Wooing Wynter

by Tianna Xander

  Since the car she’d stolen during her getaway had one of those fancy alarm systems most likely with GPS installed, Wynter knew it was only a matter of time before they tracked and retrieved the vehicle. She only hoped anyone searching for them couldn’t trace the abandoned car back to her only friend.

  A semi whooshed past, the force of the air of the speeding vehicle blasted her as the driver honked his loud horn. Wynter jumped and brought her hand to the center of her chest. Her heart pounded, and her breath came in quick short gasps. What was she doing, sitting in the middle of nowhere daydreaming? Was she trying to get recaptured when Ryder had put his life on the line to give them a chance to escape?

  Trying not to think of the other captives they left behind, Wynter pulled the burner cell phone Ella bought for her from her pocket, glanced at the no signal icon, and then tossed it into the car with a disgusted sigh. Nothing was going her way. Not. One. Thing.

  She inhaled the dusty scent of the warm breeze as she contemplated her next move. Where to go wasn't the issue, she just didn’t know how she would get there. Her sense of direction sucked. It always had.

  The map she’d bought might not have been the best, but at least it had gotten her this far. She couldn’t say the same for the GPS on the disposable phone. The non-existent cell service on the stretch of deserted road had rendered it next to useless.

  Blinking back the tears burning her eyes, Wynter took a deep breath and tried to compartmentalize her thoughts. If she didn’t, she would break down, and there was no time for that. Thanks to her deceased husband, she hated crying almost as much as she detested being on the run.

  Don’t give in to your emotions, damn it. You don’t have time for that crap. Besides that, you don’t want to wake the boys.

  Almost as though they sensed her thoughts, the two boys in the backseat whimpered, their little legs trembling as they slept.

  Thankfully, they didn’t wake up. She didn’t know what she’d tell her young charges when they did. They had changed somehow while they slept. They were no longer little boys. They appeared to be three or four-month-old puppies or possibly wolf cubs.

  Getting the boys to sleep had been an exercise in futility for most of the night. Waking them to see if they were okay, now that they had changed into wolf cubs, was not an option. The boys were precocious enough as humans. She didn’t have the energy to handle two exuberant shifter-children at the moment.

  Resting her hands on the small of her back, she stretched again, bending from side to side, and then leaning backward, in an attempt to work out the kinks in her back. What had she been thinking when she promised their dying mother she’d get her sons out of there?

  Wynter swiped the moisture from her forehead with a sigh. No matter what she’d thought at the time, she’d made a promise, and Wynter always did her best to keep her word.

  “Sh...” She reached in through the window and stroked each of the boys' heads as they stirred, blinking their large blue eyes open. “It’s okay. Just go back to sleep.” She glanced away before either of them could see the tears in her eyes. She didn’t want to frighten them. Though she wasn’t sure how much they would understand as cubs, they were bright human boys, and not much got past them.

  Her eyes burned, and her throat grew tight. The boys hadn’t deserved being used as guinea pigs. They were human beings, not lab rats. The thought made Wynter pause. They had been human beings before those assholes got hold of them, anyway. Now they were something else, something different, and she wasn’t sure she was up to the task of caring for them.

  “I need to find a new map.” Her voice sounded strange. Her throat was so dry it came out more like a croak. Maybe she should have grabbed something to drink the last time she stopped for gas.

  Wynter slid back into the driver’s seat, grasped the wheel, and rested her head on her hands. If only she could find the town Ryder had told her about. If she did, maybe then they would be safe, and she could get some rest.

  Reaching down, she turned the key, started the borrowed car, and then maneuvered the vehicle back onto the road. Too bad, her only map had gone sailing through the open window as she crossed the last river. If memory served, it had shown that the area where Magic was supposed to be was approximately ninety more miles to the south, give or take. She wasn’t sure since she hadn’t seen the town listed. She’d only been going by Ryder’s guess on its distance from Roswell and its proximity to the mountains in the area from the stories he’d told them while he loosened the bars from the window.

