by Bonnie Vanak
Cold wind ruffled her fur. Gradually his penis shrank, the knot vanishing, and he pulled out.
She and Jackson shifted back. Shivering, she hugged herself. He kissed her deeply then lowered his forehead to hers.
“Darling, I love mating with you as wolf, but wow, I adore kissing you in Skin.”
“Get me back to the cabin right now, Palmer, and there’s more of that. But not out here. I’m freezing!”
He grabbed her hand. “Let’s run.”
“Uh, clothing?”
A twinkle lit his gaze. “Why bother, when I’m going to strip it off you in minutes?”
She laughed with the joy of it, as she and Jackson headed for the cabin. Normal. She’d never felt so damn normal in her whole life.
And then her laughter cut off abruptly as a Skin stepped from behind a tree near the cabin. Moonlight glinted off the blue barrel of the shotgun pointed at them.
“Caught you, you goddamn Lupines.”
Chapter 16
Jackson’s heart stopped as Bart Baker emerged from behind a tall pine tree, the business end of a shotgun pointed at them. Jackson stepped before Lexie, shielding her.
Fuck. Being shot for turning into a wolf was so not how he wanted this night to end.
Jackson held up his hands, aware he was naked and defenseless. “Easy, Mr. Baker. I know this looks odd, but I can explain…”
“Godamn Lupines. You make shifting look so fucking easy, you think you’re so special. You’re not.” The rancher’s smile darkened as he advanced. “You bleed just like Skins do.”
An icy wind bit into his bare flesh. Behind him, Lexie shivered. Jackson gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.
“Lupines? What’s a Lupine?”
“Don’t play dumbass with me.” Grunting, the rancher held out his left hand.
Stunned, Jackson watched claws emerge from the stubby fingers. “You’re one of us,” he said.
“Not quite. I’m half. This is the most I can do. Unlike my damn niece.” Bart narrowed his eyes and swung the shotgun over to Lexie. “You think you’re so special because you’re a full-blooded Lupine. Just like your goddamn father, that bastard stepbrother of mine.”
Bart was Lupine. But not fully Lupine.
Son of a bitch…Lexie’s uncle.
There was a likeness in the eyes. But there all resemblance faded. Lexie was sweet, freshness and honesty.
Bart was everything dark and nasty hiding beneath a log.
“If you’re my uncle, that makes Cora my cousin.” Lexie’s jaw dropped. “You’re both Skins.”
“Half-uncle. Half Skin, half Lupine, like all the other damn halves in my life.”
Bart snarled, his snaggletooth exposed like a fang. Or the beginnings of one. “Your goddamn father had me kicked out of our pack because I was the bastard product of a hybrid mating. Can never shift, never run with the pack, no pack will ever have me. Always so high and mighty about being wolf, your fucking father could never tolerate imperfection.”
Jackson fell silent. The man had not tolerated it with his daughter, how could he tolerate it with a bastard half-brother?
“You’re my father’s half-brother? All this time, you never told me?” Lexie sounded horrified and grieved.
“All these years I’ve had to live as a Skin because of him. Swore I’d take revenge, except by the time I got enough money to hire a detective and hunt him down, he’d vanished to some godforsaken area in Canada. And then I discovered his bitch daughter lived in the same state. And she was being courted by the same Lupine I wanted my Cora to mate with so I could gain access to this ranch.”
“You’re the one who cut the cinches in my saddle, put the glass by the barn door?” Lexie asked, her voice low and stricken. “But you left the ranch when I stepped on the glass.”
Bart snorted. “When you have money, you can pay anyone or anything to do what you like. Especially a woodland Fae who can literally blend into the woodwork, turning invisible. Hell of a cowhand, too. Ambrose would do anything for me, and I pay him well enough.”
Jackson bit back a curse.
“The apple,” she began.
“Poisoned it myself. Gave it to Cora, told her to put it in the bowl when you headed into the kitchen to give Diamond a treat after practice. Told her it had a sedative, would knock Diamond out for a while so you couldn’t practice. Spineless daughter of mine panicked when you ate it and got sick, came running home.”
