Blue Moon Saloon Box Set 2

by Anna Lowe

  Chapter One

  Summer hummed to the tune on the radio as she arranged the window display in the Quarter Moon Café. Little snowmen, miniature trees, and a tiny sled. She sprayed on more fake snow and looked up at the dusting of the real stuff that had fallen on the highest ridges around town overnight. She’d been in Arizona for a few weeks now, and the place never ceased to amaze her. The contrasts, the harsh beauty of it all. She loved the red rock outcrops, the rich green pines, and the pure white of the snow. It was so different from where she’d grown up along the Great Lakes, and yet she’d never felt more at home in her life. It was as if her heart had found a niche of exactly the right size and shape and wanted to settle in forever.

  Which was a dangerously appealing thought, because she couldn’t stay long. The shifters who ran the café and the neighboring saloon had been kind enough to take her in for the time being, but she knew she couldn’t move in for good. Not after what she’d done. But where would she go next? Her home pack?

  Her inner wolf snorted. Never going there again.

  Where, then?

  She had nowhere to turn. She’d been on the road for a long time with a pack she never wanted to return to, just like she never wanted to go back to being the person she’d once been. So naïve. So gullible. She was only twenty-five, but she felt a hundred years older and about a thousand wiser than she’d been just a few months ago.

  So many mistakes. So many ugly memories. So many regrets.

  She tipped her chin up and tried letting the sunshine cheer her up. She’d found a safe new place and a great group of people to live among — at least, for the time being. That’s what counted most, right?

  She stepped outside the café to check the display from the street, then went back in to adjust the reindeer pulling the sled.

  “Perfect,” she murmured, wishing she could arrange her life the way she arranged that display.

  Well, it was almost perfect. Straw stars were the last part — straw stars just like the ones her grandmother used to decorate the Christmas tree with. That was one of the only memories she had of home that wasn’t tainted by more recent events.

  She sat down at a table by the window to make the stars, all the while inhaling the scent of breakfast. Jessica, her boss, was in the kitchen baking another batch of muffins, and the aroma of berries, vanilla, and cinnamon wafted through the room.

  The bell over the door chimed merrily, and she looked up as a group of men filed in. As always, her heart skipped a beat in anticipation. Would Drew be among them?

  “Morning, Summer.” Luke, a wrangler from Seymour Ranch, tipped his cowboy hat.

  “Having a good winter, Summer?” That was Mack, the jokester of the group.

  “Hi, sweetheart. Got some of that coffee today?” Sam asked.

  She greeted each with a genuine smile because they were all great guys. But when a fourth man crowded the doorway, her smile stretched cheek to cheek. Her whole face heated and flushed, and a boom like waves breaking over distant rocks registered in her ears.

  Drew. Drew. Drew! her inner wolf cheered.

  The other three men had come striding in like it was a second home, but Drew paused in the doorway. He did that every time, wiping his boots in a practiced right-left, right-left slide that said he’d been raised to do that at home. Then he pulled off his hat and stepped over the threshold.

  Such a polite bear, her grandmother would have sighed.

  He rubbed a thickly muscled shoulder against the doorframe in a territory-marking move that would have been a blatant challenge to the bears that owned the place if they weren’t his cousins. And the way he did it screamed, This place might not be mine, but it’s mine to protect. Keep out, strangers. Don’t even think about bringing trouble here.

  “Morning, Summer,” he rumbled, locking eyes with her. His were a pale, gold-hued green, and they sparked with wonder when they took her in.

  “Morning, Drew,” she said, trying not to squeak.

  A perfectly normal exchange of greetings, and yet it set off a dozen wild fantasies. Like hearing Drew utter those words while naked and sleepy in bed. Like replying and winding her leg around his as they lay skin to skin.

  Morning, Summer, he’d say as she woke up, like it was the best morning ever because she was at his side.

  Or maybe he’d just wake her with a quiet kiss and a touch — one that led to more touching and kissing and a long, unhurried session of making love.

