Keeper of the Alphas - Complete (20 page)

Felt bizarre. Hearing her mother like this. Opening up behind the grave. It made Cami feel the cold touch of death over her shoulder. And something else. Her mother sounded
scared
, in a way only Cami could read through those tightly woven lines. Aldric and his master plan frightened her. If her mother—the greatest Keeper of all according to, like,
everyone
—couldn’t handle it, then what were the chances that Cami could?

Maybe Marcus was right. Maybe she should get out before she became bear food like Lynn.

Then again…

Well, her mom was right about one thing. Cami was
strong
. And smart. And passionate. And she could shoot motherfucking flames of righteousness from her fingers.

Why the
hell
did she always have to be the one to leave Tyburn? Why did she always have to be on the run with her demons nipping at her heels? Maybe it was time for Tyburn to sack up and get a little taste of Cami.

Cami fished out her cellphone and dialed Aunt Sadie’s number. Before the other woman could so much as get a word in, Cami said, “I know. I know about Mom, I know about being a Keeper, and the bears in the woods, all of it. I know. And I want to do something about it but…” Cami twisted a strand of hair in her finger, curling it around. Admitting this
hurt
. She took a deep breath and came out with, “I need help.”

Aunt Sadie sighed. Like she’d been holding her breath. “Oh, honey,” she said. “I thought you’d never ask.”

“Welcome,” Jenny said, “to Keeper 101.”

Jenny and Cami sat side by side on Cami’s couch, each with a leg curled up to face each other, while Aunt Sadie hovered like a large parrot.

“Hands,” Jenny said, extending her own, which looked like they had recently been done up with black nail polish (and made Cami suddenly conscious of her own broken blue nails; since when did
she
let her nail polish get chipped?). Familiar with the command, Cami opened her palms and set her hands into Jenny’s, as though she were preparing for a palm reading. “So this is where the magic happens, huh? You’re like, some kind of fire bringer or something.”

Cami looked up. “Is that possible?”

Jenny’s eyes met her own. “You tell me.”

“Is a good idea to do this here?” Marcus said. The front of his plaid shirt hung open and he paced distractedly around the tight space of the living room. “This house is covered in open wood and pine needles.”

“This doesn’t even remotely concern you.” Cami shrugged, forcing a casual tone. “If you don’t like it, you can go get a place of your own instead of squatting in
my
house.
In fact
”—she looked up at him—“since I am letting you stay here, maybe you could help out around the house? There are some dishes piled up in the kitchen.” She flashed a pretty, vicious smile.

“What princess wants, princess gets,” Marcus said, his eyes dark. Those
you’re about to get spanked until you can’t sit for days
eyes, that is, if he were still in a position to punish her. Instead, he turned for the kitchen.

“So you got your bear tamed, huh?” Jenny said with a smirk.

“
No
,” Cami and Marcus barked simultaneously. They shot each other a glare before Marcus vanished into the kitchen.

“
Any
way,” Jenny continued.

“The…fire abilities. It’s not something we’ve seen before, dear.” Sadie fluttered behind them. “But I’d be lying if I said I was shocked.”

Cami twisted to look over her shoulder as Jenny rubbed her thumbs into the pads of Cami’s palms. “What do you mean?”

Sadie wrung her hands once, then said, “Well, your mother was a very powerful Keeper. I have some tricks up my sleeve, but none quite like hers. It’s a firstborn thing. And you, as the firstborn’s firstborn…”

“I’ve got all the mojo juice.” Cami glanced between them. “What can you guys do?”

“It’s lame,” Jenny said, almost apologetically.

“
Jenny
,” her mother chastised.

Jenny sighed. She looked around, spotted a letter opener on the side table, and then shifted back. She held the blade of the letter opener to the back of Cami’s arm. “Trust me?” she said.

Cami felt a knot of anxiety, but nodded. Jenny broke her skin with the letter opener. “Ow,” Cami said pointedly.

“
Trust me
,” Jenny said, a little firmer now. Jenny poked the tip of the blade against her own palm now until a line of blood rose from the skin. She pressed her open cut against Cami’s, and then released her.

Cami gasped. She felt her skin tightening around the small cut, binding back together. A green, milky film covered the cut. “Is that…?” Cami fumbled, looking for the right word.

“Sanitary?” Jenny cut in. “Yeah. It’s mostly just…aloe. Healing plant powers.”

