“Where am I?” she asked, looking confused and frightened.
The shivering was getting worse, and another desire came into the mix—the desire to protect this female. His female. There was no doubt in his mind that she was his, and if he weren’t so worried about her, he might be laughing at the irony of his mate appearing out of nowhere when he needed her most. “We need to get you out of these wet clothes,” Zane said, trying hard to prevent himself from thinking about the way her round bottom felt pressed against his cock, or how excited he was at the prospect of getting her naked.
“Zane!” Jase’s shout was a reminder that he was sitting on lynx land with a strange female on his lap. This was bound to create some complications.
Scenting the air, Zane’s brow furrowed in confusion because he couldn’t place her scent. He could tell she definitely wasn’t shifter, human, or vampire. That left a whole slew of other possibilities, but it was like something was masking her scent.
“Where did you come from?” Zane asked, pushing her wet hair back from her face.
“Hayward,” she replied quietly, an answer that made no sense to him. “Where am I?”
“Lynx territory,” he told her. “Are you from the born vampire settlement?”
That’s when she tried to get off of his lap, something he wasn’t ready for just yet. “Vampires? You think there are vampires?” she practically screeched.
“Damn it, Zane!” Jase called out as he emerged from the woods. “Why didn’t you answer me? Don’t give me some excuse about getting your dick wet.”
“I am not about to get his dick wet!” came the angry reply from the female on his lap as she continued to struggle to get to her feet. If he wasn’t sure she was too shaken up to stand, he might be tempted to let her get up. Instead, he held her and grinned.
She was really cute when she was mad, and he couldn’t resist the temptation to rub his cheek against hers, which instantly soothed her. His female obviously felt the connection too and found comfort in his presence.
“Technically, you’re getting it pretty wet, but not the way I’d like you to,” Zane pointed out with a flirty grin.
That’s when she started to struggle again.
“For fuck’s sake, Zane,” Jase muttered. “Hand the female over, and we’ll get her dried and warmed up. Poor thing looks like she’s freezing to death out here. After that, we can figure out how she got past the guards on our land in the first place. Even you aren’t reckless enough to bring a strange female here.”
That was a really good suggestion, except Zane didn’t want to hand her to his brother. In fact, he was pissed that Jase would even suggest taking her from him. Getting to his feet with her still cradled against his chest, Zane glared at his brother. If it weren’t for the female in his arms, he’d probably attack Jase for wanting to touch her, and that was just plain crazy.
“Zane.” Jase’s tone held a hint of warning as he took a step toward them.
Thankfully, his brother, Cam, picked that moment to join them. Cam took one look at Zane’s glare and caught Jase’s arm. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Just let Zane handle her.”
“I’m taking her back to my house,” Zane practically growled because he was more than a little on edge from thinking about Jase touching his female. “She’s cold and scared. If you get in my way of taking care of her, I will hurt you.”
While Zane had expected the female to panic at his threats, she did the strangest thing—she relaxed and let out a shuddering sigh of relief.
Jase just nodded and let Zane carry her to his home. His father was not going to be happy about having yet another outsider brought into their community, but that was too damn bad. Sure, it was going to be a problem for Max that Zane’s mate wasn’t a shifter, but it’s not like Zane had been out looking for a mate.
A strange thought occurred to Zane, and he found himself chuckling.
“What’s so funny?” Cam asked.
“It’s almost like she fell from the sky,” he explained, and he was pretty sure his brothers didn’t understand the humor, but at least that bit of humor might improve his father’s mood when he heard that Zane would not be impregnating the female his father had selected for him.
Chapter Six
Lexi had suffered from many delusions in her lifetime. She’d seen things that weren’t there and sworn she was experiencing other people’s emotions. Those were just a few of the reasons she’d been on anti-psychotic medication for so many years. This delusion was a whole new level of crazy, and she was probably going to need new meds to deal with it.
Three remarkably similar-looking men were taking her through some sort of campground with small wood houses. The men all had tawny hair and beautiful eyes the color of amber. None of them were tall, but they all appeared to be in good shape. The two walking with them were shirtless, while the guy who’d pulled her from the creek, Zane, was completely naked. She hadn’t really studied Zane at first, but now, she had to admit that he was by far the most attractive of the three. His tawny hair was wet and messy. Something told her his hair was usually messy in an entirely sexy way that would make her think about gripping it while he went down on her. His smile was warm, and she wanted to bury her face against his chest just to breathe in his scent. She couldn’t see much of his body, held against him like she was, but she felt the sinewy muscles under his bare skin. His cock had been hard to miss, with it fully erect and pressed against her backside while he’d held her on his lap. Zane was definitely more well-endowed than the few men she’d been with.
“You’re a very sexy delusion,” she told him, wondering if she was really being carried off by some dirty criminal. Or, perhaps she was back in the hospital and an orderly was taking her to her room.
He gave her a playful wink. “What’s your name, angel?”
“Lexi,” she replied.
“I’m Zane.” His voice sent shivers through her body, and she was a little embarrassed by the way she was reacting. He carried her into one of the cabins with the other two men right behind him. “Let me get her dried off,” he told the other men as he looked over his shoulder at them.
