Crossroads

Chapter 3

Derek could have made a graceful exit while Nick’s sister sobbed. Nick gave him several opportunities, but he balked at leaving. It could have been because Aaron and Nick kept exchanging tense, worried gazes that screamed danger, or because the girl in hysterical tears looked almost exactly like Nick.

He got water instead, pulling a chilled bottle from the fridge behind the bar before catching Nick’s gaze. He nodded toward Aaron, then the bottle of tequila, one eyebrow raised in silent question.

Nick shook her head and framed her sister’s face between her hands. “Sweetie, just breathe. Breathe, okay? You’re here, and you’re safe, and all three of you are going to stay that way.” As she spoke, she lowered one hand to Michelle’s stomach. “I swear it, Micky. All of you.”

Michelle shuddered, and magic twisted through the room so fast and intense that the water bottle slipped through Derek’s fingers. The deadbolt on the door slid shut with a clatter and all of the lights went off. A moment later the streetlights dimmed. He turned to the windows and blinked stupidly at the frosted glass that had replaced Nick’s usual dual-paned windows.

A wail jerked his attention back to Michelle, who was actually glowing. The gentle light faded as she closed her eyes and curled her hands into fists. “That’s the other problem. I haven’t had very good control since it happened. The Conclave thinks I lost my powers because of that stupid myth, but if they find out the truth, they’re going to kill me too.”

Nick scoffed and shook her head again. When she spoke, her voice was quiet and serious. “They’ll have to snatch you over my dead body, sweetie.”

The fact that she meant every word made Derek’s heart catch. He fought back that same protective rage that had been choking him over the past weeks and snatched the bottle of water from the floor. “Should I call someone? Alec or Jackson? They both owe you.”

“Jackson’s hurt, and his mother is—” She looked up at him and bit off the rest of her words with a soft curse. “Their cell numbers are on the corkboard in the office. Can you call them and ask them to meet us upstairs?”

“Yeah. Sure.” He tried to smile to reassure her, but it felt flat. “Anything else?”

She scooted her stool closer to Michelle’s. “Have you eaten lately, Micky?”

It was apparently the wrong question to ask. Michelle groaned and paled even more. “Aaron keeps forcing food on me every hour.”

Aaron growled softly. “Because you keep throwing it up.”

“Because I’m pregnant and terrified.”

“Which makes it more important to eat, not less.”

Derek cleared his throat. “You’ve got some tea back there, don’t you, Nick? Kat’s always drinking it when she’s here. I can find some of that.”

“The decaf stuff. Thanks, Derek.” She glanced at him again. “And some pretzels, I think. From the pantry.”

“Pretzels and tea. Got it.” He fought the urge to ask if she’d be okay going upstairs on her own. It would be insulting, considering Nick could probably command her shapeshifter strength better than he could. Then there was Aaron, whose bulk dwarfed them all. “I’ll be up in a few minutes.”

She murmured something unintelligible, her attention already back on Michelle.

He faintly heard their fading voices as he strode into the kitchen and squinted at the wall until he found a light switch. He flicked it up and down, but nothing happened, so he gave thanks to his enhanced senses and picked his way across the kitchen to the office on the far side.

The lights in the office did work. Derek pulled out his cell phone as he studied the corkboard beside Nick’s neat desk, but he didn’t dial any of the numbers he found there. Instead he called Andrew.

His friend answered on the third ring, sounding tired and grumpy. “If you’re calling me to gloat about how you finally got to nail your dream girl, I’m going to kick your ass tomorrow.”

If only. “Not so much. Listen, this could be awkward, but I need you to go back to Kat’s apartment and keep an eye on her.”

His entreaty was met with silence. Then Andrew cleared his throat. “Not too tough. I haven’t left Kat’s yet. What’s going on?”

Derek froze, caught between relief and irrational protective anger. “You haven’t left yet?”

“Derek, I’m not leaving Kat here alone, passed out drunk. I’m on the couch.”

“Okay, okay. Just…stay there, would you? Nicole’s sister showed up at the bar talking about their Conclave and fucking execution orders. Last time all the shapeshifters got riled up, someone broke into Kat’s place for God knows what reason.”

“Christ. Yeah, I’ll stay. Are you calling Alec and Jackson?”

“Alec, first. Not sure if we should drag Jackson into shit when he’s still recovering and his mom is in town. Alec will know, I guess.”

“Sure.” On the other end of the phone, a microwave beeped and stoneware clattered. “I’m going to have some coffee. Call me back if I need to take Kat over to my place.”