Everything clicked into place. Bart planned to hustle his way into acceptance with Aiden’s pack and, eventually, take over the ranch.
“You ruined everything. Both of you.” Bart pointed the shotgun at Jackson. “Say your goodbyes to your slut, Palmer. You’re dying first.”
A low growl rumbled. He glanced over and saw Lexie’s eyes glow amber as she transformed into a small wolf. A wolf with a gimp, but very sharp fangs, now slinking into the night, blending with the shadows as Bart racked the shotgun.
The wolf raced forward, leaping up and biting the arm holding the gun steady. Screaming, Bart dropped the weapon. Jackson dove into a roll, shifting as he moved. Growling, he leapt at the ranch owner, now tussling with Lexie. Moonlight glinted on the knife sliding into the man’s hand. He slashed at Lexie, but missed. Then the ranch owner rolled over and raised the blade over her throat, as if preparing to sacrifice Lexie.
No!
Jackson knocked Lexie aside and felt a sharp, burning pain in his mid-quarters. He turned and sank his teeth deep. Bart screamed.
Blood streamed down his side, matting his fur. He was losing too much, too fast. Weakened, he rolled off the rancher.
Gunfire cracked. Jackson lifted his head, his ears ringing. Couldn’t hear. Could barely move. And then Lexie was there, sweet Lexie, fully clothed and crawling over to him, holding him tight.
“Hang on, Jackson. Please, hang on.”
Cold, he was so damn cold. Jackson tried summoning his magick to cloth himself and failed. He could barely focus.
Blinking, he looked around and saw Cora standing over her father, tendrils of blue smoke curling from the revolver in her hand. Blood seeped from a wound to Bart’s right shoulder. The rancher groaned loudly, clutching his injury.
“You’re a hell of a shot, Cora,” Jackson said weakly.
“Better than a barrel racer.” She holstered the pistol and gave Lexie a sad look. “I’m sorry about everything.”
“Sorry?”
Cora glanced at the cabin. “I’ll go call for help.”
As Cora raced to the cabin, Lexie pressed her hand against Jackson’s abdominal wound. Tears dripped onto his bare flesh. He reached up and touched her face. “Don’t cry, darling. It’ll be all right. Just a scratch.”
But as the terrible pain clawing at him began to fade, grayness pushing at the sides of his vision, he knew he lied. Because he was dying. And nothing could save him.
Not even his beloved Lexie…
“Jackson.” Tears blurred her vision as Lexie tried to stem the blood flow. “Hang in there.”
Clouds of dust rose in the air as a truck sped toward them. The truck jerked to a halt and Peter and Aiden rushed out, along with Dale and Beth. As Aiden covered Jackson with a warm horse blanket, Beth removed several pieces of white gauze from the First Aid kit, pressing them to his wound.
“This should be healing faster than it is. Has he been eating enough protein?”
Guilt flashed through Lexie. “No, he hasn’t. He’s given his share to me.”
All to help her heal, help her achieve her dream of becoming whole. Emotions flooded her. Jackson might not be happy about her dream of barrel racing, but he’d done everything in his power to try to make her happy as Lupine. Not because he didn’t accept her, but because …
I never accepted myself.
She stroked his sweat-dampened forehead. “Please, help him,” she begged Beth.
The Lupine exchanged glances with her mate. “I can stitch him to slow the bleeding, but I don’t know if I
can stop it in time. He probably has internal injuries. We may lose him before he gets to a hospital.”
“Please, I can’t lose him. I’ll do anything. Don’t let him die,” Lexie begged.
“Man, I’m going to pay for this one.” Kyle sighed and dug out a cell phone and pressed some buttons.
Shock filled her as a tall, handsome man, the edges of his black hair dipped in glittering silver, appeared out of thin air. “The Silver Wizard,” she whispered, remembering the stories. He was a member of the Brehon, the four powerful wizard judges of OtherWorlders. The Silver Wizard judged Lupines and the Lupines who screwed up ended their lives as a pile of gray ash.
“This had better be good,” the wizard said.
“Jackson’s dying from blood loss. He needs healing. Tristan, can you help him?” Kyle asked.
