A Shift in the Water (22 page)

Outside, the sprinkling rain soaked into Mara’s red locks, making them shine. She was stronger now. Cade could smell her element—all around him. Even her eyes were bright and clear again. He wanted to lose himself in the scent of her. He grabbed Mara around the waist and held her close. “Even if Livie is the only one still alive, it’s something. If she comes back here, I can find her.” Tears glistened in his eyes, mixing with the rain on his cheeks. “I spent the past seven months believing they were dead. Their screams. The fire. She lied to me. She told me all the time that she’d killed them.” Against him, Mara’s rain jacket rustled. He should get her out of the rain. Or perhaps get himself out of the rain, but he didn’t want to let her go.

“What do you want to do next? Where to?” Mara wriggled out of his grasp. The disappointment was a weight against his heart, but she quickly took his hand and grinned up at him.

“My shop. If it’s still there I want to see it.” He looked around, eyes unfocused, brows knit. “I don’t know what direction. West?”

“I know the way. Maggie told me.”

Mara led Cade down the street on foot. Her hand in his was small and delicate. A smile graced her lips. The windbreaker and hat protected him from the drizzle, but Mara’s hair was heavy and sodden, trails of water running down the back of her rain jacket. She didn’t seem to care.

“You’re going to catch a cold,” he said, moving to drape his arm around her shoulders.

“I love the rain. And I’ve never had a cold.” She snuggled into his body, cool against his warmth. “This is nice. You run hot?”

“Yeah. About a hundred most of the time. We all do.” He paused under an awning and turned her away from him. He ran his fingers through her hair, gathering it in a thick twist in his hands and wringing out the water. Mara’s head tipped back and a whiff of her element filled his nose. He pulled the hat from his own head and tucked her hair inside, smoothing the wool down over her ears. “That’s better.”

“Your hair,” she protested, touching the hat and whirling around to face him, eyes wide.

“If she’s here, she’s going to find me no matter what my hair looks like. Besides,” he said, trailing a knuckle down her cheek. “It looks better on you.”

After another block, they took a quick right. The buildings were closer together here: quaint little restaurants, a stationery store, a local market, a bookstore, and a law office. Memories hit him left and right. Drinks with Liam. Grocery shopping.

“The bowling alley is down Third,” he said, pointing. “The bank is two blocks north. The lumber yard is a mile south.” He was rambling, but he was so happy to have some of his memories back he didn’t care. A block from his shop, he suddenly quickened his pace. Now he led her. They stopped in front of a dark green building on the corner of a quiet street. The windows were trimmed with pale pine and the shingle hanging over the door had two hand-carved pine trees on either side of the shop name:
Bellingham Woodworking.
The building was deserted with a notice on the door:
For Sale at Auction – December 14th
.

“Shit.”

“You were dead,” Mara murmured.

Cade peered in the window. Dust covered every available surface. “There’s a back door. The lock never worked right. Come on.” He grabbed Mara’s hand and pulled her around to the back of the building. “Give me your keys.”

Mara passed them over. Cade pulled the handle up, jabbed her house key against the locking mechanism, jerked the handle to the left, and it popped open. He grinned at her and let her enter the shop before him. Without a thought, he flicked on the lights and moved through the shop that had been his second home for more than five years. The smells, the feel of the wood dust under his feet, the toys resting on his workbench: it all came flooding back to him.

Mara picked up a train engine the size of a deck of cards. “Goddess, the detail on this is amazing.” She spun the wheels on the bottom of the car with a childish smile on her face.

“I worked on that my last day. It was supposed to be a ten-car set. The mayor’s kid. Her birthday.” Cade took the car from Mara’s hands and rolled it along his workbench. It needed attention. He picked up a small bit covered with sandpaper and ran it over the back wheel. The grain of the wood shone through. Sawdust coated his fingers. He took a deep breath. Wood had a sweet aroma, comforting.

The heat of Mara’s body warmed his back. She rested a hand on his shoulder. Over and over the wheels he brushed the tiny sanding rod. The motion calmed the storm of memories buffeting him, colliding and trying to escape his mind.

When Cade rolled the car again, it skimmed smoothly over the bench. He handed it back to Mara. “There’s a second one around here somewhere.” He rummaged in a bin on the workbench and came up with a caboose. He closed Mara’s hand around the car. “You said something about kids. The man . . . Adam’s kids. Take these.”

“But . . .”

