Chapter Five

Reagan

 

“Explain this to me again,” Mom said as I helped her make a bed, tucking in the sheets and flopping out the brand new quilts. “You have to live where?”

It was almost sunset, and I was exhausted, snappish, and sick of repeating myself. “How many times do I have to tell you? One of the Commands of Northbane wants me to be his personal assistant. I need to live at his house, where his office is, and whatever. Working with him.”

My head throbbed as I ground down on my jaw. That had been the wolf Command’s surprise.

Living with him.

“I just don’t…” Mom trailed off. “I don’t know.”

“I’ll be less than a fifteen-minute walk away.” I pressed a hand to my head. “God, it’s not like I asked for this.” Only the damn shifter knew I’d been won in a dice toss. I shouldn’t have agreed.

“Oh, honey.” My mother folded me against her, her soft frame sagging on her bones and her eyes more deeply sunken. She was no longer that plump and gentle school teacher, but a warrior in her own right. A burst of remorse went through my chest. “I’m sorry. I know you’re more than capable of handling anything that comes your way. I’m just going to miss you.”

“No, I’m sorry,” I said. “I don’t want to go. But…” I trailed off. Being in with one of the Commands couldn’t be a bad thing. Even if the last thing I expected upon entering Winfyre was a bored wolf shifter who needed someone to run his errands. “But I shouldn’t pass this up.”

“No, you shouldn’t,” Mom said. “He clearly recognizes talent when he sees it.”

Or maybe the bastard cheated, I thought. Who wins on the first roll?

An hour later, my family was settled in their new house, and I knew it was time to leave. Set among the trees on a big lake, it was a comfortable and rambling place with plenty of room for all twelve of them. Risa and Jemma were already upstairs, snoozing with Collette. Gabriel, Drue, and Bix had been tucked in with a story. Cassidy was nodding off on the couch.

Shelby, Linh, and my parents saw me to the front door. It twisted something inside of me to leave them, but at the same time, there was a sense of guilty relief. It wasn’t like they wouldn’t be safe here. The shifters everywhere and Tello’s explanations had assuaged all our fears.

Whatever was out there, waiting in the wilderness—it couldn’t get in here.

We’d made it.

I couldn’t deny that I enjoyed walking down the twisting path alone. It led to a sort of main road, crisscrossed with footprints, paw prints, and hoof prints. To the right was the faint glow of a town and smudges of buildings clustered along the road. If I strained my ears, I could hear music, laughter, and sleepy birdsong in the quiet spring evening.

Either way, I needed to find the Command’s house.

Or maybe I can pretend I couldn’t find it and go back to my family…

Turning, I yawned, and then nearly choked on it when someone spoke.

“There you are,” he said. Command was leaning up against a tree with his arms folded. “Tired?”

“Shut up,” I grumbled and began trudging north, past him. “I’ll be fine.”

“It was a question,” he called out, and I swallowed another yawn as I continued to walk. “I’d be tired, too. How about a lift?” he asked, and I turned. His strong form loped towards me, and I tried to beat back the dancing of sparks in my veins at his grin. “Free of charge.”

“You have a car?” I asked stupidly.

“Better than that,” the wolf said and opened his arms.

“I’ll walk,” I growled.

“Knew that wouldn’t work,” he said with a laugh. “But you don’t look so great.”

I stumbled at those words, my quick momentum causing me to pitch headlong towards the ground. But Command nimbly caught me.

Immediately, my senses went into overdrive. The moment his hands touched me, the sparks exploded into a shock of heat. A strong, clean scent clung to him, like fresh snow and smoked cedar. And I knew I would never forget this moment.

Yet as soon as he set me upright, I shook him off and muttered, “Thank you. But I’ll walk.”

“How long did it take you?” he asked, and I glanced at him, puzzled. “To get here.”

“About three months,” I said and rubbed my arms. The path got steeper and narrower, leading to a hill, and I realized we were cresting the side of the mountain where this part of Winfyre was tucked away. A salt-laced breeze lifted the trees around us, and I inhaled, taken by the scent of earth, pine, and sea. “Are we close to the sea?”

Command glanced at me, and amusement shone in his bright eyes. “You mean that sea?”

I turned and looked across the lake, a fading blue in the dying light, and my eyes tracked its shores until I realized they parted in the distant west. Beyond, the sea heaved. It was a bay.

“We’re at the coast?” I murmured aloud, and I watched as the waves sparkled against the sinking sun. The sky was a fiery line of amber and rose. “I can’t believe it. Or that view. Wow.”

“Better at the house,” Command said easily, and I hunched my shoulders. “What?”

