Power Shift (The Charming Shifter Mysteries Book 1) Read online

  “I’m doing nothing to interfere with your rest. Merely thinking of my needs.”

  She wanted to scream. Everyone and their damn needs.

  “Let me prepare your repast.” He spun on his heel and exited the room.

  Chia listened to the low growls, yips, and rumbles outside. The maniacal laughter of the hyena made her skin crawl. Everything outside seemed tense, poised for action but not knowing what to do. Like me. Occasionally, sounds of fighting or attack burst out.

  “Knock it off,” a male commanded.

  Hung? He’s outside keeping the peace? Warmth filled her chest and tugged at her loins. The new ghost seemed to sigh in contentment.

  A while later, when footsteps fell on the hall again, she readied herself to face D’Raynged. Again, the knocks sounded. Again, she said, “Come in.”

  Cecil popped his head in the doorway bearing a tray overflowing with food. His hair looked exceptionally messy as if he’d been rolling in the hay.

  “What have you been doing?”

  “I went to town.”

  “What did you do there?”

  “The thing you don’t want me to say. I’ve been without for hours. I have needs, you know.”

  “Yeah, apparently everyone does.”

  He held the tray out to her. “I didn’t know what you liked, so I got buffalo jerky, and fixed some bacon, eggs, and toast with jam. I can’t cook anything but breakfast kinds of things.”

  Chia’s jaw dropped open. “Where’d you get the money for all this?”

  “Where do you think, lil’ Summer? He sent me into town with plenty of cash. We can’t keep playing this game. The dude cares for you, whether you like it or not. Now, where do you want it?”

  “On my lap.” She sat, stiffly, like a child.

  Cecil placed the tray on her legs, handing her a soft, blue and white checked cloth napkin. He lifted the prescription bottle from the tray and shook it, making the pills rattle. “After you get some food in your gullet, it’s meds time. I refilled your prescription.”

  “Thank you.”

  Without being asked, Cecil walked to the other side of the bed, plumped up the pillows and stretched his lanky body beside her. “Where’s that new ghost come from?” he said, eyeing the ceiling.

  “From my persistence in not dealing with things of the emotional kind. I’m a practical gal.”

  “That one’s for Hung, huh?”

  Her cheeks flushed hot. “Maybe.”

  Cecil nodded, but thankfully didn’t comment. He reached for a slice of bacon from her plate. “Excuse my reach. I made extras, in case you didn’t notice.”

  “I wondered why you brought so many strips.” She picked up a piece and chewed it thoughtfully, sitting in easy companionship with Cecil. Their friendship had surely been strengthened these last few crazy days. “Any plans or ideas yet?”

  “We’ve thought of a couple.” Cecil’s foot began jiggling on the bed. “It’s getting worse outside. Your front yard looks like a barnyard.”

  “So how is it that they can all get in the yard, let alone find me? The night I got shot I remember seeing lines of energy around the place. I thought they might be some sort of protection spell.”

  “Finding the place was easy. Your house shows up on Google maps. Everyone knows where you live. There’s never been a reason to come out here.”

  “That sucks. You realize most of this region isn’t catalogued by Google, right? So much for privacy in remote Alaska.” She forked a bite of eggs and shoved it in her mouth. It tasted delicious. She fell to devouring the plate of home-cooked food.

  “As to the energy lines, they’re there for sure. But when the shifters have shifted, well…” He shrugged his large, strong shoulder. “They can slip right in. Unless one of them wants to do harm to you. Then, he wouldn’t be able to find the place.”

  “Sounds like they all want me dead.”

  “There’s unrest, to be certain. But they want help, not vengeance. Me and the vamp just switched on the news while I was cooking. It’s like a feeding frenzy out there. You know what it’s like when it’s herring season? Everyone, fishermen, sea mammals, birds and beast partake.”

  He shook his head, his ever-messy hair flopping around his face. “You seem to be the herring. People have lost their minds. They’re acting irrationally, fear being their motivating emotion. Crazy.” He snagged another bacon strip. “Reporters say the bounty on Hung was increased. Red’s spinning a tale about you being dangerous. Said you hunted Dick while he slept in his home. Said you terrified his wife and kids.”

