Tires crunching on the snow alerted Micah to a visitor. Who the hell is that? I canceled all the reservations. Dammit, if that’s Pete come again to tell me I need to step in as Alpha, I swear I’ll shift and bite him so he can’t sit down for a week.
Micah swiftly scented for Talia. Telling her about Olivia had been hard, but they’d settled into some semblance of a routine. Assured she still napped, he hit the front door with an exasperated expulsion of air.
If he’d been in wolf form, his ears would have flattened against his skull. His lips did curl back in a snarl as his nostrils flared-what the hell was Frank LaBec doing in Wisconsin? And what was he doing in Micah’s territory when he was the leader of the Turn Skin Pack in New Orleans?
Micah stood rooted on his front steps, fists clenched as the car stopped. I do not need this now. Missing Olivia for the past two weeks had turned his emotions raw. Hell, he’d even snapped at Talia the night before.
With one hand held out, he rumbled, “Don’t get out of that car, Alpha. I don’t want Turn Skins on my land or near my family.”
The man half in and half out of the car shook his head. His shoulder-length blond hair was tied back and he wore an open black overcoat under which Micah could see a conservative pinstriped tailored suit. Heaving a sigh, he shot back at Micah, “This is Pack business, Alpha. My Pack and yours. If you don’t want fair warning, I’ll leave.”
Micah’s shoulders tensed as the hair on the back of his neck stood up. “Pack business? What business does your Pack have with mine? Speak your words, Alpha. Make it worth my while not to stuff you back in that overpriced rental and kick your ass all the way back to the airport.”
The challenge hung in the air as Frank stared at Micah. His chest moved in steady breaths then he slammed the car door shut and moved to the front of the vehicle. “I am here on behalf of my Pack to discuss the living arrangements of Curtis’ heir, Micah. In case you have any doubt, I’m talking about Talia Genaro, Shelly Genaro’s child.”
Before Micah could speak, Frank continued. “I’m as shocked as you are. But we need to talk, you and I. The Pack wants Talia at the mansion to rear as our own.”
Without thinking, Micah charged Frank. Grabbing Frank by the lapels of his suit, he raised the other man a few inches off the ground so that their faces were level. Nose to nose, he snarled, “You have lost your ever-loving mind, Frank and you could lose your life. Talia is my goddaughter-no, she is my daughter. Shelly gave me custody. Now get off my land and out of my territory.”
Micah bit out the last words in careful pieces as if Frank might misunderstand the importance of what he was saying. Not letting go of the suit, Micah backed Frank up.
“She is mine. Do not even think about pulling anything like kidnapping her or harming her in any way. If any other Turn Skins set foot on my property, I will shoot them dead.”
He knew exactly what affront he’d offered. To shoot another shifter without a fair fight animal to animal was a grave insult but Micah didn’t care. Nothing and no one, especially not those lowlife Turn Skins, will harm my daughter. It shook him to the bone to realize that he considered Talia his as though he’d created her with Shelly.
Surely she hadn’t slept with Curtis-not sweet, gentle Shelly. She’d refused to talk about Talia’s father. Said things would never work out between them so she’d declined the offer to be his mate. It couldn’t be. And the Turn Skins were ultimately responsible for Shelly’s death. The Alpha bitch at the time, Maggie, had truly killed her, but none of the rest of that Pack had tried to stop her.
Micah glared at the shifter in his grip. The fact that Frank had not fought back, only grabbed Micah’s wrists was telling. As if he had too much to lose by letting Micah throw him off the land. He relaxed his grip, eliciting a sigh from Frank.
“Look. You don’t think I’d fly to Minnesota and then drive four hours into the middle-of-fucking-nowhere Wisconsin in the freezing-ass winter just to fuck with you, do you? Do you really think I value my life that little? Let us come in out of this ridiculous cold and sit down to discuss this like civilized beings, Micah.”
