12. Kezia

With my handswrapped around a steaming mug of tea, I watched the two women, who were openly staring at me while pretending they weren’t.

I should have been hurt that Lottie’s hand didn’t stray far from the shotgun, but considering I had been gone for over a year, had been a wanted killer, or at least a fugitive, which was then a case of mistaken identity, I wasn’t holding it against her.

“You need to eat?” Lottie asked me.

“Yes.” I looked at her as I sipped my tea. “Can you cook better yet?”

“I can cook fine.” Her glare was the same, and it made me smile.

“In that case, I’m not hungry.”

“Lost your damn clothes, not lost your smart mouth, I see,” she snarked, but I saw her lips tug upwards before she pretended to scowl more.

“He told me you were both dead.” Okay, so I was going right there. “The guy…” How did I explain this?

“I think we need to call the police,” Maggie tried to whisper to Lottie.

“I don’t need the police.” My voice was a little too high, a little more high-strung sounding than normal. “I can kind of explain to you both, kind of.”

“Why?” Lottie’s hand inched closer to the shotgun. “Why no police?”

“Do you have silver bullets in there?”

Lottie looked at Maggie quickly, her finger now on the barrel of the shotgun. “Maybe we should call someone.”

“Lottie, I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine!” she snapped. “Sitting here as bare as the day you were born, gone for months, and now asking about silver bullets. You think you’re a damned werewolf or something, girl?” Her snort was loud. “You need help.” Maggie was nodding along with every word. “Let us help you.”

“You are helping me. I have a blanket and a cup of tea. I just need time to warm up.” Which was a lie as I was already toasty. “I can be gone so quick you won’t even know I was here.” I watched them share a dubious look. “I thought you were both dead.” Lowering my cup of tea to the table, I knew I needed to explain. “I can’t tell you how happy I am to see you are both alive and well.”

“Wouldn’t say well.” Lottie sniffed. She took a seat, her hand no longer so near to the gun. “Your disappearance and then manhunt”—she grunted out man—“aged me about ten years, I reckon.”

“Did you kill those men?”

I met the fear in Maggie’s eyes, and I knew there was no point lying. “I did. They were going to rape me, then murder me. I fought them and I won.” She looked worse after the explanation if that were possible. “If you could let me finish my tea, I’ll go. You can call the police and never have to see me again.”

“You’ll stay where you are.” Lottie gave me a meaningful look before she turned to Maggie. “Never heard you argue against self-defense before.” She slid the shotgun across the counter to Maggie. “Hold onto that if it makes you feel better.”

It shouldn’t have made me sad when Maggie pulled the butt of the gun closer to her.

“Where have you been? Why are you naked? Who can we call?” Folding her bony arms across her chest, Lottie waited for me to answer. “I’ll know if you’re lying.”

“I was taken.” Not a lie. “I was held prisoner.” Also not a lie. “I escaped.” Still not a lie. I’d escaped so many places now, it was almost funny. “I didn’t have any clothes, which is why I’m naked.” Truth. “I need to call my brother.”

“You have a brother?”

“Yes. He’s older. He needs to know I’m okay.”

Maggie’s hand flexed on the gun. “He’ll be worried? He knows you are missing?”

“Yes, I’m worried about him too. May I use a phone?”

“You’re not telling us it all.”

Lottie. Luna, I’d missed this woman, but I hadn’t missed the fact she was almost shifter-sensitive when it came to sniffing out bullshit. “I’m telling you what I can.”

Still not lying.

Digging into her pocket, Lottie handed me an old and battered cell phone. “Know his number?”

Taking it, I felt the wry smile as I punched in his number to make the call. “It’s the only one I know.”

Anxiety twisted inside me as I waited for Kris to answer. What if something happened to him? What if he no longer had this phone? What would I do if he never answered? How much had I missed? Was anyone hurt? Was he alive? What if Bale answered?

Panic surged through me. Shit!

“Who is this?”

