by Dana Archer
“I never got the chance to talk to you about Megan.”
“That can wait. Why don’t you tell me why you called me to come rescue you from the guy you spent the night with?”
“Actually, it can’t. Megan is one of the reasons I ran from him.”
“What?” He cut her a glance. The enraged look he’d worn for the guy in the lobby twisted Josh’s features. “Explain yourself. Right now.”
“Megan is a shifter.”
“What are you talking about? A shifter? As in she can change into a wolf or something?”
“A white lioness, actually. Or she will at some point. She hasn’t shifted yet.”
Josh stared at her for a long moment. Finally, he cleared his throat. “Then how do you know she’s a…a shifter?”
“Seth and Levi told me. They scented her animal the moment they met her.” She held Josh’s gaze. “They’re shifters too. So is Rafe.”
Chapter 15
Rafe woke with a smile on his face and reached for Jasmine. Cold sheets met his fingertips. He sat up and looked from the floor where Jasmine’s clothes had been to the door. He parted his mouth and inhaled.
She was gone.
His inner animals paced, growling their displeasure. He ignored them and dressed. Then he stood there, unsure what to do. He felt as if somebody had kicked him in the gut. His whole body hurt.
His female had left him. Why? He couldn’t come up with a reason. She’d allowed him into her body. Twice. Slept with her head pillowed on his chest.
No matter. Whatever the reason for her leaving, he’d soothe her once he had her in his arms again. It’d be fine.
He ran a hand through his hair, then reached for his phone to call Kade. It too was gone. He swept his gaze over the room, looking for some clue. The bathroom door stood partially open. The scent of shampoo and Jasmine drifted from it.
His phone was lying on the counter. He grabbed it and left.
The elevator took forever to travel three floors. It opened once. The two men waiting to get on took one look at him and told him they’d catch the next one.
Rafe slammed the button and paced the confines of the square enclosure. It finally opened. He rushed out, nearly knocking over an elderly human. He righted the woman, mumbled an apology, and jogged into the lobby.
Smells assaulted him. Quite a few people had been through the room but Jasmine’s fragrance was strong and familiar. Because of the scent-claim he’d added to the spot on her neck where he’d nicked her with his fangs, his scent was twined with hers. Smelling himself on her had eased the possessive edge of his persona.
One whiff and all shifters would know that Jasmine was a shifter’s beloved human. They’d also understand what it meant. He’d kill for her.
He took in another deep lungful. Another scent reached him. It stirred his primal side.
Josh.
She’d run to the human.
Rafe curled his fingers and bent his head so the strands of his hair hid his glowing eyes. He pushed back his anger. Giving in to it with innocents close was unacceptable. Once colors replaced the grays, he strode to the desk. The woman there was a different one from the night before. This human had kind eyes and lines etching her face. Hopefully she could help him.
“I’m looking for a woman. Blonde, beautiful, gorgeous gray eyes. About this tall.” He motioned to his chest.
The clerk nodded. “Yes, she was here a little while ago. Thought I was going to have to call security.”
“Excuse me?”
“One of the other customers was giving her a hard time, but her boyfriend showed up and the two of them left. Nice-looking man. Seemed very protective too. Not many young boys these days are.” She gave a little shake of her head. “Shame really. In my day—”
He snapped his teeth together. “Thank you.”
Rafe strode across the room and stepped outside. The phone in his pocket vibrated. A quick look at the display showed Devin’s number.
Megan.
“What’s wrong?” Rafe asked as soon as the call connected.
“I was going to ask you the same thing. I thought something might’ve happened to you.”
“Something has. I lost my female.” To a human.
Silence stretched. Finally, Devin cleared his throat. “Well, I found her. She and the human, Josh, just picked up Megan and are heading toward her house. What do you want me to do with her?”
“Stop them.” His guttural voice betrayed his loss of control. Thankfully there weren’t any humans close by to hear him.
“Are you sure that’s wise? Megan might freak. She hasn’t been around adult shifters in years, if ever.”
