Passionate Flames, page 16
While that was not the sympathetic response she wanted, it did make sense. “I guess, but I hate uncertainty.”
“Come on. We should head back. As soon as we exit the forest, I’ll see if we can get cell reception. Maybe they found Greer and all is good.”
She sagged with relief. “That would be wonderful.”
Before they left, they stripped the bed, unsure of when Anderson’s parents would need to use the cabin. She didn’t see any laundry facilities so she had no idea how they washed or cleaned anything.
The trip back through the forest was hard at times—at least for her. Climbing down the mountain wasn’t fun, but eventually they made it. Twice, Thane insisted she hop on his back so he could carry her, which turned out to be the best part of the trip. She loved how strong he was.
Once in the open, he called Griffin who was taking point on the search. “Hey, it’s me. Anything?” Thane asked.
She leaned over so she could hear his response. “Nothing yet, but we’re still searching. I trust Mange kept his distance?”
“He did.”
“Did you think of anything while you were vacationing?” Griffin asked.
“Unfortunately, no. We’re headed back to town now.”
“See you there.”
Thane faced her. “You know, when we were making love, I noticed this delicate pink light shining inside you.”
She smiled and dragged a finger down his chest. “When I’m excited, I always glow.”
“No, this was different.”
She stepped back. “What are you saying?”
“I didn’t want to mention it at the time—since I was really enjoying myself and didn’t want to be interrupted—but it’s possible your ability to shift is growing.”
She shook her head. “I can’t shift.”
“So you’ve been told. Remember, your realm teachers weren’t always forthcoming. Besides, those in your realm might not know about the power of the Guardians.” He puffed out his chest. “We are quite virile.” Thane winked.
She chuckled at his antics. Angelique was about to dismiss it until she remembered several strange things had been happening lately. For one, there had been some pressure at the end of her fingertips one time, but she’d dismissed it. She had attributed the heat racing through her body at odd hours to stress. Maybe it had been due to a dragon trying to get her attention. “If I wanted to shift, what would I have to do?”
His eyes slightly widened as if he’d expected her to tell him he was crazy.
“I’ve never taught anyone, but how about closing your eyes, hold your arms out straight, and focus on becoming a dragon.”
She tilted her head to the side. “Really? That’s so hokey. There has to be something more to it than that. You don’t pose before you shift.”
“No, but I’ve been doing it for over one hundred years. It’s second nature. Maybe you should ask Chelsea when we get back. Declan was able to teach her.”
“I like that idea.” Angelique stepped back, waiting for Thane to shift.
“You aren’t even going to try?”
“And fail?” It wasn’t in her nature.
Thane drew her to his chest. “I won’t think any less of you. Hell, I’ll respect you more for trying, even if you don’t succeed.”
She felt stupid, but for Thane she’d give it a try. “Fine.”
Knowing how much space a dragon needed, she stepped back and tried not to have a negative attitude. Things like this were all about belief. She closed her eyes and stretched out her arms.
“Think about becoming a dragon and flap your arms up and down to simulate flying,” Thane instructed.
Angelique wasn’t sure if she wanted to succeed now. Turning into something almost fifteen feet tall with the ability to fly kind of terrified her. “Here goes.”
She pictured the shape of his dragon snout and the long, graceful wings. As if something dark had invaded her, her body started to pull apart. Petrified that Mange had found her, she opened her eyes and wrapped her arms around her body.
Thane rushed over to her and drew her into a hug. “What happened?”
Angelique’s breathing came out way too fast. She’d never lost her cool like that before. “I thought Mange was here.”
Thane swung her behind him and looked around. “I don’t see or sense anyone.”
“It’s okay. The feeling has passed.”
He spun around. “When you felt this darkness, did it feel as if someone was tearing your body apart?”
“Yes. Exactly.” She was so thankful he understood.
He framed her face with his palms. “It’s supposed to be that way—at least the first time. Your body was trying to change shape.”
“Really? Did you see anything happen?” She stretched out her arms and looked for scales.
“No.” He wrapped an arm around her waist. “I think that is enough excitement for one day. We can try again later.”
Thane was the best. Angelique’s nerves were already stretched taut. “I’d like that.”
“Ready for your lift home?”
“Totally.”
While the view below her of the green landscape, lush forests, and many lakes was spectacular, Angelique couldn’t expel the strange feeling of when she’d tried to change into a dragon. If Mange hadn’t shown up in Tarradon, she might not have freaked when it felt as if dark light had entered her body. Thane seemed to think it was ordinary, but Angelique would feel more comfortable after speaking with Declan’s mate, Chelsea.
The city came into view, and Thane headed to the top of the SinCas building. He landed and then set her down. “Fingers crossed there is some news,” she said.
Thane shook his head. “Fingers crossed? Where did you learn that phrase?”
“Chelsea said it once.”
He chuckled. “Gotta love Earth. Come on.”
Police tape was wrapped around the counter when they entered the jewelry store. Tory was speaking with someone who wore a Custom Cabinets uniform. At least the shattered glass had been cleaned up. Tory squeezed the man’s arm and rushed over.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Tory said. She leaned closer. “Did Mange show up?”
