Chapter 10

Ava

When I woke, light was streaming through a stained glass window directly onto my face. I blinked sleepily and stretched, a yawn cracking my jaw. Parts of me ached with a delicious dull throb that made me want to squeeze my thighs together, it made me want to roll over and go back to sleep. Only, the bed was curiously cold next to me, and if there was one thing I knew, it was that Lucius ran hot. Very hot.

Blinking again, I rubbed at my lashes with a groan. Fine, I’d get up and figure out where he’d gone. I didn’t like discovering the bed was empty after what we’d shared last night. It hadn’t just been the mind-blowing sex; we’d talked, really talked afterward. He was now officially the only person in the world who knew of my issues with Calder.

The bed was definitely empty, his entire bedroom was, and no sound was coming from the bathroom. When I held my breath, it was deadly silent, like the house was abandoned. Had he left? I couldn’t imagine that. This place was his sanctuary, his fort, his way of protecting himself since he was cursed. He wouldn’t leave, but he was clearly making every attempt to avoid me.

I tried to ignore how that made my heart ache, a painful clenching in my chest that made it hard to breathe. So what? He had made no promises, and after he shared his story, I knew he was a troubled person. Not that he’d given me any details, he’d explained what his curse meant, but he hadn’t told me how he’d gotten cursed.

The shower felt awkward and cold, and I was starting to feel a hint of shame when I pulled on yesterday’s clothing. I’d known going in that this wasn’t some lifelong commitment, a one-night stand, but it felt different in the light of day when I wasn’t ruled by desire. It would have helped if he had been there to see me off. Hand me some breakfast, maybe before I went back into town to collect my car and things.

The prospect of more driving, more fleeing, made me feel positively gloomy. Where could I run to? Calder’s shifter friends had found me in the middle of nowhere in Minnesota, and I’d only driven in this direction by sheer random chance. It wasn’t like I had ties to any particular place. I’d just looked at the map and picked a destination with my eyes closed. How had he even found me?

Those thoughts took pride of place when I pushed open Lucius’ bedroom door to leave. My head was down as I worried about my future or possible lack thereof. If I hadn’t been hunched over in thought, I would have never seen it, but I was, so I did.

A little bouquet of feathers, tied together with a pretty ivory ribbon. They contained the feathers I’d been collecting last night. I recognized one with a little nick in the tip, but there were new ones, including one particularly bold orange and gold feather that Lucius could have only pulled from his wing by hand. Fine, he scored points for that, but I was still a little miffed he wasn’t personally there to say goodbye.

I wouldn’t have found the kitchen if not for Ziv. The black cat showed up after I’d taken a couple of hesitant steps in one direction. He led me there with a plaintive meow, and I spent far too much time searching for a bowl and the cat food once I arrived. The kitchen was well stocked, with a huge pantry, that much was clear, and in the daylight, I could see that a vast vegetable garden lay just outside. Lucius wasn’t taking any chances, he clearly grew much of his own food.

Thankfully, he also had Pop-Tarts, bagels, and cream, so I wasn’t lost. The cat food I finally located was from a top brand, too—nothing but the best for Lucius’ only companion. The cat’s munching noises were the only sound in the kitchen as I ate. Now what? I didn’t even know where the front door was or how to get from this huge, beautiful home in the middle of the woods back to town.

I should have realized that Lucius had taken care of that part. By the time I’d polished the last crumb from my plate, I could hear a chime sounding delicately in the distance. The noise briefly made me think I’d get to see him, but when I followed Ziv through the hallways, I knew I wouldn’t. Lucius was gone. We had that one night, and I now had a bunch of feathers to remember him by, and that was it.

A man stood on the doorstep in a sleek gray uniform, and he was polite and professional as he led me to his sleek black sedan. Not a cab, nothing as mundane as that. No, this was a fancy chauffeur service that catered only to the rich. I was shocked to discover that they came all this way out into the woods, but money always talked.

“Where to, ma’am?” the driver asked as he held open my door and watched as I strapped my seat belt on. Ziv had followed me outside, and he meowed even more plaintively than when he’d had to wait for his kibble. At least Lucius’ cat didn’t like that I was leaving. “Is your pet coming too?” the driver asked after I’d given him the address to the motel where I’d been abducted the day before. To his credit, the man hadn’t batted an eye at the location.

I glanced at Ziv, his golden eyes blinking at me and the pretty white crescent on his chest glowing in the early morning light. If I could take the cat with me, I would. That way, I wouldn’t be alone for this next stretch of running. I’d never do that to Lucius though, Ziv was his only companion. Hell, the man had admitted in a rough voice to me that his cat was the only thing that kept him sane in his solitude. I couldn’t take that from him.

