Claiming His Fire (4 page)

“Are you sure I can’t get you anything?”

I swallowed hard and shook my head, wishing she would stop talking. I needed to concentrate. The witch had done nothing wrong, but something in the house was making me lose control.

With strength of will born from decades of hiding what I was, I pushed both beasts into the corners of my mind. They didn’t go willingly, but I refused to let them win. After a moment, the push grew easier, the human side of me no longer having to fight to stay in control. The tiger almost disappeared, hiding as always in the far reaches, waiting for his turn to come out and rule. The wolf relinquished control, but he stayed closer to the forefront. Watching. Waiting. For what, I had no idea. But not ready to let go completely.

“Why do they call you Shadow?” Zuri asked, watching me, smiling. One hand on her pregnant belly. Making me dig deeper for control.

I took a deep breath to banish the residual shakiness I felt inside. “I’m fast, and I tend to sneak up on people. When I’m working, I can usually get in and out of places unnoticed.”

“Huh,” she said, her brow furrowed. “I would have figured you’d be called Doc, since you’re a doc and all.”

“Too obvious.” I shook my head, my nerves finally settling, my heart rate calming. “Besides, I don’t practice medicine and haven’t for a long time. I’m a glorified field medic at this point.”

Zuri nodded and chatted on about something to do with medicinal herbs, but I was stuck in my head. Fuck me, that had been close. Oddly so. I hadn’t had such a difficult time controlling myself since I was a teenager just learning how to balance the beasts within. And I still had no idea what caused the reaction.

“Hey, brother.” Phoenix came walking down the stairs, barefoot and wearing only a pair of sweat pants. The dick. It was ass-crack early o’clock and I’d already showered, dressed, and driven my ass all the way out to this little island south of the city. Still, I was happy as fuck that he’d appeared. His wolf essence immediately put mine at ease, gave him a sense of pack and togetherness, giving me one less thing to have to fight.

“Good to see you’re ready to work, brother.”

I laughed when he rolled his eyes, relaxing my shoulders as the scent of shifter overrode everything else around me. I almost wanted that other scent back, the cold heat of it something I suddenly craved, but I didn’t want to fight for control all day. This was better, the smell of something familiar keeping me settled.

Phoenix gripped my forearms before bringing me in for a backslap.

“Thanks for coming, man.” He took a step back, looking me over in a very Rebelesque way. He must not have seen anything off because he grinned and nodded at Zuri. “I got a late start. My girl kept me up all night.”

Zuri snorted a laugh. “Liar. I bought him a new creeper, so he was in the garage half the night putzing with my Yenko.”

“Our Yenko.” Phoenix smirked and gave me a wink, obviously riling up his mate. I wasn’t sure what game he was playing—everyone knew that car was hers. And damn if we all weren’t more than a little jealous of that fact. The car was sex on wheels, loud and rough and pure muscle. Every guy at the denhouse got serious gearhead chub just talking about it.

Zuri spun to face her mate, her face angry and her eyes fiery, a hint of wind upsetting the air around us. “Adam Tackett, that is my car. I don’t care if we get married. It’s my car. I don’t care if you want to tinker with it. It’s my car. You’re allowed to drive it, but it’s
my car
.”

I chuckled as she advanced on him. While she wasn’t as short as Kaija, she still had a man who towered over her. Watching her little, round self berate a shifter the size of Phoenix was entertaining. Knowing she’d win against him simply because of his instincts to protect her at all cost was hilarious.

“Okay, okay,” Phoenix said as he grabbed Zuri around her waist and pulled her against his chest. “Your car. Not my car. Never my car. Got it. Now give me a kiss before I take Shadow into the other room to do manly things.”

Zuri gave him a solid glare before rising up on the balls of her feet. The two kissed with more passion than was probably appropriate considering they weren’t alone, so I left them to it and strolled deeper into the living room.

Four new bookcases sat against the wall, two on each side of the fireplace, capturing my attention. Phoenix had mentioned he’d built them himself and I had to admit, he’d done a nice job. Tall, wide, with moulding applied to the top and bottom, they looked as if they’d been standing in their spots since the day the house was built.

