Avenging Autumn Read online

  She noted Blake, Peter, and Chogan exchange glances. Her tears angered her. She didn’t want them to pass her off as an emotional woman.

  “I love you all,” she said. “But you don’t get to make this decision for me. None of you do. I’m going to find Vivian, and the only thing you can do to help is figure out the best way to protect me while I do this.”

  A silence fell among them, but Blake broke it. “I can’t protect you, Autumn. You have no idea how frustrated and useless I feel sitting in this thing. I can’t stand the thought of you leaving to walk into a set-up that’s going to get you killed while I sit here twiddling my thumbs.”

  “You said the same thing when I had to go to Chicago, and I came back safe then.”

  “This is different. What happened in Chicago was about society. This is personal.”

  “Maybe, but I won’t be walking in there unarmed. Plus, I have the others with me—Chogan and you, too, Peter?” The two men looked at one another and nodded.

  But Blake’s hands clenched around the arms of his wheelchair. “It’s not the same. I should be the one at your side.”

  Her heart broke for him. The last thing she wanted was for him to withdraw into himself again. She wanted to do everything within her power to help him heal, even if that healing was only mentally, but she couldn’t do this for him. She couldn’t let Vivian go. Autumn knew she would never be able to lead any kind of normal life—or at least as normal as life got these days—without watching the woman die.

  Autumn dropped to a crouch in front of him and took both of his hands. She lowered her face to his big, strong hands and kissed them both. “Baby, I’m so sorry if what I’m about to do is going to cause you pain, but if I don’t do this, I’m going to live the rest of my life hurting. Can you understand? And even if you can’t look after me during this mission, you’re going to have the rest of our lives to take care of me. Okay?”

  “Only if you come back alive.”

  “I will. I promise.”

  “You’d better, or you’re going to leave me with no reason to carry on.”

  “I’ll come back. There’s no way I’m letting that bitch get away with this.”

  She got to her feet and leaned in to kiss him on the mouth. “I love you,” she whispered against his lips.

  Blake gave a half smile. “I love you, too.”

  She turned back to the man, still held between Tocho and Sahale. “So you can take us to Vivian’s place?”

  “Will you let me go when we get there?”

  “Sure. I can’t promise your people won’t shoot you anyway when they see you with us, but we’ll let you go.”

  “Great,” he muttered.

  She turned back to the others, and faced numerous sets of concerned eyes.

  “Sorry, everyone,” she said, “but it looks like we’re on the move again. Let’s find Vivian Winters and put the bitch to bed.”

  Chapter Four

  AUTUMN HAD CALLED everyone together, and Mia went with them. Peter sat in one of the armchairs, while she perched on the armrest. His fingers rested lightly on the base of her spine, and she took pleasure from the contact. It seemed she and Peter were joined at the hip. She’d never been totally sure if she believed in a soul mate before she’d met him, but she did now.

  Autumn stood before them all, her face taut with pain and anger. Mia hated that her friend was so unhappy when everything seemed to be falling into place for her. At least Autumn had Blake back, but even that brought challenges. They would both need time to adjust to the changes that, because of what had happened to Blake, would affect their relationship as well. The future Autumn might once have imagined for them was now a different landscape.

  Autumn announced, “I can’t, and won’t, force any of you to come with me to kill Vivian. What I’m about to do is personal, and it’s wrong of me to even talk about it to you, never mind ask you to come with me and put yourselves in danger once again. But at the same time, so many of you have been there for me and supported me over the changes that have happened recently, and it would feel equally wrong of me to disappear without giving you all the full story and letting you make your own decisions.”

  A sense of pride for her friend swelled within Mia. Autumn had come so far. She’d gone from being a social recluse who only cared about her work, to leading a whole nation of people who loved her. These people would stay by her side, whether Autumn invited them or not.

  Blake’s sister, Tala, spoke up. “I’m coming with you. You saved my life and gave me my dream. No way am I going to let you face this psycho bitch alone.” She gave a shrug. “Besides, we’re practically sisters.”