Tears spilled down my cheeks as I heard his gruff voice. “Kris?”

“Kezia?”

“Yeah, it’s me. Are you okay? Are you free? I need you to come get me.”

“Kezia?” I could already hear him moving. “Kezia, is it… Fuck. Is it you? Tell me you’re okay.”

I was sobbing now. “Is he alive? Are you hurt? Is he okay?”

“He’s fine. I’m fine. Where are you?” I heard the phone move and a muffled shout, realizing Kris had covered the phone. “I shouted for him. Where are you? Are you hurt? Is she there?”

She? I understood.

“I’m fine. I’m with old…friends.” Both of whom were watching me with a mix of curiosity and suspicion. “They found me in the woods. They took me home?—”

“Home?”

“To their home,” I corrected quickly. “One of their homes. I got a cup of tea, a whole lot of explaining to do, and a phone call. I can’t get to you as I am,” I told him, hoping he would understand that I was scared to shift. I couldn’t explain more with the women both listening, so I asked what I needed to know. “How is he?”

“Furious.”

I laughed. It felt as if I hadn’t laughed in so long, but my brother’s blunt one-worded answer made me feel light. “Good, I am too.”

“Cannon isn’t nearby. He’s…busy with pack stuff. Tell me where you are. I’m coming for you.”

Busy? Lowering the phone, I asked Lottie. “Can I tell your address to my brother?”

“Is he coming?”

“Yes.”

“He dangerous?”

“Yes.” I saw the scowl again. “But not to you.” My eyes flicked to Maggie, who had a death grip on the gun, and I put the phone back to my ear. “On second thought, I’ll wait on the edge of town. I’m in Baywater Creek; it’s not that far really.” It was pathetic how close I’d stayed to the mountains of my home when I thought I was “running away.” “When will you leave?”

I was eager to see him. I was eager to be back on the mountain. If I shifted and lost control, who knew how long it would take for me to come back.

“I’m leaving now, Kez.” His voice was soft, but I could hear his urgency.

“Kris, how long have I been gone?”

Lottie’s eyes widened with sympathy, and even Maggie looked less likely to shoot me. I looked away from them. I didn’t want to explain anything, but I knew I had to tell them something.

“Seven weeks.”

That was almost two months.

“Three days short of two months,” he added gruffly.

“You counting?” I tried to tease him, but I was too emotional.

“Cannon is.”

Tears dripped off my chin. “He’s really okay?”

“He’s really okay. She did it.”

I heard more muffled talking, and then an engine roared to life. “You’re driving?”

“Royce is. I’ll be there soon.” I heard a door closing. “Don’t move from there. Don’t shift. Stay out of sight.”

“I will.”

“I’ll see you soon. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

As I handed Lottie back her phone, she handed me a tissue. “Reckon we’ll need more tea.” Looking between me and Maggie, she nodded to herself. “I’ll get you a change of clothes. Maggie, put the kettle on.”

“Why were you in the woods?” It had been bothering me. It was so random for them to be out there.

“Seen a white wolf lurking on the edge of town,” Lottie told me with a gleam in her eye. “Not seen it for a long time. Not since you were last here.”

I swallowed hard. Did they know?

“Been out looking for it for a few days, finally convinced Maggie to come look with me.” She slapped the other woman on the shoulder. “She must be my lucky charm.”

“Did you find it?” I was shaking. “The wolf?”

“Nope. Found you.” Lottie started to walk to the stairs. “I’ll get those clothes. Maggie, we need more tea.” When the other woman didn’t move, Lottie came back and snatched the gun off her, startling her. “Make tea.” Looking at the gun in her hand, she shook her head. “I’ll keep this.” Lottie glanced back at me. “I’m ready to hear more of your story, Zia.”

The problem was, was I ready to tell it?

