Once Upon a Shifter (52 page)

"You are a werewolf in a house full of vampires who have never met you. I'd imagine he locked you in to keep us safe. I'm sure he's expecting a nasty text message, so if you really want the upper hand, I suggest doing the complete opposite."

Pursing my lips together in irritation, I looked down at the phone in my hand. She was right. I hated that she was right. It grinded me in a bad way that she was right. But that anger stemmed from the fact that she was right most of the time, and I didn't feel in control over my body, my mind or even my destiny anymore.

"Do the right thing, Mena."

"I hate that I'm stuck with you for an eternity."

I heard her sigh.
"I'm not a bad person, Mena. If you would just—"

"You're not a person at all," I said, irritation creeping back into the tone of my voice.

"Fine! I'm not a human, but the fact remains that we are stuck together, so we need to figure out a way to co-exist and be happy about it. Your whining is a little annoying."

I rolled my eyes. She was right again. "Okay. I'll try if you will stop instigating—"

"I'm only trying to test my boundaries."

"You could just ask instead of taking over every time you or Phoenix don't get your way."

"All right… I will also try."

"And you will stop taking away my emotions?"

"I only do that so your fear and grief don't cloud your thoughts. But, yes, I will also let you keep your emotions… unless I see that I need to interfere."

I thought about that a moment, but doubted I would get a better compromise.

I typed out the text:
'I'm sorry about our argument. We'll talk when you return.'
Then I hit send.

Phoenix

"I miss pancakes," Jaxon said as Phoenix pulled into a parking spot at the IHOP.

"How can you miss something that you haven't had in centuries? I don't think I've ever even had pancakes."

Jaxon's mouth pulled to the side as he pondered the question. "I think it's the smell of maple syrup that makes my mouth water," he said, and then opened his door when Phoenix did.

Phoenix smiled when the phone chimed from his pocket, but the grin slowly slipped from his face as he read Mena's text.

"Damn wolf is smarter than I thought," he grumbled, and then looked up to meet the confused expression of Alex Rhodes.

Without responding to the question in the detective's eyes, Phoenix turned his attention to Roel. "IHOP? Really?"

"What?" Heath said. "We were hungry."

Brad chuckled. "He's just jealous because he can't eat—"

Roel's elbow came up swiftly and collided with Brad's mouth.

"Shit!" Alex said. "What the hell is wrong with—?"

Wanting to take this whole convo on a detour, before the human discovered their secret identities, Phoenix glanced up at the sky when lightening streaked across the horizon. "She's expecting us. We need to go; dawn will be here soon." He nodded toward Jaxon. "This is Jaxon, my… friend," he said when Alex's wide eyes moved to look back at him.

A slow smile spread across Alex's face as he shook Jaxon's hand, and Phoenix's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Alex Rhodes. It's nice to meet you, Jaxon. I wasn't aware Phoenix was dating anyone. How long have the two of you been a couple?"

A burst of laughter erupted from either Brad or Heath; Phoenix wasn't sure which with the blur of profanities going through his mind at the moment.
Shit
, he thought as he realized the guy thought
friend
meant lifelong partner, and that there could be no possible way he could come between him and Mena now, since he was gay!

He cringed as he glanced at the murderous glare in Jaxon's eyes, and ran a hand down his face as he nodded; maybe if the cop thought he had same-sex interest, he wouldn't keep coming up with excuses for why Mena shouldn't stay with him at his compound at night.

"A while," Jaxon said through a clenched jaw as he released the detective's hand, "but we try to keep our relationship status private, if you know what I mean."

Alex nodded. "Absolutely. It's nobody's business."

It no longer mattered who had laughed first, because all three wolves were red-faced and nearly down on the sidewalk, clutching their sides and howling with laughter. He was never going to hear the end of this, and the worst part was it was his fault the guy got the wrong idea in the first place.
Way to go, Phoenix!

"Wait," the cop said, "who's expecting us?"

"Meridia," Phoenix replied solemnly, and then glanced toward Jaxon as everyone made their way to the black Suburban.

