Authors: Lucy Kelly
“Hi, Laura, did you need something?” said the small head suddenly sticking out around the edge of the door.
“Um…a glass of milk and an apple? I mean that’s what I came into the kitchen for,” she said.
“I’ll get right on that. I’ll make you a tray and bring it to you,” said the small person as she leaped out of the fireplace and onto the floor.
“You live in the fireplace?” she asked.
“Yes, the hearth is the heart of the home. Kobold always live in the hearth,” she said in a deeper voice than Laura had expected in such a small being.
“Thank you for all your hard work on the house. It truly is beautiful. I’m thrilled that you decided to stay,” said Laura, wanting to make sure Lola knew she was wanted and appreciated. At least she thought this must be Lola. She was only about three and a half feet tall and very thin. She seemed to appreciate the wheelchair height counters. All of the tools that made working around a kitchen easier for a handicapped person also helped the diminutive Lola. Her Kobold heritage was obvious with her pale skin, dark blonde hair, and slim childlike features. Her blue eyes stood out and were very pretty. The clothing she wore was plain and serviceable.
Happy that Lola was happy she turned to leave. “I’ll be in the office with Mara,” she said.
Lola smiled, “I’ll have your snack in two shakes,” she said as she bustled back and forth.
Laura thanked her and sped off down the hall. She hoped Mara agreed with her own choice for a therapist. When she got to the office, Mara was already there hanging up her cell phone.
“Where did you go? I thought for sure you’d get here before me?” she said.
“I stopped in the kitchen for a snack.”
Mara didn’t see a snack; she assumed Laura had eaten it in the kitchen. “That was Marshall; Alexander Marasov is coming in a couple of days to meet you. He’ll probably be here Saturday or Sunday.”
“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” Laura wanted to know.
“It could go either way. In this instance I think it’s a good thing. Don’t worry, there’s time,” she said.
“Time for what?” Laura wanted to know.
“Time before the council will be forced to decide your fate. Let’s not worry about that now. Show me the files on the physical therapists. I think I know someone who would be perfect for you, I want to see if she’s on your list,” Mara said, changing the subject. She didn’t want Laura to dwell on the possibility that her days could be numbered—in single digits.
Laura turned on the computer and put up the information on each therapist on the monitor. The two of them had read through two files and were halfway through the third when Lola entered the office carrying a tray. There was a pitcher of milk and two glasses. Cored, peeled, and sliced apples, just as she’d asked. And then there were also slices of cheddar cheese, a bowl of shelled peanuts and a small dish of cubed and salted avocado. Putting the tray down on the desk, she pulled a box of toothpicks out of her pocket and placed them next to the two small plates beside the dish of avocado.
Laura was impressed. “This is great! Thank you, Lola!” she said. Lola smiled and quickly left the room.
Turning to Mara, she was surprised to see her grinning. Then she started laughing. Laura just stared at her, she didn’t know what had happened to make Mara so happy all of a sudden.
“What?” Laura asked, smiling back at her friend, she couldn’t help it; Mara’s happiness was so contagious. She absently picked up an apple slice and a piece of cheese, popping them into her mouth.
“You saw, Lola,” she said.
“Of course I saw, Lola, she was right there,” Laura said after she swallowed. She picked up a glass and poured herself some milk, she really was hungry again, it was unusual.
“You didn’t see her last night. Don’t you see what this means? You have magic in you! You wouldn’t have been able to see her if you were all human. It means we can keep you!” Mara said even as she wondered to herself what had changed.
How did Laura suddenly get magic?
It finally clicked with Laura and she understood what Mara was telling her. “Does this mean it won’t be necessary for a bunch of strange men to sniff my undies? 'Cause I gotta tell you that was kind of weirding me out.”
Mara started laughing and Laura joined in. Her death sentence had been lifted. She didn’t say anything to Laura but she wasn’t going to stop the packages from being posted. Mara still believed there was a mate out there for Laura and she wanted the young woman to find love.