Frank pushed himself back from Micah and brushed at the lapels of his suit. “Can’t believe you wrinkled my suit. Do you have any clue how much this cost me? Now can we go in? It’s too cold out here even for my shifter blood.”
“We?” Micah’s nose twitched as two others exited the car. A human male and-Micah took another deep breath-a shifter female stood at the front of the vehicle. His nostrils flared as he took in her scent.
“Julia? You’ve gone to the Turn Skins?” Turning his head slightly to look at the classy blonde were-leopard, he wondered if he was losing his mind. “Does Tony know you’re here?”
“Tony is the one who suggested I come, Micah. He heard about this situation and asked me to intervene.” Julia came forward to take his hand. He stared into her concerned green eyes. “I’ve looked over the paperwork and it’s not good. Judge Lowery appointed me guardian ad litem at my request and Tony’s. I’ve left several messages on your voicemail. You should have known we were coming and why.”
A fist clenched relentlessly around Micah’s heart. Tony Pantera, his closest friend in New Orleans, knew about this? Why hadn’t he called? Then he remembered Gareth mentioning the messages. Only he’d been too immersed in losing Olivia. Had his losing control cost him his daughter as well? Micah waved a hand toward the lodge then followed the three into the warmth of the kitchen.
Once inside, he signaled a watchful Gareth to go upstairs and keep Talia out of sight. Gareth hadn’t finalized his plans to leave yet, but it was only a matter of time. Micah had asked him to stay until spring. Luckily they’d worked out a few signals in case silence was necessary.
Gareth gave a short nod, lips curling in disgust at the scent of his former Pack as he backed up the staircase. Micah waited until he was out of sight before pointing to the chairs.
“Sit. Get to the point. I have better things to do than listen to the lies of a Turn Skin.”
Frank surged to his feet but Julia placed a well-manicured hand on his arm. “Sit, wolfboy. Let me handle this.”
Micah felt some amusement at the look on Frank’s face at being coolly ordered to heel like he was a pet dog. But the Turn Skin leader sat even as he snarled at Julia. “Then state your piece, kitty-girl, and be thankful I don’t chow down on you.”
“I don’t do interspecies dating, Frank.” Julia flipped her hair over a slim shoulder as she turned to face Micah.
“Micah, this is serious and this is real. It’s an Alpha emergency that you ignored. Now the courts have made their initial decision and Talia is to go back to New Orleans with Frank.”
Micah would have come across the table if it hadn’t been Julia. As it was, his fists clenched until his knuckles cracked. He knew her and trusted her work as a top-notch criminal litigator. Added to that, Tony had asked her to come-that alone made his stomach threaten to rebel. If Tony had become this involved this quickly, he really had done himself no favors by ignoring the phone calls from New Orleans. As Julia continued to speak, her words seemed to reverberate in his brain. Talia. Turn Skins. Compound. Loss. Loss. Loss. How much more did they expect him to endure? His mate was gone, and now they wanted to strip him of his child as well?
Julia finished her statements and waited. The silence in the kitchen jerked him out of his tail-chasing spin. Reading the documents she placed in front of him, Micah tried to find a loophole, an escape clause, anything that wouldn’t result in Talia being taken away from him today. Not today-not ever. He didn’t think he had the strength to watch another love leave. But there were no outs, no places for him to run on this one.
“You are telling me…” Micah heard his voice break and growled. “You say Talia is Curtis’ daughter? That he and Shelly were lovers? And because of some will you just found, the Turn Skins, now called the Compound Pack, have guardianship over her?”
Julia sighed. She spoke slowly, gently, “No, Micah, not exactly. Yes, she is Curtis’ child. We found letters from Shelly confirming that. Wolfboy here is the anal type and has been going through all of the paperwork Slade never worried about. Talia has been remanded by the courts back to the Compound Pack. I’m here to make sure she’s properly taken care of. I’ll also help you find a good lawyer.”
Micah blinked rapidly. He hadn’t shed tears since his father’s death, though the pain he felt now tossed him back to that time. “Lawyer? Why do I need a lawyer?”
