A Shift in the Air (32 page)

Caitlin looked up to the sky. The full
moon would fade to a memory in a few hours, and her soul longed for
her mate. “I promise. I’ll end your suffering.”

Fergus shook his head. “My life. Don’t
just make me forget with a compulsion.”

She nodded. “Your life.”

His shoulders slumped with the relief
of a condemned man. “The observation tower at the top of the hill.
There’s a trapdoor. Stairs. At the bottom, there’s a door. Here’s
the key.” He met her gaze, pain and regret shaking his head as a
trembling hand offered her the rusted metal. “I hurt him. Badly.
Compelled him so he couldn’t shift. I’d say I’m sorry, but that’s
not enough.”

Her lungs constricted in worry and
elation. They had a chance.

“
Thank you,” Fergus
whispered as she leaned down to take the key. She brushed a final
kiss to Fergus’s cheek and rested her hand on his chest. She called
her air to her, his eyes rolling back in his head as his body
relaxed beneath her palm. He didn’t fight, accepting the compulsion
charm easily. When his body stilled, she stood over him. “Find
peace,” she whispered, and used her element to send his body
crashing into the sea below.

Then she ran.

Pulling her air with her, she
scrambled up the steep embankment. Mara caught her hand and pulled
her the rest of the way. But before Mara could open her mouth,
Caitlin shook her head and wrenched free. “Liam’s
alive.”

Her exhaustion faded into hope, and
Caitlin pushed herself towards the observation tower at the top of
a long set of stairs. Soon, bounding footsteps, elemental and wolf,
caught up with her. “He’s underground,” she gasped.

They burst through the tower door, and
Caitlin scanned the room. “There!” Along the far wall, a metal
square three feet on each side darkened the floor. Mara hooked her
fingers through a ring on the edge and yanked the trapdoor
open.

Dimly lit steps brought a wave of
fear, but also the vague scent of Liam—and his blood. She descended
quickly and a bright construction lamp at the bottom blinded her.
She tripped down the last three steps, rolled, and slammed her
shoulder into a heavy metal door.

Cade helped her up, and her hands
vibrated so hard she could barely get the key in the lock. The door
swung open with a deafening screech.

“
Oh God.”

Liam fought for each breath, lying on
his side, his eyes swollen shut. Purple and blue bruises covered
his face, and dark, dried blood stained his gray shirt. His leg
stuck out at an odd angle, and red glistened above his belt. He
flinched when she touched his wrist, and a weak moan tightened a
vise around her heart.

Caitlin laid her hand against Liam’s
cheek. “Liam. I’m here. Can you hear me?”

His fingers twitched against her knee.
“…aitli…?”

“
Yes.” She lowered her head
and brushed her lips to his.

He forced one eye open a sliver.
“You…found me.”

“
You need to shift. Please.
There’s so much blood.” She pressed her hand to his side, and he
groaned.

“
Charm,” he whispered,
barely able to get the word out before his eye closed
again.

“
You’re free. Fergus…is
dead.”

From behind her, Cade cleared his
throat. “Help him get his clothes off.”

His shirt ripped under her desperate
fingers. The belt gave her trouble for a breath, but she tossed the
leather across the room seconds later. The pants…she didn’t want to
move his leg, so she did her best, ripping them at the zipper and
freeing his good leg. “Shift.”

Grunts and agonized whimpers escaped
his lips as bones cracked, his skin darkened into a deep, red pelt,
and his bruised face transformed into that of his wolf. He crouched
on the dirt floor, his breathing stilted with pain, but he raised
his head and nuzzled her hand.

She didn’t need Mara to translate his
vocalization. “I love you too.”

She rubbed his fur with cautious
strokes, the thick coat disguising his injuries. “I thought I’d
lost you. Don’t leave me again.”

The complex whines and yips didn’t
make any sense to Caitlin, and she looked to Cade. “Shift back,
man. I can get you out of here.” He turned his gaze to meet
Caitlin’s. “He’s in pain. When we’re hurt, holding onto our wolf
can be hard. The human form is easier.”

Liam whined and started the agonizing
shift back.

He didn’t look much better. A mass of
bruises covered his bare torso, and the break in his leg left a
deep purple swelling. A trickle of blood at his waist and a jagged
line along his collarbone marked the remains of the gashes, and
only one eye opened fully.

“
You’re still in pain.”
Caitlin eyed his wounds with worry.

“
Too weak to do more yet.
I’ll live.” He blinked up at her. “Ye’re really here.” He gripped
her hand, and the strength of his fingers soothed her
concern.

“
Caitlin?” Cade rested a
hand on her shoulder. Liam managed a weak grunt, and Cade snatched
his fingers away. “We won’t be alone here much longer. Farren said
the cliffs open in half an hour.”

“
I—” She looked back to
Liam. He tried to raise himself up on an elbow, failed, and settled
for curling his arm around her thigh. “I don’t think he can
walk.”

“
I can carry
him.”

“
Relax, luv. The sooner I’m
alone with ya, the sooner I’ll be steady.” Liam released his hold
on her. “Let Cade help.”

Caitlin nodded, brought his hand to
her lips. “I’m not letting you out of my sight.” Reluctantly, she
moved away so Cade could lift Liam to his feet.

“
Shit, man. You weigh a
ton. You’re damn lucky the moon’s full, or you’d be crawling out of
here.”

Liam managed a hoarse laugh. “Shut it.
Ye’re all okay, yeah?”

“
Save your strength.” Cade
lowered his voice as he struggled up the stairs with his beta
leaning against him. “You’ve got a few hours until the moon sets.
You’re going to want to make the most of them.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Caitlin shut the door of their room,
leaned her back against the wood, and watched Liam’s steady
breathing. He’d passed out in the car—or fallen asleep; she didn’t
know which—and hadn’t woken again. Cade assured her that wolves
healed quickly, but that didn’t soothe her when she observed Liam’s
multitude of contusions.

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?”