“The job was due months ago. The mayor won’t be expecting them. I can’t stay here, Mara. This is probably the last time I’m ever going to see my shop. Take them.”

Mara tucked the toys into her jacket pocket and shoved her hands into the pockets of her jeans. “You’re going to stay dead.”

“If I can. It’s the smartest thing. I remember some of it now. She hunted me. Something to do with my father.” He leaned against the workbench. Mara was so close. Her intoxicating scent, her kind green eyes, her lustrous long hair, the beautiful soul who’d saved his wolf when she should have run screaming from him. “Come here,” he said, his voice low and hoarse.

It only took a step. Cade had his arms around her waist and his lips inches from hers.

“Cade. We can’t. You said—”

“If I don’t kiss you right now, I’m going to regret it for the rest of my life.” He dipped his head closer. Her breath whispered over his lips. Coffee, sweet rain, cinnamon, and coconut. She ran her hands through his shaggy hair. His rough, chapped lips brushed chastely against the soft swell of her mouth. A tiny sound, almost a moan, hung between them.

“Oh my fucking God.”

The shrill exclamation from the back door startled them both. Mara jumped and yelped. Cade instinctively pulled her behind him.

The woman standing in the doorway had thick ropes of red scars down the left side of her face. One of her eyes didn’t open fully. Her left arm hung stiffly at her side. She’d aged a dozen years in the seven months he’d been gone, but her blue eyes were as bright as ever.

“Livie.”

The female wolf raced towards Cade and launched herself into his arms. He grabbed her with an audible
oof
. Mara sidestepped the two of them. Cade caught a brief glimpse of sadness in her eyes, but Livie tightened her grip around his neck and he returned his focus to the tiny woman who was like a sister to him.

Livie sobbed. “I knew it. I knew you were alive somewhere. No one believed me. They said I was stupid for coming back here. Every month. Every fucking month. Shawn hated it. He practically forbade me from coming this month, but I knew. I had to come.”

“Shawn’s alive too?”

“We’re all alive, boss-man. Shawn, Ollie, Peter, Liam, Christine . . . God. Peter and I got burned, but we’re okay. Bill died. He was the only one. You’re back. You’re really back.” Her tears soaked into the collar of his shirt. She nuzzled his neck in a familiar submissive gesture, asking for solace from her alpha.

Cade rubbed a hand over her neck, gripping her blond hair in a controlling and comforting manner, and then set her down on her feet. He touched the scars on the side of her face. “Shit. I’m so sorry.”

“Could have been worse. My wolf can still run. A little slower than before. Maybe a lot slower, but I manage. Shawn doesn’t seem to notice them anymore.”

There was something off about her. Something besides the scars. Cade looked her up and down. She wore a pair of jeans over black boots. A loose black sweatshirt tented around her belly and her posture was odd. Her good arm braced the small of her back. “You’re pregnant.”

Livie beamed. “Five months.” She rubbed her swollen belly. “Little guy’s kicking up a storm already. How the hell did you get here? What took you so long to come back?”

“It’s a long story.” Cade looked at Mara. She hugged her waist and a pained look spread across her face.

Livie sniffed the air and whirled towards Mara. “What are you doing with a fucking elemental?”

Mara raised her hands and took a step back. “I’m not . . .”

In a heartbeat, Livie pinned Mara against the wall. Her hands grasped Mara’s throat. Mara gasped for air and clawed at Livie’s wrists.

“Get the fuck off her, she’s mine,” Cade roared. He grabbed Livie’s right arm and pulled with all his strength, but he was still weak and barely managed to loosen her grip.

The air in the room grew heavy. Droplets of water fell, slithering down the collar of Cade’s flannel shirt. Mara’s eyes were wild.

“Mara, honey, it’s okay. Livie, let her go, goddammit. She saved my life. Let. Go. Now.”

Livie’s mouth formed an
o
and she dropped her arms. A percussive force shoved her and Cade back two feet and drenched them with ice cold water. Mara stood alone, her chest heaving with every breath. Water dripped from her fingers, her chin, and the tip of her nose. Her hair shone. Her green eyes glowed. Her clothes were plastered to her body, draping the curve of her breasts, her slim hips, and her long legs.

“Cade?” she whispered and collapsed.

He rushed to her side and scooped her into his arms. He sat on the floor of his shop, wet sawdust clinging to Mara’s body while he prayed. “Mara? Honey? Wake up.”