  “What? This is like phone tag on crack. Stories are spinning in every direction and all I’m doing is being shot at and wallowing in indecision.” Again, Chia wanted to bang her head against the headboard, but chose to roll her eyes instead, a far less satisfying gesture. “All I’ve been trying to do for the past three years is to make Charming a safe and satisfying place to live for all. Now it seems it’s all going to hell. What did I do to deserve this?”

  “I don’t think it has anything to do with deserving or not deserving, lil’ Summer. It’s more of an evolution. Hung’s been telling me you hold a lot of power in this town. People want it. It’s not as personal as you make it.” He shrugged.

  “What, you and he are best buddies now?” Envy crawled in her gut like a worm eating a hole in an apple.

  “Don’t start. Please.” Cecil shot her a look and patted her hand. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

  “Is it? Is it really? Because I’m not so sure. Me, with all my so-called power…I’m powerless to do anything. I can’t exactly hike up the mountain and see if the shamans set the spell…or cast it…or however spells are made.”

  “You’re not exactly powerless. You have your second in command.”

  “Really? And who’s that?” Chia let the words drip from her tongue.

  “Who do you think? Hung and I. We’re putting together a plan of attack.”

  “I see. I rule you, do I?” She arched an eyebrow. It pulled against her stitches so she quickly made her face impassive. “And what might that plan be?”

  Cecil’s foot began jiggling on the bed again.

  Chia eyed it, eyed Cecil’s face and said, “What’s got you so riled?”

  “Hung thinks…” He gulped and looked away. “He thinks…”

  Chia saw, clear as day, the apprehension coloring Cecil’s features. She reached for his hand. “What is it?”

  He turned his ice blue eyes on Chia’s silvery ones. “He wants us both to shift and climb the mountain. Check and see what the shamans are up to.”

  “What? No. Absolutely not. I forbid it.” Releasing his hand, she started to lurch upright but pain got the best of her. “No, no, no, and no. You’re not shifting. I won’t lose you or…” She started to say Hung but stopped herself.

  “It’s not the shifting I’m worried about. I’d be happy living life as a dog. Well, sort of. I’d sure miss my time with the ladies. I’d miss my time with you.” He gave her a moon-eyed gaze, filled with longing. “That would suck. It’s the climb I’m worried about. You were right. I’m terrified of heights.”

  “Cecil, huskies are born adventurers.”

  “Not this dog. I experienced a fall from a mountain when I was only a pup. It’s the same as me and chia seeds. Once burned, lesson learned.”

  Chia laced her fingers with his and gave his hand a squeeze.

  Cecil’s eyes shot to hers, filled with hope and longing.

  Watching his sudden, intense reaction to her affection, she tried to slide her hand away without hurting his feelings…or stirring her own interest into the damn need zone. “Don’t do it. We’ll find another way. Speaking of heights, how did you and your pack find that hideout in the first place? If you’re afraid of heights you wouldn’t have wanted to go up there.”

  “I didn’t. I stayed on watchdog duty with the other dogs. Peaty found it. He’s always getting into mischief. He and a couple of the others were
bored. They dared each other to see who’d be brave enough to climb up the side of Haunted Bear. They spied the cave, sniffed around and raced down the hill to report in.”

  Chia let out a gasp. “Did you ever think about the animal traps? You could have been caught.”

  “We didn’t know about them, no. That’s part of the danger of Hung’s idea. We both know there are traps out there. I’d be the dumb dog of the team putting my four legs at risk. He’d be a snow bird or something winged.”

  The snowy owl. “Is that what he said? He’d be a snow bird?”

  “Not exactly. He mentioned an albatross or something. I wasn’t listening. I’m too worried about climbing a mountain and staying a dog forever. No more fun with the ladies. Hung would simply fly away and change back when he gets to wherever he’s headed next.”

  His foot wiggled so hard, Chia felt her insides shake. “Dawg-man, stop. It hurts with you wiggling the bed.”

  “Sorry.” His foot ceased moving.

  “Don’t do it. No shifting, no climbing. I don’t want you to do it. Town manager’s orders.”