The couple had packed each shelf full of books and pictures and trinkets, making every section unique. On one shelf, the dominating decoration was a large picture of three women in front of a lighthouse. Zuri stood in the middle, her arms around the other two, a huge grin on their faces. She was one of a set of triplets, so the other two were probably her sisters, though I had yet to meet them.

All three women were exceptionally pretty with their dark hair and big eyes. But they were witches, a fact that worried me. Witches and wolves didn’t normally mix, though apparently the Fates hadn’t been informed of that fact seeing as they’d paired Zuri with Phoenix. The regional head of the NALB and pack Alphas had to be up in arms over their mating, if they knew. When those old windbags got word of a baby being born from the union, their heads would probably spin. Another secret to file away, as I certainly wouldn’t want to bring any attention to the couple.

“Off you two go,” Zuri said with a chuckle, interrupting my rambling thoughts. I turned to find her batting Phoenix away, her smile wide and her cheeks flushed. Phoenix grinned, his hands grabbing at her hips. The two were obviously happy, mated, and in love… A trifecta they won the second they met. Phoenix deserved that win, having started his shifter life in violence. He’d earned a little happiness, no matter who brought it to him.

Once the two finally let each other go, I followed Phoenix to the stacks of wood planks just over the threshold of the kitchen. The house wasn’t all that large, but installing wood flooring, even in a small space, could take a lot of time. Hopefully with the two of us, it wouldn’t take more than a day or two to finish the lower level. I had the time as I waited to find another lead on the Omega case. To get word on the next place to go or person to question.

“Amber and Scarlett are coming to pick me up in about an hour,” Zuri said as she headed for the stairs. “Please, no hard rock blaring until I leave, okay?”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Phoenix replied. He gave me a shrug. “Gives her a headache.”

“Understood.”

The two of us set to work, laying out the planks along one wall before filling in across the room. Saws, mumbled measurements, and the sound of knee hammers firing filled the space with enough noise to not need the blasting music, though Phoenix kept a radio playing from the bookcases. Zuri brought out a pitcher of lemonade and a couple of glasses at one point while we nudged and hammered the wood into place.

“Damn it,” Phoenix growled, interrupting my concentration as I measured a plank.

“What’s up?”

He tossed his rubber mallet across the room and growled. “Fucking walls are completely out of square.”

I shrugged. “That’s part of the charm of such an old house. Imperfect walls and corners.”

“Yeah, well, I’m pretty sure you’re even older than this place. You got imperfect angles, too?” He ran a hand through his hair, a frustrated smile on his face.

I paused, though, fighting not to duck my head and curl my shoulders. His words hit home in a way he hadn’t intended them, made me feel suddenly less than able. Imperfect corners didn’t begin to describe all the things wrong with me.

Shaking off as much of the odd melancholy as I could, I went back to my tape measure. “I’m sure I do, man.”

As the whine of the saw died down, a car pulled up outside, the engine loud and rough.

“Shit,” Phoenix said, glancing toward the front window. “The Weaver clan is reunited.”

“Zuri’s sisters?”

“That’s right, you’ve never met them, have you?”

I shook my head. “Can’t say that I have.”

Phoenix stood and cracked his neck. “C’mon, I’ll introduce you while we grab a drink. I need to stretch before we hit it again.”

“Sure.” I followed Phoenix out of the dining room, brushing the sawdust off my jeans as I went.

“I really do appreciate you helping me out, man,” Phoenix said as we headed toward the entryway.

“Anytime. You know that.” I had barely finished my words when the front door swung open. Two women strolled in, laughing loud and bright, stealing every ounce of my attention. The first one froze when she saw me, staring, going pale. Her green eyes went wide and unfocused, almost staring through me as she gasped and stumbled, knocking against the wall. I lurched toward her, hoping to catch her before she fell, but pulled up short as the second woman caught my eye.

Short, curvy, with tan skin and streaks of fire in her hair, she made an aura of color explode in my mind by simply existing. Heart racing, dick as hard as granite, I locked eyes on her and stared. Soft and feminine without appearing weak, beautiful without that air of arrogance some women carried, she practically radiated confidence. So attractive, so sexy, so fucking perfect.

Without looking my way, she grabbed her sister’s arm, pulling her back to her feet. “Damn, Amber. Walk much?”