  Wynter hoped her exhausted and flagging memory was right. She didn’t have the time to get lost.

  Whatever the crazy doctor had injected her with the last time they’d drawn her blood was beginning to take its toll. Her immune system had fought it off for longer than she anticipated, but she was finally succumbing to whatever it was and could feel herself growing weaker. They had to get to that town and find some help.

  Her chest ached, the lump grew in her burning throat, and she trembled with the need for rest. But Wynter knew she couldn’t sleep. She wouldn’t sleep. Not yet. With everyone in their young lives gone, she was all the boys had left.

  Chapter Four

  “WHAT THE HELL?” GENO frowned as they approached a car from behind. The driver must have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol if the way the vehicle bobbed back and forth in the lane was any indication.

  “What?” The boy, whom he’d taken to thinking of as Larry opened his eyes slowly and peered out through his thick, wire-rimmed glasses with sleep-filled eyes. “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m not sure.” Slowing down, he tried to match the other car’s speed. Geno couldn’t pass it. The damned thing kept zigzagging back and forth in the lane in front of them. He couldn’t match its speed, either. It would surge forward, and then slow down as it weaved over the road. He was hesitant to get up next to the damned thing for fear of damaging Birgit’s vehicle, annoying though the chatty car might be.

  Geno lifted his foot off the accelerator a bit more. “Hey, Larry, do you smell that?”

  “I don’t smell anything, and my name isn’t Larry.” The boy flicked him with an irritated glance. “It’s Jonah.” The boy tried to straighten himself in his seat, but had a difficult time with the Magni-cuffs and the seat restraint limiting his movements.

  “Whatever.” Geno took a deep breath. “It smells like a mixture of vanilla, cinnamon, and...” He inhaled again. “Maybe cherries.” Whatever it was, smelled delicious enough to eat.

  The scent made his stomach clench. His chest ached, and his heart swelled. For the first time in nearly thirty years, Geno felt a stirring in his groin. What the hell was going on? He refused to believe he was getting turned on by food.

  “How can we get around that thing?” He glanced at the boy. “Well?” he asked when Jonah didn’t answer.

  “You pass it, that’s how you get around it.” Jonah wriggled in his seat and then held his arms up. “Hey, can you remove these things?”

  “Not now.” Geno frowned at the vehicle in front of them, looking for an opening to pass. “Something must be wrong with the driver.” He glanced at Jonah. “Perhaps they need medical attention.” The car slowed even more, and Geno stepped on the brake. “Hell, I can run faster than this.”

  Pulling to the side of the road, he shut down the engine and jumped from the car. The other vehicle still moved, but it looked as though it was running at an idle, for the most part. The car moved slowly across the centerline, then would straighten in the lane, the engine revved, and it would speed up a bit and then weave. It repeated the pattern as he watched.

  “What’s the matter?” Jonah bent over in the seat and met his gaze.

  Leaning through the window, Geno released the cuffs and grabbed the keys from the ignition. He couldn’t have the boy stealing Birgit’s car while he was figuring out this new mystery, could he? He also couldn’t leave his prisoner restrained, just in case something happened, and he required help.
Not that he was certain the boy would help him if he needed it.

  “I’m not sure.” Straightening, Geno started running after the car. “But, I’m about to find out.”

  It didn’t take long to catch up to the errant vehicle, even on foot. It wasn’t traveling at more than eight or ten miles per hour at any given time. His eyes widened when he drew even with the driver’s door.

  “Why is there a dog driving this car?”

  Grasping the handle, he wrenched open the door. The dog yelped and jumped into the passenger seat as he dove inside and jammed his foot onto the brake pedal, bringing the car to a halt.

  His stomach clenched again as the strong scent of cinnamon, vanilla, and cherries assaulted his senses. Geno’s head swam, and his body came to life. If he hadn’t known better, he would have thought he was in the company of a takana—a second chance mate—instead of a dog.

