From the Shadows (A Shadow Chronicles Novel) (21 page)

“Okay, Juliette, now you’ve lost me honey. What do you mean what he is? Is Race werekind as well? Oh, I wish I’d known, I could have helped Caroline deal with everything—it’s why they left so suddenly when he was still a boy, isn’t it? Right after he turned fourteen. I should have known. But if he is, how could you have bonded with him?”

“Mom, he bonded with me too. Race is more than werekind—he’s a chimaera.”

Silence met my statement for a long moment, and when my mother spoke again, it was almost reverently.
“The Beast Master. My daughter’s soulmate is the Beast Master…”

“He’s not the Beast Master yet, Mom,” I said slowly
. “We’ve…been together, but we haven’t gone that far. Certainly you can understand why I’m a bit reluctant.”

I could picture her nodding. “Oh, honey. Of course I understand. And far be it for me to put any more pressure on you than I’m sure you’re already feeling, but baby—if Race is a chimaera, and the two of you were destined to be together, then you have to do the ritual.”

“Mom!” I said, perhaps a bit more sharply than I’d otherwise have spoken to her. “I would have thought… You said you understood.”

She sighed. “Oh, Juliette… Baby, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that—it was a knee-jerk reaction. Old traditions are hard to forget, especially when they’ve been drilled into you relentlessly for years. I do apologize, sweetie.”

I took a deep breath to help will away my sudden flare of anger. “Mom, believe me when I say that Race and I are aware of what his being a chimaera means for our kind. Like I said, I told him everything. He thought he was alone in this world, the only shapeshifter in existence. Meeting me changed that for him, and he’s had a lot to learn in the last day. Imprinting in and of itself was quite a lot for him to absorb, though he did handle the truth that he has a soulmate rather well—didn’t even seem to care all that much that the choice had been made for him before he was even born.

“But Mom, the ritual?
Being the Beast Master?” I went on. “Criminy, he’s just learned he’s not the only two-natured being there is—we can hardly expect him to become our leader after just one day. It wouldn’t be fair of any of us to force traditions and responsibilities on him that he’s not ready for just because he’s one of us. He didn’t know that. He didn’t grow up with the stories and the traditions like you did. Like I did.”

“Sweetheart, I know that. You’re absolutely right—it’s a decision that only Race can make for himself.
For you. But if word gets out, honey, you know as well as I that there are others who will try and force it on him.”

“Yeah, I know. We’ve talked about it some since I told him about the ritual and what it means. But we haven’t decided anything yet. Like I said, we know how big a responsibility this is, but we want to make sure it’s the right decision for us,” I said at last.

“Okay, Juliette. I understand,” Mom said. “And of course you know I’ll support whatever decision the two of you make.”

“Thank you.”

My mother sighed then. “Listen, since you’re over at Saphrona and Mark’s, then you’ll be there tomorrow.”

I frowned.
“For what?”

“Oh, it must have slipped her mind to mention it, what with the surprise of you coming home. She and Mark invited your father and
I over for dinner so that your dad could officially meet her.”

“Wait, Mark and Saphrona have been together about a month or so now, and she hasn’t met Dad yet? You know…since that other time?”

“No. We wanted to wait a bit to make it seem more realistic. If that’s even possible,” she added with a light chuckle. “Realistic meaning the timeline of their relationship, of course. Your Dad knows Mark took a job working on Saphrona’s farm a month ago, but as far as their being a couple goes, that’s only happened in the last week or so.”

“Okay. Thanks for the heads-up on that. It’ll hopefully keep me from saying anything out of place.”

“Yeah. Hey, did Mark happen to mention that Jake’s been looking for you?”

“He did. I’ll give him a call here in a bit.”

“Okay, honey. Listen, I’m going to let you go for now. Dad and I are going to be having a late dinner tonight, and he’s just come in with that ‘Feed me, woman’ look in his eyes.”

I heard my father laugh at the same time I did. “Yeah, better go feed him before he gets surly on you.”

