by Jane Jamison
What the hell was that?
No. He’d asked the wrong question.
Who the hell was that?
He sucked in a breath. After waking in the middle of the night, he’d stumbled into the kitchen, ready to quench his thirst.
The vision had taken hold of him as surely as a wolf clamping its strong jaws down on its prey. The woman was beautiful. Not that he actually saw her. Instead, her existence was more of an impression. She was a vision, her face obscured by the dark, as she lay in bed. Her full breasts pushed against the sleep T-shirt she wore. Sweat soaked the material, keeping it against her skin to outline her luscious curves. A cry, a moan came from her to tear into him.
And then the vision had gone, leaving him trying to catch his breath. His wolf growled, pushing at him to shift and run under the bright moonlight. Instead, on shaky legs, he went back to his bedroom.
He sat on the edge of his bed, his body shaking. She’d seemed so real, so…perfect. Yet she couldn’t be real. He’d never met anyone like her.
Shake it off.
He’d had wet dreams like any normal man. Was that what it had been? Nothing more than a wet dream? Yet his inner wolf snarled and clawed to be set free, ready to claim her.
Whoever she was, she was only a dream.
And if she’s not?
He’d have to find her.
* * * *
“I’m telling you, Jacob, Shenna knows.” Emma glared at Jacob as they went down another aisle of the local grocery store, High Tide Market.
“And like I told you, we already know she knows. Let us handle it, will you?” Jacob tossed his favorite cereal in the cart and moved on.
Emma retrieved the sugar-laden cereal and put it back on the shelf. “So? What are you guys going to do about it? She saw Harper Winslow and Thelma Handling shift.”
“Harper Winslow is an idiot. He was told Shenna was sneaking around, trying to take photos, along with every other shifter in town. Not that he gives a crap. If he gets a chance to get in between a woman’s legs, he’s going to take it, no matter what shit comes from it. He’s damn lucky his wife hasn’t cut his balls off yet.”
“And she took photos, too.”
“Again. We know.” He turned around to confront her. “What do you want us to do? Run her out of town? Sneak in and steal her camera? Or maybe we tell her about all of us and ask her pretty please to not telling anyone else?”
Emma hated it when she didn’t have a good answer. Especially when one of her men was acting like an ass. Now was one of those times. “I don’t know, but we can’t let it go on. What if she just ups and leaves town?”
“We have someone watching her. She’s not going anywhere if we can help it.”
“Is that the answer? Keeping watch on her like she’s some kind of terrorist? And what happens if she does try to leave? Do you track her down and bring her back kicking and screaming?”
“We do whatever needs to be done. Just like we’ve always done in the past.”
Emma whirled around to find Miss Clara standing with her feet apart and arms crossed. No one was sure exactly how old Miss Clara was. The elderly woman was an institution at the market and the unofficial matriarch of Forever. She was a short woman, but everyone who knew her knew she was a powerhouse, an unofficial leader of the werewolves of Forever. When Miss Clara spoke, everyone listened.
“Hi, Miss Clara.” Emma resisted the urge to shoot Jacob a pleading look. Not that Miss Clara was mean or anything, but she could rattle Emma with one hard look.
“That young girl has a plan. You can count on it.”
Relief flooded Emma when Jacob put his hand on her shoulder. She could trust him to handle the older woman. “What plan is that, Miss Clara?”
Miss Clara narrowed her eyes, shooting him the look that could make a grown man cringe. “Don’t you go acting dumb with me, Jacob Carr. You know damn well what I’m talking about.”
Had Miss Clara gotten more cantankerous in the past year? Still, no matter what her age, her mind was like a steel trap.
“She’s planning on outing all of us to the entire world.”
“It’s not like it hasn’t been tried before,” said Jacob in a voice that was calm and soothing.
Miss Clara waved her hand in the air, dismissing him. “I know that, too, boy. But we let our guard down once and it’s all over.”