  Morning, Summer, he’d say when they dropped back onto the sheets, sweaty and satisfied. She’d rest her head on his chest — a chest so broad and so piled with muscle, she had dozens of options for exactly which subsection to try out — and run her hand down his thick, corded arms.

  Summer cleared her throat and blinked. It was ridiculous, the way her body reacted to him. Her mind fluttered and took wing like a hysterical butterfly set loose in a meadow blooming with wild flowers.

  Get yourself together, girl, she ordered herself.

  But her inner wolf remained all dreamy, batting its eyes and wagging its tail.

  A crush. It had to be a crush, right? And seriously, what woman wouldn’t have a crush on a man like Drew? He was big, broad, and quiet. Honorable, too, like all bear shifters were. His close-cropped beard was thick, dark, and neatly trimmed, and she longed to tip forward and nuzzle it with her chin.

  When he stepped closer, his eyes went a little hazy, too, as if he was thinking the same thing. The whole world started to fade away — the rumble of truck tires on the street, the quiet clink of silverware in the café, the murmurs of the other men. Everything receded to the far corner of her mind like a vague memory, and all she could see was Drew. All she could hear was the sharp intake of his breath as he looked at her, and all she could register was the rich, woodsy scent of him. She focused on his lips — thick, round lips that somehow fit perfectly on that edgy, masculine face, and she leaned forward even more. Their arms brushed, making blood rush through her veins.

  Mate, her wolf murmured. My destined mate.

  Mate, she swore she heard him think. My destined mate.

  Then, Bang! The back door opened, and Jessica’s cheery voice snapped her back to her heels.

  “Morning, everyone!” her boss called, swinging a platter of muffins so fresh from the oven, they steamed.

  Drew hastened a step back, and his eyes dropped to the floor. Summer gulped and blinked desperately, trying to find her focus again. Focus on something other than her favorite bear shifter, that is.

  “Blueberry or apple?” Jessica held a platter of oven-fresh muffins up toward Drew.

  “Um… uh…” He seemed as tongue-tied as Summer felt.

  Luke reached in and helped himself. “Both, thanks. Can I get a coffee, too?”

  “Make that two,” Mack said.

  “Three,” Sam added.

  Summer finally forced her feet into motion. “Coffee, coming right up.” She stepped behind the counter to fill four mugs and inhaled deeply, hoping the rich scent would bring her back to her senses.

  “Mind if we take these next door?” Sam asked as Jessica served more muffins.

  Summer looked around. What was going on next door? And why did Jessica’s face cloud? In fact, everyone went serious at the same time.

  Then she remembered. Soren, the alpha of this unusual, mixed bear-wolf clan, had called a meeting with the wolves of Twin Moon Ranch. A meeting she hadn’t wanted to think about because the subject was a vile enemy that had staged several attacks on the hard-working shifters she’d grown to love.

  Worse, that enemy was the band of rogues she’d once worked for. The rogues she’d unwittingly assisted through so many heinous crimes.

  Summer went stiff all over, remembering just who she was. Even if Drew felt anything for her, disgust would make him reject her in the end. How could he ever accept a she-wolf who’d taken part in crimes against his family? It was already a stretch for Jessica and the others to offer her shelter for a few weeks. Of
course, that was probably in their best interest — that way, they could make sure Summer didn’t have any tricks up her sleeve. She’d been working her ass off in the café and saloon, trying to prove she meant everything she’d said about her reluctant involvement with the Blue Blood rogues. But she knew she could never truly sweat away the guilt of what she’d been a part of. Her past would always be part of her. A black mark. A steel-barred cage. No matter where she went, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t outrun her past.

  And she certainly couldn’t dream about taking a bear as a mate. The Blue Bloods had been defeated, but an idea was harder to eradicate than evil-hearted men. If any believers remained, they’d come after her and Drew to make an example of them.

  Want my mate! her wolf wailed.

  He couldn’t, shouldn’t be her mate. It wasn’t meant to be.

  Drew, she saw, was still standing nearby, looking at her. His face grew sad, and he dug his right heel against the floor tiles. Had he just remembered who she was, too?

