Tethers (Ava Delaney: Lost Souls #2)

1

O h, Ava, you must think me a foolish old prude trying to rein in everyone’s fun. The type who stays awake at night, dreaming of ways the world will end because of our choices. Heaven knows that’s how my colleagues see me. Willow removed her glasses and rubbed the indents on the bridge of her nose. It’s just… the changes have been so swift that I’m worried about the people who fall through the cracks.

I poured the surprisingly disgruntled Senate member a second cup of green tea. That’s always going to be the case. You can’t reach everyone, you know?

Willow represented people like me: those who had nobody else to speak for them. Most of the Senate, and the press, considered her a do-gooder at best, an interfering bat at worst, but at least she tried. We’d both known for a while that she was fighting a losing battle, but never before had I seen her look anything less than optimistic or determined.

It’s not good enough. This was supposed to be a better way, but it’s exhaustingly stressful. She tugged a lock of her brown hair. I’m going white! Not just grey—white! I have to dye my hair every four weeks just to keep up. None of my siblings have white hair. This job is running me into the ground. We were all supposed to thrive, strengthen each other, but we’re barely better than the old Council. She released a mournful sigh. Shay was a great loss.

I hid my smile at her theatrical woe. He didn’t die, Willow. He just decided he could do more away from the Senate. If anything, since he broke away, the government pulls fewer of his team’s strings. That’s a good thing, right?

It’s true that he’s cut through a ton of red tape, she conceded, but I just can’t take to the police commissioner who took his place on the Senate. Mick is too easily persuaded, too concerned with politics and appearances. She frowned. Which means he can be bought.

He seems very professional at the press conferences, I said.

He’s dismissive of what I do. In fact, most of the Senate members are dismissive of what I do when they’re not concerned with furthering their own causes. I’ve no idea what Elathan thinks, because he shows up only if and when he feels like it.

He’s been trapped too often to be confined now. I pushed a plate of cookies closer to Willow. My neighbour Anka’s special double-chocolate-chip cookies always went a long way toward cheering me up. "And it’s good to have a knowledgeable ancient on the road on our country’s behalf. He knows things and people who most of us don’t even realise we should know. But he can be kind of intimidating to the average person, and he’s a strong reminder of the old ways because he was part of the old Council. I think he’s making the best of the little he has to work with. "

And he does enjoy scaring his groupies. She waved a hand when I gave her a questioning look. You might make a good point about Elathan, but with Phoenix away for some reason he won’t even share with the rest of us, we’re barely keeping afloat.

I kept my expression blank. Phoenix had left with the twins weeks ago, without so much as a goodbye. Even for him, that was odd.

And don’t get me started on the alpha, Willow continued in an exasperated tone. He’s just one step shy of marking his territory around his seat in the meeting room. He won’t listen. He’s too busy trying to intimidate everyone else into submission.

You mean he’s trying to alpha his way to the top, I said with a snort. I’d had more than my fill of Mac over the last few months.

Willow managed to force the corners of her lips upward. There is that. But he’s not my only concern. Jack is too close to the police commissioner, not to mention he’s a pain in my behind. Daimhín is… well, Daimhín. Vega is more concerned with the rights of exiles than anything else, and there’s some kind of tension between Callista and Layla that takes up far too much of their time. Not to mention the… oh, never mind. The point is that if Phoenix doesn’t return soon, we may fall apart.

You won’t fall apart, I said firmly. You’re just… still rubbing off the rough edges. That’s all.

The Senate has been in control of supernatural business for over a year, she said bitterly, and we don’t appear to have made anything better. There are rumblings of an official election for the coalition government finally coming to pass. They might decide to end the Senate, too.

"Nobody wants to end the Senate. You have made accomplishments. I held out my hand and listed items on my fingers. The school, the museum, Shay’s integration agents, massive reforms in ancient laws, and reuniting stolen children with their only living relatives. All good things. I didn’t even have to think about it."

But those things were always on the agenda, even from day one. Where have we gotten since then? This country is simmering on the edge of something, Ava. There’s a darkness out there, and hidden beneath are those who desperately need our help.

That subdued me. I’d sensed the same thing. Something changed when the sky went dark, and I suspect we still haven’t seen the full effect.

She smiled broadly. I sensed her ill humour leave her as her back straightened. She slipped on her glasses and reached out to take my hand. "I knew you would understand. We are alike in so many ways, my dear. When you have a cause, you fight for it until the end."

Uh-oh.

That’s why I came here today, she said, still beaming. I have a proposition for you. You seem to be… treading water.

I’m trying to stay in business, I said. I need an income, and the property tax is kind of killing me right now.

She waved a hand. That’s money. That’s not what I mean. I want to give you a cause to fight for, Ava. You seem so lost without one.

