Running for Home (2 page)

In seconds, she was naked and had gone from paw to finger. She pulled the shirt over her head, realized it was backward and turned it around. It hung on her. She frowned. It used to be snugger.

The jeans went on, and she had to hold them up. Her curves were gone.

She shuffled out to where the concert was still ongoing. “Hello, Hunter Derix.”

He nodded then looked at her and stopped the music. “What happened?”

“What?” She lifted her free hand and patted her hair.

“You don’t look well.”

“I am a little hungry.” She rubbed the side of her nose.

“Yes, you look like it.”

She swayed. “So, shall we go back to the recovery centre?”

“Yes. May I help you? You look a little weak.”

Juno frowned. “I think I can manage.”

“Fine, but if you stumble, I will carry you.”

She swallowed and nodded. “Right. Let’s go.”

He nodded and got to his feet. He chuckled. “Apollo has missed you.”

They walked through the woods for an hour. She was dizzy, but she forced herself to keep walking.

The recovery centre looked homey, but instead of taking her inside, Derix led her around the back to a wide deck that overlooked the forest and mountain views.

Apollo got to his feet and came over to hug her. “Juno. Oh gods.” He sobbed softly against her shoulder.

“I am fine, Apollo. I made it out alive.”

Her grandmother cleared her throat. “You are skin and bones, Juno. Not in a good way. If you are going to neglect yourself, I am writing you out of my will.”

Juno continued hugging her brother. His heavy muscles showed that life as a Hunter for the council was doing him good. They no longer looked like two versions of the same person.

“I thought I was already out of your will for leaving the family, Grandma.”

Her grandmother beckoned to her. Juno pried her brother off and shuffled over to her grandmother. Her grandmother stood up and embraced her. “I have missed you, little runner.”

Apollo was pouring glasses of lemonade, and he put a straw in it, just the way Juno liked it.

Juno looked around, and Derix was gone. “Where is he?”

Apollo shrugged and handed her the lemonade. “He didn’t say. Derix comes and goes as he likes.”

She sipped at the lemonade and winced at the tart burn. “Thank you.”

“Are you feeling like beginning recovery?” Her grandmother was to the point, as always.

“I thought I was.”

“You have starved yourself.”

She sipped at the lemonade and looked down. “He wanted me fatter. I was force-fed. I don’t know what hungry feels like anymore.”

Her grandmother reached for her and then pulled her hand back. “Was there anything else?”

Juno looked her in the eye. “Do you really want to know?”

Apollo cleared his throat. “Can we wait for Derix? We need a clear-headed hunter to witness her statement.”

The sentiment was clear. If he heard what happened, he might not be able to listen to the rest.

Derix came out in a few minutes, and he had a tray of food with him. Soup, fruit, sandwiches, it was all in small quantities and varying temperatures.

He set the tray next to her and walked to another chair on the patio.

He didn’t say anything, simply sat with his body forward, his elbows on his knees.

Juno took one of the small sandwiches and nibbled. It was ham and cheese.

“I worked for Falkir’s company for two years before I did something that got me introduced to him. When we shook hands, he knew that I was a shifter. The repulsion was obvious, and he took it as a challenge.”

She took the bowl of soup and sipped at the tomato-y goodness.

“It wasn’t a particularly detailed kidnapping. He just assigned me some work that kept me at my desk, turned off the cameras and Tasered me. I woke up with the belt around my waist to keep me from changing to my fox form, and then, he electrocuted me until I was half-shifted, which is when the collar came into play.”

She continued, describing the pain of his evening attacks, the removal of her claws and having the option to starve herself to death taken from her.

She talked about being shown off as the freak that he had made her and her refusal to speak. That had infuriated him. He had counted on showing off more than a dumb animal with human attributes.

The story took a very long time to tell, and she worked at the tray as much as she could. When her stomach felt tight, she stopped.

She went over the routine of being primped by other shifters for the events, and finally, she said, “And that takes me to the night that Derix showed up.”

