His eyes widened and darted straight to hers.
“What the fuck is that?” The disgust in his voice evident and the fact that he wasn’t acknowledging Pax’s presence meant they were all headed to a showdown if she didn’t slow this train wreck down a bit. Too late, as Pax seemed to have taken exception to the remark.
“Brain misfiring this morning, Espinoza?” Pax said, his body so close to Ava that it was flush against the side of hers now. Newly mated wolf shifters were notoriously possessive and combative while the mating bond settled into place. “It’s exactly what it looks like.”
Tanner kept his eyes on Ava.
“Your brother’s going to be really impressed, you know,” he growled, taking Ava by surprise with his anger and attitude. “It’s good to know you’re sent out for diplomatic work on the packs’ behalf and you’re rolling around in the sheets with this asshole.”
And that was all it took. In the blink of an eye, Pax swung and landed a fist square on Tanner’s jaw and the two were in a heap of fists and snarls. Worried about the scene and destruction that was sure to follow, both Omar and Ava moved to break the two up and get them in the parking lot as soon as possible.
It wasn’t easy, or even possible, but it seemed that as soon as Pax felt her hands on him, he relaxed and got off Tanner, letting her grab his hand and walk outside. She knew better than to chastise him--Tanner had most obviously been in the wrong and appearing to take his side would only make Pax’s territorial wolf even angrier.
Omar followed Pax out and carried both of their bags, saving them from having to return inside to grab them.
Tanner stalked over to where she stood and when he opened his mouth to speak, she put her hand up to stop him.
“You need to think about how you’re about to talk to me,” she said quickly. “You had no right to come at me like that and I doubt you’ll get a second chance to string together more than two offensive words before all hell breaks loose again. So, I implore you to choose your words wisely.”
The flash of anger in Tanner’s eyes was unmistakable, but it passed and he let out a frustrated sigh.
“I’m sorry, Ava,” he said. “After hearing about your attack, I wasn’t expecting to find you mated the very next morning. You’ll have to forgive me for being surprised.”
“Surprised is one thing,” Pax said beside her. “Insulting and offensive is another. Nobody speaks to Ava like that.”
Tanner’s eyes flashed murder at Pax, but again, he was able to hide the reaction and simply looked away.
“I sent Adam back to the pack so he could help Mason with a few meetings over the next couple days while I was here with you in case the Carver came back,” Tanner said, eyes roaming the parking lot. “We have to meet with the Zion pack tonight as the Utes have already agreed to lend support. We don’t have to go there anymore.”
That was a surprise.
“Did they contact the pack?”
He nodded.
“Last night Mason got a call and they worked out a few initial details,” Tanner said as they started moving toward the new rental parked on the far side of the parking lot. “They’re sending their Alpha pair out to our territory next week. There’s no bargaining or deal-making necessary with the Utes.”
Ava nodded. It seemed unusual that they’d reach out on their own, as they’d been one of the more hesitant packs on her itinerary, but it meant that only the Zion pack remained on her trip. After that, she could take a few days off to herself and Pax and the very thought made her giddy.
“We’re going to talk about this mating thing, too,” he said over his shoulder. “In private.”
Pax, who’d remained quiet until then snorted.
“Think again, Espinoza,” he said, placing his hand on the small of Ava’s back. “That’s not happening.”
Oh, shit. Ava braced for another brawl, but Tanner merely shook his head and got into the passenger’s seat while Omar got behind the wheel. Pax held the door for her to get into the back before climbing in behind her.
What was with Tanner? He’d been an ex-boyfriend in the loosest of terms and in the past year hadn’t shown any more romantic interest in her after their first couple of hookups. It’d all been fine with Ava, who wasn’t any more interested in him than he was in her, but this reaction to her mating was odd. And very unlike Tanner.
They drove the entire expanse of the state of Utah that day and aside from a few short, pointed conversations in the car, nobody said a whole lot to each other. Ava couldn’t help but pick up on a weird energy bouncing between Omar and Tanner, either. What had transpired before they’d gotten back to the hotel?
