Cupid's Light Page 18

Someone else shouted, maybe his name, but Matt only vaguely heard as he shifted into a tiger and charged toward the panther crouched near the altar, its front paws clamped around his woman. His mate. No one hurt his mate. No one.

  Letting out a roar that was more an affirmation than a warning, it took him three great leaps and he was across the sanctuary and on the altar. The panther, still holding Adora in its paws, lowered its head and glared up at Matt while growling low in the back of its throat. Matt swiped at the panther and it opened its mouth over its paws. He knew what it was about to do. He yowled and leaped forward, slamming into the other cat and hoping he did not injure Adora in the process.

  The panther cried out and released the bundle of lights so it could use its front paws to help balance itself. Matt saw Adora zoom away and then he focused on taking down his quarry. It was time for Shay to die.

  Springing forward, he landed on the panther’s back, knocking the wind from its lungs. The animal collapsed to the litter-strewn floor for a moment but shook him off and tried to run away. Matt swiped out with razor-sharp black claws, catching the other cat’s rump and leaving five long slashes that immediately welled with blood. With a howl of pain, the animal turned and slashed out at him, but Matt easily dodged the attempt and swiped at it again, leaving another set of welling slashes. Without pausing, he grabbed the panther’s front left paw in his powerful jaws, clamping down until the other animal whimpered in obvious surrender. And still he did not let go.

  “Matt, stop.”

  At the sound of Adora’s voice, he turned his head without releasing his hold, dragging the other cat with him. He narrowed his cat eyes and shook his furry head and started to turn away from her to finish the job, when she called out again.

  “Please, Matt. Please don’t kill her.” She came closer and dropped to her knees next to him. He was amazed she wasn’t puking, given the fair amount of blood splattered over the floor and on him and the panther. Or maybe she had, and he had been too intent on destroying Shay to notice.

  “She did it for love,” Adora said. “I just can’t…I don’t want you to…”

  Matt growled. He didn’t give a rat’s ass about Shay’s reasons, only that she’d injured his mate. Probably would have killed her, if he and Josh and Brendon hadn’t arrived in time.

  “Cupids do not live by the eye for an eye rule. And she did it for love,” she repeated, tears welling and spilling onto her cheeks.

  He hesitated. It was not in his nature to forgive someone such a heinous crime. Adrenaline still pumped through his blood. He didn’t want to stop, not until the job was finished. Not until Shay was finished.

  Shay shifted into human form, bleeding and crying. Matt released his hold on her arm and she pulled it to her chest, cradling it while she sobbed. He shifted into his human form and stood, dragging Adora to her feet so he could hug her to him. He was never letting her go, not ever. He didn’t care who or what she was or what expectations Josh or Kat had of him. They would leave if need be. Go out west and buy a cozy cabin in the woods. Just the two of them, together forever.

  “I loved him,” Shay said, hiccupping on a sob. “He didn’t even know my name. He called me Sherry. But I loved him so much.” She cried, sitting on the filthy floor, covered with scrapes and bruises, her arm probably broken, and lamented the loss of a man she had managed to put on a pedestal, when he hadn’t deserved a single ounce of the adoration she gave him.

  “I wonder why the Assigners never sent one of us to help her find her true love?” Adora wondered.

  “Because she didn’t deserve it,” Matt said on a growl, while Shay howled louder.

  He turned his head and watched Brendon pick his way down the center aisle, stepping over broken bits of wood and glass.

  “Josh says we need to go to the coterie. It’s not too far away. He wants one of the healers to take care of his mate. Looks like the Cupid could use a dose of healing, too. But what about this one? How come you didn’t kill her?”

  Matt glanced down at his mate, tucked securely under his arm. “My mate didn’t want me to.”

  Brendon shrugged, as if the decision was of no consequence to him. “What do we do with her then? And Jeannine. Shit, I can’t believe Jeannine was involved in this mess. One of our own pack, performing treason against the pack master’s mate. Unbelievable.”

