by C. D. Gorri
He did that now and then. Sometimes with gifts that she would politely refuse. Apparently, that just egged him on. Still, she had no idea what he was, or that he would stoop to such a level. She shuddered involuntarily as she recalled the pain that had exploded in her face at his first punch. But that was nothing compared to the fear of seeing him Change in front of her eyes.
“So, I take it you had no idea about Shifters before that?” She shook her head at the question. Of course not.
“I see. So, his full name is Timothy Shaw, he’s a Wolf Shifter, and he has two male friends with him who are probably Shifters as well?” He asked, and she nodded.
“And you two were dating?”
“Sort of. Well, no, not really,” she stopped when a rumble sounded next to her. One look at Daniel and she knew he was upset.
“I’m sorry, should I continue?”
“Of course. Daniel, stop your growling.”
“Are you sure?” She addressed Daniel this time, and only continued after he nodded.
“He’d been dropping by runway shows and sending things to my apartment for months. Flowers and fruit baskets, that sort of thing. I ran into him at parties and events where I was networking, but I never went anywhere alone with him. Still, he seemed to think all that meant we were an item. He’d told several people I was his girlfriend. I only found that out yesterday, before he came to see me. In fact, it was why I went to meet him, to let him down gently.”
“And what did he do then?”
“Last night he told me he wanted to make it official. When I explained that he was mistaken about our relationship he, well, he just exploded. I’d never seen violence like that,” she shuddered and the sound of something cracking brought her attention up.
Daniel was sitting next to her; she didn’t notice anything amiss. But still. She could have sworn she’d heard something break.
“Continue, please, Lacey,” Marcus spoke to her, but his eyes were on his brother.
“I don’t remember much, just the alleyway and the snow. I was cold. My dress was torn. Um, then Mrs. Grayson came. She took me in. She wanted to know if I had somewhere that I could go to,” Lacey was surprised at how distant she seemed from the events. As if explaining it had somehow removed her from what had happened. It wasn’t like she’d been physically attacked on a regular basis, but even she knew it could have been so much worse. Lucky for her Tim had been out of his mind and not focused on hurting her.
“And you thought of Barvale?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. That’s good. Anything else you’d like to add?”
“Um, my neighbors. Was all their stuff destroyed as well?”
“It seems the source of the fire was your apartment. There was other damage, for sure, but not as badly as your apartment.”
“So, I was the target,” she nodded and stared at the floor blankly. The men were speaking, but she wasn’t listening. For the first time since she’d known about the fire, it hit her.
She had nothing. Strangely enough, it was rather freeing. She had no close family left. Nothing to tie her to the past. Just her face. But she could remake herself now. Choose the jobs she took. Yes, she still had debts, but she could work. She hoped.
“Lacey?”
“Huh?” She looked up to see Daniel at her feet, his hand on her shoulder. She must have zoned out for a few minutes.
“Marcus, do you have everything you need to reach out to Rafe?”
“Yeah, I’ll handle it. You just watch over her.”
“I got this,” he said and inclined his head before closing the window on the laptop.
“Now what?” Lacey asked and ran a hand over her face. She winced as she made contact with the still fresh bruises.
“Here, let me look at that. I have a salve; it’s made by a White Witch who is friendly to our Clan. This should speed up healing, though I can’t make any promises about scars,” he frowned as he reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a small glass jar.
“Thanks. It’s no big deal, I suppose. Though I will probably have to think about work sooner or later,” she stiffened when he leaned in and brushed her hair back over her shoulder. He smelled so good.
“Why do you need to work so soon? Surely, you can take a few months to yourself, to heal and rest,” his voice was low, and she tried to listen for any judgement in it, but maybe he thought she had a fortune somewhere. She snorted.
“We’re not all billionaires, Mr. Devlin,” she hissed as the salve made contact with the scratches that bastard left along her hairline.
“Yeah, but, I mean, you’re a supermodel, aren’t you?”
