Page 2 of Shifters Unifying (Shifters Destiny: Willow Creek Shifters #2)

CHAPTER TWO

emma

God. They warned me. Is this what it’s going to be like for the next six months?

Ripping each other’s clothes off even while the whole shifter world was at stake?

I had to get out of there before I stripped off my clothes and shoved Logan down on the desk, on top of the maps, and screw whether Olivia and Jasper were in the room.

“I’ve got to take this,” I rasped, holding up my phone and trying not to broadcast any more mental pornos across my bond with Logan.

My mate licked his lips, nodded, and bared his teeth.

My answering whimper escaped, but that’s all.

I turned and hurried out of the room without another word, hitting the call button on my way out, taking a deep breath, and blowing out a long breath of air as I stepped onto the front porch of the large manor home.

Four, four-wheeled ATVs had been parked on the graveled driveway front Six-Mile headquarters building.

Shannon picked up before the first ring. Her kids were laughing uproariously in the background, and a moment later, their noises disappeared behind the sound of a door closing.

“Emma! Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick, since you… since you…turned into…” She was whisper-yelling at me, probably trying to be keep the kids from hearing.

“Since I shifted, you mean?”

“Is that what you call it?” she exclaimed. “God forbid I use the wrong terminology.”

Her response made me laugh, and relief flooded me, dislodging a big chunk of the boulder of worry I’d been carrying around on my chest since my kidnapping in the parking lot.

Images of Riley’s torture flicked through my brain.

I’d never forgive myself for her collateral damage.

If anything, that steeled my drive to send Acheron to the pit of hell where he belonged.

I planned to dance on that asshole’s grave.

“Emma, did I lose you?” Shannon’s soft voice interrupted my dark thoughts. “Are you shifting again? Is that what you called it?”

“Yeah, that’s what you call it,” I answered.

“Have you always been able to do that?”

“No, it’s a new development.”

“I’d freaking say,” she said. Sounds of a knock on a door and muffled voices filtered through. “What?”

We’d already been through this many times, so I knew she wasn’t talking to me, and I waited.

“Yeah, you can watch Dude Perfect,” she called back to her kids through the door. “No wonder you’ve been so distracted. All the shifting and whatever else.”

“It’s the whole reason I’ve been MIA.”

“Makes sense. Feeling cute, might turn into a bear later. That’s a little more than an average day.” She snickered. “Or bear for that matter.”

I laughed again. “Oh, you have no idea.”

“Where are you?”

“Out in the country with a bunch of shifters, learning how to do it properly.”

“I’m glad you’re not alone,” she said. “That seems like a heck of a thing to navigate on your own.”

“Yeah…” It wasn’t all of it. Logan was another big part of everything that had happened to me latterly, but he probably didn’t want me to blow his cover, too.

“Have you heard from Riley?”

“Not really. One-syllable texts now and then,” she said. “Though, I warned her you had a lot going on.”

“Have there been any hiccups with your direct deposits or anything?”

“No, but how long are you going to keep paying us to answer a few calls and sit at home?”

“You know I have enough to keep it up for a little while. At least long enough for me to figure out what I’m doing next.”

“How do you figure out what you’re doing next?”

“Don’t have a clue. I figure it’ll take me a month to decide. Just keep referring patients, following up on outstanding invoices, and make sure you let me know if I need to come in for anything. How’s Sully-Boy?”

“Back to his sassy, Callie-loving self. Sheila’s been around once or twice, but I get the feeling she wasn’t worried about Sully-Boy.”

“No, she was probably checking on me,” I agreed. Logan must have sent her.

Sully-Boy belonged to Callie, a ten-year-old girl who lived in Willow Creek.

Sully-Boy was Callie’s heart-animal, and Sheila was Callie’s mother and Logan’s cousin.

I’d saved Sully-Boy from death often enough that I felt like I knew Sheila pretty well, although that had been before I’d learned I could shift.

“Oh, some red-haired Irish man has been poking around here. He brought food for me and the kids. There was a gift card in there. Enough for a month of food. Can you believe that?”

I grinned. “Yeah, that’s Flynn. Doesn’t surprise me.”

“Want me to check on your mom?”

“No, she’s on my list of people to call today, and I’ll be back into Willow Creek as soon as I can.” My phone buzzed against my face, and I lowered it to see ’s number and face on my screen. I switched to speakerphone. ”Hey, Shannon, Riley’s calling me. I’m going to take that. Hugs to the kids.”

“Sounds good,” Shannon answered. “Take care of yourself, hon’.”

I answered Riley’s call. “Riley?” I asked, almost afraid to hear her voice. “How are you, sweetie?”

“I’ve had a killer migraine on and off,” she said, her voice devoid of her usual pep.

“Are those usually for you?”

“Not really. But it worked out with the time off, so no complaints, and my mom’s been taking care of me.”

“Can I send you anything?” I asked, missing bubbly, cheerful, match-making-for-her-boss Riley.

