A Shift in the Air Read online

  A quick knock wrenched a gasp from her lips. “Yes?”

  “I brought food.” Farren’s quiet tone had her scrambling for the lock. The alpha carried a tray with two sandwiches, a bottle of whiskey, and two glasses. “For later.” She eyed Liam’s naked body, bloodied and bruised. “The bastard did a number on him.”

  After she set the tray on the window seat, Farren headed for the door, but Caitlin reached out and touched her wrist. “Make sure Mara’s okay. And…as much as I don’t want anyone to bother us...come get me if she looks like she’s losing control.”

  “I will, lass. Now tend to yer mate.”

  In the attached bath, Caitlin found a ceramic basin under the sink that she filled with hot water and set on the nightstand. She started with his chest, skimming a damp cloth over his sculpted muscles. Keeping a light touch over the worst of the bruises and the still-healing gash between his ribs, she cleaned away the grime. His tattoo flared as if the ink lived under his skin, and she couldn’t help pressing a gentle kiss to the corner of his mouth.

  “Come closer, luv.” He reached for her, and when she settled against him, he sighed. “I shouldn’t have asked. I stink.”

  She pressed her face into his neck to stifle her laughter, which only served to highlight the truth of his statement. “If you think you can stand, I could draw a bath?”

  “Will ya join me?”

  “You’re going to have a hard time keeping me away from you for a while. Also,” she pushed herself up on an elbow to stare into his eyes, “I’m not convinced you wouldn’t drown right now if I left you alone.”

  As the tub filled with hot water and foamed with some rosemary and mint bath salts she’d found under the sink, Liam ate one of the sandwiches and offered her the other.

  “No. You need that more than I do.” After she’d stripped, she held out her wrist, letting Liam unbutton the leather cuff. “I found your note,” she said. “Mo chuisle, mo chroí.”

  “I didn’t think I’d see you again.” Liam swung his legs over the side of the bed and wrapped his arms around her waist. She nestled herself between his thighs and let him rest his head against her breast.

  The burden of the day, of Fergus’s death, of Liam’s suffering threatened to crash around her, but as she ran her fingers through his hair and massaged the back of his neck, each inhale came easier than the last. Sorrow and reality could wait until tomorrow. “We’re safe now. And I love you.”

  “What happened today?”

  She ran a finger over the several days’ beard along his jaw. “Put your arm around my shoulders.” She helped him up, and they limped awkwardly into the bath.

  Sinking into the steaming water, Liam groaned. Caitlin slipped in behind him and proceeded to brush the washcloth over his shoulder.

  “You have blood in your hair. Ease back.” He obeyed, and she washed away the evidence of Fergus’s abuse, unsure how to even begin to tell him everything that had happened after Fergus took him. Finally, she helped him lean against her and wrapped her arms around him.

  “Fergus is dead.”

  Liam’s fingers tightened on her thigh.

  “He begged me to end his life. The guilt over what he’d done weighed on him…so much he couldn’t breathe. And without my air, he didn’t want to live. He owned his deeds in the end.” She let the words escape without emotion, hoping the truth of them would wash away the sadness. “Taking my element back broke him. That…and the drugs. He knew what he’d become.”

  “I’m sorry, Caitlin.”

  “Don’t.” She stroked her hands up his chest, holding him against her tightly. “I faced him. Fought him.” Fergus’s final confession resounded in her ears. “In the end, he told me where you were. Said he couldn’t kill you because I loved you.”

  “He came bloody close.” She felt the horror of the past few days tighten his sore muscles. “How did ya end him?”

  “I gave the sea her due. He’ll never hurt anyone again.” Caitlin pressed a kiss to Liam’s shoulder. “He went peacefully.”

  By the time the water started to cool, she’d filled him in on the events he’d missed, including the brief, terrifying moment when she’d held all four elements within her. Moment by moment, their connection strengthened, and when she helped him stand and wrapped a towel around his waist, he dipped his head to kiss her, but pain trapped his movement.

  She stood on tiptoe, capturing his mouth in a searing kiss.

  “I’ll understand if ya want to wait,” he said when she guided him to the bed. “But the pull of the moon…”

  “Let me make love to you, Liam.”

  She pressed him to the bed, carefully straddling his swollen leg. Desperate kisses, his fingers teasing her center, and the swell of his cock under her palm made her ache with need. When he pulled his hand away, taking a moment to taste her on his fingers, she found amber streaks of his wolf glowing in his eyes.

  “Are ya sure? Be very sure, Caitlin.”

  The seriousness of his tone required an equally sober response. “Liam.” She took a deep breath, holding his gaze with her own. “I love you. When I thought I’d lost you…I only kept going so I could protect your family. My family. I’m sure.”

  Liam helped her maneuver on top of him. Her nipples scraped against his chest, and his arousal pressed against her, hot and hard. “The moon’s about to set, luv. I don’t know that I’ll last.”

  “We have the rest of our lives to take things slow.” She settled herself over him. Whatever the moon’s other effects, Liam filled her more completely than ever before, and she rolled her hips to take him deeper, willing her body to accommodate his size. Slowly, she rocked, enjoying the fullness of his length and the delicious waves of pleasure spreading through her.

  He matched her movements with quiet groans and shudders. One hand gripped her waist, and with the other, he twisted, pinched, and tugged on one nipple, then the other.

  “Kiss me, luv.”

  Caitlin obliged him, slanting her mouth over his. Their tongues danced in a heated frenzy until her body imploded, stars bursting in her vision, her heartbeat roaring in her ears. Liam shouted her name, and when he tumbled over the edge of his own release, a deep-seated peace bloomed in her heart.

  “What happened?” she asked when she could see again.

  He grinned and nuzzled her neck. Somehow they’d ended up under the blankets, though she couldn’t remember anything after her orgasm. “Do ya really need me to explain?”

  She giggled at the absurdity of his question and the shivers that ran down her spine as he nipped along the curve between her shoulder and her ear. “I love when you do that.”

  “This is part of the mating,” he said softly. Another line of kisses trailed along the other side. “Shows trust. Do ya trust me with your heart, luv?”

  “I do.”

  ***

  Liam slept soundly, though Caitlin couldn’t manage to quiet her racing thoughts. She pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I won’t be far,” she whispered.

  Padding down to the kitchen in one of Liam’s flannel shirts and her pajama pants, Caitlin headed for the fridge. She looked inside, rummaging for ingredients, when she sensed a presence behind her. Whirling around, her cheeks flushed with heat.

  “I made ya each a sandwich.” Farren leaned against the counter with a mug of coffee in her hands. “Let me guess: you let Liam eat both of them.”

  “He needed them more than me.”

  Farren chuckled. “He probably did. I’ll make ya another.”

  “I can manage. You look tired.” Caitlin accepted the plates Farren handed her and slathered mayo on four slices of bread. Turkey, swiss, and lettuce followed.

  “I could say the same. Though ya have a bit of a glow about ya. The moon passed. Ya had enough time?”

  A warmth burst over Caitlin’s skin, and a gentle breeze ruffled her hair. “Yes.” She hadn’t had a family in years. Did this sort of sharing happen regularly? Would Cade and Mara expect to hear abo
ut her sex life too?

  “I’m glad for ya. And Liam. Ye’ll return to Seattle soon?”

  “We haven’t discussed the future. But his life is there. His pack. And I’d started to carve out a place for myself there as well. I don’t know why we wouldn’t.”

  Farren hastily swiped the back of her hand over her cheek and came away with a single tear. “I’ve never seen Seattle.”

  Sadness hung between them, and Caitlin kicked herself. Farren had lost three members of her pack to this fight, and the pain of those wounds would be hard to soothe. A subtle hint of roses infused the room, and Farren pulled open the refrigerator door, ostensibly to retrieve pickles, but Caitlin caught the shake of her shoulders before she stood up and set the jar on the counter.

  “If you have something of Colin’s, I can find him.” Caitlin sliced both of the sandwiches in half and divided them between two plates.

  “Peter’s out looking for Colin and Abagail.” Cade’s deep voice startled them both, and one of the plates rattled on the counter as a burst of Caitlin’s element escaped. “You’ve got Liam to tend to. If we don’t find him by tomorrow, then you can have a go.”

