C2 TWO

Have Not We Affections

ROSE

“Have not we affections and desires for sport, and frailty, as men have?”

— William Shakespeare, Othello

I DID NOT anticipate my husband's reaction to Talon when they met, though I should have, if I'd given it any thought. To me, shifting was a new way of life, something I'd never dreamed I'd be doing. For Derek, it was his life, his whole life, and he'd been raised to believe that the forbidden ways of multi-shifting were dangerous and should never be practiced.

And now his wife was one of the Forbidden.

In light of this, his reaction to Talon made sense.

"I don't like him," Derek sneered repeatedly through the long hike back to civilization. Talon joined us, but stayed behind, a ghost in the woods around us, which didn't make Derek feel more at ease.

"He's the only one who can help me." We had stopped under a tree for a snack and the bishop, who was also returning with us, walked a few paces away to give us privacy—or maybe to give himself privacy. He still carried sadness about Ryder, even though Ryder survived. As much as I hated what Ryder did to all of us, I'd gotten to see into his soul a bit, and it softened me to him. It also softened me to the rigid and overly righteous bishop, who had just lost his son in every way that mattered.

Derek ran a hand through his dark hair, his blue eyes bright and clear. He looked so healthy it was hard to believe he'd nearly died just a few days before. "Can't you just... I don't know... stop?"

I bit off the sharp retort in my mind, trying to remember that he loved me and worried about me. "No. I can't just stop. I can't control it at all. That's the problem. I'm not trying to do this, Derek. It's happening to me against my will. Against my conscious choice. If Talon doesn't teach me to control this power, I could die from it."

There. I'd said it. I could die. Derek had to understand what was at stake if I didn't learn from the one man who could help.

He winced at my words and pulled me closer to him. "I can't lose you, Rose. I just can't."

"Then he has to come with us." I had a feeling Talon could hear every word we spoke. He could be the squirrel in the tree next to us or the bird flying overhead. He changed shape with a breath, blending into the world around him so effortlessly it spooked me.

I shivered and moved into Derek's arms, relishing the feel of him holding me, of his hard body, strong and tall, wrapped around me.

"Isn't there anyone else?" he whispered into my ear, perhaps sensing that we weren't alone.

"You'd know that better than I would," I reminded him. "Is there?"

I looked up into his eyes, waiting.

"No. None of us even knew he existed. Which begs the question, why you? Why now? Why risk his identity if he's stayed in the shadows for so long?"

A bird landed in front of us and grew into a man. Talon stood there, naked and unashamed, perhaps even unaware of his nudity. I tried to avert my eyes, but was mesmerized by... well... his horns and hands weren't the only parts of his body that had taken on the form of an animal. At some point I thought he must have been a horse.

I couldn't help but blush at these thoughts and forced myself to concentrate as Talon spoke.

"I felt Rose's pain and knew I had to help. Never in a thousand years has there been another like myself, and I couldn't leave her to suffer as I had."

With those few words, he shrunk back into a bird and flew away, leaving us all speechless for several moments.

Bishop Alaric cleared his throat. "We should get going. We don't want to get caught out here after dark. There's a plane waiting in the city to pick us up and take us home. Should only be a few more hours of hiking."

"Why don't we just shift?" Derek asked. "It would be faster and we don't have Ryder as prisoner this time around."

They both looked at me. Was I ready to shift? Could I stay in wolf form? It would be warmer, that was for sure. I nodded, hiding behind a tree as I undressed, and closed my eyes, focusing on the one form, dipping into that room I'd found in meditation and allowing the light to shine only on my wolf.

My body contorted and changed shape. For a moment panic gripped me as my bird started to push into the mix, but I turned away from her and focused all my will on my wolf. When I opened my eyes, they were the eyes of a wolf, seeing and smelling and tasting and feeling the forest around me with new lenses. I howled and nipped at Derek, who stood in wolf form next to me.

Alaric's wolf looked too human and I turned away, not used to the unnatural site of the werewolf form.

And then we ran, loping and dancing through the trees and brush, sailing over rocks and digging our paws into the cold snow, but feeling it all through thick fur and tough skin.

We shifted back to human before we reached the town. Alaric had carried all our clothes in a bag and I changed behind a bush, feeling still part animal as we left to find our plane and head home.

I slept on Derek's shoulder the whole flight home, still exhausted from everything that had occurred on our trip. I'd nearly forgotten about Sam and Drake and everything they were going through until we arrived at Elysium and I saw Drake for the first time. He looked different somehow, more ethereal, his skin almost glowing with a very faint aura of gold, particularly around his shoulders. His normally tan skin had paled a bit and his blond hair shone with that same golden light. His blue eyes now had a golden circle around each iris.

He and Sam seemed... shy around each other and I knew something had happened, but he looked healthy and was alive. He'd survived the attack. I hugged Sam first and then hugged Drake. "It's so good to see you both well. We've been worried about you, Drake."

Derek hugged Drake in that half hug, half handshake way guys do. "Good to see you up and about, dude. Thought we'd lost you."

They talked so casually, but I knew what it would have done to Derek to lose his best friend. He'd always been a loner until he met me and we met our friends at Elysium. These people had become our family.