  “Nope, I’m doing it. There’s no other way. Hung thinks they’ll be on the lookout for humans, not a dog and a bird. It’s a done deal. I want to do it.” Again, his piercing blue eyes met hers. “I’m doing it for you, lil’ Summer. This dog is stepping up to the plate and facing his fears. For you…”

  Chia stared into Cecil’s sincere, windswept gaze. Her emotions began to unravel, spinning into tiny threads to billow about in the winds. She didn’t like this sensation. It felt out of control, completely foreign.

  “Say, lil’ Summer,” Cecil said abruptly, saving her from sinking into places she didn’t want to examine.

  “Yeah? What is it?” She felt yanked into the room by his question.

  “I’ve always wanted to ask you. What was it like when you met your first shifter? Did one of us, you know, come out of the closet for you?”

  “Oh, my God, yes. I split apart on that day. Completely split apart. My parents were living in New York. I hated New York. I returned to Charming at the age of seventeen to live with my grandparents. Missed my friends. Wanted to finish high school with the kids I’d grown up with.

  “My best friend since kindergarten Skylar said when I returned home she had something to tell me. I thought it might be a new love, or maybe she wanted to come out as a lesbian. Whatever it was I vowed to accept it. But man, oh, man, when she came out as a shifter…well…I didn’t do well with it. I mean, come on…I grew up with the world being one of neurotypicals—you know, us so-called normal humans. And animals. Not mash ups of the same.”

  Cecil smiled gently. Ran his fingers up and down her thigh. “What did you do?”

  She returned the smile and gently removed his hand from her leg. It felt far too good to be touched. “Before or after I passed out?” she scoffed. “She was so nervous. She paced the room. Said she’d been hiding something from me for years. I started to get scared, wondering if she murdered someone or worse.

  “I finally told her to stop beating around the bush and tell me. She told me to close my eyes. I did. I sensed a light flash in the room and when I opened them, a hundred and thirty pound mountain lion stood in front of me. I screamed bloody murder.” Chia grimaced, remembering the day in vivid detail.

  “Grandpa taught me some wilderness skills over the years. He always said to get in a cougar’s face. Make myself big. Throw things at them. Make eye contact. But knowing that and doing that when confronted are two separate things. Shaking like a leaf, I couldn’t move. Finally, I stood and waved my arms.

  “I picked up a school book and threw it at her. It hit her in the face and gave her a black eye. She lunged at me, shifting in front of my face, pissed, angry. We fought out of fear, unacceptance, betrayal, who knows?” Chia shook her head. “After that I said I needed time. I stopped hanging out with her.”

  “Oh, man, that’s harsh.”

  “I know. When I finally decided to make up to her, it was too late.” Chia’s eyes teared.

  “What happened?”

  “Charming happened. I know you all make fun of me for all my rules, but townsfolk used to kill animals freely for no good reason.”

  “I remember,” said Cecil. “I grew up north of here. I used to have to pretend to be the family pet when strangers came over and I was in husky form. But we all heard of Charming.”

  “Right? There was no such thing as hunting season. Instead, it was ‘game on’ all the time. My friend…Skylar…was shot and killed.”

  “Oh, no,” Cecil said quietly. “How’d you know it was really her?”

  “I knew. The first time she shifted, I noticed the same scar on her human face on her cougar face. She split open her lip at sixteen. The cougar bore the same marking. And I saw the dead cougar with my own eyes.

  “My grandpa—he wanted me to know the kind of behavior people in Charming participate in. It made him sick. So he made me look. I guess he knew about the shifters. He accepted them.” She sniffled. “After that, I found them everywhere. All over Charming. It’s like gay-dar only I call is shift-dar. I can spot ‘em on sight. I vowed then and there, for gramps and Skylar, to find a way to protect all shifters. Rights are rights. We’ve all got to learn to get along on this fine planet.”

  More growls and roars sounded from outside.

  “Help me up, will you please? I want to look.”

  “You might not like it. It’s grown since we arrived.”

  She waved away his concerns. “Just do it. Come on. Help me.”

  Cecil eased off the bed and assisted Chia off the high platform holding her mattress. She shuffled to the window and peered outside. “Oh, my God, you’re right. It’s a mess out there. It’s a wonder they don’t all kill each other. There are warring species outside.”

