls of the coat room. “I already have a dress.”

“A dress you bought from a discount site online.” Talley was standing in front of the Alpha, her hands perched on the swell of her hips. Her eyes were narrowed and lips thinned into a line of annoyance Joshua rarely saw from the warm-natured Seer. “The top part is so small your boobs are either going burst the seam or get cut in half, and three or four people could climb into the waist with you. And don’t even get me started on the way it stops two inches above your ankle.”

Two dresses hung on the rack behind them. Even with his very limited knowledge of women’s fashion, Joshua knew which one Talley was talking about. It looked like something Angel might have produced years ago when she first started designing and sewing clothes for her Barbies. The hem was obviously uneven and half the beads decorating the bodice were hanging on broken threads.

“It has character,” Scout said.

“It has a stain on the hip,” Talley shot back.

“Mrs. Matthews really outdid herself on this one.” Neither girl startled at his abrupt entrance, which meant they’d both known he was there and had been too wrapped up in their argument to care. “This is a real work of art,” he said, skimming a finger down the tiny pearls crisscrossing the fitted bodice. “Interesting choice in color.”

There was no doubt the dove gray would suit both Scout’s unique monochromatic coloring and I-am-Alpha-hear-me-howl personality. Talley’s mother could See colors and patterns, allowing her to make clothes that defied description. The skill had made her into one of the most sought-after consume designers in the world. It was impossible to watch a winter Olympics without seeing her creations displayed by ice princesses from across the globe. Most people would have killed to have a wedding dress made by Mrs. Matthews, but Scout was not most people.

Scout’s eyes narrowed on the dress as if it was shouting insults at her instead of innocuously sitting on the rack. “I will not wear a dress made by that woman.”

“That woman is my mother,” Talley reminded her not-so-gently.

“And she turned me over to Sarvarna,” was Scout’s equally ungentle response.

As always happened when this conversation came up, which was thankfully not often, Talley’s face took on a decidedly red color. “That was five years ago.”

“Five years? Is that the going timeframe to forgive someone for trying to have you killed?”

Talley’s coloring went from red to violet. “She thought she was doing the right thing.”

Scout snorted, and Joshua could see this conversation was going nowhere good, fast. Usually Liam or Jase were around to calm these choppy waters, but since both of them were meeting with the contractors who would rebuild the Donovans’ home, it left the somewhat inept Joshua to save the two girls from tearing their friendship apart over a past neither of them caused or could change.

“Sorry to interrupt what is obviously a very important
Say Yes to the Dress
moment here,” he said, not sorry at all, “but I have Pack business to discuss.” He stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels, waiting for his words to sink in. Once both girls were fully focused on him, he continued. “I need to trade assignments with Talley.”

Talley cocked an eyebrow to mimic one of Jase’s preferred facial expressions. “My assignment is to get Scout ready for Saturday night. It includes talking her into going to a salon and taking her bra shopping.”

“Sounds like fun,” Joshua said even though the exact opposite was true.

Scout’s shoulders drooped, the fight finally gone out of her. “What has Angel done this time?” she asked, hopping up into the window where partygoers passed their coats to an attendant on the rare occasion someone actually had a formal function in Lake County during the winter.

Joshua shuffled his feet. “She’s in love with me,” he said, realizing a little too late this conversation was almost as awkward as the one he had in the treehouse.

Instead of going into a diatribe about how he wasn’t good enough for her sister or lamenting that a twelve-year-old didn’t know what love was, Scout just waited for him to continue.

“You knew,” he guessed.

“Only because I have eyes and can make logical conclusions.”

“I thought you knew,” Talley added.

“If I had known I would’ve made sure she didn’t see me kissing someone else,” he said, annoyance sharpening his tone. “If I had known, I might have been able to let her down gently instead of ripping out her heart and stomping it into the dirt like some careless jerk.”

Talley muttered a “bless her,” but Scout’s attention was caught by something other than her poor little sister’s feelings. “You’re already hooking up with Ada? That escalated quickly.”

His annoyance level jacked up two notches.

“What do you know about Ada?” he finally demanded after deliberately leaving the subject alone for days now. “What have your Seers Seen?”

Talley gave Scout a slight shake of her head.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Joshua wanted to argue the point, but he’d learned quickly there was no changing Scout’s mind when she was convinced she was doing the right thing. She could, however, be persuaded to give up on one argument if it meant protecting something she thought was important.

