Change (The Shape Shifter Series) (13 page)

“But that's not enough,”
Sofia's voice said flatly in his mind.
“I've got to get him out of here. Do Daniel and Gavin know?”

“
No. They're way too busy chasing females. They wouldn't know if the whole island exploded.”

“
Good,”
Sofia said thoughtfully.
“Ask Daniel to come to me.”

“
I don't think I can. We're prisoners,”
Tiamhaidh objected.

“
Find a way!”
Sofia shouted.
“And make sure Gavin doesn't know. Keep him busy.”

Tiamhaidh paled. He knew he was not in a position to negotiate, but Sofia wanted something impossible. There was no way he could ask Daniel and Gavin to do anything. Not from
there. His hands were tied, and besides, he was way too busy trying to keep Marie safe. And yet he sighed,
“I'll do my best.”

“
No. That's not good enough. Don't tell me what you can't do. Just do what I ask.”

“
But―”

“
No. You allowed me to bring my family here with both eyes closed. You could've come to me and filled me in with all the minor details that you so conveniently happened to forget to mention, and everything would be different now. If I had known about Gunward and his alliance with the elders, I would have left David at home. And not only that, I would've made something else up, something that wouldn't jeopardize my loved ones.”
 

Tiamhaidh felt choked. He had deserved her lecture, yet he still didn't know what to do. He knew she wouldn’t listen to any excuses. He also knew that what she asked of him was a small thing compared to what he’d done. He looked at Marie.

“Is everything okay?” she asked in concern.

He shrugged. What could he say? Things were far from okay and he had no idea how to fix them.

Finally, Sofia huffed,
“Use your brain, brathair. I know you're not all muscles and good looks. You have fans in Senja. Use them, but please hurry.”

“
Yes, mathair,”
he said, humbly.
“I'll see that Daniel comes as soon as possible.”

“
Good.”

Tiamhaidh looked at Marie. She was pale and looked dead
tired. She stared at him as if she knew what was going on in his mind. His brain was working hard. What could he do? How could he get word out to Daniel? They were trapped there and it would take days before anyone missed them. Bright laughter filled the main cave and he grinned. Thank you! He said a quick prayer. The laughter came closer. Isabel. That's it. He could trick her to go to Daniel. She wasn't stupid, but she was gullible. And he could boost her
ego by flattering her and offering her something she had always wanted. A man.

“Yes,” Marie whispered quietly. She had heard Isabel's voice, too, and whatever Tiamhaidh had in mind she would help him.
They both knew this was cruel and that Isabel would hate Marie even more after this, but what choice did they have? After all, Isabel meant nothing to them and they just couldn't let an opportunity this good slip away. She said nothing but took a pin out of her hair and gave it to Tiamhaidh. Then she took off one of her earrings and gave him that, too.

He nodded. Clever girl. They didn't need to explain anything to each other. They understood without a word and what he knew, she knew, too. He kissed her and got up and walked boldly to Isabel, smiling. “I didn't know you're one of the elders,” he said.

“I'm not,” she said dryly, “but I'm very useful to them.”

“I see,” he said almost approvingly. “I always knew you were clever, but this is too much, even from you.”

She smiled at him, confused. She didn't know what game he was playing, so she decided to play along.

Tiamhaidh took her hand and petted it. “Power is the most exciting thing I know, so I kind of understand you, and you know, if I liked bad girls, I might consider other options.” He glanced meaningfully at Marie.

Isabel’s eyes flashed and she drilled her gaze into him. He didn't blink. She looked at Marie, who sat on the bed looking beaten and exhausted. Slowly, she let her gaze slide back to Tiamhaidh and licked her lips.

He couldn't breathe. He could hear Marie repeating,
“Take the hook, take the hook,”
in his mind and he was sure Isabel could hear it, too.

Isabel glanced around nervously, and when she was sure no one
was watching, she
moved closer and put a finger on his lips. “Really? And what about her?”