“No, I’m okay. How have you been? Shannon says you’ve got a lot going on in your life right now and needed some time.”

I didn’t really know how much of Riley’s memory had been corrected.

At my say so, Torbin had delved and healed her mind to remove the trauma from Acheron’s torture of her, and I hadn’t seen her since.

Did she recall seeing me shift in the parking lot behind my vet practice or any of her later kidnapping? Would she eventually remember?

“Oh, some guy left food outside our door. A big box. He had red hair, big beard with trinkets in it. He looked a little like a Viking. Did you have anything to do with that? I know you’ve done that for Shannon before.”

“That’s Flynn,” I said. “Next time you see him, tell him hi.”

“We didn’t really need any food,” she said. “My mom always makes too much anyway.”

I chuckled, glad for the Red Tail clan. It seemed to be true of shifters, in general; if they decided they were on a side, then they stuck to it. Ride or die style.

“I know, but you’ve been a great employee, and I like taking care of you.” And keeping you safe, Riley. “Your parents can enjoy the food, too.”

“Well, thanks. You’re probably the best boss I’ve ever heard of.” It was the first smile I’d heard in her voice since our conversation. “When are you coming back to work?”

“There have been some… developments I’m working on. It’ll be at least another month.”

She remained silent for a long moment. “Should I look for another job?”

“No, not yet. Just consider yourself on paid leave for a month.” I paused. “And enjoy it.”

She chuckled. “Once I get rid of these headaches, I plan to. Thanks, boss.”

“Welcome. We’ll talk soon.”

The call ended without goodbyes.

Riley wasn’t back to her normal self, but talking to her had eased more of my worry.

The remainder of the worry boulder had my mom’s name on it.

I thought about calling her, but she’d have way more questions than I had answers to give her.

Listening to her trembling, emotional voice would put me over whatever edge I had, so for now, I decided to send her a text instead.

Maybe it was chicken shit of me, but keeping a tight rein on my feelings was the only thing anchoring me in reality. I could easily lose myself to endless mating with Logan or lose myself in primal shifter magic next time I transformed or lose myself to Acheron.

I opened my text messaging app once more. Scrolling through all her messages without reading anything more than the preview didn’t help with my guilt. They probably all said the same thing.

Me: Hey, Mom. I’m fine, and I love you. More than anything.

She tried to call immediately, but I declined it.

“Love you, Mom,” I whispered. “But I can’t yet.”

A moment later, she answered via text, typing what had to be the quickest reply I’d ever gotten from her.

Mom: Where the hell have you been, young lady? Foolish sheriff won’t let me file a missing person’s report because you weren’t missing, at least according to Shannon and Riley. You’re an adult, and you can make your own decisions. Blah. Blah. Blah.

Me: I told you I was fine, and I was working on some training.

Mom: This isn’t like you at all. What’s wrong?

Me: I’ll explain everything soon, Mom. Just trust me a little while longer. I love you.

Mom: I hate this.

Me: I know. Ily.

Mom: I love you, too.

All the talking and texting weren’t as strong of a mood killer as a blast from a cold shower or a firehose would have been. Yet they’d dulled the drive enough that I wasn’t worried about jumping Logan the minute I strolled back into the study…

Until I strolled back into the study, and he was still as gloriously naked as he’d been when I left. I stopped on the threshold.

“Would you put some clothes on?” I snapped.

He turned toward me. “No place for modesty…”

I turned to Olivia. “Did you figure out where we’re going?”

“We cross Red Tail, so Jasper will be joining us,” she answered.

Logan’s mouth pressed into a tight line.

“Aye, I’ll be going with ye,” Jasper confirmed. “It helps your case that me brother is the alpha of the territory. Otherwise, ye’d have to go around Red Tail to get to Bear Trees.”

“After we attend the gathering of the alphas, we’ll check on the Acheron’s hidden site.”

“And check on the people in Willow Creek,” I added. “Shannon, Riley, Sheila, Callie, and I need to see them face to face, and I need to tell Mom what’s happened, so she quits harassing the sheriff.”

“That, too,” Logan agreed.

“We pulled the four-wheelers around,” Olivia said. “We each get our own.”

“Oh, I saw those parked out front,” I said. “I’ve never ridden one before. Is it hard?”

“Emma can ride mine,” Logan said. “No need to take four.”

Jasper’s laugh burst through the study. “Aye, she can ride yours. We all know what that means, and we’re going to have a hard enough time keeping the two of ye apart as it is. That’s why there’s four.”

“We each get our own ATV,” Olivia repeated, more firmly. “I’m your beta, and you made me your keeper for the obsession phase with your fated mate. You know what that means, Logan.”

“Does that mean you have to listen to her?” I asked, guessing.

“That’s exactly what she means, lass,” Jasper interjected. “And I wouldn’t put it past Olivia to drag yer mate before the councils, if he doesn’t.”

“Good to know,” I murmured. That threat might be enough to keep us apart.

“Don’t count on it,” Logan barked. “Let’s go.”