A Shift in the Air (20 page)

“
I love you, Liam. I went
to Ha’penny Bridge and found our lock. I loved you then, but I love
you more now. You’re mine, every bit as much as I’m yours. I’m
terrified of what’s going to happen when we face…him…but I’m not
scared of you—of this.”

His kiss left her breathless and
aching for more, but when he pulled back, his eyes churned. “We’ll
have some trouble with my pack. They’ll respect the matin’, and
they won’t harm ya, but they won’t welcome ya either. I’ll…we might
have to leave them. Go somewhere new.”

“
I want to make things
right with them.” He’d voiced her biggest fear beyond Fergus. Liam
had a family, and she’d had a part in hurting them. “Would we have
to live with them? Maybe if we had our own place…they’d have an
easier time. I don’t want to cause a rift between you and your
family.” In the late night hours of their flight over the Atlantic,
Liam had confessed his troubles to her—his failings as a beta,
Cade’s order that he reconnect with them all, and his regrets that
he’d never noticed Peter’s pain.

“
I don’t know. But…that’s a
worry for when we’re free and back home. For now…I’d like to hear
ya tell me again.” He grinned, rolled on his back, and settled her
on top of him.

“
I love you,
Liam.”

***

The moon’s approach didn’t help his
nerves. Whether her own stress or a reaction to his, Caitlin
worried her hands along the hem of her sweater. She’d stretched the
poor stitching almost to breaking in the past half hour, and he’d
tamped down a pattern in the thick carpeting of the suite with his
pacing. Cade and Mara had landed half an hour ago and were due to
arrive any minute. Damn rush hour traffic.

Several stones arranged in a circular
pattern on the coffee table and a bundle of herbs on either side
waited for Mara, though Liam didn’t pretend to understand how
either would help her. She’d made it through the flight, according
to Cade’s text, but she couldn’t keep food down and even getting
water in her had proved difficult. His alpha’s worry punched
through the terse message.

Though the moonrise wouldn’t drive the
mating call to a frenzy for another thirty-six hours or so, in
Liam’s heart, they’d mated already. Her declaration of love, her
desire to claim him as he’d claimed her, sealed them.

“
You’re going to exhaust
yourself,” she said, glancing up at him with tired, bloodshot
eyes.

“
A little late for
that.”

Caitlin yelped at the knock at the
door.

“
Liam!” Cade’s deep voice
carried, and Liam threw open the door to the suite. Mara clung to
her mate, her normally pale skin almost translucent, her hair dull,
and her eyes half-lidded. Cade had a single duffel bag slung over
his shoulder, and under his jacket, blood and soot stained his gray
shirt.

“
Give her here,” Liam said
and lifted Mara in his arms, carrying her to the sofa where Caitlin
indicated.

“
Water.” Caitlin pointed to
a bottle of water on top of the mini-bar and took Mara’s hands. A
rush of air surrounded them, so strong Liam swore as the impact hit
him.

“
I’m just tired.” Mara
slumped back against the brocade fabric and closed her eyes. “Hard
to focus.”

“
Mara, stay with me. We
need to calm the fire.” Caitlin pulled open the top button of
Mara’s wrinkled silk blouse and pressed one of the milky stones
against Mara’s heart.

“
Oh Goddess.” Mara cupped
the stone, took a deep breath, and the humidity in the room rose
almost immediately. “How do you do that?”

“
I wish I could take credit
for it, but that’s the quartz. This, though, is me.” Caitlin lit
one of the herb sticks and sent her element winding around the two
women. She drew a complex pattern of circles in the air, focusing
on Mara’s head and her heart and then spread a drop of essential
oil between Mara’s eyes. Finally, Caitlin draped a leather pouch on
a long strap around Mara’s neck.

“
Keep that on all the
time—except when you shower. The quartz against your heart should
help center you. Now drink this while I give you my air, and you
should feel stronger.”

Silent minutes passed as Mara gulped
down the water. Caitlin pressed her palm to Mara’s, and the rush of
her element ruffled Liam’s shirt. When Mara looked back at Cade and
Liam with clear, bright eyes, both men relaxed. “I’m better now,”
she said. “And really hungry.”

“
Luv, can ya see to Cade? I
think he’s hurt. I’ll order room service.”

In truth, Liam didn’t want Caitlin’s
hands on his alpha—not so close to the mating—but her charms could
relieve his pain.

“
I shifted,” Cade said.
“Once we parked at the airport. We had a few minutes. The blood is
old. I’m starving and tired, but I’m not injured.”

“
You’re in pain. You both
are. I can help. At least for a little while.” At his nod, Caitlin
directed him to sit next to his mate. She stood in front of them, a
hand on each of their shoulders. Fig blossoms scented the suite,
and Liam couldn’t help but stare as Cade and Mara both relaxed when
the charm took hold.

“
They’re sendin’ up enough
food for an army.” Liam took a seat across from Cade and Mara and
waited for Caitlin to fit herself to his side. “Ten minutes or so.
What happened in Oregon?”

Mara slid her palm against Cade’s.
“Where’s Fergus? Are we safe here for a while?”

“
He hasn’t come after us.
Well…not directly.” Caitlin recounted Fergus’s invasion of her
dreams and his attempt to charm her when she’d been alone on the
streets of Dublin, and Liam explained Peter’s absence.

“
He should call soon.” The
knock at the door announcing food brought any questions to a halt,
and the four dug into steaks, chips, and warm rolls with
butter.

“
Why does the quartz work
so well?” Mara asked, toying with the leather pouch that hung
between her breasts after polishing off an entire plate of
food.

“
Cleansed stones absorb
negative energy. I can cleanse them every few weeks for you—help
keep them working. Or…I can teach you how to perform a cleansing
when we get home.”

Cade picked up on the hint in her
words. “You’re planning on sticking around after this mess is
done?”

“
She agreed to
accept—”

Caitlin stopped Liam with a hand on
his thigh. “I want to ask for permission to join the pack as Liam’s
mate.”

The words set loose a storm inside
him, his wolf clamoring to be free. He hadn’t known how much he’d
needed to hear her promise until that moment or how much he needed
Cade to agree.

Cade and Mara looked at one another
for a long minute before Cade nodded and returned his focus to
Caitlin. “I won’t oppose it. You’ll have to make peace with the
rest of the pack, but you’ve proven your loyalty to Mara several
times in the past few days, and though I don’t know that I’ll ever
forget what you did, I’ll forgive you for your actions.”

Caitlin reached for Liam’s
hand. “Fergus used the air he stole from me to ensure I obeyed him,
though I never wanted to. But Katerina’s control…the charm she
wielded to create the crystal didn’t affect my body. She used her
element—and mine—to ensure that
Bella
trusted her completely. If she
asked me to do something, I complied because I believed in her. I
knew the risks when she offered to protect me. Between her
strength—fire, one of his greatest weaknesses—and her conviction— I
wanted to believe she wouldn’t take advantage of me.”

Cade snorted. “You didn’t know
her.”

“
At the time, I didn’t. I
didn’t trust anyone. Not even myself. That’s why I jumped off the
cliffs in the first place. She knew what I needed—sensed it
somehow—and said all the right words.

“‘
Give yourself into my
protection, allow me to keep you safe, and trust that I will never
harm you. You’ll help me and in return, I’ll kill anyone who hurts
you.’” Caitlin plucked one of the stones from the table and
smoothed her thumb over the flat surface. “That’s how she
controlled me. I trusted her because she compelled my trust—I
didn’t know that was even possible until her charm. But I needed
her protection so desperately that I let her cast the charm. If
you’d asked me at the time, I knew right from wrong. That’s why I
tried to help Mara in the hotel. Why I couldn’t hurt her.” A tear
glistened in her eye, and she sniffed once, then stared down at her
hands.

“
Thank you for that,” Mara
said. “And one day, perhaps you can tell me about the parts of my
sister I never saw.”

“
She had good in her under
all the pain. I wish you’d known that side of her. But whatever
made her crack so long ago, stole the rational side of her…at least
surrounding Cade and his father.”

Mara turned to Cade, brows knit
together, confusion deepening the purse of her lips and the tiny
lines around her eyes. “What if whatever is affecting me, took
Katerina as well? The elders said the world needed to find balance
again. Are we all at risk?”

Caitlin shivered. “We are if we can’t
stop Fergus.”