“I said if, didn't I
?” Tiamhaidh grabbed her finger and moved it away. “Too bad I'm not like Daniel.”

Isabel's jaw tightened and her eyes gleamed expectantly. “What do you mean?”

“I'm just saying that Daniel isn't as nice a guy as he pretends to be. He's into bad girls. And I mean really bad girls.”

Isabel bit her lip and Tiamhaidh leaned closer.

“Daniel?” She sounded unsure.

He nodded and put his hands on her hips. She shivered and he started to make slow circles with his fingers. She sighed, pleased, and pushed her hips seductively closer to him. He touched her ear with his lips and as she bent her head, giving him an open invitation, he hid Marie's pin in her pocket. He knew Isabel would probably find it and be furious. She wouldn't be able to miss the opportunity to find out about Daniel, though, so she'd probably just throw the pin away. He nipped her ear with his teeth, and when she closed her eyes he used the opportunity to hook Marie’s earring onto her jacket. Now they could only hope Daniel would see it and figure out that something was wrong.

“You should go to him,” he whispered and pushed her away.

Isabel sighed disappointedly and opened her eyes. “Yes. Yes I should.” She licked her lips lustfully and Tiamhaidh wanted to puke. The look in her eyes was misty and full of anxiety. She glanced at Marie and sneered. “Too bad you prefer schoolgirls.”

“And not a word to Gavin, okay?”

Isabel looked suspicious. “Why? He's not his brother's guardian, is he?”

“No, but he's the nice one, and we don't want a word drifting into Sofia's ears, do we?”

She laughed huskily and turned. “No, we definitely don't want that.” She walked away with her hips swaying and was almost out of the cave when she stopped. “And, Tiamhaidh.”

He held his breath.

“Thanks for the tip.”

He exhaled heavily. “No problem.”

Isabel waved her hand and disappeared. Tiamhaidh, relieved, marched back to Marie and smiled. “That was easy. Like taking a candy from a child.”

Marie nodded and tried to keep her eyes open. “Do you think she’ll figure out our plot?”

“Nah, she's way too horny. That was a brilliant idea to put your stuff all over her.
When Daniel smells you on her he’ll get suspicious.”

“And when he can't find us, he’ll go to Sofia,” Marie said wearily and sighed. “I truly hope it works.”

“It has to,” Tiamhaidh grunted. “It's the best shot we have right now and we have to believe Sofia will come with her cavalry, and God help the elders when she does.”

Marie mumbled something and closed her eyes. “I think I should try to sleep. I don't feel good.”

“Sorry.” Tiamhaidh covered her with a blanket. “You've been through a lot today. Sleep, and when you wake up everything will be better.”

“I hope so,” she whispered just before she passed out.

Adam had the strangest dream he’d ever had. Sofia's face haunted him and she was repeating the same numbers over and over again. Finally, he woke up soaked in sweat. He looked at Clarissa, who was sleeping peacefully in his arms. He didn't want to wake her, so he moved away carefully and paused. Nothing. She was still asleep. He got up and pulled on his black jeans. Before he opened the door
he glanced at Clarissa one more time. The floor creaked under his feet and he cursed quietly. He was sure the noise had woken her up, but as she said nothing he left the room.

He slumped on a lounger and rubbed his longish black hair. Damn Sofia. He was still confused about the dream and he had the biggest headache of all time. He could
clearly remember some numbers - 47 555 9090 11 - but so what? He didn't know what they meant, and besides, it was just a dream. He yawned. The moon was full and the forest by the house was full of shadows. Perfect weather for hunting. He stood up, grinning.

“Adam?” Clarissa said behind him. “Going somewhere?”

He let himself fall onto the lounger again. “Nope. Why would you think that?”

“Just a thought,” she grinned and climbed onto his lap. “I had the weirdest dream.”

“Want to share it?” He tried to sound ignorant but his nerves were alert.

