Moira Rogers - Impulse

Thirteen months earlier

Try to relax, sweetheart.

Sera curled her fingers around the edge of the stool and studied the spell caster in front of her. Shed never met Jackson Holt before, but shed heard enough stories. He was trustworthy and solid, and he carried the scent of a shapeshifter on his skin. A cat, maybe a lion or cougar, though both breeds were so rare she couldnt be sure.

Whichever it was, Jackson was clearly a man who understood shapeshifters. He smiled easily and waited like he had no place else to be, and it made it possible for her to take deep breaths and bring instinct under control. Im okay. Just had a long night.

You bet. His lazy tone betrayed nothing, but his mouth firmed into a tense line.

No mysteries there. The throbbing in her face had settled into a dull ache, but one of her eyes had begun to swell. Jackson could play casual all he wanted, but he couldnt look at her without seeing a victim.

None of them would, not until the bruises were gone. Im ready.

You sure? Its not going to be a walk in the park for you. His voice held the steely ring of harsh, necessary truth.

Not merely a victim. Weak. Im ready, she said again, trying to put force behind the words.

I can handle it, I promise.

The door closed, startling her. Hes worried youll freak out, said a new voice. Sera leaned to one side and saw Julio, the doctors brother. The one who possessed all the edgy power of a dominant, dangerous shifter but none of the disdain shed come to expect from wolves.

He stepped deeper into the room and shoved his hands into his pockets. If your dad hears you, hell try to come running, and hell hurt himself.

Her dad was in an operating room somewhere, being prepared for hours of painful surgery.

He needed herbut he needed her whole. One glimpse at her face and hed crawl on his broken legs back to Arkansas, back to Josh, and finish the job shed started.

So shed get her face fixed. Shed stay quiet. Shed be there for her father in a way she hadnt been in years.

She couldnt quite bring herself to meet Julios eyes, but resting her gaze on his chin felt safe enough. Respectful, nothing that could be interpreted as a challenge. Im not going to freak out. Im stronger than I look. And shed had to say those words so many times tonight she was starting to doubt them. For them to have a hope of being true, someone had to believe her.

He watched her silently until her gaze skipped up to his, just for a moment. Then he smiled a little. Yeah, you are. Youre going to be fine.

It wasnt a question. Wasnt even a statement. The words were a command, backed by magic and power, and all the parts of her that werent strong twisted in on her, eager to obey.

It didnt matter that he was a wolf and she was a coyote, or that he was a stranger and she was so emotionally drained she was practically numb.

Julio Mendoza was dominant, and she was

Fine, Sera whispered, closing her eyes. Im going to be fine.

And Ill be here to help you, he murmured.

He had a voice you could fall into. A soft hint of a Southern accentthe pretty Hollywood kind, not the backwoods drawl she lapsed into at her worst moments. When the magic started, it could be good to have something to concentrate on. Can you tell me what happened to my father? While Jackson fixes my face, I mean.

Okay. The wizard touched her cheek and a low buzz of magic gathered, but Julios steady voice drowned it out. There was an explosion at the clinic. He was hurt, but Carmen and I-Carmen, thats my sister. Remember her?

Her skin felt too tight. She fidgeted uncomfortably but forced herself to focus on Julios question. Yes. She seemed nice.

Great, shes got you snowed too. His amusement faded. We were there. Your father was hurt, but Carmen was able to stabilize him until we could get him and Lily out of there.

You helped save Pain splintered through her, and the rest of her words disappeared in a hissed breath. Her coyote stirred, nervous and fretful, but her instinct wasnt to fight.

Its what I do. Closer now, and she realized hed walked over to stand beside her. Pulling people out of wrecked and burning buildings isnt anything special. My typical Thursday night.

A firefighter? Her face ached. Jacksons magic wound tighter, and she let it. A stronger shapeshifter wouldnt have been able to quell panic and the urge to flee, but if there was one thing she was good at, it was bending to someone elses will.

Thats right. Julios hand closed around hers.

She didnt need his comfort, but she liked it. It soothed the battering press of instinct and eased the sting of fear.

Julio was safe, and that made him dangerous. The bruises on her face were a harsh lesson about the perils of blind submission to instinct. Strong men with strong magic could soothe and woo and build pretty cages, and shed always end up trapped, no matter how much she liked it.

Even now, with her own blood on her clothing and a controlling husband turned abusive asshole out to get hereven now, with her life in shambles

Oh, she could drown in Julios magic. If she threw herself on his mercy, hed catch her. He wouldnt be able to help himself. Hed wrap her up like a princess, and it wouldnt even be about men and women and sex. It would be another chance to hide from the world, just like shed done at seventeen when shed let Josh coax her away from school and family with whispered promises of being safe and cherished forever.

She wasnt a princess, and it was time to grow up. Even if the first step was staying the hell away from men like Julio Mendoza.

Something was wrong.

The skin on the back of Julios neck prickled, and he stood in the middle of the first-floor kitchen of the council warehouse, trying to put his finger on it. The place was quietalmost silent, in fact, save for the low mechanical hum of the refrigerator. Andrew was out of town, everything was shut down for the night, nothing.

No one.

His unease grew, and he slid open a kitchen drawer and withdrew the Glock 23 he kept on hand. A quick check confirmed it was loaded, and he chambered a round as he crept out into the cavernous main area of the first floor. Still only silence, then the prickle exploded into nausea, and his single deep breath preceded a loud noise.

Two door-rattling knocks, a pause and two more. A familiar voice, laced with tight pain. Let me in, Mendoza, or Ill bleed to death on the sidewalk.

Shit. Julio tucked the pistol in the back waistband of his jeans and hurried to open the door.

Jesus, Patrick. What He fell inside, and Julios tension ratcheted up a notch. Whatd you get into this time?

Shifters. Patrick righted himself, but his leather jacket gaped open far enough to show a rough bandage wrapped around his upper arm. Never expected the bastard to pull a gun. The rogue fuckers usually like teeth and claws.

Can you blame us? Julio asked shortly, lifting Patricks good arm around his neck. Its damn hard to drop either of those, and they dont jam. It makes a bullet one hell of a surprise, though.

Lucky for me, my guns bigger.

Yeah? Next time, work on using it first. Worry laced the words, but Julio couldnt help it.

The sick scent of blood filled the air, strong enough to make him wonder if this would be the time he couldnt patch his friend up.

Patrick laughed, a borderline-crazy sound that ripped through the stillness. Nice to know you care.

It would have been easier to laugh if it wasnt the fourth time in five months hed shown up, ripped to pieces and almost manic. Youre going to get your ass killed, Patrick.