  “I know. We’d better get this fixed, fast. My boys are doing all they can to keep the peace but they’re only canines. They’re no match for lions or wolves or—”

  “We have lions outside?”

  “Yep. Look over there.” Cecil pointed to the farthest reaches of the yard where the lions stood.

  Two hyenas paced back and forth making their maniacal yips. One of the lions, a huge male, lunged and swiped at the hyena but the smaller carnivore leaped out of the way. Beyond the lions stood Hung. He held a powerful high lumen flashlight which he swept back and forth across the menagerie. The light beam slid across the window briefly, illuminating Cecil and Chia. Hung’s arm dropped to his side and he stood, motionless, facing her, the light beam bouncing from the ground, casting his face in deep shadow. He simply stared.

  Caught by his attention, Chia experienced conflicting sensations of arousal and fear. She longed for him. Wanted to touch him. To explore whatever frightened the hell out of her. But rules were rules and besides not following city ordinances, Hung Durand was now wanted for murder.

  How would it look if I slept with the enemy? And then, there are my other, more personal rules. She swallowed and wrenched her gaze from the male. Her eyes landed on the stack of mail D’Raynged had brought in. At the top of the pile sat a letter, written in a bold script. The return address read The Office of Red Mountainbear, followed by his address. “Cecil, look. It’s from Red Spotted Dick.” With trembling fingers, Chia tore open the envelope and removed a crisp piece of white paper. It bore his letterhead and looked very formal.

  “What does it say?”

  “Dear, Ms. Petit. You are requested to turn over land and sea rights to Mr. Red Mountainbear at your earliest convenience. In return, Mr. Mountainbear will cease the pursuit of all shifters, including restoring them to their prior state. All charges against you and the bounty hunter will be dropped.” She stared at Cecil, her stomach in knots. “That’s it? I can simply turn the land rights over to this jackass and things will return to normal?”

  “No, lil’ Summer, we do it our way,” Cecil said.

  “Your and Hung’s way is going to get you both killed
. What are a bird and a dog going to do against guns, huh? Or to get the shamans to stop what they’re doing? Hung’s going to peck their eyes out? You’re going to bark at them?

  “No. You’re going to end up with your legs caught in a trap, or worse, with a bullet in your head and Hung’s going to be a dead Albatross. Damn it! I need to think.” She glanced out the window to see Hung watching her, his head cocked to the side. “I’ve got to walk. I can’t simply lay about. This is so fucked up.” She lifted her arm to run her hand through her hair. Pain shot through her shoulder blades. “Crap! I can’t even lift my arms. Give me my meds, please. I’m going outside.”

  “I think you should rest, lil’ Summer.”

  “Fuck resting. There will be time for recovery, either when I’m in jail on trumped up charges or after I get this mess sorted and dealt with.” Maybe I’ll have a jail cell next to Hung’s. She washed down the pills Cecil handed her with a gulp of water and slowly made her way into the hall, a plan forming in her pain-filled, distressed, drug-numbed brain.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “You’re driving me to town,” she said to Cecil, easing her arms into her jacket. She strapped on her hip holster and shoved one of her guns, a Glock, in the sheath.

  “What? No! I’ve got plans with Hung, remember?”

  “You’re second in command, you said so yourself. That makes me…first.” She jabbed her finger into his chest.

  “Whoa, lil’ Summer, let’s think about this. Hung’s and my idea is a decent one.”

  “It’s a fool’s game. Too much risk. Where’s D?” She moved as quickly as she could to the kitchen, rustling about for the Valentine’s chocolates.

  “He’s in the basement getting ready for a date or something. What are you doing?” He lunged to snatch the knife out of her hand.

  “Give that back to me.”

  “No. You look like you’re going to do something stupid with the knife.”

  “Fine.” She opened the drawer and got out another, whirling away before he could seize that one, too. Figuring she could use some super enhanced skills and awareness tonight, she sanitized it with the gas flame, poked a hole in her finger and squeezed out several drops onto the chocolate. She withdrew her hand, paused, and then added several more drops for good measure.