  “Sure, take the coffee with you,” Jessica said, nodding toward the back. “We’ll pick the mugs up later.”

  Luke, Mack, and Sam filed through the narrow corridor, and a second later, the rear door squeaked open.

  “Coming, Drew?” one of them called back.

  He went, watching her with dark, mournful eyes that refused to let go until the last possible second. His heavy steps echoed down the hall.

  Mate, her wolf cried, seeing him go.

  Summer closed her eyes, telling herself not to cry, too.

  Chapter Two

  Drew forced himself to follow the others down the dim hallway because if he didn’t…well, who knew what kind of crazy stunt his bear might make him pull.

  Like lunging for Summer and sweeping her into one of those bent-over-backward movie-poster kisses where the guy just couldn’t get enough of the girl. Like throwing her over his shoulder and running her off to someplace down the road where they could be alone.

  Alone. Good idea, his bear growled.

  Yeah, him and her, alone. Talking. He desperately wished for someplace they could sit down to a cup of coffee — a coffee served by someone other than her — and talk and talk and talk. Not coming, not going. Just sitting and getting to know each other beyond Good morning and Good night.

  Talk? his inner bear grumbled.

  The beast had been all ears on the throwing-her-over-his-shoulder part, but that was about it. And that was the problem. The pull, the need, the craving for her was growing every day, and it scared the hell out of him to think what he might do.

  Like take her somewhere private and get her naked, real fast? his bear suggested.

  An image of Summer, gloriously naked and writhing in ecstasy under his body popped into his mind. Summer, with her blond hair flowing over her shoulders, her trim body begging for more. Her rich brown eyes fixed on his, her lips silently voicing her pleasure.

  He gulped. Hard.

  She wants it, too.

  Yes, he’d seen the desire in her eyes. But he’d seen fear, there, too. Fear and longing and worry about things that pained him to even guess at. He wanted to make them all go away until there was nothing in her eyes but pure desire.

  Okay, and maybe wonder. Love. Joy. All the things he felt for her in addition to the desperate physical need.

  He’d only known her for a couple of weeks—

  Nineteen days, eight hours, sixteen minutes, his bear threw in.

  —and yet it felt like he’d thirsted after her for years. Her. Only her. Exactly her. Not any of the girls back home. Not Eileen, who was smart as anything and pretty, to boot. Not gorgeous Julie with her Hollywood smile. Not Bethany with the curves that brought all the guys to their knees.

  None of them. Just Summer.

  Need her. Want her. Must make her mine.

  “You coming, or what?” Sam hurried him along.

  He stepped into the blinding sunlight of the back lot and looped over to the rear door of the Blue Moon Saloon, the place adjacent to the café, where he ducked into darkness again. Which was fitting, given the mood of everyone in the room.

  “All right already. Let’s start,” Soren Voss growled.

  Soren, his distant cousin, the alpha of this clan. The man who’d requested backup from his black bear relatives on the East Coast. Soren and his fledgling shifter clan had survived numerous attacks in the past months, all of them staged by the Blue Blood rogues — an extremist group so staunchly against the mixing of shifter species that they were ready to kill any couple who dared cross species lines.

  Soren and the others had felt that hate full force as a mixed clan of bears, wolves, and humans who’d been turned by their mates. Which made them all prime targets for the militant rogues. But they’d fought back, time and time again, and beaten the Blue Bloods so soundly, it was doubtful they would come back again.

  Still, doubtful wasn’t good enough, especially not for Soren. And Drew couldn’t blame him. Soren had a young cub, a mate, and his extended family to protect. Not to mention a growing business to nurture, too.

  “Todd and Anna killed the last of the Blue Bloods,” a wolf called Kyle pointed out. He was one of several wolves present from Twin Moon Ranch — one of the most powerful shifter packs in the West.

  “The question is, are those rogues gone for good?” Simon asked.

  His words hung heavily over the room.

  Drew kept quiet. One, because he was accustomed to the stricter traditions back home which only gave the older generation the right to speak their minds. Two, because he really didn’t know. He’d arrived in Arizona a week after that last attack, shortly after Soren requested backup.