Jenny held up her palm; Cami saw that the cut had already vanished. Cami rubbed her hand over her arm and, sure enough, it was as though she had never been cut in the first place. “My mom?” Cami asked, lifting her head.

“Lynn was able to manipulate water, mainly,” Sadie said. “Ice, when it froze over.”

Ice princess
. Why was Cami not surprised? “That explains a lot.” Cami laughed bitterly. “Water and fire. We couldn’t be more opposite if we tried.”

“Speaking of…” Jenny twisted Cami’s palms up again. “Show me.”

Cami exhaled slowly and then tried to focus. She tried to imagine flames bursting from her hands.
C’mon, fire
…

Nothing happened, so she closed her eyes. Thought about her mother. Thought about Lynn’s coldness, her distance, every effort she made, small and grand, to keep Cami
away
from her, like she was some sick
thing
—

She heard Aunt Sadie gasp behind her, a small
Oh
. Cami opened her eyes and saw the low burn of blue flames shimmering over her right palm.

Cami lifted her palm towards the cold fireplace. She wrapped her fist around her rage and threw it at the bare logs. Instantly, they whooshed into an angry flame, and then finally settled to a low smolder.

“Badass,” Jenny said, grinning ear to ear.

Cami grinned, quietly thrilled she’d impressed them. Maybe this whole Edward Firehands thing wasn’t so bad after all.

“How do you do it?” Sadie asked.

Cami shrugged, looking back down at her hand. The blood under her palm pulsed hotly. “I don’t know. I guess I just…like…get angry. And the fire protects me. Maybe it’s like self-defense, you know? Like, I’ve been screwed over so many times, now I’ve got my own personal hand-mace against life.”

Jenny shrugged. “That’s one way to look at it. Let’s try something else.”

On the table, they had a couple wooden bowls set up. One had oil; the other held a homemade sage stick, twigs and herbs all wrapped up into one clothbound package. Jenny fished a lighter out of her jeans pocket and  lit the oil so small flames danced along the top. Then she lifted the sage stick and lit that with the oil as well, letting the flowery aroma fill the room.

“What’s that, some kind of witches brew?” Cami asked.

“Something like that,” Jenny said, smug. “It’ll help open you up.”

She took Cami’s hands in hers and interlaced their fingers. “Alright, we have our external powers, right? Fire, water, healing blood, whatever. But we’ve also got our internal powers. Our Willpower. You know…that little thing that makes you irresistible to shifters. You can tame them if you try hard enough. Let me show you.” Jenny lifted their hands together and then said, “Close your eyes. I’m going to extend my Will. You should be able to feel it.”

Jenny shut her eyes and took in a slow, deep breath. Cami closed her eyes again. She felt nothing at first, and then heard Jenny exhale, almost a sigh. She
felt
it, like something physical, a warm presence. Soft, ghostly fingertips brushed against her skin and then settled inside her. It felt distinctly
Jenny
, deliberate, bold, chai tea spice. Cami felt both calmed and lazily alive, buzzing.

She thought she heard Marcus growl in the kitchen.

“You feel that?” Jenny asked her.

“Yeah,” Cami murmured breathlessly and opened her eyes. The feeling dissipated as Jenny straightened up, seeming to rein it back in. “How did you do that?”

“It’s easy once you get the hang of it. You’ve been doing it unconsciously, it why the animals can’t keep their hands off you. You’ve just got to harness it,” Jenny said, then squeezed Cami’s hands and closed her eyes again. “Try it on me. Relax…go to your happy place…just let go of everything.”

Cami shut her eyes and tried to unwind. Easier said than done, when she’d spent most of her adult life trying to hold herself together.
Happy place
. Right. Since when had she had one of those? She tried to think of someplace that made her comfortable, safe, and then something popped into her head.
Cami’s Curls
. The hair salon Jayce had promised her, only it was finished, just the way she wanted it. Deep pink walls layered with black damasks, round mirrors with Hollywood lights, state-of-the-art sinks and scissors.

“I’m not feeling anything,” Jenny said. “Go
deeper
. Open yourself up.”

Okay. Right. Hair salon. Cozy, with only a few people at a time, where everyone felt appreciated, like they were really getting the one-of-a-kind old school salon experience. Clients chattering about life, love, and marital issues while they got their hair teased and curled and colored with home-style love.

