Shift of the Wild (Shifter Lords #7)

Chapter 1

Chapter

One

My fingers and toes grew roots, reaching deep into the fertile soil, fortifying me, and in return, I pulsed nurturing magic back—the way of Earth, to give and to receive.

Tulips and hellebore rose up through the ground, followed by bright yellow daffodils and lilacs.

Vines dotted with lovely blue flowers curled around my arms and legs, and fragrant flowers sprouted throughout my hair.

I’d forgotten how much I loved it here. Seattle was my original stomping grounds, and I’d done my best to put the place out of my mind after everything that happened with my divorce and attack in Scotland.

Rowan lived about two hours away from Seattle, closer to the national park and away from most of the hustle and bustle of a major city.

But if I wanted a little hustle and bustle, all I had to do was get in the car and drive a little bit to find some.

Not that I ever wanted any of that, but knowing I could find some was nice.

Rowan’s territory stretched across Washington, Oregon, and parts of Idaho and Alaska, creeping a little into Canada, too.

The same land happened to butt up against the territory I’d inadvertently claimed from Donovan.

Even though the other Lords were still sniffing around, trying to find a way to wrest the Great Plains from me, they wouldn’t be able to.

They were Lords made by man and might. I was something entirely different—a steward of the earth.

No one could claim the property I held unless I purposely let it go.

While I had zero desire to rule, I did have other plans for the land now that Caelan and I had severed our relationship. I thought about expanding his territory at one time, but after the events of a month ago, I’d never been so relieved I hadn’t.

Trees rose in a crest behind me, the snow-capped tip of Mount Rainier peeking above the evergreens.

Rowan’s personal land spread for 1,500 acres and backed up to the national forest, ensuring the Lord would never have to deal with expansion on or near his lands.

The place was preserved and pristine, the waters flowing cold and crystal clear.

Wildlife of all kinds freely roamed, snakes and stunning birds, bears and deer, elk, cougars, coyotes, and foxes.

A few weeks ago, I had an encounter with a fox who stared at me curiously for a bit, then wandered over and curled up on my lap.

Too hesitant to touch it, I cried a little at the beauty of the experience and questioned why he’d done it.

Rowan told me he had an agreement with all the animals on his lands.

He was happy to share, provided they never interfered with his pack or trespassed too close to the house.

I’d stared at him for a while, thinking he was shitting me, but when Rowan didn’t crack a smile or elaborate, my thoughts had turned more contemplative. Few could talk to the animals, and none of them was a Lord.

A massive bear lumbered over and flopped down beside me with a moody huff.

The first time he’d done it, I almost shit myself.

Seeing a wolf in the wild was one thing.

A shifter in wolf form was even larger. But seeing an 800-pound grizzly bear walking over to you all casual like was enough to make every muscle in my body tighten, and my brain to start flashing a danger alarm.

Grizzlies were already massive, but they tended to stop around five or six hundred pounds, unless you were in Alaska. Bear shifters, like wolves and swans, were much larger in their animal forms.

I buried my fingers in the soft ruff of his neck and scratched in the place I knew he liked. Rowan groaned and turned his head to allow me greater access. “Softie,” I murmured.

Wicked claws scratched in the dirt as I hit his favorite spot.

Unretractable claws, I found out later. Terrifying and hard on wooden floors, as I learned when Rowan in grizzly form snuck into the kitchen one night for the fresh-baked bread his grandmother had made, only for the poor woman to scream bloody murder and chase him outside with a broom.

His Keep was chaotic in a good way, full of warmth and love.

Caelan held loyalty, but it was different from the loyalty Rowan held.

I couldn’t explain why or how, but I felt different here.

Maybe it was the land, maybe it was the deepening friendship between us, but…

I was almost jealous of what he’d built here.

Caelan could learn some lessons from the younger Lord.

I lifted my hand and coaxed some vines to the surface, instructing them to cover Rowan’s body. Once the massive bear was dotted with multicolored flowers, I whipped out my cell and took several pictures, laughing as Rowan gently swiped at my hand.

The sound of footsteps revealed Simone and Garrett, both who’d come at Rowan’s invitation a couple of weeks ago.

Thalia was somewhere inside, probably with her nose buried in a book or undertaking some kind of new crafting project she’d do for a week and discard until something else new and shiny caught her eye.