Frank barked a sharp sound of disgust. “What’s happened to you, Micah? You can’t invoke Pack law on this one. Because you ignored all the overtures we made, this is in the Louisiana court system. If you want to challenge for joint custody, you’re going to need a lawyer.”
He leaned in close. “A very good one. Don’t think I’m here of my own accord. I work for the Pack will. And my Pack wants this child. They think she won’t learn about Pack law with you. They see you as a lone wolf, Micah.”
The words burned into Micah’s brain. He’d said the same to Gareth not so long ago. And a month ago the Compound Pack would have been right. He hadn’t wanted the responsibility of his local Pack. He didn’t have a mate or a child to worry about.
Olivia and Talia had changed all that. For a brief moment he wished the old Turn Skin Pack still ruled. They would have just tried to steal Talia. Then he could have used the rage building in him to destroy them. But with Frank at the helm of the newly named Compound Pack, things had changed.
For them to approach him this way-legally-that took the wind out of him. Numbly he nodded at Julia. “Let me tell her.”
And he turned to Frank with a sneer. “Prepare for the fight of your life, Alpha.”
Micah held on to a post on the porch as the car pulled away. He could still hear Talia crying for him. Even though he’d told her he would come for her, she’d clung like a drowning child to a life raft. Rubbing his arms where her fingers had dug in, he let himself weep.
A hand on his shoulder brought him back to the painful realization that this wasn’t a dream but a true nightmare. He looked at Gareth.
“What are you doing here, Gareth? I thought you would leave too.”
“Not now, Micah. I took some time to clear my head and let you see the truth in my words. I’m sorry for what’s happened. Some of those messages were from Julia. I expected you would get them when you checked the phone.”
Raw with grief, Micah rasped, “I didn’t listen to them. I didn’t want to hear Olivia saying she needed me to return her things.” He looked up at Gareth. “She left some clothes here, you know. And now they’ve taken Talia.”
“I know, Micah. What are you going to do about it? You know you can’t do this alone.” Gareth stared at Micah briefly then looked away. “You have to step up to the plate, Micah. You’re going to have to get help from the Pack on this one.”
“I’m going to go to New Orleans. I will bring Talia home even if I can’t bring Olivia back. I can’t lose them both. And don’t talk to me about this Alpha crap. It’s not important to me at this moment. Getting Talia back is what matters.”
Heedless of the disbelief in Gareth’s face, Micah went inside to make phone calls and start redeeming favors owed. He would do whatever he had to do to get his daughter back where she belonged. With him. Then he would go convince Olivia where she belonged. But first, he had to get Talia.
That day seemed endless but finally he put the phone down, assured that he had the best possible legal team available on such short notice. He still had plenty of friends in New Orleans, some of them members of the Pack trying to steal his daughter. Those he hadn’t called, but he’d reached almost everyone else he knew in the Crescent City and solicited their advice and help. Only one person hadn’t answered his call and he wasn’t a legal aide.
No, that particular wolf was a swamp-dwelling bad boy who Micah intended to use if the courts didn’t see things his way. He clamped down on what was right and what was wrong. Talia was his Pack and he would have her home no matter what.
He went upstairs, knowing that sleep would not come easily. Toying with the idea of a whiskey nightcap, Micah shoved the thought aside. He didn’t need sleep badly enough to self-medicate. He was no weakling to use that crutch.
Morning sun burned against his lids. Micah groaned as he forced himself out of bed. Three hours of sleep would not make him the most intelligent shifter in the world. He vowed to try to sleep on the flight he’d booked that afternoon. Once he was in New Orleans, he could make himself rest so he wouldn’t snap under pressure.
At the kitchen table, hot coffee in hand, Micah jotted down a list for Gareth. Micah grimaced as he shoved his hair back. When a family had booked one of the cabins for the spring, there’d been an affirmative answer for their question about other kids for their daughter to play with. Shaking his head, he clenched his teeth. Talia would be here. There was no other possible outcome.