“I dreamt about Mom and she was in trouble,” Clarissa said worriedly. “She kept saying these numbers to me over and over again, and the weirdest thing was she didn't want me to contact her mentally.”

“Well, that is weird,” Adam said slowly, “as I, too, dreamed about her.”

They looked at each other and said simultaneously, “47 555 9090 11.”

“Oh my God!” yelled Clarissa. “She’s in trouble! What are we going to do! Oh, Adam, we have to help them!”

“First, stop panicking and start to think,” said Adam as he pressed her back into the chair. “You're the smart one, so do you have any idea what those numbers mean?”

“Yes! Yes, I do.” Her voice was full of excitement. “It's a phone number. I'm sure of it! The first numbers are the land code to Norway and the others are the actual phone number.”

Adam grinned. “I knew there was a reason I love you. Now bring me your cell.”

She jumped up and ran to her jeans, where she fished out a small pink phone and gave it to Adam.

He grunted and started to dial the numbers.

“Is it ringing?” she whispered.  He waved her away.

“Adam?” Sofia's voice asked sharply.

“Mathair.”

Sofia sighed. “Is Clarissa there?”

“Yes. You want to talk to her?” Adam asked, unwilling to give the phone away.

“No,” she said and he sighed, relieved. “Just make sure that under no circumstances does she contact me with her mind. Do you understand? No mind contact!”

“Okay. No problem.” He tried to sound cool, but Sofia's words sent shivers down his spine.

“Good. I need you to wake up everyone and come here as soon as possible. If you leave now you'll be able to catch the first morning flight to Tromsø.”

“O-k-a-y.” He was becoming more afraid. What could be so bad that Sofia wanted all of them to come? A thought struck him. “Clarissa, too?”

“Yes,” Sofia sighed. “Clarissa, too. I need my pack here. The whole pack, but please no more questions. You have to hurry. And, Adam, make sure the others also understand that all mind contact is strictly forbidden. No one contacts me or communicates with the others with their mind.”

“Sure thing. We'll be there, if not tomorrow then the day after.”

“Thank you,” Sofia whispered and hung up.

Adam stared at the phone. If Sofia was in any kind of trouble … if they dared to hurt his family… He couldn't think any more. Sofia's family was the only real family he had ever had, and no one, not even the elders, would hurt them. Cold rage filled his mind and he felt himself turning back into the lethal predator that he used to be. His eyes were like black death and his face was hard. He took a deep breath. He needed to calm down, as he would be no use to her if he freaked out now. Sofia needed him and he couldn't afford to slip. He swallowed. Now was not the time, he reminded himself. He could worry on the plane, but now he should start waking up the others and try to find the first flight to Norway.

“Adam, you're scaring me,” Clarissa whispered and touched his arm. “Tell me what's wrong.”

He looked at her and his face softened a bit. He still couldn't believe that Clarissa loved him. He was a street mutt and she was a princess. So beautiful, so sweet. And yet she wasn't any fragile human. She was a shape shifter like him and she was part of the pack. He’d prefer to keep her away from this, but he couldn't. Sofia had said she needed all of the pack and he had to trust that Clarissa was ready. He sighed. “Go wake the others, but don't even think of Sofia. Just tell them that Sofia is in danger and that any mental contact between any of us is strictly forbidden, okay? Can you do that for me?” Clarissa nodded and opened her mouth to speak, but Adam stopped her. “No. We don't have time for questions. I'll explain everything later, okay?” He kissed her softly on the lips.

“Okay,” she breathed and then she was gone.

Adam opened his laptop and started to search for a flight. He found one that flew through Oslo to Tromsø and he booked that one. They would arrive at 3.30 a.m., so Sofia would have to stand against whatever enemy there was for almost two days, but that was the best he could find. After printing the tickets he ran to the closet and started to pack his backpack.

Clarissa rushed in, breathing heavily. “Done. They'll be ready in fifteen minutes.”