by Juniper Hart
“Do you think we could buy him out like Adrianna?”
He thought about it. “Nah. He doesn’t do it entirely for the money. The cash is just a benefit to him. He’s not right in the head… he enjoys the kill.”
She thought back to the motorcycle helmet and shuddered. If he really was as powerful and dangerous as everyone seemed to think he was, Cara didn’t want to meet him.
“But would he quit if we took down the bounty?”
“Maybe. Probably. He’s got lots of other folks to terrorize for money. He wouldn’t try to kill us for free, not when he’s got plenty of paying jobs lined up. Not too many of us have a small army of goblins to play with. The guy’s basically a legend in the mercenary community.”
“A community, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“So how does that work? You guys all go out and get drinks on Tuesdays or something?”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” For a second, he sounded very serious, which made her cringe. “Thursdays. Right before Fridays so we can relax on the weekends,” he said while smirking.
Cara smiled back.
“Thanks again for saving me, Reuben.” She leaned back against him, as he wrapped his arms around her. “How are you feeling? Have you stopped bleeding?”
She couldn’t see his face, but she could hear him breathing harder than normal. He was probably still trying to heal.
“Not yet,” he replied. “But soon. Soon…”
“I’ve never had someone catch a bullet for me.”
His voice was still tight with pain, and he muttered, “Let’s not make it a practice. I’ll live, but it hurts like hell. But no matter what, Cara, I will always be there for you.”
Cara turned around and cupped Reuben’s face with her hands. She stared into his kind, warm eyes and smiled. Lost in the moment, she leaned in and kissed each cheek, then his lips. Reuben slipped his hands inside her shirt and slowly, gently, traced his fingers over the small of her back. Excitement coursed through Cara’s core.
Adrianna broke up the moment.
“Hey, get a room. You’re making Eddy and me sick.”
Cara pulled away from Reuben and turned around. She still had her back leaning against his chest, while he once again wrapped his arms around her.
Adrianna cocked her eyebrows, obviously jealous of Reuben’s interaction with Cara, but she didn’t say anything.
“Reuben, we need to contact your father.”
Reuben didn’t even look up or hesitate before responding.
“Nope.”
“We need his help,” Eddy said from the knoll he was sitting on. “Face it. We tried going alone and Widowmaker’s men almost killed us. We haven’t even been able to get close to Ezekiel yet. We need the help from your pack.”
Reuben almost looked nervous.
“It’s not happening. We can fight Ezekiel alone. We should attack now, before he’s ready for us.”
Eddy gave a mournful look, like he was reading deeper between the lines.
“You need to make up with father. You’ve had your fun doing your own thing, but your childish rebellion needs to stop. You are to be head of the pack someday, Reuben. It’s time you start acting like it. Besides, you and I both know that we can’t take on Ezekiel like this, when we’re barely armed and injured.”
The air seemed to physically chill as a silence settled over the group. Reuben, Cara’s indestructible protector, appeared almost afraid. But what Eddy had said was true—they were not going to be able to stop Ezekiel and take down the bounty by themselves. It was silly to even try. A small scouting force for one bounty hunter had nearly killed all of them. Sure, Reuben might have survived long enough to be killed by Ezekiel because the car didn’t have any silver in it, but the rest of them would have died if they’d accidentally gone off the interstate.
Reuben finally nodded, but slowly, like he was deciding where he wanted to be buried.
“Fine… but only because we need the extra manpower. Nothing else. You understand?”
Eddy stepped back and replied, “That’s all I ask.”
They sat at the farm for about fifteen minutes until a car came up the dirt road with a trail of dust showing their arrival. Eddy immediately surged to his feet and hurried towards the road.
“Where are you going?” Adrianna asked skeptically, eyeballing him.
“To call the pack! I don’t know where my phone is, so I am going to borrow someone’s phone in that car.”
As he jogged across the uneven terrain towards the vehicle, Cara asked Reuben more about his pack. She didn’t mean to irritate him, but if they were going to meet these guys, she had to know some stuff about them.