“You checked me out? Well then, you must have seen my financial reports.”
Pleasure at the thought of him looking into her made her smile despite the pain of her split lip. Daniel brought salve to it immediately soothing the wounded flesh. The slow brush of his fingers made her tremble despite her trying to hold still.
“Of course, I did. I need to know everything about you. Um, so I can protect you,” he grumbled, dropping his hand all too quickly.
“Well, then you should know I was telling the truth before, Mr. Devlin,” she figured she’d try for a bit of professionalism. Anything to stop the ache that was growing inside of her.
“I tried to explain before, but maybe I was unclear. My mother cleaned me out. Completely. My father and I are estranged. Before she died, my mother took out a reverse mortgage on my condo as well as several other small loans forging my name as a cosigner. My savings are gone. I’ve lost my condo, and I still have about a hundred thousand dollars in outstanding loans to repay. And now I don’t even have a home. So, yes, I need to worry about work, but don’t worry that I’m looking at you with dollar signs. I always pay my own way,” she raised her head proudly, bruises or not she knew who she was. She would get back on her feet and repay all the kindness the Devlin’s had afforded her. No matter what.
“I’m so sorry,” he began, running a large hand through his thick blonde hair. Why did he have to be so damn handsome?
“Your own mother did that to you?” He frowned as if he couldn’t comprehend such a thing. Lacey just shrugged. She wasn’t there to disillusion him. These were simply the facts of her life up to date.
“Are you surprised? My mother didn’t even want me. She was determined to make me pay for being born and she found a way the second I sprouted breasts. I’d been a tall, gangly thing before that, but with my height, my good skin, and carriage, she’d decided I could model and support her by the time I was twelve.”
“Lacey, I’m sorry if I misjudged-”
“It’s alright,” she stood up, away from him and his tantalizing scent. She felt embarrassed and unsure. What kind of person lusted after someone a day after they were beaten up?
He was just so much man. She couldn’t help but want to be near him. She closed her eyes on a wave of embarrassment. An avid reader, she’d dabbled in the paranormal genre and Shifters were said to have superior senses. He could probably tell she wanted him. Oh God! Lacey might die if he knew how she felt. She turned away and moved across the room, desperate for some distance.
“Lacey,” he tried again.
“Daniel, I appreciate you helping me. And I know next to nothing about your world, except for what I’ve gleaned from novels. And how entirely accurate those things are I have no idea. But what I mean to say is, it’s not all that surprising that you know nothing about my world.”
“You’d be surprised about how accurate books like that are,” he laughed and ran that same hand over his face now. Her fingers itched to move closer to him and follow the path with her own fingertips. Imagine being able to touch him whenever she wanted. Just thinking about it made her want to swoon.
“Um, I’d like to go lay down now.”
She walked past him moving towards the door but stopped dead in her tracks. She noted the crumpled blanket and pillow on the sofa in his office. Had he slept there last night?
Lacey turned to face him as realization dawned. She’d displaced him in his own house. Heat spread across her face as she pointed to the couch and made to confront him.
She stopped suddenly as their eyes met. The big man looked so lost right then. His eyes followed her, but he remained immobile.
“You slept here?”
He nodded.
“You put me in your room?”
Another nod. This one followed by an expulsion of breath like he was embarrassed.
“Why?”
A shrug was the only answer she received.
“Shouldn’t I find a spare room?”
“No! Um, that is, please. I would like you to stay there.”
“Why?”
“My Bear wants you there.”
“Oh. Okay,” she replied.
Wide-eyed and unsure of herself she walked back to the bedroom. To his bedroom. Lacey might not know much about the Shifter world, but it had to mean something that he wanted her in his room.
Hope sprouted in her chest, swelling slightly as she closed her eyes and breathed in the piney scent of his pillow. She was tired and achy, but she was not afraid. Talking about Tim and her mom had opened old wounds, but the more she’d revealed the less burdened she’d felt.
