Authors: M. R. Merrick
“I’ll do it,” Rayna said. “But only if Chase can come.”
Marcus sighed. “I suppose that’s a start. Let’s see what Chief has to say about it.”
Chief was on the couch, that same gentle smile covering his tan features.
“Have you come to a decision?” he asked.
“I have.” Rayna looked to me and I gave her a reassuring nod. “I’ll do it, but only if Chase comes too.”
“Where we are going is sacred ground. Nobody outside our pack has ever been included. Rayna, it’s in your best interest to come. It will spare you a lot of pain and probably save your life.”
“It’s in my best interest to be with people I trust.”
Chief sighed. “I had a feeling you would say that. I’ve already spoken with a few of the higher ranked members. They are not pleased with it; however, they refuse to leave a fellow shifter on their own when they have the ability to help.”
“That’s great,” Rayna said.
“I am happy you have decided to come, but please know, we are sacrificing a longstanding tradition to meet your request. There will be certain events that Chase will be unable to attend, but for the most part, he’s free to be included. We’re leaving tomorrow. You just worry about packing your things and we’ll pick you up.”
We all stood up from the couch and Marcus stepped towards Chief. “I trust you’ll take care of them.” Marcus stared down into Chief’s eyes and his expression was as serious as ever.
“You have my word.”
“Thank you,” Marcus replied.
“Rayna,” Chief said, “be sure to bring baggy clothes. Preferably something you won’t miss when it’s gone.”
“Umm…okay.”
“Trust me.”
Garrett led us back into the VIP lounge. There were only a few people here now, but as we neared the door, it flung open and bass pounded through the room.
A tall man burst through with wavy brown hair and unnatural blue eyes. Warm skin was evenly tanned and thick stubble covered his face. He stormed into the room, and bumped into Marcus.
“Oh, excuse me,” he said. His voice was full and masculine, and his smile vanished when he noticed Marcus.
Both their eyes lit up and the man stepped back.
“Marcus…” he said.
“Jonathan...” Marcus’ voice sounded startled.
“You were told not to be here,” Garrett sounded unimpressed.
“I just came back to…” he stopped the moment he saw Rayna.
Rayna shifted and looked uncomfortable as his blue eyes continued to stare at her. “Wow. You look just like your mother.”
“Excuse me?” Rayna’s defenses shot up and her cold gaze returned with ferocity. “What's going on?”
Marcus sighed and looked back towards us. His gaze locked on Rayna. “Rayna, I’d like you to meet your father. Jonathan Winter.”
“Have you decided if you’re coming on the retreat?” Jonathan asked.
The air was thick with tension and Rayna’s face drained of color. Her breaths came in heavy pants and she dropped to the floor, power emanating off of her.
“This is neither the time, nor the place for this,” Garrett said.
“It had to happen sooner or later,” Jonathan said.
“It didn’t have to happen now.” Garrett turned to Rayna. “Are you okay?”
“Get him out of here!” Chief burst through the door with a feline’s grace and dropped down next to Rayna.
Garrett grabbed Jonathan by the neck and dragged him from the room. Jonathan fought against him, but Garrett was too strong. He submitted to his grip, looking over his shoulder at Rayna until the door closed behind him.
Chief crouched low to meet Rayna’s gaze, but it wasn’t Rayna looking out. The beast released a low rumble and locked eyes with Chief, but he didn’t flinch. He raised himself up on his hands and knees and called to his own cat.
The power was incredible and Chief released an even deeper growl. Leaning forward, he pushed his nose against Rayna’s.
Blood dripped from her mouth and her fangs lowered. Veins pushed against her skin in black streams, and clear fluid shot out of her fingertips as long, sharp talons came out.
Chief moved over top of her and the power of his beast filled the air. He pushed the energy against her and her beast briefly faded.
“Chase,” Rayna cried out. “Chase, please.” She whimpered, but the beast returned with an eardrum bursting screech.
I dropped to my knees beside her and searched for the cool rush of my element.
“No,” Chief growled.
“I can help her!”
Chief turned to me and the brown of his eyes was gone, replaced by light purple cat eyes. “No.”
I ignored him and drew my magic to the surface. I pushed it down my arms and reached for Rayna, but Chief's hand shot towards me. His palm hit my chest and I flew back to the floor, his own beast growling at me again.
“She needs help, not magic.”
Marcus came to stand beside me, pulling me to my feet. Worry covered his dark features as he stood by while Chief’s beast filled the room with power.
Rayna’s beast growled before her body jerked and bones crunched, moving back into human form. When her last few joints snapped back into place, her body collapsed and she began to gag. Her body was jerking, forcing her to cough and then dry heave until blood spilled from her lungs. I tried to move towards her, but Chief’s arm stopped me.
“Let her rest,” he said.
“Whoa, take it easy man.” I pushed his arm away but he sidestepped to block my way.
“Rayna needs to shift; she doesn’t need magic pushing her beast back.” The purple feline eyes faded and the brown returned.
“It was hurting her.”
“It always does, and it will continue to, as long as you use magic to heal her. The first shift is painful, but it’s a necessary evil if you ever want her to control it.” His fierce gaze softened as he looked back down at Rayna.
Her hair was sticky with blood and it stuck to her face in strands of red and black. Blood ran from her ears and nose, and she dabbed at it with a napkin Chief handed to her.
“That’s bull–”
“It’s fine, Chase,” Rayna said.
“I’m sorry for that.” Chief turned to Rayna. “He…wasn’t supposed to be here.”
“You thought you could keep that from me? That’s a great way to instill my trust in you.”
“I wasn’t trying to hide it. I wanted you to shift successfully before I said anything. As you can see, an untrained shifter is highly volatile. Strong emotions awaken the beast, but those emotions are the worst for a shifter who has yet to change.”