  Matt had forgotten all about Jeannine, but a swift glance told him Josh had her well under control, even as he held his mate in his arms like she was a child.

  “It’s Josh’s call.” He grabbed Shay’s unbroken arm with his free hand and hauled her to her feet. “Let’s go.”

  Shay wailed like a banshee as they headed toward Josh and Rachel and Jeannine. Glancing down at Adora, he saw she was crying, too. He’d managed to hook himself a bleeding heart with a weak stomach.

  And he wouldn’t have it any other way.

  Chapter 15

  “I’M fine, Matt.”

  For the fifth time since they left the guest room they’d been relegated to the day before, Adora swatted away his hand before he could brush it over her from her head to her toes, like he’d done too many times to count since they arrived at the coterie. In truth, though, she was no longer certain if it was his need to ensure she was uninjured, or simply his possessive desire to touch her as often as possible. Still, as they headed down the hall in the Lightbearer king’s home, it hardly seemed appropriate to allow her mate to feel her up.

  “You sure as hell are. Even the Lightbearers were impressed by how quickly you Cupids heal.” Giving up his attempts at being grabby, he draped his arm around her shoulders instead.

  A door opened a few feet down the hall and Brendon stepped into view, motioning for them to enter the room. Once they did, he slipped out and closed the door behind them.

  Rachel sat in a king-sized bed, propped against a multitude of pillows, looking as fresh as a spring morning and as annoyed as a cornered wolverine.

  “I’m fine,” she said, repeating what Adora had just told her own mate. Her mate.

  Adora smiled, recalling the way they’d coupled, after she had convinced Matt she well and truly was healed enough to do what she knew he needed to do. Reconnect. Make love, shifter-style. Reassure themselves that all was right in their world. Or at least as right as it could be.

  “You’re human,” Josh replied to Rachel. “You don’t heal as fast as the rest of us.”

  “I do when a Lightbearer healer takes care of me. And especially when she gives me her magic.” To prove her point, Rachel held out her hand, palm facing up, and focused on the appendage. A moment later, a blue ball of light appeared, hovering above her outstretched fingers. She grinned, clearly pleased with her newfound ability.

  “Lightbearers have the ability to share their magic,” Adora said, recalling what she’d learned in Cupid School.

  “Holy shit,” Josh said, staring at his mate.

  Rachel’s grin turned sheepish. “Olivia did it. Tanner didn’t want her to, but she told him to chill out and she did it anyway. Alexa checked me out afterward and said she’s pretty sure the magic is healing magic. With a little practice and training, I can probably take on the role of resident healer for our pack.”

  “Not on your life,” Josh announced.

  Adora moved closer to the bed. “I think that’s a marvelous idea. And so considerate, especially given the less than warm reception she’s had thus far.”

  Rachel’s cheeks pinked under the scrutiny.

  “And using magic will not harm her,” Adora added. “In fact, the more she uses it, the stronger it will become. Just be sure you get a daily dose of sunlight,” she said, speaking to Rachel. “Lightbearer magic is renewable and comes from the sun.”

  Josh did not appear convinced. Before he could offer further argument, though, the door opened, and Brendon stood on the threshold.

  “Jeannine’s dead.”

  The mutual, sharp intake of breath echoed throughou
t the room as three sets of shifter eyes began to glow. Rachel gasped and Adora pressed her hand to her fluttering stomach.

  “How?” Josh asked.

  “Jumped off the cliff. Didn’t even try to shift. One of the Lightbearers witnessed it. That healer, Alexa, checked her over, said there was nothing she could do.”

  “What about Shay?”

  “I checked. She’s still in that basement they use as a rehab facility. Still blubbering like a damn idiot. Still refusing to allow the Lightbearers to heal her.”

  Josh nodded. “The king says he can use his magic to take away her ability to shift, that she’ll be forced to live like a human, as punishment for everything she did. Probably no worse torture, in her mind. I’ve already contacted her pack master, told him I’m not releasing her until I feel she’s been sufficiently punished for her crimes against me and my pack.”