Jayce was there. That was a surprise. Had she invited him into this fantasy? No, he crashed the party all on his own with a charming smile. He likes what she did with the place. He wants to show her how much he likes it. They go into the backroom and knock over stocks of shampoo bottles when his body goes flush against hers. His tongue dances with hers and then goes down, between her legs, swirling, licking, and she reaches behind and grabs—

A handful of Marcus’s thick hair. He’s standing behind her, arms around her, holding her to him. She’s naked and he cradles her in his arms. He moves a hand to her thigh to force her legs apart for Jayce’s hungry mouth. She’s putty under her men, both strong and wanting her, and she gasps, writhes, and burns from the inside out. She lets them have their way with her and she loves it. Marcus runs his fingers through her hair, stroking it back and—

Suddenly her mother is running her fingers through her hair, shushing her. Cami is a child again, coming down from a tantrum, exhausted and spent from crying, and her mother puts her hand on her forehead and Cami feels safe, and calm, and protected.

Cami’s eyes flew open, quickly scattering the memory. It was a repressed memory, something long forgotten, and she tried to bring herself down to earth, her breath short, her heart pounding in her chest, fingers crushing Jenny’s as though for dear life.

The sound of breaking glass snapped her out of her out of her panic. Marcus looked flushed, uncomfortable, and kept his eyes cast down. “I’m…going for a walk,” he grumbled, and walked outside with urgency, snatching up his coat and letting the door swing shut behind him.

Jenny looked breathless herself and grinned stupidly. “You’ve got some strong willpower there, girl. Got your bear all in a tizzy.”

“Whoops,” Cami said. The two girls locked eyes, then burst into hysterical laughter. Cami’s emotions were going haywire; she felt very much like a young girl at a slumber party. She wanted to curl up with Jenny, paint their toenails, and make origami paper fortune tellers so they could ask if they were going to get married and how many kids they were going to have when they grew up.

“I fail to see what’s so funny,” Aunt Sadie huffed stiffly from her corner.

“Mom,” Jenny said, still chuckling, “can you get us some tea or something?”

“Darling, a mother is not a maid.”

“Neither is a daughter.”

“I never—”

“
Mommy
, dearest.” Jenny tilted her head against the side of the couch, swung her arm over, and batted her eyes dramatically. “Would you
please
find it in your heart of hearts to make us helpless, spoiled little girls some tea?”

“Watch your attitude, love,” Sadie said and gave Jenny’s arm a small pinch on her way to the kitchen.

Jenny turned her attention fully to Cami and leaned in, dropping her voice so her mother couldn’t hear. “So? How was your trip down the rabbit hole?”

“Weird,” Cami confessed, lowering her voice as well. The haunting of her mother had left a cold feeling in her. “I don’t think I really want to do that again.”

“You have to,” Jenny said. “That’s the only way you’ll get better at it.”

“Right,” Cami said, but her voice lacked any clear promise.

“Look, this is all fun and games now,” Jenny said. “But this is serious. If you get this right, you could tame the Beasts in the woods. All of them. You could stop this war before it gets out of hand.” Cami looked away at the fire and Jenny took her hands again to get her attention. “
Hey
. Promise me you’ll practice tonight.”

Jenny’s voice was heavy, serious, so Cami nodded reluctantly. “I promise.”

“Good.” Jenny switched gears then and tilted her head. “So what’s with you and Marcus?”

Cami shrugged once. Another thing that left her uneasy. “It’s…complicated.”

“Okay. Well, if things get weird here, you know you’ve got a place to stay with me, right? I mean, I live with my mom, which sucks, but it’s better than a hairy bear situation.”

Jenny’s eyes were honest. Without ulterior motive. When was the last time someone had genuinely extended a hand to Cami without
wanting
something in return?

“Yeah. Thanks,” Cami said, feeling small.

Jenny’s eyebrows knit. “You okay?”

“Yeah, it’s just…” Cami swallowed and then said, “I can’t believe my mom kept me from this.”

“From what?”

“Family.”

“I can’t blame her. We’re a couple of stone cold freaks. The Addams Family has got nothing on us.” Jenny’s eyes flickered over Cami’s. She sighed and then added, “Look…this whole…‘go to your happy place’ thing? It’s elementary. The only way you’re going to access your
real
power is to break through all that anger and get to the real, genuine emotions underneath.”

“There’s
more
?” Cami asked, eyes widening. “I don’t think I can take much more Twilight Zone than this.”