I watched as Maggie made tea and Lottie handed me a pair of jeans, a sweater, and underwear. It was all mine from before. The fact that she had kept my stuff made me teary-eyed. She’d gestured to the bathroom wordlessly with another meaningful look at Maggie as she did. I understood she wanted five minutes alone with her, and in the bathroom, I pulled on the clothes, splashed water on my face, and did my best to tame my hair.

I looked like a wild woman. No wonder Maggie had been holding onto that gun.

Lottie rapped her knuckles against the door to let me know it was time to come out. Taking a deep breath, I pulled the door open and joined them in the kitchen.

“More tea, Zia?”

“That would be great, thanks.” I watched Maggie as she buttered a thick slice of white bread. When she put it in front of me, I murmured my thanks.

“Are you still on the run?”

It was Maggie who spoke, and it surprised me she went straight to it. Why it did, I wasn’t sure; she’d always been forthright. “No. I believe they dropped the case.”

“But you said you killed them.”

“I did.” I took a bite of the bread, my mouth watering in appreciation. “This is good.”

“No need to sound surprised,” Lottie grumbled. “I buy the bread.”

Maggie and I shared an amused look as I took another bite until she realized what she’d done and looked away hastily. “It’s delicious.” I ignored my disappointment.

“You human?”

I gaped at Lottie. “If you cut me, I bleed.”

“If I cut a fox, it bleeds too.”

“I’m human.” I took a smaller bite of bread. “Mostly.”

Lottie sucked her teeth as she watched me chew. “Mostly?”

“I’m something else, too.”

“What is it?” Maggie asked, and I heard her nerves as she spoke.

“You don’t need to know.” Putting the bread down, I looked between them. “I won’t hurt you. Ever. I give you my word…” I knew I was doing the right thing. “But I can’t tell you. It’s dangerous for you to know, and I won’t put you in danger.”

“Are we in danger with you being here?”

I held Maggie’s stare. “Possibly.”

She looked at Lottie, and Lottie nodded at the unspoken question she saw in Maggie’s eyes. “Go. I’ll be fine here. Zia would never hurt me.”

Maggie’s head dipped. “I want to stay, I do, but…”

“I killed three men, I disappeared, I turn up naked and confused, and I just told you I’m not fully human and it could be dangerous me being here.” I smiled at her. “Honestly? You’re crazy if you stay.”

“You sure?” she asked Lottie, and when the older woman nodded, Maggie squeezed Lottie’s hand and hurried to the door. She hesitated on her way out. “I won’t tell anyone I saw you, Zia.”

I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “I appreciate that.”

Her eyes turned soft as she looked at me. “I really am glad you’re okay. Stay safe.”

The door closed behind her, and I turned to look at Lottie. “Stay safe but not here.” I picked my bread up again. “I can go.”

“It’s cold out. You can stay here. I reckon your kin knows how to find you.” She was slicing more of the bread. “Want some bacon to go with this?”

“Well, now I do.”

As I finished my first slice, we were quiet as I watched her fry the bacon to a lovely crispness and then carried on cremating it even when I tried to politely tell her it was ready. Nevertheless, when she placed the four formerly-known-as-bacon slices in front of me, I added them to my new slice of bread, folded the slice in half, and ate my sandwich. Lottie ate her own slice of bread, and we sat in comfortable silence. It was familiar and it settled me.

“You a werewolf?”

I almost choked on my meal. When I recovered enough to answer, I shook my head. “I told you I won’t tell you.”

“Okay.” She took a large swallow of tea. “Nod, don’t speak. Are you a werewolf?”

Sneaky. I liked sneaky, so I nodded and saw her eyes widen a little. “Shifter, not a werewolf. We prefer shifter.” I sniffed. “We don’t need the moon to shift.”

“Ah, I wondered.” Lottie looked down at her plate and then back up at me. “So you are both?” When she saw my confusion, she elaborated. “Wolf and girl.”

“Yes.”

“Just a wolf?”

Her question made me smile a little. “There’s no just about it.”