  Adora could tell the other shifters in the room did not necessarily agree with Matt’s decision not to kill Shay when she attacked Adora, but none voiced his opinion, which she took as a sign of respect.

  “Do you think we need to worry about Shay doing the same thing Jeannine did?” Brendon asked.

  Josh responded. “I can see Jeannine being suicidal, in retrospect, given her dedication to my parents and the pack in general. But Shay, I don’t think she would do the same thing. She isn’t thinking clearly enough to make that sort of decision. Still, I want someone to keep an eye on her.”

  “Done.” Brendon nodded and left the room again.

  Matt walked over and clapped his hand on Josh’s shoulder. “I’m sorry about Jeannine.”

  Josh nodded his acceptance of the condolences. “We’ll need to leave soon, get back to the pack. Her family will want a formal burning ceremony. I want to do it for them. She made poor decisions, but I think she believed her heart was in the right place.”

  “You’re starting to talk like my mate,” Matt said.

  Josh’s chuckle was too dark to be full of humor. “Don’t worry, I’m not getting soft. I’m still fully capable of running our pack. Steve and Sandra Zebree need to be dealt with. Sister or not, he should have come to me when he learned of Shay’s plans. And then kidnapping my cousin’s son…What did he plan to do with Jonas, anyway?” He clenched his hands into fists, and Adora had the impression he was struggling with the urge to punch the wall. Or a person. She swallowed convulsively and was relieved her stomach was not protesting.

  Squeezing Josh’s shoulder, Matt said, “It doesn’t matter now. Jonas is safe. You’ll punish the Zebrees, and make the pack aware, and send out a message that no one can mess with the pack master’s mate without suffering the consequences. This won’t happen again.”

  “It had better not. My punishments will be far less forgiving if it does.” He glanced at Adora and said, “We still have to talk about your mate situation.”

  Adora gave Matt a questioning look.

  “Not now,” Matt said, which only piqued Adora’s curiosity further. “You want to get out of here?” he asked her.

  “Yes.”

  “You need help with Jeannine’s body? Shay?” he asked, looking at Josh, who shook his head.

  “Brendon and I can handle it. Go ahead.”

  Leaning so close his breath ruffled her hair, Matt whispered, “Fly.”

  Her wings sprouted from her back as if his word was a command, fluttering so fast her feet left the ground. His glowing gaze tracked her movements as her wings beat faster and faster and she shrank until she was nothing more than a mass of swirling lights. And then she zoomed from the room, knowing he’d shifted into the form of a bird and would be hot on her tail.

  Exactly where she wanted him to be. Okay, maybe not exactly, but close enough. At least until they returned to his home, and she could be next to him instead. Or on top of him. Or underneath.

  And naked. Definitely naked.

  Being mated to a shifter certainly had its benefits.

  *

  He had to tell her. It wasn’t fair, to either of them. In his mind, she was his mate. He was one hundred percent committed to this relationship. To her. There was no one else. No one would ever compare. He would never notice another woman as long as he lived.

  Except he was mated to another. And it was time to come clean. They’d made a decision that affected whether she could ever see her own family and home again, and he’d done it under false pretenses. Guilt gnawed at him.

  There had been a burning ceremony for Jeannine. Josh had informed the pack of everything Jeannine and Shay had done, told them of Steve and Sandra Zebree’s involvement. With Shay standing a few feet away, still sobbing, he had told everyone her ability to shift had been taken from her, and that a Lightbearer would visit the pack soon, to put the same curse onto Sandra and Steve. The two had stood in the crowd and had balked, but they had not protested their punishment. Josh suggested future pack indiscretions, especially those against the pack master’s mate, would receive the same sentence. Matt was pretty sure that threat carried more weight even than the threat of banishment or even death. Shifting was a shifter’s only form of magic, and without magic, they were essentially…human.

  Oh the irony.

  Rachel and Adora had held interviews for a new housekeeper, and Rachel had been surprised by the number of candidates who expressed interest in working in Josh’s home, which was now inhabited by a human and had a Cupid who fluttered around on a steady basis. The friendship between the two women had only grown stronger, which was fine with Matt, who considered his cousin his best friend as well.

