by Bryce Evans
The man just smiled. Before she did anything, her brother pulled her up. “We have a stranger on our land, Leo. Apparently, nobody is watching the front gate.”
Leo laughed then pointed at the man. “Raven, this isn’t a stranger. He is a new hunter. He is also Calum O’Keefe’s brother-in-law. This is Caz, and the alpha hired him.”
“A tiger. He hired a tiger shifter as a Death Hunter?” Raven asked.
Caz sighed. “What are you? A shifter bigot?”
Raven raised one eyebrow, looking straight at Caz. “No, I’m not a bigot. We have never had any other shifter except bears.” As far as she knew. “That’s all I’m saying.” She turned and stared at her brother. “You could have told me. Why is everyone keeping important details from me now?”
“I would have introduced myself, but you were so offended about me being a tiger shifter in your club that I decided not to,” Caz said, smiling.
Throwing her hands in the air, Raven sighed heavily and walked off. Mumbling under her breath, “It’s not a club, you beast. I’m not a bigot either.”
Raven could hear her brother and the tiger laughing as she walked away. Why was this hurting her feelings? Nobody even told her they were adding a new hunter. Yes, she knew about the Miltons, but he didn’t say that Caz was going to be a hunter. It seemed nobody was telling her anything anymore. The alpha had plenty of chances too.
She glanced back at the new hunter as she got into her truck. “Why, why did they have to hire him?” She could smell his scent. It was all over her since he’d had his big arms touching her.
And what was that smell? Raven leaned over and inhaled her shirt. “Peaches?” Who smelled like peaches? She took another look before she backed up. Not only was he good looking, exceptionally built like a Mack truck, but he smelled like peaches. Her favorite fruit.
Driving through the gate, she waved as Reed and Greer McDaniel were at the gate talking to Dave Regan, another hunter. Everyone seemed to be changing since they got mates. Why? What was so great about having another person at your beck and call? Never in a million years would she ever want a mate.
Raven loved this time of year. Spring was her favorite. She loved all the new leaves on the trees and the flowers. Cosmo had planted a ton of flowers since they returned last night, and it was breathtaking. He knew she loved impatiens and planted them in the pots surrounding the pack house.
Now, she had to try to be friendly. Make friends and buy girly stuff. She did like her new jeans, except for the tear in the side of them. She was going to spend every bit of this money too. But not on what they wanted. She was going to buy what she wanted. Take that, Alpha.
Pulling up at Southern Treasures, she noticed that Cosmo had been ramping up the store front with all the flowers. Cosmo went overboard, but she had to admit it was pretty. She also noticed the new store at the end. “To Your Health,” she whispered.
Getting out of her truck, she stared at the window of the new store. She couldn’t help but walk up and stare inside. It looked like a movie set. “Starry night,” she whispered.
“You’re the only person who has ever described it like that.” Raven just about jumped out of her skin as the woman stood beside her.
The woman backed up. “I’m sorry. I thought you saw me walk up in the reflection of the window.”
Raven couldn’t believe the woman got the best of her. Nobody could do that. Then she took a whiff of her. “Tiger.”
“Raven, my dear. How are you?” Calum O’Keefe walked up and put his arm around the female.
“Calum.”
“I would like for you to meet my mate. This is Riley Milton. Well, it’s O’Keefe now. This is her and her brother Caz’s store,” Calum said. “Oh, I’m sure you know that already, since Caz is a new Death Hunter.”
Raven just smiled but she was burning inside. Apparently, everyone knew including New Hope’s newest resident, Calum O’Keefe. “Nice to meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you too. Your alpha brags on you, so I’m happy to finally get to meet you, Raven.” Riley stuck her hand out.
Raven didn’t know if she heard her right. “My alpha? Lennox Bartley bragged on me?”
“Oh yes. He said you were the best tracker he’d ever had. When I heard you were a female…well, it made me want to meet you even more. It’s not often that you see a female hunter. So, thank you for your service.” Riley was still holding her hand out.
