Possessed by Him

by Jacey Holbrand

  But now?

  Gabe looked through the binos, adjusted them and settled his gaze on his mate. It pleased him the man appeared happy and healthy.

  Finally of a good age, in the flesh and accessible.

  He… Mate… Gabe cocked his head, realizing that after all this time, he hadn’t learned his man’s name yet. As many times as he’d dipped into his mate’s mind to check on him and dream with him, he’d never asked or poked around to learn it. He just called him Mate, because that’s what the man had always been to him, and Mate had just accepted the name without offering anything different.

  And, now that his mate was in his territory, essentially in the middle of nowhere, he’d be able to claim him. Nothing would get in his way this time. His spirits rose with unabashed glee at the thought of finally pairing up with his other half.

  Another scent floated on the air. It was a hair away from being indistinct, but he detected the sour, putrid, note to it. A member of the Helldorado Mongrels biker pack, a Shinan wolf shifter to be precise.

  Shit. Not good.

  He caught sight of the guy he believed emitted the smell.

  Kane. What the hell is he doing here?

  Kane seemed to be intently focused on his sister and his mate.

  Oh, hell no.

  His inner wolf growled, scratched to be released and go take care of the interloper. But he forced down the urge to shift, hunt, and kill. There’d be time enough to deal with the Shinan later.

  Gabe glanced at his sister, Emma, through the binoculars. She spoke to the man who looked related to his mate and laughed. He wondered why she hadn’t noticed Kane. Sure, Kane had changed his looks, and it’d been ages since they last saw him, but the shifter’s smell?

  Could the Mongrels have a scent repellent like he and Emma used?

  As if in answer to Gabe’s silent question, the Shinan glanced around, took a small canister out of his jeans pocket and sprayed his body and mouth with a fine mist.

  So he is masking his scent like Emma and I are. I must have caught his smell right before he needed another dose. And Emma’s so busy she’s probably not paying attention to any subtleties in the air nor seeing through his disguise. She’s gotta learn not to be so naïve and trusting.

  Gabe snuck out of his position and headed toward his old, gray pickup truck.

  No time like the present to meet my past and future, my mate, and find out who he is in this lifetime. And to make sure that Shinan behaves. I’ll play along like I don’t know it’s him and hopefully Kane will reveal why he’s in our camp.

  He sped down to the site, kicking up a cloud of dust as he slammed on the brakes and parked.

  He jumped out of the cab and out of a habit for safety counted the members of the tour.

  Two weren’t in the immediate area. How had they disappeared between him leaving his spot up on the mountain to his arrival? It hadn’t even been five minutes. He scanned the group again, then noticed his sister and the Shinan weren’t missing. They were several yards away near the vehicles talking and laughing.

  Shit. She really has no clue. We’re going to have to talk about this. Good thing it appeared like she wasn’t in danger from their cousin.

  Because he had other business to attend to first.

  * * * *

  Cameron crumpled the itinerary and watched his brother walk off toward the REI couple. He hated fighting with him, but damn. Days in the canyon? Maybe it was best they went to separate corners and cooled off before one of them said something really bad.

  Thinking relaxing in the tent was in good order, he was about to turn and head for the enclosure when the crunch of tires on dirt and stone caught his attention. He stayed put to see the newcomer.

  A man hopped out of a dusty gray pickup truck and appeared to look around, first focusing on Emma and Mr. Tall-Dark-Handsome then turned his way.

  As the guy’s gaze settled on him, Cameron felt like his feet rooted themselves to the ground and his stomach had been besieged by butterflies. His mouth and throat went dry as the air seemed to be sucked from his lungs. The man looked so much like campfire dude and Dyson, the one from his dreams.

  But it can’t be them. The Adonis who’d sat by the fire in my teens would be somewhat different, wouldn’t he? Much older. Perhaps thinner or fatter depending upon his genetics? The dude I saw in my youth? The one I’ve based all my relationships on in terms of physical appearances since I’ve started dating? No way.

  And when it came to Dyson, well, that guy only existed in his mind.

