Cynful

Chapter Nineteen

It was killing him. It was fucking killing him that she was out there, risking her life, and he was stuck in the house, healing. He should be out there with her, protecting her. What if that son of a bitch got a shot off? Julian didn’t think he would be able to live with himself if anything happened to her and he wasn’t there to prevent it.

Julian ran his hands wearily through his hair. Who the hell was he kidding? She’d already been damaged and he hadn’t been there to take care of her. He tugged on his hair, frustrated beyond belief. Sometimes it seemed like since he’d moved to Halle there had been nothing but one huge fuck up after another. He hadn’t been able to protect Tabby when Gary had gone after her in the woods. He hadn’t been there to save Glory when she’d been shot. He sure as fuck hadn’t been able to save Marie, and Jamie… No one knew if Jamie would ever be the same again. Jamie still hadn’t woken up and it’d been three weeks since Marie’s death. Her father had flown in, heartbroken over the loss of his only daughter, and made the funeral arrangements. Jamie’s parents and brother had attended in her mate’s place.

Jamie’s brother, Grayson, had come to see him and had quietly thanked him for saving Jamie. Gray had been the complete opposite of Jamie, quiet and reserved. It wasn’t just because of the tragedy. Gray was like a deep, still pond, where Jamie had been more like playful ocean waves. Gray had stayed, making Julian lunch, commiserating with him over Cyn’s role in finding the killer.

He’d offered to be one of her shadows, protecting her where Julian couldn’t. Julian thanked him, but declined. He couldn’t allow Gray to risk himself. Jamie’s family had been through enough. Gray had accepted with quiet graciousness, but Julian wasn’t certain whether or not Gray had gone hunting anyway. He sincerely hoped not.

He shivered, chilled to the bone. The restless itch that had been under his skin since Cyn had walked out of the house that night was getting worse. He began to pace, rubbing his arms as goose bumps rose all over them. Something was seriously wrong, and all of it centered on Cyn.

He closed his eyes and tried to focus on what it could be, but he was too restless. He settled down on the floor and crossed his legs, settling down into the pose he used for meditation. He wasn’t planning on heading into the spirit world to speak to Bear, but if he could calm his racing heart he might be able to sense the threat to his mate. If he were truly lucky, Bear would send him a vision. Even if his spirit visions weren’t as in-depth as Tai’s, they were always accurate.

Deep, soothing breaths helped to relax him. He focused his mind on the color white, the color of snow, the color of Bear. His breathing began to even out, his thoughts settling, his heart rate slowing down. He let the color white go, waiting patiently to see what would come to him.

Blood began to drift down the white. As he watched, the simple, flat white took on texture and form. His view drifted back and up until he was staring down at a prone body, it’s white hair streaked with red. Beneath the body a pool of blood spread. But what truly terrified him was a familiar mop of blond, pink and black hair. Cyn was lying beneath him, one arm flung out to the side, the T-shirt she’d been wearing that night when she left the house soaking wet.

It was then he realized it wasn’t his blood on the ground. He blinked, shattering the vision as memories of Marie’s blood splattered hair superimposed themselves over that of Cyn.

He stood, his hands automatically braiding his hair so it would be out of his way. Changing into jeans and a T-shirt, he shoved his bare feet into his sneakers and raced out the door. He barely remembered to grab his car keys and his wallet, and he was sliding into his car, ready to take off to where Cyn had said they were laying their ambush for the night.

“Julian DuCharme?”

Julian turned to see who called to him, and stared at a strange Wolf. The Wolf exuded an aura that he’d only sensed in the presence of Max Cannon and Richard Lowell. He had a thick southern accent reminiscent of Tabby’s. His light brown hair and eyes practically glowed under the streetlight. “Who are you?”

The man held his hands at his sides, indicating he was unarmed. “My name is Micah Boyd.”

Why was that name so familiar? A trickle of unease shivered down Julian’s spine. Whoever this man was, he was somehow connected to what was happening to the girls.

“I’m the Alpha of the Marietta Pack. I’m looking for Tabitha Garwood.”

Oh, shit. This was the man Tabby had been exiled from her birth Pack over. At the age of fifteen she’d been Outcast while dating him, the old Alpha accusing her of robbing his home when she’d simply been trying to escape Micah’s bedroom unnoticed. If he was here Alex was going to shit a brick. “Tabby’s not here.”