The town took great care to keep its secret. Still, some humans knew of the existence of shifters and vampires. The ones who knew were mated to a shifter or had taken an oath of silence. So far, their secret had remained carefully hidden from the world. Emma, however, believed that, sooner or later, all secrets would come out.
“We’re doing what we need to do. There’s no need for you to worry, Miss Clara.”
Emma stiffened at Jacob’s placating tone. The amber in Miss Clara’s eyes proved she’d heard it, too. “What do you think we should do, Miss Clara?” Saying the woman’s name whenever they spoke to her was a sign of respect.
“We need to find her a mate.”
Emma couldn’t have been more surprised if Miss Clara had transformed into a snake and bitten her. “A mate? But you of all people know it’s not that easy. What if she doesn’t have a mate? What if she doesn’t feel the connection?”
“Y’all think I’m a stupid old woman, don’t you?”
“Of course we don’t. But I’m not sure how we’re supposed to find her a mate.”
Miss Clara made a scoffing noise. “Damn it, you two. Why do you think she came to Forever?”
Was it a trick question? “Like we said, to take photos that would expose us to the rest of the world.”
“That’s only an excuse. You know as well as I do that no one who comes and then stays in Forever does it for any other reason than the one and only real reason that counts. She senses she’s supposed to be here.”
“You think she’s here because the connection brought her here?” Jacob slipped his arm around Emma’s waist. “You think she’s here to find her mate?”
“Or mates. I sure do.”
“Then we shouldn’t worry about what she’s doing, right?”
Miss Clara’s cataract-clouded eyes drove into Emma’s. “Of course we should worry. Even if you know it’s going to rain long and hard, you still have to worry if it’s going to flood. She’s here because of the connection, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t help Fate along.”
“Are you saying we should set her up with some prospective mates? Are you saying we should play matchmaker?”
Miss Clara tapped a finger against her head. “Now you’re getting it, young one. Now you’re getting it.”
“But how are we supposed to do that? How do we tell who she might have the connection with?” asked Emma.
Miss Clara shrugged her bony shoulders. “That’s for you young ones to figure out. This old woman can’t do everything, you know.” With another dismissive wave of her hand, she spun around, moving faster than anyone her age had a right to do, and strode back down the aisle.
Emma watched the older woman leave, her head still spinning. “Damn it. I wish Miss Clara hadn’t overheard us.”
“Why?” Jacob pulled her into his arms. “She gave us an answer.”
Emma leaned into him, enjoying the hardness of his firm body. “Because now we have to figure out who Shenna’s mates are.”
“It shouldn’t be that hard, should it? I mean, if her mates are in town, that is.”
She leaned back and studied her mate. “Oh, really? You think this is going to be a breeze, huh?”
“I didn’t say that. Still, as far as I’m concerned, all we have to do is get Shenna in town as much as possible. We run as many men past her as we can and see if any of them feel the connection. If we do that, she’ll be too busy to take any photos.”
Emma lightly bopped his nose. “Fine. I guess that’s as good a plan as any. So how about we get her to the Moonstone Bar tonight?”
“We’ll figure it out.” He
held her tighter. “Hell, as long as there’s a beer waiting for me, I’m all for it.”
“Then it’s a plan.” She nuzzled against him. “Until then, let’s check out and get back home. I need a man or three in bed with me.”
* * * *
“I need to run again, damn it. It’s been a hell of a long time since we did,” said one of the three men seated at the table with Kate Wingate.
Shenna didn’t know Kate well, but Kate seemed like a nice person. They’d met a couple of times at the market. She assumed the three men sitting with Kate at one of the tables at the end of the dance floor were sweet on Kate. Were they like Emma? Were they in a ménage relationship? Ever since Emma had told her about how people in Forever liked the one-woman-with-more-than-one-man kind of thing, she’d begun noticing it more and more. How could she have been so blind? Yet she’d been focused on finding out who was a werewolf, not on who was living with more than one man.
“Tucker’s right. We need some downtime. Time to stretch our legs,” added a second man at the table.