  Autumn smiled. “Thank you.”

  “Me, too,” said Tala’s friend, Nadie. “We stick together.”

  “Peter and I have already said we’re coming with you,” said Chogan. “We owe you that for what you’ve done for shifters.” Then he added, “And for my cousin.”

  Blake gave him a half smile and a nod.

  “I appreciate that,” said Autumn.

  “If Peter’s going, then so am I,” said Mia. She hadn’t mentioned as much to Peter, but they were equals, and if other female shifters were going, so was she.

  Peter’s hand moved to take hold of hers and he gave her fingers a squeeze. He didn’t argue with her, and she was thankful for that. She noticed Autumn hesitate though, and wondered if she’d try to persuade her to stay here when the others weren’t all standing around.

  Marcus was standing the other side of Mia. “I’m coming, too. My skills might come in handy to you.”

  “Mine, too,” said Angie,” and I don’t have anywhere else to be.”

  Mia looked between the two paranormals who’d been rescued from the facility Vivian had been running. She still struggled to believe her twin brother Marcus was alive—even though she’d believed it deep down her whole life. It was the reason she’d started the missing person’s charity, and the reason she’d always chosen the cases of the missing teenage boys. Subconsciously, she’d always been searching for Marcus. Mia felt awful that they’d not contacted their parents yet to tell them Marcus had been found alive and well. So much had happened, and it wasn’t just that Marcus was alive. They also had to tell them about her almost dying and so being turned into a shifter, and then there was the news about Marcus being able to move objects with his mind. She didn’t quite know where to start, so instead had been hiding out here, recouping. She’d never imagined they would be embarking on another dangerous mission so soon. She’d thought they’d had time.

  “Okay, thank you.” Autumn turned to the woman Chogan had rescued on the road—Madison. She stood right behind Chogan, her son Billy held by the shoulders beside her. “Madison, can you stay here and take care of Daisy, too?”

  Madison nodded. “Of course.”

  Daisy spun to her, shaking her head. Her dark, uneven bangs brushed across the top of her furious blue eyes.

  “I think she wants to come,” said Marcus.

  “She’s too young. This is more dangerous than Chicago. This woman is bad, and she wants me and those around me dead.”

  “Sorry,” he said, without sounding it, “but Daisy and the rest of us know Vivian even better than you do. We were the ones stuck in that place with her year after year. Obviously, you have your reasons for wanting her dead, but so do we. Daisy may only be young, but you might need her.”

  Mia nodded. “Marcus has a point, Autumn. Daisy proved herself in Chicago. She’s tougher than she looks.”

  “Okay,” Autumn relented. “I guess I’ll need some human people with me anyway. Everyone else is shifters now.”

  “I’ll stay in human form too,” said Chogan. “Someone still needs to make sure Vivian’s guy doesn’t screw us over.”

  “Good, thank you. With Marcus and Angie, as well, that should have us covered.”

  “Vivian doesn’t stand a chance. She’s nothing against a bunch of shifters and people with supernatural abilities.”


  Autumn gave a grim smile. “I hope you’re right.”

  Wenona came bustling into the room, her arms filled with firearms. She laid them out on the coffee table. “There you go,” she said, looking pleased with herself. “These should help open a few doors.”

  “Thanks Wenona,” said Autumn.

  The sight of all the guns made Mia’s heart pick up its pace, the hairs on her arms rising. A shiver wracked through her body, and unconsciously she lifted her hand and rubbed at the spot on her shoulder where the bullet had entered. The hours after the shooting came back to her in flashes. Much of the events that followed were missing from her memory, as if chunks had been deleted in a script, but the parts she did remember were confusing and frightening. People yelling, blood everywhere, pain like nothing she’d experienced before. She knew shifting would be just as painful—Peter had already warned her about that—but at least she wouldn’t be terrified that she was going to die.