So I clutched the feathers in my hand more tightly and shook my head. “No, he belongs here. Thank you.” The door shutting gently sounded like the crack of a gunshot to me, I jumped in my seat, my nerves getting to me. That sound was like a chapter closing in a book like I’d just lost the most important opportunity of my life. Those fanciful thoughts were ridiculous, but no surprise after the last week. It wouldn’t help me to clutch to the one moment of calm in this craziness, not when I wasn’t welcome. I was no damsel, I’d figure this out one way or another.

As the car purred to life and started to make a slow, steady departure from the large, sprawled-out mansion, it felt like I was making a huge mistake. I twisted in my seat, staring at the beautiful architecture of gabled roofs, gargoyles, and large glass-stained windows. Ziv sat on the steps in front of the large oak doors, his golden eyes glowing brightly at me like twin stars.

The metal gates opened silently and without any prompting, as we approached them, and then the dark woods surrounded us. I hadn’t seen so much as a glimpse of Lucius that entire time, only his cat had come to see me off. But as we traveled down a long, winding road through the forest, I kept imagining I saw a flash of light, a hint of fire. Was he flying above the car? Was that the phoenix? No, it couldn’t be. He never left his lands.

The open asphalt road took me by surprise when we came to it. It wasn’t far to town after that, not far at all, and the sight of the sad, dreary motel and its nearly empty lot made me want to cry. After the safety and shelter of Lucius’ home, I felt exposed and abandoned when I stepped out of the car and back into my real life. The life in which I was on the run from shifters who wanted to kill me or drag me back to Calder in New Mexico.

I stared after the departing driver, who’d said a polite goodbye, and that was it. Now I was truly alone, and I felt so weary that I almost decided to sit down on the curb and give up. Let Calder’s goons find me and finish this. How much more running did I have in me?

Maybe I should be mad at Lucius for more than not even having the guts to say goodbye this morning. He could die if mortally injured, but he was still a far better match against shifters than I was. It was cold to leave me to my own devices after what we shared. He didn’t think I would survive this, did he?

“Meow?” The sound nearly made me jump out of my skin. When I turned toward it, there he was, Ziv. Not the man I wanted to see, but it was such a welcome sight that tears rushed to my eyes. I wiped at them, readjusted my glasses, and stared when I realized Ziv was really there, sitting on the sidewalk next to me. “Meow?” he said again, and he cocked his head at an angle and blinked those big golden orbs slowly.

“What are you doing here, sweetie?” I asked him. At the sound of my voice, he rose to all four paws and approached, winding between my legs with a raised back. His tail trembled as it curled against my knee. The warmth of his body against my jeans made me feel less alone, and I ducked down to pick him up. Immediately, he purred loudly and started butting his head against my chin in rough caresses.

“How did you get here so fast?” I asked him, a fruitless question because he couldn’t talk. Still, it bothered me. I distinctly recalled seeing him at the top of the steps to the mansion as we drove away. The glow of his golden eyes had been so bright. Now he was here, but he couldn’t have hitched a ride in the car, so how had he done it?

Ziv didn’t answer, but his purr abruptly halted. His claws shot out where he clung with his front paws to my shoulders, a pinch of pain stinging me. When the fur on his back stood on end, my skin broke out in goosebumps, followed by a wash of trepidation. He saw something I hadn’t, and it wasn’t good news.

I turned around slowly while I searched the parking lot, the shadows around the side of the motel, and the quiet road. There was nobody there, not even the motel attendant was visible through the grimy window of the motel office. The ice machine hummed, and in the distance, I heard the sound of a car trundling along, but that was it. There wasn’t even so much as a breeze or the chirp of a bird. Something was definitely very wrong.

Mouth dry, I clutched Ziv tighter to my chest while I contemplated my best course of action. Motel room or car? I didn’t think I’d make it to either. My keys made the decision for me, they’d fell from my hands when I was first abducted. I didn’t see them anywhere now, which meant I couldn’t even get the car to work.

My footsteps were loud on the concrete as I started walking toward the motel room, the number five blazing at me like a beacon. I knew I wouldn’t be safe behind a door, but it would feel better than standing out in the open. I could try the phone inside, maybe call the police. But would they respond to a call that went, 'Hey, I’m being attacked by shapeshifting monsters! Send help, please?' I doubted it.

Ziv was practically vibrating in my arms from the tension, his front paws on my shoulders as he peered around me at the lot as I had done. The sound coming from his throat was a warning, a mixture of a growl and a hiss. My fingers brushed the doorknob, but the illusion of safety it offered shattered the next moment.

The door swung open, and out he stepped. Calder. My worst nightmare.