  “I’m their alpha,” Farren protested. “I should be the one out there.”

  “You’re too close to the pain,” Cade said and ran a hand through his shaggy hair. “We owe you our lives. So let my pack help you now. Rest and give yourself a break. You didn’t turn them against us. Fergus did. Who knows what happened to Brian and Abagail, but that’s on Colin and Fergus. Not you.“ He snagged a slice of turkey and popped it into his mouth. “And if we can’t find him, then Caitlin will.”

  “Maybe ye’re right. But my pack…how can I hold them together now?”

  “All you can do is make peace with Tierney and Ewan. They’re out back drinking beer. They’d probably like company.” He jerked his head towards the door, and Farren nodded and headed for the exit, leaving Caitlin alone with Cade. How did pack politics work? She’d asked him to accept her back in Dublin. Did she need to do anything special now?

  She glanced towards the kitchen door, wishing for Liam at her side, and Cade quirked his brow. She really wished she’d pulled on something a little more formal than Liam’s shirt and her pajama bottoms.

  Self-conscious, she offered him a plate. “You want one?”

  “Sure. You’re going to learn how much weres eat pretty quick.” He piled another six slices of turkey on his sandwich before joining her at Farren’s dining room table.

  The two ate in silence, looking over the expanse of countryside outside the windows and the three werewolves deep in conversation on the patio.

  “How’s Mara?”

  Pain tugged at Cade’s shoulders. “Exhausted. You’ll help her, right?”

  “I swear, Cade. I won’t give up until I’ve translated every word in that book.”

  With a nod, Cade cleared the dishes and then followed her back to the bottom of the stairs. “He won’t want to be away from you much at all in the next few weeks. Be prepared for that. And he won’t want me or any of the other males touching you. But I need to do this one thing.”

  He held out his hand, and Caitlin placed her fingers in his. “You had a bad start. In a lot of ways. Fergus. Katerina. But you protected Mara. You kept the book from Fergus so we can help her. Thank you. There’ll be some tension when we get back. But I’ll smooth things over as best I can. You belong with us, and I’m happy you’re family now.”

  Caitlin didn’t know what to say. Cade smiled and nodded towards the top of the stairs. “Go be with your mate.”

  ***

  “Caitlin.”

  Liam’s hand trailed up her stomach to cup her breast. The peaceful blanket of night surrounded them, broken only by crickets and the breeze creaking a tree branch or rustling leaves.

  “Feeling better?” she asked and then mewled when he pinched her nipple and bit her lightly just below her ear. He’d slept almost twelve hours. She’d dozed too, translated another few lines of the book, and looked in on Mara, but she couldn’t stand to be away from him for more than a few minutes. Mara assured her the intense need would wane in a few days. At least for her. Liam—like all newly mated wolves—would be insatiable for weeks.

  He dotted her shoulder with kisses. “Luv, I need to run a bit. I can shift now and heal more. But I don’t want to leave ya.”

  The moon had risen a few hours ago, and though no longer full, Caitlin noticed an immediate difference in the demeanor of her sleeping mate. Somehow stronger, even in slumber, she marveled at their connection. She felt the moon, even though she’d never be a wolf, never know the feeling of running freed from her human form.

  Caitlin rolled over in his arms and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. “How long?”

  “An hour at most. I’m still tired.” He smoothed a hand over her hair. “Tell me not to go.”

  “No. Fergus is dead, Liam. We’re safe here. Farren, Tierney, and Ewan ran tonight. Go find Cade. I’ll even stay with Mara if he needs me to. And then come back to me.”

  ***

  Caitlin fixed herself a cup of tea laced with whiskey and wrapped herself in a blanket on the patio. Mara didn’t want to get out of bed, but Cade assured them she only needed more sleep. An odd glint to his eyes confused her, and she almost pressed him, but he stripped off his clothes and shifted so quickly she didn’t have a chance to get the words out. Liam shed his pants and, naked, pulled her into his arms.

