by Renee Rose
I researched the fuck out of Becky’s and Todd’s case into the night. In Helena, there was a shifter who was a lawyer and a damn good one. Selena Jennings. She was the kind of attorney humans paid eight hundred dollars an hour for. I said humans because she usually did her work for her own kind pro bono, not that I wouldn’t be willing to pay her. I’d pay her anything to make Becky happy, and I had a feeling that would start when the ink was dry on her divorce papers.
I put in a call to her to ask if she would look into Becky’s situation.
“Does Becky want my help with her divorce?” she asked. “Has she fired her own attorney?”
I cleared my throat. “No.”
I heard her huff out a laugh. “She doesn’t know you called me, right?”
“She’s my mate,” I growled. “She’s in danger. This man is tormenting her. He slashed her tire, I’m sure of it. It can’t be the first thing he’s done, and I doubt it’ll be the last.”
Selena sighed. “I understand, but there’s not much I can do without her willingly becoming my client. Do you have access to any of the paperwork?”
“I have it all right here pulled up on my laptop,” I replied, mentally thanking Kylie, council data-hacker for getting me everything.
“Send it over, and I’ll take a look,” she said with resignation in her voice.
I sighed in relief. “Thank you. Appreciate it.” I hung up and forwarded everything onto her then rubbed the back of my neck, my continued unease making my wolf growl. There was nothing I could do to nudge Selena along except harass her, which would piss her off. That was the last thing I wanted. I had to be patient, but it was fucking tough when something still felt off, even after getting someone on the legal end of things.
It was a feeling I couldn’t shove away. I stood, paced. Something was wrong, and my wolf was telling me. I had no idea what the fuck it was, but it had to be acted on. I grabbed my coat. Christ, I needed to move into town. I didn’t like being so far away from my mate’s house. Twenty miles from her was too fucking far. And if she was in danger… fuck.
I didn’t have an invitation. In fact, Becky had downright pushed me away this morning with her marriage announcement, but I had to go look in on her. Just drive by to make sure the sense of foreboding I had wasn’t about her. It was my gut talking. My Spidey sense as some people said. Whatever it was, it had saved me a time or two when tracking a rogue shifter. I wasn’t working now, which made it even worse.
I got in my truck and drove into town, cruising down Becky’s street at two miles an hour. It had been dark for hours, and this time of year, people settled inside at dinnertime and stayed in. Cars were in their driveways, the streetlights were on. In a few weeks, the front yards would be glowing with holiday lights.
Nothing appeared off, yet the sense of unease got stronger even though her house was dark except for a porch light. I glanced around once more. The snow made the night brighter, not that I needed it with my shifter vision. There were no new cars parked around—I’d taken note of all of them that morning when I’d been by.
I stepped on the brakes, hard, right in front of her place.
The fuck?
A shadow moved under her window. A figure. I threw the truck in park, right in the middle of the street and flew out of my seat.
“Hey!” I barked, stalking toward the fucker.
I didn’t know what I expected. For the guy to run, maybe. That I’d scare him away with my voice before I got there with my fists.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
The asshole just swiveled and stared at me, like he belonged there, under her window, looking in.
A light went on in the room where the guy was peeking, and the shades parted. Becky looked out her window and screamed. It was muffled by the glass, but I sure as fuck heard it.
Don’t kill him. Don’t kill him. Don’t kill him.
I had to keep reminding myself because I was a hair’s breadth away from shifting to tear the guy’s throat out.
Some rational part of my brain remained, telling me to cool my jets. To follow the code and not betray my species to humans. Not to harm a human. I was on a quiet street in Cooper Valley—not the place for a wolf to appear. Especially not one who was ripping out a guy’s throat. That couldn’t be explained away.
Oh fates, but I wanted to.
Becky yelled through the window. “Todd! You asshole. I’m calling the cops right now.”
Todd. I wasn’t sure if I was relieved it was her asshole ex or not. It only proved what I’d told Selena. The guy wasn’t done with Becky.
I was proud of my woman, keeping her shit and getting on the horn with the police. I made my way over to him, my feet crunching through the snow at the side of her house. I’d hold him until they got here. The fucker wasn’t getting away on my watch. This was trespassing and whatever the fuck the law was for being a Peeping Tom. I was on him in seconds, my fist wrapped in his jacket to bunch it into a ball as I shoved him back against the house, hard.
His head connected with the windowpane, and he yelped.
That made my wolf howl, so did the twinge from the healing wound in my side. It was taking fucking forever to go away.
“Ow! Who the fuck are you?”
I got right in his face. “I’m the guy who’s about to fuck you up, creeper.” Despite my obsessive need to publicly claim Becky, something told me not to show my hand with her ex just yet. To let him think I was just some guy driving by.
Not her fucking wolf mate ready to rip him to shreds with my teeth.
“I’m her husband!” Todd protested, eyes wide. “I was just checking to make sure the windows were locked.”
Becky came barreling out the door in a pair of boots and a coat thrown over her pajamas.
“Bullshit!” she snapped from the porch, peering into the darkness toward us. “He’s my ex, and I have a restraining order against him.”