  A glance into the backseat showed two pups he guessed belonged to the bitch in the front seat. His nostrils twitched when he glanced her way.

  This is it. I’m finally losing my mind. It’s time I went back to Zolon and performed the cal’tratu. I cannot wait any longer. I must go before I harm an innocent. He shook his head in an attempt to clear it.

  “Hey.” Jonah stopped beside the door, bent over and held his sides. “What’s going on?” Resting his hands against the window, he peered into the backseat. “Cute puppies.” Once again, he met Geno’s gaze. “Where’s the driver? Is he okay?”

  “She is just fine.” Geno leaned back in the seat. “But she was in no condition to drive.”

  “Why, what— a dog? A dog was driving the car?” Jonah searched the rest of the interior as though another human hid somewhere inside. “Bullshit.”

  “Do you see anyone else here?” Geno waved his arm. Was the boy more of an idiot than he first thought? “It’s obvious the bitch and her pups are the only ones in the vehicle.”

  The animal growled at him.

  “Hush.” He spared it a glance. He didn’t like sitting next to it. Something about the animal just felt wrong. Maybe it had something to do with the tiger inside him. Cats, no matter their size, usually didn’t like dogs, and it was obvious by the growl from the animal next to him, the feeling was mutual.

  “I think she didn’t like the way you called her a bitch,” Jonah said with a chuckle. “Maybe she’s a shapeshifter and takes offense to the word.”

  “I don’t think so.” Geno spared the animal another glance. It would explain his reaction, though. If the dog sitting in the passenger seat were an earth female shapeshifter and she was his takana, it would explain a great many things.

  He stared into the large green eyes surrounded by a mask of darker hair, and the dog tilted her head. The reddish-brown fur appeared dull and flat, as though she were ill. The dark mask around her eyes accentuated the green irises, bringing out the color of glowing emeralds and new leaves. The shade was familiar and nudged his memory a bit, but he couldn’t recall what seemed so important about it.

  “Are you a shapeshifter?”

  The dog, or maybe it was a wolf, barked, as though in the affirmative. Great. Now, what do I do?

  “I’m Geno. Perhaps, when you change back to your human self, you can tell me your name, yes?” She tilted her head at him, and he sighed. He hoped she was a shifter. Otherwise, he’d feel like an idiot when he got back to Magic.

  Dogs or not, he couldn’t very well leave them in the middle of nowhere in the heat with no water, and they all wouldn’t fit in Birgit’s small car. Well, they might, but he couldn’t trust the boy not to try to escape. Besides, he didn’t want to abandon the woman’s car on the lonely stretch of highway.

  What’s more important, a prisoner or your takana?

  Geno rubbed the center of his chest. The memory of his Rowninda came rushing back. He had loved her with every molecule of his being. How could he even think of beginning a new life with someone else?

  Clenching his fists, he resolved to get all of them back to Magic if he had to carry them on his back.

  “Jonah.” He waved the boy closer. “Can you drive?”

  “Of course, I can drive.” Jonah stiffened with a frown. “Do you think I’m stupid or something?”

  “Of course not. I didn’t want to trust you with driving this car if you had no idea what to do.” Geno stared at the gauges. What if his idea was the wrong course of action? Once given the keys and left alone, there was no guarantee Jonah wouldn’t try to run.

  “You can trust me.” Jonah shoved his hands in his pockets, his mouth curving at the corners as he bounced in place. “If you think I’m going to run off after finally finding proof that shapeshifters exist, you’re crazy.”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of, you idiot. What’s to stop you from taking your proof and running?” He rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly wishing he hadn’t insisted he take the task of bringing Jonah to Magic.

  “Why don’t you take the dogs, then and I’ll—“

  The female growled again.

  “I don’t think she likes you calling her a dog, either.” Geno laughed as he slid out of the car. “I tell you what...” He handed Jonah the keys and then leaned in through the open door. “Stay with him. He’s doing his best to see that he exposes the shifter community in our town. We can’t have that.” He pointed behind them. “If he does anything other than follow that blue car back there, bite the shit out of him.”