“So who are they? Are they werewolves like you?”
“Yes. Thousands of them,” he replied.
He was moving easier, having apparently healed from the gunshots. They watched Eddy stop the car. The driver rolled down the window and Eddy explained something. How he explained it, Cara didn’t know. He was too far away to hear, and besides, she was comfortable staying in the moment with Reuben.
“Wonder what he’s saying,” she murmured.
The cold wind wafted off Reuben’s frame that shielded her.
“Knowing Eddy, something great. The guy can lie about anything, and I mean that in a good way.” His eyes were off in the past somewhere. “He’s had my back through thick and thin. I consider him more of a father than my real one ever was.”
“Can the driver see us?”
“No. We’re still cloaked.”
She nuzzled up against him.
“Will they try to hurt me?”
“I would never let them,” he said fiercely. “But no. You’re my mate. You’re one of us now.” He looked down at her. “Cara, I don’t want you to fight with us. Ezekiel is far too dangerous of an enemy.”
“I’m not just going to stay at the house while the men go and save me,” Cara said, maybe sharper than she should have. “I can hold my own.”
“I was afraid you’d say that.” He sighed and reached for her hand. She gave it to him. “Vampires are very durable, but they have one glaring weakness.” He guided Cara’s hand to his side, just under his chest. She could feel his rippling abs underneath. “Here, right at this rib. Some folks like to say they have a weakness here because of the Bible, but that’s bullshit. The Bible has nothing to do with it. It’s just a simple flaw. If you ever find yourself up close and personal with a vampire, hit him here.”
“Not in the man-bits?”
“Man-bits?” He was amused. “Haven’t heard that one before. This’ll hurt more, believe it or not.” He kept her hand on his hot skin. “Right here, they just don’t have a rib. They’re totally exposed, and you can kill them if you’re quick with it.”
Cara caught Adrianna’s eye. The assassin was standing farther away, acting like she was focused on Eddy using a stranger’s phone, but she wasn’t. She was eavesdropping on Cara and Reuben. When Cara caught her looking, she turned away with a stone face.
“Stand up,” Reuben said, helping Cara to her feet. “I’ll teach you a couple things.”
Cara and Reuben stood up. Cara glanced back at the driver on the road, but the driver seemed to be blissfully unaware of anyone being in the field. Reuben adopted a fighting stance. He looked ready to move at any moment. Even unarmed, he looked like he could take anyone on with his muscles rippling beneath his t-shirt.
Cara followed his lead, trying to get into what she presumed was a fighting stance. It felt awkward. Adrianna glowered and walked off towards Eddy, leaving Cara and Reuben alone.
Reuben’s eyes flashed down to Cara’s breasts, which were absolutely, positively freezing. She hadn’t known that South Dakota could get so cold. She’d been a northerner her entire life, so she was used to cold temperatures, but boy, she hadn’t experienced anything like a South Dakota winter. Her nipples were pointed hard, poking through the hoodie she was wearing.
“Stop looking.”
Reuben laughed.
“Shut up,” Cara said, resituating the hoodie.
“I didn’t even say anything,” he protested.
“But you were going to.”
“Oh, I was?”
Reuben ruffled Cara’s hair and said, “Ok, let’s get serious.”
He circled Cara, as if he was stalking her.
“Okay, I’ll act like a vampire and you try to defend yourself.”
“You’re going to destroy me,” Cara said. “This isn’t fair.”
He lunged forward, tapping her gently on her throat.
“You’re dead.”
“You can’t expect me to actually stop you,” Cara said, feeling embarrassed despite herself.
But Adrianna wasn’t watching. She was off with Eddy. Cara looked back at Reuben just in time for Reuben to tap her on the chest.
“Dead again.”
