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But did she love him? Who was she
kidding? She fell in love with him when he crawled through a window and
searched her apartment for an intruder. Her own knight in shining armor.

Was it fair to him? she wondered.
What if she was more like her mother than she wanted to be? Already she could
read his thoughts—though the fact that he loved her came out of the blue.

Would he resent that down the
road? She wasn’t sure she wouldn’t, if their positions were reversed.

He probably thought the fact that
he could shapeshift played a part in her concern, and to be honest, it didn’t
even rank on her list of worries. It fascinated her, thrilled her. She’d read
about shapeshifters in fiction and had wished they could be real.

Would their children be able to
shift if they had any?

The thought was daunting.

With a sigh, she followed him
into the bedroom. She felt the chill as soon as she walked into the room.
“Cole?”

He turned to her, his brow rising
in silent inquiry.

“It’s me I’m not sure about. Not
you.”

He walked over to her. “Explain it
to me, then,” he said with steel in his voice and eyes.

He was frustrated. She didn’t
have to feel it or hear it in his tone to be sure. His eyes would have told
her, anyway. “Whatever ability this is that I have seems to be getting
stronger, Cole. I can already read your mind sometimes. I don’t see that going
away as we get to know each other more.”

He laughed at that. “So? I’m not
worried about that, Lana. It’s part of my attraction for you. And I think you
could train yourself to block it out, if it’s that much of an issue.” He
grabbed her hand. “I think we’re meant to be together. I don’t believe in
coincidence. I think we were meant to meet.”

Lana shivered. She’d been
wondering the same thing herself. “I do, too.”

He pulled her hand and brought
her against his body. “Give us a chance, Lana. If you don’t love me, that’s one
thing. And I know my being a shapeshifter is a lot to take in, but—”

Lana punched him. “It’s not that,
you idiot. I already love you!”

Cole brought her hand to his
mouth. “Don’t hit me. You’ll hurt yourself.”

She laughed now. “This is crazy.
You know that, right?”

He sobered. “No. It’s meant to
be. I feel it. We belong together.”

“Then we’ll see where this leads
us.”

“Good. Let’s get dressed and go.
If we hurry, Mom will have food ready. I’m hungry.”

“Are you always hungry?”

His eyes darkened. His smile,
slow, sly, and a little feral as he pulled her to him and kissed her hard and
deep. “Always.”

§§§

They drove to his parents’ home
in comfortable silence. Cole knew there had to be some connection between the
two of them, if not their families.

Finally, his childhood home came
into view. The better part of his life had been spent in the house.

He remembered the first time he’d
shifted. His parents had been utterly speechless. They had given him a good three-hour
lecture on the responsibility of it, too, he recalled, followed by numerous
warnings and reminders not to shift outside of the house.

He had, of course. How could an
eight-year-old be expected not to shift? It had been the coolest thing
since…whatever he had thought was cool back then.

As he pulled into the driveway,
he noticed the color of the house had changed. It had been white the weekend
before. His mom must’ve made his dad paint it finally. Looked good, he thought
with a slight nod as he put the car in park. He’d always loved blue.

“We’re here,” he announced.

As he unbuckled his seatbelt, he
saw her nod and swallow before looking at him. “You’re sure they’re not going
to mind an uninvited guest?”

He laughed. “No.” Knowing his
mother, she’d be ecstatic. “Come on, darlin’. Let’s see if we can’t get some
answers.”

Hand in hand, they walked to the
front door. Cole had just raised his hand to knock, but the door swung open
before his fist reached the door. “Cole!”

Cole grinned and released Lana’s
hand to pull his mother into his arms. “Hi, Mom. We came for breakfast—it’s not
too late, is it?”

Mrs. Thomas grinned. “It’s not
too late. Come on in. Who’s your lady friend?” she asked, her eyes bright with curiosity.

“Lana Summers. Lana, Claire
Thomas,” Cole said with a grin, slightly pushing her forward. He knew that
gleam in his mother’s eyes. She was already planning the wedding. “Dad around?”
he asked as his mother led them into the kitchen.

“He’s showering, I think.”

Cole nodded and sat next to Lana
at the table.