Tristan gazed at Lexie, the scrutiny making her squirm. Then he smiled, a mysterious smile that made her even more nervous. “Lexie Waters, from Nikita Blakemore’s pack. Excellent. I’ll heal him, on one condition.”
What was it with the males around here that they demanded conditions? “Name it.”
“You’ll mate with Jackson, leave your pack…”
“Sounds good.”
“And drop out of the barrel race at the Bordello Border Rodeo.”
Jaw dropping, she stared at the wizard. “What?”
Tristan shrugged. “Do it or he will perish. Give me your answer now, Lupine.”
If she dropped out, Nikita would lose the chance to pay off the taxes and the ranch would go into foreclosure. But she couldn’t lose Jackson. She glanced at Beth, who shook her head.
“I can’t heal him.”
“Don’t do it, darling.” Jackson caught her wrist, but his grip was weak and his voice slurred. “I’m not worth the price of your dreams.”
Closing her eyes against the welling tears, she shook her head. “You are my dream.”
Nikita would manage. Somehow. Even if Lexie had to find a job in town selling hot dogs, she’d help her alpha with money.
“Do it,” she bit out. “Save him. I’m hanging up my saddle on this one.”
A white glow encased Jackson as the Silver Wizard touched his injury. Hope flared as she watched his injured skin knit together. Tristan straightened and dusted off his hands.
“He’ll still be weak for the rest of the day. Give him plenty of fluids and fresh beef.” Tristan aimed a stern look at Aiden. “No beer. And no riding for at least a week. He needs to stick close to home.”
Lexie curled her fingers around Jackson’s wrist, encouraged to find his pulse beating steady and strong. “I’ll take care of him.”
“Sometimes one must make sacrifices to gain a heart’s desire.” Tristan smiled. “You’re a brave soul, little Lexie. And a great barrel racer.”
“Nikita always thought so. She counted on me.”
“Yes. Your pack alpha. Nikita.” He gave her an inscrutable look. “We shall see what will be done about her.”
Then Tristan glanced at Bart Baker, bleeding and lying still upon the ground. He squatted down, placed a palm on the ranch owner’s wound and healed him.
As Bart muttered his thanks, Tristan regarded him with his piercing gaze. “You attacked two innocents.”
“I had justified reasons,” Bart cried out.
“You lack compassion.” Tristan’s voice remained emotionless, a pitiless drone. “Like a predator, you think only of yourself. You wish to be fully wolf? Wish granted. You shall roam the earth as wolf, in wolf form for the rest of your natural life, never to join a pack, never to know friendship or kin. You deserve neither.”
“You can’t! People will come looking for me, I have money…”
Tristan waved a hand. “I will arrange for Skins to believe you are dead. Cora will inherit the ranch. As for your manager, the woodland Fae… I shall deal with him.”
“You won’t find him. Ambrose blends in the background. He can hide from anyone, even you.”
“Oh, he shall blend. As a deer for a nice, fat meal for a hungry predator. I believe Ambrose will make excellent fare for a certain wolf named Bart, whose appetite will drive him to a killing frenzy.”
Bart’s scream turned into an agonized howl as his features twisted and reshaped. A small gray timber wolf replaced the rancher. A shiver raced down Lexie’s spine.
The Silver Wizard flashed a smile colder than ice, waved a hand and Bart vanished.
Then Tristan himself faded like mist, leaving her grateful she’d never annoyed this powerful being.
Cora was sitting quietly inside the great room of the cabin as Aiden and Dale transported Jackson inside and carried the Lupine upstairs, settling him into bed.
When everyone else left, Cora remained on the sofa. Lexie closed the front door and leaned against it. “We need to talk.”
“I figured as much.” Cora looked up as Lexie joined her.
“You’re my cousin. Did you know?” Lexie asked.
“Not until today.”
“Did you know about my accidents?”
“Only the glass. I was so jealous. You’re such a great racer and everything depended on me winning that race. Daddy kept pressuring me to win. He told me I’d never make a good Lupine, so I’d better settle on a Skin skill that would make him proud.”
Lexie understood never being good enough.