Before I could say or do anything, her eyes met mine in a moment that rocked the very foundation of my soul. Time stopped. Froze. Ended. Such deep, striking eyes. My entire world shrank down to nothing but the green of those eyes. To the shock of finding her, the pull of my soul to hers.
Holy shit…

The wolf side of me howled in delight, knowing he’d finally found his mate. But the other…the other growled, interested but wary. The witch power sitting beneath my mate’s skin incited fear where there should only be want. Still, if the desperate need I felt to wrap myself around her was any indication, the little witch was to be mine. According to the Fates and my wolf within, at least. My other half, my fated one. My mate.

Words. Phoenix was saying words, but I couldn’t pay attention. All I saw was her, all I knew was her. I tried to smile and approach, wanting to officially meet the woman who was to be my mate, but those green eyes shot sparks of anger and fear as I did.

“No,” she said with force, the syllable breaking through the mating haze her presence had wrapped around me. Like a movie, everything came back into focus. The room, the people, the words. And my mate, looking right at me…refusing me.

“No what, Sparkles?” Phoenix laughed, not understanding. Not knowing. But how could he? All she’d said was…

“No.” A whisper this time, quiet but firm, eyes still locked on mine. One word. My mate said only one word and my entire world collapsed.

“Scarlett.” The other sister looked from one of us to the other, concern clear in her expression.

“I said no.” Scarlett, my fated mate, set my heart aflame as she refused our bond without knowing anything about me, leaving nothing but ash. Fear and anxiety rolled off her, and those big green eyes suddenly darted to look anywhere but at me. Fiery dragon to frightened mouse in an instant. “I’ll wait in the car.”

Scarlett rushed out the door, not even glancing back in my direction. Amber stared after her for a moment before turning on me. Watching. Inspecting. Knowing. I raised an eyebrow in challenge, but she ignored me, instead frowning as she turned for the stairs.

“I’ll grab Zuri,” she said, disappearing to the second floor.

“What the hell was all that about?” Phoenix asked, his brow pulled down in confusion.

I shrugged, battling the tsunami of emotion inside of me while doing my best to keep my face and body language calm. I wouldn’t let Phoenix know his future sister-in-law had just ripped my heart out with a single word and stomped all over the possibility of a future with me. No sense in adding friction to our relationship or between him and Scarlett. Their bond was permanent, the link of siblings and fated mates something I doubted could be broken. I was the odd man out, and this was just one more secret to add to my pile. One more lie to have to remember.

“No clue. Let’s get back to work, yeah? The floor’s not going to lay itself.”

My hands shook and liquid fire raced through my veins as I gripped the steering wheel of my car. Of all the fucking luck. For months…
months!
...I’d avoided interacting with Phoenix’s denmates. Amber had seen the red thread tied to my heart leading into that damn denhouse, so I’d kept my distance. I knew one of those animalistic jerks would end up trying to tie me down for eternity. Not that I would let them.

How could the Fates be so wrong? Didn’t my opinion matter at all? How ridiculous was it to be tied to someone you’d never met, forced into some kind of voodooed-up relationship because that one person just happened to be…something. Something the Fates were allowed to decide was right for you, as if you couldn’t decide for yourself. Well, the Fates could take a giant fucking walk off a tiny little cliff for all I cared. I would not be forced into some relationship I didn’t choose. Not me. Let my sister carry on the line of witches and dogs. I wanted no part of it. No matter how much my heart hurt when I turned my back on that man.

I jumped when the doors opened, having been too far lost in my own thoughts to see my sisters walk out of the house. A pregnant Zuri plopped into the front seat next to me as Amber slid in the back, one sister oblivious, one definitely not.

“What just happened?” Zuri asked. “And why does it smell like smoke in here?”

I shrugged, ignoring the truth screaming inside my head. “Nothing. Why?”

Zuri rolled her eyes. “Uh, because I heard you run out of there like something was chasing you. And it literally smells like smoke in your car.”

“I always smell like smoke.” I caught Amber’s eye in the rearview mirror. Hard eyes, maybe even a little sad. Well, screw that. I didn’t need her pity or her anger. I glared right back, daring her to open her mouth. She pursed her lips and turned to look out the window, though the victory only left a hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach.