Chapter 84

(**Rayne**)

Shortly after Andre, Kostas, and Declan left the bar to go get dinner, Rayne recieves a call from Kincade. Treadstone's compound in France has fallen. Unfortunately for them, Treadstone managed to escape, but on the bright side he is severely wounded. Kincade already let Arabella know she is needed back to Paris to help Cyra and Tyson.

Treadstone's entire collection is now free. Now with luck the bastard will die from his injuries before he can get to Sebastion. Since Arabella was in Redwood with him, he will already know to be prepared for Treadstone to come for him. Because of this she decides not to call him. He has all the help he needs already in Redwood.

Since that call, Parker has been sitting at his desk thinking about what Andre offered him. A place on the Shifter Council would be an excellent opportunity for him. With more shifters moving to California lately, it would be perfect to have a council member in the area.

“Parker, if you accept this opportunity, it will be a wonderful thing for shifters all over California. They will have someone to come to with their troubles. It will give them all a voice. Then it can likewise provide what we are doing for the entire supernatural community a chance to discover those who call for help easier.”

“I know. We just have so much going on right now. Is now the right time to take on further responsibility?”

“If not now, then when would a favorable time be? The obstacles we have now will eventually get resolved, but new ones will appear up to replace them. That is the essence of the business we are in.”

Parker looks up at her with an amused grin on his face. He beckons for her to join him by patting his lap. Rayne laughs, then does as he suggests with the gesture.

“That is an extremely accurate point. This will be helpful for everybody. Where would be a suitable place to meet with anybody who shows up to see me?”

“Since this office is bigger, I can always move into your former office.”

He leans back with a horrified expression on his face. “Will I have to make it look like one of those hoity toity businessmen’s offices? Please don’t make me wear suits for these meetings.”

Rayne lets out a throaty laugh as she looks at his face. “Relax Parker, you are a representative of the council, not a business mogul. Dress how you always do.”

The image of him clad in a business suit, seated behind a massive oak desk with a glass of scotch in his hand, causes her grin. It is a delicious thought of him. The look of dismay on his face lets her know he read her mind and makes her laugh even harder.

“That is not amusing.”

“Oh, come on Parks, admit that how I saw you in my head, you looked wonderful.”

He arches his eyebrow as he examines the office, then he glances back at her. “I looked respectable but I refuse to wear a suit for these meetings.”
A tap on the door causes Rayne to glance towards over to see who it is. Declan is standing in the doorway with a smirk on his face. He is alone this time, which makes her wonder where Andre and Kostas are now.

“From the tone of your conversation, am I to assume that you will say yes to their offer?”

Parker smiles, then merely nods at his father.

“That is excellent news. If you take a seat on the Shifter Council, it will work wonders for all the shifters in California. They trust you two and all you have accomplished. That will make them more comfortable turning to you with their troubles.”

Declan walks into the office to sit on the sofa as he talks.

“That is why I am going to accept their offer. Rayne said much of the same things you just did. My sole concern right now is if I should have the meetings here or travel to them.”

“Why not both? Meet those who are comfortable coming into Shadows Retreat up here in your office. Then for those who either don’t feel comfortable meeting with you in a bar, or can’t for some reason, see them on their terms.” Declan says.

From the expression on Parker’s face, she can see that he hadn’t thought that far ahead. He may have to travel outside the Bodega Bay area to meet with other shifters to do this job. The worry that hums through their bond from him lets her know he is reluctant to leave her alone for this.
“Don’t turn this down for fear of what could take place if you have to travel, Parker. Our home is warded and from what happened to Frank, you know they work. The bar is warded too, and I can always live down in the safe room while you are away. At least while Nathaniel is still a problem for us.”

Parker grimaces when she mentions Frank. His loathing for his younger brother is still strong. She can’t fault him for it after all the man wished to do to her.

“I will feel more comfortable traveling once that damn warlock shows his face again. Once he is out of our lives for good.”

Rayne cups his face in her hands. “Look at me. We can’t live our lives walking on eggshells. There will consistently be danger out there for us. That was a risk we accepted when we established this business. When he shows up, we will be ready for him.”

He nods his head at her since he recognizes that everything she just stated is true. With a smile, he draws her against him, then captures her lips for a brief kiss. Afterwards, he glances back at his father.

“Where are the founders?”

“They are downstairs having a drink. They saw your two bartenders and were extremely curious about them. Kostas has never seen a fey before.”

“We should head down there and rescue them. Lochlan gets carried away when people are interested in fey creatures,” Rayne says.

She hops off Parker’s lap to head to the door.

“We will meet you downstairs in a few minutes. I want to talk to my father about this for a few minutes,” Parker says. He gives her ass a gentle smack as she stands up.

Rayne nods her head then walks towards the door. She can hear Lochlan’s laugher as she approaches the top of the stairs. Andre and Kostas are both seated at the bar. when she walks into the tap room. Kostas is leaning forward as he glides a finger along the pointed tip of Lochlan’s ear. His dark eyes are wide in wonder.

If she hadn’t just been told Kostas had never seen a fey creature before, just watching this scene would have given it away. She steps up next to Lochlan behind the bar and gives him a little nudge to step away. He gets the hint then, saying nothing, he gives Kostas a brilliant smile before he walks away.

“How did you find not one but three fey to work in your bar?” Kostas asks.

“Lena, one of our waitresses, was working for my friend Lynn at her diner. When I opened this place, she wanted to help. Lochlan and his brother came to us. They have made it very interesting here since they joined our little family.”

“I would love to hear the story of how all of this got started,” Andre says. He makes a swirling gesture with his finger to show the bar and everything associated with it.