"You fucking owe me," Jaxon said quietly.

Phoenix pressed his lips together as he opened the rear door. Maybe now was a good time to punish him for the mistakes the guy had made over the last few months. Holding out his hand, he winked as he encouraged Jaxon to get in first. "After you, Sweetheart."

Chapter 25

Phoenix

As the Suburban came to a stop outside a set of wrought iron gates, a chill passed over Phoenix's skin, and he knew it had nothing to do with the frigid winter temperatures outside.

"How do we get in?" Heath asked as he looked out the driver's window for any sign of a call box.

"We wait. They know we're here," Phoenix said.

Roel glanced through the windshield at their surroundings: dead trees, the gate and not much else. "I don't see any cameras or anything. Are you sure they know—?"

Just then the gate began to swing inward.

Roel sat a little straighter in his seat. "O-kay. That wasn't spooky at all."

"Drive, Heath," Phoenix said.

Heath gave a long, uncomfortable-sounding sigh, but put the vehicle in Drive and drove forward.

The winding road up the steep, woodsy, rocky mountain was nearly a mile long, and as they drew nearer to their destination, strange things started to happen. Phoenix could feel the spell creep into his bones, but he recognized it for what it was, so it was easier to fight it off. But by the sweat that dampened Roel's brow in the front seat, he didn't know how well the others would handle it if he didn't give them some sort of warning.

"Whatever you're feeling, just ignore it; it isn't real. It's their way of introducing themselves and getting to know each of you a little in the process."

"I think I'm going to puke," Brad said. "Pull over, Heath. Heather will kill me if I throw up in here."

"You don't want to do that, Heath," Phoenix said, when the vehicle began to slow down. "Leave the windows up, the doors locked and just keep moving forward."

"Shit! I would if I could see, man, but my vision has gone all wonky. It's like I'm in one of those carnival rooms where everything looks distorted."

"What the hell is happening to me?" Alex shouted. "I can't feel my arms!"

Without answering, Phoenix glanced over to Jaxon in the other Captain's chair. The guy was seriously trying to hold his shit together, rocking back and forth with his head in his hands, and Phoenix could tell if they didn't get to the witches lair soon, they wouldn't have to keep their secret anymore from the human, but they would have a whole hell of a lot of explaining to do to Mena. She would blame him for the death of her pack members and her wolf would blame him for the death of the cop.

The right tires slipped from the hard-packed dirt road, but Heath jerked the wheel and got the Suburban back on track right before almost hitting a huge tree that magically appeared out of nowhere. The momentum nearly caused the vehicle to hit the rock wall on the left side of the road.

"Stop the vehicle!" Phoenix said frantically, and then swore under his breath. "Whatever you do, don't open the door. Climb back here, Heath, and I'll drive the rest of the way. It's not much farther."

"Gladly," Heath said, then did as Phoenix told him to do.

Phoenix quickly climbed over the console and sat in the driver's seat, put the vehicle in Drive and stomped on the accelerator, before anything could attack the vehicle and mess up his plan.

Wrapping his fingers around the steering wheel, he tried to ignore the bugs crawling under his skin. It wasn't real; he knew it wasn't, but even saying that out loud wouldn't make the illusion stop. Slapping at his arms and then his face only made it worse, but it was one of those uncontrollable things, like coughing when you had a tickle in your throat; it just had to be done.

"Make it stop!" someone cried out from behind him, and there were other moans and groans coming from the others, but Phoenix's only focus was getting them to their destination unscathed. Maybe it wouldn't be tonight, but the witches were definitely going to get what was coming to them. He despised the fact that he needed them as much as he did, but finding the missing dagger and killing this werewolf with a chip on her shoulder were at the top of his to-do list; he could do that faster with the help of the three wicked sisters.

Sharp, bright white eyes reflected in the high-beams in the road up ahead, and he could tell it wasn't anything any of them wanted to mess with; predator, not prey.

"Uh, Phoenix… you see… that thing, right?" Roel said in between gasps of air.