Simone snorted at the sight of Rowan covered in flowers, and Garrett rolled his eyes, though amusement sparkled in the amber depths. He tossed a cloth bag close to Rowan’s head.

“Everything okay?” I asked as Simone lowered herself to sit beside me.

“Fine,” she assured me. “We got a call a little while ago and wanted to talk to you.”

Rowan shifted in a flash of light. I averted my eyes as he reached for the bag and hurriedly dressed.

“Moira has an idea,” Garrett said slowly. “We wanted to see what you thought about it.”

“And Rowan,” Simone said. “Since her plan will directly affect his territory.”

“I’m all ears,” Rowan said as he sat back down beside me, dressed in a sweatshirt and an old pair of jeans. He tossed me an extra pair of wool socks and unfolded another pair for himself.

“Moira told us the situation in Joy Springs has become untenable,” Garrett began.

Rowan stiffened, but I’d been waiting for this since the moment he’d taken me out of Joy Springs.

I swallowed hard and nodded. “Is she alright?”

Simone reached over and squeezed my hand.

“She’s fine. So are Ash and Tess. There haven’t been any direct attacks, not with your mother and father keeping watch.

But they’re struggling to get supplies in, and the customer traffic has died down by seventy percent.

Most who come in now are tourists, but it’s not enough to sustain the business. ”

“He paid someone off to lose your shipments or refuse to do business with you.” Rowan’s voice was cold with fury.

“And the locals are afraid to anger him by patronizing my shop. It was only a matter of time,” I said sadly. “We all knew he wouldn’t leave this alone. Caelan doesn’t like losing.”

Garrett’s expression darkened. “He’s playing dirty pool.”

“Your shop is your dream,” Rowan said quietly. “I—I can step in if you’d like.”

I shot him a sad smile. As much as I longed for it to be forever, I’d been living and dreaming on borrowed time.

“No. I knew I’d never be able to stay forever.

Not only because of Caelan. I didn’t even know him until last year.

My Chimera heritage makes it difficult to stay in one place.

The tattoos helped the power fluctuations but… ” I trailed off.

Everyone’s eyes drifted to my arm. My sweater covered the damaged tattoos, destroyed by Lugh in an effort to get me to shift and reveal myself.

Hazel could have fixed them, but they were there to help me control my Chimera, something I’d already learned to do for the most part.

In the past, I used the tattoos to suppress my other form because I was terrified.

Things were different now. After everything happened, everyone knew what I was by now, so there was no use suppressing anything anymore.

Only a few people knew where I’d gone. I suspected Caelan knew exactly where I was.

Rowan hadn’t been circumspect in carrying me away from Joy Springs, but so far, no one had tried to destroy the peace I’d so desperately needed.

“You can fix them,” Rowan said with a nod to the tattoo. “It would buy you more time in a new place.”

Simone smiled sadly. “About that…Moira suggested moving the shop.”

Rowan stilled. “Did she now.”

“Her exact words were, ‘The PNW is a nice place this time of year, and flowers are the universal love language’.”

“She wants to move the shop to my territory,” Rowan mused.

I blinked in surprise. Moira never had a problem with asking for exactly what she wanted. “Oh, Rowan. I’m sorry. I’ll let her know—”

The Lord held up a hand. “Hold on. This is not something I haven’t already thought of, but you will have to upend your life. And who knows if you’d want to stay here anyway. This territory is vastly different from where you came from.”

Simone’s lips twitched. We both knew Caelan had run a thorough background check on me. Knowing Rowan hadn’t was refreshing.

“Not quite,” I told him.

At Rowan’s raised eyebrows, I laughed. “I’m from here. Sort of. As much as someone like me can be from anywhere in this realm. Well, not here exactly, but a couple of hours away.”

Rowan stared at me for a long moment. “How did I not know someone of your power level was living in my territory?”

He didn’t sound angry, more thoughtful than anything.

“Mom had her ways, but I was young and never made waves. Why would you have concerned yourself with a lone Floromancer?”

“I like to know everyone living in my territory,” Rowan grumbled.

“I wasn’t even in high school,” I said with a laugh. “And don’t tell me you know every single person living in the population of four states and part of another country. You’re just upset you let me slip into Joy Springs.”

Rowan pinned me with those hazel eyes. I never realized how much green his eyes held, and how they sometimes glittered like pieces of emerald. “I could have stopped much of your heartache.”

