by Becca Dale
“No.” Ryan rushed to intercept them. “She won’t want to see either of you yet.”
Jake snarled. “Back off. She’s my sister.”
“She is, but right now her emotions are running hot, and she’d sooner rip your head off than talk to you.” He slapped the other men on the back and stepped between them to the door. “If I can’t get her to calm down and listen, I’ll come back for the two of you and we’ll try again. But right now, the woman needs to process, and she doesn’t need pressure. Let her work through it.”
Grant shook his head and tried to move around him. “Get out of my way, son. I abandoned my daughter once. I won’t do it again.”
“You didn’t abandon her. You tried to save the child you knew prejudice and ignorance would destroy. Nadi’ll understand. Give her some breathing room.”
Jake glared. “She’s out there alone with her heat coming on. What if someone else gets to her first?”
“Do you think you could protect her better than I can? I won’t let her get hurt, but the two of you will only make things worse.”
Grant puffed his chest out in indignation, reminding them all he was the true Alpha, but the move didn’t have the same effect it would’ve had even a few years before. “Who put you in charge, boy?”
Wounded pride and fear of losing his daughter drove the other man’s display, and although Ryan could sympathize, he wasn’t about to back down. Not this time. “Argue with me later. Right now, Nadi’s out there running scared. I’m going after her—alone. End of discussion.”
Chapter Seven
Nadi ran until her body hurt too much to go another step. Her legs trembled even after she sank to the ground. Her sides heaved with desperate gasps and a strange warmth hummed in her blood. Since she escaped the mill, she’d convinced herself she would put the past behind her and be all right. But the years of pain and fear came rushing back. She wanted to believe neither Grant nor her brother had abandoned their family, but it was all too convenient.
Well, what do we have here?
She jerked at the sound of a telepathic voice and rose to face a group of strangers. A handful of mangy wolves stood in a semicircle around her. The giant boulder at her back blocked any hope of escape. Her heart thundered, but she stood her ground.
The biggest of the pack slunk closer, his gaze steady. What are you doing out here, sexy thing?
The others chuckled, and one moved to stand beside the first. Maybe she’s looking for someone to take care of her.
I can take care of myself.
But she doesn’t have to. Ryan circled the rock and stood beside her, hackles raised and fangs gleaming in the sunlight filtering through the trees. As massive as he was, he wouldn’t survive a five-on-one attack. She edged closer, ready to stand beside him even if they fought to their deaths.
He nudged her back. I don’t want you hurt.
That makes two of us, but no way you’re facing them alone.
The pack of males moved in, a solid wall of frustrated testosterone spoiling for a fight. The bushes moved behind them, and another half dozen wolves entered the small clearing. Nadi wanted to scream. It was too unfair to find freedom only to lose her life to her own kind. Worse, to witness her savior’s death.
Hello, brother. Need some help?
She thought at first the large wolf spoke to one of the rogues in front of her, but Ryan nodded in greeting. The gray was big, but shorter and less muscular than the man he called brother. Brother?
He nudged her again before stepping fully in front of her. Leave. You’re on marked territory.
Once the others sidled away, Ryan and the large group shifted to second form. She started to change, but he crowded her to the wall with a growl. “Not in front of them. The Alpha and his men do not need to see your lovely body without fur or clothing.”
But—
“Don’t argue with me. Give in this once without a fight.”
Unsure what to say to such a demand, she sat on her haunches and said nothing.
“Thank you.”
“She’s beautiful no matter her form or state of dress, brother.”
Ryan turned to stand at her side and smiled. “Drake, you look good. Pack life agrees with you.”
“It does. You knew it would.” He waved the others back, and they fanned out to guard the perimeter and their king.
The brothers looked more alike as humans than they did in first form. Both incredibly handsome with rich dark skin, chiseled muscles, and eyes deeper than the night sky, but her protector stood taller and wider, his muscles more developed. Surely if they were brothers, the larger male would have won the right to lead. Why then did the other man command Alpha status?