“Then will you tell us where you found her?” one of them asked.
“Maybe,” he called out before kicking the door shut behind him.
“Are you camping? Or, is this some kind of commune? Why am I asking my sexy delusion to explain what’s going on?”
“That’s the second time you’ve called me sexy.” Zane’s grin widened. “So, you must really find me attractive, not that I hadn’t already figured that out from your scent.” His nostrils flared, and he inhaled before a shudder ran through his body.
“If you were real, I’m sure every woman would find you attractive,” she breathed out.
“Not every woman,” he told her, as he set her on her feet in the bedroom. “I’m glad you’re attracted to me.” Then he did the strangest thing; he wrapped his arms around her waist, leaned into her, and inhaled deeply again. She’d had men pretend to lean into her to smell her perfume, which she didn’t wear, but nothing like this.
“What are you doing?” she asked, trying to wiggle away from him.
“Sorry,” he mumbled with an endearing flush to his cheeks. “I was trying to figure out what you are. I assumed, if we were inside with fewer scents interfering, I’d be able to figure it out.”
Rather than trying to make sense of that strange explanation, Lexi looked around the room, which was obviously Zane’s bedroom. Other than a large mattress on the floor and a simple dresser, there wasn’t much in the room. Of course, it made sense that the fantasy man in her delusion would be a minimalist. “You need to take your clothes off,” he told her.
Lexi’s head snapped around so she could look at him. “Excuse you?” Her delusion seemed pretty bossy all of a sudden.
“You’re freezing in those wet clothes,” he explained, before releasing her and grabbing a blanket from the bed. “If you prefer to wear clothes, I can ge
t one of the females to bring you something. I know we have a few your size here who wear clothes.”
“Are you nudists?” she asked.
Zane looked at her like he wasn’t quite sure what she was asking, and it made her feel better to know that he was also thrown off by their conversation. She certainly didn’t want her delusion knowing too much more than she did. There was this voice in her head telling her to stop pretending he wasn’t real, but she quickly shut it down. He had to be a delusion. Nothing else made sense. If she reminded herself of that a few more times, she might believe it.
“Could I have a few minutes alone?” she asked. Lexi was beginning to suspect Zane wasn’t a delusion, and she wasn’t about to strip naked in front of a complete stranger, no matter how attractive he was.
Zane didn’t answer right away, likely because he was busy staring at her breasts. Her nipples were hard pebbles under her lacy bra, something no one could miss with her wet blouse clinging to her body.
“I could help you,” Zane offered in a guttural voice. “I’m a very good helper.”
“Out,” she ordered in a firm tone, but Zane looked like he wasn’t going to move. At this point, she had no idea how she was still standing because she was starting to feel really weak, making her wonder if she should take Zane up on his offer to help. If it weren’t for her attraction to him, she might do just that. Instead, she continued to glare and pointed to the door, until a sudden wave of dizziness hit her and she lost her balance. Thankfully, Zane had lightning reflexes and caught her before she hit the floor.
“Are you okay?” he asked, and she shuddered in his arms, unable to do more than nod. “How about if I promise to turn my back until you’re undressed and under the blanket?” he offered. “I’d rather not leave you alone while you’re this shaky.”
Lexi nodded. “That’s probably a good idea.”
Zane steadied her and turned away like the gentleman she suspected he was not. With shaky hands, Lexi managed to undress and wrap the blanket around herself. For a moment, she was tempted to ask Zane to warm her with his body, but it seemed like a bad idea, especially when he might be a delusion.
“You can turn around now,” she told him in a weak voice. Exhaustion was making it hard to focus or talk.
“You should lie down,” Zane said, concern lacing his voice.
Lexi looked up into his amber eyes, noticing that he wasn’t too much taller than her, probably only about five-feet nine. “You’re right,” she agreed, and sat on the edge of his bed, feeling lost and alone.
Zane moved to her side and helped her get settled under two blankets. He frowned when he saw her shivering, and quickly grabbed another blanket.
“I can’t believe how tired I am,” she mumbled sleepily.
“Just get some sleep,” he murmured, brushing her hair back from her face. As her mind finally gave in to exhaustion, she was sure Zane’s lips brushed her cheek, and she sighed at how right it felt.
Chapter Seven
The last person Zane had expected to find when he walked into the front room was his mother. He scowled at his brothers, knowing immediately why she was there.
“Oh, Zane!” she exclaimed as she rushed to his side and wrapped her arms around him. “Tell me all about her.”
“Who told my mom I had a female in my house?” he demanded, while giving his mom a one-armed hug.
“That would be me.” Jase didn’t sound the least bit guilty. “I figured you’d rather have her meet your female than our father. Although, I’m sure he’ll be along soon. Everyone will be talking about you carrying a strange female back to your house while growling at any male who looked like he might approach you.”
That was likely true. While Zane loved females, he didn’t bring them to his home. Many shifters were that way because, once you had sex with someone in your home, it took forever to get their scent off your stuff. That brought Zane’s mind back to Lexi, the one female whose scent he wouldn’t mind having all over his home. Just the thought of sliding under the blankets with her was getting him hard, and he suddenly regretted not grabbing a pair of pants from his room.
