Enduring Retribution e-book by Kathi S. Barton

She needed to get out.
    She let go the first shimmer of magic then more power surged from her and around her. He watched her as her arms became covered in feathers, small white and brown feathers, as she held onto the sill. Then her hair changed, and with a snap, she was a falcon. A slightly larger than normal pedigree falcon with the greenest eyes known to man.
    Bailey loved her bird of prey and how she made her feel in flight. Now, she was leaving.
    She hopped up onto the ledge of the window sill. He moved to her then, flashed to her and the window she had opened, but he was too late.
    “Bailey, don’t…” But it was too late. She was gone.

    ~CHAPTER EIGHT~

    Tristan left the castle as soon as he could. Her scent was everywhere. He couldn’t figure out how that was even possible as she had only been there for just under an hour. And in that same time frame, he had lost her. He wanted to scream out his frustration.
    Aaron was in his study when he materialized in the main hall of the estate. He went in search of Duncan first, who directed him to the master.
    “Master Tristan, if you don’t mind my saying, you look rode hard and put away drippy.”
    Tristan could only stare at the man. He’d heard that Duncan had a new friend, Eon, the newest member of the local pack, who had been telling him idioms to use, slang, he had called it.
    Sometimes he messed them up a bit, but was cheerfully happy when someone helped him out.
    The half grin Duncan was sharing with him made Tristan think Duncan was having fun at his expense.
    “It’s wet, not drippy, rode hard and put away wet. And yes, Duncan, that’s just how I feel as well.” Tristan walked into the study like a man going to his own execution. He felt that way also.
    Tristan sat down in one of the chairs across from the desk and looked down at his clothes.
    He was rumpled. Not only that, but he had another stain on his shirt. Damned woman was not only driving him crazy, but she was changing him as well. He reached down and tried to straighten his tie and looked up startled when Aaron cleared his throat. There was a smile there that Tristan thought he could gladly punch off the man’s face.
    “I…” Tristan stared off into space for a full three minutes before he continued. “I’ve found my mate. She’s…she is…she has every right to be angry. I was stupid. And insensitive too. I asked her if she killed him. I’d like to think I knew her better than that. But I don’t…feathers, they were beautiful, you know. So is she, beautiful, I mean. I…she can shift. Had I not seen it, I wouldn’t have believed it, but she was covered in feather and then swish, she was flying away, taking my heart with her. I’ve come to realize I did too. Love her.” He was taking a deep breath when Aaron interrupted him.
    “Bailey, the girl you asked me to search for, I take it?”
    “Yes.” He wondered if that was what had pissed her off. “The information you sent was incorrect. She isn’t human, nor did she kill those men. I know that…I knew it then. That’s not to say she didn’t kill anyone, but not those two. She’s a hired gun, Aaron. A fucking hired gun.”
    Sara hadn’t said much since she’d come in. Tristan liked the woman. She was very sweet, but could be a real bear when it came to her children. He wasn’t sure she was really listening until she turned to Aaron and smiled. “I think you need to go and read a story to our wonderful children, love. They need you.”
    Aaron winked at her and kissed her nose then he looked over at Tristan. “Sara is my mate and I love her dearly, but she has connections that she shares with very few people. She is going to share them with you now, Tristan. It’s a trust that I’m giving you that I give to very few. One of my mate being with you without me there to protect her. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”
    Tristan did. It was a great honor to be left with a vampire’s mate, a greater one when the