She looked over at Pax, who had his hand in his lap and tried to wrap her mind around just what happened the night before. How had she gone from hormones on fire to attempted kidnapping to true mates? The very thought made her head swim, but at the core of it, she was happy. Every fiber of her being felt at ease and complete with Pax next to her. Who would have thought?
After an exhausting eight-hour drive, they arrived in Northern Arizona and drove straight to the meeting spot the Zion Alpha, a shifter named Harrison Park, set up. It was a diner parking lot with a few cars parked around the small building. They parked the SUV further out and Ava got out to stretch her legs and roll her neck. She was sore from head to toe from all the traveling and from the near-beating she took last night. Thankfully, her wounds had mostly healed around her forehead and she wasn’t worse for the wear.
Strong hands grabbed the sore muscles on her shoulders and began to massage them, eliciting an immediate moan from her. Pax had magic hands in more ways than one, that much was certain.
“You okay?” His lips were close to her ear and he didn’t resist the opportunity to nip at the sensitive skin before planting a kiss on the spot. She closed her eyes and giggled.
“I’m good,” she whispered. “A little out of sorts with him here. Something’s weird.”
“I agree,” he said coming around to stand in front of her. “Keep your guard up, baby. Don’t hesitate to shift if shit goes down and stay out of it if you can. I’ll have a hard time concentrating if you’re in danger.”
She nodded. She knew her wolf could take care of her, but she wasn’t a trained warrior. She was a peacemaker, and violence didn’t exactly come natural to her. Ava preferred to keep a cool head over fighting.
“The key to this guy is to make sure he knows how weak he is without the other packs,” Tanner said suddenly, coming up behind them. She felt Pax stiffen at the appearance of the Beta, but he kept his cool.
Ava considered his words and shook her head. Telling a proud Alpha that he and his pack were weak and needed the rest of them seemed like the worst way to start a conversation.
“I prefer to offer them a chance to be part of the solution instead of pointing out their shortcomings,” she said quietly as she turned to face him.
“Yeah?” Tanner shot back, suddenly cocky and stand-offish. “How’d that go with the Kalis wolves?”
Anger shot through her like hot needles and even her wolf bared her teeth at the comment.
“Hey, Tanner?” she asked, instead.
“Yeah?”
“Just curious,” she said slowly. “Who did Mason put in charge of these talks? Was it you? Or was it me?”
Behind her, Pax snickered and placed his hand on her lower back. So much for being a peace maker.
Tanner leveled her with a long, hard gaze that sent a chill through her. There was something new in his eyes--a coldness that she’d never seen before. What had happened with Tanner? Was he really upset about her and Pax? She knew for a fact that he hadn’t been holding a candle for them to reunite, so why the hostility with her now?
She met his gaze and held it, knowing that as Beta, her refusal to submit and lower her gaze would be seen as disrespectful, but fuck it, he was being an ass and was way out of line. If it came down to it, Mason would have her back in this. Respect was big in his pack and
Tanner was way out of line right now.
Before it could go any further, and she sensed her new mate growing more agitated behind her, three sets of headlights pulled into the parking lot and came to a stop beside their SUV.
“Ready or not,” Pax said behind her. “The Zion Pack is here.”
Chapter Eleven
Ava
Harrison and his Beta, a female shifter named Anise, introduced themselves to the Pueblo wolves and to Pax, the lone Canyon representative.
“I didn’t know Zion had a female Beta,” Omar said, the awe apparent in his voice. Female Betas weren’t exactly common, as the leadership positions required not only serious dominance, but the ability to physically dominate any challengers (male or female). It meant that the lithe and lean Anise was most likely a bad ass. Ava was impressed.
“Rare,” Pax answered him as they followed the Zion shifters to their pack lands.
Northern Arizona was surprisingly crisp at night and Ava snuggled into Pax and fought to stay focused. She wasn’t really sure when and where Harrison were hoping to have their talks and she didn’t want to appear weak in front of all these shifters.