“I will. And thank you for calling honey. I’m so happy you’re home now,” Mom said.

“I am too. Bye, Mom.”

After hanging up with my mother, I dialed Jake Anderson. He, too, was relieved to hear my voice and learn that I’d come home. He expressed the same shock at hearing I’d imprinted, throwing his hat in with Dad and Mark and declaring that if Race wasn’t good to me he’d be in serious trouble. I laughed, thinking for perhaps the millionth time in my life how very much like a brother he was to me.

Of course, when I mentioned hearing that he had something he wanted to talk with me about, Jake clammed up. Said he didn’t want to get into it over the phone, that it was something he thought was best shared in person.
I’d have suggested getting together for drinks or something, but it was getting late and I was exhausted from the traveling and talking and the emotional roller coaster ride I’d been on today. I just wanted to wrap my arms around Race and go to sleep.

After making love to him, of course.

As I was hanging up with Jake, Lochlan came out the back door. He let me know that he was leaving, and because it was just the two of us, as he opened to door to the Escalade, I asked him,

“Lochlan, are you alright?”

He smiled at me. But I could see that it was strained at the corners and he was trying to hide it. “My dear girl, whatever gave you the idea that I’m not perfectly fine?”

I raised my eyebrow at him. “Loch, you’ve been acting a bit…out of sorts, I’d say, ever since this morning when Race and I entered my hotel room.”

Lochlan shook his head. “My dear, I
was
facing down a giant black bear at the time.”

“Yeah, but ever since then your mood has been up and down the scale, and you’ve been snarkier than usual—especially to Race,” I pointed out.

He grinned. “Have I now? Perhaps I think you’re too good for the likes of him. After all, he was a vampire whipping boy for the last decade. He’s like to have developed any number of undesirable habits.”

“And maybe you’re just jealous I’m sleeping with him and not you.”

It was, I think, the first time I had ever spoken to him of his professed attraction to me. Admittedly, when he’d first declared it the morning after Saphrona’s barn had been set on fire, I’d been a little freaked out. It was hard enough for me trying not to like the charming Irish vampire, and hearing him admit he’d like to take me to bed was a bit of a shock. I had escaped the room in lieu of having to respond then, and had studiously avoided the subject during that first week after the Day of Hell, especially after his having seen me naked—twice.

“My fair Juliette,” Lochlan said calmly. “While it is entertaining that you think me jealous of that infant in there, I can assure you that such is most definitely not the case.”

I crossed my arms over my chest and stared pointedly. “Oh really? Then why do you keep insulting him?”

Lochlan sighed. “Vampires and
shapeshifters, my dear,” he said simply, climbing into his car then.

I shook my head at him as he started the Escalade and then backed down the driveway. Race came out to stand beside me, placing an arm around my shoulders and a kiss on my temple, as the black SUV hit the street.

“How’s your parents?” he asked me.

“Happy I’m home, of course. And shocked to hear you’re back in our lives,” I replied. “I told Mom about what you are, of course. She said she wished she’d have known about you because she could have helped your mom cope, and that she would support whatever decision we make about the bonding ritual.”

Race gave my shoulders a light squeeze. “That’s good to know.”

He then dangled a key in my face. “What’s that?” I asked.

Grinning, he nodded his head toward the barn. I turned and looked up at the brand-new structure and it was only then that I realized that Saphrona must have had it designed to include living quarters.

“They said they included the apartment for you,” he told me.

I was touched that my brother and his girl had been thinking of me.

Gently turning me so that we were facing the barn, Race guided me toward it, whispering what he hoped we’d be soon be doing in my ear. Though I absently noted that the horses and Angus, Saphrona’s bull, hadn’t been brought in yet, the thought that we might be overheard when my brother and his mate did so was quickly overridden as my lover’s words sent heat rushing through my veins. It was only moments before I could feel moisture
pooling between my legs, and when a picture of Race’s head between my thighs pleasuring me orally—as he’d done that morning—flashed across my mind’s eye, I grabbed his hand and pulled a laughing Race behind me, eager to get started.