Chapter Sixteen

“
Mara’s too tired to go to
Doolin tonight,” Cade said, rubbing the back of Mara’s neck. “We
won’t be any good to anyone until we get some rest.”

“
We haven’t slept much
either. Caitlin, is Fergus still in County Clare?” Liam reached for
her hand and linked their fingers.

“
I think so. If he gets
close, I’ll feel it. We’re probably safe here for the
night.”

“
What did ya learn in
Oregon?”

Cade snorted. “Fucking elementals.
This blood?” He gestured to his shirt. Burnt red stained his left
sleeve. “I had to fight my way to Mara when they went after her.
The whole fucking community wants Mara dead. They’re convinced if
they don’t stop her, she’ll end up like Fergus.”

“
I will.” Mara’s voice
broke, and she shied away from Cade when he reached for her. “Every
time I have to use my fire, I lose myself. I don’t remember
anything after you broke into the meeting room. I…’woke up’ at the
airport. If we don’t find the book, I don’t know how long I have
left.”

Cade clenched his hands on his thighs.
“Don’t give up, honey. Please. Don’t leave me.”

“
I don’t know that I’ll
have a choice.” Mara fiddled with the leather pouch around her
neck. “The elders know Fergus. He’s been in and out of mental
institutions for years. Apparently he’s addicted to Rohypnol. The
pills help keep his mania in check.” She snorted and pinched the
bridge of her nose. “They tried to drug me, too.”

“
Mara.” The single word
rasped roughly, and Mara leaned against Cade and let him wrap his
arms around her. ”They did. You don’t remember because of the drug.
When I found you…you could barely stand. I thought I’d lost
you.”

“
No one’s losing anyone,”
Caitlin said. Mara curled into Cade, the haunted look in her eyes
stirring Caitlin to change the subject. “Did you learn anything
about the book?”

Cade dug in his pocket and tossed her
a crumpled piece of paper. “Before everything went to shit,
Eleanor—she’s a friend of Mara’s aunt—gave me this. She’s the one
who told me I had to get to Mara. She died trying to save
us.”

Smoothing the paper on the coffee
table, Caitlin read the hastily scrawled words aloud.

“’
Diedre McKean, 300 Uisce
Road, Lisdoonvarna.’ She’s not far from Doolin. She knows about the
book?”

Mara lifted her shadowed gaze and
swallowed hard. “One of the elders, an air elemental, Siobhan,
lived in Ireland for most of her life. She knows Diedre. From what
she said, Diedre’s a loner, lives off the radar, and doesn’t
interact with any of the other elementals in the country. And she
used to talk about her great-grandmother’s charm book and some of
the far-fetched ramblings that spoke of power and darkness. Siobhan
wanted to help until the others convinced her of my…instability.
I’m supposed to tell Diedre that ‘her little flower’ sent
us.”

“
So tomorrow,” Liam said,
rubbing a hand along his jaw, “we’ll go to Farren’s and then find
this elemental.”

“
What about Fergus?” Cade
stilled his restless movements and fixed Caitlin with a hard stare.
“Can you fight him if he comes after you?”

“
She doesn’t have to. I’ll
protect her.” Liam covered her hand with his.

If only he could. He couldn’t possibly
know the evil Fergus carried within him, nor how easily he could
wield her air. “No, Liam. If he gets anywhere near us, you have to
run.”

“
Ye’re talkin’ to a
werewolf, luv. We don’t back down. Not when our mates are
threatened.” The edge to his voice stirred her anger.

“
Dammit. You don’t know
him. I’m fucking sick and tired of you trying to ‘save’ me. I’ll
save myself.”

“
No, Caitlin.” Liam gripped
the arm of the sofa so hard the wood creaked under his fingers. A
muscle twitched in his jaw.

“
No? You don’t get to tell
me no. I’m not your little damsel-in-distress-porcelain-doll about
to shatter, and growling at the problem won’t solve anything.
Fergus is out there, and he’s going to come for me—and you—unless I
stop him. Me. The one who ‘made’ him. I need your help—don’t get me
wrong. But you can’t be the one to fight him. I fought him earlier.
I can do it again.” Caitlin’s element stirred the drapes five feet
away. “Mara, if you start to feel odd, come get me. Otherwise, I’ll
be in bed.”