“Yeah. Thanks, Andrew.”

“Don’t mention it. Keep me posted.”

He disconnected the call. Instead of consulting the corkboard, he scrolled through the numbers stored in his cell. This time it only rang twice before he heard Alec’s gruff voice. “You’d better not have called me by mistake during some drunken sex.”

The greater New Orleans area seemed to be under the assumption that he and Nick would be naked by now. Which we might be, if life didn’t suck. “Hi, Alec. I’m doing great, thanks. Nick asked me to call you. Think there’s trouble. Her sister’s here.”

“Michelle? Alone?”

Derek moved to a shelf on the far side of the office and picked up a flashlight. “Not alone. With a big hulking angry-looking werewolf.”

“Well, that goes without saying. Aaron’s her bodyguard. I meant, is the Alpha with her? Their dad?”

“No. She said something about being pregnant, and an execution order for Aaron, and her powers being out of control.”

“For fuck’s—shit, just a second.” He heard a muffled noise and the faint murmur of a female voice, followed by the slam of a door and the crunch of gravel. “I’m not that far out. They at Nick’s place?”

“No, upstairs above the bar.” Derek flicked on the flashlight and moved back into the kitchen to search the cupboards for tea. “Nick asked me to call Jackson too, but I figure you’d know if that was a good idea.”

“Fuck, no. His mom’s in town.”

“He can’t let Mackenzie look after his mother?”

“Kid, no one tells Nancy Holt to stay home and keep out of things. That woman’ll be climbing all over us if she gets a whiff of trouble, and Nick knows it.”

She had looked wary. Derek propped the phone against his shoulder to free up a hand so he could search the cabinets. “So we’re not calling him?”

“I’ll decide once I figure out what the hell is going on. I’ll be there in about fifteen minutes.”

“Uh-huh, and then you’re going to explain to me what in hell is going on, right?”

Alec snorted. “You don’t want to know.”

Maybe he didn’t, but sticking his head in the sand and walking away wasn’t an option. “Maybe not, but I need to, Alec.”

“Yeah.” Alec sighed roughly. “Fine. Reader’s Digest version. You know Michelle’s a Seer, right?”

“Superpowerful magic shapeshifter hybrid. I paid attention to the shit that went down last month, Alec.” Which was only a little lie. He would have paid attention if any of them had bothered to explain it to him while it was happening. “She’s got all sorts of rules and shit governing her life, and it sucks. I remember that part.”

“Do you remember the part about her not being allowed to have sex?”

Derek dropped a box of tea. “Uh, she’s pregnant, Alec.”

“Well, someone’s been breaking the rules. I say more power to her, but the possibility that she’s going to have some powerful little Seer baby is going to give the Conclave a collective shit-fit.”

“Jesus. They’d kill her for it?”

“Derek, most shapeshifters would kill her just for being who she is. If Nick’s dad wasn’t the big fuckin’ honcho, chances are she wouldn’t have survived infancy. That’s our dirtiest little secret. They may shun wolves like you, but they murder the ones like Michelle.”

“And Aaron?”

“He’s not really her bodyguard. At least, he’s not supposed to be. He’s a Conclave spy. If he helped her escape, that’s treason.”

Derek had gotten the impression that Aaron’s involvement was a lot more intimate and involved than just escape plans, but it was the last subject he wanted to discuss with Alec over the phone. “Okay. So the Conclave’s scared and pissed. Is Nick in danger?”

“Doubt it. It may seem like their dad can’t protect Michelle, but he’s fighting a few hundred years of tradition there. Nick’s the Alpha’s heir. No one would dare touch a hair on her head.”

It made it easier to breathe, if only because he knew Alec wouldn’t lie. “Okay, I’m going upstairs now. I’ll tell Nick you’re on your way.”

“Ten minutes out, kid. Hang in there.”

“Thanks, Alec.” Derek shoved the phone in his pocket before rummaging through the boxes again. It only took a few seconds to find the one box of decaffeinated tea. The pretzels were easier to find, and Derek snatched up an entire bag and hurried upstairs.

He found Michelle and Aaron sitting on the overstuffed sofa. The tall man had one brawny arm around her shoulders, and she leaned into him. Nick paced in the kitchen and rushed over to him as soon as he opened the door. “Thanks, Derek.”

“Alec’s on his way.” He handed her the box of pretzels and nodded to the kitchen. “Want me to put the kettle on?”

Nick shook her head nervously. “It’s already on.” She turned the box over in her hands and gave him a serious look. “Can I talk to you outside?”

