Page 64 of Shifting Fate
Arias
The run to Westwind was a brisk one. My paws crunched over the frosted grass with each step. Tristram and Van ran alongside me most of the way, before looping back to finish their morning scout. Beyond the trees, the sun peeked out to paint the sky with threads of faint golden light.
I padded up the front steps of the West Manor and poked the doorbell with my nose, my breath puffing out in little clouds of white. There was no way in hell I was shifting back until I got inside. It was cold enoughwitha fur coat. I didn’t need frostbite.
After a minute, the door opened and Merrick looked down at me. A smile tipped up the corners of his mouth. “Good morning, Arias. You’re up bright and early. Is everything alright?”
“Yeah. Mind if I come in?”
“Sure thing. Espen’s still asleep, but you’re welcome to join me for breakfast, if you’d like.” He paused, one hand still on the doorknob. “Coffee?”
“Please.”I wagged my tail, then trotted past him into the foyer. Merrick hummed and closed the door behind me. Tilting my head to one side, I asked,“Would you mind bringing me some of my brother’s clothes?”
He chuckled. “Of course. I’ll be right back.”
Ten minutes later, I was dressed in a pair of PJ pants and a t-shirt, sitting on a barstool at the kitchen island. I cupped my cold hands around the warmth of my coffee mug and breathed in the aromatic steam. Mmm, coffee. Much better.
“What brings you here, so early in the morning?” Merrick asked.
“Just needed to have a little talk with Espen.”
“A text wouldn’t suffice?” There was a playful twinkle in his green eyes.
I scoffed. “The asshole never texts me back! Besides, I was in the neighborhood. Figured I might as well drop in and pester you.”
Merrick looked at me, a strange expression on his face.
“What?” I prompted.
“You’re not here because of Harper?”
I blinked. “What about Harper?”
“Hmm. You’re not the only one who showed up on our doorstep this morning,” Merrick admitted. “He arrived only about twenty minutes before you. He seemed…uneasy. I asked if everything was okay, but he said he needed to speak with Wiz, and that it was important. Luckily for him, Miss Evans is an early riser so I sent him out to her office. Then you showed up. I thought perhaps you knew something about it.”
I slowly shook my head. “No, but Harper did seem pretty distant over dinner last night,” I said. “He didn’t smile like he usually does. I got the feeling he was lost in his head.” I paused, remembering something. “Actually, come to think of it, I’m not really surprised he ended up here.”
Merrick quirked a brow. “Why do you say that?”
“He mentioned before that he’s been searching for someone, a lover who went missing.” I pursed my lips.
“Well, Wiz would be the one to talk to about missing persons,” Espen drawled from the doorway, surprising us both. He chin-nodded to me, then wandered over to flop down on the stool beside his mate. “She’s good at what she does, not to mention, she’s completely enthralled with Harper. She’s got nothing but good to say about him. Seems they’ve crossed paths before, but then again, Harper did say he worked with the shifter police.”
“Yeah. Maybe he worked in the same branch as Wiz?” I wondered aloud.
“Perhaps,” Merrick agreed. “Either way, it’s none of our business. I was worried about him, that’s all. He doesn’t seem the sort to show up unannounced.”
“To be fair, we hardly know the man,” Espen pointed out, stifling a yawn.
Merrick drew his mug to his lips and took a long drag of his coffee. “True.” He closed his eyes for a few moments, then fixed me with a curious look. “So whyareyou here, then, if not for Harper?”
I shrugged. “Mom has decided that it’s time we have a proper meal together…as a family.”
Espen raked his hands through his sleep-rumpled hair on a groan. “We’re in the middle of preparing for war and she wants to have dinner? Typical.”
“Yep, and before you ask, yes, you have to go,” I told him. “She said she wasn’t taking no for an answer.”
“Ugh. And you had to wake me up at the ass-crack of dawn to tell me this? You couldn’t have texted me?”