  Yet, there was the trim and fit man who lived in Cameron’s memories, the one who was a head taller than him in height and had the broad shoulders he loved. Only thing different Cameron noticed about him was the baseball cap that concealed the man’s hair and shaded his eyes. He’d never seen Dyson in such a hat before.

  I wonder what color this guy’s eyes are. In my dreams I always pictured them as green. And what color is his hair? Too bad it’s concealed by that hat.

  Cameron rubbed his clammy hands against thighs and took a deep breath.

  The handsome man strode forward, his hand outstretched. “Hello. I’m Gabe, the tour guide.”

  Holy shit. His eyes are sexy. Bedroom like. Almost wolfish. The way I’ve always dreamt them.

  “Cameron.” He accepted Gabe’s handshake, and when their skin made contact, a sharp, electric sensation zapped Cameron hard.

  An acrid, burning scent filled Cameron’s nose. The smell reminded him of the time his platoon had been out in the field for a training exercise during a rainy season. Lightning had struck close by the camp. Too near for comfort. All the men had complained about the ozone stink.

  Had he been hit by a random bolt? A peek at the sky revealed not a cloud in sight. He took another lungful of air. Slowly the burnt fragrance interchanged with a faint pleasant smell. He could barely make it out, but it kind of reminded him of the holidays.

  What he perceived as reality seemed to morph, bringing the time in his youth when he’d first seen the man at the campfire to touch upon the present moment where the man, Gabe, now stood. Once again, Cameron couldn’t help feeling like they were connected in some kind of cosmic way and that he knew the man who stood before him. Knew all his loves and hates, his quirks, the way the man would look at him with a dark and sultry, passion-filled gaze after they made love. Feeling like something clicked into place within him, it was as if Cameron had found a piece of his soul that he hadn’t realized was missing.

  Just like I felt years ago. But how could Gabe be him?

  The whole situation struck him as being uncanny, but so right at the same time.

  Well said, Mate. The inner voice sounded like Gabe’s.

  Cameron’s heart skipped a beat at the unbidden thought that popped into his head. Fighting the lust coiling within him and trying to calm his heart so it wouldn’t bang out of his chest, he reluctantly released Gabe’s hand.

  “It’s such a pleasure to meet you, Cameron.” Gabe smiled.

  There’s that grin I love. Cameron could have sworn the world slipped away and just the two of them were left. Him, alone with a stranger who wasn’t a stranger. He wanted to believe he stood before the love of his life, but he needed hard, tangible proof Gabe was who Cameron hoped he was. Not just some mystical, wishful thinking or facial expressions anyone could offer.

  “Same,” Cameron managed to croak, then he cocked his head. Maybe if he played it cool and poked around with the right questions, he could figure out what the hell was going on. “We’ve met before, haven’t we? I feel I’ve seen you somewhere, like we already know each other.”

  Gabe gave a flirty non-committal shrug and a half-smile as if he knew what Cameron was after but didn’t want to reveal a secret. “I believe—”

  “Gabriel Dyson,” Emma called out from several feet away here she stood with the rest of the group, breaking the enchantment that’d been forming between the two of them. “It’s about time you showed. Come over here
and let me introduce you to everyone.” She waved her arm indicating Gabe should join her.

  Dyson? A thousand questions tore through Cameron’s mind, while at the same time his arousal became a volcano, sending ejecta of molten desire straight to his cock. Every molecule of him wanted to reach out and grab Gabe, pull him into his arms, kiss him, then find out what the hell was going on, but once again, his mouth and feet felt like they were weighted down with concrete. Functioning like a normal human being seemed near impossible.

  “Be right there, Em.” Gabe looked back at Cameron and winked. “Duty calls. We’ll finish this conversation later.”

  Before Cameron could blink or say another word, Gabe was jogging over to the group. Stunned, he could only watch as his dream man shook hands and greeted each person.

  Cameron wanted to smack his own forehead. What’d happened to his confidence and swagger? It wasn’t like he was his awkward thirteen-year-old self again and too young to approach a man to talk and flirt with him.

  I should go over there and join all of them. Make Gabe take notice of me. Get us back into the conversation now rather than later.