"It's good to be alive," Drake said. An odd look flashed across his face and with my power I felt a shift in his energy, but I couldn't figure out what it meant. Whatever they'd had to do in order to save him had clearly changed him.

"How did you survive?" I asked.

"My father, Beleth. He... gave me his blood."

There was more to it then that. But that told me something. Beleth was Nephilim, we'd discovered. Which meant...

"You're becoming Nephilim. Full Nephilim?"

Drake nodded and Sam averted her eyes.

"Ah. Well, that's going to be interesting," I said, rummaging my brain for what we'd all recently learned of these angel/human hybrids.

Ocean ran out of the mansion before we could make our way in and threw herself into my arms. "You're back! How was it? Did you use any of the clothes I sent with you?"

Our packing experience seemed a lifetime ago, but I laughed at my best friend's enthusiasm. She had her long auburn hair in two braids that made her look very country, which was a new look for her. "It's good to see you."

She leaned in, whispering in my ear. "IPI is here and I've been working with them. They've got some wicked weapons!" IPI, International Paranormal Investigations, had recruited Ocean after we took down our coven leader and my mother. But she hadn't decided yet if it was right for her. Maybe this would help her make up her mind.

"Are Brad and Professional Shaw still here?" Professor Shaw helped run this school with Father Patrick and Brad was Drake's best friend growing up. He was human, no para-powers to speak of, but he'd created a blog that had gone viral once paranormals came out, interviewing them and showing their 'human side' to the world.

Ocean shook her head. "They left when Drake recovered. The professor had another international relations meeting to go to in... France, I think. And Brad got an email from some big-wig in Washington, D.C. and left with such excitement I thought he'd self-combust."

I smiled. "Good for them. Has Hope been okay since I left?" I was looking forward to cuddling up with my not-quite-a-puppy-anymore Siberian Husky—a wedding gift from my husband.

"I took good care of her. We went on lots of runs, but I'm sure she's excited to see you again!"

We linked arms as Father Patrick ushered us all into the mansion. "Enough of this for now, I've had tea and lunch made for us. You all must be starving."

The priest glanced at the bishop. "Welcome back, Alaric. I trust things will go more smoothly from now on?"

Alaric creased his lips but nodded. "I understand more of what you're trying to do here. I can't say I agree with all of your decisions, but I'm not trying to destroy the sanctuary you've built. The Pope still wants me here, so we're going to have to learn to work together."

Everyone turned when a grazing deer shifted into an ancient man with many animal parts. Kids playing outside stopped and stared. Talon walked up to us.

"This is Talon," I said. "He's here to help me learn my new abilities."

Father Patrick studied the old druid with a curious look. "I've not seen your kind since... well, since a long time."

"We shall have to exchange stories," said Talon. "I've not seen my kind since her." He gestured at me, and Father Patrick nodded knowingly.

"So that is where her path lies," he said. I thought I saw sadness in his eyes. Did everyone fear my new abilities?

Once all the greetings were finished, we went into the dining hall and ate until our stomachs were ready to burst.

Sam sat across from me and kept looking at me oddly.

Alaric asked about the murders. "Has anyone come any closer to finding out who has been killing paranormals?" he asked.

It must have been a relief for him to know Ryder wasn't a serial killer, though the fact that he had targeted Ana as well made me cringe. Still, I had my doubts he could have done it. Going after Drake was one thing, but a child? I'd seen into his soul. Just a glimpse, but I knew he wouldn't have hurt her.

I looked over at the little girl sitting between her parents, her cheeks red and rosy from playing outside, a twig still in her long hair. No, he wouldn't have hurt her.

At the end of the lunch Sam pulled me aside. "Rose, I have to talk to you. Privately. It's..." she looked around, her eyes landing on Derek who stood talking to Drake, "...it's about Ryder."

A cool breeze ruffled my hair as I followed Sam outside and toward the bench under the weeping willow. I had several questions running through my mind, but I knew she could hear them all with her mind reading, so I figured she'd answer them when she was ready.

We sat and looked at the lake. I pulled my jacket tighter around me. The sun hid behind clouds and shadows from the trees cast the lake in an ominous darkness.

Finally, she turned to me, her face pinched in worry, her aura pulsing in oranges and reds. "I debated about telling you this. It's not really my business and I shouldn't even know this, but then I thought if it were me I'd want to know, so..."

My heart hammered in my chest like something horrible was about to happen to me, but I couldn't imagine what. "Sam, just say it. You're freaking me out."

She twisted her hands and looked down at her lap, breathing deeply. This didn't help me feel happy and calm.

"Sam." I put more force in my voice as my stomach dropped.

"I didn't mean to do it," she said.

"Do what?" I stood and she stood, both of us tense and agitated.

"I didn't mean to dip into Derek's mind. It was when I contacted him to tell you about Drake and what they discovered about Ryder not being the killer."

My pulse quickened, chest tightening.

She cleared her throat. "I'm so sorry, Rose."

"What!" I was at my edge.

"After the battle, I saw it in Derek's mind, after it, when Ryder was released..."

"What happened?" Oh God. What did my husband do?

"Derek followed him."

No. Please no.

"And killed him."