“You don’t shift into anything else?” I shook my head. “I have questions. Questions I know I shouldn’t ask, and even if I did, you’d shut up quicker than a clam.” Leaning back in her seat, she shook her head a little as she looked me over. “Did they deserve it? To die?”

“Yes.”

She looked out the window, her gaze thoughtful. “Knew you were different the first night I saw you slipping outside that cabin into the woods naked.” Lottie ignored my startled look. “Thought you were one of the new-age pray-at-the-moon people.” She harrumphed. “I’ve always been too straightlaced to be a hippie. Free love in the sixties meant being a little too freer than I was comfortable with.” She sniffed with disdain. “All manner of diseases going around. No siree. Not for me.”

“You thought I was a hippie?”

“You were a drifter. Young. Carefree. Forgive me that I thought that before I thought werewolf.” Her dry tone made me grin.

“Shifter.”

“Whatever.” Lottie got up, crossed to the sink, and poured her tea away. “Think I need whiskey.” She pulled a tumbler down off the shelf, looking at me in question, and didn’t wait for an answer before she took another one down. Sitting back down across from me, she handed me my drink. “Saw you do it a few more times, and then more than once, I saw a white wolf in the trees, and it would disappear and then you’d be there. Still naked…but happier.” She blew out a breath. “Which is when I started thinking you were more than a hippie.” She grinned at my eye roll. “Tell me what you can.”

I sipped the whiskey, the burn at the back of my throat making me cough slightly. “Holy Luna, woman, that’s lethal.”

Lottie’s grin got wider. Taking a drink, she hissed in appreciation. “Puts hair on your chest.”

“I don’t want hair on my chest,” I reminded her as I took another drink.

“Why? You got yourself a man?”

I nodded, my smile breaking free and loving that it did. “He’s…”

“Let me guess, perfect…”

“Yeah.” I frowned as I thought of my alpha. “He’s also a dick. Sometimes.” I scrunched my nose up as I thought of Cannon. “Most times.”

“The best ones usually are a good blend of both.” Lottie grew serious again. “As I said, Zia, tell me what you can. I won’t repeat a word of it. Not even to Maggie.” Her hand had a slight tremor the next time she spoke. “When they came asking for you last time, I ran them off, but it took a while before I was able to sleep right through the night.”

Vance. The bastard.

Reaching over, I squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry.”

Lottie patted the hand that held hers. “You did nothing wrong. I never spilled anything about you then; I won’t do it now.”

Taking a drink of my whiskey, I avoided her stare as I considered what to say. “We’re born under the grace of Luna. Humans with a little bit of magic in them, a little bit more bite.” I winked at her as I spoke. “We keep to ourselves. It is forbidden to tell humans. For our protection, I think.” I remembered Bullet and his friends. “Your kind can be so cruel.” I thought of Bale and the abuse I had suffered with him. “My kind too.” I finished my whiskey. “We’re faster, stronger, and can heal ourselves from most wounds.”

“Handy.” I wanted to laugh at her expression, eyes wide with wonder.

“We still get sick.” I held my glass out for more when she poured her own. “We can still die.”

“What did they want with you last time?”

“To hurt me.” I sighed. “I’d been participating in illegal fighting rings. They didn’t like my winning streak.”

“You cheated?” Lottie looked surprised.

“I didn’t think I did, but I was able to heal after a match, and I went back too quickly for more. My need for more money meant I grew careless.” Pushing my hair off my face, I shrugged. “Not grew, I was careless.”

“They caught you? Is that where you’ve been?”

“No.” A pull in my lower belly had me turning in my seat, my attention on the door. “My mate did.”

“Mate? Who’s he?”

I wanted to race to the door and fling it open, but I forced myself to remain sitting in place. I wasn’t sure if Cannon was as eager to see me as I was him. That kept me in my seat. “You’re about to meet him.”

“What?” Lottie was off her chair, slightly panicked as she looked between me and the door. “When?”

“Now.”