As much as he wanted Devin to intervene and get Jasmine away from Josh, Rafe couldn’t, not if it stressed a child. There was no reason beyond his own jealousy to justify it.
“You’re right. Follow them. I’m headed out there.”
And when he got his female back, he was going to make sure she knew to whom she belonged and that leaving him was no longer an option.
Chapter 16
While Josh drove, Jazz stared at the passing landscape without seeing it. The rhythmic swoosh of the wipers and splatter of rain hitting the SUV were the only sounds. Megan slept in the backseat, and Josh had barely said a word to her since they’d picked up Megan. That left Jazz with plenty of time to think. The more she did, the more she wondered if she hadn’t jumped to the wrong conclusions.
She’d called Mr. Wilkins, and he’d assured her they were safe. He didn’t know why Seth and Levi were frightened, only that they were locked away in one of the bedrooms. He’d said Kade had introduced himself, apologized for frightening the dogs, then taken up a spot on the porch. He hadn’t even asked to come inside.
She blew out a breath and forced her fingers to unclench. Yes, she’d been warned to be wary of shifters. Actually to run if she ever saw one.
But was Rafe really a threat? He could’ve left her sleeping in the hotel room and taken her boys, along with Megan. He hadn’t. Neither had Kade. He’d done exactly what Rafe had told her Kade would do—watch over her boys.
So they didn’t go missing like their sister had.
Jazz dropped her head into her hands. Of course. That was reason enough for Rafe’s protectiveness. He’d even said as much.
She’d overreacted. Learning Rafe was a shifter had freaked her out. That was probably why he didn’t tell her. He was afraid she’d react exactly the way she had. Irrationally.
Had he discovered her gone yet? There was a chance he was still asleep.
She bit her lip and glanced at Josh. “Can I borrow your phone?”
“Sure.” He held his cell out. “Why?”
“I’m going to call the hotel and see if Rafe is still there. I want to talk to him.” She reached for the phone. Josh pulled it back.
“No. That’s not happening.”
She took in the hard stamp of determination tightening his features and sighed. “I think I overreacted.”
“No. You did the right thing.” Josh slid the phone into his pocket.
“I freaked out when I realized Rafe was a shifter. I couldn’t risk my boys.”
He flicked his gaze to her. “And you’re willing to risk them now?”
She pointed to the road. It was raining too hard not to pay complete attention to his driving. He faced forward.
“No but calling Rafe doesn’t hurt anything.”
“Maybe not, but you should trust your instincts. I know I should’ve trusted mine five years ago. I didn’t and screwed stuff up.”
Jazz could probably guess what he was getting at. Assumptions could spiral out of control, though. “When I dumped you?”
“Yeah. Something didn’t seem right about the whole thing, especially your reaction when I yelled at you. I’m sorry about that. I’d like to make it up to you.”
She glanced at where her hands were fisted in her lap. Here was the opening that would allow her to mend things between them
. Josh practically delivered it on a silver platter.
She focused on his familiar face and said the only thing she could. “No.”
He cut her a quick look. “Did I mess things up that badly? Is that why you’ve held me at arms’ length?”
“No.” Jazz sighed. “I mean, a lot of those things you said to me were true. I did use you. We grew up together. You were familiar. Comfortable. You were my friend as much as you were my lover, and I—”
“Would have been safe with me. I could’ve helped you with Seth and Levi. Protected them.”
“I’ve done okay with them on my own.”
“Are you going to tell me how exactly you ended up with your boys?”
“No.” She didn’t want to share the details. Josh would take it upon himself to avenge her, not that it would do him any good. The men who’d run that horrid place were long gone.
“Why not? I know it’s been five years, but we can still get the cops involved and—”
“Alert others to the fact my kids aren’t human?”