  Plan in place, Cameron took a couple of steps toward where Gabe stood with Emma, but Jarrod intercepted him.

  “Emma asked if we could help grab the coolers out of the van and set up for lunch since she has to talk to Gabe, and as she said, the natives are getting restless.”

  Cameron glanced at the siblings, who were strolling away from the campsite. The thought of Gabe leaving and not being able to see him again bothered Cameron. The idea of Gabe disappearing from his life chiseled a hole in his core and gave him a hint of the pain he’d feel over missing the man.

  Shaking off the peculiar sadness, Cameron told his brother he’d help. Between the two of them, they made quick work of setting up a folding table and laying out the items for people to make sandwiches. Containers of different salads were placed near the condiments. After creating their own plates, Cameron and Jarrod found some large rocks near a few boulders in the shade where they could sit and eat.

  * * * *

  Once out of ear and eye shot of the camp, Gabe spun and glared at his sister. “Did you not realize who one of the campers was?”

  Emma furrowed her brow. “Excuse me? What are you talking about?”

  “One of them was a Mongrels. Our cousin. Kane.”

  “Kane? But we don’t have him on our roster.” Her face blanched. “Oh. Oh, dear. Ken Summer is Kane. How in the world did I not recognize him? I know it’s been ages since I’ve seen him so that’s understandable, but I should have been able to smell him, right?”

  “Kane’s changed up his appearance. As for smelling him, he’s masking his scent with some kind of spray like we are. I watched him spritz himself before I arrived.”

  “You’ve been spying again.” She shook her head, then brushed his arm with her fingers. “Except that’s a good thing this time. If a Mongrels member is here, his presence can’t be good for us or any of the guests. But I wonder, what’s brought our cousin here? We haven’t had an issue with that side of the family in ages.”

  “I believe he’s after my mate. Cameron.”

  Her skin regained its color. “Your … he’s your mate? You sure?”

  “Yes.” The word came out rough. He wanted to berate his sister more, but knowing his mate, his soul twin, was nearby tempered his attitude and stopped him from making a scene.

  “I can’t believe I didn’t notice Kane when I was making introductions.” Emma glanced around and smiled. “Or that Cameron was your mate. I guess I have other things on my mind right now.”

  Gabe snorted. “I’ll say.” Lately all she seemed to care about was finding the fortune that’d been stolen from them.

  “You know you’ll be ecstatic when we find the gold and recover the rest of the funds. Now, come on, let’s go talk to your mate and his brother. Cameron seems like a really nice fellow, and he’ll be a nice addition to the family.”

  “Don’t change the subject.” She started to walk away, and Gabe followed close on her heels. “I don’t see why you don’t just use your magic to find where they hid the gold.”

  Emma happened to be one of the rare few maicohs—also known as wolf witches—left, and from what he understood, not only did the witches have healing powers and act as spiritual guides, they could read others' minds, control people’s thoughts and behavior, and cause death … amongst other abilities they were supposed to have. Yet, Emma kept professing that her powers weren’t all that strong.

  “You know it doesn’t work that way with me.”

  “Bullshit. I feel like you’re lying to me.”

  “That’s your problem.”

  * * * *

  Cameron kept glancing over to where he last saw Gabe. He knew it was illogical to pine for Gabe as if he’d gone off to war or something, but for some reason Cameron couldn’t help his feelings. So when Emma and Gabe reappeared, relief that Gabe hadn’t left washed through him.

  Except, as the pair approached, Gabe’s expression concerned Cameron. Gabe didn’t seem happy, and the way the siblings looked to be talking, he could have sworn they were bickering.

  Once they were close enough, Cameron asked, “Is everything all right?”

  As Gabe nodded, Emma replied, “Yes. Just reprising a conversation we always have when we’re out this way.”

  “Sounds familiar.” Cameron tossed his brother a quick look and received a glare in return.

  “Gotta love family drama, right?” Gabe’s question seemed jovial, but his tone was nowhere near lighthearted.

  Emma gave Gabe a narrowed-eye stare much like Jarrod had Cameron, then focused on the two brothers again. “But in our case it’s a little more than that.”