Marcus didn’t seem to judge her, he only wanted information to help protect her and hunt the rogue Wolf down. Even better, Daniel seemed to want to keep her near. He was the Clan enforcer, so maybe she shouldn’t read anything into it, but it was sweet to dream. She’d allow herself that much for now.
Daniel, she thought and closed her eyes.
Chapter 4
Fuck. Fuck. FUCK. Daniel grunted as he ambled through the woods behind the Den. Night had fallen early, as it was known to do in the winter months.
The cold of December had settled in and white puffs of air flowed from his Bear’s maw as he stalked through the trees. His heavy paws crunched the snow laden ground, but he hardly noticed the chill.
After a quiet dinner earlier that evening, Daniel had waited for Lacey to make an appearance so that he could talk to her some more. Hell, he wouldn’t have minded just being near her. Just seeing her would have been enough.
Only, she didn’t join them for dinner. She’d opted for a tray in her room instead. His room. It was his room that she ate and slept in. That was just about the only thing in this fucked up situation that was calming his Bear at the moment.
He had to stop himself from breaking the door down about ten times that evening alone. He couldn’t help it. Sick fuck that he was. His Bear snarled into the night, agitated that he was moving farther away from the Den. From her.
She’s there to heal, he scolded the beast. Still, all he wanted was to be close to her. To get a whiff of her sweet honeysuckle scent from its source. To look at her beautiful face. To kiss every inch of her perfect body. Oh fuck.
He scored a huge oak with his massive claws before moving on to another. Needing to vent his frustrations, this seemed as good a way as any. God knows, he couldn’t just break down her door and ravish her in the middle of the Clan Den!
What the fuck are you thinking? He wasn’t exactly the ravishing type. That was Taylor’s department. Or had been before Krissy caught the play-bear once and for all. His Bear snorted at the pair of them, recalling the night his baby bro finally gave in to what everyone else had always known. Taylor and Krissy were fated mates.
The man they now knew was their half-brother, Nate, had come to town, looking for his family, the Devlin’s as it were. He’d met Krissy at The Thirsty Dog and through a little harmless flirting. And one rather interesting body shot, Taylor was finally forced to confront his feelings for the she-Bear.
Took fucking long enough, Daniel thought. Not that he should talk. It had been years since he’d been stood up on his wedding day. Everyone thought he still mourned the loss of Melinda. Truth was, he’d dodged a fucking bullet there. Seeing two of his brothers with their fated mates made him realize he’d been settling for so much less than he deserved with the schoolteacher.
That night at the bar, seeing Taylor struggle with his feelings had really woken him up to the fact that Melinda was right to have left him. Yes, she was money hungry and a damned flirt, but he never loved her. She knew it too. Ironically, that was also the night he’d first met Lacey.
Seeing her in the dim light of the bar had sparked interest in his Bear like never before. What a sight she was, tall and slim with her long blonde hair hanging down her back. She was elegant perfection, like a fairy in the twinkling lights.
After that night, he’d seen her around town. She’d even come to the Bakery a time or two. Unable to stop his unwanted attraction, Daniel took his frustrations out on her. Like a fucking jerk, he’d confronted her, warning her off pursuing him when she’d never even made a move towards him.
Now he’d give anything to see her look at him the way she used to. With more than a little curiosity, and maybe a bit of heat. Fuck. I am an ass. To his shame, he’d been the one thinking about her for months, but too damn cowardly to follow up on it. Now she was here, but it wasn’t the right time.
How could he pursue her when she was just hurt by some fucking Shifter with a death wish? It was all Daniel could do not to hunt down the fucker and gut him. He wanted to. Badly. But his Bear wouldn’t allow him to leave her.
He made sure to double check all the security cameras and alarms before he went out tonight. Draco Fortis was the best in the business, but he had to make sure everything was up and running before he could leave her.