He nodded. “I was glad to be there.”

Her grandmother was sitting perfectly still, as if moving would shatter her into a thousand pieces.

Apollo had come and gone five times during her narrative. Each time he came back, his knuckles were redder. He had to be punching trees again.

Juno poured the last of the lemonade into her glass. “So, then, they healed me, Derix got the belt off and I was out the window and heading for the woods. I made a den and dug in, staying there until I felt safe. Derix would come by now and then and play, so I would creep out to listen.”

Finally, she asked the question that had been flitting about in her mind. “How long have I been in the woods?”

Apollo was staring at his partner. “You have been there for six weeks. You didn’t tell me you were coming here.”

Derix shrugged. “We don’t discuss our off time. This seemed like a good use of my weekends.”

Juno smiled. “It was appreciated. Apollo, stop scowling. I am sure that he was just here to help out your sister.”

Derix smiled slowly. “Yeah, Apollo. Show some appreciation.”

Apollo looked at Juno. “If he wanted to help you out, he would have told me he was visiting. He didn’t. This was all about him.”

Juno smiled. “Well, I am glad he took the time. The music was beautiful.”

Her grandmother reached out and took her hand. “What are you going to do next, child?”

She squeezed her grandmother’s hand. “I am going to start recovering. I have rested; now, I need to recover. It is a different thing.”

Her grandmother nodded. “I am still going to bypass you in the will.”

Juno smiled. “Thank you. I am not cut out for that life.”

Her grandma stroked her cheek. “I am finally understanding it. Having you recover and forcing you into that mold is not something I wish to do. I just got you back; I don’t want to break you.”

Juno hugged her grandma, and Apollo completed the circle from behind her. It was nice to be wrapped in the familiar scents of family.

The mages and shifters who ran the recovery centre were organized and had an itinerary for her. She could attend group sessions or make one-on-one meetings with a councillor, but she had to speak to someone every day.

Time moved quickly, and her family visited regularly. She was offered a position at the Shifter Council Headquarters, but it wasn’t really for her. The things that others took for granted no longer came easily for her.

Life in society had always been hard for her. It had never been something she enjoyed, and now, it was impossible. She found herself analyzing every move that those around her made. It wasn’t a great way to live.

Her councillor smiled when she came in for her session. “I have a placement for you. A job, I mean.”

Juno smiled and raised her brows. “What is it?” She took her seat and smiled politely.

“There is a new project at the Crossroads, and they need a new... hostess, if that is the word. You would show guests around and get them settled. That is the end of it. You would only need to be there as a guide for orientation.”

“So, I have to be friendly and polite, but that is it?”

“You would need to know the territory, but once that is accomplished, you would be able to live a life with anonymity and self-sufficiency.”

“I accept.” She smiled. “It sounds like something I would enjoy.”

“Excellent. I will draw up the paperwork and contact the transporters. You can be there in a few hours.”

“Just like that?”

“We have been working toward this for weeks. You need a placement outside the human world. It isn’t good for you anymore. There are too many memories haunting the basic day-to-day of your life. You will feel the pain of them every day if you try to return to a standard office.”

She nodded. “Right. We have covered that.”

“Correct. Pack what you want to take with you, and you will be on your way to the Crossroads by the end of the day.”

“I have time to call my family?”

Frieda smiled. “You do.”

Juno got to her feet. “Send someone to my room when the time is up.”

Frieda nodded, and Juno left the room. Her next stop was the Crossroads.

Her grandmother had been delighted, and her brother had not been answering his phone. She left a message, and in two hours, she had said her goodbyes to everyone at the recovery centre and stepped into the transport portal to the Crossroads.

Juno made friends easily with Teal and Tony. Teal took her around to meet the inhabitants, but instead of her going to housing, she was shown to the Axion.

Drak was elegant, definitely fey, and charming. “So, you will be my permanent guest.”

She extended her hand to his, and he clasped her fingers. Their magics sparked against their skins, and when he withdrew his hand, he raised his brows. “You are not surprised.”

