Chapter Eleven
Seven hours Katy had waited—every minute except for two insanely fast bio-breaks—spent in Tate’s tiny bedroom either holding Alek’s and Priest’s hands or pacing a path around the bottom half of Tate’s bed.
Oh, and straightening clothes.
Whether Tate appreciated it or not, every article of clothing he owned was now not only neatly put away but fanatically organized. Odds were good he’d read her the riot act the way Alek did whenever she encroached on his sacred space, but by the time she’d given in and slipped into OCD mode, she’d been desperate for something to do. Surely, he’d cut her some slack considering the circumstances.
Now, she was cooling her jets all over again. Only this time her brother was very much awake, and she didn’t want to move because what she was seeing was nothing short of fascinating. With Nanna seated on the ground and watching beside her, Katy stretched her legs out in front of her and braced her hands on the soft soil behind her back as Priest and Alek battled it out.
If you could call it a battle. More like two super humans exploring their hyped up skills and showing off all rolled into one while the Tiki torches Priest had lit with only a thought accented every move against the night skies. From the time Alek was six, she’d watched her brother spar with people, but what he was capable of now boggled the mind. It was like watching the Matrix minus the leather, hair gel and sunglasses.
But his speed, skills and agility hadn’t been the only things to change.
Alek was different.
Focused. Centered and grounded like she’d never seen him before. Gone was the wildness he’d fought in recent weeks, replaced with an easygoing peace. As if in the time he’d been asleep he’d matured by a decade instead of hours.
Ironic, because by the time he’d woken up, she’d been strung tight enough to launch straight through the ceiling.
Alek landed a punch to Priest’s jaw that sent his head whipping to one side, the jarring thud that went with the contact almost sickening.
Priest shook his head and laughed, which of course only made Alek laugh, too.
“Men,” Katy muttered. “They’re idiots.”
Naomi grinned, but kept her gaze riveted on the action. “Yes, but you have to admit, for idiots, they’re fun to watch.”
When Katy didn’t answer, Naomi broke her rapt stare and lifted both eyebrows at Katy. “What? You can’t tell me you’re not impressed.”
Oh, she was impressed all right. The first time she’d watched Priest go head-to-head with her brother, her stomach muscles had contracted so hard she’d barely been able to breathe. But this time Priest held nothing back, pushing Alek in a way that said he had nothing but confidence for her brother and was intent on teaching him even more.
Plus, Priest had ditched every stitch of clothes save the track pants he favored when lounging at home or outside, this pair dark as his panther’s fur. Working with Priest alone every morning the last several days had been an exercise in temptation, but watching his slick, graceful moves with firelight glinting off his sweat-slickened, muscled torso seemed downright sinful.
When they finally took a break from their ninja slugfest, Priest glanced at Kateri over his shoulder then muttered something to Alek she couldn’t quite make out with the distance between them.
A strange look moved across Alek’s face. Surprise maybe? No, more like uncertainty. Which explained why it was so strange, because it was an expression she seldom saw on her brother. Still, he nodded and trudged up the slight slope to the raised ridge where she and Nanna had watched the show.
“Well? What do you think?” Alek asked as they drew close. Like Priest, he was drenched in sweat, but smiling like a ten-year-old boy who’d just scored his first bike.
He might not have asked the question in an arrogant way, but he was still her brother and had an ego the size of Texas. A fair amount of sibling ribbing was not only allowed, but a little sister’s guilty pleasure. “I think all those years you wanted to be the Black Power Ranger have finally paid off.”
Priest barked out a laugh and gave Alek one of those manly backslaps that would have knocked her face-first to the ground. “A punch to the gut and she didn’t even lift a finger.”
Surprisingly, Alek just grinned and rolled with her playful comment—another glaring indicator something big had happened to her brother in the Otherworld. Something special, just as Priest had predicted. “Hey, don’t knock Zack Taylor. He could fight and dance.”