Besides that, he made sure that both Nate and his father were home. Nate had promised to listen for their guest. To be available if she needed him. That should have made Daniel feel better. But it didn’t. Not at first. However, after he issued a warning to his newly found brother, he’d felt contented that no lines would be crossed.
“You go near her and you’re dead.”
“Chill bro. I’m all good,” Nate said, hands raised and no small amount of amusement sparkling in his dark green eyes.
The fucking guy was alright, he guessed. Even more interesting to Daniel was the way his dad had reacted to seeing his other son for the first time. It was tears and bear hugs all round on that night.
“I didn’t know, I am sorry I missed so much,” Iggy Devlin had said.
Daniel wasn’t much for public displays of affection. Had no use for them. At all. But he’d been moved by his dad’s tears. Still, he wondered what his mother would have felt about Nate. Not being fated mates, his parents’ understanding was, well, it was complicated.
His own feelings were much less so. His Bear wanted Lacey. The animal believed she was his fated mate. At least, Daniel thought so considering the beast growled the word mine anytime she was near. Fuck.
If he were being honest, he’d admit his human side wanted her just as fucking much. He just had so much baggage. Not good enough for a mate. Besides all that, she was a model. Breathtakingly gorgeous. Physical perfection in the eyes of millions. Could he stand all that attention on his mate? Fuck.
She was hurt now, but her bruises would heal. The deepest scratch, the one most likely to leave a scar if at all, was mostly covered by her hairline. She would work again. As she should be allowed to do, he warned the asshole alpha male part of his brain.
He wasn’t always a Neanderthal. There was just something about her. He wanted to stake his claim. Mark her for the whole fucking world to see. Mine. Grrr.
He could just picture her now with that thick, glorious mane of blonde hair spread across his pillow. Fuck. GRRR. His Bear growled long and hard at the thought. What the fuck are we doing in the woods? Go back. Claim her. Mine.
Daniel fought the Bear. Pushed back his desires to claim the tiny normal who was sleeping in his room. He pushed his animal to tread farther away. The Bear was pissed, but he went. Grrr.
Snow continued to crunch beneath his paws along with fallen leaves and twigs. December in New Jersey was generally
mild, more so than February, but it did snow on occasion.
He liked the winter. The cold wind and fresh scent of ice and snow in the woods was like a cleansing of all the things that tarnished the past. He breathed deep, chuffing against the cold air. Watching the steam rise from his nostrils.
Daniel was a big fucking Bear. He outweighed even Marcus, who as Alpha, was as big as they came. He prided himself on his strength. Training and pushing himself to be the best. It was like an addiction with him.
An addiction that was slowly being replaced by his feelings for a certain willowy blonde. Shit. Her curious response to him was driving him mad. She seemed okay, at ease even. Despite everything she’d been through. She is brave, his Bear pushed the thought at him.
Not what he was expecting given her rough intro to the Shifter world. Hell, he expected her to scream her bloody head off and demand to go to the cops. But she didn’t. Nope. She seemed to want to stay near him. His Bear roared. Of course. She knows we can protect her. Mate.
A noise to the left had him turning and Daniel growled a warning before his brother stepped out into his line of sight. Nate often wore a hat and jacket over his jeans. Fucking lightweight. But what did he expect? The half-Grizzly half-Black Bear had been raised in the hot ass fuck part of Texas. So, it made sense he’d tracked Daniel down in his fur.
“What the fuck bro? I thought you were staying to watch Lacey,” Daniel growled into his brother’s mind.
The discovery that they could communicate telepathically when both Shifted was a fucking relief to all of them who didn’t know if it would work since Nate was technically half-Grizzly. The shaggy brown Bear snorted and scratched his back on the bark of a large walnut tree.
“Dude, Iggy’s home. She’s fine. Came out of the bedroom a while ago looking for you.”
Daniel didn’t know how to answer that. He stared at his brother’s huge Bear and wondered for a brief second if it was possible the Grizzly-Black Bear outweighed him.