Livie sulked against his workbench. “She’s an elemental, boss-man. What if she’s working with that bitch, Katerina?”

Katerina. Memories crashed over him. Katerina Olmstead. She blamed Cade’s father for her mother’s death.
You’re going to pay, dog. You’ll die, but you’ll suffer first
. Cade shivered. Too many memories.

“She’s not,” Cade said, his voice a low growl. “She saved my life. I had one rule. One fucking rule. We never attack without provocation and you break it by trying to kill the woman who saved my life.”

“I don’t understand,” Livie said. Her voice was small and quiet. She cradled her swollen belly and sank down into her usual chair at the front desk. She’d sat in that chair for years: handling sales, answering phones, and generally watching over Cade.

“Neither do I. Not entirely. I was trapped as my wolf this whole time. Katerina, she worked some charm that stopped me from shifting. I spent the past seven months in a fucking cage on Orcas Island. She starved me.” He could barely keep going. He hadn’t even confessed all of this to Mara. He wanted to tell her—now that he remembered more of it. He needed her to know most of all. “I was dying. Something happened. I don’t know what, but I dug my way out. My wolf hid in Mara’s car. God, I hurt. Every part of me hurt. But when Mara touched me, it was better. She healed me—the wolf. Fed him, treated his wounds. But still, I couldn’t shift back. Two days ago, somehow her water element broke the charm and I shifted. She didn’t even know she was an elemental.” He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Come back, honey. Please.”

“Oh my God. Have you claimed her?” Livie asked. She tugged at her right ear, a nervous, uncertain gesture.

“No. Yes. I don’t know. Fuck. I don’t even have all of my memories. Too long as a wolf—it changes you. When I shifted back, I could barely speak. I didn’t remember . . . anything. There was only Mara. I can’t walk away. She’s mine. That’s all I know. She’s mine. She kissed me yesterday. It felt like coming home.”

“That’s how I feel about Shawn.” Livie pushed herself up and half walked, half waddled over to Cade and Mara. She dropped down to her knees and checked Mara’s pulse.

Mara pulled away and blinked her eyes open. “Get the fuck away from me,” she rasped. She tried to fight her way out of Cade’s arms, but he held her tightly.

“It’s okay, honey. You’re safe. Livie won’t hurt you again.”

“I’m sorry,” Livie said, looking down at the floor. “Cade’s like my big brother and my father all rolled into one. I’m a little overprotective. When we . . . before the attack, I was security. It was my job to make sure no one harmed our alpha. I failed and when I smelled you, instincts took over. Elementals aren’t common. I assumed you were with the bitch that did this.” She gestured to the scars on her face. “Cade assured me you’re not.”

Cade smoothed Mara’s hair. He wanted to bite her neck, to bury inside of her. His reaction to Livie’s attack was visceral and immediate. The possessiveness and fear consumed him. His wolf claimed Mara in that moment. She was his mate. His wolf knew it. He didn’t know how he could possibly stay with her with Katerina still out there, but he was damn sure he was going to try if she’d have him.

“Why am I wet?” She shivered in his arms and her eyebrows squished together, her gaze cloudy.

“Your water element. You were in danger and I think it took over. Knocked us back, soaked the floor. If we’d been outside in the rain, you might have drowned us.”

“I want to go home,” Mara said. “I need . . . Goddess, I need Aunt Lil. Her friend, Eleanor. I don’t understand what happened. I feel strange. My skin hurts. My head. I’m so tired. Shit. I can’t drive like this.” She raised her hand and stared at her trembling fingers. A sob caught in her throat. “No.”

“I’ll take you home.” Cade looked back at Livie. The blond wolf watched Mara suspiciously, but there was no malice in her eyes, only distrust. “Livie, do you have a car?”

“Yeah.”

“Mara, listen to me. I can’t leave Livie here. She’s my pack and she knows more about the fire elemental than I do right now. I need her. I need all of them.”

A tear shimmered at the corner of Mara’s eye. “You have to go. I understand. Get me to my car. I’ll take a nap. Or a hotel. Jen can come get me. I’ll make it home.”

“You’re not getting rid of me that easily. I want Livie to follow us. Until you’re better and I talk to the rest of my pack, I’m not going anywhere.” He cast a glance at Livie. “And maybe not even then,” he added quietly. He stroked Mara’s hair, tightening his grip. “She’d need to stay with you.”