  “How so?” Jarrod asked.

  “Money. Our cousins stole a good portion of our inheritance.”

  “Em...” Gabe drew out her name while he shook his head.

  “What? It’s not like Cameron and Jarrod know where the stash is, and if we haven’t been able to find it yet, they won’t be able to either in just a weekend.”

  Cameron’s interest piqued. As a boy he always loved a good treasure hunt story and had fancied going on such an adventure himself. “Stash?”

  “Gold,” Emma replied. “Somehow our cousins got it in their heads that the claim was theirs. They robbed most of it from us, liquefied some of it into easily accessible funds and some into investments, then hid the rest out here in these mountains somewhere. From what we understand, they hid it so good even they don’t remember where they put it.”

  Jarrod sat back and crossed his arms over his midsection. “No records were kept? Like a map or something?”

  “No. Not that we know of,” Gabe interjected. “The head of that side of the family feared a map could fall into the wrong hands.”

  Emma nodded. “Inferno decided to just rely on his memory, not realizing that’d be faulty, too.”

  “Inferno?” Cameron shifted on the hard rock. “That’s an odd name.”

  “It’s his gang name,” Gabe explained. “He’s the leader of the Helldorado Mongrels motorcycle club.”

  Cameron’s blood ran cold at the mention of motorcycles, but before he could dwell on the correlation between the club name and the ghost story, the conversation went on, distracting him from troubling thoughts.

  “So, yeah,” Emma continued, “out here somewhere is our wealth. I want to continue searching for it, which is one of the reasons we host the tours. Gabe thinks maybe we should chalk it all up to a lost cause.”

  “Really?” Cameron put his plate to the side and stood. “You want to give up on searching for buried treasure? Most people would jump at the chance to find that elusive X and what it hides.”

  Gabe shrugged. “I’d normally agree, but we’ve been at this for long while.”

  “Maybe you just need some fresh blood to join in your exploration.” Cameron hoped Gabe would understand his hint. Though looking for g
old might be interesting, he didn’t really care about finding it. All he wanted was an opportunity to hang out with Gabe. Alone.

  “Maybe we do. Are you volunteering?”

  When Gabe smiled and Cameron realized Gabe wanted to spend time with him, too, his spirits soared. “Sure. Why not?”

  “I have some time now if you’re interested in getting a hike in.”

  “That sounds great.” Cameron looked at his brother. “You don’t mind if I go off for a bit, do you?”

  Jarrod glanced between Cameron and Gabe, raising a brow then grinning. “No, I don’t mind. Go on and enjoy yourself.”

  “Em?” Gabe asked.

  Emma smiled as well. “I’ve got things here taken care of. So go. We should be fine until dinner when I’ll need your help with that.”

  Gabe led Cameron out of camp and to a trailhead. “You in good shape?”

  “Yeah. I’d say I am.”

  “All right. Come on then.” Gabe set foot onto a path that looked to stretch up a sharp incline, almost like heading up a wall. As they traversed it, Gabe filled Cameron in on the flora and fauna of the Mojave Desert area.

  Cameron didn’t know how Gabe could spout off fact after fact as they climbed higher and higher in elevation. He thought he was in great shape, but the ascent was kicking his ass.

  “Some people claim it’s the sagebrush that they smell after it rains. Others will say it’s from the Creosote bush. Either way, it’s a different scent than other parts of the country, and to me it means home.”

  Gabe imparted some more tidbits of plant information, then went into details about animals. Meanwhile, it took everything Cameron had to keep up with his pace and take in air. He’d have to do more cardio when he returned home if he planned on more treks like this with Gabe.

  “…hummingbirds, chipmunks, jackrabbits,” Gabe rattled off, then suddenly stopped. He shot out his arm, clotheslining Cameron in the chest.

  “What the—”

  Gabe held a finger to his lips. A rattling broke the silence. He pointed to a spot a few feet from the trail. “And of course there are rattlesnakes out here, too.” He directed Cameron a few feet off the path giving the reptile a wide berth.