Cora’s mouth turned down. “All this time, I’ve tried so hard to make him happy, but nothing would. Not as much as if I were a pure Lupine. My mama was Lupine, but she was a hybrid too. When she found out Daddy was cheating on her with other Lupines, she left.”
Lexie went still. “Your mother didn’t die?”
“Daddy was too ashamed to admit she’d left him. Then he focused on finding another Lupine to have other young, young who would have purer bloodlines than me.” Cora stared at the floor, kicking the sofa back with one boot. “In public, he pretended he adored me, gave me everything. But he never gave me any love.”
Sympathy washed through her. Like her, Cora had parents who didn’t want her.
“What changed your mind about me?” Lexie asked.
Tears glittered in the woman’s eyes. “Peter. We fell in love and when I told him my secret, he said it didn’t matter. He’d have me even if I was a Skin. Because in his eyes…”
“You were perfect,” Lexie finished. She squeezed her cousin’s hand. “Seems to be a belief lots of males have at this ranch.”
“Peter asked me to mate with him and live here.” Cora looked miserable. “But now, everything’s changed. Everyone will hate me.”
Shaking her head, Lexie sighed. “You saved Jackson’s life. I think that’s a ticket to entry. I’ll help you.”
Cora’s gaze grew solemn. “And what about you, Lexie? What will you do?”
She glanced at the ceiling. “I’ve made a decision. But I don’t know if my alpha will agree…”
Chapter 17
A week after he’d been shot, a fully-healed Jackson sat in Aiden’s office, listening in dumbstruck disbelief to his leader’s proposal.
Lexie agreed to mate with him. He should be shouting for joy.
Not growling at his alpha as if he wanted to tear him to pieces. Wood shredded like paper as he raked his fingers over the chair’s armrests.
“Jackson, put the claws away. You’re ruining my furniture.” Aiden’s tone was mild, but warning flashed in his dark eyes.
“Hell, Aiden, how can you do this to me?” With considerable effort, he sheathed his claws. “Do you know what this will do to my wolf?”
“If you love her, you’ll control your wolf because this is the only way.” Regret shadowed Aiden’s expression. “Sometimes we have to do things we don’t want because it’s best for everyone concerned.”
“What’s best for Lexie is for you to stay the hell away from her.” Jackson fisted his hands and took a deep breath.
“The ritual is the only way Nikita will accept losing Lexie. The ancient texts call for it.
I don’t like it, either. Damnit, I’m trying to find a compromise.”
Jackson thought of options. He could take Lexie and run. Leave their packs. He’d find work somewhere. But Lupines needed family, needed pack.
All he had was this pack as family, and the ranch as a home. Ever since getting kicked out of his pack as a hormonal Lupine in his teens, he’d longed to settle down.
He couldn’t return to a nomadic lifestyle, wandering from town to town, looking for love, hoping someone, anyone, would ease the constant loneliness. He’d join a pack, but never stayed long.
Because no one wanted a Lupine who couldn’t control his wolf, who might turn on his own pack leader…
No one except Aiden, who had been willing to give him a chance.
And he couldn’t force Lexie to live that kind of unsettled life. It wasn’t fair to her.
“I’ll go with Lex. Join her pack.” He hated the idea, but couldn’t see another way.
“You join Nikita’s pack and you’ll disappear like the other males.” Aiden picked up a pencil and it snapped in his tight grip. “There are rumors.”
“I’ll take my chances.”
“No. I don’t want to lose you. You’re one of the most loyal Lupines on my team.” The pack leader seemed to struggle with his emotions. “A friend, as well. That day you saved my life, I knew I could count on you. It’s why I never gave up on you.”
Jackson regarded him with a steady look. “I’d do it all over again. But what you’re asking, for me to allow you to fuck Lexie while Nikita and I watch, all to fulfill some ancient Lupine law that allows you to claim females from another pack. You know what will happen, Aiden. I’ll lose control and my wolf will go for your throat.”
Aiden leaned forward. “I haven’t given you much reason to control your wolf around here, Jackson. I kept trying, and hoping, that sending you out on the range to tend to cattle would help. But it only reinforced your isolation. Worst mistake I made, acting like your former alpha did.”