A Shift in the Water (44 page)

The pack arranged themselves around the tree. Presents were passed out. Books. Tools. And for Mara, an unexpected surprise. She unfurled a rolled piece of paper to reveal plans for a backyard pool. It spanned her yard and the pack’s, was covered in a greenhouse-type structure, and would allow her to swim year-round. She hugged the plans to her chest and hoped she wouldn’t cry.

When most of the pack’s gifts had been distributed, Mara directed Peter to hand out the gifts she’d gotten for everyone.

Livie squealed when she opened the box with the orange massage oil and a gift certificate for a date night, complete with babysitting, after the pup was born. Shawn got a new ledger in rich leather and a fountain pen. Liam toasted Mara with a mug of Irish coffee after he unwrapped the bottle of Jameson Whiskey. Peter immediately tugged on the thick work gloves and Christine hugged her hardbound copy of
Herbalist
to her chest.

It was Cade’s turn to receive his gift. Mara cleared her throat. “That red box is for Cade.” She eased the coffee mug from his hand so he could accept the present that Liam set on Cade’s thighs. He inhaled deeply and grinned as he drew the buttery leather jacket out of the box. “It’s beautiful, honey.” He ran his fingers over the leather until he came to the bulging pocket. “What’s this?”

In his palm rested a large, teardrop-shaped piece of glass. Blue swirls tangled inside, moving as if they were alive. They brightened as the piece of glass warmed against his skin.

“I told you I hear music . . . sort of . . . when I use my element.”

“Yes.”

“There’s an artist down in Fremont who turns sound waves into art. You pick the melody you want and he’ll run the frequency through sand while he shoots the vessel with a massive jolt of electricity. It creates a unique pattern, a one-of-a-kind design. I pulled a little water from the air in his shop and found a note. This”—she touched a finger to the glass—“is me.”

Cade grabbed her in a hug so fierce she wasn’t sure she could breathe. “I love it,” he said, his voice a hoarse whisper. “I love
you
.”

“I know.”

Through the entire courtship, all of Cade’s ministrations to nurse her back to health, and even their mating on the full moon, there had been one thing that had never happened.

Mara had never told Cade that she loved him.

He was going crazy not knowing. She’d repeatedly told him that she wanted him here—wanted to be his mate,
was
his mate, but she’d never uttered those three little words he longed for. Wolves didn’t mate for love. They mated on instinct. But Cade had fallen madly in love with his water elemental and he ached to hear her utter the words back to him.

He ran his scarred fingers over the piece of glass. She’d given him a piece of herself. What more could he ask for?

Cade looked at his beta. Liam sat apart from the rest of them. He always had problems with the holiday season. Cait had died right after Christmas.

Livie whispered to Shawn and the young wolf picked up a small green box and handed it to Cade. His stomach tied into knots. She wasn’t ready for what was in that box.

“What’s this?” Mara asked, a shy smile on her lips.

“Open it.” He wasn’t proud of how unsteady his voice was.

Pale fingers loosed the ribbon and lifted the lid. Inside, he’d tucked the burled wooden box he’d made right before he’d been taken. “Oh! It’s lovely,” Mara breathed. “You made this.”

“Yeah.” He hunched his shoulders. She’d open it next.

“Cade?” The top of the box rested in her lap. She held his mother’s ring, a silver band with an emerald tucked in the swirl of metal.

“It was my mother’s.”

“It’s beautiful.” Her eyes matched the emerald in the ring, especially now when they were dark and confused. Her lower lip tucked between her teeth. The entire pack held their breath. He’d told Liam the other day in a rare moment of vulnerability, that he needed her to return his declaration of love. The pack knew his intentions.

He dropped down to one knee and Mara started to cry.
No. I can’t.
He sprang up again and fled from the room.

“Cade!” Mara called for him, but he couldn’t turn back. He shut himself in their bedroom. God, he’d been so stupid. He shouldn’t have risked the ring yet. She’d been so focused on healing, they hadn’t had a lot of deep discussions about their future beyond her telling him that she’d accepted him, that she’d been ready to petition the pack before the full moon. He sat on the bed, staring out the window.

The door whispered open and shut again.

“Do you want this back?”

Cade turned. The ring was in her upturned palm.

“I’m sorry, honey. I shouldn’t have . . . I thought . . .”

“Do you want it back?” She held out her hand and her lower lip quivered. “Because if you intended it like I think you did, I would have said yes.”

“What?”

“I love you. I know I haven’t said it before. I don’t know why. I was sick, and you were so worried. And then when I started to feel better, it was like this
thing
between us. This huge chasm I couldn’t breech. We so rarely had time to ourselves—which I don’t regret, don’t think that—and I didn’t know how to fix it. I was going to tell you today. When I gave you the glass. You didn’t see the note in the pocket.” Mara handed him a folded slip of paper.

For the man—the werewolf—I love.

“You were crying. You’re not a crier.”
Shut up, idiot. She told you she loved you. Why aren’t you holding her? Slipping that ring on her finger and taking her?

“No, I’m not. But this is a special occasion. Or I thought it was. Was I wrong?” She clutched the ring tightly in her hand. The air in the room was humid and heavy, filled with Mara’s unique scent.

“No. You weren’t. We’re mated. I’m yours for the rest of my life, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t . . . make things legal someday. It doesn’t have to be now. Hell, I don’t care if it’s a year. Two. But will you marry me?”