“Thankfully, no,” Thane said. “Have you been in contact with Anderson or anyone else?”
“Griffin has done a great job coordinating everything, but there have been no sightings.”
“How about Blake Masters’ body? Has it been found?” Thane asked.
“No.”
Angelique wasn’t sure what she thought about that. “Either Mange is learning how to hide his bodies better or worse, he’s still in it.”
“Shit,” Thane said. “We need to know what we’re dealing with. Everyone should be on the lookout for this guy. At least we have a name this time.”
Angelique grabbed his arm. “No one but us should be anywhere near him. If they spot him, they have to let us know, not attack him.”
He smiled down at her. “I know what’s at stake, my beautiful white entity.”
She hoped he did.
Greer reached out and placed her hands on the man’s shoulder and hips, sending her healing powers through him. Unless he’d hidden the key to the padlock somewhere, he might not be able to get to her even if he awoke.
Concentrating hard to heal him, each pulse that traveled from her to him weakened her body. Crap. The drugs were making her job so much harder. The man groaned, and she released him. Greer needed time to recharge in case he came in after her.
She sat back on her heels. “Hello?” Damn, her voice wobbled. That was so unlike her.
The man grunted once more and then raised a hand to his forehead. He must have opened his eyes because he pushed up on his elbow and looked around. “What the hell?”
“Who are you?” she asked.
The man jerked back around. “What are you doing in a cage? And where are we?”
He seemed to recognize her, but Greer wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. “That’s what I’d like to know.”
He sat up and then rubbed his forehead. “You’re the woman from the jewelry store.”
“Yes, but who are you?”
“Blake Masters. I work at the First Bank of Tarradon.”
She must have been transported to another realm because nothing was making sense. “I’m Greer.” She saw no reason to advertise she came from the wealthy Caspian family. “What is the last thing you remember?”
He rubbed his stomach and then groaned. “I went to the jewelry store to buy an engagement ring.”
She refused to address the disappointment. There was something about Blake that drew her to him. Why though? Hadn’t he been the reason she was there? Crap. If she weren’t still under the influence of the drug, she might have been able to think more clearly.
“Your mate is human I take it?” Shifters didn’t give another shifter an engagement ring. That was reserved for humans.
“Yes.”
“What else do you remember?” she asked.
He inhaled and closed his eyes. His hand slipped into his pocket. “I went to pull out a piece of paper with my girlfriend’s ring size on it when I felt something sharp.”
“It was a syringe. Why did you stab me in the neck?”
He sat up straighter. “Excuse me? I would never do something like that.”
Blake Masters sounded sincere, but the fact of the matter was that he had stabbed her.
He doubled over, causing her sympathy to swell. “What’s wrong? Are you still injured?” She knew damned well that something bad had happened to him if her reaction to healing him was any indication.
“I don’t know.” He tugged his shirt out of his pants, and when he lifted it up even Greer gasped. He gently touched the dark brown spot. “Fuck.”
“I’m a healer. Take off your shirt. I might be able to help if I can see what’s wrong.”
Blake shot her a look, but then shrugged. “Can’t make it worse, I suppose. Or can you?”
He twisted toward her, acting as if he suspected she had something to do with their situation.
“No. I’m not the bad guy here. If I were, I wouldn’t have put myself in a locked cage and thrown away the key.”
“I suppose not.” Blake ditched his jacket, loosened his tie, and then unbuttoned his shirt.
Once he removed it, when he twisted away from her, Greer’s heart broke. His back and arms were completely bruised and tinged with brown. “Do you remember being in a fight?” she asked.
“No why?”
“Your back and arms look worse than your stomach.”
He reached around him and winced. “Shit.” With effort, he stood and then looked up. “Don’t freak, but I’m going to shift into my dragon form to see if I can heal.” Blake walked to the far side of the warehouse, out of direct line of sight from the door.
In case their captor returned, Blake would be hidden—at least for a few seconds. “Go for it.”
One second he was human, and the next he was a huge sand colored dragon with interspersed black scales. She’d never seen anything like his kind before.
Blake paced for a bit then folded in his wings and stilled. When he closed his eyes, she figured he was working hard to let his dragon do its job.
Greer leaned back against the bars and stretched out her legs, still pissed about losing her shoe. She’d almost dozed when a noise startled her, and something painful invaded her.
In a flash, she sat up. A man with a wolf shifter signature entered the building. He smelled evil. Oh crap. It had to be Mange.
Chapter Twenty
Thane was growing more agitated by the minute. Angelique wrapped an arm through his and leaned closed. “Since there’s not much we can do here, how about coming with me to check out the coffee shop? I want to see how close we are to opening.”
Melissa and Shannon had been texting her on and off about the progress. Without a doubt, both deserved a bonus for all the hard work they’d put in to making sure the floors were dry, the place didn’t smell of smoke, and the roof was repaired.
Thane looked down at her. “I’ve been so preoccupied with Greer that I forgot how someone nearly burned down your place. I’m interested to see the progress as well.”