I pressed my lips together. Without the business side of things, I would have been at a total loss. My very first lost soul had come to me a year ago. After helping her, I’d felt a new resurgence of life. And then… nothing. I was still impatiently waiting for lost soul number two. The Eleven hadn’t warned me I might have to wait.

Willow leaned forward in her seat, an expectant gleam in her eyes. I want you to be an advocate for those without a voice, Ava. You’re perfect for it. You’re the face of something, and—

I held up my hands. I’m not the face of anything anymore. People don’t recognise me on the street. They leave me alone, and I like it that way.

But you look so bored every time I see you. I’m not asking for much, just a recognisable face to something new. So many people need our help. They need to know that strong, independent women like ourselves are willing to speak up for them.

Speak to who, exactly?

Okay. She licked her lips. People bring things to the Senate. Sometimes, it’s an unfairness in an old law. Sometimes, it’s to renegotiate. And some people are still indentured, Ava—don’t forget it. We need to work hard for them, to make sure they’re taken care of.

I just don’t see how I could help with that. I’m not anything to the Senate.

You make them listen to you. You’re not intimidated. And I know you’re not led by money or power. You don’t let past experiences with certain species sway you from doing what is right. I’m not asking you to give up your life for strangers. I just need someone at my back at times. I’m fighting against the tide here, and I could use someone like you. Desperately.

I saw she meant that, but I had been doing such a great job at avoiding the Senate for so long. Do I really want to face them now?

And it’s not just strangers. You’ve already advocated for others in need, she said, not a little slyly. I’m talking about people like those special children left behind in that home. I know how hard you worked to get that boy a pass to work in the outside world.

Noah? That was a lucky break. Actually, I had tormented Phoenix and Shay until they agreed to bring Noah’s situation to the rest of the Senate, and I had even exchanged a minor deal with Daimhín to go along with it. Reminding Callista of an old favour hadn’t been tough, and Willow had already been on board with the idea. The Senate had voted in my favour, and the kid had been allowed to work in a local garage. Of course, he only received a supplement as an income, but it was a start, and Noah was finding a way to fit in. Unlike a lot of the other children in the home, he didn’t have magical powers, but he had been raised to kill. Even though we had rescued him from the slave market, he had still felt like a captive until I’d persuaded the Senate to give him some freedom.

We both know that’s not true. Willow flashed a knowing smile. You fought for him, and you won. There have been three other cases since then. You advocated for them without even trying.

I fought my smirk. I already knew what I had won. Part of me wondered if Shay had quit his role and Phoenix had left the country so I wouldn’t call on them for anything else. Fighting on Noah’s behalf had been different from the pleasure of defeating a foe on the battlefield. Maybe a quiet life really was for me.

I’d just opened my mouth to speak when somebody knocked on my front door. Just let me get that, I said, then winced as the sound repeated more insistently. Great. I already knew who was at the door—an extremely annoying shifter.

Mac, I said snidely, answering the door. People will start to talk if you keep turning up on my doorstep like this.

Where is she? he demanded gruffly. Mac was tall and broad shouldered, but he had put on weight since becoming alpha, and it didn’t suit him.

I sighed. "Esther still isn’t here. She would have to be the stupidest person on the planet to be here when you’re this predictable."

No more of the smart mouth, he said, sending saliva flying.

I laid a hand on my roiling stomach. The news, not the weather, MacDaddy.

With a growl of rage, he kicked. Luckily for him, he caught my door rather than my thigh.

Careful, now, I said as steadily as I could manage. Wouldn’t want the Senate’s golden boy caught destroying property or intimidating women again.

That was a false accusation! The massive scar on one side of his face deepened in his rage.

Somehow, I doubt that. The accusation had been a massive story in the newspapers until the Senate hushed it up, and his reaction had just convinced me of its authenticity.

His lips curled back, revealing teeth clenched with anger. "You will regret that."

Mac? Willow joined me at the door. Is there a problem here?

He bit down on his fury, but his eyes remained wild. The previous alpha had been a dickhead, too, but at least he’d maintained a modicum of self-control. Fur was bursting through Mac’s skin around his cheeks.

You really need a shave, I said lightly as I moved in front of Willow. If the man shifted, she was much too breakable to be in his way.

He rubbed his face, embarrassment suddenly wiping away the anger. He panted like an animal, but I sensed the shift receding. Still, the alpha didn’t look well. His skin was pasty, his eyes were red-rimmed, and his hair was rapidly turning white.

He swallowed hard. I’m looking for the panther’s bitch sister.

Excuse me? Willow brushed past me, bristling at his tone and language. "For who?"

"Esther, he ground out. I know this one is hiding her."

I’ve spent the afternoon in her house. There’s no shifter inside there.