Although Shenna had already nodded her greeting to them, she did her best to blend in with the others sitting at the bar. Leaning against the bar, she skimmed her gaze over the crowd, trying to pick out possible shifters. Were they so well versed at hiding that they could easily blend in with the other patrons? Or were there more shifters than humans, making the occasional human the anomaly? The bar was packed, making it difficult to see very far.
“When you’re right, you’re right, Travis.” The third man had his arm resting on the back of Kate’s chair. “When a man has to shift, a man has to shift.”
Shenna held back her excitement. She’d already guessed they were shifters, but overhearing the conversation confirmed her suspicions. She wasn’t sure how, but she’d find a way to tail them later.
“Hi, girl. It’s good to see you out and about.”
Shenna pulled her attention away from Kate and her men to find Emma bellying up to the bar next to her. “Hi. I didn’t realize you got into the whole bar scene.”
Emma laughed, the sound light. “This isn’t your typical bar like back in Dallas. It’s kind of like Milly’s. Just a place for everyone to get together and catch up.”
“It’s a nice place. So it’s not much of a hookup place?”
The bartender slid a beer in front of Emma. “It can be.” Emma gave Shenna a speculative look. “Do you want it to be?”
“That’s not what I meant.” The last thing she needed was to have Emma play matchmaker.
Unless she can introduce me to the men from my dreams.
But that had been a dream, a wet fantasy, not reality.
“Still, it wouldn’t hurt you to meet a few nice people.”
Before Shenna could tell Emma otherwise, her friend had already waved over a nice-looking man.
Shit. I’ve been set up.
“Shenna Cox, this is Walter Dannigan.”
Walter put out his hand. His skin was tanned just like every other man’s, and calluses covered his palm. His dark eyes were friendly, but she wasn’t sure she cared for the full beard he sported.
“It’s nice to meet you, Shenna.”
She smiled and hoped he wouldn’t crush her hand.
“Walter and his two brothers, Lank and Harley, own the Split Tree Ranch just outside of town. It’s a really fine ranch.”
“Well, thank you, Emma. I’m pleased you think so.”
Shenna was at a loss as to what to say. Making small chitchat wasn’t what she’d planned on. She glanced at Kate and her men, making sure they hadn’t left.
The awkwardness grew. Shenna didn’t want to appear rude, but she really didn’t want Walter hanging around, either.
“Well, anyway…” He let his sentence trail off. “It was nice meeting you. I hope you like it here.”
“Thanks,” she said in a voice swamped with apathy. Keeping her smile in place, she waited until Walter had drifted away. Once he had, she shifted toward Emma, ready to tell her to stop whatever the hell she was trying to do. Again, it was too late.
Another man sauntered up to them. “This has got to be Shenna.” He didn’t offer her his hand. Instead, he leaned in and placed a quick peck to her cheek. “Feel anything?”
“I’m sorry?”
Emma cleared her throat. “Shenna Cox, this is Tom Harbat. He and his cousins own a—”
She interrupted, getting irritated at Emma and her plan to set her up. “Let me guess. He and his cousins own a ranch just outside of town.”
Thankfully, Emma wasn’t offended. Instead, she chuckled. “Exactly right. Then again, most folks around here own a ranch.”
“But did you feel anything?” asked Tom. His gray eyes hooked onto Shenna like a dog to a bone.
“What am I supposed to feel?” It would be nice to know what he was talking about.
“So she doesn’t know? Oh. Okay. Never mind.” Tom shrugged. “I’m guessing you didn’t, or you’d know what I’m asking. It was nice to meet you, anyway.” And with another shrug directed at Emma, Tom strode away.
“Stop.” Shenna made sure she got the word out before Emma brought the next man over. Now that she knew what was going on—sort of—she noticed several other men waiting nearby as though ready to be called to duty. “Don’t you dare bring another one of those guys over.”
“But why not?” protested Emma.