“You have a lovely home,” Lana
commented.

“Thanks. We like it,” she said
with a smile. It quickly disappeared as she turned her attention to Cole.
“What’s wrong?”

He grinned. “Maybe I just wanted
some home cooking?”

Claire glanced at Lana. “He’s a
stubborn boy. And a bit slow, thinking I don’t know when something’s wrong with
my boy.”

Lana smiled and looked at Cole.
“I agree completely.”

“Hey! Whose side are you on?”

She shot him a look of total
innocence. “Your mother’s, of course.”

He shook his head. Before he
could retort, his father walked into the kitchen.

“I thought I heard a loudmouth.”

“Hey, Dad,” Cole said. “Lana, my father,
William.”

The elder Thomas grinned. “Well,
nice to meet you.”

“Thanks,” Lana said, beaming.

“We need to ask you about an old
legend grandpa told me,” Cole explained as his father grabbed a cup of coffee.
Knowing his father, it was at least his third.

William’s eyebrow shot up. “What
legend?”

“She knows, Dad. There’s
trouble,” Cole said quietly.

William sat down next to his
wife. “Start at the beginning.”

Cole briefly outlined the
situation to his father. Lana remained silent. “So, now, I need to know what
you can remember about the old stories Grandpa used to tell about the shifter
that could vanish.”

Claire sat a bowl of eggs at the
table and two more place settings. “Cole, it’s a legend. You know that.
Shifters can’t disappear anymore than anyone else can.”

Something in her tone made him
question the truth of her statement, but he didn’t press it. Not yet.

“The one we ran across can,” Lana
said, finally speaking up.

Claire sighed. “William?” she
asked, her hands shaking as she sat down.

Cole caught the look his mother
exchanged with his father. “Okay, what’s going—”

“There’s a legend passed down
through the generations,” William began. “About an evil power that had been
thwarted by the Druids. The way I heard it, from my father is that there are
two pieces this…being is after. It’s with those pieces, and only those pieces,
that it can be destroyed.”

Cole looked at his mother, then
back to his father. “Two pieces?”

William nodded and sipped his
coffee. “Two pieces. No one’s sure what exactly those pieces are.”

“I need to find those pieces,”
Cole said in a rush. “This evil shifter—whatever he is—thinks Lana has them.
And if my theory is correct, her mother has already died for them.”

“Stay out of it, Cole. He can’t
be stopped.”

Cole gaped at his mother, shocked
by her words and vehemence. “Would you really expect me to leave her in
danger?” He paused. “Why do you say ‘he can’t be stopped’? You two believe this
legend, don’t you?”

“It’s not that we—”

“It’s okay, Claire,” William
interrupted. “Yes, we believe the legend. Rather, we started to believe in the
legend when we discovered you could shift.”

Cole frowned. “Why?”

William sighed heavily.
“Because,” he started, choosing his words carefully, “I—we believe you’re one
of the pieces.”

“Which would make Lana the second
piece.” He turned to her then, found her face expressionless.

“I can’t be,” she said simply.

“Why not?”

“If I’m one of the pieces, then
why wouldn’t he have come after me sooner? If he’s as powerful as the legends make
him out to be, he could have squashed me like a bug.”

William shook his head. “Not if
he doesn’t know you’re one of the pieces.”

“How couldn’t he know?” Lana
argued.

“I don’t think he knew what the
pieces were—just that there were two. The way I see it, if he knew, why would
he have waited so long? He could have, using your words, squashed you two like
bugs as children since you posed absolutely no threat, or at least any great
challenge. My only real guess is he thinks you’re connected to them, or can possible
lead him to them.”

Lana didn’t know how to respond
to that, Cole realized by the confused look on her face “Okay, so if he doesn’t
know yet, is it safe to assume he won’t figure it out? Or could the fact that
he doesn’t know work against us?”

William shook his head and
shrugged. “Honestly, son, I don’t know. But you need to be careful. If the
legend is true, and we’re right, you’re in for more danger than either of you
realizes.”

“Do you think he is just a
shifter?” Cole wanted to know.

