Wyrd Calling (Wyrd Bound Book 1) (7 page)

I had to fight to stop myself from hopping from foot to foot as I stood for a moment and looked around the store. I had to decide how I was going about it. I had, of course, brought my largest bag with me. A shiny thing caught my eye, and I made myself walk slowly and calmly over to a collection of pearl bracelets. They weren't really my style, but I couldn't help running my fingers over the smooth pearls and watching the way the light moved over them like a pale cream oil slick, various shades shifting and moving. I was captivated; for a moment, anyway. Then it was gone, on to the next thing. A pitch-black silk top quickly grabbed me; it shone deep blue in the light, reminding me of the feathers I desperately wanted to shift. I felt my eyes changing and the familiar painful itch of a couple of feathers down my spine as I looked the top over. I took a deep breath and settled myself. No shifting, especially in public. The top had thin straps and draped itself over the wearer's body, showing every curve without clinging too tightly. I had to have it. So I did.
 

Part of me felt a little sorry for the store, but that part didn't shout very loudly. I was careful not to take too much, and the shinies helped me. I'd stolen enough things over a long enough period that I didn't worry about being caught, and even if I did, I'd talk my way out of it. I was careful, but far from worried. The jaguar leapt forward for a moment when I caught the scent of a perfume. It was even called Felis. It smelt slightly musky, with a jasmine note buried deep in the heart and a sweet vanilla touch in the opening. That one almost got me in some trouble. A man looked at me just as I finished slipping it into my bag. I smiled at him and looked down and away coyly before slipping away. As much as I wanted to explore more shinies, there was no point in taking a foolish risk. I reminded myself that I had plenty of new things to admire and the final thrill would still be deeply satisfying. A calm sense of peace washed over me, taking away my stresses and worries about the pack and the situation. The raven was happy.
 

My heart skipped a beat and a grin tore at the corners of my mouth when I walked out of the store. That familiar shiver of excitement skittered down my spine as I tried not to laugh with glee at the pleasure and thrill the experience brought me. It was addictive, but I knew better than to give in to those cravings, those desires. Those needs. I took a deep breath and smiled to myself. Everything was looking up. That was, until I turned to head to my car and
she
stopped me. I pouted and crossed my arms about to make a quip before I reminded myself that I was in public. The tall blonde in her white pencil skirt and tailored white blouse smiled at me innocently.
 

"You shouldn't do that you know..."

I wasn't entirely sure if she meant pout or steal, and I didn't bother asking. She grinned and pulled me into a tight hug. I resisted the strong urge to bite her neck and made a show of hugging her back and smiling. I had to think about those around us, after all, and she damn well knew it. I cursed her under my breath. I swear her smile got bigger.
 

"I've missed you, Thalia. Here, I have a little something for you."

She handed me a crisp white envelope and a pearlescent box. "Open them when you get home, I'm sure you'll enjoy them. I am sorry, though, but I must dash, see you soon!"

I nodded and ran my fingers over the envelope subconsciously as I said, "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll catch up soon, take care!"

The false cheer and familiarity sounded tinny in my ears. It almost pained me to have to act friendly with her. She was my least favourite and the most bitchy of the Sisters, which made things much worse. She turned on her stiletto heels and walked away. I cursed her under my breath again, just for good measure. I couldn't help being curious about the box. They hadn't handed me anything like that before. My focus quickly shifted from her and her clacking stilettos and curve-hugging outfit to the box. All three aspects were hopping around, desperate to open it, but I restrained myself. I kept running my fingers over the firm, smooth, almost marble texture of the box as I walked back to my car where I carefully placed both on the passenger seat. The box occupied my mind, but the familiar internal grumbling still resonated when I reminded myself that there was an envelope as well, which meant there was a task.
 

Back when I first began my dealings with the Wyrd Sisters, when everything was new, shiny, and saving the world, I called them missions. Over time, over lives, my views on the entire thing degraded. At that point they were just tasks. My mind kept skipping around while I drove. I wondered what was in the box and went back and forth over whether it would be a good thing or a bad thing. I found my fingers kept slipping back over its smooth surface while I was driving, before I had to snatch the steering wheel and make it around a corner. I didn't stay on my side of the road for the entire journey, but I didn't hit anyone either, so I considered it a success, overall. I parked back in what I'd claimed as my spot on the driveway in front of the house. I tried to remind myself that it was home, but that word and concept refused to sit right with me. It was the house, the place where my comfortable bed was.
 

I allowed myself a little time to find peace and calm. This was going to be a big moment, whether I wanted it to be or not. I had no choice but to accept who and what I was, my role in things. I wasn’t even close to ready, but I had to try. I closed my eyes for a brief moment and allowed the wolf forward. It wasn't often that I had the wolf at the front, but given the males were all canine of one shade or another and I had to pull them together for the task, it had to be done. My life had changed, again. I had to do my best to accept that, to embrace it and to make the most of what I had. I found myself holding my head higher. My back stiffened, and my lips pulled back from my teeth a little. I was as ready as I could be.

 
I slipped the box into my bag. There was no reason to allow the cubs near
my
box. I walked slowly over to the front door, keeping my ears pricked just in case. I tried not to snarl when Dan met me at the door. He’d startled me, but it wasn't his fault. There was no use reprimanding simple things. He didn't do anything wrong. He stepped back and held the door for me as I walked in. His dark blue eyes shifted slightly, showing amber in response to my own wolf. I gave him a toothy smile and kept the eye-contact for a moment before walking into the living room. It was my moment, but I didn’t want to claim it.

Alex lifted his chin and looked down at me. "Where did you go? You know we can’t afford to take risks."

He couldn't keep the slight worry from his voice, poor thing. I shrugged and held out the envelope. It was none of his business where I chose to roam. I could have taken centre stage and made a big thing of it, but that would mean truly acknowledging things, taking the blame for what was to come. I wasn’t going to do that.

"I bumped into one of the Sisters. It looks like we've been given the first task."

Alex closed his eyes and squeezed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger while his coyote aspect rippled through his energies. He opened his eyes showing pale green mixed in with the usual ice blue. He couldn't help responding to my own wolf side. It was interesting that he settled into his coyote aspect, though. That was a change from the old days.
 

"Have you opened it?"

The cubs were starting to crowd around us. Their tails were practically wagging with anticipation. I bared my teeth at Nik and Ryan. They lowered their eyes and took a step back. They needed to learn respect. Alex slipped his finger under the flap of the envelope and opened it without any damage. He was always so meticulous, a perfectionist. It contained a single piece of heavy white paper with pitch-black script-type writing on it. How very
them
.

Alex cleared his throat and said, "We're leaving for Overdark in three days. There's been a spate of murders there. We're putting a stop to them. It’s not quite like the old days, but hopefully it’ll be an easy start, given our situation."

I looked at the cubs. That meant I had three days to form some semblance of a bond with them. Fantastic. At least it was just stopping a murder. There were worse things for a disjointed, untrained pack. They were grinning and bouncing around.
 

Nik said, "Do we solve murders? We weren’t actually told quite what we do. I was under the impression we did something… else. Who are the targets?"

Alex simply said, "Sirens. We'll know more when we get there."

His lips were pulled tight, and the tension was clear through his shoulders. He was handling it worse than I was. The cubs were practically bubbling over with questions as they grinned at each other. Alex and I left them to their bouncing and retired to our room. We needed quiet time to figure things out.
 

8

I dropped my bag on my bed and sat down on the corner while Alex paced around the room. He’d shifted his full reddish-tan and grey coyote ears. They were fully pricked and looked slightly off poking out the top of his thick black hair. Black claws protruded from his fingertips as he paced. I raised an eyebrow and watched him as my own wolf claws extended and ears shifted in response. I hadn't seen him lose control before. That was what he had been known for: his complete, absolute control. It was another reminder of how much had changed, of what I'd lost. The passage of time was a bitch. After a couple of minutes, he took a deep breath and sat on the floor with his legs stretched out before him, leaning back on his hands. His usually ice-blue eyes still maintained the pale green hints, and his ears stood alert and pointed directly at me.
 

He opened with, "So, where were you?"

I pulled my lips back baring my extended canines at him as I dug my fingers down into the bedding.
 

"Do not start that, Alex."

He looked from my bag back to me again.
 

"We don't have time to be dealing with law enforcement. We can't afford for you to slip up. You can’t just think about yourself now."

His cool, calm tone was in direct contrast with his hard glare and tightened muscles. I was far from happy about his accusations and implications. How dare he put this on me! It was hardly my fault the damn Sister showed up and handed me the task. She would have appeared before long anyway. He knew that. He maintained the hard eye contact for a couple more minutes before he finally looked away with a sigh.
 

"We have three days to pull this pack into shape, and you've shown no sign of even attempting integration. You know how a pack should work, you know the trust and bonds we need in place."

My eyes began roaming down his neck and paused on his throat before they travelled down his torso. I licked my teeth and considered that given his position in comparison to mine, I could pounce on him and sink my teeth into his neck before he could stand.
 

I growled quietly, "I was pulled from my life and dropped into this shit. Do not blame me. Do not go there."

He gave a small nod and made a show of relaxing his shoulders and easing the eye-contact. I reciprocated. We didn't have time to fight amongst ourselves, but the fact remained that I had not had the time I needed to do what I needed to do. The Wyrd Sisters were screwing us over, again.
 

"We have to be a united front, as alphas, so that we can pull this pack together." I gritted my teeth and flexed my fingers as I said it.

He simply nodded and said, "Of course."

I sighed and lay back on the bed, trying to remove the images of blood and pain from my mind. "And how are we going to do it?"

I heard him stand before he said, "We have a large garden. We'll let off some steam. The tension in this house is grating on everyone and making things much worse."

I looked up at him. "What exactly are you suggesting here...?"

My mind flitted between a wide range of options. The corner of his mouth lifted in something of a smile.
 

"We all shift and see what happens. Worst case scenario, a fight breaks out; then, we can put them in their place."

I didn't feel fantastic about the plan, but what choice did we have? Shifting together and remaining the enclosed, private space would allow everyone to vent. The cubs would feel some freedom, and thus reward from us for good behaviour, not that I felt they deserved it. The act of the shift is intimate, so it would show trust and allow the foundations of bonds to form. I ran it all through my mind, trying to poke holes in it. I failed. Shifting it was, then.
 

I couldn't remember the last time I'd felt the exhilaration and freedom of the shift. Having led the life I had, I hadn't dared risk it in many years. I found myself grinning with my jaw elongating. I pulled myself back under control and mentally put the wolf back on its lead. Alex appeared to be going through a similar experience as I watched his facial structure begin to change before it returned to the usual human state. He went to offer me his hand to help me stand, but quickly thought better of it and walked out of the room. I frowned and pushed back the memories and flood of emotions before allowing the wolf more control again. I reminded myself that there would be a time to confront those memories, and that wasn't it. I fought the wolf on the short walk to the door, restraining the shift and reminding myself that there would be no hunting. By the time I'd reached the kitchen, I had settled my breathing and pulled my energies down tight around me; there was never a good moment to lose control.
 

Alex smiled at me and tilted his head just a little. I returned the smile and looked at the three cubs who stood looking between us with a mix of confusion and expectation. "Tonight, boys, we enjoy our wolf forms. In the garden only!"

They had not learned quite such control. They burst into yips and howls of joy. I shook my head and reminded myself that there were no neighbours and, well, it was a fantastic moment. They ran out into the garden and wasted no time in shifting, Alex and I followed closely behind them watching their antics before we finally shifted ourselves. I was glad that the garden, as I referred to it, was a few acres in size, which gave us plenty of room to run and play.