Marilu Mann - Changing Focus

Her breath shuddered as she tried to suck in a lungful of air. Slade growled softly, but when he spoke, she heard pain in his voice. “Now I want to ask you, how long can you run until you don’t have anywhere else to go? You’re one of us, how long is it going to take you to accept that? You marked Micah as your mate, Olivia. You let him mark you as his. Now you’re condemning him to be alone, to be in pain for a very long time and you don’t give a shit.”

“That’s not true.” Olivia got deftly to her feet, unwilling to let him intimidate her. “I do care for Micah. I care more than you could possibly know. But I’m not like you.”

“Bullshit. You’re a shifter. You’re a wolf.” He laughed softly, but there wasn’t any real humor in it. “Hell, you’re a real Alpha bitch, even if you don’t acknowledge it.”

He leaned forward then gave a short bark of laughter. “Think about this, your staff is scared shitless of you, none of them will cross you, especially when you’re on the rag or just pissed about something. You’ve scared the shit out of men twice your size, gotten them to back down from you when there’s an issue you’re really passionate about, and if you ask them, they’ll tell you it’s something about your eyes.” At that, Slade’s eyes started to glow.

Olivia watched, fascinated and angered at the same time. “Get out.”

“Not fucking likely, babe, not until you hear what I’ve got to say.”

“I’ve heard what you’ve said. You’re telling me I’m a shifter, like you. The same thing Micah told me. I refuse to accept that.”

“Refuse to accept it?” Mockery clear in his tone, Slade lunged to his feet, leaning over the desk so they were face-to-face. “You can’t refuse something that’s an integral part of yourself, Olivia. You can’t refuse to be a shifter. You can refuse to be stupid, but you damn sure can’t deny your own nature.”

He growled-a dark, contemptuous sound. “Try it. Take off that starched shirt and change your life. You don’t have a clue what true freedom is, what true power is. Micah offers you his life, his world and you’re throwing that away for this? You’re content to stay in this stinking concrete jungle when you could be so much fucking happier in the middle of the woods with someone who loves you? You’re fucking stupid.”

“I am not stupid.” They were both breathing hard. Olivia felt anger rise up inside her. Black emotion roiled just beneath her skin, clawing to get out. She wanted to lunge at him, to bite and tear. To make him back down and leave her alone.

Before that feeling would have sent her running to the medicine cabinet or the shrink. This time she didn’t cower away from it. She didn’t reach for pills like she would have. Instead she met his eyes dead on. She stood her ground.

He held her gaze. His lips twisted as he rasped out. “Prove it. Strip and shift.”

“Get out.” Olivia picked up her phone. “I’m calling Security.”

“Don’t bother. Just do the man a favor and release him from the mating. He won’t accept it, but do it anyway.” Slade stormed back to the office door. He yanked it open then turned to face her again. “Micah deserves better than you. And he needs to be free of you so he can focus what energy he’ll have after that on getting his kid back. If not for him, do it for Talia.”

He exited, slamming the door behind him. Olivia sank down into her chair, shaking. She replaced the phone in the cradle, folded her arms on her desk, put her head down and sobbed.

A few minutes later, she sat up, wiping her face. Slade was right. The past two weeks she’d felt like she was walking through a fog. Micah did deserve better from her-better than her.

With that in mind, Olivia picked up her phone again. “Kim, get me a flight to Minneapolis, Minnesota, please and book me a car with four-wheel drive. I’m taking some personal time. I’ll let you know how long I’ll be gone no later than tomorrow.”

Setting the phone down, Olivia replayed Slade’s last words. What had he said about Talia? Talia was gone? She snatched the phone back up and dialed a number she’d partially been punching in for several days. This time she hit the last number and let it ring.

When Gareth answered, her heart broke again as he filled her in on what had happened to Talia. Olivia’s mind raced-Talia needed to be with Micah as much as Micah needed that child. With a determined thank-you, Olivia hung up the phone then dialed her assistant again.

“Kim, cancel that Minneapolis flight. I’m going to New Orleans. I’ll still need a car but you can cancel the four-wheel drive.”

Micah shook his head as he helped Joie pick up luggage. They’d needed special assistance to get on and off the plane but Joie acted as if it were old hat. He supposed it was to her but he found it nerve-racking. All he wanted to do was to get to the hotel and then meet with his lawyers.

Two days before he could get in front of the judge. Not even having a shifter judge could take away the heavy case load. His lawyers had done everything they could and he supposed that in the legal world, this had been lightning fast.

Micah grabbed the twins, one under each arm, and headed out the door to hail a cab. A sharp whistle got his attention. The sight of the small, plump woman flagging him down from the old boat of a car was a welcome one.

“Kay, it’s good to see you. I wish the circumstances were better.” He released the wiggling children into the care of their great-godmother and turned to find Joie on his heels.

“ Tante , sorry for the short notice. Here’s Emil. You kids behave now or I’ll feed you to the gators when I get home.” Gales of laughter gave proof to her parenting skills. Micah leaned down to Kay who bussed him on the cheek.

“Shaman, what you done got yourself into is not as bad as you think. I’ll be praying for you and that woman of yours.” Tante Kay gave him a wink and slipped back in behind the wheel.

“Joie, you tell that rascal of yours my boat needs a tune-up when he gets back, now, you hear? Now we’re going home and out of this noisy city.”

Micah got in line for a cab. All he wanted right now was to be back in the frigid Wisconsin weather. This so-called Louisiana cold didn’t qualify. He shrugged out of his leather jacket with a curse. Where had his life gone so wrong? From the carefully planned retirement to this insane grief he felt, Micah wondered if he was losing his mind.

Pain shook him. He needed Olivia badly. It wasn’t right for new mates to be apart. The bonding energy might never complete its cycle. He knew where she was though so that much of the bond had taken. Had hers? Did she feel him under her skin the way he did? Clenching his fist, Micah turned away from Joie so she wouldn’t see his anguish.

Finally they were next in line at the cab stand. Handing Joie in, he helped the driver load the luggage. Once he gave the address for the hotel, Micah leaned back with a sigh. His phone vibrating in his pocket jolted him out of his reverie.

“Why aren’t you here?”

Micah sighed into the phone. “Tony, I’m going to a hotel. I’m in no mood to be around others. You and Carly enjoy each other. I have to do this on my own. Thanks.”

Joie laid a hand on his shoulder. “Are you sure that’s a good thing? You know Slade and Tony have worked out their differences.”

“Yeah, I know, Joie, but I don’t want to bring them in on this. Carly’s trying to get her own clinic going and they’ve got the baby to rear. And I don’t want you in this either. I let you come with me because I knew I couldn’t stop you. But I can and I am putting my foot down here. This is my battle. Let me fight it on my own.”