  Sahale and Tocho had been outside with the soldier who had delivered the box containing Autumn’s father’s hand. Autumn got Tala to call them in, and they manhandled the guy into the room.

  “What’s your name?” Autumn asked him.

  His eyes were wide, darting nervously around the room, and then to the pile of guns on the table. Mia realized the man didn’t have one of his own. Wasn’t that unusual for a member of an army to go on a mission like this unarmed?

  “My name’s Todd Newby,” he said.

  “Okay, Todd. How long is it going to take us to reach Vivian?”

  “By car? Or by ...” He glanced around, perhaps trying to figure out what each of them were. “By animal.”

  “The vehicles will move a lot slower than the shifters, so let’s say by car.”

  “Six hours, maybe closer to five, if we make good time.”

  “And how did you get here? We would have heard a vehicle.”

  “I left my truck up on the side of the main road, about three miles from here, and walked the rest.”

  She nodded. “Well, you’re going to take us back to your truck, and the shifters here will change and follow. Don’t try anything, or I’ll happily start sending you back to Vivian in the same way Vivian decided to return my father to me.”

  He held up his hands. “I don’t want any trouble.”

  “Too late for that,” snorted Chogan, as he bent to select a weapon. He lifted up a Beretta M9 handgun and weighed it in his palm. “You got more ammo?” he asked Wenona.

  She rolled her eyes. “Sure, I do, honey. What do you take me for?”

  “Then we’re good to go.”

  Autumn turned to Marcus and Angie. “You guys need a weapon?”

  Marcus stared at the table with intense focus. The pile of guns began to tremble, the handles and barrels rattling together. Mia found herself holding her breath. One of the handguns lifted into the air and spun around, the barrel pointed at Marcus.

  “I’ll go for this one,” he said.

  “Don’t do that!” Mia snapped. She couldn’t help herself. Guns weren’t a plaything.

  Marcus let the weapon drop back to the table. “Sorry, Sis. I forget to consider other people’s feelings at times. Bad side effect of basically existing alone for the last ten years.”

  “Yeah, well, consider them.” Immediately she felt bad at snapping at him. It wasn’t Marcus’s fault that he’d been kept prisoner his entire adult life. She got to her feet, put her arms around him, and kissed his cheek. “Sorry.

  His arm squeezed her waist. “Nah, I’m a dick.”

  She noted how Marcus still had a way of talking like a teenager. He’d not been exposed to enough male adults in normal environments to develop fully his adult self. She felt like the teenage Marcus she’d always remembered had simply gotten bigger, and now had stubble instead of the peach fuzz he’d always been trying to cultivate.

  “What are you smiling at?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “Nothing. Just remembering stuff.”

  “Is everyone ready?” Autumn asked.

  They all got to their feet.

  A touch on her elbow made Mia turn. Peter stood behind her, his serious gray eyes taking in her face. “This will be your first full shift from woman to animal. Are you sure you’re ready?”

  She offered him a smile. “I think so. I’m looking forward to it, in a weird sort of way.”

  “It’ll hurt,” he warned her “It’ll hurt to the point where you think you’re going to die—hell, you’ll probably pray to die—but the moment you get to that point, know it’s almost over.”

  She nodded. “I remember how the pain was.”

  “That was different. You weren’t ever in a full shift, just stuck in the middle of one. When Lakota brought you over, your body had already been dealing with the pain for hours, and the endorphins in your body were present to deal with that pain. A full shift is fast, and there isn’t enough time for your body to completely fill itself with any natural pain relief. By the time it does, the shift is over.”

  Mia pressed her lips together. “You’re not making me feel any better.”

  “Sorry. I just want you to be prepared. I don’t want you to be frightened or feel that something is going wrong, because it won’t. Just open yourself up to your spirit guide and it’ll be over before you know it.”