  We need loyal, quick-thinking bears ready to be vigilant against further attacks. Soren’s message had said. A big, capable fighter to help keep an eye on things here.

  When that message had been read aloud, every clan member’s head turned to Drew, and a few hours later, he was on the road, heading west.

  The third reason he didn’t comment on the discussion was because Summer had stepped into the room with a tray of glasses, setting his mind and body on fire again. She moved with silent grace, distributing drinks in an unobtrusive way. Her hair shone in the dim light of the room, and it flowed over her shoulders in loose banana curls. The kind he’d like to wrap a finger in and wind around and around. The kind he’d like to wrap all his fingers around as he backed her against a wall and kissed her senseless while she made hungry mewling sounds.

  He cleared his throat and sat straighter. Shit. Stupid bear, giving him bad ideas.

  Good ideas. She’d like them, his bear insisted.

  Summer walked past, and he sniffed deeply, inhaling her honeysuckle scent. A taste of heaven on earth.

  Then she moved on, and a moment later, the back door swung open and closed. The second he felt her leave, his soul ached to see her again.

  Man, what was wrong with him?

  Mate, his bear growled. She’s my mate.

  He closed his eyes, trying to clear the words out of his mind.

  Trust me, she’s our fated mate. It’s destiny.

  Right. Trust fate. Everyone knew how fickle that mystical force could be.

  “Damn rogues,” Soren murmured, slamming a fist on the table.

  Drew snapped his attention back to the room. Soren’s mate, Sarah, put a hand on the clan leader’s arm, calming him down. “I want to believe the rogues are gone. I want to believe we could stop looking over our shoulders and get on with our lives. I want to enjoy the holidays.”

  Every shifter in the room nodded in agreement.

  “But…” She patted the baby sleeping in her arms and trailed off.

  “But they could still be out there,” Soren muttered with a murderous look on his face. “Who knows? There could be another Whyte. A new leader, ready to pick up their fucked-up crusade.”

  Everyone went silent, considering the possibilities.

  Tina Hawthorne-Rivera, on
e the leading members of Twin Moon pack, spoke next. “The problem is not so much the Whytes but the sick idea they promoted and how to eradicate that.”

  Sarah shook her head sadly. “There will always be rogues with crazy ideas. What we need to concentrate on is whether they’re regrouping or giving up. Whether they have a leader strong enough to plan another attack.”

  “Or a leader strong enough to show them a new way,” Tina said.

  “We should send up a contingent to their base in Utah,” Luke suggested. “Wipe them out for good.”

  Drew sat up straighter. Summer had spent some time at that ranch in Utah. Hope Springs — that was the name of the place the Blue Blood rogues had taken over as a home base. Summer had been forced to work with the Blue Bloods until she’d fled. Was that why her eyes were so haunted? Was that the source of the massive guilt that seemed to weigh her down?

  Tina shook her head. “We don’t want to wage our own war. If we do, we’re no better than them.”

  “We don’t even know if they’re still there or if they’ve moved on to some other place.” Simon scratched his jaw.

  The back door swung open, and Summer entered again, quiet as a mouse. Drew just about jumped out of his chair to see her again, but no one else seemed to pay much notice — not to Summer, nor to how loudly he was sure his heart was pounding. How could anyone overlook a woman like her?

  It must have been her silent grace, her light-footed step. She moved like a dancer, and her hair swung in a silky wave. She brushed it back with the gesture he’d long since fallen in love with and scanned the room, distributing muffins and picking up empty glasses as she went. She had a gift for dodging attention and staying in the wings, it seemed. Was that what it took to help her survive her time with the rogues?

  He looked at Soren, hoping his cousin would suggest driving to Utah and shaking information out of every man, woman, and child at the Blue Bloods’ last known base. He sure as hell would be the first to volunteer. If the Blue Bloods were truly defeated, maybe Summer could move on. Maybe she could let herself laugh and love and live.

  Laugh with me, his bear added. Love me. Live with me.