  “I love ya, Caitlin. Ya don’t need to wait out here in the cold for me, though. Ye’re exhausted.” Liam slid his thumb along her cheek, tracing one of the dark circles under her eyes.

  “I want to see you shift. I know,” she said when his brows drew down. “But you were dying then. Don’t bother denying it. You didn’t have long left. That wolf could barely breathe from the pain. I want to see your wolf strong.”

  Liam crouched next to her. His eyes changed first, glowing bright amber, the pupils shrinking to pinpricks as the pain drew the first strained breath from his lungs. Along his spine, the skin rippled and a series of cracks reverberated in the stillness of the night. The bruises from Fergus’s’ torture faded as his skin darkened into a thick pelt. His nose lengthened, his teeth sharpened, and he tossed his head back with a howl—equal parts pain and joy. As his wolf panted through the last, traumatic moments of his shift, Caitlin pressed her hand to her heart.

  Her wolf—her mate—took her breath away. Coiled strength and pride reflected in his stance, and he padded over to her, sat, and raised his head to meet her gaze.

  “Oh, Liam.” Winding her arms around his neck, she buried her face in the soft fur of his shoulder. “You’re magnificent.”

  A chuffing bark shook his massive frame. He pulled back and swiped his nose against her neck.

  “Cold nose,” she said with a laugh. “I like the human kisses a lot better.”

  She’d spent less than an hour around wolves, listening to their vocalizations, but she didn’t have any trouble understanding Liam’s yips. He agreed with her.

  “Go run. I’ll be upstairs when you’re through.” Caitlin kissed the top of his head and ran a hand down his back. “Be safe.”

  ***

  Caitlin stood at the bedroom window, letting the gentle breeze bring the scent of spring wildflowers and the sea air to her nose. She’d seen Cade and Liam running around the property several times, and Liam’s limp hadn’t lessened. He matched Cade for speed, but she suspected the alpha held back. Sorrow wrapped around her heart. A mournful howl from the east matched the tenor of her own sigh, and moments later, Liam’s wolf padded unevenly to the patio, glanced up at her, and groaned as he shifted back into a man.

  When he burst through the bedroom door, she threw herself into his arms. His bruises had faded, and only his leg bore any evidence of his torture. He smelled fresh and clean, and the thick locks of his hair tickled her shoulder as he nipped at her neck.

  “Naked. Now.” Liam pulled her tank over her head a
nd threw the gauzy material across the room. The appreciative purr that rumbled forth as he closed his mouth around her nipple sent a wave of desire through her. Desperate hands tugged at her fleece pants.

  Teeth scraped tender flesh, and his fingers teased the tight bundle of nerves aching for him. He dragged her up his body, letting her wrap her legs around his waist and hold onto his neck while he brought her to the bed, never stilling the desperate dance of his tongue against hers or the thrust of his fingers inside of her.

  He draped her over a pillow, a slight arch to her back offering her breasts to him. A hand tightened in her hair, angling her head so he could kiss a line from her nipple to her ear, and when he bit down lightly on her ear lobe, she thrust her hips towards him.

  “Inside me,” she gasped. “Please!”

  “No.”

  She thought to protest, but when his tongue pressed to her clit, the words died on her lips as the rest of the world fell away and only Liam remained. He slid his hands underneath her ass, and when he closed his teeth over the throbbing nub between her legs, she screamed his name.

  Pleasure sent her flying off the precipice, and she bucked and cried out as he wrung a second, and then a third climax from her weary body.

  By the time he entered her, she couldn’t speak—only moan hoarsely. Still, she grabbed his hips and pulled him deeper. Liam rocked into her, gently at first, then with a need she’d thought only existed in books. He held her with his gaze every bit as much as his body.

  The bonds of love and mating that wove around them strengthened with every touch, every shared sensation, every kiss. And when he wrapped her in his embrace, they lost themselves in a storm of pleasure.

  Epilogue

  Peter left to return to the States, but he and Caitlin had forged a tenuous peace in the days after Liam’s rescue. Her willingness to put her own life before Liam’s changed the dynamic between them. He hadn’t made a final decision about leaving the pack, but Liam feared he’d be gone when the rest of them returned to Seattle.