Marilu Mann - Changing Focus

The exasperated sigh from his side told him this wasn’t going to be easy. “Micah, you can’t do this on your own. You told me on the plane that they were taking the lone wolf angle on this. Don’t you see you are setting yourself up to fail? Are you really as stubborn as Malcolm?”

The words hurt but Micah ignored the pain. He had to do this on his own. Talia was his and he would retrieve her. He’d make the judge see that he was not a lone wolf just because he refused leadership of a Pack. That didn’t matter, he couldn’t let it matter.

Finally he got to the hotel and left a very unhappy Joie in the cab. He’d paid the fare to take her back to LaPlace. The prepaid tip had guaranteed the cabbie’s agreement to the out-of-area drive.

Throwing his coat down, Micah tipped the bellhop and closed the door more firmly than necessary. All he wanted was a few moments of peace and quiet. He had to think. Had to get his head on straight. His phone buzzed again, denying him that silence he sought.

“Micah Keeps Vigil,” he barked the words into the phone. “What?”

As his lawyer delivered the hearing details, Micah felt his knees go out from under him. The bed protested as he sat down heavily and he wondered if the Great Spirit were testing him for some reason.

The hearing would be held at the compound. Fist balled, he slammed it into his thigh. This was bad, very bad. Using Louisiana law and shifter authority, the Compound Pack lawyers named the hearing site using a little-known law about child custody hearings being held in nonthreatening venues.

“Hell.” Micah bit off the curse as he stood up to pace the room. He had to think. This changed everything. Looking at the phone on his bed like it was a snake, he realized he had to call for help. With the hearing being held at the compound, the Turn Skins would be out in force. He needed the backing of his Pack in spite of his desire to do it all himself.

Growling, he resisted picking the cell up immediately, knowing from past experience that in this mood he might crush it into useless bits. Micah hit his leg again and winced. Bruising himself was not going to help this situation. He’d lost Olivia. He would not lose Talia and not to the Compound Pack.

With a deep breath, he pulled in as much calm as he could, forcing the overwhelming desire to shred something to flow out on the exhalation. Five of those cleansing intakes and releases allowed him to gain a modicum of calm. He picked up the phone and started methodically going through his phonebook.

By midnight Micah knew he’d have friends at the hearing but he didn’t know if it would be enough. If the judge deemed him a lone wolf, he knew he would never be able to rear Talia and it would be at the whim of the Compound Pack shifters whether or not he could even visit his child. My child. Mine. The thought reverberated through him shaking him to his core.

When had this all happened? He tried to look backward to see if he could fit the pieces together, but when Olivia’s face floated in his memory, he closed his eyes. Thinking of her only hurt-his heart as well as other unanswered desires his body still demanded.

Newly mated shifters had a honeymoon period for a reason and he’d been denied his. If he’d been a different kind of wolf, he might have been able to hit a bar or call an old friend here in New Orleans to find temporary relief. But Micah had never been that kind.

A soft knock at the door put him on full alert. Who could be at the door at this hour? A quick scenting brought a smile to his face. He opened the door and dragged the visitor in.

“Tony!” Micah pounded his friend on the back. “I told you not to come. You are such a cat. You don’t listen worth a damn.”

“ Dogs come when they’re called. Cats take a message.” The raven-haired man grinned as he quoted an old joke. “So what do we need to do to get ready for the day after tomorrow, Micah? Carly told me not to bother coming home until we had a strategy. She’d be here but she’s home with TJ.”

Micah let Tony distract him with tales of his terrible almost-one-year-old before pulling out a notepad. “Let’s draw it out, Tony. Like we used to.”

The two bent their heads together to begin to list every player involved as well as their angle. Once they knew why the Compound Pack wanted Talia, they could plan their attack.

At one point, close to three in the morning, Micah rubbed his neck and leaned back from the desk. Heaving a sigh, he looked at his friend.

“You know, life was certainly simpler when they kidnapped our people and we went in and kicked ass and took ours back.”

Tony shook his head. “Never thought I’d hear you say that, Micah, but you’re right. The Turn Skins are different these days. Hell, I don’t even call them that much anymore. They are the Compound Pack now. Frank’s done a damn good job of turning that Pack around. I’ve heard they are having some money issues though.”

Tony hit himself in the forehead. “That’s it, Micah. Money. I’ll bet Curtis left money to Talia and they want to control it.”

“Money? You think this is about money?” Micah growled fiercely. “They can have the money. I don’t need it. I can take care of Talia without that old bastard’s money.”

Snarling, he swept the notepad off the table as he jerked to his feet to pace angrily. Money? They’d taken his child for money? Rage built inside him until his ears rang from the pressure. A hand on his arm nearly threw him over the edge until he realized that Tony was still there.

“Micah, pull it together. We’re just speculating here. We don’t know why they want Talia. We can’t waste time worrying about what we don’t know.”

Slowly nodding his head, Micah tugged himself back to the hotel room. His wolf wanted to kill something-he couldn’t afford that energy expenditure right now. Sitting back at the table, Micah reached down to return the notepad to the table.

“We have a strategy. We know we have allies coming. Now we wait. So go home to your beautiful mate.” Micah heard his voice splinter. “And I’ll get what sleep I can. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Tony headed for the door, pausing with his hand on the knob. “Micah, I know you’re mated. I can smell it a mile away. I don’t know why she’s not here, but I’m guessing there’s a good reason?”

Micah sighed. “That’s a long story. Suffice it to say she doesn’t want to be what she is-a shifter. I can’t worry about her now though. She’s safe in her office in New York. I’ll deal with her once I get Talia back.”

“Shouldn’t she know about Talia, Micah?” Tony’s tone wasn’t harsh but the question lanced through Micah. He swept a hand through his hair and nodded.

“Probably but it’s too late now. I’ll tell her once this is all over and I have Talia back. Then I can work on bringing Olivia home.”

Tony nodded. “Okay, mon ami , you know what’s best, I guess. Get some rest.”

Micah flipped the privacy latch on the door after Tony left. Was he right? Did Olivia deserve to know about Talia? Mulling it over for a few moments, Micah realized he agreed with Tony. He picked up the phone and hoped Olivia was still an early riser.

When the call went straight to voicemail, Micah hung up without leaving a message. Then, cursing himself for a fool, he called back and left a short statement about what had happened. He told her he would call her when everything was straightened out. Even to himself he sounded like someone trying to convince themselves of a long shot happening.

Micah stretched out on the hotel bed. When his feet hung off the edge, he groaned and flipped to his side to draw them up. Closing his eyes firmly, he waited for sleep to come. He dozed fitfully until his alarm went off.