My chest tightened. I opened my mouth to speak but snapped it shut when I couldn’t find the words.

Garrett cleared his throat, shattering the moment. “It’s not a bad idea if Rowan approves. His land has always been peaceful, and you’d be shielded by another Lord.”

“I don’t need a Lord’s protection,” I said automatically.

“No one said you do,” Rowan said, still watching me. “Consider me an added shield in place. The Lords will hesitate to strike at you here, and so will anyone else. I’ve always been on good terms with the fae, even if I find your father to be mostly insufferable.”

Garrett snorted.

Moving. I hadn’t thought of moving back here since I left all those years ago. But the land called to my power. Every piece of earth called to me, but there was something about the PNW that made my soul feel rested. “You’d allow me to move into your territory?”

Rowan grinned. “Move back apparently. Since you were here once and I had no idea.”

“Are there rules for shop owners?”

His brow furrowed. “Rules?”

“Turning over income to the Lords, background checks. Things like that?”

Rowan looked at Garrett. “What the fuck, man.”

Garrett held his hands up. “I was in charge of security.”

The Lord sighed. “No other rules besides what a normal city requires for the establishment of a new business. You do not have to tithe to me, Evie. I am not the church.”

“Is there an open spot in the downtown area?”

“I’ll have to check. Emberwood Falls does not often have openings come available, but I’m sure we could work something out if you want to stay.”

Garrett and Simone rose. “Moira wants to visit soon. Call her back this evening. She has more to tell you.” Simone touched my shoulder and nodded to Rowan before walking away, Garrett trailing behind her.

Rowan’s gaze followed them. “Is it strange having Caelan’s people with you?”

“They’re sworn to me with a fae blood oath, so their loyalty is mine. But yes, it is odd having them by my side. Not too long ago, they were utterly loyal to Caelan. Sometimes I wonder if they itch to call and tell him everything.”

Rowan smiled and lay back on the crisp grass. “What would they tell him? That you’ve stopped crying over him and that you’ve become thoroughly infatuated with another handsome and intriguing Lord?”

I snorted and nudged him with my bare foot. “Are you serious about me staying?”

He rolled onto his side and plopped his head onto his hand. “Like I said before. You can stay forever if you’d like.”

“I’m a lot of trouble.”

His lips twitched. “You lived in Caelan’s territory for years without a peep. None of us knew who you were. If I recall, it was your good deed that got the Lord interested.” His eyes glittered. “Thinking back, I almost wonder if you should have let the self-righteous bastard die.”

I tugged on the socks Rowan had given me. “You don’t mean that. He’s one of your closest friends.”

Rowan said nothing for a long moment. “He treated you like you were shit on the bottom of his shoe. Your Lord moved another woman inside his Keep and claimed politics as a shield when you rightfully questioned him.”

When I opened my mouth, he held up a hand.

“Caelan’s Keep has multiple buildings he could have housed that vicious bitch in.

There are multiple ways to skirt the laws of good hospitality when it comes to the other Lords.

If he wasn’t smart enough to figure those out, especially when he had something as precious as you waiting, then that’s on him.

” He sighed and flopped back down. “You still defend his egregious behavior. When will you realize how horrific his actions were? Caelan hounded you and wore you down, and yes, while I know your feelings were valid, how much of this was proximity and not giving you time to figure things out on your own?”

I could have said a million things. My feelings were real; I had no doubt. But there were times I questioned the speed of our relationship and wondered if we were a comet meant to burn out when our trajectory changed.

“Before you mention Lugh, I think you need to examine everything in further detail,” Rowan drawled. “Yes, Lugh made Caelan see and hear things that weren’t there, but the magic never would have worked if Caelan hadn’t already had doubts.”

I sighed and lay beside him, curled onto my side. “You make him sound like a villain,” I murmured.

“Not a villain. Flawed. As we all are. But being flawed does not mean I would ever treat you that way.”

“If I were yours,” I clarified.

A pause, then a short nod. “If you were mine.”

We lay there in a mutual quiet for a while longer before Rowan rose without a word, shifting into bear form with a flash of light and lumbered away.

I didn’t bother waving. My mind was preoccupied with other things.

Caelan, my shop, and the potential of once more uprooting my life to move into another Lord’s territory.