Micah lowered his arms and shoved his hands into his front jeans pockets. “I know that. She’s refusing to take my calls.” He scowled. “And she sent me these really annoying videos of a cartoon cat dressed like a Pop Tart.” He shook his head, the scowl lightening to a simple frown. “Look, she has no reason to trust me, but I just want to tell her it’s safe for her to come home now.”

Julian couldn’t stop the rumbling growl, even if he wanted to. “She is home.”

Micah shifted, his stance changing from defensive to proud. “I Outcast my father.” He stared straight into Julian’s eyes, and Julian could see how this man had become an alpha. There was strength there, and determination. Julian could sense the desire to make amends in the other shifter, and it was bothering the hell out of Micah Boyd that Tabby wouldn’t let him.

“Why?”

Micah’s gaze filled with rage and sorrow, an odd combination. “Tabby wasn’t the only one he hurt.”

That cold, twitchy feeling was stronger than ever. “When did you Outcast him?”

Micah frowned. “It was my first act as the new Alpha.”

Julian cursed under his breath. “How long have you been alpha?”

“A little over two years.”

Tabby had been living as a human in Halle for less than a year. She’d spent years as a Wolf, avoiding Packs due to being made an Outcast by her former Alpha for a crime she didn’t commit. He tugged on his braid, praying he was wrong. “Please, for the love of the ancestors, tell me that son of a bitch is being watched.”

“Honestly, I hope he rots in hell. I told him I never want to see him again, and he left. I don’t know if he’s still in Georgia or not, and I don’t care.”

“Shit.” He waved to the passenger seat. “Get in and help me clean up your family’s mess.”

“What are you talking about?”

Julian did something he’d never done with a non-Bear shifter. He used his shaman’s voice, allowing his power as a Spirit Bear to flow over the other man. “Get in the car, Alpha Boyd.”

Micah’s eyes went wide, but he stood his ground. “What the hell? What did you just try to do to me?”

Well. Hopefully curiosity would win out over the ass kicking Micah was probably going to try and hand him. “I’ll explain if you’ll just get in the damn car!” He didn’t care that he was shouting. He just needed Micah to either get in the car or get out of his way. Didn’t he understand? Cyn was in danger. He let his eyes go silver, his hair white, and glared at the alpha. “Did you get permission from Max and Rick to be here?” When Micah cursed Julian almost laughed. According to Pack protocol, the Marietta Alpha had royally screwed up. He’d stepped onto another Alpha’s territory without clearing it with that Alpha first, and if Max didn’t hand him his ass Rick would. “If you get in the car, I’ll cover for you.”

Micah grumbled but got his ass in the car. “Now will you explain it to me?”

Julian dove into the car and took off in a squeal of rubber and smoke. “Have you ever heard of a Spirit Bear?”

Micah shrugged. “They’re the mystical, magical, legendary priests of all shifter kind. My father used to tell stories of them, but I never believed in it. I mean really, Spirit Bears? Who believes in that kiddie kind of shit?”

Julian was tempted to start singing the Care Bear theme song. He’d looked it up and learned the lyrics to make Cyn laugh, but he hadn’t had the guts to sing it to her. Yet. “We prefer the term shaman over priest.” He took a turn so sharply he almost ran up on two wheels.

Micah was staring at him as if he lost his damn mind. “Are you telling me you’re some kind of legend?”

“Only in my own mind,” Julian muttered. He ignored Micah’s chuckle. “If you don’t believe me, you can call my leader, Tai Boucher.” Wouldn’t he love to be a fly on the wall for that conversation? Tai would take the young Alpha and have him spinning in circles within minutes.

He screeched to a stop right outside of Living Art Tattoos, just remembering to turn off the engine before he was out of the car, Micah hot on his heels.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

Julian ripped open the door to LA, ignoring the startled look on Cyn’s face. “I think your father is trying to kill my mate.”

Cyn damn near jumped out of her skin as Julian raced into the shop, a strange man hot on his heels. She crouched, her claws extended, ready to defend her mate from danger. Julian shouldn’t even be out of bed, let alone running anywhere. The doctors still hadn’t cleared him to do anything more strenuous than eat a sandwich and pee.

In two strides Julian had her in his arms, his face buried in her hair. “You’re all right.”