He sneered. Of course you’d take her side. You’ve no backbone. You have no place on the Senate.

Oh, hi there, kettle, I said. Go home, Mac. I’m getting tired of this. You won’t find Esther unless she wants to be found, and since you’re looking for her so she can take her brother’s punishment, I’ll make sure to send her away if she does come here. The heat had risen in me, too.

I’m going, he said. But I’ll be back. You’re not the only one who can work a majority vote, and your puppets aren’t around to help you this time. I’ll tether that bitch if it’s the last thing I do! He turned his back and strode off, his gait ungainly for some reason.

The lines on Willow’s forehead creased as she frowned. He’s falling apart.

What’s he even talking about? That was it. Mac had made my mind up for me. You know what, Willow? You’re so right. I’ll absolutely help you whenever you need me to. This advocate thing works for me, too. I’m in.

She clapped her hands together. I can’t believe that shifter is good for something. Thank you so much, Ava. You won’t regret it. I promise.

She slipped her arm in mine and started babbling about charities, but I couldn’t focus anymore. Mac was pushing his luck, and I would have to deal with him eventually. I also needed to get word to Esther that my place wasn’t safe for her to visit for a while longer. She had vanished from public view again when Mac started showing up in the cul-de-sac, and I had barely seen her since. She couldn’t leave the country, only partly because Mac had everyone watching for her.

Mac leading the shifters on a witch-hunt wasn’t fair, and the Senate allowing him to do that wasn’t right. But after Phoenix left, Mac got too big for his boots. The unfairness of Esther’s situation had lured me into agreeing with Willow, but maybe she was right. Maybe as an advocate, I could figure out a way to help Esther escape the shifters’ sick need for vengeance and maybe even drown out that pesky feeling of inadequacy.

I knocked on Peter Brannigan’s door and waited impatiently. Willow had buzzed off as though someone had lit a fire under her, but I needed to vent. Carl hadn’t been home, and Val was still living on fae territory with Leah, even though Phoenix had spirited away the twins. I definitely didn’t want to burden Anka with details about a misogynistic alpha, so I’d turned to Peter as a last resort. That probably wasn’t the best idea I’d ever had, and yet I found myself doing it more and more often of late.

He had cooled off considerably, giving me my space while he and Val received more cases, and I had discovered I still wanted to be friends with the man I had initially considered safe and protective—before I’d gone and fallen for him, that was.

The door opened, and I stiffened, completely unprepared for the stranger, a brunette I had never seen before, standing on Peter’s doorstep. Was that a cupcake piercing her nostril?

She gazed at me suspiciously, her grey eyes eerily colourless. Can I help you?

Um. Who the hell are you? I wanted to demand. A rush of something boiled up within me, maybe leftovers from my confrontation with Mac. I’m looking for Peter.

He’s not here, she said brusquely.

Well, duh. Where is he?

Who are you? she asked, her left eye twitching slightly. Her nostrils flared, and she jerked her head to the left as though signalling to someone I couldn’t see.

Unsettled, I stepped back. My afternoon was turning into the weirdest day.

A voice shouted my name, and a skinny ten-year-old boy barrelled down the hallway and straight into me.

Hey. I ruffled Emmett’s dark-brown hair, completely forgetting the nutty woman in the doorway. Emmett was one of my favourite people. After being kidnapped as a toddler, the boy had been returned to Peter less than two years ago. The transition hadn’t been smooth, and Emmet had bonded with me instead of his father. At almost eleven, he had made a lot of progress, but he was still under the influence of magic that forbade him from speaking of his past. How are you, kid?

Good. His eyes were bright. Dad’s not here.

The woman cleared her throat loudly.

When are you expecting him back? I asked, ignoring the pink elephant on the doorstep.

Making that impossible, the woman said, He’s working.

I gripped Emmett a little more tightly and looked at him quizzically.

Val had something urgent for him, he said. He’ll be back later.

Tell him I need to talk to him. It’s… I glanced at the woman again. It’s kind of important.

You haven’t met Melody, Emmett said. Ava, this is Melody. Melody, this is Ava.

Oh, Melody said knowingly, crossing her arms over her chest. "You’re Ava."

I bit back on a snide remark. How did you meet your new friend, Emmett?

Dad had a job. The boy sucked in his lower lip and reddened. He met Melody, and… um, she’s kind of like me.

"Like you?"

I’m Melody Love, the medium, the woman said as if I ought to know what was going on.

Oh, I said slowly. She sees ghosts. I waited, wondering if she controlled the dead, just as Emmett did.

Spirits, Melody said sharply. I see spirits. She glanced at Emmett. People like us need a guide. I’m here to be Emmett’s guide.

A guide? I frowned. He already knows how to see spirits. And more.

It’s not about seeing them.

