A Shift in the Water (27 page)

“Was he abusive?” Mara asked with a flutter in her stomach.

“No. Intimidating. He never
had
to hit me because I knew instinctively that his wolf was dominant, even before I shifted for the first time.”

“When was that?”

“I think I was thirteen. It happens around puberty. The first shift is terrifying. It feels like dying. Hell, it feels like dying every time, but at least after the first you know what to expect.”

“Why do you do it then?”

“We have to. Until you get control of the wolf inside you, there’s no fighting it. But once the wolf emerges, it’s an amazing feeling. At least when you’re free.” He smiled sadly and forced his slumped shoulders back. “You can run farther and faster than ever before. You can smell
everything
. See so much more. A wolf’s senses are better than a human’s. Even in this form.” Cade held Mara’s hand to his lips. “I can still smell chlorine in your pores, even after what? Three days?” She nodded and he kissed the inside of her wrist and the fleshy pad of her thumb. “A bit of marinara here. And me. I can smell my scent on you.” 

Mara pulled her hand away and looked down at her plate. She traced a pattern in the marinara sauce with her fork until Cade gave up his intense scrutiny of her and sat back, returning to his meal.

“Does it always hurt?”

“Yeah. You feel every bone break. The teeth are the worst. That pain shoots right through your skull.” Cade shivered and rubbed his jaw.

Mara polished off the last of her salad. “What about your mother?”

“I don’t really remember her. Too many holes yet. Her name was Rachel, and I know she died well before my father. But that’s it. Other than some vaguely warm feelings. I know I loved her.”

His last words were thick and strained and Mara reached out and draped her hand over his. “You’ll find her again. Your memories of her. I believe that.”

“I hope you’re right.” Cade’s eyes glistened in the lantern’s glow.

“My mom had a heart attack when I was sixteen,” Mara said quietly. “Right in front of me. One minute she was joking around and the next she was on the floor. She was gone before the paramedics got there. Dad basically drank himself to death five years ago. He couldn’t live without her.”

“Is that her photo on the mantle?” Cade asked.

“Yeah.”

“She was stunning.”

Mara brightened. “I always thought so. I used to hate that I didn’t look like her. She had the most beautiful skin, so dark and exotic. I hated my freckles and my red hair.”

“I think you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” Cade said. He looked up at her but then quickly returned his gaze to his plate.

Mara blushed a deep crimson. “You’re only saying that because you were stuck as your wolf for so long.”

“No. I’m not.” He finished the last bite of lasagna and leapt up to take his dish to the sink. Mara followed.

“Cade?” She reached out for him. The house was utterly silent. Not even a breath passed between them.

The bedroom door opened with a subtle click, breaking the magic of the moment. Livie staggered out with a yawn. “Oh thank God. There’s still lasagna left.” She halted at the threshold of the kitchen. “Shit. I interrupted something, didn’t I?”

“It’s okay,” Mara replied. It wasn’t. Not by a long shot, but she didn’t want to cross the fierce, blond wolf. Cade had assured her that she was safe from Livie, but the wolf’s eyes pierced Mara and watched her with a hint of something she didn’t like. “Can I get you something to drink? I don’t have much.”

“I went shopping. Sorry for taking over your fridge. Sort of anyway. But mama’s gotta eat every few hours. And boss-man looks like the walking dead.” Livie put away half a bag of carrots, two glasses of juice, and a slice of lasagna. “Okay. I’m going to shift in the bedroom and go patrol. Someone’s going to need to let me outside.”

“Are you sure?” Mara asked. “It’s awful out. The baby . . .”

Livie brushed off Mara’s concern. “He’s fine. I was running in the woods all night last night. It was awesome. Hey, you didn’t see Cade shift, did you?”

“No.”

“Want to watch?” She gave Mara a hard stare.

“Livie,” Cade growled at her. “Don’t.”

“What?” Mara turned to Cade. Why didn’t he want Livie to shift in front of her?

“She’s trying to scare you. It’s not a pleasant thing to watch if you don’t know what to expect. Stay here.” He reached for Mara’s arm, but she pulled away.

“No. I don’t scare easily. I’d like to see.” Mara challenged Livie with her stare. She understood what was happening. Livie didn’t really want her with Cade, probably because Mara wasn’t a wolf, and she was trying to see if she’d run away in the face of the reality of what he was. She wouldn’t. Whether or not they had a future, or even another few days together, Mara wouldn’t run.

With a quiet
huh,
Livie looked away and shrugged. “Come on then.”

In the guest room, Livie proceeded to pull off her oversized sweatshirt, step out of her jeans, and remove her bra and underwear. At Mara’s back, Cade glowered. She could
feel
his angry stare. Mara didn’t want Cade’s eyes on the naked woman, even if she was mated and quite obviously pregnant. Reddish ropes of scar tissue covered her entire left side, from her hip to her swollen belly, to her breast, her shoulder, arm, and neck. Because Livie had been clothed, Mara had almost forgotten about her injuries. Goddess. Her sister had done this.

Livie took a deep breath and sank to her knees. The shift started with her skin. It darkened from pale pink to gray and fur sprouted along her spine. Her slight body crunched and popped loudly. The blond angled bob of hair disappeared and her skull cracked under her skin, elongating into a lupine snout with glowing blue eyes and sharp glistening teeth. A mournful howl came from her throat. Her shoulders dislocated, arms shortening into legs, and sharp black nails extended from her fingers. Her breasts disappeared, but her belly remained, albeit covered in fur and hung tight against her massive, broad chest. Hips narrowed with a crunch, back legs filled out with wide muscles, and a tail grew from the base of her spine, covered with the same blond and gray fur that adorned the rest of her. Mara was mesmerized. When it was done, a large wolf sat in the middle of the floor, panting.