“No, but… You should’ve trusted me.” He glanced at her. “I could’ve—”
Eyes wide, she pointed at the lion standing in the middle of the road ahead. Josh cursed and swung the wheel to avoid it. They drove around the animal. The lion’s eyes—glowing brown—locked on to hers as they passed, but the animal didn’t move or follow them. She watched it in the side mirror until the road curved and blocked him from view.
“The bad lion.”
Megan’s sleepy voice yanked Jazz’s attention to the little girl. Jazz shoved her fear deep and focused on remaining calm for Megan’s sake. “What are you talking about?”
Megan rubbed at her eyes. “The bad lion. He’s going to get us if we don’t run.”
Did she see him? Jazz could’ve sworn she’d been sound asleep. No matter. Jazz agreed. “Hurry, Josh.”
Josh ran a hand through his hair. “Don’t worry. I’m on it.”
The car picked up speed. The rain fell harder. Josh flicked the knob to turn the wipers on to the next speed. They whooshed faster but didn’t do much to clear the pounding rain. Lightning flashed. Thunder rumbled.
She jumped.
The groping man’s face from the hotel filled her vision. Brown eyes. Cold. Exactly how a predator’s eyes would be. Her breaths came quicker. It was him. She knew it.
Josh took the bend in the road too fast. The car hydroplaned into the other lane. Megan screamed, and Jazz grabbed the door handle, but Josh eased up on the gas and got the car under control.
Jazz took in the curvy road ahead and braced herself against the dashboard. “Slow down.”
“No. That guy showed himself for one reason—to warn us. He’s either following us or knows where we’re going. Either way, time’s against us.”
“What if he already has Seth and Levi?”
“Call the house.” He pulled out his phone.
She took it and dialed but before she hit send, Megan screamed. Josh slammed on the brakes.
Jazz flicked her gaze to the road. An uprooted tree blocked it.
Their vehicle jerked. The world spun. Screeching tires and the sound of branches scratching along the doors mixed with Megan’s cries. They hit something. The seatbelt stopped her forward momentum. The airbags deployed. Dust and gas filled the air.
Silence stretched for a brief moment before Megan started sobbing. Jazz cringed at the sharp pain in her neck but fumbled with the release on her seatbelt. It popped free, and she leaned between the front seats. Megan had her stuffed lion clutched to her chest and tears filled her eyes.
“Are you okay, sweetie?”
Megan nodded. Her eyes widened a second later. She pointed.
A lion lay crouched next to a hole in the ground. The tree that had once stood there was stretched over the road. Jazz swept her gaze over the area. Their vehicle was a few dozen feet inside the woods and the lion sat between them and freedom.
She laid a hand on Josh’s leg. “Josh?”
He didn’t respond.
She glanced at him. His eyes were closed. Blood trickled from a cut on his forehead. Jazz glanced from an unconscious Josh to the lion advancing in a slow, crouching crawl.
Jazz fumbled for the phone she’d dropped. It wasn’t anywhere she could see. She reached farther under the seat, touched the edge of the rubber case, and wrapped her fingers around it.
Something slammed into her door. She looked up in time to see a lion’s fangs. Only the window separated them. The phone slipped out of her hand. She pressed her back against Josh’s slumped form.
The muffled sounds of screeching tires reached her. The lion whipped its head in the direction of the road then bared its fangs at the man running toward their car.
The lion faced her and snarled before taking off.
She glanced at the man headed their way. His hair was brown, not a patchwork multicolor dye job, but his face matched that of the man from Rafe’s phone. He stopped a few feet away, hands clenching and releasing at his sides, and chest heaving. He scanned the woods, spinning slowly on his heel to take in every inch.
After a moment, he lifted his lips, revealing a set of fangs. Jazz stared at the sharp teeth denting his lower lip. He was a shifter. Like the lion he’d chased off. Like her kids and Megan. Like Rafe.
“Jazz, I’m scared,” Megan cried.
So was she, but she grabbed Megan’s hand and squeezed. “It’s okay, honey. He’s one of the good guys.” She hoped.
“How do you know?”