“Why can’t I live with my family?” I asked. “I’ll be here as early as you like.”

“You lost our bet,” Command said and gestured with his head to keep walking. But I didn’t budge. He sighed and shook his head. “And it’s easier if you’re in my house. My office is there.”

“So, it’s convenience?” I asked. “That’s it?”

“Yes, and you needed to get away from your family. I couldn’t have your attention divided.”

“Excuse me?” I asked. “What the hell gives you the right to make that call?”

Command smiled at me, a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, and I knew I’d gone too far.

“You don’t know much about shifters, do you?” he asked, and I shook my head. “And you forgot for a moment that I’m one of the five predators who oversee this place. Protect it.” His face twitched as though he was holding back a snarl, then he expelled a long breath. “You’re tired. So, I’ll forget that comment. Let’s go.”

I looked away, a hard knot of worry forming in my stomach.

“You need to let them learn how to survive and live without you, Reagan,” Command said softly. “A leader cannot be hand-holding and efficient. You’re lucky to have made it this far.”

“Don’t presume to know everything about me,” I said, and my fists locked against my sides.

“I don’t,” Command said and put his hands behind his head. “That’s what makes this so fun. But I do know this—deep down, you are relieved to let go of some of that burden. It was eating you alive. A couple more days, and you’d have been nothin’ but smoke. One person can only manage so much—that’s why there’s five Commands. No one has to bear the burden alone.”

I sucked in a hard breath. “They’re not a burden. They’re family.”

“So is Winfyre. But this is a new, dangerous world we live in. Winfyre is safe, as safe as any place can be, but you cannot allow them to crouch behind you, cowering in fear. Let them stand and learn to live again.” There was a musicality to his words under the masculine edge. “Otherwise, if you fall or are not there, they won’t know how to fall back on themselves.”

I caught a shadow crossing his face and wondered if he spoke from experience. His hands fell to his sides, and he looked out across the bay. I knew nothing of this man.

Not even his name.

“What should I call you?” I asked.

He looked at me slowly, the blue of his eyes deepening, and shrugged. “How about Master?” I couldn’t hide the look of horror on my face, and he let out a bellowing laugh. “Ah, Grace, you make it too easy,” he snorted. “You’ll call me by my name, darlin’.”

“Which is?”

He blinked and let out another laugh. “Shit. I never introduced myself. Apologies.” To my surprise, he inclined his head and his face became somewhat serious. “Luke Swiftlore, Ms. Reagan Grace. An honor to meet such an intrepid survivor.”

“Thank you,” I said. He’d almost sounded sincere for a moment.

“Yeah, so call me Luke.” His eyes twinkled as he looked back up. “Or Master Luke.”

“Christ,” I muttered, and Luke laughed again.

The rest of our walk was quiet. Luke seemed at ease, but I was struggling. Thoughts clashed and argued. On the one hand, he was part of Winfyre, and I wanted to trust him. Part of me suspected I already did, or I wouldn’t be walking with him right now. Yet another part of me was planning on sleeping with one eye open.

I stumbled again, and again Luke steadied me. “Almost there,” he said. “Come on, hop up on my back, Reagan. First ride is free.”

“No,” I said and straightened, forcing myself to take one step after another. But the path had gotten steep, and my knees felt like jelly. “I’ve got this.”

“Intrepid,” Luke said, and I forced back a smile.

Just as the sun went down, we finally crested the hill. His house was dark and imposing, snug in a small wood, with a valley to the northeast and the bay stretching across the west. Turning, I caught my breath at the perfect view of the water and took in my first glimpse of Winfyre.

Lights bloomed out among the trees, clustered in thicker bands towards the southwest, with stragglers to the east and west. One lone light sparkled on the other side of the bay. Even though we were looking down from above, it felt snug and safe. A sense of home, one I’d been missing for months, rose up in me.

“How many people live down there?” I asked.

“Over a thousand or so,” Luke said. “Some live farther east and south, but this is the most populous area. We call it Cobalt. I guess it’s kinda like a town.”

I nodded and looked north, to the other shore. “No one on the other side?”

“It’s too thickly wooded,” Luke said. “There’s another big settlement farther north, Veda, with maybe two or three thousand now. Taken all together, about five thousand, I’d say.” He let out a small laugh. “A thousand souls for each of us Commands.”

“All shifters?” I asked.

“For the most part,” Luke said. “Never know who’s going to show up, honestly.”

I nodded, as my stomach twisted with guilt. Should I have admitted to being Riftborn?

Or was I something else entirely?

Suddenly, I realized I’d lied to the people who’d promised to protect me. Back at the barracks, it hadn’t seemed like a big deal, but now, standing with Luke, it burned on my tongue.