“Take me off of Angel duty,” Joshua demanded in type of verbal Hail Mary. “She needs someone who is kind and caring right now. She needs Talley.”

Scout slung herself around to where her feet were now braced on the opposite side of the window frame, her long legs stretched across the counter. “She needs to know you’re not terrified of an adolescent girl’s feelings and that you’ll always be around to protect her, no matter what.” She leaned back against the window frame, crossed her arms under her breasts, and closed her eyes. “You’re staying with the munchkin, and Talley gets to keep putting up with my crap.” He started to argue, but Scout said, “End of discussion.” She opened one eye to make sure he was listening. “Trust me on this. I’m doing it for your own good.”

For the first time since Kennedy was president, Joshua felt a fiery well of rage growing in his stomach. How dare she? He had been fighting against the corruption tainting the Shifters and Seers of the world for decades before she was even born. How dare she make decisions about what information he could know and what was best for him? He was an Immortal. He answered to no one.

Expect, that wasn’t entirely true. He answered to the Alpha Male and Female, and had ever since he took the vow to become a member of the Alpha Pack. And even though she was just as screwed up and overly self-confident as any other twenty-something running around thinking they could take on the world, she’d put an end to the abuse of power that had plagued the Alpha Pack for centuries and established herself as the new Alpha Female before she turned nineteen. She’d earned his respect, so he would do what she wanted, but first…

He walked over the dress she’d purchased and grabbed the collar in both his hands. One good jerk and the material parted, sending cheap plastic beads raining down onto the industrial tiled floor.

“Trust me on this,” he said, throwing the ruined dress toward the trashcan. “I’m doing it for your own good.”

He heard a growl and caught a flash of something out of the corner of his eye. It was the only warning he had before getting slammed to the ground.

Joshua’s head smacked against the floor so hard he saw brightly colored flashes of light behind eyelids squeezed shut in pain. He barely got his brain unscrambled in time to stop the fist flying through the air from connecting with his face. He batted it away with his forearm at the same time he rolled his body in an attempt to pin Scout beneath him, but she kept the momentum going, rolling onto her feet as he once again found himself on his back.

“That was my wedding dress,” she hissed, her fist raised as she waited for him to get to his feet, a sign that she was serious about fighting this out. Violent outbursts weren’t unheard of in the Alpha Pack - they were a bunch of wolves and coyotes after all - but usually once someone dropped it was over. But Scout was dealing with a lot of built up frustrations and annoyances surrounding her upcoming nuptials and was looking to blow off some steam, and Joshua was happy to assist her. He had his own frustrations and annoyances to work out.

Joshua took his time pulling himself up. If  he was another Shifter he would do a fancy jump, backflip, or something equally ridiculous to get his feet under him again, but Joshua didn’t feel the need to show off.

Plus he really had no idea how they did that sort of thing. He figured it had something to do with their animal halves and overdeveloped muscles. He’d tried it a couple of times when he was working out alone, quickly giving up when he realized he was in danger of breaking his back. He really didn’t want to have to explain that injury to his friends.

Scout waited patiently as he stood, loosened his muscles, and got into position, but as soon as he was ready, she launched herself at him again. This time, he was prepared for the impact. He couldn’t completely avoid the fist flying through the air, but he managed to catch it in his shoulder instead of his nose. She’d hit him hard enough there was a chance a bone had cracked. Eventually, he would have to acknowledge the pain, but as long as he was in motion, attacking and counter-attacking, it didn’t exist.

She came at him again, and this time he managed to grab onto her arm. Using the momentum from her punch, he spun and tossed her through the glassless window and into the foyer of the banquet hall. The moment he jumped through the same opening, he sent his own fist on a collision course. It hit its mark on Scout’s stomach. The Alpha Female instinctively doubled over, and Joshua used the opportunity to plant an elbow in the back of her neck. As she bent further over, he thought he’d gotten the better of her, but then two hands wrapped around his ankle and gave a swift jerk. He was on his back again before he could even process what was happening.

“Up,” Scout commanded, and he surged to his feet once again, his fist already up and ready for another round.

“Guys, maybe you should—” But before Talley could finish they were already moving. Scout would jab, and he would block it. Joshua would swing, and Scout would move out of the way before his fist could connect. It became a dance, a flurry of movement, neither finding an opening in the other’s defense. Joshua had no idea how long they went on like that, but sweat was running down his neck, plastering his hair to his scalp when he became aware of someone turning the handle on the door.