They drove through a winding road that led to a surprisingly lush forest atop a secure mountain with breathtaking views of the area from what she could see from the backseat. Up ahead, Tanner was typing furiously on his phone and Ava smirked at the thought that he was likely tattling on her to her brother.
Finally, they arrived and the four guests were shown to their cabins, a few hundred meters away from the pack lodge where Harrison lived. He was unmated and lived alone. Anise, too, it seemed was single and had her own cabin on the opposite side of the land.
“It’s pretty here,” Ava said, admiring the layout. “Very open and roomy.”
Pax grunted an affirmation.
“Kinda reminds me of the setup we have back home,” he said, his eyes taking it in. The Pueblo pack had a huge lodge that most of the shifters lived in. They were also a little more land-locked than traditional pack lands and it meant that the other houses on the property were multi-family as well. Not an ideal situation, but Mason talked a lot about expanding lately, so there was hope for a better set up soon. Ava had never been to Canyon lands and the idea of seeing inside Pax’s cabin suddenly thrilled her.
Once they’d all settled their bags, the team met up back at the big lodge and were served a hearty meal of beef stew and cornbread by one of the Zion shifters, Cole, who also doubled as a chef in town.
“A shifter chef?” Tanner asked, clearly skeptical.
“A damn good one, too,” Anise cut in, clearly proud of her packmate. Her expression dared Tanner to mock the chef. Wisely, he didn’t.
Ava watched her own Beta bristle and fidget in his chair, alarm bells going off in her head. She was going to have to talk to Mason the first chance she got him alone. She had a bad feeling about Tanner’s recent behavior.
“We’ll cut to the chase,” Harrison said as he pushed his bowl away from himself and leaned back in the chair. “We agree there’s a problem. We agree everyone needs to chip in to help. What we’re concerned with is bringing undue danger into our territory if others around us aren’t willing to bear the same risk. We heard about Kalis and even that the Ute wolves were going to negotiate with your brother in the next few days.”
Ava took a deep breath and let the Alpha continue.
“We know we’re small, but we also have taken a few really hard hits thanks to the ferals,” he said.
“And while we can’t offer huge numbers, the fighters we do have are good, really good. And we’re fast and quick to respond to help our neighbors. We just want to know they’ll do the same.”
To Ava, it seemed like a fair request and she acknowledged it.
“Your neighbors to the east are the Silver Pines and they’ve shown interest in teaming up, too,” she said. “I think if we can all sit down at the proverbial table, we can set up some guidelines so that everyone feels like they’re walking away a winner.”
Harrison had his phone out and was tapping away a message. His phone chimed and after looking down at it, he spoke.
“The Silver Pine Alpha can conference call tomorrow at 10 a.m.,” the Zion Alpha said. “We can table our talks until then, but it’s definitely promising.”
It was. Ava and Pax thanked the Alpha for the hospitality and said their goodnights. Omar followed them out.
“Where is Tanner?” he asked.
Ava hadn’t noticed, but Tanner must have left dinner early. She figured he was off pouting in his cabin over what she’d said to him.
“Probably tired.” she said, instead. He wasn’t tired. He was pissed, that much was true. Omar just shrugged and walked off into the dark with a promise of meeting up over breakfast.
In their cabin after a quick shower, Pax sat across the bed from Ava with her bare feet in his lap as he massaged the balls of her foot with his fingers. He’d reduced her to incoherent mush as his fingers worked their magic.
“You’re amazing to watch,” he said quietly, moments after she’d be asleep under his touch. She picked her head up to look at him.
“I’m really not,” she said dismissively. That earned her a tickle across the bridge of her foot, making her squeal and do her best to get away from his hold, which was unmoving and unrelenting.
“I’m serious, Ava,” he said. “You make comments about not being strong and not being a warrior, but it’s not true. Your strength is the quiet type. You don’t back down but you also don’t need to make a big show of yourself, either. I’ll bet your deadly when you want to be.”
