Marilu Mann - Changing Focus

Sitting up he thanked the years of surveillance that had taught him to grab sleep no matter what was going on. Feeling as rested as a few hours could make him, he put in an order for room service and got in the shower.

The remnants of his meal were being wheeled out when Tony poked his head in the door. “Ready?”

Micah glanced around the room to make sure he had everything and headed down to the car where a familiar blonde woman and a short brunette male waited. “Carly, Nolan, it is good to see you.”

Nolan threw his arms around Micah, hugging him fiercely before stepping back. “I had to come see you, Micah. I won’t go onto the grounds with you, but I’ll be waiting for word. You need to come by Animalia before you go home. I know, bring Talia in for dessert after the hearing. I’m sure I can whip up something she’ll like.”

Micah smiled and put a hand on Nolan’s shoulder. “Thank you, little brother. You can be sure we’ll stop by the club before we go home. I’ve missed your étouffée.”

Nolan grinned and stepped back, giving his place to Tony’s mate who also wrapped Micah in a tight hug before touching his face with one cool hand and looking straight into his eyes.

Dr. Carly Pantera smiled gently. “It’s good to see you and I wish it were under better circumstances, Micah. You need to stop by New Orleans more often. Enough of that, now let’s go get your daughter.”

The cool determination of the human did more to build Micah’s confidence than anything else the day had brought so far. She’d faced the Compound Pack under the misguided angry rule of Slade, so for her to willingly return was a statement of her loyalty and courage. She and Tony were indeed well matched.

Thinking back over their combined past with the Turn Skin Pack, Micah still marveled at the changed wolf that Slade was. His tiny human wife had turned him around completely. He wasn’t nearly as angry or bloodthirsty as he’d been then. By the same token, Micah also understood the pain that held his friend Nolan. The Turn Skins had killed his mate, Derik, and he still struggled with anger against them. Nolan waved as they got into the car to head to the hearing site. Looking out the back window, Micah watched Nolan’s head drop as he turned to cross the street to his own car.

The trip to the compound was quiet with each lost in their thoughts. Micah tried to imagine his world without Talia. Though she hadn’t been with him for long, his life had become so much more vibrant with her in it. The fact that she and Olivia had come to him so close together, a mate and a child to bring up, making them an immediate family, had to be a sign from the gods that they were truly meant to be together. The sobering vision solidified his decision to get his child back one way or the other. If he had to, he would steal her and disappear on one of the reservations.

He knew his way around reservations, having grown up on one, and knew he could easily take Talia and no one would ever find them. Those who lived on the reservations wouldn’t tolerate interference from outsiders and he could go far enough away that no shifter would ever find them. Shaking his head, Micah pushed those thoughts aside. He didn’t want that for Talia, though, to live in shadows and fear. He wanted to bring her home, hear her laughter ringing through his home and be able to tuck her in at night and watch her grow. First he had to get his daughter, then together, maybe they could convince Olivia that she belonged with them too.

Tony turned into the familiar drive. Micah nodded as he noticed the shifters guarding the gate. Though they wore security company uniforms, he knew they were members of the Pack living here. Their scent alone confirmed that fact. The men suffered a brief pat-down search and when one of the guards turned toward Carly, Tony couldn’t stop snarling at him as his wife was subjected to the same. Only her quiet reassurance held him back. Micah didn’t even feel the body scan. His every fiber was set on getting into the house and getting this hearing over and done with. My daughter belongs with me.

Search completed, the guards told them the hearing was in the great room of the white mansion. Carly reached for Tony’s hand and he brought it up to his mouth for a brief kiss. Micah wasn’t sure who was comforting whom and wished he had the support of a loyal mate as he walked through the doors of what had most recently been hell.

“Can you get me to this address?” Olivia shoved the paper under the nose of the cab driver.

He nodded and tossed her carryon on the backseat. She watched the city change from modern to quaint to narrow row houses and then to large spacious holdings as the cab took her to the place Gareth said the hearing was. Clutching her purse, she flexed her fingers, trying to relieve some of the tension.

Climbing out of the cab, Olivia didn’t wait for the driver to unload her bag, she yanked it out of the car herself. She pushed too much money at him and faced the guards at the gate. Guards. Why are there guards? Shaking the useless worry away, she strode up to the gate.

“I’m here for Talia Genaro’s hearing.”

One of the men lifted his head scenting the air. “You smell like one of us but I don’t know you and you aren’t on my list. If you want in, you need to show what you are.”

Olivia gasped. “What? You want me to change here in the open?”

The man scoffed as he pointed toward a small guardhouse. Jerking a finger at it, he clipped out, “Go change in there if you are shy. No one is going to see you out here but Pack anyway.”

A statue might have been more mobile than Olivia in that moment. Her feet had frozen to the ground. Surely her heart had stopped beating as well. There was no way she could shift. She’d sworn to never turn from human to wolf again.

I can’t do this. I have to do this. Micah needs me. Struggling with her fear was only half of it. Olivia swallowed heavily. What if she failed? What if she couldn’t shift? Would these men harm her? Would Micah lose Talia because she was too scared to try?

Olivia, get a grip right now. You are going to walk over there and do this. She remembered the freedom she’d felt as a wolf. And she thought about how much she had wanted to stay in that form that first time. Now her fears were twofold. If she did manage to shift to wolf, could she shift back? Micah had been there to help her-to encourage her-both times.

A tear tracked down Olivia’s face as she opened the door to the small building. If she couldn’t help Micah, he might lose the child he loved. And, if she allowed her heart to open that much, the child she cherished as well. She loved him too much to let that happen. It was time for her to overcome her terror and embrace the beast inside her.

Stepping inside, she laid her tailored jacket on the desk and followed it with her skirt. The rest of her clothing followed, then Olivia stood there shivering in the damp air. Focusing on the feeling she’d had before when shifting from wolf to human, Olivia closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

And nothing happened.

Her eyes flew open in horror to see her well-manicured nails in front of her instead of furry paws. Squinting her eyes shut again, Olivia tried to will herself into wolf form again and on opening her eyes again, was still met with her human self. Pacing in the small room did little to alleviate her fears. She could feel her heartbeat increasing and in spite of the chill in the air and her nudity, she felt sweat starting to break out on her forehead.

“Monster.” She whispered the word to herself. Clenching her teeth and her fists, Olivia strode back across the room. For so long she’d kept her fears about the monster living in her body at bay-through therapy, medication, meditation and everything else she could think of or had heard about. To consciously reach for that monster…