If said
thing
had been anything normal, like, say, a bear or a rhino or even a saber toothed tiger, Phoenix could have handled it all on his own, but knowing Meridia, he knew it wasn't a normal animal. He had only two options, because stopping and getting out of the vehicle was not one of them; he could swerve off the road and pray there wasn't a drop-off or he could plow right through the thing and pray it was only a mirage. Either way, he was going to be doing a whole hell of a lot of praying tonight.

"Yeah," Phoenix said, and made his decision. "I see it." He pushed the accelerator to the floorboard.

Out of his periphery, he could see Roel cover his head with his arms, but Phoenix kept his eyes locked on the beast standing broadside in the road, looking at him, daring him to hit it.

At the last second, the eyes glowed red and he could have sworn the thing smiled. The Suburban drove through it as if it was nothing more than a hologram, dissipating in the wind.

A feminine chuckle floated through the cab, and Phoenix exhaled in relief.

"Thank God. Is everybody okay?" he said over his shoulder, no longer feeling the weight of the spell within him.

"Yeah," Brad said. "But please tell me there is another way home. I don't think I can go through that again unless you knock me out."

Phoenix chuckled as he stopped the SUV in front of a cabin. "It won't be like that when we leave." Slapping Roel on the shoulder, he said, "You can look now, Cub. We're here."

Roel slowly removed his locked limbs from around his head and looked around. "I—I wasn't worried."

"I'm not going to ask what the hell that was," Alex said. "I doubt I would get an honest answer anyway."

"You'll learn what you need to know when you need to know it, Rhodes. Be patient. Your mind will refuse to accept it if we tell you everything too fast," Phoenix said, and then he opened the door. The others followed suit, but Phoenix's gaze was drawn to Alex as he emerged from the vehicle last. The guy seemed to have more than two eyes as he took in everything around him; Phoenix could practically see him snapping mental images and filing them away somewhere in that Inspector Gadget head of his, so he could go back and comb through each detail later.
Once a cop, always a cop
, he thought, and then rolled his eyes as he started toward the cabin.

"You said we came here to see a woman named Meridia, but you mentioned
them
and
they
a few times since. Who are the others?" Alex asked.

"Her sisters," Phoenix replied, but didn't elaborate.

Phoenix stopped just before the first step leading up to the porch. "Wait," he said, throwing out his arm to keep Brad from making a huge mistake. "They like to play games, so be careful what you do and what you say. Look there." Pointing to the step, he waited until everyone present noticed the tiny holes in the wooden stair, and then he picked up the broom that was leaned against the rail and tossed it on the step. Six-inch spikes quickly shot up through each hole. "Just so you know, those are silver-coated."

"Holy shit!" Brad said. "I'm beginning to think they don't like company."

Phoenix skipped the spiked one and took the rest of the steps to the top. "Don't be silly. They're expecting us."

"Well, a warning would have been nice," Heath said, being careful to step in the same exact spots Phoenix had on the wood.

"You did have a warning: me. I wasn't so lucky the first and only other time I've been here."

Jaxon laughed menacingly. "At least you were fortunate enough for them to have been silver nails instead of flamethrowers hidden in the bushes or a pet werewolf as their guard dog. You know… something that could actually kill you."

"Pet werewolf?" Alex said, and chuckled. "You're kidding, right?"

Roel laughed as he slapped Alex on the back and gave his shoulder a light squeeze. "Of course he's kidding. Werewolves don't exist, Cop. The flamethrower would be pretty cool, though."

Phoenix gave Jaxon a hard look, but his second in command's expression was just as challenging as he stared back. Pressing his lips together, Phoenix turned and knocked on the door, avoiding the look of confusion on Alex's mug. Guess Jaxon was still a little perturbed about the whole boyfriend thing. Regardless, Jaxon knew better than to say anything like that in front of the human. If they didn't all play their cards right, the cop would find out too soon and bolt. That would ruin things for Mena's wolf with Rhodes and, in return, ruin things for him with Mena. But if there was one thing Phoenix was good at, it was getting even; Jaxon would pay dearly for that mistake. He would just have to deal with him later.