Jazz took in the man’s cautious approach. He moved with his hands held up and out to the side—an attempt to show he wasn’t a threat. It was a lie. With a thought, he could sprout claws and fur, but he hadn’t done anything to them. Except save them.
“I know his friend, and I…I trust him.”
Josh groaned and reached for her. “Jasmine? Megan?”
She grabbed his hand. “I’m here. So is Megan. We’re both fine.”
Josh’s unfocused gaze met hers. “Thank god.” He shook his head, blinking hard, then leaned forward to peer out the windshield. “Son of a—”
She grabbed his arm to stop him from opening the door. “Wait. He’s Rafe’s friend.”
“How—”
“I saw his picture on Rafe’s phone. He just chased off the lion we saw in the road.”
“That doesn’t mean anything. We don’t know Rafe’s story. I don’t trust him or his friends.” Josh popped the seatbelt, then tried the door. It stuck. He threw a shoulder into it, knocking it open.
Jazz hooked her fingers around his waistband, stopping him from climbing out. “I do. I don’t know what’s going on, but I trust Rafe. I should never have left him.”
Anger darkened Josh’s eyes. “So you can trust a guy you just met, but not the one who’s stood by you for twenty years?”
She released him. “It’s not that I didn’t trust you. I—”
Rafe’s friend opened her door before she could finish speaking, not that she knew what she would’ve said.
The shifter’s nostrils flared. Mouth parted slightly, he inhaled. His brown eyes flicked between them before focusing on Megan. The hard lines on his face softened. His reaction eased the last bit of tension in Jazz’s shoulders.
“Be calm, little cub.” Although his voice was rough and gravelly, it had a soothing quality to it. “You’re safe now.”
“Who are you?” Jazz asked.
“Devin Moore, your male’s friend.” He glanced at Josh. “And the one who’ll stop Rafe from attacking Josh for daring to touch what belongs to him.”
Chapter 17
Rafe ended the call and pressed his foot to the accelerator. The news Devin had delivered stirred Rafe’s anger, leaving him vibrating with rage.
Jon was in town. The male who’d kidnapped Nina and killed their father.
Rafe didn’t want to believe it, but Devin had seen Jon’s lion. Devin recognized Jon, even if he didn’t smell him. At all. There was
no heavy, lingering floral scent as had surrounded Seth and Levi or anything out of the ordinary for that matter. If Devin hadn’t gotten a visual confirmation, Jon would’ve escaped detection.
The only conclusion was that Jon was chemically masking his scent. There was only one way to do that—with the drug made exclusively for Royals. Each Royal who used it had to register with the government, providing fingerprints each time they obtained a new supply.
The general worry was that those who used the drug would take advantage of the obscurity it offered. If a shifter took enough of it, all traces of scent would be eliminated, not just their animals’ scent. It’d make them invisible…by scent at least. If they wore gloves, their identity would be nearly impossible to uncover.
They’d be able to commit crimes and get away with them.
How had Jon gotten his hands on the Royal’s scent-eliminating drug?
Rafe’s growls filled the car, warning him how very close he was to losing control. He needed to calm down, but he wouldn’t until he held Jasmine in his arms. Saw Megan. Knew they were safe.
He slowed the car and pulled behind Devin’s vehicle. A few leaves and branches remained on the road, but the uprooted tree that had caused the accident was pushed into the woods. Rafe glanced from the thick trunk to the broken and crushed bushes next to it. Josh’s SUV was sandwiched between two trees at the bottom of the small embankment. If it had hit either, the accident might’ve been worse. Possibly fatal.
He scanned the woods for Jasmine. There was no sign of her.
Rafe jumped from his car. Her scent hit him. She was close. He followed the smell around Devin’s SUV and into the woods on the opposite side of the accident.
Rafe spotted them near a group of boulders. Megan sat on one, and Devin was crouched on the ground in front of her, but it was the sight of Josh with his arms around Jasmine that brought out Rafe’s primal side.