Mara held out her hand—her left hand—and allowed him pluck the ring from her palm. She grinned, her green eyes shining, and flipped her palm, spreading her fingers.

“Yes,” she said with a grin. “I love you. But Livie’s gonna make us wait, you know. Until the pup’s born. She already has a dress and she’s not going to fit into it for at least another few months.”

“You knew.” Cade slipped the ring onto her finger. It fit.

“I might have. She’s not the best at secrets.”

“Dammit. I’m gonna kill her.”

Mara laughed when he scooped her up in his arms and held her close. “No, you won’t. You love her. You love all of them. And so do I.”

“But not like you love me, right?”

Her hands tangled in his hair and she brought her lips to his. “No. I’ve never loved anyone like I love you.”

That was all he needed to hear. For the first time in a very long time, Cade and his wolf were at peace.

A Shift in the Air

A preview of the next book in the ELEMENTAL SHIFTERS series

Liam O’Sullivan balanced on a girder fifty feet in the air. The day was clear and cold. April in Seattle was a lesson in dichotomy. Endless stretches of gray, wet, cold days bookended by brilliantly sunny outliers that left residents scrambling to find long-misplaced sunglasses. Today was one of the latter days. Highs in the mid-forties, but almost blindingly bright and sunny.

His construction company, O’Sullivan and Shea, was building a new condo complex outside of Pioneer Square in Seattle. In the past four months, he’d filed for his permits, accepted three jobs, and hired a dozen men and women to work for him. He and Peter Shea ran things, but they weren’t above getting their hands dirty either. Today, Peter was in the office working on their account receivables while Liam was high in the sky supervising the last of the roof joists. He twirled a hammer in his long, calloused fingers, waiting for one of his crew, a tiny man named Rick, to retrieve his belt bag of nails. Why the bloody hell Rick left his bag on the first story he had no idea.

The harness that held him to the support girder swung in the gentle breeze. He liked this town. To the west, Puget Sound sparkled. He rubbed a sore spot on the back of his right shoulder. He’d been up late last night plumbing one of the bathrooms in the house he shared with most of the rest of his pack of werewolves and getting under the old sink had been a tight fit.

His alpha, Cade Bowman, had been captured and tortured by a fire elemental who blamed him for the death of her mother. It hadn’t been Cade’s fault, but Katerina was delusional. She’d trapped him as his wolf for seven months until he’d escaped and climbed into the back of a car. Now, he was mated to the owner of that car, a water elemental named Mara.

Cade and Mara lived next door to the rest of the pack. Cade had his woodworking shop down the street and consulted on some of Liam’s jobs. For these condos, Cade was going to design an art piece for the lobby.

Fig blossoms.

The scent reached Liam high in the air. God. He hadn’t smelled fig blossoms in ten years. Not since Cait.

The blond-haired beauty had been the love of his life. He’d thought to mate with her, but though he’d loved her, they’d only been in close physical proximity for a few days. He’d met her when he’d still lived in Ireland. She’d been working in a pub part-time while going to school and he’d found her bright blue eyes intoxicating. They’d spent the entire night together talking, but sweet Cait had been too shy to make love to him. Three glorious days they’d spent together, until Liam had to leave for a long trip with his family. Three days later, she’d gone up to the Cliffs of Moher and thrown herself into the sea.

A tear burned in Liam’s eye. He’d been thinking of Cait too often these days. Being around Mara brought up her memories. And now, fig blossoms. Liam crouched down and rubbed his eyes. He tugged his long red hair free from the band that kept it out of his eyes and stared out over the street below. A lone woman stood on the sidewalk, looking up at him.

Liam narrowed his eyes. She was petite, with curvy, luscious hips and a round bosom. Her black hair was cut in a short, spiked style and his wolfish vision picked out a stud in her nose and a ring piercing her eyebrow. Her nails were painted a bright purple. She wore a military-style green peacoat, heavy black boots, and ripped jeans. Her black sweater dipped slightly, exposing the creamy skin of her throat.

The wind whipped up, tangling his hair over his eyes. He reached up and tied it back, searching her out again. There was something about her. Something familiar.

The scent of fig blossoms wafted over him again. The voice, when it came, was soft and light, and the sweetest sound he’d ever heard. “Liam.”

“Cait. My Cait.”

He scrambled back towards the ladder, fumbling for the release of his harness. He had to reach her. Had to touch her. Caitlin Roarke. His love. He flew down the rungs two and three at a time, passing Rick, who was on his way up. Liam ignored the young man’s questions. The only thought in his head was reaching the woman he’d long thought dead.

“Cait!” He called out for her, desperate, but when he reached the spot where she’d stood, he was alone. Alone with the scent of fig blossoms.

Dear Reader,

I hope you enjoyed reading about Cade and Mara’s battle for their lives. Every character is special to me, but these two get me right in the heart every time.

If you enjoyed this book, I would really appreciate it if you could post a review on your purchase site of choice. If you do, please email me at [email protected] so I can personally thank you. I hope you’ll also consider recommending this book to your friends and book clubs.

The next book in the Elemental Shifter series is A Shift in the Air. I hope you enjoy reading more about Liam, as well as Mara and Cade. And you’ll get to see Livie as a mom.

For a special bonus scene from A Shift in the Water, email
[email protected]
with the subject line Bowman.

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