Emmett looked from one of us to another, confusion clouding his features. I was confused, too. Melody’s seemingly instant dislike of me was definitely mutual.

Melody sighed when Emmett frowned at her. It can be dangerous for young mediums. They can have out-of-body experiences and see spirits as a part of them. Sometimes, they get too engrossed with the spirit world to return.

That immediately made me think of Shepherd, who had once sent me back into my own world after I got stuck in another plane of existence. You’re teaching him control?

Something like that, she said. He’s so young and so powerful that it would be a shame to see so much talent go to waste. If directed properly, he could be a very successful medium professionally.

I gave Emmett a sceptical look. You want this to be your job? Talking to ghosts?

Melody made a frustrated sound through gritted teeth.

I just want to know more, Emmett said. I don’t know anyone else like me. Melody can answer my questions. ’Sides, she says it’s dangerous for someone like me to go it alone.

And Peter was agreeing to Melody’s plans? Letting in other people when it came to Emmett didn’t sound like Peter. Then again, he kept saying he was changing. Maybe the whole spirit guide thing was part of it.

Well, we have a lot to do today, Melody said, drawing Emmett toward her, out of my reach.

A flash of red-hot emotion burned my chest. I swallowed it. I’ll see you later, Emmett. Don’t forget to tell your dad I need to speak to him.

I’ll let him know, Melody said with a weak version of a smile. She ushered Emmett inside and slammed the door behind her.

Baffled by the entire day’s events, I turned around and walked away, choking on the waves of emotion wrestling to the surface. What was I even feeling? Confused, yes. Protective, probably. But something else was mixed in there, something entirely unexpected.

Peter had moved on and let somebody new into his life. Emmett had someone other than me to turn to, someone he probably needed even more than he needed me. Keeping everyone I cared about so close wasn’t healthy, and that was why I hadn’t made a move to stop the twins from leaving or even to discourage Val and Leah from following. But everyone in my life seemed to have found a new path. Carl had the school to contend with, Anka had her business with Margie up and running, and even Peter and Emmett had this Melody person in their lives. Peter had let her take care of Emmett when I was free, without even introducing her to me. Everyone had moved on, but for the past year, I had been running in place.

And maybe that was really why I’d said yes to Willow and why I felt so eager to put Mac in his place. I needed a project just for me. Being the Matriarch hadn’t exactly made my life busy so far, despite my memorable first try. Something was missing from my life, and I hadn’t been able to quite put my finger on what that was.

And as I returned to my own house, I finally recognised the feelings that had engulfed me at Peter’s doorstep in front of Melody bloody Love, the so-called medium. For the first time, and completely unexpectedly, I had been experiencing out-and-out human jealousy. Damnit.

2

Ahammer, or maybe a tank, tried to break down my front door a few days later, pulling me from a nice, warm, non-annoying dream. Bleary-eyed, I glanced at my watch and discovered it was still stupid o’clock. I sat up and pulled on some clothes, noting that dawn was trying to break through on the horizon. The banging repeated, somehow echoing all across the cul-de-sac. Concerned, I looked out the window. Figures stood at every front door in the cul-de-sac, obnoxiously attempting to wake the entire neighbourhood.

Oh, hell no.

Furious, I sprinted down the stairs as the banging on my door resumed. I swung open the front door, my fangs on display. My appearance forced the two men at my door to simultaneously take a step back, their apprehension stinking the air.

"What in the hell is so important that you have to wake everyone up before the bloody sun rises?" I demanded.

There she is, Mac called out in an unbelievably smug tone. Step aside, boys. I’ll deal with her. He strode into my garden, holding up a piece of paper. I’m acting under the authority of the Irish Senate to take your shifter friend into custody. Esther is mine, and the Senate agrees. He shoved the paper at me.

I ripped it out of his hands. It was some kind of permit, freshly stamped with the Senate seal. Who did this?

He leaned forward until his nose nearly touched mine. I did this, little lady, so you had better get used to it.

Who did you bribe and threaten for this crap? I asked, fighting the urge to crumple the paper in my hands.

This is the law, he said. It’s the law of my people, the law of the shifters, and now it’s the law of the entire country. My traditions supersede any crap you human-lovers can come up with.

So find Aiden! Leave Esther out of this!

Oh, it’s not just about retribution anymore. I warned you not to push me, and now you’re five steps behind. While you’ve been making enemies, I’ve been making allies. His sneer grew excited. The fact that Aiden might return to save his precious sister is just a bonus. He turned us from our true path, from our true ways. He let shifters leave the pack, and—

Oh, noes. He was such a monster.

He ground his teeth noisily. You don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not the only one who knows what happens when shifters go untethered for too long.

Do I look like someone who knows what the hell you’re on about?

He lowered