What the hell is happening to me? I never lied—before.

“Your sister and those kids will be safe here,” Luke said. “They’ll be trained.”

I nodded, even though I knew Cassidy would never allow it to happen. She wouldn’t even speak or acknowledge that part of herself. And, in that, I realized with another squirm of guilt, I was no better than she was.

“Come on in,” Luke said, and I followed him in. There was a hum of a generator as he clicked on a light. “Now, we don’t have too much electricity, but enough to get us through the next few hours. Try not to go past three. There’s flashlights and candles around. You know how it goes.”

I nodded. Power grids had all but failed in the Rift. Only clean-energy sources, along with batteries, oddly enough, still worked.

The foyer opened onto a large, comfortable room with worn furnishings and a fireplace that took up nearly the whole wall. There was a door on either side of it, the right leading to the kitchen and the left to Luke’s office, which was now also mine, apparently.

“Here,” he said and turned to another door on the left. “This is you.”

Inside was a small but comfortable room with a queen size bed. A kind of choked gasp escaped me at the sight, and Luke choked back a laugh. He’d taken my bags earlier, and there they were, lined up at the foot of the bed. Against the quilts and clean wooden floors, they looked woeful.

“Bathroom through there,” he said. “Plenty of hot water. And here.” Luke tapped my shoulder, and I dragged my eyes away from the bed. A cold shock plunged over me as I saw him shut the door and gesture to the lock. “You can use it.” He twisted it. “Not that it’s any use. Or necessary.”

I backed up, and Luke looked at me. Then he undid the lock and pulled open the door.

“I get it,” he said. “Trust takes time. And all of this probably seems too good to be true.” A large and rough hand went through his hair. “But I promise you’re safe.”

A laugh escaped me. “Good to know.”

Luke lingered for a second and then went to step out when I blurted out, “Wait. What did you mean about honor among the Northbane? I-I’ve been feeling bad all day about upsetting you.”

Even as he nodded, something dark passed over his face. "I know you've probably heard the horror stories about shifters," he said. "How their violence gets exacerbated, and their judgment is skewed. None of that is true.”

Luke fell silent, and my stomach twisted. He was right. It had been in the back of my head all day. As was the irony that I’d come all this way for my sister and the kids, only to insult shifters on their own turf. Not exactly my finest moment.

“Strength and agility, yes, those were gained in an incredible measure. But the other stuff…the Bloodlust,” he spat. “That’s a lie.”

I pulled in a sharp and uneasy breath. It had been so long since I’d even thought of the Bloodlust. In a way, I couldn’t believe I’d forgotten it. But survival had demanded so much of my attention, plus with Cassidy and the kids, I couldn’t indulge in that hysteria.

“Those poor fools who seemed to succumb,” Luke said. “It wasn’t out of some rabid need to destroy—it was a clash of instincts. In the beginning, it was hard to align the humanity with the animal. Survival against morality. But when the dust settled, there was no ambiguity, only the craving for peace.” He rested a hand on the doorframe and looked at it. “This is that attempt.”

I remembered the first time she’d shifted into a panther. Her tearstained face, the way she gulped for air and looked around as though she’d never seen the world. The way she’d covered her ears and cried out, curling into a fetal position. The disgust on William’s face.

My sister’s wracking sobs when he asked for the engagement ring back.

The first time she’d smiled, after weeks of anguish, was when we’d walked into the woods.

I knew Cassidy blamed herself and had striven to suppress her shifter abilities. After a month in the wilderness, when her abilities had calmed and she was more herself again, she’d started telling us we should go back. That she could control it now. That William would accept her.

We’d refused. Not only because we’d found Jemma, Risa, Collette, and Gabriel—Gabriel, who could shift into a sturdy bear cub on occasion. Nor because Shelby and Linh were both starting to exhibit signs they might be shifters, while Bix and Drue definitely were.

We hadn’t gone back because the world had been tearing itself apart at the seams. Shifters turning on shifters, ratting on each other, trying to curry favor, while reports of Bloodlust were being screamed from what was left of the news.

My beloved city had become a war zone, and we’d known it was only a matter of time before William traded in Cassidy for a bounty. She still refused to believe it. Still thought he’d come back.

“I never believed in the Bloodlust,” I said, and Luke gave me a surprised if somewhat wary look. After all, I’d been a research major in my pre-Rift life, dabbling in both neurology and genetics. “The science wasn’t sound.”

“Shifters are not an aberration,” Luke said stiffly.

“No, I know that,” I said. “We always assumed we’d get to the bottom of the universe one day. But I’d already seen enough to know there was something beyond any of us.” I shrugged. “Maybe shifters are a part of that.”