  Adora had moved into his house and together they were redecorating, whether he wanted to be involved or not. Except he did, because the task involved Adora, and he was pretty sure he fell more in love with her each and every day. He could not imagine his life without her, yet he hadn’t told her about the one aspect that affected their life most.

  It was time to tell her about his past.

  On a crisp, sunny October morning, they’d flown to Josh’s house instead of ridden his motorcycle, which had become a favorite mode of transportation for his fun-loving Cupid. It was getting too cold for the bike, and besides, eventually, she would lose her wings, and would no longer be able to fly. They might as well get as much flying time in as they could.

  He had to tell her.

  At the edge of the stone patio leading into the walkout basement, they both returned to human form and Matt grabbed her hand, tugging her to a stop. She turned her face and smiled up at him, so brightly he was momentarily blinded by her beauty. He brushed a lock of pink hair off her brow and dropped his hand to his side.

  “Your eyes are glowing,” she remarked.

  “I need to tell you something.”

  “Uh-oh,” she said, her voice full of teasing. “Rarely a positive conversation starter.”

  Sucking in a breath, he held it for a moment and then slowly exhaled. “I have a mate.”

  Chuckling, she said, “I know. Me.”

  “No. I mean…I already have a mate. I’ve been mated for…for fifteen years or so.”

  Her eyes widened, her mouth dropping to her chest almost in slow motion.

  He ran a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I don’t usually think about it. And I thought—I guess—I wish…”

  Adora shook her head. “I wouldn’t have been sent to you if you were already mated. Cupids are rarely assigned to people already in relationships, and certainly not shifters. Your unions are permanent, even if you aren’t happy.”

  Matt shrugged. “It was never made official. We just—we did the act—you know—” He flapped his hand. “And we never went to the pack master for his approval. I was young and stupid and I didn’t know what the hell to do. I went to my brother and he told me not to tell anyone, so I didn’t. And then he made it all go away. I hardly saw Kat after—”

  “Kat?”

  The look of dawning comprehension on her face gave
him pause. “Yes.”

  With shoulders sagging so much she appeared even shorter than she already was, Adora said, “My instincts were right after all.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “As soon as I saw her for the first time, I suspected Kat was meant to be your mate. And I was right.”

  “No.” He shook his head and reached for her but she moved out of his grasp. “No. That’s not true. She wasn’t meant to be my mate. It was a mistake. A moment of poor judgment. It wasn’t supposed to happen.”

  “But it did. And now she’s back. I think we all know why.”

  “Josh will deny her.”

  “He shouldn’t. You weren’t meant to be with me, Matt. You were meant to be with—”

  “Kat.”

  Matt said the name as its owner stepped into view, striding out of the house on six-inch heels, wearing a curve-hugging electric blue dress and a determination he’d never seen before in her eyes. He glanced at Adora. Her wings had sprouted from her back and were fluttering so quickly her feet only skimmed the ground. But at least she was staying put. For now.

  “I’m going to fix this,” he said to her before facing Kat. Out of the corner of his eye he noted Josh had stepped out onto the flagstone patio behind her. Had Kat already gone to Josh, secured his approval? He couldn’t believe Josh would agree, not without talking to Matt first.

  What did she want? Why now? Why wait fifteen years to decide she was ready to play the mating game? Even though technically they wouldn’t have been able to claim to be mated, Matt would have been happy to live out his life with Adora by his side, while Kat carried on her own life, separate from his own. The mating aspect was, after all, only a technicality. Adora knew how much he loved her. He didn’t have to prove it by making things official between them.

  “I hope what we’ve done doesn’t ruin the second chance she is giving you,” Adora said, her voice pitched low.

  Matt flung around to face her. “Goddamn it, Adora, stop it. It’s you I want to be with, not her. She means nothing to me.” He stabbed at the air behind him while glaring at the love of his life, who thrust out her chin as if she had every intention of arguing with him.