She laughed at that, but he persisted.
“You’re a treasure, Ava,” he said, all seriousness now. “I knew it back then, but I thought I was doing right by you by leaving you to find your own happiness.”
Ava took a deep breath.
“You left me broken.”
Pax nodded.
“I know,” he said. “More than anything, I wanted to take you down to the courthouse and marry you on the spot, but I thought about leaving you a widow at such a young age. I was certain I was headed off towards a bad ending and I had nothing to offer you. I wanted you to hate me and move on. I wanted you to spite me and live happily ever after somehow.”
She closed her eyes and thought about his words.
“I’m working on it,’ she said dreamily, a smile on her lips. Without making a sound, Pax managed to crawl up the length of her body and place a heated, wet kiss on her lips while his hands worked into her waistband, pulling her shorts down.
She grinned against his kiss.
“Making up for what you owe me from last night?” she teased. He responded by growling and kissing her harder.
“Making up for what I owe for an entire lifetime, baby.”
With that, Pax began a slow, agonizing trail of hot kisses down her stomach toward the very heated, very excited center of her.
***
Ava’s dream was incredibly realistic. There was the smell of smoke. Shouting. Chaos.
It was only when hands gently shook her and Pax’s voice was insistent in her ear that she realized groggily that it was no dream. Something bad was happening outside their window as she saw giant flames in the trees directly outside their cabin.
“Baby,” he said. “We need to get out. We’re under attack.”
She rolled from the bed and landed on her feet, her wolf pacing and pawing at her as she sensed the danger. What the hell was happening?
Pax was in combat mode as he threw on his jeans and slid his pistol into the waistband as he stepped into his boots. Ava threw on whatever clothes she could find and stepped into her own shoes with Pax pulling on her hand to get her out of the cabin.
Outside, there was chaos and destruction. She counted at least two other cabins on fire and the sounds of jaws snapping and snarling. Shifters were in wolf form from the Zion pack and fighting what looked like coyotes and mountain lions. The ferals. She kne
w in an instant that was what they were up against.
“The fucking ferals are here,” Pax muttered, coming to the same conclusion as she did. “I’m going to shift now and help the fight. Make your way to the lodge and stay safe. Okay?”
She nodded and started off at a sprint in the direction of the Alpha’s lodge. A wrenching canine cry came from somewhere behind her and she prayed that nobody was seriously hurt—the ferals were out for blood and hopefully the pack’s sentries were vigilant enough to catch any interlopers quickly.
The lodge was just up ahead and appeared to have been spared from the flames. Dashing inside, Ava called out to Harrison and Anise.
“Hello?”
She walked through the living room and down the hallway of bedrooms on the first floor. “Is anybody here?”
Nothing.
She ran up the stairs to the second floor in case there was anyone somehow still asleep.
Nothing.
Ava checked up and down the hallways and found the house completely empty. Chillingly so. She dashed back down the stairs and ran toward the front door, thinking if she managed to get to her cell phone back at the cabin, she might be able to reach a pack close enough to help. She was one foot outside the door when a heavy fist collided with her temple and she stumbled to a knee. Wavering, she pushed herself up and ducked just in time as another fist flew towards her face.
On her feet now, she turned quick enough to catch a glance at her would-be assailant.
“What the hell are you doing, Tanner?” She cried as her head swam and her vision cleared from the blow. Had he mistaken her for a feral?
Instead of answering, his eyes turned electric blue as his wolf obviously pushed forward for him to attack her. But why?
“You were supposed to be bait, you stupid bitch,” he snarled, moving forward. Ava met his movement and stepped backward to keep the space between them the same. But she was on the porch and there was only so much room she had to work with.
“What are you talking about?”
Tanner took a deep breath and she didn’t miss the fact that his claws extended from his fingers. He was obviously raging for some reason.
Rocky Mountain Shifters: Complete Series Box Set Page 27