He kept doing it time after time until Cara tried to defend herself. Reuben tried to keep it as a real training session, but it was positively ridiculous. Reuben was bigger, faster, and stronger. She could hardly keep up. Once, Reuben went in like he was going to tackle Cara. Cara mock hit him in the jaw, but he spun and got behind her. He wrapped his arms across her body and lifted her up, spinning her. She felt as light as a feather flying through the air.
Accidentally, her heel caught him solidly in the crotch. He doubled over, putting her down and groaning. She dashed over to him.
“I’m so sorry!” she pleaded. “I didn’t mean to…”
Reuben straightened for a second before trying, and failing, to walk it off.
“You could always just do that,” he groaned. “If a guy ever fights you, just do that. Right in the man-bits…”
“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to! Are you okay?”
He looked like he might puke. “Wow, Cara. If you didn’t ever want to have sex with me again, there are other ways to say it.”
“Stop! That wasn’t it!” She cupped her hands over her mouth. “I’m so sorry!”
“I forgive you,” he managed. “You didn’t mean to. If you’re trying to get rid of me, you’re going to need to try harder than that. But that’s not an invitation to go in for another shot.”
He looked at her and bared his fangs in a pained smile.
“I think I’ve taught you everything I can. Just carry a gun or something.”
Eddy and Adrianna came back up, smiling until they saw Reuben.
“What happened to you?” Adrianna said. “You guys try to get it on while we were getting a phone? Really?”
“It’s nothing,” Reuben groaned. “She didn’t mean to. Did you at least call the pack?”
“They’re on the way.”
7
Reuben was still grimacing from the pain. Adrianna decided to make it as awkward as possible by dropping inappropriate jokes until Reuben gave her the evil eye.
“Hey, the jokes were funny,” she argued. “No need to be all childish about it.”
“If you make one more joke,” Reuben warned, “I’ll let the pack eat you.”
“Whoa, big guy. Easy.”
“I’m not kidding.”
Cara felt the compulsive need to apologize once again. “I’m still so sorry.”
He brought her in for a hug. He was seated so it wasn’t a full-on hug, but she felt butterflies in her stomach even touching him like that. He was so clearly dominant and so strong. If he wanted, he could throw her down and rip her clothes off right there. The thought excited her. But there was another side to Reuben – a much gentler side. She felt like she could trust him to never hurt her, no matter what happened. He would protect her and be with her, shield her in her darkest hour, and laugh with her in her lightest moment. That gentle, yet powerful man was her soulmate.
Reuben could have had any woman he wanted. Based on what Adrianna kept alluding to, he had experimented with many of them, yet he’d chosen Cara. He’d chosen her to be his mate.
And she could not have been happier with that.
Some big, black vans with metal bumpers and off-road tires suddenly pulled up. The looked like the government, but they had little flags off the mirrors like a foreign nation’s ambassadors. Nobody got out. They just sat there, waiting for Reuben to come to them.
“That’s them?” Cara asked.
Reuben looked like he was about to start sweating. “That’s them.”
He stood up. The hair on his forearms was standing up from the cold. His tanned skin was littered in goosebumps.
“All right. You guys ready?” He paused and demanded, “Don’t say anything. Let me do the talking. They can be particular.”
“And what about the rest of us?” Adrianna said. “I mean, sure, since you’re banging Cara they won’t hurt her, but I’m not on the protected list.”
“That’s not how it works and you know it,” Reuben snapped. “And you’re with me. They won’t do anything to you. Eddy will help keep you safe.”
“I have to hope magic-boy over here is in good enough favor with them to keep me alive?” Adrianna growled.
“You have forgotten that I am Reuben’s godfather. I am like family,” Eddy argued as they made their way towards the car.
As she got closer to the car, Cara felt butterflies in the pit of her stomach. The windows were so shaded that she couldn’t see anyone inside, but they were there. More people like Reuben. Reuben looked extremely uncomfortable as he strode across the dirt road. He kept tapping his finger in a wild pattern across his thigh. He reached out for Cara’s hand and took it. Together, holding hands, they reached the car. Eddy and Adrianna were not far behind.