Standing with her mouth open made Calum smile. “Is it so hard to hear that your alpha boasts about you? Because even your male counterparts know it to be true. Dave and Angelo were in here yesterday saying how good of a tracker you were. You should be very proud of yourself. I know we are.” Calum nodded toward Riley’s hand.
“Oh, sorry.” Raven shook Riley’s hand, and for the first time, she actually felt good about herself.
“Would you like to come in and look around?” Riley asked.
“Sure. Your window is awesome. I like it,” Raven said, going inside. Looking around, she was amazed. The ceiling had stars and tiny lights hung all around. Leaning in closer, she put her hand to the wall. The paint had flakes of something shiny in it. Maybe glitter. But whatever it was sure drew her in.
“Quinn picked out the color. You like it?” Riley asked.
“Very much,” Raven said, taking in a deep breath. “Peaches,” she whispered.
Picking up a candle, Riley handed it to her. “You smell my newest candle. The scent is fresh peaches. My brother made this. He won’t tell me what he used, but it does smell like you were walking in a peach orchard. He’s got to make more because I’m almost out. This is a gift.”
Raven stared at the candle. “Let me pay you for it.”
“Nope. Today is Friendship Day or at least that’s what it said on social media and I don’t have many friends here, so maybe we can be,” Riley said, smiling.
This woman was so sweet, and she could tell she really meant it. “Thanks.” Raven looked down at the candle. Jade gave her one of her bracelets and said she wanted to be her friend, but...well, no but, she was being a total bitch to her.
“Speak of the devil,” Riley said. Raven smelled him before she even saw the tiger. The scent of peaches permeated the air and it wasn’t the candle either. “What brings you to town?”
When she glanced at the tiger, he was staring straight at her. But he wasn’t smiling, his nostrils flared at her like she had stolen something from him. “Uh, Caz…” Riley came around the counter and stood next to her. Apparently, she noticed the glaring smirk he was giving her. “You do know Raven, right?”
“Oh yeah, just met this sweet and personable lady today,” Caz said.
Calum laughed, bringing Raven’s glare to him. “This is going to be great. I’ve been waiting for you to meet a woman who doesn’t fall for your charms.”
Raven swallowed hard and put the candle on the counter and marched out. She sure didn’t like to be laughed at and she wasn’t going to start a fight with a vampire who could probably take her out if he wanted. She didn’t need friends. She sure didn’t want to be friends with the butthead tiger.
Blowing out a shaky breath, Raven pulled open the door to Southern Treasures and bumped straight into Jade, her alpha’s mate. Jade Cross Bartley carried the same rank as Lennox, but Raven gave Jade hell every time she saw her. She didn’t know why she didn’t want to get close to the woman. They wouldn’t like her if they actually got to know her. She hadn’t met a girl yet that wanted to be friends with her after they really got to know her.
“Hey. You’re back,” Jade said, smiling.
“Yeah.” With that being said, Raven walked past Jade and went to the blue jean section.
She knew Jade was behind her. “What?”
“Why do you have to be so mean? I’ve always been nice to you. I’ve tried everything I can to be friends with you. But everyone is right, you are a lost cause.” Jade stomped off. She blew out the breath she was holding. Tears puddled in her
eyes, but she blinked them away, so nobody saw, but one always saw.
When she glanced up, Quinn Dixon was leaning against her office door. Frowning at her, watching her like a hawk. She glanced down at the jeans, but nothing appealed to her. Instead of punishing herself any further, she turned and walked out the door.
Pulling out of the parking lot, Quinn stared at her from the door. Raven knew she deserved it. The worst part, she actually liked them all. They were a tight knit group that looked after each other and helped anyone that needed it.
But she didn’t need anyone’s help. She was a Death Hunter, a loner. The words burned as she tried to believe them.
Chapter Three
“Caz Milton, you should be ashamed of yourself. I think I was actually making progress with Raven. Why did you have to make that comment?”