Micah raised his head, glancing toward the front door. He moved toward the porch and watched as an unfamiliar car pulled up to the front drive. A small smile broke across his face as the driver exited the car. Well, I’ll be damned. Speak of the devil and that swamp wolf shows up on my land. Tall, tan with brown hair falling below his shoulders, the driver stared at the front door for a moment until the passenger door of the car opened.
Micah watched as the small auburn-haired woman got out of the car. She smiled at the man, said something he couldn’t make out and then moved to the back car door. The man shook his head at her, opening the back door on his side of the car. Within moments the couple was heading toward the lodge, the man carrying a child carrier and huge diaper bag, the woman holding two toddlers by the hands.
Micah opened the door just as they stepped onto the porch. The woman released the children to throw herself against his chest with a huge smile as the man behind her growled softly. Micah knew it was instinctive, knew it wasn’t a challenge, so he ignored it to hug the woman briefly.
“Hello, Joie, Slade. Welcome.”
“Micah, it’s so good to see you!” Joie’s soft Southern accent charmed him, as always. Slade simply nodded, uneasy with the relationship they were still carving out after nearly three years. Besides, he had a hard time with other Alphas and he was out of his element on Micah’s territory.
“How are you? It’s been way too long, you know. Tante Kay asks about you all the time.”
“How is your godmother?” Micah smiled at the memory of the ancient traiteuse who lived deep in the bayou.
“Kay’s fine. She sent you some herbs. They’re in the trunk. Had a hell of a time getting them on the plane. Damn drug-sniffing dogs.” Slade’s gravel-laced voice gave evidence of his discomfort. A soft squawk from the carrier drew Micah’s eye to Slade’s burden and to the twins who stared up at him with matching grins. He moved back, opening the door wider for the family to come inside.
Micah swung one of the toddlers up in his arms as she stepped over the threshold and looked into eyes as green as moss. “Hello, little sister.”
He couldn’t stop his grin as the child’s twin brother tugged at his pants leg. Micah scooped the boy up in his other arm, seeing the same green eyes in this face. “Hello, little brother.”
“They’re twenty-one months old now and growing like weeds. This one has just hit eight months.” Joie reached over to touch each of her children and then looked up at their father. “We wanted to let you see them and share our news.”
The curly redhead looked deeply into his eyes. “Micah? What’s wrong? You’re in pain.”
“You’re pregnant again?” Micah ignored the healer’s insightful words and redirected the conversation.
“I hate it when you do that,” Slade grumbled even as he slipped his arm around Joie. “Yes, she’s pregnant again, just barely, and for whatever reason, she insists that we ask you to be godfather again.”
“I would be honored, thank you.” Micah knew the pain of loss Joie had suffered and knew her joy at being able to carry Slade’s children. Apparently, from the rapid growth of their family, Slade had settled surprisingly well into fatherhood. Either that or he just couldn’t keep his hands off his mate. Micah knew the feeling. He looked at both of them then turned to lead the way into the living room. “Come in, make yourselves at home.”
He set the twins down long enough to start removing the snowsuit from his goddaughter. She smiled and waved her arms around, babbling as only a toddler could as he took her snowsuit off.
Slade had stopped just inside the door, his eyes taking in the décor even as he scented the air. Micah waited for the question he knew the other man would ask. As a human, Joie wouldn’t recognize the scent, but Slade would.
Sure enough, a grin started across his face and he turned his gaze to Micah. “Where’s your mate, Micah?”
“Mate? You’re mated? Oh Micah, how wonderful!” Joie rushed across the room but stopped short of hugging him again. Her eyes were thoughtful as Slade took a seat and helped his older son out of his snowsuit before pulling the baby out of the carrier, removing his snowsuit much more deftly than Micah had for their sister.
Slade hugged the infant against his chest as he spread a blanket out on the floor. He set the baby down on his tummy, patting his diapered butt softly. The boy raised his head and shoulders up then started scooting around on his stomach. Micah envied his friend’s ease with the children.