Just as they were about to leave, Griffin and Declan walked into the jewelry store. For the next few minutes, they chatted with Thane about the progress of the search for Greer and Mange, aka Blake Masters. It wasn’t that Angelique wasn’t interested in finding her nemesis, but she figured they’d meet soon enough. She just hoped both she and Thane were together when that happened.
Once his brother and cousin returned to the search, Thane turned to her. “Ready?”
“Yes.”
They exited out the side door and turned right toward her coffee shop. Declan had told them that yesterday the Guardians had flown over a ton of buildings, trying to sense shifter signatures, but had come up empty-handed.
She clasped his hand and squeezed. “Don’t worry, we’ll find her.”
“I’m sure we will. The question is when and in what condition?” Thane slowed. “I just thought of something. Do you know if Mange can put a spell on a person to cloak their shifter signature? It would explain why we can’t find them.”
“I don’t know, but in theory I can do it—even if a person is in his human form.”
“Really? How long would the spell last?”
“A couple of hours, maybe. A dark entity’s abilities might be greater than a white entity’s. It would also depend on the curse. I just don’t have enough experience in these things to know for sure.” She grunted. “Every time I think about it, I become angry and frustrated. Our education sucked.”
“Maybe Fate did it on purpose. You’re thrown into a deep pool of water, and if you figure out how to swim in time, you live. If you don’t—”
“I die. I get it. Still doesn’t mean I like it.”
Thane rubbed her shoulder. “Remind me never to go to your realm. It sounds terrible.”
She hadn’t meant to paint it as a horrible place. “Like any realm, it has its good points and its bad.”
When they reached the coffee shop, a ton of activity was going on inside. Angelique didn’t have her key for the shop with her, but Shannon pushed open the door as soon as she spotted them.
“Welcome back,” Shannon said. “I hope you like the changes.”
“I’m sure I will.”
When Angelique had purchased the shop from another coffee shop owner, she didn’t change much. The three of them had talked about what she would do when she had the time and money to decorate to her taste, and now those changes had been made.
Angelique smiled. “You went with the pale green walls. I love it.”
“Come see the kitchen. You won’t recognize it. Donald has outdone himself.”
All three of them headed down the hallway toward the kitchen. “I see we now have cameras back here. Nice.”
Shannon smiled. “I thought you’d appreciate that.”
Inside the kitchen, Angelique beamed. “Donald, you’ve performed a miracle.”
Her chef blushed. “Always wanted a new stove, but I didn’t expect to get it this way.”
She looked up. The ceiling had already been fixed and painted. “When do you think the kitchen will be ready to open?”
“The paint will have had time to cure by tomorrow, and I’m almost done with everything in here.”
“That’s great.” The relief surprised her.
“Would you like me to fix you something?” Donald asked.
She turned to Thane. “Would you like a cup of coffee?”
“I would if it comes with pastries.”
Donald smiled. “You’re in luck. I just baked a batch. I had to make sure the oven was calibrated correctly.”
Angelique smiled. “I’m glad you did.”
“I’ll bring them out with the coffee.”
They headed back to the shop and sat by the window. One reason she wanted to come to the shop was to talk to Thane alone. Angelique leaned forward. “We should discuss a few things.”
“Like?”
“Like me returning to work once we open.”
He shook his head. “It’s too dangerous.”
Of course, Thane would say that. “If I’m not here, and Mange comes, he might decide to torment me by killing Melissa, Shannon, or Donald.”
Thane reached out and cupped her hand. “Once we find him and destroy him, you can be here all by yourself.”
“That will happen sooner or later, but when? You can’t put your life on the line either. I know stuff is happening in the province that some of the Guardians are trying to solve.”
“True. What do you suggest?”
“How about we spend a few hours a day here, and then I spend a few hours a day with you at the mine or wherever you need to be? I don’t think we should ever be apart.”
He pressed his lips together. “What if I have to fly someplace? It’s not like you can come with me. While I can carry you, if a dragon engages me in battle, I might drop you.”
She crossed her arms. “Then I’ll learn to shift. Somehow.”
Donald stepped out of the kitchen and delivered their coffee and pastries. “I have to say it feels damned good to be back up and running.”
Angelique smiled. “Thank you for everything.”
Once Donald returned to the kitchen, Angelique took a bite of her pastry and moaned at the delicious blend of flavors. She then sipped her steaming coffee. “I hadn’t realized how hungry I was.”
Thane grinned. “Non-stop sex will build up an appetite like no other.”
She laughed, the sensation energizing her. “I’m going to call Chelsea to see if she can give me any pointers about shifting.”
“Good idea.”
When Declan’s mate answered, animals were barking in the background. She must be at the shelter taking care of things until a new owner could be found. Angelique explained what happened when she tried to shift.
“Hmm. I can’t say I felt anything dark inside me, but it was quite different than shifting into my wolf form. I did think I would fly apart. The stretching can definitely be scary. I recommend you picture a dragon clearly before attempting to shift. In my case, I have to think whether I want to be in my wolf form or my dragon form.”