While beating the crap out of Scout was generally seen as a fun activity within the Alpha Pack, slamming the Alpha Female into a wall wasn’t really considered acceptable by most Shifters. As the door started to swing open, Joshua allowed himself to take the hit. Unaware of what was happening, Scout hadn’t bothered pulling the punch. Her fist connected with his stomach hard enough to send him literally flying backwards. He landed against something hard and warm. Two hands grabbed ahold of his shoulders to keep him from sliding to the ground.

“Joshua,” Charlie Hagan said as he steadied his friend and fellow Stratego. “How are you doing, man?”

Joshua took an experimental deep breath. “Scout broke my rib,” he said, thinking it was probably more like two or three ribs, but it wasn’t a big deal. They would heal. Bones and flesh were much more resilient than hearts.

“You broke my
dress
,” Scout reminded him. “Now we’re even.”

A tiny little slip of a girl slid around Charlie and gave Joshua a quick kiss on the cheek before walking through the open door of the coat closet and gravitating to the dress Mrs. Matthews had made. “Oh Scout,” Maggie McCray said, fingering the beaded cap sleeves, “this is the most beautiful dress I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s art.” She turned an accusing eye to Joshua. “Whatever you did to harm this dress deserves a broken rib. You should be ashamed.”

Joshua leaned against the doorframe Charlie had abandoned when he went to stand by his mate. “I didn’t touch that dress.” He pointed at the pile of fabric on the floor, which had endured more battle wounds than either Scout or Joshua. “I killed the ugly one.”

“Oh.” Maggie looked to Charlie for guidance. At first Charlie was as confused as she was, but then he really looked at the pale blue-gray dress and understanding softened his expression. “Your mother is an artist, Talley,” he said.

“Thanks, Charlie. I’ll pass along the compliment.” Joshua couldn’t tell if it was supposed to be a remark about how Charlie was the only person besides Scout who was no longer on speaking terms with Mrs. Matthews or not. If it was, he knew it was useless. Charlie and Scout weren’t letting go of their anger anytime soon, and Joshua couldn’t blame them. Being betrayed is always bad, but when it is by someone who is supposed to take care of you and protect you from harm, then it’s even harder to swallow. There was a chance the two friends who had been harmed the most by her actions would never be able to move past it.

And if Joshua let the conversation linger on the dress and its maker, none of them would be moving anywhere for a very long time.

“Aren’t you supposed to be on the other side of the state guarding the Den?” Joshua asked Charlie, who wasn’t scheduled to arrive in Lake County for another four days.

Charlie slid a hand around Maggie’s waist and pulled her closer to his side. “We had some visitors,” he said. “Seems part of the Perry Pack got lost on their way to the wedding. Maggie and I decided to show them the way so they wouldn’t miss meeting the Alphas.”

A slow, predatory smile spread across Scout’s face, and Joshua almost felt sorry for the idiots who thought they could get away with trying to hurt someone the Alpha Female considered hers. While Scout and Maggie might not be the closest of friends, Scout still considered the Thaumaturgic under her protection, and would have even if Maggie hadn’t finally given in and joined the official ranks of the Alpha Pack as a Taxiarho. Maggie was Charlie’s, and Scout had claimed Charlie as one of hers while she was still in diapers.

“You okay, Mags?” Joshua asked, noticing the way the bright yellow sleeve of her dress didn’t quite cover the finger-like bruises around the top of her arm.

“Fine with a healthy sprinkling of dandy,” she said, self-consciously tugging on the edge of her sleeve. “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but Charlie won’t let them touch me.”

Scout scrunched up her nose. “That was nauseatingly cheesy,” she said.

“And somewhat inaccurate,” Charlie added. “My role in saving the day was small and inconsequential once Maggie turned the front yard into a giant mud pit and then hardened it up the moment the moment our visitors were all hip deep in the muck.”

Joshua stuck his hand up in the air and Maggie did a little jump to slap her own palm against his. “Excellent work, Thaumaturgic,” he said.

Maggie flashed a bright smile. “Just doing my job, Immortal.”

“So, Layne is here now?” Charlie’s teenage nephew and ward wasn’t officially a member of the Alpha Pack, but it was only a matter of time. Once the kid finally figured out the world was neither out to get him or owed him some giant debt, he would be a damn good Shifter. His dominance level rivaled Jase’s, and Jase was possibly the most dominant coyote Shifter in history.