“There is more than one story involved in that, but I am sure we will have time in the future.”

Andre smiles as he catches the last word of her sentence. Rayne told him what he wanted to know without saying it out loud. She wants to leave that for Parker to do. In fact, rather than have Parker and Declan come downstairs, she will just send Andre and Kostas to them.

“Why don’t you two head upstairs. Do you remember the way?”

Andre nods his head.

“Then I am sure Parker will tell you his answer now.”

Andre tilts his head to the side as he studies her face. “I have to admit there was another reason for us coming here. The two of you as a mated pair is interesting to me.”

“How so?”

“I have never heard of a shifter and a werewolf being mates. Mated pairs with vampires and werewolves, yes. Those hybrids are not very common. Then there have been werewolves mated with humans, which happens more often than any other mixes.”

His curiosity does not surprise Rayne at all. She put feelers out with all her friends all over the world to ask about this topic. So far, no one has gotten back to her. The reasons she has are not out of curiosity, but more about what her child’s chances are. Will her child be a shifter, a werewolf, or a hybrid?

“I doubt we are the first, but I understand your curiosity. Parker and I are a perfect fit in every way. We just clicked together since the night we met. I know now that the Moon Goddess always meant it to be this way for us.”

Andre nods, stands from his stool, then he walks out of the room. Kostas smiles at her before he stands up to follow his brother. Parker will be interested in what Andre had to say when she tells him about it later.

For now, all she will think about is the good news that came their way today.

With a sigh, she pours herself a cup of tea, then takes a seat on the stool that is always kept behind the bar. As she looks out into the crowded room, it dawns on her not for the first time that has all been worth it.

Everything here started because of the events of one night. One broken girl on the side of the road changed the course of Rayne’s life forever. It planted deep a seed of hope that night. Shadow’s retreat and everything she and Parker have done since then was all because of that girl.

Memories flood through her mind as she thinks about what her life would be like if they had not stopped for a hitchhiker that night. Yes, she would have still met Lynn, Morty, and Arabella along the way. This bar and everyone in it would not have come into her life.

With a smile on her face, she pulls her phone out of her pocket, then sends a quick email to their first rescue. Every now and then they check up on her, but tonight with the good news and hopeful feelings, Rayne feels very nostalgic.

“You are looking very pleased with yourself, Rayne. What is going on?” Argyle asks. He slides up to the bar to fill his coffee cup.

“Things are falling into place in a good way. Finally. Even if some bad things have happened recently, the good things are outweighing the bad today.”

“Does this have to do with those two shifters that came in with Declan tonight?”

Since he will be told later anyway, she decided to just tell him the truth now. “They have formed a Shifter Council based out of Toronto. The two you saw are the founders of the council and offered Parker a seat.”

Rayne has the pleasure of seeing Argyle surprised by this news. It makes her smile, since he is rarely surprised. A centuries-old vampire tends to not be surprised easily.

“Will he have to move to Toronto? What will that mean for Shadow’s Retreat?”

“They want him to stay here and be the voice for all the shifters in California. He will work out of our office here or travel to other shifters if needed.”

Argyle nods his head. “That is wonderful news indeed.”

She smiles as he walks back to the corner booth he has taken over since Parker uses it less than he used to. Change is a good thing. Even if her father leaving gave Argyle this new job, she believes it is for the best.

Her father was right to leave. She can understand that now. It hurt to have him leave the way he did, but she understood why he chose not to say goodbye in person. She would have tried to talk him out of leaving.

It would have made him miserable to stay. He needs to heal the largest wound he has ever had. However, this wound will never fully heal. Losing her mother was hard enough for her, but to lose your mate to death is something most supernaturals never recover from.

For Edmund, he spent all those years not knowing who or what he was, only to find out in the truth in one day. Time passed for everyone else except in his mind he was frozen in time. Frozen on that night long ago.

Staying would have broken him further. She gets that now. A new beginning is what he needed. Jade Moon will be reborn under Edmund’s guidance. Perhaps one day Alec’s son will want to become the Alpha his father would have wanted him to be.

Rayne picks her phone up off the countertop of the bar to send her father a quick text message. A simple one to say she loves him and now understands his reasons for leaving. After it is sent, she stands up to go back to her office.

She is sure that they have worked out the details of this offer by now. However, as she reaches the back of the bar, she notices that the steel door to the back of the building is open. When she reaches out to close the door, her eyes land on a face in the darkness.

At the very edge of the parking lot, standing under one of the fluorescent lights, was Nathaniel. His eyes are wild as he stares at her. A shiver runs down her spine as she tries to tear her eyes away from his.

The second her eyes met his, it got harder to look away. It is as if he is trying to enthrall her with his gaze. Since he was stripped of his magic, this means he has help. That is a nasty spell. Since he isn’t close enough to the bar, the wards are not sensing the attack. Very smart on his part. The sinister smile on his face let her know he followed her train of thought.

“Come to me, Olivia.”

Rayne closes her eyes, then when she opens them to look back, she picks a spot on the wall beside him to look at. Meeting his eyes will not happen again. This man is either very confident that his spell will work to lure her outside alone, or he is idiotic.

To come to a bar full of supernaturals while now being essentially human is a very unwise decision on his part. Unless he isn’t out there alone or has magical charms of his own to empower him.

Rayne closes the door, then races upstairs to alert Parker. Halfway up the stairs, she runs into him as he was already coming down the stairs. From the look on his face, she can tell he already knows. Their link is strong indeed.

If Nathaniel is out there alone, he will die tonight.