Drake sank to his knee and held out a hand toward her. “I’m Drake. Leader of the Hawáe band of the Ysán tribe. And you are?”
She shied from his touch, choosing familiar over unknown. Ryan knelt and ran his hand down her back in reassurance. “This is my Nadi.”
“I can see she’s a treasure. Does she have a name?”
Her hackles rose. She’d deal with Ryan’s possessive attitude later, but she had no intention of allowing anyone to criticize her identity. It was the only one she’d ever had. Nadi is my name. One chosen for me with far more care than whoever named you after a duck.
Drake’s laughter blended with his brother’s. “I apologize. I meant no offense.”
“She’s had a rough day.” Ryan coaxed her to lie beside him with long soothing strokes over her head and shoulders. “Tell me how we had the good fortune of your timely arrival.”
“My sentries followed the rogues. When they saw a lone female in the early stages of heat, they warned me. I never imagined she belonged to you.”
I belong to no one.
“Really?” Drake chuckled and offered his hand again. “Perhaps you would go for a run with me then? Allow me to show you the territory?”
Ryan batted his brother’s arm aside. “She’s not on the market, and I doubt Mia would appreciate you bringing a new female home.”
“It’s my job to shelter any unmated female. Have you forgotten the rules?”
Suddenly, the possessive pronouns and touches made sense. He was trying to protect her even from his own family.
“Don’t make me fight you on this, Drake. I won’t walk away a second time.”
Ryan had left. That explained how the weaker male had become Alpha. But why would he do such a thing? Wouldn’t the pack have needed him? Why would he declare a ragtag bunch of misfits family when he had one?
“If she doesn’t want you, I can’t allow you to impose your will on her. Brother or not.”
The man needed to be slapped. Right or wrong, she shifted. The change created less of an ache each time. When she rose to her full height, her protector practically leaped in front of her, but she stepped around him.
“Damn it, Nadi.” He allowed her to glare his brother down, but muscled arms pulled her against his chest and hid her female parts from curious males.
She bit back a grin. “I don’t know who died and made you a god, Drake, but I make my own choices. I’m not in the market, but when I’m ready, I’ll pick a strong and loyal man, one who would defend me with his life. My mate could never be someone who would undermine his own brother.”
Drake stared at her, silent and unreadable, before he snapped his fingers and one of his men raced forward. “Tollen, return to camp and find something in my tent for this lovely female to wear.”
The soldier shifted to wolf and dashed away in almost the same breath. It seemed a double standard that they all strolled about naked, yet the sight of her generated far too much attention. Ryan swung her behind him once more, and she couldn’t help the tremor of fear at his strength. He swore he’d never hurt her, but such power intimidated her no matter the words.
Still, his wide back drew her attention. Corded muscles followed the deep line of his spine. When she placed a hand on his hip, the firm mounds of his ass clench
ed. His grip tightened at her waist, but he didn’t say anything to her. Instead, he chatted casually with his brother as if everything were normal.
So much power, yet he didn’t use it. A shiver raced over her, chased by the strange fever in her blood and an overwhelming urge to test him. Even though the men at the mill had often worked shirtless, before Ryan she’d never seen a man without any clothing. He obviously wanted her to stay behind him, out of sight, but she refused to be out of mind. Slowly, she trailed her fingertips over each muscle in his back, starting at his shoulders and spiraling ever lower until she reached the top of his sexy ass. His back rippled.
His touch had distracted her from studying his body by the river. To have him trapped in front of her, held in place by his own need to hide her from the others, proved too tempting. Biting her lip, she scratched her nails down the firm globes of his butt, dipping beneath to tease his thighs.
He jerked, and she could have sworn a growl rumbled clear from his toes. When she brought her hands together to follow his ass crack upward to the base of his spine, he spun and grabbed her wrists. His dark eyes glowed, and his canines gleamed. “You’re playing with fire, gorgeous.”