Micah watched the twins toddling around the living room then met both Joie and Slade’s expectant gazes. “She’s gone.”
“Gone?” They spoke together. Joie’s voice held sympathy-Slade’s surprise.
“Yes. She went to New York.” Micah got to his feet and headed toward the kitchen. “I’ll go make sure your room is ready and then I’ll check on dinner. Make yourselves at home, enjoy the fire. There are some toys in the wooden box against the wall.”
He moved swiftly out of the room, not willing or able to talk about Olivia leaving just yet. He knew there would be questions, especially from Slade, but he wasn’t ready to discuss it. He wanted to bring up Talia but didn’t know how.
Despite his reluctance, he sighed when Slade walked into the kitchen. Giving the beef stew another stir, he glanced at Slade.
“You let her leave?”
“I had no choice.”
“Bullshit. She’s your mate. She’s a shifter. Why’d you mate with her if you were going to let her leave you?”
“She doesn’t accept what she is, what we are.” Micah shrugged, forcing his pain back down deep where the other man couldn’t sense it. “She has a life elsewhere.”
“So you’ve tied yourself to a woman who wants nothing to do with you? And I thought I was the screwed-up one when I left Joie. Oh, and who was it who told me what a jackass I was? Wasn’t that you? Wasn’t it you who told me I should go back?”
Slade pushed away from the doorway to stand in front of Micah. “You don’t practice what you preach, Shaman?”
The emphasis and insult he put into the word had Micah’s ire rising. Only Tante Kay Joie’s godmother called him Shaman on a regular basis.
“Leave it alone, Slade.”
Slade bristled. “You’re such a fraud, Micah. Here you are, screwing up your own life but you can preach to the rest of us about how to live?”
“I said leave it. I have other worries. My child is also gone.” Micah slammed his hand down on the counter, growling low in his throat. Slade answered the growl with one of his own, in spite of the fact that he was in Micah’s territory. The two men, nearly equal in size, were inches away from one another.
“Both of you, stop it!” Joie’s voice cut into the charged atmosphere. She ran across the room, grabbing her husband’s arm and yanking hard.
“Stop it! I put you back together twice, you stubborn jackass. Don’t make me have to do it again. Besides, I don’t have my medicines with me. Stop it, right now! Malcolm Slade, you stop it! Micah, you had a child with this woman?” Joie’s stunned look seared Micah.
“No, the child is not mine by birth. She was Shelly’s daughter. Shelly and apparently,” he growled at Slade, “apparently Curtis was the father. Had you done your duty by your Pack as Alpha we would have known this by now and none of this would have happened. Talia wouldn’t be at the Compound Pack now.”
In spite of his aggression, Slade gently shook Joie off his arm to shove Micah hard in the chest. “My fault? How is this my fault? You can’t keep your woman or your kid and I’m to blame? Yeah, fuck you, Micah.”
Joie grabbed Slade’s arm again. “You do one more thing to push Micah over the edge, Malcolm, and I’m never sleeping with you again, you great big couchon! And I’m gonna make any stitches I have to take in your sorry hide so tight you won’t be able to bend.”
Slade pushed her behind him, never taking his eyes off Micah. Micah heard her cursing in French, saw Slade’s lips twitch as his anger and frustration disappeared even as his mate pummeled his shoulders with clenched fists. Micah’s own emotions settled to a low simmer. It constantly amused him how easily Joie pushed her much larger mate around, but he knew he’d have been the same if Olivia had stayed. The two women were about the same height, just as he and Slade were separated only by a few inches.
Thinking of Olivia in that light made him realize that he’d been about to come to blows with a man he’d like to consider his friend. Taking a deep breath, but not taking his eyes off Slade’s, Micah backed up a step. Slade raised his head, nodded once, then stepped back himself, pulling his wife around in front of his body and wrapping his arms around her.