The only thing that kept me from savaging Todd was the fact that Becky sounded more angry than scared.
I dragged Todd away from the window and closer to the porch light, so she could see my face. Know I was here to keep her safe, to take the trash out. My wolf preened as I watched recognition and relief bloom in her expression. The way those berry lips parted and uttered my name did a lot to calm my wolf. Yeah, she might’ve pushed me away, not once but twice, but she trusted me and knew she was safe. I’d walked away this morning, but I wasn’t doing it again.
Of course, it brought Todd to a rage. “You know this guy?” he snarled, his smugness falling away.
“I know everyone in this town,” she snapped.
Ouch.
Even though I figured she didn’t want to share our relationship with him, it still stung to hear her downplay what we were.
At least I fucking hoped that was downplay and not the way she thought of me. Although, to her, I was a guy she fucked at a bar one night over the summer, who’d randomly run into her again. The kiss we’d shared at her car should have been a big fucking clue that we weren’t done, even to a human.
Becky held up her phone. “The sheriff is on his way, asshole. And he’s not going to buy your checking the locks on the windows story.”
“I’m checking up on my wife,” he tossed at her. “Making sure she’s safe while she chooses to live apart from me.”
Becky rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. “You are so full of shit. What was this really? More vandalism or were you actually trying to crawl through my bedroom window, you sick psychopath?”
Todd didn’t like that. He lunged for her, and I snarled, slamming him up against the house, my fingers wrapped around his throat. It would be so easy to watch the life drain from him. The evil would die, and my mate would be free of him. But then, she’d see the real me, and I couldn’t allow that. Ever.
9
CLINT
* * *
“Clint,” Becky warned immediately, like she was afraid I would take things too far. She
wasn’t wrong. It was my job to eliminate rogue shifters. Well, this fucker was a rogue human.
Fuck, she might be right. My jaw was clenched, and my gaze was narrowed. I had no doubt my eyes had changed color. This dickwad wasn’t just harassing Becky, he was flaunting it, as if it was his right.
I was usually level-headed, but when it came to her, I lost all control.
I squeezed harder for another few beats then released my hold on his throat and watched him slump against the side of the house and cough.
“You like to beat on women?” I asked, pulling him up, then slamming him up against it again. “Huh? Is that why she had to file a restraining order?”
“She’s my wife,” he shouted, like that made everything okay.
Becky was right. The guy was a psychopath. He certainly didn’t seem to have a healthy grasp on reality or that Becky wanted shit to do with him.
Except—and this would have been comical if it wasn’t fucking wrong—the moment the sheriff parked and approached, Todd shifted into playing the injured party. As the lawman listened, he was just the smooth-talking, concerned husband checking on his wife.
I went over to Becky, resisting my desperate urge to make contact even though I wanted to wrap my arm around her and pull her in close. Instead, I stood at her shoulder with my arms folded across my chest, like her fucking bodyguard.
Which I was—or planned to be. Among other things. Up until now, she didn’t know it. But now? Everything had fucking changed. There was no more of her pushing away. There was no more of me giving her space. Her ex wasn’t just a jerk. He was a problem to her safety. The way she was shaking, to her health, too. I couldn’t step back a second longer.
A second patrol car came, and between the two officers, Becky’s restraining order was checked out. Once he caught on that neither man was going to fall for his shit, he got quiet. Fast. Todd was arrested and taken away as we watched. Little did the guy know, he was safer in jail since I couldn’t get my hands on him.
I’d have to talk with Rob. As alpha, he heard issues like mine. My mate was being threatened, and the cause had to be eliminated. It was the pack way. The challenge? Todd Nichols was human. We couldn’t make a doctor from Meade disappear. It was my job to see things like this done. The one time I was eager to kill someone, I wasn’t able to do it.
After the cop cars’ brake lights disappeared around the corner, I turned to Becky and set my hands on her shoulders. So she didn’t have to wrench her neck, I bent down, so we were eye to eye. “You okay?”
She nodded. “Thanks for helping. Do you want to come in for… coffee or something?”
If coffee was a euphemism for headboard banging sex, then yes.
“I’ll come in, sugar, but just for you to pack a bag.”
She frowned.
“You’re not staying here. Not when that fucker’s still breathing.”
She laughed. “I foresee him breathing for a very long time. I’d just like to not be legally tied to him. Although, killing him has crossed my mind.”
I turned her toward her front door and nudged her inside. She’d been outside in the cold long enough. “Sugar, I don’t blame you. Now, let’s get a bag and get out of here. You’ve probably had a long day, and you should get some sleep.”
I followed and closed the door behind me. She flipped a switch and a lamp gave the living room a soft glow. Her place was small but cozy. A tan couch faced a gas fireplace with a flat screen TV above it. It was clearly a rental with cream walls and neutral carpet, but landscape photos on the wall gave it some personality.
“I’m not going with you.” She rested a hip against the back of the couch.
“You’re not staying here.” No fucking way. She didn’t know she was mine, and I had to get her to see it, slowly. But not in this house and not alone.
She sighed. “I’ve dealt with Todd for two years. Longer when we were truly married.”