“I’m sorry.” She couldn’t stop a grin. Stretching her fingers forward, she caressed his hardening cock.
He pulled her hands higher, pressing them to his chest. “Behave.”
For a second, his face resembled the massive creature from the mill, then the black wolf. How had she been distracted by his gentle façade? A beast hid within the sweet man who played with puppies and rescued animals. Her breath hitched. The creature before her had stripped a steel gate from its hinges without even breaking a nail and ripped out a gunman’s throat with his fangs. She tugged from his hold and stumbled back.
“Sir, the clothing.”
Ryan reached behind him for the bundle, his attention on Nadi. She had paled suddenly, the spirit of fun gone in an instant. He glanced down and shook out the clothes, claiming a thick cotton T-shirt rather than the oversized pants. Her time had come faster than he’d expected, perhaps accelerated by danger or the proximity of so many unmated males.
When he reached for her, she flinched but took a defensive stance. His wolf lunged inside him, desperate to show his female who ruled. He maintained a sliver of control, but even knowing he frightened her, he could not halt the half shift. Half man half animal, he towered above the slender woman. His claws and fangs lengthened, but his human mind remained superior. Certain he could not touch her and maintain his meager hold on his wolf, he tossed the shirt at her feet.
“Put this on.” Nearly inaudible, his voice growled from his throat.
Fear escalated in Nadi’s expression, but she grabbed the cloth from the ground. Attitude stiffened her shoulders, womanly sass her only defense. She jerked the fabric over her head and down smooth against her thighs. Her nose wrinkled in disgust. “It stinks of Drake.”
Unwilling to risk misunderstanding, he switched to mental communication. Better him than one of his men. An Alpha’s scent demands respect above anything.
“You want me to smell like him?”
No! Mine! His wolf howled, and Ryan stepped forward, invading her space, forcing her to meet his gaze. I can’t allow you to parade naked in front of a bunch of horny males too dazed by your scent to think.
Trembling despite her brave front, she wrapped her arms around her waist, a glare on her pretty face. “Are you dazed?”
Desperation rode his shoulders. The heady perfume of desire and fertility wafted from her, an aroma too potent to ignore for long. He had to get her away from the others, somewhere safe from everyone including himself. Catching her shoulders, he pushed her gently against the rock and buried his face in the curve of her slender throat. You smell so fucking good. I can barely resist shoving you to your knees and taking you right here, but I won’t claim you before you’re ready, Nadi.
He lifted his head to stare into her frightened mismatched eyes, earth and sky—his breathtaking, wounded goddess. He drew his nail lightly over her cheek, anxious to prove he would not harm her no matter his form.
Every unmated male within a mile radius is imagining mounting you, swelling your belly with his pups. They’ll have to kill me first, but maybe if you reek of an Alpha, and they fear me just a little bit, I can save us both. So shut up and pretend you want me until I get us out of here.
Fear and lust screamed in her head, a banshee wailing of death, a siren screeching for forbidden pleasure. Her body did not seem to belong to her. The hybrid animal towering above her scared her shitless. Teeth and claws designed to shed an adversary with little effort, its neck and shoulders too thick to belong to a man, but Ryan remained beneath the fur and fangs. The tender giant wore the skin of a beast, but she wanted him…almost as much as she feared those who prowled behind him. For the first time in her life, she trusted a male enough to desire his seed. The need to sink to the ground and welcome him weakened her knees. Who cared if others watched? Would he be gentle? If he claimed her, the strangers would back off, but what if he couldn’t control his wolf? The idea wasn’t entirely without a dangerous appeal. A shiver washed through her.
“Ready, gorgeous?”
His gravel-laced voice tempted insanity, and she reached to stroke the thick beard hiding his rigid jawline. Heat zipped along her nerves, and her wolf cried for his. “Yes, for now, I choose you. No one else.”
“Fuck, your scent just doubled, and the rogues have circled back. I can hear them.” He grabbed her waist and threw her halfway up the boulder. “Get up there and stay until I come for you.”