She allowed her claws and fangs to recede. Julian would never hug her in front of a dangerous stranger. “Jules?” He was shaking like a leaf. She tugged on his braid, stroking his back when he shuddered. “What’s wrong?”

The relief in his silver gaze was overwhelming. “Nothing, I just had a bad feeling.”

Cyn froze. Tabby had once told her that Julian’s bad feelings were almost as good as a prophecy. Something was about to go down, and her mate was smack dab in the middle of it. Without letting go of Julian, she pointed toward the stranger. “Does he have anything to do with it?”

Julian loosened his hold on her and turned to look at the stranger, keeping one arm around her waist. “Yes, but not the way you think.” He nodded toward the stranger, but she could tell Julian was uneasy around him. “This is Micah Boyd, Alpha of the Marietta Pack.” Julian tugged on the end of his braid. “He’s here to hunt down his Outcast father.”

She absolutely hated it when Julian lied to her. “Sure he is.”

“His father, Dennis, is the one who Outcast Tabby. One of Micah’s first acts as the new Alpha was to Outcast him. He’s been gone from Marietta for two years now. He also wants to reinstate Tabby’s position in her birth Pack.”

Tabby had told her a long time ago that Outcasting was a huge deal to Packs and Prides. She remembered Tabby’s constant skittishness, her fear that Max would drive her from Halle without any warning, simply because he could. An Outcast had no one they could rely on, nowhere they could turn to for help. Outcasting was supposed to be used for those who committed a crime against Pack or Pride, but Alpha Boyd had used it to hurt a little teenaged girl who’d never done anything wrong other than dare to be different. Tabby still carried the emotional scars of having lived her life in her Wolf form for eight years. Only now that she’d been accepted into both the Halle Pride and the Poconos Pack did she finally feel she had a safe harbor. “You think your father is capable of seeking revenge?”

“I wouldn’t put it past him.” Micah was staring at them, looking utterly confused. “Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?”

“Someone’s been trying to kill us.” Cyn didn’t see any reason to beat around the bush. If it really was his father doing these things, Micah deserved a shot at him. “One of Max’s Pumas has already died.” She still felt guilty as hell over losing Marie, even though there was nothing she could have done to save her. It was stupid, but that didn’t stop her from wanting a do-over. If she hadn’t gone to give Marie the earring, perhaps Marie would have survived.

“Why would my father be trying to kill you? If he was going to go after anyone I’d think it would be Tabby.”

“¿Está loco en la cabeza?” Both men were looking at her like she was the one who was loco. She shrugged. “He’s one wave short of a shipwreck.”

“Tabby and Alex are still in the mountains?” Julian was still tugging on his braid, his gaze glued to the front door.

“I think so, yes. Why?” She blinked. “Shit. If it really is Alpha Boyd, and he’s after Tabby—”

“—and Tabby isn’t here—” Julian darted a quick, horrified glance at her before plucking his phone from his pocket.

Cyn pulled her cell phone out and quickly dialed. Gabe answered on the first ring. “Cyn, my guys just radioed me. Who the hell just ran in there with Julian?”

“Tell them to stay calm. Alpha Micah Boyd is with us out of Marietta. He thinks his father is the one who’s been targeting us.” She began to pace, her Bear restless and ready to tear someone apart. “Dennis Boyd is the one who Outcast Tabby all those years ago, and now he’s been Outcast for his crimes. We think he’s going after her.”

“Calm down. They aren’t alone. I’ll warn my men to keep a lookout. You three need to sit tight. If Dennis Boyd is in town, he might decide to take out his son instead of running after Tabby. Stay there where you’re being watched over, got it?”

“Will do,” Julian said loudly, replacing his phone in his pocket. “Rick is aware of who we think the shooter is. He’s going to take Tabby and Alex on a little hiking trip to see if she can catch his scent. Hopefully they won’t find anything.”

She growled at him. “We need to protect Tabby.”

Julian’s silver eyes glittered. His Bear was close to the surface. “No. We stay put, like Gabe told us to.”

She opened her mouth, ready to argue, but closed it when she saw the way he was still shaking. “What happened? What has you so scared?” Hell, the way he was reacting, her Bear was trying to scramble its way out. She’d seen him silly, scared, upset, even angry. But this was the first time she’d ever seen him terrified.

His lips compressed, his jaw clenching so hard she could feel the pain of it.

“Jules? Just tell me. I’ll find out anyway.”