“Shh, it’s okay, baby.” Slade leaned down to kiss her neck and Joie stilled, her tirade against both of them stopping as abruptly as it started.
“You’re not going to fight?” She glanced up at her mate, then at him and Micah smiled briefly.
“No. My apologies to both of you. I’ve never fought with a guest in my home and I don’t intend to start today. I’ll check on your room. I leave for New Orleans in four hours. You are all welcome to stay as long as you like. I’ll let Gareth know you’re here.”
He left the room without looking back, the low murmur of Slade’s voice following him. Micah had no doubt that Slade was explaining things to Joie. He only wished someone would explain to him how he could have let his mate leave. He should have convinced her to stay. But short of tying her down on his bed until she accepted what she was, what else could he have done? Now he’d lost his daughter as well.
Soft footsteps and the light fragrance of lilacs told him Joie had followed him.
“Micah, I’ll be going back to New Orleans with you. Tante Kay can watch the babies. You’re going to need your friends close. Malcolm has some business to take care of and he’ll join us when he’s done.”
The steel under the soft voice reminded him that if Joie Landry Slade could wear a wolf like Malcolm Slade down, it would be best for him to just smile and agree. So he nodded his head as her red curls bounced with her responding head toss. Flipping around on her heel, the petite redhead went back to her family.
Micah began to wonder if the world had tilted on its axis when later that afternoon he sat at the wheel of Slade’s rental with Slade’s wife and children packed in around him. Standing on the porch, Slade cupped his mouth and yelled, “You let any harm come to my family and I will tear your head off. Have a good trip.”
The sincerity and incongruity pulled a chuckle from somewhere deep in Micah. Joie looked at him and patted his arm, “You don’t worry now, cher. We are gonna fix this right up.”
Slade stood on the porch until he couldn’t hear the car anymore. He knew Micah would protect his family and he knew better than most that Joie could take care of herself, but this was the first time he’d ever spent any significant time away from her or their children. He missed them already. Determined to make it as short a time away as possible, he slammed back into the house and grabbed the first phone he came across.
“Yeah, I need a cab and a flight to New York today. Can you make that happen? Good.” Hanging up, he paused to run a hand through his hair. One hurdle down, let’s get on with the next one.
He went to find Gareth who sat at the kitchen table looking shell-shocked. He didn’t know much about Gareth, only what he’d heard when he’d first moved in with the Turn Skins. Gareth had left the Pack a few months before his arrival.
“Gareth, here’s the deal. I’m going to New York to try to straighten Micah’s bitch out. You need to tell me how to find her and then you need to put out a call to Micah’s Pack. He might need some backup in New Orleans, whether he wants it or not. For pretty fucking obvious reasons I won’t be able to set foot on the grounds.”
Gareth didn’t ask questions, he knew Slade was officially dead to the Turn Skins. He just nodded and went to work. Slade wasn’t surprised. In spite of Micah’s claim not to be a Pack Alpha, the loyalty Gareth and the other shifters in the area felt for him marked him as Alpha whether he accepted the title or not. Slade listened in as Gareth made a few phone calls, alerting several people in the area to what was happening.
Armed with a work address and phone number, Slade paced restlessly, his mind on his family and the task he’d given himself until the cab to the airport arrived. Micah had saved his ass more than once. It felt good to be able to pay him back at least a little, even if he didn’t know it was happening.
“Olivia Decatur?”
“Yes? May I help you?” Olivia looked up at the stranger standing in her office door, unsure why he was there. He’d only told her assistant the matter was a private one and that he’d take just a few minutes of her time.
Olivia held her breath as he moved into the room, looking at the pictures on her walls before stopping to look out the window at Manhattan. He wore jeans, a formfitting t-shirt and tennis shoes and had a heavy leather coat over one arm.
The way he moved reminded her so much of Micah she had to catch her breath. The pain in her chest at the thought of Micah faded slightly as the stranger faced her again.
“Somehow I figured you’d be a hell of a lot bigger.”
“What do you mean?”
“I just thought anyone who could break someone like Micah would have to be more,” he smiled, showing his teeth and his flashing eyes, “Amazon sized.”
“You know Micah? Did he send you here?”
“I’m no one’s errand boy.” Olivia watched his eyes flicker, saw them turn almost gold before going back to their normal brown. “Micah and I are…” He hesitated, his lip curling slightly as he seemed to carefully choose his words.
“We’re friends for lack of a better word. I’m Malcolm Slade. Most people call me Slade.”
He picked up a small jade statue from her bookshelf, turning it over in his hands before placing it carefully back in the same spot on the shelf.
“Why are you here, Mr. Slade?”
Grinning, he faced her fully. “You do have spunk, I’ll give you that.”
Olivia took a deep breath as he dropped his jacket and pulled his t-shirt off. “What in the hell are you doing?”
She noted the tattoos on both arms and on his chest. She saw a circular mark on his chest, like the one she’d left on Micah. His brown hair just brushed his shoulders as he bent forward to push his jeans down and toe his shoes off. She couldn’t help but notice that he went commando and that he was built a lot like Micah. Jumping to her feet, she grabbed the phone to call Security.
“Don’t panic, Olivia. I’m only here to show you something. I’m definitely not into blondes. Besides my mate would have my hide, literally, if there was anything else on my mind. That mark on your neck, it’s been aching, hasn’t it?”
“What do you mean?”
“The bite mark, the one Micah put on your neck, the one I can smell from here. It’s been aching lately, hasn’t it?”
Despite her reluctance to give this stranger any personal information, Olivia nodded. He huffed out a small laugh. “Yeah, that’s what happens when you’ve been away from your mate for too long. We mark one another as mates, it’s expected we stay together. That’s one reason I never marked a shifter bitch. Hell, never wanted to mark anyone until I met Joie. She might be human, but she’s mine and I am most definitely hers.”
With that, the man disappeared and a large gray and black wolf with luminous gold eyes stood in his place. Olivia sat heavily in her chair. She’d known, as soon as he walked into the office, she’d known by his evergreen scent alone. But still, seeing it again caused her breath to catch, her heart to race and a longing to fill her from the souls of her feet to her throat. She wanted to see Micah, not this wolf. She yearned to let her own wolf loose and run through the woods again.
He shook from head to tail and changed back into a man. She saw the mark on his chest, an almost circular mark on the left side of his chest, right where she’d left a mark on Micah. Dressing just as casually as he’d undressed, Slade pulled a chair up to her desk and sat. Propping his feet on the edge of her desk, he put his hands behind his head.
“Yeah, Shifters, like real wolves, mate for life. Being away from your mate this long has made your mark hurt, Micah’s hurting too, I imagine. Once we mark one another, the idea is that we’re together for life. Unless you release him from the mating, admit you both made a mistake, he’s in it forever.”
He moved his hands from behind his neck as he stared at her. “If you’re away from your mate for more than a day or two, the mark will hurt. If you’re away for longer, the male will get sick. Not sick enough to die, but sick enough to wish he would.”
Olivia started to say something, but he kicked his feet from her desk, startling her back into silence. “That goes away, or so I’m told. See, even if you break up permanently with Micah, he’ll never mate again. You’re free to do whatever you want with whomever you want. One of the perks of being a female shifter, I guess, but once a male is mated, he’s done. No other female will satisfy him, sexually, physically, in any way. Basically, we get screwed in the deal and not in a good way.”
A solid thump echoed as he balled his hand into a fist to strike her desk. “I’m going to share a little bit of wisdom with you, Olivia. Something our mutual friend said to me a couple of years ago. Something that opened my eyes and set my feet back toward my destiny. He looked me right in the eye and asked me how many times I could reinvent myself before I forgot who I was.”