A warning growl sounded behind him, and he spun to face the threat. She scrambled out of harm’s way. The strangers had returned, and while Drake’s scent prevented his soldiers from making a play for her, the leaderless band apparently had no such compulsion. They attacked as one.
Ryan’s beast grew larger with rage, and he lashed out. Two wolves went flying, blood spraying from vicious wounds.
Nadi screamed, and he glanced her way, leaving him open to the fangs of his enemy. “Pay attention, you big idiot!”
He spun in time to protect his throat from oncoming teeth. The wolf bit down on Ryan’s forearm but released as quickly when slammed against the boulder. Blood and brain matter spattered the granite. Her own wolf howled, and the change came without warning though she did not have the control to stop it halfway. Drake leaped into the fray, his beast savage and unmistakable. Soon his soldiers followed their king.
Nadi prowled on top of her haven, safe while the males battled. Watching made her useless, so she pounced. An attacker rolled beneath the momentum of her fall, stronger than his wiry body implied. He flipped her, teeth sank into her ruff, holding her steady so he could mount…then he was gone. Her hero stood over her moments later. Blood dripped from his fearsome muzzle, her assailant’s carcass limp and battered beside him.
The remaining interlopers fled, tails between their legs.
Nadi staggered to her feet and forced her wolf away so she could tend the wounds of those who’d saved her, starting with her champion. She reached for his arm.
He snarled and jerked away then grabbed her and shook her hard. Fangs and fur coated in enemy gore. I told you to stay put!
Holding her breath against the stench of death, she stepped close to lay her head on his chest, arms gripping his waist. “I couldn’t watch them kill you. You shouldn’t have asked me to.”
Ryan shuddered and jerked her closer. Slowly, he changed, beast becoming man. Claws shrank to gentle hands. Fur gave way to smooth, beautiful skin. “I saw you jump. I couldn’t get to you fast enough.” He hugged her tighter. “Don’t ever do that again.”
Drake cleared his throat. “I have wounded who need tending. Come back to camp with us.”
“No.” Ryan looked at the battered group. “Take care of your people. My sister lives not far from here. We’ll stay there tonight.”
“With the cats?”
�
��Away from anyone who will care about Nadi’s condition.”
His brother looked down then up again. “Who will protect her from you?”
Fear rose once more, but Ryan chuckled and patted her back. “If I can get past Kya and Ja, or the feline guards my brother-in-law will station at her door, then I deserve to have her.”
“Never against her will.” Drake caught his arm. “I need your word.”
“You have it, as does she.”
Chapter Eight
Nadi watched Ryan and his brother-in-law stroll the perimeter of the property. Dim path lamps did little to part the darkness, but neither panther nor wolf would require much light to find the way.
“Do you need anything else before I call it a night?” Kya entered the guest bedroom carrying a tray filled with meat pies and a pot of tea.
“Oh, no, thank you.” She gestured around the small but beautiful room. “This is really nice.”
“But…?”
A quick glance outside revealed no sign of the males. “Nothing. I just wondered where your brother would be sleeping…I mean…I wouldn’t want to take his bed.”
Ryan’s sister laughed while she turned down the covers. “He’ll be fine. My husband has a cot in his office.”
“Oh. But that sounds so small. Shouldn’t I sleep there?”
“Ryan would never allow it. It’s on the first floor in a room with far too many windows. You’re safer here.”
“But the security fence and the guards—”
“He’d have a fit.” Kya laid an extra blanket on the end of the bed and started for the door then stopped. “Ja’s office is downstairs, last door at the end of the main hall. Just in case you need to find my stubborn brother for anything.”
Nadi sank to the edge of the bed and stared until the door closed. Desire unlike anything she had ever felt thrummed in her blood. The long, cool bath she’d taken had done nothing to alleviate the situation. She needed Ryan, ached for him, despite the doubts that would not leave.