Happy to see the laid-back brother she’d grown up with back among them, Katy cocked her head and smiled up at him. “I’m only teasing you. You looked great. How do you feel?”
“Fantastic.” He rolled his shoulders and pumped his fists a few times as though checking his fatigue level and finding it nonexistent. “It’s weird. Even after all that, I don’t feel tired. More like I’m warmed up and ready for the main round.”
“Good, because the main round is coming up,” Priest said.
Naomi pushed to her feet and dusted the loose soil off her coral cotton pants. Funny. Katy had always thought the loose styles Nanna favored were just a hip coincidence to match her vibrant personality. Turned out most of the people in their clan favored unrestricted clothing whenever possible with jeans being about the tightest fashion form she’d seen.
“Come on, Kateri,” Nanna said. “That’s our cue.”
“What cue?”
Naomi waved Katy toward the house. “To skedaddle so Priest can help Alek shift for the first time. The first time is always private. Special. Not to mention your brother will need all the focus he can get.”
“Actually, I want Kateri to stay.” Priest’s words might have been couched casually, but there was a strong undercurrent that said he not only had a reason for his request, but didn’t want it questioned. “Alek agreed.”
A wry gleam sparked in Nanna’s eyes and her soft smile was one of happy secrets. She nodded, patted Katy’s shoulder and turned toward the house. “Well, then, I’ll see if I can wrangle up some food before Tate and Jade get home from closing down the shop and leave the three of you to it.”
Priest settled on the ground next to Katy, and a second later all but one of the Tiki torches staked along the wide clearing went dark.
Katy glanced back at Naomi steadily making her way up the wood stairs. “I don’t get it. Why can’t Nanna stay, too?”
“Because she was right about a person’s first shift being private,” Priest said. “Partly because it’s difficult and requires focus, but also because it’s emotional.”
Alek’s wary expression said he didn’t care for that development in the slightest. Happiness, anger and laugher her brother had no problem with, but anything that dug into deeper, more vulnerable feelings made him itchy at best. A flight risk at worst. God knew, she’d seen his flight instinct with more than one poor woman who’d had the misfortune of falling for him.
“Then maybe Nanna’s right.” Katy started to stand. “I can help with the food and give you two time to do your thing.”
Priest snatched her wrist before she could fully gain her feet and tugged her backward.
Not expecting the action, she lost her balance and would have tumbled in an ugly sprawl, but Priest caught her by the waist and guided her ass square between his thighs. No doubt exactly where he’d intended her to be all along.
Knees bent and braced on either side of hers with his hot torso blanketing her back, his voice was a gentle yet stern demand near her ear. “You need this, kitten. Every bit as much as he does. Stay and share the gift he’s giving you.”
As dirty plays went, it was a doozy. He’d intentionally phrased his command in such a way her curiosity was thoroughly piqued, and her mind was too scrambled by his presence to argue. The latter, of which, was outrageous considering if anyone else had manhandled or taken a heavy hand to her like he just had, she’d have physically or verbally lashed out and immediately gained some distance.
“It’s okay, Katy.” Alek’s voice cut through her daze, the tone of it that of a man determined to mask his fear, but not at all sure of the overall game plan. “I really don’t mind. I just don’t have a clue what I’m doing.”
“None of us do the first time out,” Priest said, “but you’ll figure it out.” He motioned to the space in front of them then casually banded one arm around Katy’s waist and pulled her against him. He draped his other forearm loosely over one bent knee. “Now have a seat.”
Have a seat.
Relax.
Focus.
Katy tried to focus on Priest’s guidance as he coached Alek, but her body wasn’t nearly as cooperative about paying attention. It was too fixated on the man behind her. On the possessive arm he kept around her waist. How confidence emanated from him even when sitting still. Of the deep rumble in his voice and how it rippled pleasantly across her skin.
“Now, remember your time in the Otherworld,” Priest said to Alek, though with his mouth so close to her ear it felt like an intimate caress. “You remember how it felt to merge with your companion?”