  Mia stood on tiptoes and kissed him. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  She watched as Autumn said goodbye to Blake, kissing him, their foreheads placed together, eyes shut. Her heart contracted. How would she feel if it was Peter in that chair instead of Blake? It easily could have been. She couldn’t imagine how hard it must be for both of them—for Blake watching Autumn go to a woman who wanted her dead, and not being able to do anything to help her, and for Autumn, leaving Blake behind once more. She watched as Blake spoke something into Autumn’s ear. Her friend nodded and kissed him again, before forcing herself to leave. Their hands touched, fingers trailing with contact until the last possible moment.

  Others had already left the house. Some of the men who had been shifters from birth had no sense of shame about their bodies. They were used to stripping in front of people, and walking about naked once they’d shifted back, but Mia didn’t have the confidence to do the same.

  “It’s okay,” said Peter, sensing her discomfort. “We’ll walk farther into the trees.”

  She sagged in relief. “Thank you.”

  Her stomach roiled with nerves and her whole body trembled. She felt as she might on a first date, only multiplied a thousand times. She prayed she wouldn’t do something to embarrass herself—throw up, or pass out. She knew Peter would take care of her, but she wanted him to be proud of her, too.

  They stepped through the trees, the temperature dropping as they did so, though the chill didn’t affect her as it once had. In the back of her mind, she sensed her spirit guide come to a standstill, poised with one paw lifted, its nose to the air. She felt sure the animal understood she was about to call it to her for the first time. They would become one being.

  She and Peter reached a spot out of sight from the others. They drew to a stop, facing each other. Mia’s trembling grew worse, and Peter pulled her into a hug. She closed her eyes as her cheek met with his broad chest, and her fingers clung tightly to the muscles running down his back.

  “Don’t be frightened. I’m right here.”

  She nodded. “I know. I’m just nervous, that’s all.”

  “Would you like me to go first? Or would you like to go first?”

  She shook her head. “No, I want us to do this together.”

  “Okay, then.”

  He stepped away and reached down to the bottom of his t-shirt, pulling it over his head. Mia had a moment where his eyes were covered by the material, allowing her to enjoy the sight of his naked torso without him realizing she was doing so. She loved his body—strong and muscular, without being overly cut like a wannabe body builder. She loved the dark hairs on hi
s chest, the line leading down to his navel, and the nubs of his nipples.

  Peter threw the shirt to the ground. “Now you.”

  Her heart pounding, feeling like they were giving each other a private strip tease, she pulled her own t-shirt over her head. She added it to the growing pile of clothes, so she stood in only her jeans and bra.

  Peter gave a smile that made his eyes crinkle and her heart race. His fingers went to his belt. “You know I’m going to enjoy doing this with you on a regular basis.”

  She had to admit, she was starting to enjoy herself a little, too.

  Peter rid himself of his jeans, toeing off his shoes and socks. Repressing a smile, she did the same. Now only underwear and a few inches of air separated their naked bodies. She’d never stood out in the open without being anything other than fully dressed before. There was something wanton and wicked about it.

  In the back of her mind, her black panther spirit guide prowled, alert and restless.

  Peter shook his head at her, one side of his mouth curled. “You might as well take off the rest. You’ll only ruin them.”

  She caught her breath. “You first.”

  He hooked his thumbs into the waistband of his shorts and slowly pulled the item down his muscular thighs, before kicking them onto the pile. Mia pressed her lips together. Peter was clearly as excited by all of this as she was. The thought twisted something inside her. They shouldn’t be taking any pleasure from something brought about by so much pain for Autumn, yet she couldn’t help herself.

  “Your turn,” he said, his eyes flicking up and down her body.

  She reached behind her back and unclipped her bra, pulling the underwear from her breasts and dropping the item to the ground. Her nipples crinkled at the touch of the cool air. Then she rolled down her panties and threw them onto the pile of clothes, so she stood completely naked.

  Peter moved forward, capturing her mouth in a hungry kiss. His fingers stroked roughly down the side of her face. “If I didn’t know others were waiting for us, I’d take you here and now.”

  Her voice came out smoky. “And I’d let you.”

  “Later,” he said. “Now call your spirit to you.”