Marilu Mann - Changing Focus

Micah swiftly scented for Talia. Telling her about Olivia had been hard, but they’d settled into some semblance of a routine. Assured she still napped, he hit the front door with an exasperated expulsion of air.

If he’d been in wolf form, his ears would have flattened against his skull. His lips did curl back in a snarl as his nostrils flared-what the hell was Frank LaBec doing in Wisconsin? And what was he doing in Micah’s territory when he was the leader of the Turn Skin Pack in New Orleans?

Micah stood rooted on his front steps, fists clenched as the car stopped. I do not need this now. Missing Olivia for the past two weeks had turned his emotions raw. Hell, he’d even snapped at Talia the night before.

With one hand held out, he rumbled, “Don’t get out of that car, Alpha. I don’t want Turn Skins on my land or near my family.”

The man half in and half out of the car shook his head. His shoulder-length blond hair was tied back and he wore an open black overcoat under which Micah could see a conservative pinstriped tailored suit. Heaving a sigh, he shot back at Micah, “This is Pack business, Alpha. My Pack and yours. If you don’t want fair warning, I’ll leave.”

Micah’s shoulders tensed as the hair on the back of his neck stood up. “Pack business? What business does your Pack have with mine? Speak your words, Alpha. Make it worth my while not to stuff you back in that overpriced rental and kick your ass all the way back to the airport.”

The challenge hung in the air as Frank stared at Micah. His chest moved in steady breaths then he slammed the car door shut and moved to the front of the vehicle. “I am here on behalf of my Pack to discuss the living arrangements of Curtis’ heir, Micah. In case you have any doubt, I’m talking about Talia Genaro, Shelly Genaro’s child.”

Before Micah could speak, Frank continued. “I’m as shocked as you are. But we need to talk, you and I. The Pack wants Talia at the mansion to rear as our own.”

Without thinking, Micah charged Frank. Grabbing Frank by the lapels of his suit, he raised the other man a few inches off the ground so that their faces were level. Nose to nose, he snarled, “You have lost your ever-loving mind, Frank and you could lose your life. Talia is my goddaughter-no, she is my daughter. Shelly gave me custody. Now get off my land and out of my territory.”

Micah bit out the last words in careful pieces as if Frank might misunderstand the importance of what he was saying. Not letting go of the suit, Micah backed Frank up.

“She is mine. Do not even think about pulling anything like kidnapping her or harming her in any way. If any other Turn Skins set foot on my property, I will shoot them dead.”

He knew exactly what affront he’d offered. To shoot another shifter without a fair fight animal to animal was a grave insult but Micah didn’t care. Nothing and no one, especially not those lowlife Turn Skins, will harm my daughter. It shook him to the bone to realize that he considered Talia his as though he’d created her with Shelly.

Surely she hadn’t slept with Curtis-not sweet, gentle Shelly. She’d refused to talk about Talia’s father. Said things would never work out between them so she’d declined the offer to be his mate. It couldn’t be. And the Turn Skins were ultimately responsible for Shelly’s death. The Alpha bitch at the time, Maggie, had truly killed her, but none of the rest of that Pack had tried to stop her.

Micah glared at the shifter in his grip. The fact that Frank had not fought back, only grabbed Micah’s wrists was telling. As if he had too much to lose by letting Micah throw him off the land. He relaxed his grip, eliciting a sigh from Frank.

“Look. You don’t think I’d fly to Minnesota and then drive four hours into the middle-of-fucking-nowhere Wisconsin in the freezing-ass winter just to fuck with you, do you? Do you really think I value my life that little? Let us come in out of this ridiculous cold and sit down to discuss this like civilized beings, Micah.”

Frank pushed himself back from Micah and brushed at the lapels of his suit. “Can’t believe you wrinkled my suit. Do you have any clue how much this cost me? Now can we go in? It’s too cold out here even for my shifter blood.”

“We?” Micah’s nose twitched as two others exited the car. A human male and-Micah took another deep breath-a shifter female stood at the front of the vehicle. His nostrils flared as he took in her scent.

“Julia? You’ve gone to the Turn Skins?” Turning his head slightly to look at the classy blonde were-leopard, he wondered if he was losing his mind. “Does Tony know you’re here?”

“Tony is the one who suggested I come, Micah. He heard about this situation and asked me to intervene.” Julia came forward to take his hand. He stared into her concerned green eyes. “I’ve looked over the paperwork and it’s not good. Judge Lowery appointed me guardian ad litem at my request and Tony’s. I’ve left several messages on your voicemail. You should have known we were coming and why.”

A fist clenched relentlessly around Micah’s heart. Tony Pantera, his closest friend in New Orleans, knew about this? Why hadn’t he called? Then he remembered Gareth mentioning the messages. Only he’d been too immersed in losing Olivia. Had his losing control cost him his daughter as well? Micah waved a hand toward the lodge then followed the three into the warmth of the kitchen.

Once inside, he signaled a watchful Gareth to go upstairs and keep Talia out of sight. Gareth hadn’t finalized his plans to leave yet, but it was only a matter of time. Micah had asked him to stay until spring. Luckily they’d worked out a few signals in case silence was necessary.

Gareth gave a short nod, lips curling in disgust at the scent of his former Pack as he backed up the staircase. Micah waited until he was out of sight before pointing to the chairs.

“Sit. Get to the point. I have better things to do than listen to the lies of a Turn Skin.”

Frank surged to his feet but Julia placed a well-manicured hand on his arm. “Sit, wolfboy. Let me handle this.”

Micah felt some amusement at the look on Frank’s face at being coolly ordered to heel like he was a pet dog. But the Turn Skin leader sat even as he snarled at Julia. “Then state your piece, kitty-girl, and be thankful I don’t chow down on you.”

“I don’t do interspecies dating, Frank.” Julia flipped her hair over a slim shoulder as she turned to face Micah.

“Micah, this is serious and this is real. It’s an Alpha emergency that you ignored. Now the courts have made their initial decision and Talia is to go back to New Orleans with Frank.”

Micah would have come across the table if it hadn’t been Julia. As it was, his fists clenched until his knuckles cracked. He knew her and trusted her work as a top-notch criminal litigator. Added to that, Tony had asked her to come-that alone made his stomach threaten to rebel. If Tony had become this involved this quickly, he really had done himself no favors by ignoring the phone calls from New Orleans. As Julia continued to speak, her words seemed to reverberate in his brain. Talia. Turn Skins. Compound. Loss. Loss. Loss. How much more did they expect him to endure? His mate was gone, and now they wanted to strip him of his child as well?

Julia finished her statements and waited. The silence in the kitchen jerked him out of his tail-chasing spin. Reading the documents she placed in front of him, Micah tried to find a loophole, an escape clause, anything that wouldn’t result in Talia being taken away from him today. Not today-not ever. He didn’t think he had the strength to watch another love leave. But there were no outs, no places for him to run on this one.