He sighed. “She deserved it. You should have seen the way she treated me when she met me. I tried to be nice, but--”
“You like her,” Calum said from across the room.
Caz’s whole body jerked around and he stared at the vampire. “No, I don’t.”
“Oh my goodness, you do,” Riley added.
“No, no, no, I don’t. Stop saying that,” Caz demanded. He picked up the candle Raven left on the table.
Calum leaned against the counter and narrowed his eyes at him. “Yes, you do. You didn’t have to come check on the store. You did that yesterday. You came because she was coming to town.”
“You two are crazy,” Caz said, walking to the back room. They were wrong.
“Wait.” His sister ran to the door and handed him a bag.
Glancing inside, he started shaking his head. “No.”
“Yes, you are. Stop being a meanie and do this for me. I like Raven and I gave her this. Please take it to her for me.” His sister always knew how to get to him. She even poked her bottom lip out. “Please, big brother.”
Sighing deeply, Caz rolled his eyes and took the bag from his sister. “You could actually come and visit me and give it to her yourself.”
“Don’t have time. All of Calum’s kids are coming into town this weekend and I’m planning a big dinner for them. So I got a lot to do. But you are going back, so you can do it. You will be living in the pack house with her. And this will give you the excuse you need.”
“For what?”
Putting her hand on his face, Riley shook her head and said, “You know, you can fool everyone else, but you can’t fool me. I know you and this one has rocked your world.”
“Whatever,” Caz said, opening the door. “I don’t like her. She’s rude and a tiger bigot.”
He heard what his sister said as he closed the door. “Mate.”
No, no, no, she was wrong. That woman would never be his mate. He could already tell. She hated him, and well, he didn’t like her either.
Did he like her? No, she was beautiful and everything, but who could live with that type of craziness. Caz Milton was fine as a loner. This was the way it was meant to be. But as he drove, Raven’s face popped into his head. It was a curse. “Yes, she is beautiful, but she’s mental.”
Now he was talking to himself. His tiger was up front and center every time they saw her. Her black silky hair shined in the sun, and for the life of him, why did he want to touch it? To see if it was as soft as it looked. Of course, it was. And Raven was a natural beauty. She had piercing green eyes that could see in your soul. “Get out of my head.”
Caz took a deep breath when he saw her vehicle parked at the pack house. “Might as well get this over with.” Caz grabbed the bag and exited his truck. His nose twitched as her scent became stronger at the back of her truck. She wasn’t inside the pack house. He let his tiger loose to scan the area. As he walked toward the woods, her scent grew more intense. She was upset. He picked up his pace until he got to Reed and Greer’s tree house.
Greer stood on the top deck. “She went that way. She’s upset. I tried to get her to come up, but she just kept going. Be careful, Caz, approaching her.”
Caz nodded and continued down the path she traveled. He stopped when he saw her sitting at the edge of the little stream. Lennox had stocked the pond with fish, but Raven wasn’t fishing, she was staring off into the water. He could hear her crying.
He approached her slowly, not wanting to spook her bear. That would be a terrible idea and the worst decision he ever made. She knew he was there. Her back came straight up and her hands were busy wiping her tears away.
He never said anything, just sat and placed the bag beside her. “My sister is a good woman. She never had many friends even as we were growing up. Her tiger was too fierce. They could all sense it. I definitely could as we spared and trained together. I bet she could take down some of the biggest predators here. I think that’s why she likes you so much. But anyway, she wanted me to give this to you. She said it was a gift from her.” Caz sat cross-legged staring off into the water. He would wait all day until she said something.
“You trained her to fight?” Raven asked.
“Sure did.” Caz turned to his side and faced her. “And she is good too. She has the softest feet around. Riley could sneak up and jump on you before you even knew what hit you. I think it scared the hell out of all the other pride members. Most of the girls made fun of her. All the guys were scared of her. But I saw the real Riley. The innocent girl who only wanted to fit in.”
Raven turned and stared at him. “Why are you telling me all this?”