“Hm, that’s a nice thought,” Luke said. His words had an edge of sarcasm, but his smile softened. It tugged at something in my chest. “Maybe we can have these kinds of philosophical and epistemological discussions every night, Ms. Grace.” Now I raised an eyebrow. “What? I’m a big reader. All I did when I was stationed overseas.” Luke sighed. “That was the plan, you know. Serve, study, and…”

“And what? Go into research? Doctor?” I asked, agog with curiosity. Damn, he was a lot smarter than he let on. I wondered if that was on purpose.

Luke’s jaw had hardened, and his gaze had gone flat. “Doesn’t matter now. Night, darlin’.”

With that, he abruptly left and shut the door behind him. I stared at it for a few moments, the room suddenly colder without his presence. The man had a way of infusing life and color into his surroundings, even if he was insufferable.

I’d really wanted to hear more about his past. I’d figured he was probably a veteran, just from the way he held himself. But he’d wanted to study…

Shrugging, I got out my small toiletries pack and went to the bathroom. Then I paused in the doorway, looking around and smiling. There was a new toothbrush, toothpaste, fluffy towels, and even a bathrobe. Soaps and bottles of shampoo and conditioner were lined up. Even bubble bath mix. And the bathroom was so cute, with a claw-footed tub and a window seat overlooking the water.

I wondered if Luke had done this, or if he’d asked one of his staff. Either way, it was above and beyond what I’d expected. But then, so was Winfyre.

Fallon was right.

Exhausted as I was, the appeal of a bath was too much to deny. Shedding my clothes, I filled the tub with hot water and slipped in. A satisfied moan escaped my lips, and I closed my eyes, letting everything fade away. Yet I couldn’t fully relax. My fingers were clenching the sides of the tub.

I realized I was waiting for one of the kids to come banging on the door or for Cassidy to snarl through the wood that it was her turn. For my parents to ask me what to do next.

But I was alone. Well, except for Luke, of course.

That had been my life, every waking and even sleeping minute, for the past three months. Pushing myself and never resting, coming to the very brink of my breaking point. For a moment, I felt hellishly guilty for my relief. But I’d done everything for them and gotten them here.

I deserved this.

Only then did every muscle in my body relax, and I smiled.

Okay, Swiftlore. You got me on that one.

I pictured Luke, then. Standing in my doorframe, his head nearly brushing the top of it. His vibrant turquoise eyes, shifting from darker blues to aquamarine and light greens.

I wondered if his eyes had been like that before, or if it was a result of his shifting. Cassidy’s eyes had changed, going from brown to a living gold-green. I recalled the brief and unimpressed glance she’d given me earlier.

I shook my head. Only Cassidy could look at a hot Alpha wolf shifter and—

I sat up then, gripping the sides of the tub and breathing hard.

Holy shit. I looked up at the door and then the ceiling. Luke is an Alpha.

I had no idea how I knew, only that I was absolutely certain, and I wasn’t quite sure why I didn’t know it before. I’d heard so many rumors about Alphas, the largest and strongest among shifters. Some were even said to have strange and dangerous powers. Supposedly, they couldn’t resist fighting and were thought to encourage Bloodlust.

That’s not real! I said to myself and gritted my teeth. Only ugly rumors.

Luke, Kal, and Rett. All of them were Alphas, I realized. Maybe Fallon, too—I wasn’t sure. Female Alphas were also better at hiding and controlling it.

But wait… I frowned. The rumors had also sworn that Alphas couldn’t bear the presence of another. Yet Luke had mentioned being one of five Commands. That confirmed the other two had probably been Alphas as well. And when Luke mentioned his friends, there’d been nothing but fierce affection. No underlying begrudging tone, only a kind of breathtaking loyalty.

It had stirred something in me earlier, and it did again now. In fact, it was one of the reasons that I’d agreed to go along with this insane claim instead of walking right back out into the wilderness.

Blowing out a breath, I sank back into the water and closed my eyes.

An Alpha, hm? I thought back to the impressive girth of Luke’s muscles and his large hands. A tingle started, lower this time. I rubbed my hands up and down my thighs. I wonder…

“Whoa,” I said and sat up.

With a shaky laugh, I quickly scrubbed down and got out of the tub. Clearly, the hot water was making me delirious. But even once I was in bed, I couldn't stop my thoughts from drifting closer and closer to that curious, distracting little thought.

As I sank more deeply into sleep, I swore I could sense his prescience on the second floor. Yet instead of bringing anxiety or fear, it brought only comfort, and I fell into a deep sleep.