Page 18 of Shifting Years (Whispering Hills #5)

Inside a lime-green car, my sweaty palms clenched the steering wheel. Todd sat beside me, arms crossed, mumbling under his breath. "This is a terrible idea. You don't ask Tina and Dawn for anything ."

"Are you saying this because Alphas always know best?"

"Oh, give me a break, and you know I'm not Henry. Penny and Mary said the same thing. Sure, they mentioned how nice the ladies were, but they're afraid."

"I listened about Westley."

"No, you set him on the back burner in case your first choice doesn't work out."

It's weird knowing I could ask a vampire for help since they loved shifter blood. Todd said he heard they'd keep us prisoners and feed for years. So, my Alpha had a point.

Is he my Alpha? We hadn't slept together, and I carried another wolf's pup.

I kept my eye on the two-lane country highway as green swamp and twisted black trees raced by. "Just looking for options and I might not accept their help."

A faint whiff of garbage scent escaped me, and Todd sneered.

"Not a total lie, but okay, debatable." My teeth clicked together. "Hold my hand… please?"

"It won't make the decision smarter." Yet, he gripped my right tight, sending warmth and Alpha reassurance while we drove in silence. Soon we found a tall, oily-black twisted tree as thick as a house and a few stories high. Rusted sheet metal formed a shed near the bottom.

"It's not big enough for anyone to live in," said Todd. "You got us lost."

I repeated the directions, which we followed to the letter. "It's not like there's going to be a sign."

The engine sputtered and refused to start, no matter how many times I turned the key.

"No sign, huh, Mike?"

"When did you start accepting magic as the reason for everything? You made fun of my books."

"I fought a were… shifter and took your acid tab." Again, he told me about leaving his body and flying like I never did. That sounded far out.

"Fair enough, so, let's go?" I said or asked.

Seconds passed, and my arm hair rose and so did Todd's. We found it. The primordial thing researchers, explorers, and mystics had long searched for. How many fled when they finally discovered it? We couldn't. Whatever solution I wanted was here, I'm sure.

After stepping out, I grabbed Todd's hand and knocked on the rusted metal door. Only hollow echoes answered. Birds didn't chirp, nor did wind rustle through the dead branches. Even wispy clouds stayed still.

Todd breathed in deep and pulled the door open with a drawn-out squeak. Inside was a ten-foot by ten area with dusty, rotten wood planks and nothing else. "Either the wrong place or a joke."

No. It can't be.

With the same mental concentration I used when shifting, I closed and reopened the door.

Where there had been rotting planks, white marble walls now gleamed.

The room stretched larger than it should, swallowing extra space.

A red-carpeted conversation pit rested in the center, plush pillows in deep crimson shades scattered across it.

There was no television, but the far wall had a giant, wooden bookcase.

"It's bigger on the inside," said Todd.

"Like the TARDIS in Doctor Who ."

"Leave it to you to watch shows nobody'll remember in ten years."

"Really? You see this and your first instinct is to insult my television habits?"

A soft, feminine voice coughed behind us. There was no movement, lost consciousness, or even a blink. One moment, we were in the swamp. The next, we were sitting inside the impossible house, pillows tucked neatly behind our backs. I barely had time to scream before everything shifted around me.

A short, brunette woman in a green sweater stared back with dark-blue eyes.

The tall redhead was more made up and looked like the actresses back in LA.

Like her shorter friend, she had bangs, but her red hair was raised high like the women in Dallas.

Her long diamond earrings and orange evening gown suggested she was about to go out on the town.

Todd spoke slowly. "You look like those two women on—"

"We're aware of who we resemble," said the shorter one. "I'm Dawn."

"Which leaves me Tina," said the tall redhead. "We know why you're here." She frowned slightly. "We gave opportunity to leave, so you could have moved on to other solutions."

"Why?" I asked.

"So you wouldn't pay the price," said Dawn. "There's a cost to all magic and no, it's not your soul. You will exchange one terrible pain for another."

"You know what I want?"

"Even when you don't," said Tina. "To ensure a father is ignorant of his child is possible. We will perform a similar service for Wyatt's Omega soon."

"The sheriff's kid?" asked Todd. "What's he got to do with it?"