He sighed and leaned against the counter, his arms folded over his chest. He refused to look at her. “I had a vision.”

“A bad one, I’m guessing.” Whatever had scared her mate so badly would be dealt with. She didn’t even realize her claws had extended until they dug into her palms.

“I need you to stay safe.” He finally looked at her, those bright, beautiful eyes of his dull with pain. “I can’t…” He bit his lip and turned away again.

Shit. This was worse than she thought. She barely noticed Micah watching the two of them closely, her attention centered solely on Julian. “Tell me about the vision.”

He ignored her, staring out the front window at the dark street. He was so tense she thought he might shatter with a breath.

She took a step toward him, needing to soothe him. “Julian, tell me so I can deal with whatever—”

“No!”

She gasped as his power rolled over her, the strength in him stunning her. She hadn’t realized how strong he was until her Bear bowed her head in submission, accepting Julian’s right to rule her actions. She would’ve been pissed as hell if his fear hadn’t been steamrolling over her, nearly dragging her to her knees.

“I cannot lose you.” He was practically panting, his eyes wild with fear.

She had to force herself to walk toward him. It was like being thigh high in the ocean, trying to force herself to move forward while the waves of fright kept pushing her back. She could barely keep her balance, both emotionally and physically. “You aren’t going to lose me.”

“I can’t.” Her beautiful lover began to cry, and Cyn knew she wasn’t going anywhere. Not when his vision was affecting him this badly. “I waited so long for you. I can’t lose you now.”

“Shh.” She reached up and brushed away a crystal tear, the heavy weight of his fear receding at the touch of his skin under her fingertips. “I’m not going anywhere. Not without you.” She hugged him tight, almost crying herself as he shook in her arms. His tears were wet against her neck. “You need to tell me about this vision of yours, okay? So we can both be safe.”

Julian took a deep, shuddering breath, and nodded.

She stroked his hair, undoing his braid so she could finger comb the long strands. There was still far too much silver in the black for her comfort. “So how long exactly did you wait for me?” Her voice was shaky, but at least she’d managed a light tone. She had a pretty good idea what he must have seen, but she was more scared for him than she was for herself. She had to find out exactly what he’d seen, but first she had to get him to calm down.

“Since the first moment I saw you.”

She pulled back and stared up at him. Julian had met her almost a year ago. Alex had been right. Julian had been suffering before they mated. “Was I worth it?”

His thumb stroked over her cheekbone as he smiled down at her. “You’re worth everything.”

“Y’all are so cute together. You should be a Hallmark card.”

Cyn and Julian turned as one to glare at Micah.

“Sorry.” He gave them a sheepish grin. “I haven’t found my mate yet. I’m not sure whether I should be jealous or vomit from the sugar overload.”

Julian patted her on the behind, still a little teary. “Well, my sugar needs to get her ass behind some nice, thick walls.” He eyed the plate glass window with disfavor. “Seriously thick walls. Maybe underground.”

Cyn rolled her eyes and hid her grin. “I’m a Bear, not a mole.”

Julian wiped his eyes dry with the heels of his hands. His answering smile was shaky. “Because weremoles are just silly.”

“Um. What?” Micah’s brows rose. “What the hell are y’all talking about?”

Cyn giggled as Julian began counting on his fingers. “There are no weremoles, werevoles, wererats, weremice…” Her Jules was sounding more like himself and less like the half-crazed maniac that had run into her shop a few minutes before. She would get to the bottom of his vision, one way or another. But for now, she was content that he was safe.

“…but we’re still not certain about weredolphins and wereorcas. What do you think?”

Julian knew he’d scared the hell out of Cyn, but it was all just too much. First Glory was shot, then Marie, but the vision of Cyn lying dead in his arms had been the final straw. He just couldn’t contain his fear.

Hell. If Ryan and Alex found out he’d cried he’d be forced to turn in his man card. He’d be getting Judy Garland movies every Christmas for the rest of his life.

“Are you serious?” Micah’s jaw seemed to be permanently unhinged if the way his mouth remained open was any indication.

Julian barely heard the shattering of glass, the cracking sound of the gunshot. All that registered was the sudden flaring pain radiating from Micah. The Marietta Alpha staggered and grabbed his bleeding shoulder. Without thought Julian extended his power toward the wounded man, beginning the process of healing. It was a through-and-through, thank the ancestors. The only concern would be infection.