Her breath shuddered as she tried to suck in a lungful of air. Slade growled softly, but when he spoke, she heard pain in his voice. “Now I want to ask you, how long can you run until you don’t have anywhere else to go? You’re one of us, how long is it going to take you to accept that? You marked Micah as your mate, Olivia. You let him mark you as his. Now you’re condemning him to be alone, to be in pain for a very long time and you don’t give a shit.”
“That’s not true.” Olivia got deftly to her feet, unwilling to let him intimidate her. “I do care for Micah. I care more than you could possibly know. But I’m not like you.”
“Bullshit. You’re a shifter. You’re a wolf.” He laughed softly, but there wasn’t any real humor in it. “Hell, you’re a real Alpha bitch, even if you don’t acknowledge it.”
He leaned forward then gave a short bark of laughter. “Think about this, your staff is scared shitless of you, none of them will cross you, especially when you’re on the rag or just pissed about something. You’ve scared the shit out of men twice your size, gotten them to back down from you when there’s an issue you’re really passionate about, and if you ask them, they’ll tell you it’s something about your eyes.” At that, Slade’s eyes started to glow.
Olivia watched, fascinated and angered at the same time. “Get out.”
“Not fucking likely, babe, not until you hear what I’ve got to say.”
“I’ve heard what you’ve said. You’re telling me I’m a shifter, like you. The same thing Micah told me. I refuse to accept that.”
“Refuse to accept it?” Mockery clear in his tone, Slade lunged to his feet, leaning over the desk so they were face-to-face. “You can’t refuse something that’s an integral part of yourself, Olivia. You can’t refuse to be a shifter. You can refuse to be stupid, but you damn sure can’t deny your own nature.”
He growled-a dark, contemptuous sound. “Try it. Take off that starched shirt and change your life. You don’t have a clue what true freedom is, what true power is. Micah offers you his life, his world and you’re throwing that away for this? You’re content to stay in this stinking concrete jungle when you could be so much fucking happier in the middle of the woods with someone who loves you? You’re fucking stupid.”
“I am not stupid.” They were both breathing hard. Olivia felt anger rise up inside her. Black emotion roiled just beneath her skin, clawing to get out. She wanted to lunge at him, to bite and tear. To make him back down and leave her alone.
Before that feeling would have sent her running to the medicine cabinet or the shrink. This time she didn’t cower away from it. She didn’t reach for pills like she would have. Instead she met his eyes dead on. She stood her ground.
He held her gaze. His lips twisted as he rasped out. “Prove it. Strip and shift.”
“Get out.” Olivia picked up her phone. “I’m calling Security.”
“Don’t bother. Just do the man a favor and release him from the mating. He won’t accept it, but do it anyway.” Slade stormed back to the office door. He yanked it open then turned to face her again. “Micah deserves better than you. And he needs to be free of you so he can focus what energy he’ll have after that on getting his kid back. If not for him, do it for Talia.”
He exited, slamming the door behind him. Olivia sank down into her chair, shaking. She replaced the phone in the cradle, folded her arms on her desk, put her head down and sobbed.
A few minutes later, she sat up, wiping her face. Slade was right. The past two weeks she’d felt like she was walking through a fog. Micah did deserve better from her-better than her.
With that in mind, Olivia picked up her phone again. “Kim, get me a flight to Minneapolis, Minnesota, please and book me a car with four-wheel drive. I’m taking some personal time. I’ll let you know how long I’ll be gone no later than tomorrow.”
Setting the phone down, Olivia replayed Slade’s last words. What had he said about Talia? Talia was gone? She snatched the phone back up and dialed a number she’d partially been punching in for several days. This time she hit the last number and let it ring.
When Gareth answered, her heart broke again as he filled her in on what had happened to Talia. Olivia’s mind raced-Talia needed to be with Micah as much as Micah needed that child. With a determined thank-you, Olivia hung up the phone then dialed her assistant again.
“Kim, cancel that Minneapolis flight. I’m going to New Orleans. I’ll still need a car but you can cancel the four-wheel drive.”