Page 29 of Hard Shift

Chapter 11

Rhys shoved Colton against the door, pinning him by his chest. His stomach churned with anxiety and frustration. His bear clawed for purchase to break free like a volcano ready to erupt, taking out everyone in his path. “What the hell did you do?”

A shadow of annoyance crossed Colton’s face. His clenched mouth tightened. His arrogant, demanding demeanor was cracking at the edges.

Evan watched in mild amusement from his spot on the couch. “He withheld information from her.”

“How could you? She fucking trusted you. Do you realize what you’ve done?”

Colton shoved Rhys away and stretched his neck from side to side. “I know exactly what I’ve done.” Colton walked past him and moved to stand in front of the fireplace. “I’ve pissed her off.”

“Is it true?” Max asked from the archway in the kitchen. His arms were crossed over his chest. “Did you know about her past all along? About her heritage and her Guard?” He gritted out the last word.

His brother’s anger was a welcome reprieve. Finally, someone understood the severity of what had just happened. She’d run because of Colton’s deception. There was no way in hell she’d trust Rhys now.

“Yes,” Colton answered. “But she’s more than a princess, more than my best detective.”

“Damn right she is; she’smydamn mate,” Rhys growled, daring any of them to contradict his words. His bear would tear them apart, starting with Evan and his unchecked glare.

“You don’t understand,” Colton said and started pacing the living room. “When I found her….” He glanced at Evan. “When he showed me where to find her…she was…dying.”

Colton ran a hand through his hair and turned to Rhys. “She shifted into a phoenix, shimmering back into human at the last second.”

“That’s impossible,” Rhys said, rubbing at the knots in his neck. “The story of the phoenix is just a myth, and even if it isn’t, it’s believed they’re reborn after death. She would be a child now if that were the case.”

“That’s where I come in,” Evan announced and stood up from where he’d been lounging on the couch. “Abigail…”

“Elizabeth,” Rhys growled.

“Elizabeth,” Evan conceded. “Due to her abilities, it takes more than a mortal man to protect her. She was already practically immortal due to her mother’s phoenix blood, but when she shifted back into her human form, I knew she was giving up. Even as ingrained as her soul was to switch to whatever animal could best save her, she’d unconsciously chosen to go back into her human body and was prepared to die. As her protector, I had to do something to save her. She was more than just my charge or assignment. When I told you we were connected, it’s because we are. I gave her my blood and willed her to live.”

Rhys growled from across the room. “You turned her? Into what? Just what in the hell are you?”

“That’s hard to explain. I’m an immortal tied to Elizabeth’s soul.”

A tense silence enveloped the room as Evan answered and merely tilted his head. “In her shifter state, if Ab— Elizabeth dies, she takes with her more than just herself. She takes me.”

“If you’re immortal, how is that even possible? No matter what happens to her, you would just continue living.”

“It’s like someone hits a reset button and my life starts over so I grow up with her and her experiences so I can sympathize with the same issues she’s dealing with. When she was dying, and I gave her my blood, I willed her to live, and that changed her into more than the shifter she was. She’s now an immortal like I am. We’re merely like you would imagine vampires to be. We still live, eat and breathe, and we can be killed, it’s just harder to do. We’re connected by more than blood and life;we’re also connectedby soul.”

“That’s impossible,” Rhys whispered.

“I can feel her, even when she’s not around. When she left, she was devastated. Crying until anger and determination replaced the feeling of despair.” Evan folded his arms over his chest. “Let me be clear. Nothing and no one will stop her from finding those women, and until I train her how to protect herself, she will die trying.”

“If instinctively she knows to change into animals, how was it possible they caught her and kept her before?” Rhys asked.

“Her abilities were dormant. She didn’t even know she had them. I was already working to bring the organization down from the inside when they brought her in. She didn’t realize she could shift until after she escaped.”

Rhys ran his hand over his face and let out a deep breath, trying to suppress the shimmer beneath his skin and keep his bear under control. “I need to find her.”

Colton placed his hand on his back. “Rhys. I’m sorry. She needs to rest tonight. You can find her tomorrow. We already know where she’ll be. She emailed me her notes. She still has to interview Jennifer Smith’s family.”

“I know where she is,” Evan announced. He closed green eyes, and when he opened them, they weren’t green or black like before but a bright white, void of pupils. He held up his hands. “She just turned into the Valley Fox Hotel.” He blinked again, and his eyes returned to their original color.

“How does that trick work?” Max asked, stepping farther into the room.

“We’re connected. She to me, and me to her. When I concentrate, I can sense where she is, and most of the times, see what she’s seeing.”

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