He wanted to curl around her until the nervousness in her body eased, but there was nothing to do but nod. “Of course.”

She closed the door behind them and motioned him down the iron staircase. He stopped on the first landing and she stood a step above, nearly eye to eye with him. “Don’t take this the wrong way,” she whispered, “and don’t think this is what I want. But you need to go.”

He stiffened. “No. No way, Nick.”

“I don’t know how they got away, Derek. What I do know is it’s not going to take the board long to find them.” She raised a hand to smooth his hair. “I’ll be safe, I promise. But if you’re here… If you get in the way—” Her teeth sank into her lower lip. “Please trust me.”

“But Alec and Jackson can be here?” That hurt. “So this is all about what I am? About the fact that I was made a shapeshifter instead of born that way?”

“That has nothing to do with it!” Fear blanched her face and clouded her eyes. “I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you.” She exhaled and gripped the iron railing with both hands. “That’s all this is.”

“Okay.” He reached out and wrapped both arms around her, though he wasn’t sure if the hug was for her benefit or his own. “I’ll go, but you have to promise me you’ll call me tomorrow. First thing. Or I’ll show right back up over here and you won’t get rid of me again.”

“I might even wake you up,” she said instantly, her words muffled against his chest. “I’ll need your help. I just have to—to figure this out first.”

“Anything you need. Anything, darling.” He tugged her head back and kissed her forehead. “I’ll help you.”

“I know you will.” They stood there for several moments. “Derek—”

The scrape of booted feet on the pavement at the base of the stairs cut her off. Derek didn’t have to turn; he could smell Alec. “It has not been ten minutes.”

“I speed.”

Derek smiled at Nick. “He speeds. Why am I not surprised?”

Though she smiled in return, the expression was wan and tremulous. “Because he’s crazy?” She brushed a wrinkle from the sleeve of his shirt. “Be careful. If anything odd happens, call. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

He ignored Alec’s presence and leaned down to kiss her. “Tomorrow.”

She nodded, her eyes bright. “I mean it. Be careful.”

“I will.”

Nick cast another glance down the hall toward the small bedroom, the tenth in as many minutes, and clenched her jaw against the anger that flooded her. Michelle had fallen into an exhausted, fitful sleep, but her own rage hadn’t faded. “This is bullshit. Absolute bullshit.”

The repetition usually would have earned her a caustic comment from Alec, but for once he seemed equally irate. “Yeah, Nick. It’s bullshit.”

Aaron spoke, but his tired words only made Nick angrier. “When her magic started failing, she went to the Conclave. She didn’t know they’d call in a midwife right away to see if she was pregnant.”

And she didn’t know they’d point a finger at you. “How did you get out?”

He met her gaze and straightened his shoulders. “Mahalia Tate helped us. But I think the Alpha knew. He must have let us get away.”

“Doesn’t matter if Mahalia scrambled their trail or hid them, the Conclave’ll come here first.” Alec’s voice was quiet and almost gentle, which was a surer sign of trouble than anything.

“They’d be stupid to think otherwise.” Nick sighed.

“We didn’t have anywhere else to go,” Aaron whispered.

She snorted in disbelief. “If you’d taken my pregnant sister anywhere else, I’d have hunted you down myself.”

Alec shot her a quelling look before sinking into the chair across from Aaron. “Okay, we don’t have time to be nice and prissy about this. How long have the two of you been having sex, and how long has she been pregnant?”

The tops of Aaron’s ears colored, but he met Alec’s gaze squarely. “A few weeks. We didn’t know she was pregnant until the Conclave brought in the midwife.”

Nick filled the coffee carafe with water and threw a filter into the machine. “She thought the sex neutralized her magic.”

“Yes,” Aaron admitted.

“That bullshit myth?” Alec rolled his eyes. “Sacred virginity, my ass.”

“She didn’t lose her magic,” Nick told Alec as she scooped coffee into the coffee maker. “She just lost control of it.” Which is worse, damn it.

“Well, I wouldn’t know this if I didn’t work with Jackson, but that’s not uncommon.” Alec tilted his chair back, balancing on two legs. “It’s a self-defense thing for the baby, I think. We’ll have to ask him to know for sure, or—hell, Mahalia, if we can call her. Guess I never thought about it applying to Michelle, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t.”

“They’re going to want me back,” Aaron reminded them quietly.

Nick pressed her hands to the counter to hide their shaking. “Doesn’t mean they’re going to get it.”

The legs of Alec’s chair hit the floor with a solid thump, and he leaned forward. “You need to snap out of it, boy. Michelle needs you, so keeping you safe is up near the top of our list. If you’ve got any dumb ideas about guilt or, God forbid, self-sacrifice, I’ll kick your ass all over this room.”

Defiance flared in Aaron’s eyes. “I didn’t get to where I am by being weak or stupid. But if working for the Conclave has taught me anything, it’s that they don’t give up.”

“No, they don’t. So first thing tomorrow you’re packing up your girl and taking her to my safe house. Thing’s warded to hell and back, and I doubt the Conclave would have anything to do with the sort of spell caster who could break in there.”

Of course they wouldn’t, because they would have killed that spell caster a long time ago. “As soon as you and Michelle are safe, I’ll see what I can do about damage control. Daddy may not be able to do anything officially, but he’s not going to let the board hunt you down, Aaron. No way.”

He nodded slowly, then stood. “I’m going to check on Michelle.”

Nick laid her hand on his arm and tried to smile. “We’ll work it out. We always do.”

He made his way down the hall slowly, moving as if the weight of the world was bearing down on him. Nick had to press the heels of her hands to her eyes for a moment before she could speak. “This, Alec. This kind of shit is why every wolf with half a brain is jumping ship.”

“Yeah.” Alec stretched his legs out in front of him, crossing them at the ankles. “What do you want to bet my dad’s already called my place?”

“Oh, he’d love for you to be the one to turn in the fugitives.” Nick made a face as she grabbed two mugs from the drain rack and rinsed them.

“Well, I hope he has fun when I’m the one to make sure no one finds them.”

“Mmm.” She poured two cups of coffee and handed one to Alec. The tension inside her had built to the breaking point, but the mindless, rote tasks she’d undertaken since Derek’s departure had helped. Now, she found herself on unsteady ground. “I’m going to lose it, Alec.” Her voice trembled. “I’ll kill anyone who so much as looks at my sister, I swear to God I will.”

“Hey.” He dropped the mug on the coffee table and rose to his feet, one arm extended. “C’mere, kiddo.”

If she let down the walls now, she’d never be able to function through the next few days. “I can’t, Alec. But thank you. For everything.”

For a second she thought he’d argue, but he dropped his arm. “Fair enough. Now what are you planning on doing with Derek Gabriel in the middle of all this mess? Because you’re gonna have to tie him up and stick him in a closet to keep him out of it.”

“Oh, Jesus. He thinks I’m trying to keep him away from it because he’s a second-class werewolf or something crazy like that. I just don’t want him getting his head ripped off because of me when I’m not even in danger.”

“He’s going to be in danger if you don’t sit him down and explain shit to him. You can’t leave him out of it, Nick.”

The thought made her chest tighten painfully. “I don’t know what to tell him.” Even after nearly twenty-six years, there were so many intricacies she didn’t understand. “I’m bad at the political stuff, Alec. No matter what my father’s aspirations are, I don’t think I’ll ever get it. So what do I say?”

Alec planted a hand in the middle of her back and urged her to sit on the couch. “You tell him the truth. He doesn’t need to know the stupid details, just the general situation. If you want, I’ll help.”

“The truth.” She knew Alec was right. What else could she tell Derek? “I have to. I’m going to need him, or I’ll never get Michelle and Aaron through this.”

“Trust me, that boy isn’t going to stand idly by and let you go through this alone, so at least make sure he’s helping instead of getting in the way. He wants to help. Fuck, he needs to.”

She leaned back into the plush cushions of the sofa. “He’s half-crazy from that crap with Talbot anyway. Christ.” If she’d known he gave a damn, she wouldn’t have just run off to help rescue Mackenzie and fight a power-mad Seer. She’d have talked to him, made him understand that she had to help. Maybe even asked him to join her and stand by her side.

“Why don’t you go in there and curl up with your sister? Being near her will do you both good, and I can keep watch.”

“Aaron—” Her voice failed. “Aaron’s there. He’ll do a better job than I could. I-I don’t want to intrude or…” Nick growled and shot off the sofa. “I hate feeling like I don’t know what to do. And I can’t let Michelle see how scared I am.”

Alec watched her in silence as she paced the room in an attempt to still the frantic energy inside her. After a few minutes, he rubbed at the side of his face. “I’ll talk to Jackson in the morning. If we can’t shuffle his mother out of the way, I was thinking we could drop her in the safe house with Michelle and Aaron. It’s secure, and Michelle could probably use a little bit of mothering.”

Jackson would be pissed they hadn’t called him already. Derek would need an explanation. And her father— “I’m kicking Aaron out for a while, after all,” she said suddenly. “I need to be with Michelle.”

“Send him on out here.” Alec bared his teeth in a grin. “I’ll keep him distracted.”

Michelle stirred as Nick nestled behind her on the double bed and drew another plush coverlet over them. “It’s okay, Micky. It’s me.”

Her sister shivered and pulled the blanket tightly under her chin. “I should have known better than to tell the Conclave. I should have known better. How can I still believe in their good intentions?”

“Because you want to be normal.” Loved. Nick wrapped an arm around her sister. “I sent Aaron out with Alec. Is that okay?”

“He’s too nervous to sleep anyway.” Michelle rolled to her back, staring up at the ceiling with eyes that should have been the same ones Nick saw in the mirror every morning. But pain had made Michelle old before her time, pain and weariness and the constant demand by the Conclave that she know her place.

“You should have left a long time ago.” The words sprang, unbidden, to Nick’s lips. “Fucking Conclave.”

Michelle laughed, and it sounded tired. “It seemed like such a perfect plan, Nick. Use their stupid, chauvinist superstitions against them. They believe them, even if they pretend not to. If it weren’t for Aaron—” Michelle’s lips tightened, and Nick knew she was biting back words, trying to find a way to minimize the mistreatment she’d suffered. “I didn’t think about contraceptives. I didn’t think about anything. Every time I touched him, our brains shut off. I’m surprised they didn’t catch us the first time.”

She thought of Derek—and the insane desire that gripped her whenever he came near her. “I understand what you mean. But you’re safe now, and you can be together.”

“I love him, Nicky.” Her sister’s voice trembled. “I love him so much.”

The blanket ripped a little under Nick’s hand. “I know, sweetie. Alec is going to take you both someplace safe tomorrow, and I’m going to figure this out.”

Michelle moved her hand over Nick’s. “I want to help, but I have no idea what to do. The magic… It’s completely out of my control. Most of the time I can’t access it at all, but when there’s danger or I’m scared, insane things happen. Like the lights earlier.”

“All you need to worry about is relaxing and staying calm. For your baby.”

“For my baby.” She dropped her hand to her stomach and smiled at Nick. “Your niece. Or nephew. If the magical midwife person could tell, she didn’t say.”

“We can find someone to tell you,” she promised, a smile curving her own lips. “Jackson might be able to. If not, we’ll keep looking. And there are great hospitals here, Micky.”

Michelle closed her eyes and snuggled her cheek into the pillow. “I’d like to see Jackson again, and I’d like to meet Mackenzie. How are they? Together?”

“Mmm. She moved in with him.” Nick almost felt fifteen again, snuggled in a canopy bed with Michelle, gossiping about boys. “His mom is visiting. Maybe you’ll get to meet her too. And…maybe you’ll get to spend some time with Derek.”

“You seemed pretty fond of him,” Michelle teased sleepily. “You know, people were walking by the bar and staring at you two.”

“They don’t call it the Big Easy for nothing.” Nick’s laughter subsided. “He wasn’t born into this. He was attacked two years ago.”

Michelle’s eyes popped open. “Oh, Nicky. That’s awful. Did they find whoever did it?”

They’d never spoken of it, but she’d have bet the bar downstairs that Alec had killed the rogue wolf responsible for Derek’s attack. “Yes, they did.”

“Good.” Her sister sighed. “I’m so tired. But every time I try to sleep I think I hear something. I’m scared I’ll wake up and someone will have come for Aaron.”

“Sleep.” Tears threatened to choke Nick, but she blinked them away and slid her arms around Michelle. “No one is getting in here. Aaron is safe.” For tonight.

“Thank you.” Her sister’s voice was a sleepy murmur. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Michelle.” Nick lay there, unmoving. She could hear Alec and Aaron talking in the other room, their low, unintelligible tones soothing.

Her next step would usually be to call her father for help. But the Alpha would be honor-bound to report what he’d learned to the Conclave. The only way he could help was obliquely, with as little knowledge as possible of what was going on. Nick’s heart ached for him; he’d tried so hard to protect Michelle, to make her life better than the average Seer’s.

He’d succeeded to a degree, a sad acknowledgement considering her sister had fled to New Orleans in fear for her life.

Nick wasn’t ready for something like this. She’d been running from her responsibilities for too long. Even now, her first thought had been to call someone else, someone who knew what to do. Her days of having that luxury were limited. Sooner or later, she’d have to buck up and start taking care of her own shit.

“Tomorrow,” she whispered. She’d start tomorrow.