“Because my sister likes you and wants to be your friend and I want my sister to be happy and have things she never had growing up. It wasn’t fair. So anytime she wants something I try to get it for her. You see, I know my sister and she would do it for me if you were something I wanted.”
Caz got up and walked off. He had to. Being this close to her was driving him crazy. He practically held his breath the whole time. His tiger was rolling around on the ground in her scent. Man, this wasn’t good at all. Because she smelled like rum and spices. This wasn’t good at all.
Raven picked up the bag and pulled out the candle. Putting it up to her nose, she inhaled. Peaches, fresh peaches. She had to keep her distance from Caz Milton. His scent was starting to affect her. They even had candles that smelled like him. How odd.
“Don’t you walk by and not talk to me.” Greer’s voice sounded different to her. Made her stop, whether she wanted to or not. “Come on up. Reed isn’t here.”
Raven liked Greer. If she did have a friend, it was Greer. “What’s up?” She tried to act nonchalant, but Greer wasn’t having it.
“So why were you crying and why was Caz Milton following you down to the pond?” Greer asked. “And why were you rude to Jade at the store?”
She couldn’t believe it. How did she know all that? “Is there a hotline that you all use? The phone tree when someone is uncouth to another member. Are all of you Jade’s bodyguards and chastise everyone that upsets the little princess?”
“One, I saw you run by crying. Second, there is a camera down by the pond and we monitor it for any possible danger. The fireworks between you guys were off the charts too. And third, Quinn called me and told me to talk with Jade. She was upset and left the store and came home after you were so rude to her. Why, Raven? Jade has bent over backward for you. I guess I’m asking because I consider both of you my friends and I know Jade wants to be your friend and has tried, but like today, you keep pushing her away. Why?”
“Well, who asked her? And the camera being down at the pond, well, that’s another thing that pisses me off. Nobody told me. Nobody tells me anything anymore. Ever since the Death Hunters started getting mates, everything is like a big secret. But I’m the one they are keeping the secrets from. Do I need to leave? Is this why everyone is treating me like this?”
Geer grabbed Raven’s hand and pulled her to the couch. “Sit.” She sat then turned and faced her. “Raven, nobody is keeping secrets from you. I promise. And no, you can’t leave, and nobody wants you to. What’s
going on in that head of yours?”
Raven wanted to cry. She wanted to get it out of her system. Everything inside her was off. Her senses were heightened. Or…Maybe it was her. Maybe she was sick. “I just feel funny inside. I was okay until I got home and I can’t describe it.”
Greer grabbed her hand and held it. “It’s okay. We all go through it. Things are changing here, and you feel left out, but you're not.”
“I don’t feel left out. I’m happy for you all. Really, I am.”
Greer tilted her head to the side. “I think it’s because of Caz. You are attracted to him, are you not?”
They both turned when Reed walked in with the man that had been plaguing her thoughts all day. “Raven.” Reed rushed over and hugged her. She couldn’t help but laugh at her male best friend. “I missed you. Tonight, is game night. I have our fourth person for tonight. Caz knows how to play Spades. You and me and Greer and Caz.” Reed turned and looked at his mate. “I brought the food, baby.”
She wanted to say no, make up any excuse she could, but Reed went out and bought all kinds of food from Get Your Grub. Plus, she was starving. But now she had to spend the rest of her night with him and his scent.
Chapter Four
“We win, again,” Caz said, slamming his cards on the table. Caz and Greer slapped each other’s hands in the air. Narrowing her eyes at the tiger, Raven wanted to smash him in the face. But that would mean she was a sore loser. Which she was. She hated to lose. Reed would never let her live it down if she did and she really did like Greer. This was Greer’s home and she wouldn’t disrespect her with making a scene.
Greer got up. “I need a break.”
Everyone in the room felt the same way. Maybe it was all the growling she was doing.
Raven walked outside and inhaled the fresh air. She needed space from Caz Milton. Never had a scent affected her so much. Plus, he sat directly across from her too. That little look he gave her when he had a great hand. He was making her so mad.