“You know damn well why not. You’re trying to set me up.”
Emma feigned a look of surprise. “What? Me? I wouldn’t dare.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I’m only trying to introduce you to as many people as possible. You know. To make you feel at home. We want you to stay on.”
“Uh-huh. If that’s true, then why are all the people you’ve lined up to meet me”—she thrust out her chin toward the men waiting—“men?”
“They are?” But then Emma relented. “Okay. Fine. I thought it would be nice if you found someone—or a few someones—to go out and have some fun with. Is it such a crime to want my friend to be happy?”
How could she be upset with Emma? Her intentions were good even if they weren’t wanted. “I am happy. And I’m not looking for anyone right now. So will you please stop introducing me? I feel like a prize calf up for auction.”
Emma’s contrition was obvious. Her eyes pleaded for forgiveness. “I didn’t mean it like that at all.”
“It’s okay. Just stop.”
“Sure thing.”
Shenna barely had time to think before Emma took her hand and pulled her off the barstool. “What are you doing now?”
Emma didn’t answer as she dragged Shenna along with her, through the crowd, and over to the other side of the room.
“Emma, where are you taking me?”
By the time they’d pushed their way through the crowd, Shenna was getting a sinking feeling. “You aren’t taking me to meet another man, are you? Because if you are, then—” Suddenly, she forgot what she was going to say.
Three amazing men sat at a table in the shadows of the bar. Their faces were partially hidden, making her strain to see them. So far they hadn’t noticed her, so intent on their conversation that they were oblivious to everything around them.
Her heart pounded, and her breath hitched in her throat. The sensation she’d experienced before burst to life.
It can’t be.
Can it?
Her body screamed to go to them. To beg them to take her home and into their bed. She craved them, yearned for them. Yet the yearning wasn’t only physical. Instead, it took on a life of its own, demanding she listen to it. If she gave in to it, she would be swallowed whole. And if she didn’t? At once, she couldn’t think of anything worse. But if she gave in and crossed the few extra feet to be near them? What would happen then?
Her mind warned of danger, confusing her even more.
“Shenna? You’re going to really like these guys. Yes, they own a ranch. And yes, they’re good-looking, but before you star
t resisting—”
Go to them.
No.
Fear mixed with need.
She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t stay in one spot a moment longer. With a small cry, she turned and ran.
Chapter Three
Jordan leaned toward the table where he and his cousins sat. They’d been at the bar for a while, drinking more than two pitchers of beer. After working the ranch all day, herding cattle, and breaking a new horse, they’d needed to take the time to sit down and relax. Working a new ranch took a lot of time and effort, but he loved what he did and wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Except for one thing.
If he could trade the ranch for finding their mate, he’d do it in a heartbeat.
Too bad that wasn’t an option.
“Are you paying attention, man?” asked Doug.
Jordan nodded and refocused on the paperwork spread over the table. “Yeah. I am. But when did coming to the bar mean going over the ranch’s expenditures? We’re supposed to be taking a break, maybe dancing with a few pretty girls.”
“We are taking a break.” Marty grinned and took a long sip. “We’re not at the ranch, so technically it’s a break.”
“Can we get back to it? The sooner we get it done, the sooner we can really take a break.” Doug scowled then pointed at a row of figures. “According to our records, we should be in the black in—”
A blow to Jordan’s gut hit him hard and without warning. Suddenly, breathing became harder. Suddenly, every hair on his skin stood at attention. Suddenly, an electrifying sensation washed over him. His inner beast howled, springing to life, ready to claim its mate.
But most surprising of all, his cock jumped to life.
Doug’s voice faded into the background. Jordan scanned the bar as though he actually knew what he was looking for. Instead, he had no clue, except that he had to find it. He had to find it and never let it go. Whatever it was. But the crowd was too thick to see very far.
The sensation whipped into high gear. At once stunning in its intensity, it wasn’t painful. In fact, the feeling was downright nice. Good. Fucking awesome. Hot as hell.