He’d merged with his companion? As in it became one with him? So, did that mean Alek already knew what his animal was? And why hadn’t he told her as much? She almost asked the questions out loud, but Priest tightened his hold around her and softly kissed her temple. A gentle, but firm unspoken reminder that this wasn’t the time for questions.
Seated across from her with his back resting against a moderate-size dogwood tree with his eyes closed, Alek’s lips curved in a crooked boyish smile. “Oh, yeah. I remember.”
“Good. Focus on that,” Priest said. “It’s the path to your animal, and the same one you’ll use to shift back. All you need to do is let your companion know he’s not only welcome, but needed.”
Alek frowned, but kept his eyes shut tight. “How do I do that?”
“Do you want to shift?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“Because I need to learn how.”
“Why do you need to learn?”
Hesitating, Alek cocked his head. Almost as if there were more voices and data streaming through his head than Priest’s steady coaching. “Because he’s part of me. He deserves the time to roam.”
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Alek’s jaw dropped and his eyes popped open. “What the fuck?”
Priest chuckled. “That’s your companion. They hear what we hear. Feel what we feel. Just by you thinking through how you felt, it learned alongside you and responded.”
Alek smiled huge and locked stares with Katy, the excitement in his gaze like so many of the other firsts they’d shared growing up—only magnified by at least twenty. “He talked to me.” The smile disappeared and his eyes narrowed. “I mean, he kind of talked to me. Not with words, but somehow I heard it all the same. He liked my answer.”
“The Keeper picks our companions specifically for us,” Priest said. “That’s part of the soul quest’s purpose—to learn who you are and pick the animal best suited for our nature. Right now, you’re new to each other, but you’re perfectly suited. They’re called companions because that’s what they are. An extra set of eyes and ears to guide you, and a tie to our magic. Over time you won’t be able to imagine a you without them.”
“So, why didn’t he shift?” As soon as Katy asked the question, she clamped her mouth shut, worried she’d inadvertently trampled somewhere she shouldn’t.
Fortunately, Priest just gazed down at her, the barest hint of amusement and what looked like hope lighting his eyes. “What he felt was just a start. The first words in a new language. It takes time to gain confidence and make a whole sentence. That’s what shifting is like.”
As analogies went it was brilliant, apparently registering with Alek just as strongly, because he shut his eyes and stilled, obviously eager to try again.
Over and over, Alek followed Priest’s instructions. How he kept after it with so many false starts, Katy couldn’t comprehend. If it were her, she’d have thrown in the towel after the third attempt. But Alek swore the connection he built with each pass grew stronger and more amazing, so what did she know? The last thing she could ever accuse her brother of being was overly dramatic, and if he said it was a sensation to be reckoned with, then she’d be the last one to short-change the process.
Alek closed his eyes again, a little of the vigor he’d woken with ebbing and fatigue weighting his shoulders.
Katy covered Priest’s forearm with her own and laced her fingers with his. The touch was intimate. Familiar in a way she couldn’t believe she’d initiated, but was helpless to fight. It was as if she’d been wrapped up in a sacred moment. Included in some rare and revered event her soul recognized even if her mind was too slow to comprehend.
“He’s getting tired,” she whispered low enough she hoped it wouldn’t distract Alek.
Priest rubbed his temple against hers, a familiar touch that not only soothed her creeping anxiety but made her want to reach for more. “He’s fine. A few more tries and he’ll have it. It’s human nature to try and retain control. The fatigue wears down his resistance.”
The last of his words still hung on the cold spring night around them when a brilliant light fanned across them, the rich garnet color there and gone so fast she halfway wondered if it hadn’t been an illusion.
Until her mind fully registered the sight in front of her.
In the spot where her brother had patiently reached for his companion time and again sat one of the most beautiful creatures she’d ever seen.
“He’s a wolf,” Katy said. Though, how she’d managed to put words around her thoughts was a miracle in and of itself.
“A gray wolf,” Priest said. “The largest of its kind and revered in our clan. A powerful choice for our warrior primo.”