  “Hey!” Jonah scowled. “Why’d you tell her to do that?”

  The female growled and then rested back on her haunches. Lowering her head, she stared at Jonah with unblinking, but beautiful green eyes. The intent gaze was an amazing sight. The green of her irises glowed a bit, again reminding him of something long forgotten. The animal was a wolf shifter. She had to be. There was no way that intense stare belonged to a common dog.

  “There was no call to tell her to bite me.” Jonah fisted the keys in his hand.

  “Perhaps not, but I had to ensure that you wouldn’t try to run with them.”

  “I said you should take them. What more do you want?”

  “If you think I’m going to leave you with a car and no one to guard you, you’re sadly mistaken. He grinned at Jonah. “If you think human mothers are vicious, allow me to introduce you to a female who will be more violent than any human woman. Never threaten the safety of children, especially when their mother is around. She,” he paused, flicking his gaze toward the wolf, “will see that you do not try to take her anywhere but Magic.”

  At the sound of the town’s name, the female perked up, and she let out a high-pitched yip.

  “Was that where you were going, then?”

  Again, with the high-pitched bark.

  “Then it’s a good thing we found you and not someone else. I’m sure the state police would have had an issue with a wolf driving a car with her cubs unrestrained in the back seat.”

  Geno headed back to Birgit’s car, his mind whirling with unwanted thoughts. What would cause a mother to load her children into a sedan without the proper safety restraints?

  It was obvious the female was a wolf shifter. It was also obvious she had a mate somewhere, so any ideas he might have about her being his takana were erroneous. He would not even entertain the thought of taking another male’s mate, no matter how desperate he might have become.

  His chest ached again. Only this time, it wasn’t because he missed his Rowninda. He felt the discomfort in his chest because, for one little blip in time, he thought he might have gotten a second chance at love.

  Perhaps it was for the best. What could he have in common with a wolf shifter? She might not be a dog, just as he was not a cat, but the two were close enough to make a relationship between them impossible.

  Maybe he had no business hoping for a second chance at love when so many males he knew hadn’t even gotten their first.

  He’d been lucky once. To ask for more was being greedy. Wasn’t it?

  Chapter Five

>   WYNTER WATCHED AS GENO walked back to the other car. It was too bad he wasn’t going to ride with her. She liked looking at him, even though she was at least fifteen or twenty years his senior. Still, just because she was nearing fifty, didn’t mean she was dead.

  Ella would have called him total eye candy. Over six-feet-tall, with dark brown hair, the color of black coffee, and amber eyes, he was the most handsome man she’d ever seen.

  Her heart stuttered as she watched his muscles flex beneath his clothing as he walked away. Heat pooled in her middle, and her legs grew weak, just looking at him. Then she felt guilty when she thought of her dead husband. How could she even think of a man in such a way when she’d lost Ben in a car accident less than two years ago?

  Besides, she was a dog now—or a wolf. Whatever she was, she had no business drooling after a hot guy. She snapped her mouth closed and swallowed. She really was drooling, dammit!

  Wynter lowered her head and growled at Jonah as he slid into the driver’s seat. If the young man sitting next to her didn’t take her where she wanted to go, she would do as the other man said and bite the shit out of him.

  Things would be different if it were only her in the car, but it wasn’t. She had Nicky and Noah to think about now. Protecting them must be her priority.

  She glanced into the back seat. They were still asleep, and that worried her. Neither of them had awakened since she’d stopped earlier, and they both had stirred. They’d been asleep for hours now. Even the conversation between the two men and her barking hadn’t awakened them.

  Something was wrong.

  Jonah started the car, then put it in gear. Wynter growled at him. It was a warning to wait for the other man to pass. She’d watch for the blue car and keep watch as long as it took. She was determined not to fail the cubs.

  Fifty-six hours without sleep had taken its toll. Wynter had been lucky that she’d shifted after she’d gotten on the nearly deserted stretch of highway.