“That’s . . . beautiful,” Mara said in awe. Livie’s wolf cocked her head. Clearly Mara’s reaction surprised her.

“And the baby?” She turned to Cade. “Does the baby shift too?”

“No. He’s still human. Livie, is it okay? She can check on the pup.”

The wolf rose and padded over to Mara, and then dropped down on to her side and exposed her belly. A low growl in her throat warned that she wouldn’t be patient for long.

Mara laid a hand over the swollen belly. A kick stretched Livie’s pelt and bristled the fur. Livie made a happy sound and her tail thumped once on the wood floor. With practiced hands, Mara stroked over the writhing little bump. The baby was an active one. “He’s perfect. That was a little fist right there,” Mara said with a wide smile, pointing to a rather sudden protrusion against the fur. “Thank you. Really. If it would be okay, I’d like to see you shift back too at some point.”

Livie nodded her massive head and headed for the front door. Cade followed, let her out, and locked the door behind her with one last admonition to be careful and to scratch when she wanted to come back inside. “One of us will hear you.” Livie yipped once in agreement. Mara recognized the tone. It was the same as Cade’s wolf’s vocalization, but higher pitched.

“She was challenging me,” Mara said after he’d gotten her a glass of water and slumped next to her on the couch in front of the fire.

“That she was.”

“She doesn’t like me.” Mara tucked her legs underneath her and gazed into Cade’s eyes. They reflected the firelight.

“It’s not that. It’s not,” he said when she scoffed. “She doesn’t dislike you. She’s asserting her position to you since I—” He shook his head. “Can you trust me for a while? Until the rest of the pack gets here?”

A frown tugged at Mara’s lips.
You mean until you leave,
she thought, but kept her mouth shut, nodding instead. Regardless of what would happen when the rest of the werewolves arrived, she did trust him. 

Thirteen

Rainwater formed rivulets down the narrow streets. The inside of the van was warm, fueled by Katerina’s element. Bella sat in the back seat with her nose pressed to a crack in the window. She’d arrived from Phoenix four days ago and they’d spent three days scouring Orcas Island for the wolf. Even with the deluge that had plagued the island for days after Cade’s escape, Bella had been able to track the wolf a short distance from the beach. He’d hid next to a motel for a time but his scent hadn’t moved from a spot behind some low bushes. The motel was closed for the winter, but a few batted eyelashes and an elderly neighbor had told Katerina that there’d been a car parked at the motel that day and he’d seen a large dog climb in the back of it.

After some discussion, Katerina decided they would head to Bellingham. The wolf had gotten off the island and if he wanted to go somewhere familiar, he might have gone back to his home. Now, Jeremy drove, Katerina kept her eyes glued to the sidewalks, and Bella tried to find the wolf’s scent.

“I am tired,” Bella whispered, her nose pressed to the cracked window. “And there’s something about this place I do not like.”

Katerina grimaced. The air elemental was a fragile woman, haunted. They’d need to stop soon.

“Are we going to get a room for tonight?” Jeremy asked. His nasally voice grated along Katerina’s spine, but as he was doing all of the driving so she and Bella could look for the wolf, she couldn’t berate him.

“That depends, love. If we find the wolf, we have to dispatch him and then we can get a room. If we find his scent, then we have to keep tracking it or else we’ll lose it.” Katerina brushed Jeremy’s arm—one of those obligatory tender gestures he expected from her. She harbored very few tender feelings towards him since he let the wolf go, but he’d groveled at her feet for a week and given her so much of his element that the fire in her veins thrummed with power night and day. Pretending to be affectionate was the least she could do.

“Pull over!” Bella exclaimed.

Jeremy did as ordered and the waifish air elemental sprang out of the van and ran through the rain with her nose leading the way. She got to the end of a long block and turned left. Katerina and Jeremy followed in the vehicle. They were in downtown Bellingham now, less than a mile from the apartment building the wolves had lived in. Bella stopped in front of a building with a large window and a carved wooden sign out front.
Bellingham Woodworking.

Katerina rolled down her window. “That’s his shop, Bel. He hasn’t been there since May.”

Bella shook her head. Her white-blond hair was plastered to her head and rain trailed down her cheeks. “No. He was here in the past twenty-four hours. He’s not here now, but his scent is overwhelming. And there’s something else too.”

“What?”

“Water. He had a water elemental with him.”

With Jeremy holding an umbrella to keep her out of the rain, Katerina melted the lock on the back door and the three elementals pushed their way inside. Bella inhaled deeply. “Two of them. Two wolves. One water soul. Look there.” She pointed at an area near the long workbench. A puddle of water remained. Bella stooped down and touched the water, then brought her fingers to her lips. “Metallic. Almost like blood. There’s something not right with this water soul, but she is definitely an elemental. Only . . . somehow wrong. Her element tastes burnt. Have you ever heard of one of us who could manipulate both water and fire?”

“It’s impossible,” Katerina replied. “One element is always dominant. No one has ever been known to be able to work with both.”

Bella walked through the shop, sniffing as she went. “Well, the elemental didn’t move much from that area there, but the female wolf spent a significant amount of time in this back room.”

A gasp escaped Bella’s pale lips. She stumbled and crashed into a workbench in the corner of the room.