His dad shrugged. “I don’t know,
to be honest. With that vanishing act, there really is no telling what he is.
Some say he’s a god of sorts—others say he’s one of the original shifters.”

“And where do you think the truth
lies?”

“Probably somewhere in the
middle. I’ve found that there’s usually some truth, even in lies.”

Claire stood and moved next to
Cole, grabbing his hands in hers. “You should just stay here, Cole. I don’t
want you in this.” When he shifted his gaze to Lana, his mother quickly amended
her statement and said, “And Lana, too. You both should stay here.”

“It won’t work,” Lana said. “If
it’s true, I don’t think it’ll matter where we are.”

“Why do you say that?”

“It—he—knows where I live. Knows
where my mother lived. If he can find me at those places, even if he wasn’t
some…god/shifter, he’s seen me with Cole. If he can’t find me at my home or
yours, this would be the next logical place to look, wouldn’t it be?”

Cole nodded solemnly. “It would
be.” He squeezed his mother’s hand, cast a glance at his father. “We can’t stay
here. She’s right. If we’re in danger, then we’ll handle it—if you’re right,
then we’re the only ones who can.” He turned to Lana now, the beautiful woman
he’d known only a couple of days, the woman he intended to marry. “We’ll stay
at my house.”

“William, do something. Say
something,” Claire insisted.

“He’s in this now, love. Whether
we want him to be or not.” He walked over, laid a hand on Claire’s shoulder and
Cole’s. “As your father, I want you safe. As a man, I understand the need to
protect what’s yours.” He eyed Lana. “I wish there was more I could do to assist,
something that might help you.”

“You’ve told us more than we
expected to find out.” He let go of his mother’s hand and walked to Lana,
taking her hand in his and giving it a gentle squeeze. “We’re in this together,
and that’s how we’ll finish it.”

Lana smiled up at him, but it was
forced. Her eyes weren’t shining quite as bright as normal. “Together then,”
she vowed and gripped his hand tight.

Claire cleared her throat.
“There’s good breakfast here and we’re not going to waste it. Dig in.”

Cole nodded and sat down at the
table next to Lana. He took a bite of his eggs and watched as Lana picked at
her food.

No one spoke while they ate. The
silence was stale, thick.

Everyone sat with their backs
rigid as they ate their meal. The silence around the table was palpable.
Nothing else could be done for now.

§§§

Lana sighed as they climbed back
into his SUV. “We know more than we knew this morning, but somehow, I’m not quite
comforted with the facts.”

Cole turned to her and nodded,
understanding exactly what she meant. “I know. For the rest of the day, I say
we don’t think about it. What do you want to do? Something fun.”

Lana smiled as he started the
engine. “My birthday’s tomorrow, you know.”

“It is? Why didn’t you tell me
before?”

“It didn’t really cross my mind
until now.” And it hadn’t. With the events of the past few days…nothing else
got through.

He leaned over, his mouth next to
her ear. “Why don’t we celebrate tonight by spending the rest of the evening in
bed?” He nipped at her ear. “I think there are a few things I can give you
early.”

Heat bloomed between Lana’s legs.
“Promises, promises,” she said, grinning.

§§§

The Evil One watched as they
climbed into the vehicle. He considered going after the occupants of the house,
but refrained. They were of no importance.

It was amusing, he had to admit,
the way mortals talked of celebrating their paltry existences. Twenty years,
thirty years, even a hundred years was nothing to commemorate by his standards.

He had taken care of the woman’s
mother two months before—once he had been positive she knew nothing. A search
of her house had proved that. The daughter’s ignorance toward him proved it
further.

Positive no useful information
had been passed to the daughter, he had killed the mother. Nothing in her
drawers hinted that she knew anything herself or had taken notes if she did.

He had had a millennia to figure
out what the pieces were. Yet, all he had been able to determine was the
woman’s involvement. Perhaps the man. One of them, if not both, would know
where these pieces could be found.

When the man leaned over, his
silhouette blending in with the woman’s, The Evil One smiled.

That had given him another piece
to the puzzle. He knew when he needed to act. How he had to act.

Tomorrow. He knew the two pieces
would be found on her birthday.