“Maybe we should rethink this,” Marcus said.
“I understand your caution, but after what I just saw, I think it’s more important than ever. She’s further along than I knew. We’re running out of time to help her.”
“Helping would have been telling us about Jonathan,” Marcus said.
“Perhaps I owe you an explanation.”
“I’d say that’s a start.” Marcus didn’t sound impressed.
“Jonathan was my first. The first hunter I ever helped through the shift,” he said.
“You’ve known about me for long enough; you could’ve told me.” Rayna scowled.
“It wasn't for me to tell. That’s his story and I have to respect that.”
“Is he going to be a problem?” Marcus asked.
“When we deal with born shifters, it’s always better to have a blood relative present. It helps coax the beast–”
“I don’t want him anywhere near me!”
Chief cleared his throat. “As I was saying, it helps coax the beast out.
However
, given the current state of the relationship, I don’t think it wise. He’s been given strict instruction not to make contact with Rayna.”
“Sounds like he listens well,” Rayna snapped. “If he’s going to be on the retreat, I’m not coming. I don’t need your help badly enough to be anywhere near him.”
“Rayna, we’ve made many exceptions to allow you to join us. Jonathan will not speak to you unless you wish it.”
“You just told me he wasn’t supposed to be here. Your plan to keep him away from me didn’t work for one day. You expect me to believe you can keep him away from me for a whole week?”
Chief sighed. “Should you choose not to join us, I understand, but I will not refuse a member of my pride the honor of the retreat.”
“Good, I’m not asking you to.” Rayna turned away and stormed towards the door.
Marcus turned to Chief, but he looked angry. “I will talk to her,” he said, following her back into the club.
********
We walked through the door to the condo after an awkward ride home. Rayna walked in without a word and disappeared to her bedroom.
“Wow,” I said.
“I’m really never leaving you two alone again.” Marcus sighed.
“So that’s Rayna’s dad, huh?”
“It is…” Marcus’ dark eyes looked vacant in thought.
“What a dick,” I said.
Marcus did a double take and looked at me.
“Come on, the guy’s been alive this entire time and never came for Rayna? What a coward.”
“I’m not sure coward’s the right word. I knew him when he and Rayna’s mother were together. He was a fine hunter and a good man. Now that we know for sure where Rayna’s shifter genes come from, I’d be interested in hearing what happened to him. Given his circumstances, I can see why he went into hiding. If the Circle found out he–”
“Screw the Circle or what happened to him. He has a daughter. She’s going to be eighteen in a month and she never knew he existed.”
“You need to understand–”
A scream barreled through the ceiling, cutting Marcus off and we both ran for the stairs.
Tiki hovered near Rayna’s room, hesitating with his hand by the handle. I went through Rayna’s door first with Marcus right behind. Tiki sheepishly sidestepped to look in from the hall.
Music blared and all the pictures and posters had been torn off the walls. The mirror on her desk had been smashed to the floor and paper and debris littered the room.
“Get out!” Rayna screamed and threw a book towards us. We all ducked as it flew overhead and slammed into the wall behind us. The hard cover put a hole in the wall and pages ruffled as it fell to the ground. Rayna sat on the floor with her knees pulled tight to her chest. Streams of tears ran down her cheeks and she buried her face in her knees.
Marcus turned off the stereo and spoke in a voice softer and gentler than I’d ever heard from him. “Rayna, I understand what you must be feeling, but you need to know you’re not alone in this.” He lowered himself to the floor and tried to inch his way forward.
“Stay away from me.”
Marcus stopped. Neither of us wanted to make her more upset. If she started to shift again, we might not be able to bring her back. We both stepped back into the hallway and shut the door. Silence surrounded us, each of us turning to the other for answers.
Even through the door, Rayna’s sobs were heavy. They sounded forced through gasps and trembles. Sadness moved through me and I turned to Marcus. “Maybe I can talk to her,” I said. “I can kind of relate to father issues.”
Marcus sighed and looked lost for a moment. “Perhaps that would be best. I’ll…be downstairs.” He ran a hand over his smooth head and moved down the hall, his huge form disappearing down the stairs with heavy footsteps.
“Meeting didn't go well?” Tiki’s caramel features were lost in confusion.
“That's an understatement,” I said, pushing Rayna’s door open.
“Rayna…” I said, walking carefully and trying to avoid the broken glass.
Rayna didn’t reply, which was an improvement from screaming and throwing books.
I moved some of the shards of the broken mirror around and made a clear space on the floor. Rayna didn’t move. Her sobbing faded, but the pace of her breathing was still quick. Silence danced around us for a few minutes and all I did was watch her. I didn’t want to tell her everything would be okay. I didn’t know that it would be. Instead, I started talking about my dad.
“When I was nine or ten, my dad took me on a holiday, just the two of us. We went to Florida and I remember being so excited. He told me he had a surprise for me, and I had myself convinced he was taking me to Disney World. Turns out, his idea of a holiday wasn’t like the rest of the world. We went to visit the Circle in the southern district. They had a tournament going on and my dad had entered me. I had to compete against all the older kids with more training than I’d had. I didn’t want to fight, but I wasn’t given a choice. I stepped in the ring and got my ass kicked so badly, I was disqualified after the first day. Their elders stated I was unfit to properly defend myself. You should have seen him. Dad was so…angry with me. He cut the holiday short and didn’t speak the entire drive home.” I shook my head and spun the ring idly on my fingers.
“When he finally came around to talk to me, it was a week after we got home. Seven days later the swelling had gone down enough that I could finally open one of my eyes, and all he said was how disappointed he was. He’d pulled some strings to get me entered, and I’d embarrassed him. I get beat up and
he
looks like an idiot. Can you believe that?”