“Zane,” his mom prompted, pinching his arm to remind him that he was supposed to be participating in a conversation, not fantasizing about Lexi. “Who is she?”
“All I know is that her name is Lexi, and she can’t swim.” He decided not to add the part about how she was his, since everyone had obviously figured that out, or his mom wouldn’t be standing in his front room. If Lexi was merely a strange female he’d found on their land, his father would be here to interrogate her.
“I should go check on her,” his mom said, and Zane caught her arm before she could storm into his bedroom. With her black hair, soft brown eyes, and petite frame, she was beautiful. Even her soft, melodic voice gave the illusion of her being sweet and drew the other lynx to her for comfort. Zane was pretty sure, if he let go of his mom, she’d head back into his bedroom and wake Lexi up to check on her. His mom’s curiosity would definitely get the best of her. Only people who hadn’t met his mom wondered where he’d inherited his lack of impulse-control. For all her sweet ways, his mother could get into nearly as much trouble as he could.
“She’s sleeping,” Zane told her. “When I took her in there, she nearly collapsed. Just let her rest until we figure out what to do next.”
“Max is going to be livid when he finds out you brought an outsider here. He’s still not over his upset about that vampire who ran off with your cousin.” His mom was still staring at his bedroom door as she made that amusing statement.
Zane laughed because it was really funny how much the story had changed since Danny and Quinn had ended up together. His cousin, Quinn, was a half-shifter who’d fallen for a newly turned vampire named Danny. Zane’s father was overprotective when it came to Quinn, but he’d practically pushed the two of them together. In fact, his father had been the one to encourage Danny to mark Quinn. It probably had something to do with Quinn’s mixed heritage. Zane suspected his father wasn’t going to push him to mark Lexi. When his father had told him he could get out of impregnating the sacrificial shifter female by finding a mate, Lexi hadn’t been what he’d meant. No, his father had been thinking of a nice lynx shifter. Zane suspected he would have also accepted a cougar shifter. Lexi wasn’t a shifter, and he couldn’t even tell them what she was.
“I didn’t have much choice about bringing her here,” Zane explained. “I’m not entirely certain where she came from.”
“What is she?” his mom asked.
“I don’t know,” Zane admitted before looking at his brothers, wondering if one of them had recognized her scent. “Any ideas?”
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Jase answered him with a shrug. “She smells vaguely human, but not quite.”
“She’s not one of us,” Zane said.
“She’s not a vampire,” Cam added.
“Maybe you should just send her on her way before Max gets back,” his mom suggested. “You might just be fascinated with her because she’s different.”
Cam snorted. “Not fucking likely. Our father is going to be pissed.”
“Especially after the talk we had yesterday,” Zane muttered.
The front door opened, and his father entered, looking intense but not angry. That had to be a good sign. “What the hell have you done now, Zane?” he demanded.
“You can’t send her away,” Zane said immediately.
His father studied him in a very unnerving manner, and Zane did his best not to squirm. Of all his brothers, he probably got away with the most. Part of it had to do with the fact that he was the youngest and didn’t have as many responsibilities as his brothers. That is until now. Now, his father needed something from him—the clan needed something from him—and he was screwing up.
“Where is she?” his father demanded.
“In the bedroom sleeping.” Zane refused to break eye-contact with his father. “She’s confused, and she needs the rest. Mo
st of what she was saying made no sense, so she must be in shock.”
Zane was surprised when his father placed a hand on his arm and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “I’ll be quiet, but I want to scent her so we can see where she belongs. I know she’s already got some kind of hold on you, but we can’t keep her from her people. They might be worried.”
“She’s mine,” Zane growled, and the ferocity of it clearly shocked everyone in the room—everyone except his father, who simply laughed.
“I know she’s yours, Zane,” his father assured him. “You can come with me if it makes you feel better.”
Zane nodded and followed his father into the bedroom. Max moved close to the bed, keeping his promise to be quiet. He inhaled deeply and then frowned before inhaling again. Then he motioned Zane to follow him out of the room.
“Do you know what she is?” Jase asked.
“Not exactly,” Max admitted hesitantly.
“The scent is familiar, but I can’t place it,” Cam said thoughtfully.
“The medication is masking her scent,” Max explained. “It’s the strangest thing.”
“What is?” Zane asked. “Why would she need medication? Does this mean she’s human, and she’s sick?”
Max opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again before giving more thought to what he was about to say. “Did she have anything with her?” he finally asked.
“Nothing but the clothes she was wearing,” Zane replied. “I pulled her out of the creek, but I have no idea how she ended up in there. It’s almost like she fell from the sky.”
“Just like an angel come to save my baby,” his mom said with a dreamy smile.
Max groaned. “She’s not an angel, May. Although, it is pretty damn funny after Zane’s comment about a mate falling from the sky.”
“It must be the medication we smell,” Cam mused. “If it’s strong enough, the medication would mask her natural scent somewhat.”
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