“You are not the first fey I have met.” She smiled. “So, please, show me to my little cubby hole, and I will get out of your way.”

He grinned and led her further into the castle.

“So, this is actually a castle?”

“It is. My first guest told me that I really needed to let the fey part of the equation shine out, so I followed up with a transformation that makes us stand out a little.”

She laughed. “Just a little.”

The therapy had done her good. She was able to follow him into the heights of the castle and to her new room. “This can’t be right.”

Drak chuckled; his metallic colouration caused him to glitter and gleam in the lights of the floating candles.

“There is no reason to be uncomfortable simply because you live here. I pride myself on providing comfortable accommodations. You will be called at odd hours of the day and night to do the tours, so I arranged a slide from your chamber down to a spot near the Meditation Centre.”

“A slide?”

“It was that or a fire pole.”

She chuckled. “Thanks for that.”

Drak grinned. “Happy to help. You have a certain ease with the fey. Have you met one of us before?”

She stared at him. “Just so we understand where we stand, I was one of the recovered pets that they took out of Lord Falkir’s home. Yes. I have met a fey before, so it is up to you to change my previous experiences. So far, you are doing a good job.”

He was taken aback. “I am shocked that they would put you here.”

“I think it might be a lesson for both of us.”

He extended his hand to her. “Well, I hope that this education will be mutually beneficial.”

She grinned and shook his hand. The crackle of energy rippled between them.

“Can I refer to you as my housekeeper?”

He laughed. “Yes, you can.”

Juno walked into her room and saw the slide chute on the exterior wall. “Where does it drop me?”

“It uses a bit of local magic; you have a small exit next to the Meditation Centre.”

She nodded. “Right. First thing is a change of clothes. While your supervision is an option, I would prefer to forgo that and simply see you for a tour when I am done.”

He inclined his head and left her room, closing the door behind him.

She looked around at the understated elegance that had a layer of magic on everything she touched. It would definitely get her used to fey magic in a casual way that would desensitise her to memories. It wasn’t a bad idea.

The wristband that she wore was thick, copper and would buzz when she was needed to do a tour.

The slide was tempting, but she put her clothes away and got dressed in jeans and a pretty shirt with a curled fox on it. Everything she wore had a fox on it somewhere.

She slipped on some flats and looked at the slide. It was far too tempting.

With a grin, she ran to the opening, grabbed the bar above the hole and she propelled herself into the polished stone pathway that pulled her downward at a dramatic rate. She breathed a little easier when the angle lifted and she slowed down. When she reached the end of the slide, she exited carefully. Drak was right. She was next to the Meditation Centre.

She rubbed her hands together and continued the exploration of her new home with all the curiosity her beast could manage.

* * * *

Derix staggered through the portal with Apollo on his shoulder. “Medics!”

The healers came running and took charge of his partner.

The mage who grabbed Apollo looked to Derix and asked, “What happened?”

“After we caught the croc shifter, Apollo decided to enjoy Mardi Gras. That was weeks ago. Tell him. He has been like this since he met with his sister.”

The mage pushed the gurney to the clinic where they were going to pump Apollo’s stomach. It was the third time in two months.

A phone started to blare, and Derix grabbed it. It was on the floor where the gurney had been. “Hello, Apollo’s phone.”

“Is this that nice man I met at the recovery centre?”

The phone id said
Grandma.
“Yes, ma’am. Derix, ma’am.”

“Where is Apollo?”

“He is seeing a doctor. He consumed something that doesn’t agree with him.”

“Oh dear. Well, I was just calling to tell him that his sister has found a job. She said he hadn’t returned her call.”

“I will let him know.”

“Yes, she is at the Crossroads now. I hope she finds a nice young man and gets over that whole horrible business.”

“That would be good, ma’am.”

“Well, let him know. I get the feeling he isn’t checking his messages.”

“I will, ma’am. Have a nice day.”