"He will be an adult soon," said Dawn. "He will find a mate and those around will forget about him, while he does not. The eighties and beyond will be a time of great sorrow and confusion."

Shifting was amazing but they knew of magic I couldn't understand, and yet, I searched for it. I just had to be careful.

Tina stared directly at me. "Do not attempt to find exact words, Michael. Magic is will and intense emotion, but not a lawyer's contract. Phrase it well but examine the forest instead of a single tree."

I licked my lips. They said my soul wasn't in danger, but what would be the cost? Instinct told me I wouldn't get the answer until later. The teleportation and mind reading showed me they had power.

"I wish nobody knows who my child belongs to unless I want them to know."

"Clever," said Tina. "You worded it well. However, all things end or change. Years from now, he will know, even if others do not."

That's fine because it gave me time to plan. My pup would be safe, I wouldn't have to go on the road, and the separation from Henry wouldn't revert.

A heavy, leather-bound book with blank pages appeared in my lap. "Troubled lovers will come to you in the eighties and continue until your final days. Fill the tomes with their stories. We will take the power from words."

Like a scrapbook? That's not so bad.

"It isn't," said the women in unison. "However, your life, Michael, is tied to Whispering Hills as you must accept the stories and troubled lovers when they appear. The ability to leave your home for long will be rare."

Jack Kerouac and others went on long adventures, dropping out of 'square society' for months. I had thoughts of crossing the country with Todd, having a lover at my side, and still emulating my heroes. It won't happen, but I'll do anything for my kid.

"Anything?" said Dawn to my thoughts.

Chill rose and I stayed quiet.

Both women faced Todd. "You are troubled."

"The child, I'd raise him like my own. I don't care who he came from."

I fought a tear. We hadn't had that discussion, but he obviously thought about being a father.

"I'm not afraid for myself, but I don't want Henry hurting Mike, so can I get a wish?"

"Don't," I pleaded.

"If you are willing to pay the price," said Tina. "However, we cannot kill, nor can we send him away. We cannot make him forget your Michael, for two memory spells so close together would cancel the other."

"I wish he couldn't hurt Mike."

"Too vague," said Tina.

"I want everyone to know what a worm he is, so they banish him away."

"It will not give you safety," said Tina. "Do not wish for that."

"I want to make sure we're safe forever."

"Not possible, for nothing is unending," said both.

"Fine. I want to make sure we're safe for years from that worm," said Todd. "That's my wish."

"Oh," said Dawn.

"You phrased it poorly," finished Tina.

***

We found ourselves back on the two-lane country road toward Whispering Hills with no memory of leaving. Todd grabbed the steering wheel before I did.

Did I… we make a mistake? A heavy book sat in the front with us, and the heavy paper smell suggested several more were in the car's back, possibly multiplied by Todd's wish. We'd start filling it out next decade. That heavily implied we'd still be together. If so, it was time to commit.

I said nothing to him, but he might have sensed something. We finished the drive, putting thoughts of witches to the side while we stood in the rustic bedroom. Orange evening light crawled over a tall man with short hair. There were no bar drinkers or anyone to force us to kiss or do more.

"Are you sure?" asked Todd, gesturing to our nakedness.

Did I want him in me? Yes, more than anything, but like my Alpha, I had to be practical. We had Tina and Dawn's help but added assurance couldn't hurt.

"Mike, are you doing this, so I get my power?" he whispered.

"Yes. No." My fingers ran over his developed chest. He kept himself in shape, even while hitchhiking. There was male lust, but he barely survived Henry. If he were to ever fight another shifter, he needed help.

I shared my thoughts. "This isn't the bar again. You drive me crazy, and man, you're still a square, but I… love you. This is so we share everything, both lives. Wolf, human, and no more separation."

"Crazy hippie." He smiled before softly kissing my neck where Henry had bitten me earlier. Todd, the military-loving man who supported the war and adored Nixon of all people, lapped with surprising gentleness.

My hands rested on his broad shoulders while I looked up. His cock poked my stomach playfully, nudging as if ready to play. I grinned around his kiss as our tongues explored one another. He didn't have much experience, but he knew how to kiss.

My experience before Todd was just accepting Henry's tongue and never kissing back.

I'm giving back now.