Chapter Twelve
Wednesday afternoon was spent looking over the information Laura had gathered about the local therapists and finishing the move into her house. She and her guests, Ben and Tom, had come back. They had a nice dinner and spent the evening trying out Laura’s games on the big screen in her entertainment room. Knowing her brothers, and men in general, she’d worked with the architect to have a large room with computer gaming chairs, air hockey, foosball, and a few old fashioned pinball machines. There was a wet bar and a jukebox. Visitors could hang on the three deep couches at the end of the room and watch sports on the three large screens set side by side on the wall if they didn’t want to play. Ben and Tom approved of her man cave as she called it. And Mara knew she’d have a hard time getting them to leave and act like the security guards they were supposed to be.
While they were still keeping an eye on her, now that they knew she had magic, they weren’t as strict about it. Just being in the house with her was enough.
Thursday, Mara took Laura to visit with two of the therapists on the shortlist and she decided the second one, a woman named JoAnne Walker, to be her therapist going forward. Laura had sanitized her medical records so the therapist wouldn’t be able to tell where she’d come from.
After she told Mara her choice, Mara informed her JoAnne was a human mated to a shifter. They were both pleased. The one unusual occurrence of the day was when Laura was going from the mobile home to the therapist’s office. She had been accidentally partially exposed to the sun for several minutes and she hadn’t even noticed. Every other time in her life when it happened, she felt as if her skin were being stabbed with a thousand microscopic hot needles. This time she didn’t even know how long her skin had been showing!
Once again she thought of her strange dream. She decided to experiment when they got home. The upper level of her home had windows so she planned to take the elevator up and a blanket, barely allowing herself to hope for a future she only dreamed of as a child. She didn’t say anything to Mara, a part of her felt if she spoke her ideas aloud, they would disappear like mist in the morning.
*****
Roland Gantry was an asshole and a bully. Unfortunately he was also a shifter so the shifter community had to shelter him to protect their secret. It was a chore when he got drunk and into fights with shifters and humans alike. He spent time moving around the country, staying one a step ahead of shifter law. Like any other being who lived on the wrong side of the law, he had a sense when it was time to make a change.
He’d been hanging around a small town in Colorado, comprised of all shifters for a couple of months. Three days ago he’d challenged the local Alpha for his position. The idea of running an entire town, being the top wolf in this little place appealed to him. He outweighed the current Alpha by a good fifty pounds and he expected an easy victory. His conceit and a couple of drinks before the fight, combined with the magical strength and experience of the Alpha, caused him to be defeated fairly quickly. Bullies didn’t like losing fights and he immediately began thinking of ways to get even.
After licking his wounds—literally, he knew it was time to move on again. He wasn’t going to bow down to the Alpha that had defeated him again and again. On his way out of town he stopped by the small general store to pick up some supplies. He’d be on the road for a while and even though he didn’t mind hunting for his meals, he liked his coffee in the morning and his beer during the rest of the day.
The few older shifters ignored him as he went down the aisles and made his choices. They were too busy exclaiming and cracking jokes about an envelope that had arrived in their small town in error.
“I tell you, Fred, it was pure luck and a waste of time to send it here. They must have made a typo and put down the Cawson clan instead of the Dawson clan. We’re small potatoes compared to them. This human they’re so anxious to save, that’s so important, would have a better shot of finding a mate with them,” Sam, the man behind the counter, said to his cronies, Herb and Fred. The three of them had been friends for nearly fifty years. They shared a lot of history together, and in some ways were closer than they were with their mates.
“Maybe, it may be they put the name of the clan wrong. But that doesn’t explain the address being for our Alpha house does it? Marshall Connor must have sent out envelopes to every clan in North America. I just wish one of our boys had turned out to be her mate,” said Fred.
Rodney kept his ears cocked as he slowly made his choices. Since his defeat the other night the other members of this mixed group of various shifter breeds calling themselves a clan were shunning him. He got the hint, he was leaving, but not until he had a destination in mind. He knew who Marshall Connor was, and it seemed like he needed some help.
A human woman wouldn’t be able to tell if a shifter was her true mate or not. So he’d just hustle over there and present himself. Soon he’d be sitting really pretty; these bozos would be bowing and sucking up to him then. Having a piece of ass handy for fucking whenever he got an itch would be a nice side benefit too. Once he gathered enough information, he brought up his basket to the register. He overlooked the insult of their attitudes as he paid. They all knew if he did anything the Alpha would have him tossed in the local shifter jail.
As he left, he snickered. They could try to blame the slashed tires on him, but he would be long gone when they came looking. He was headed to Montana. If he drove straight through he’d arrive there by Friday.
*****
It was late Thursday night when Alexander Marasov left his office in Lewisburg, West Virginia, to drive the forty miles to his home in Marlinton. Being the highest ranked Alpha in North America was a hard job. Sometimes he wondered why he’d even wanted it. Running his hands over his face, he waited in the hallway outside his office for the elevator.
He thought about the human who had arrived in Montana. He was a little suspicious of the timing. Their enemies were currently winning in the war against shifters. He had reports of another shifter family being murdered only today. Was this Laura going to be their salvation or their demise? Marshall and his priestess, Mara, seemed to think she was genuinely on their side. He really hoped so, otherwise he would have to kill her. He didn’t need any more blood on his hands.
Driving home he went over all the tasks needing to be done so he could take a few days at least, maybe up to a week away from his office. He could put in a full day tomorrow and finish up on Saturday, or he could work another really long day and finish up tomorrow night sometime. He weighed the merits of both and decided he was too tired to think about it now. He would try to be less impatient, and see what happened Friday.
When he finally arrived home, his house was cold and dark. His housekeeper had left hours ago to go home to her family. His English Bulldog, George, got up from his bed and came over wagging his tail. Kneeling down they greeted each other, Alex giving George some scratches and rubs while George did his best to lick Alex’s face off. Job done, George went back to sleep, he was getting old and it was late. Walking through to the kitchen, he found a thawed casserole, for one, in the refrigerator. A note with heating instructions lay on top of the plastic wrap. He said a prayer of thanks for Mrs. McGillicuddy as he put the dish in the microwave and pressed the buttons.
As the dish went round and round he stared for a moment then turned away to take off his tie. He’d loosened it, then undid the top two buttons on his shirt since most of his staff had gone home for the day. Now he wanted to be more comfortable. Even though hunger was gnawing at him, he checked the timer and decided he had time to change. He moved out of the kitchen and down the hall to his bedroom, unbuttoning the rest of his shirt on the way.
In his room he hung up his suit, threw his shirt and underwear in the laundry hamper, and padded over to the dresser. He went to the bathroom to take a piss and after washing his hands, he took a good look at himself in the mirror. Dark stubble ran along his jaw. At least he hadn’t had to shave twice today because he hadn’t any dinner meetings. He absently noticed the need for a haircut. His dark brown hair was nearly to his shoulders again and had started flopping over into his eyes when he was working. Giving his chest an absent scratch, he decided he could skip his workout today. He was a big man at six foot six, weighing in at around two hundred thirty pounds. An inch taller and he’d have to duck his head going through doorways. Back in the bedroom, he pulled out a pair of flannel lounging pants in red and black plaid.
When he returned to the kitchen the microwave was dinging. Having learned from singeing his fingers many times in the past, he grabbed a potholder and pulled the casserole out and set it on the counter. He carefully pulled off the plastic wrap so he wouldn’t get a face full of steam and then let it sit while he gathered utensils and a cold beer. He didn’t bother with a plate, he’d scarf down his meal directly from the serving dish.
After drinking a couple of swigs from his beer, he grabbed a second one and put it on the kitchen table next to his fork and napkin. Using the potholder he transferred the casserole dish from the counter to the table and finally sat down and lifted his fork to dig in. He could hear his cell phone ringing, he’d left it on top of his dresser in his bedroom when he’d emptied the pockets of his suit.
With a sigh, he left his dinner to make a run for his cell before it went to voicemail.
It must be important for them to be calling this late
. It was, a group of scouts, mostly wolf cubs, a couple of bear cubs, and three others: a bobcat, a cougar, and of all things, a Tasmanian devil from a family who had emigrated from New Zealand last year, were all lost in the woods.