“No, he’s not coming until Friday,” Charlie said, effectively ruining Joshua’s plan of pawning Angel off on him. “Lizzie didn’t feel like she could leave the horses that long with the regular trainer still up in New York. With everything going on, I didn’t want her traveling alone, so Layne is driving her.”

Scout choked on the water she was drinking, and Talley crinkled her nose and asked, “And they both agreed to that?”

Knowing Charlie, he had resorted to using persuasive measures, like threatening to beat Layne within an inch of his life if he didn’t comply.

“You couldn’t pay me enough to be in that car,” Joshua said.

“Speaking of situations you couldn’t be paid enough to do,” Charlie said, “aren’t you supposed to be guarding the brat? Where is she?”

Joshua wanted to punch Charlie for his judgmental tone. It wasn’t like he’d just left the kid somewhere to fend for herself while a group of crazies was targeting her. “She’s back at the cabin with her parents.” And two different Taxiarhos guarding the house. “We had an issue today that required some downtime from each other.”

“Downtime? From Angel?” Charlie chuckled. “Who would ever want such a thing?”

Maggie slapped her boyfriend on the shoulder. “Stop it. Angel is adorable. I love spending time with her.”

“That is because she thinks you’re a fashion goddess and hangs on your every word,” Charlie said, tapping Maggie on the tip of her nose. “She’s never poured a bowl of cereal over your head.”

“She did not—”

“She did,” Scout said, cutting Maggie off. “Lucky Charms if memory serves correctly.”

“Fruit Loops,” Talley corrected. “And you deserved it, Mr. I-Think-Singing-The-K-I-S-S-I-N-G-Song-Over-And-Over-To-A-Disgruntled-Eight-Year-Old-Is-A-Good-Idea.”

Scout nodded in agreement, but Charlie wasn’t chagrined at all. If anything, he was amused by the memory. “Angel and Joshua sitting in a tree…” he began.

Joshua closed his eyes and wondered if Scout would hit him a few times square in the middle of his forehead to save him the effort of pounding it against the wall. He decided against both options and settled for punching Charlie in the arm as hard as he could, which was hard enough to make the Shifter fall on his ass. It took more than a little effort to keep the smirk of satisfaction off Joshua’s face.

“I feel like I’m missing some…” Maggie’s hands danced in front of her as if trying to conjure the right word or phrase from the air. “Backstory” was the word she finally settled on.

“Joshua, being a typical male, didn’t know Angel has been in love with him since the first time Jase took him home like the little lost puppy he is. Today he oh-so-smartly let the munchkin catch him making out with her best friend’s sister,” Scout said, summing up the situation with her characteristic apathy. “Angel had a come-apart, and Joshua feels so rotten about it he ripped up my dress and forced me to beat the crap out of him.”

“You have a black eye, your majesty,” Joshua said, using the formal title he knew would piss her off almost as much as pointing out how it hadn’t been quite the one-sided fight she would have liked. “And I did you a favor by ripping up that monstrosity. This wedding is supposed to placate the haters and finally unite the Shifters and Seers under your rather unorthodox Alpha Pack. You’re on display more this week than you’ve ever been in your life.” Which was really saying something. Scout was, at her core, an introvert who wanted nothing more than to fade into the background and live her life, but from the moment she made her first Change, she’d been the center of attention for both her supporters and those who would like to see her burned at the stake. “When you walk down the aisle, you’re not expected to just be a bride. You’re supposed to be a queen, and that,” he pointed to the ripped dress on the floor, “would have made you look like a court jester. Everything you’ve been working towards these past few years would have been ruined just because you’re too damn proud to wear a dress made by a woman you don’t like.”

“She tried to kill me,” Scout growled, the wolf looking out through her eyes.

“I’m not asking you to invite her over for milk and cookies. I’m telling you to wear the damn dress.”

They were both leaning towards one another, ready for another round of the rough-and-tumble stuff. Joshua’s breath sawed in and out of his lungs, and Scout’s chest was rising and falling just as hard and fast. One word, and they would have gone for each other’s throats.

“Joshua was kissing who?” Maggie said, as if she was completely unaware of the tension in the room.

Talley grabbed ahold of the lifeline she’d been tossed with both hands. “Ada Jessup.” She swooped down and picked up the ripped dress. “Kinsey Jessup’s older sister.” As she walked past Joshua to the trash can, she patted him on the cheek. “Our Immortal is love.”

Joshua wanted to correct her. He should have. The only problem was, he was terrified she might be right.