Katy gasped and twisted. “He’s the primo?”
Priest nodded, obviously pleased with the development. “I would have been surprised if he wasn’t. He’s a natural fit. Skilled and more balanced now that he has his gifts.”
More balanced. Yes, that was the perfect way to explain it. As if the magic had evened out his demeanor.
She turned back to the wolf. On height alone, the animal would nearly reach her hips. The same deep blue eyes as Alek’s stared back at her, but their shape was more slanted and focused in a way that said the animal in front of her missed absolutely nothing. His coat was a mix of gray, white and tawny, the latter unsurprisingly similar to Alek’s dirty-blond hair, and his chest was broad enough to promise astounding power behind any attack.
And he was part of Alek’s life now. A protector. A confidant.
A friend.
Why the realization rattled so profoundly through her, she couldn’t say, but her throat constricted to the point it was hard to breathe and her eyes burned. “He’s beautiful.”
Priest hugged her tight, his voice a comfort. “He is. But no more so than your companion will be.”
Her companion.
For the first time since Nanna had shared their clan’s existence, something inside her clicked. A revelation solidifying at the most fundamental level. Despite how many times she’d seen Nanna or Priest shift, it had seemed more the stuff of fantasy than reality. But this wasn’t a hoax. Wasn’t a figment of her imagination running wild and untended. This was real. Her future if she chose to accept it. “What’s it like?”
Priest kept his silence for thoughtful seconds, his fingers drawing idle patterns against her shoulder. As if he realized how sincere her question was compared to her usual cataloging queries and wanted to find the best response possible. “Freedom.”
One word and yet it conveyed so much. When was the last time she’d really felt such a thing? Truly unwound her relentless grip on control and simply allowed herself to just be?
In answer, her mind offered up the kiss she’d shared with Priest in the cove. True, a part of her had stayed locked away, tethered by fear and uncertainty, but in that tiny space of time he’d given her a taste of liberation. A sampling of another way of life.
The wolf shook his massive body, startling Katy out of her rumination. The action drew an image in her head of Alek doing the same in human form and she laughed, the sound lighter and freer than any other she’d produced in years. “Takes some settling in, does it?”
Lifting its chin, the wolf huffed out a sound that seemed suspiciously like a laugh.
“His wolf will help him,” Priest said. “Once the shift happens, the animal’s instincts take precedence. Alek’s thoughts are still his own and his companion will ultimately cede to his direction, but right now the animal is smarter. Wiser.” Priest held out his hand and motioned the beast over. “Come say hello.”
The wolf hesitated, studied Priest and Katy one at a time, then scented the air.
“You know who I am,” Priest said to the wolf. “And she belongs to Alek. Come.”
It answered with a low, almost petulant grumble, but padded cautiously toward them. The closer he drew, the more his head and body lowered, a mix of submission and preparedness for flight.
Without the least amount of fear, but mindful of the wolf’s open reticent, Priest rubbed the animal’s neck. “You see? Not so much different here, is it?”
The wolf grunted in answer and closed his eyes, openly appreciating Priest’s attention.
“Touch him,” Priest murmured beside her ear. “Let him know he’s safe.”
“He’s afraid?”
“Not afraid. Just wary. It’s his first time in our world, so his senses are on overload. The touch will help ground him.”
Katy hesitated, resting her fisted hand on her thigh rather than reaching out. Part of her trusted that her brother was the one driving the massive animal, but another far more primitive side of herself insisted that cozying up to a predator was a monumentally bad idea.
The wolf shifted its massive head, nudged her fist with its muzzle and whined.
Okay, maybe it was a predator, but right now it appeared to not only need, but want her affection. Slowly, she lifted her hand and the wolf ducked its head beneath it, effectively guiding her palm to the back of its neck.
Katy chuckled and relented, rubbing both sides of his head. “Well, all right then.” Unlike the sleek feel of Priest’s panther, Alek’s wolf was snuggly and warm, her fingers easily disappearing in his dense coat as she scratched behind his ears.