“Two years is long enough,” I countered. “Pack a bag. I don’t want you anywhere that asshole can find you. End of story.” I stepped into her personal space, dropping a hand to her hip. She felt soft and warm beneath my palm, and at the simple touch, my wolf popped up and sniffed.
I heard her breath catch as she gazed up at me and licked her lips. “You do bossy really well, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to do what you say. We had fun. One night. That’s all.”
I arched a brow. “That’s all? I’ve been hard since we kissed this morning.”
Her gaze dropped to the front of my pants, which only made my dick swell even more. I took a deep breath. Yeah, just as I thought. “You’re wet, aren’t you? For what I can give you.”
She huffed as if she was infuriated, but I couldn’t miss the way her cheeks flushed or her pupils dilated. Or her scent. My wolf practically howled at the sweet scent of her pussy.
She was wet, and if I got my hand in those pajama pants…
“You’re cocky, too.”
I grinned at that and cupped myself. “You liked cocky once. I’m ready for another go, but a bed would be good.”
She blushed a deeper shade of pink. “Cocky. Bossy. Whatever. It’s all the same.”
We weren’t getting anywhere, and I wanted to be somewhere safe, not still here in her living room. I always meant what I said, and she was not staying in this place alone. It had been practically painful walking away from her not once but twice knowing she was mine. I wasn’t doing it again.
I had no idea what the fuck I was doing, but I knew she wasn’t remaining alone. Even if I couldn’t claim her, my protective streak told me to keep her safe.
“Bossy, huh?” I finally said. “You wanna see bossy? I’ll show you bossy, sugar.” I tucked my shoulder into the crease of her hip and lifted her into a fireman’s carry, bringing her into her bedroom. “This is me carrying you home with me. I’m not leaving here without you, so you’d better start cooperating and pack a bag.” I gave her butt a light slap, and she laughed.
I tipped her onto the bed and followed her body down, pinning her beneath me. I gathered her wrists above her head. “Either I’m staying here with you tonight, or you’re coming with me now. But you’re not sleeping anywhere alone again, and that’s my final word.”
“I could call the cops on you, too, Clint Tucker.” Her broad smile belied her threat.
I nipped her neck. “I wouldn’t try it if I were you.”
She squirmed beneath me, rolling her hips to meet mine. My cock hardened painfully against my zipper.
“He’s in jail. Todd won’t bother me tonight.”
I growled as I stripped her of her heavy coat, tossed it onto the floor.
“Tonight. Something tells me he won’t be in there for long.” Slippery fuckers like Todd weaseled their way out of shit. Being a respected doctor in the next town over was in his favor. And I had no doubt this incident would only piss him off. He’d be back.
Her face fell as she considered my words. She knew I was right but didn’t say anything. She knew him better than I did, knew that nothing had stopped him in two years.
“Are you going to take me all the way out to Wolf Ranch?”
Well, I hadn’t thought that through yet. I slept in the bunkhouse with the other ranch hands. Getting my own place had never been important to me because I hadn’t had a mate.
But it sure as hell was now.
Getting thrown up on in the grocery store had changed my entire life. That chance encounter had let me discover what I’d had right in front of my face… right on my dick without even knowing.
My parents had a place in town they used as a vacation rental, and that would serve. They didn’t rent it this time of year, for there wasn’t much demand in comparison to the summer months. “I know a place we can stay where your creeper ex won’t find you. Come on.” I forced myself to roll off her—because I had her exactly where I wanted her—and pulled her to her feet. “I’ll help you pack. You can ditch the PJs though. You won’t be needing them. If you get
cold, I’ll keep you warm.”
10
BECKY
* * *
“We’re not having sex,” I blurted as Clint ushered me out to his truck with a hand at my low back, my suitcase in his other hand.
I was dying to have sex with him. Especially when I’d just had all six feet of hard body covering mine on the bed, but if we got naked, he might notice my baby bump, and then complications would become problems.
I had enough of those. My, hopefully, soon-to-be-ex husband had just been outside my bedroom window. I was obviously in no position to get involved with someone new, even if that someone was the father of my unborn child.
Especially because that someone was the father of my child.
I was being cruel, I knew, but God, I couldn’t be stuck with Clint out of pity or because we’d had an epic contraceptive fail. Thanks to my parents, I knew what being stuck with a guy was like, and while Clint was nothing like Todd, I refused to be trapped to any guy for the next eighteen years… hell, the rest of my life, without love.
“Okay,” he said mildly. “No sex. I just need to know you’re safe.”
Damn.
Why did I just say no sex? I was nuts. I knew pregnancy brain was real, but what woman, pregnant or otherwise, would skip any kind of sexy shenanigans with a hottie like Clint? His protective streak alone made me wet. My tender breasts practically throbbed for him under my jacket, and my panties had been damp since the moment he threw me over his shoulder and carried me to the bedroom. Take into account his cowboy swagger, his dark intensity or his ability to deal with Todd with only one hand, and I was a horny mess. I didn’t dare remember how his big dick had felt when he’d taken me hard against the storage room wall at Cody’s.