Someone inside opened the door. Reuben put his foot on the foot stand of the van and stepped inside.
Cara followed behind.
The inside of the van was strangely lit for the dark windows. Looking at the van from outside, it would appear that the inside was also dimly lit. Not so.
There was only one man inside, one that looked quite a bit like Reuben. The man was tall and handsome, with a chiseled and serious face. He looked like a man that had endured years of hardship and rough decisions. He was growing a grisly beard and his face was riddled with scars.
He was wearing a custom Italian suit across his muscular frame. He leaned back silently, staring at his son and his mate. Eddy and Adrianna got into the other car, leaving Cara and Reuben sitting with Reuben’s father.
“Hey, Dad,” Reuben said.
His eyes were locked straight at his father’s chest. He was desperately avoiding eye contact. Cara felt like they were visiting the principal back in high school, not that she was sitting next to a dangerous mercenary.
“Son.”
Cara had thought Reuben’s voice was deep. His father blew his away. It was so low that it was almost hard to hear.
“Is this your mate?”
“It is.”
Reassuringly, Reuben laid a hand on Cara’s knee.
Reuben’s father looked straight at Cara, looking her up and down silently. It was strange. He was looking at her, sure, but not like most guys. He appeared to be looking straight through her, like he was judging her soul instead of her body. It was a nice change, but it was still disconcerting. She shifted uncomfortably. Unlike Reuben’s orange-gold eyes, Reuben’s father had bright, cobalt blue eyes that were both breathtaking and intimidating.
After about thirty seconds of uncomfortable studying, his father spoke.
“Why have you chosen her?”
“She’s my mate,” Reuben replied. “You know that we can’t help who choose. But, even if I could, I would choose her.”
The ice blue eyes shifted to him before looking back at her.
“What makes you so certain? She’s a human. There are many more that could make a more physically capable mate.”
“She’s mine,” Reuben said, this time with a more stern tone to his voice. “I’ve made my choice.”
The man looked straight at Reuben.
“S
on.”
Reuben met his eyes.
“Dad.”
The man’s eyes were shimmering with a clear liquid. To Cara’s shock, he didn’t look like a scary werewolf. For one moment, his intimidating demeanor cracked to show a father that was just happy to see his son return after years apart. He spread his arms with tears quietly rolling down his granite-like cheeks. Reuben looked stunned, but he went in for the hug.
Reuben’s father clapped his son on the back with a powerful hand.
“It’s good to have you back, son.”
“Good to be back,” muttered Reuben, his voice cracking.
His father directed his focus to Cara.
“Welcome to the pack, human.”
He embraced Cara and asked, “What’s your name?”
“Cara.” Her voice sounded puny after listening to his for so long. “Cara Stone.”
“You may call me Duke,” Reuben’s father said. He broke into a deep laugh and clapped Reuben on the shoulder. “Good choice. I like her.”
Cara felt her anxiety wash away. Duke was surprisingly inviting towards Cara. In that moment, she felt like she’d been part of the pack her entire life. He asked her about herself, but the strange thing was that he asked exactly nothing about her past. The few times she’d met her boyfriend’s parents, they’d asked all about her past and things she liked. Did she play sports in high school? Did she have any brothers or sisters? What was her favorite food?
Duke didn’t care about any of that. He asked her a very difficult question – one she didn’t expect.
“Who are you?”
“You mean like…” She paused. “What do you mean?”
“Who are you?” he repeated, focusing his eyes on her. “Tell me about your soul.”
“Oh. Uh, nice, I guess. I always try to do the right thing.”
‘Ugh. Nice? Really? That’s your best answer?’
Duke seemed amused by her response. “Okay. Nice. That’s a good quality.” He roughed up his son’s hair. “I’m just happy to see my heir back.”
“I thought you’d be angry with me,” Reuben finally revealed. “I was sure that you would never let me back in. I just don’t understand.”