The wolf sniffed her, inched closer and licked her jawline.
Priest growled. Or maybe it was his panther surfacing with a warning. Whatever or whoever it was, the wolf eased back, but not so much as to disengage from her touch. Or Priest’s for that matter.
“He wasn’t scaring me, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Katy said quietly.
“I wasn’t worried. My cat just didn’t like him that close.”
“Why not? He’s my brother.”
“He’s your brother, but his wolf was moving in to mark you. That’s my right. Not his.”
Her fingers stilled and she twisted. “You’ve known me six days. He’s known me my whole life. How can it be your right over his?”
Not missing a beat, Priest maintained the slow and steady strokes along the lower stretch of the wolf’s neck, but the easiness in his gaze sharpened. He shifted his attention to the wolf. “Go for a run. I’ll catch up after I talk to your sister, but stay within the wards and remember to conserve energy for your shift back. Listen to your companion and he’ll keep you safe.”
The wolf looked from Priest to Katy, the understanding behind his azure gaze a little surprising. Rather than take off as Katy had expected, he stepped in close, butted his head against her chest, then rubbed the side of his body against hers.
“She’ll be fine.” The remark was dry, but there was humor in Priest’s words, too. “Stop worrying and run.”
Alek backed up, studied her for one last second, then loped away.
Her brother had his own wolf. A beautiful and powerful creature who could explore without a single light to guide him on a nearly moonless night. How freaking cool was that?
But it still didn’t answer her question. And if there was one thing she hated it was untidy threads. Particularly with a man as powerful and commanding as Priest. “Why won’t you answer me?”
For the first time since he’d settled her next to him, his touch was curiously absent, his fists braced against the Earth behind him. “Stand up.”
“I’d rather talk.”
“Then you need to stand up. Now. Otherwise, I’ll have you naked and under me before you can ask another question.”
Pleasure, pure and sharp, speared straight between her legs, the image her mind paired with his words snatching the breath right out of her lungs. Talk about the wrong incentive to get her moving. Especially after how many times she’d replayed the feel of his lips and his weight above her.
“Kateri.”
It was the plea in his voice that did it, the struggle mingled with his panther’s growl that spurred her to her feet and urged her out of reaching distance while he stood as well. “Are you okay?”
He gauged the distance she’d put between them and crooked a cockeyed grin. “I said stand, not run.” He prowled closer. “Running only makes me want to chase you.”
For some stupid reason, that idea thrilled her almost as much as the first one had. So much so, she shifted her feet and considered the direction Alek had disappeared into.
“Don’t even think it.” His arm snaked around her back, pinning her to him. “I’m trying to go slow. To give you time and not overwhelm you all at once, but there’s a part of me...”
“Your cat, you mean.”
He frowned, the action more pronounced with the firelight’s shadows. “No. It’s something else. Something dark.”
As in his brother’s black magic. It had taken some doing over dinner prep one night with Jade and Tate while Priest was still at his shop, but she and Alek had finally gotten all the gory details. By the time the story was over, Katy wasn’t sure if she wanted to run and not look back, or redouble her efforts to track down Draven and gut him herself. “Jade said it doesn’t control you anymore. That it hasn’t for a long time.”
“Not until you, no.” He inhaled long and deep and cupped the side of her face. “It doesn’t want to play nice. Doesn’t want to give you time. It just wants you. Now.”
A shiver moved through her, one she suspected was more centered with agreement than the healthy fear her brain said was smart. “And what do you want?”
His gaze dropped to her mouth and he traced her lower lip with his thumb. “Oh, I want the same. Only I want it with you knowing what you’re getting going in.”
There it was. The carrot dangling just out of reach. She forced her lips to move, though she wasn’t completely sure she wanted the question to take flight. “What am I to you?”
His arm tightened around her and the expression on his face looked as if a heated battle warred inside his head. “You’re my mihara.” He paused for one heart-stopping beat and met her gaze head-on. “My mate.”