Once we were inside the apartment above the barn, one slightly larger than the last one had been, both Race and I began peeling our clothes off as soon as the door had closed behind us, leaving a trail of discarded items on the way to the bedroom. By the time I felt the edge of the bed at the back of my legs we were both naked and ready for one another. Race captured one of my tight pink nipples in his mouth as I grasped his erection in my hand, stroking him as he suckled and nipped the sensitive nub. When he switched from one breast to the other my stroking increased pace, and I could feel him gently thrusting into my hand. Then he surprised me when he suddenly loosed a soft growl and pushed me back on the bed.

I giggled as I fell and reached for him, but as Race knelt on the bed he grabbed my hands and held them away from him, holding me down as he laid his weight atop me and bent his head to my breasts again. His grip on my wrists wasn’t painfully tight but I couldn’t easily pull my hands out, and he was heavy, his weight making it hard to breathe, and then suddenly I wasn’t in that apartment anymore about to make love to my perfect match…

…I was in a richly appointed bedroom in a multi-million-dollar mansion, silken ropes from the bed curtains tied painfully tight around my wrists as the cold, heavy vampire on top of me forced himself in and out of my body, the friend who’d already taken advantage of me laughing maniacally as he watched.

The vision of me screamed at the same time the real me screamed, and I thrashed about, fighting, struggling to get the torture to stop. Immediately my hands were released and I took that opportunity to swing a fist at my attacker, connecting with his shoulder as he rolled off of me.

“Juliette, stop! Stop, baby it’s me! It’s Race!”

I had fast-rolled end over end to the other side of the full-sized bed, placing it between us. My chest was heaving, my hands balled into fists to continue the fight, when his voice reached me and cleared my fear-seized thoughts.

“Race?”
I said, confused at first. And then I realized what had happened and I began to cry, rounding the bed to throw my arms around him. “I’m so sorry!”

Hesitantly he returned my embrace. “Jules, you have nothing to be sorry for,” he said softly. “Obviously I’m the one who did something wrong. You had a flashback, baby, and that’s my fault.”

“No it isn’t,” I said, sniffling as I leaned back and looked up at him. “It’s their fault—those fucking vampires who raped me.
They
did this.
They
are the ones who have my head so damned screwed up that I… Oh, God, I’m going to ruin us.”

I began sobbing and Race gently pulled me to him. “No, Juliette, you are not. Come on, let’s get into bed. We don’t have to do anything—I’ll just hold you, if you’ll let me. Or I’ll go sleep on the couch if you want to be alone tonight.”

“No! Don’t leave me, Race,” I pleaded.

I felt him sigh. “Alright,” he said. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Slowly we released each other and crawled into the bed, my back to his chest as he pulled the flat sheet over us. Race had one arm under my head and carefully laid the other over my side, holding me to him with his hand flattened against my belly.

“Race?
I’m sorry,” I said tearfully.

“Baby, what did I tell you? You got nothing to be sorry for. It’s not your fault,” he said.

I rolled onto my back and turned my face to his. “But you’re mad. I can tell—you’re all tense and your voice is tight.”

I could see him fighting to soften his expression. “Yeah, I am,” he admitted. “But I’m not mad at you, sweetheart. I’d be a major dickhead if I got mad at you for something like that. A flashback is something you can’t control—not when it happens, not what triggers it, not who you’re with when it comes. I’m pissed because something awful happened to you that you are stuck living with for the rest of your life, something that continues to haunt you. I look at you
and see you suffering and it pisses me off that there’s nothing I can do to stop it. Every protective instinct I never knew I had is on fire with wanting to take your pain away, with wanting to destroy those fuckers that did this to you.”

He sighed and brushed my hair away from my face. “I wish I could go back in time and stop it from happening,” he said softly. “I’d hunt them down and tear
them fucking leeches to shreds before they ever laid a finger on you if I could.”