“Down!” Cyn grabbed him and tossed herself on top of him, breaking his connection to the healing path. Micah fell to the ground as outside the shop the world erupted, cops shouting for the shooter to show himself. All the cops surrounding Cyn were Pumas; Julian didn’t think he’d be getting away.

“Jesus. You weren’t kidding when you said someone was trying to kill you.” Micah crawled toward them, his expression a mask of pain.

“No shit.” Julian pushed Cyn off of him. Where the hell did she get off covering him? It was his job to protect her, not the other way around. “We need to get out of here.” He began crawling on his belly toward the back of the shop, heading for the employee area and the back door.

“Aren’t you the one who said ‘sit tight’?” Cyn was following him closely even as she questioned him.

“The shooter has to be out front still. No way can he get past the Pumas guarding you. But in front of those windows he can take more shots at us.”

“He’s right. My dad was always one hell of a hunter. Don’t trust that he’ll stay put, either. He’ll be running for the hills, hoping to get another shot at you on a different day.”

Julian pushed aside the curtain and made his way into the break room. “Do you think he’ll go after Tabby?”

“If he figures out she’s not in town? Yes.” Micah held the curtain open for Cyn, dropping it when she was safely inside.

“Rick can keep her safe. Ben and Ted won’t allow anyone to touch her, especially since she’s a Pack mate.” Julian listened, waiting for the cops to come in the shop. Eventually they’d have to tell them whether or not they’d caught the son of a bitch.

“Who are Ben and Ted?” Micah stood and brushed his jeans off.

Julian followed suit but held his hand out to assist Cyn to her feet. “Ben is the Poconos Pack Marshall and Ted is his Second.”

Micah’s hand froze on his knee. “She’s joined another Pack, then.”

“And a Pride,” Julian added.

Micah stared at him, astonished. “A Pride? How the hell did a Wolf wind up in a Pride?”

Cyn shrugged, her gaze darting around the break room as if the shooter were hiding in the cupboards. “Max likes her.”

“And she proved herself to him. He had no problems accepting her, and neither did Rick.”

Cyn grinned. “They share her.”

Micah looked horrified. “How do their mates feel about that?”

Cyn and Julian gaped at him. He could not mean what Julian thought he did. “Are you nuts? Emma and Belle would eviscerate anyone who touched Max or Rick.”

“They share her as a Pack mate, not a fuck toy.” Cyn snarled. “What kind of Pack do you run, anyway?”

Micah had the grace to look sheepish. “Sorry. It’s just…some of the things my dad forced us to do were horrible. Sharing a female, whether mated or not, wasn’t uncommon.”

Forcing someone to have sex with a person who wasn’t their mate wasn’t possible for a male, and tantamount to rape for a female, once the bond was established. The old Alpha had to be one sick son of a bitch to do that. “Your father wasn’t mated to your mother, was he?”

“How did you know?”

“Lucky guess.” Julian flinched at the sound of another gunshot. “Shit. They have to catch this asshole.”

“At least this isn’t a residential area. Even the restaurants close down by six.” Cyn rolled her eyes at him as she stepped around him. She peeked around the curtain, pulling back as another shot was fired. “Yeah. I think we need to stay in here.”

They hunkered down in the break room, keeping out of sight. At least Julian was certain Cyn was safe. She was whistling and tapping her fingers, restless as she never was. She was hating the fact that they were pinned down, helpless to stop the man who’d shot Glory.

Micah frowned curiously at Cyn. “Why are you whistling the Hawaii Five-O theme?”

Cyn blinked and stopped whistling, but her fingers continued to twitch restlessly. “No reason.”

After a few minutes, Micah held up his hand. “Shh. Hear that?”

Julian cocked his head, trying to hear what had Micah quivering with tension.

“No sound.” Cyn closed her eyes and tilted her head. “I can’t hear anything.”

Julian slipped out of the break room. Something was very wrong. “Stay put.”

Cyn took a step toward him. “No.”

“Cyn.” He pressed a hard kiss to her lips before shoving her back into the break room. “You have to stay safe.”

“Ditto.”

He glared at her. No way was she leaving the protection of the break room. “Don’t make me use the voice.”

She blew her bangs out of her eyes and glared back. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t follow your ass.”

“Because I don’t want to watch you die.”