“You got it.” Matt turned around and almost ran face-first into Dominic’s chest. “Whoa, sorry.”
Unmoving, Dominic kept his eyes on Tatiana as she disappeared through the barn doors. Matt ran bag in hand to catch up to her, wasting no time in putting distance between him and Dominic.
What was he doing? Why the hell was he letting some woman he barely knew get under his skin? So what if she was his mate? He never in his life forced himself on a woman, and he sure as shit wasn’t starting now—mate or not—no matter how intriguing, sexy, or enticing she was. Dominic swore, and his eyes shifted with a tingling snap.
There’s a human on the ranch. Eric’s urgent voice interrupted his thoughts. Dominic, do you see him? Is it a Caedo?
It’s fine, Eric. Dominic responded tightly. It’s the vet’s assistant.
Seconds later, static electricity filled the air as Eric materialized next to his fellow Guardian, looking no less irritated by the situation. Eric was as tall as Dominic but with a leaner build, typical for men of the Panther Clan. He was a fierce fighter and adept at slipping in and out of situations undetected.
Eric’s eyes glowed yellow, and his nostrils flared as he stared at the open door of the barn. “Layla’s sister brought a human to the ranch?” His eyes flickered back to their human state. “What the hell is she thinking?”
“He’s her shield.” Dominic stood stone-still and fought to keep his energy signature from betraying his irritation. “She’s using him. At least, that’s what I suspect.”
“Shield?” Eric adjusted the dagger he had tucked in his belt. “What are you talking about?”
“Tatiana’s using his presence to shield herself from all of us.” Dominic flicked a brief glance at Eric. “Remember what William and Layla said? She agreed to come here only as a favor to her sister. She’s not interested in our world, and by having this human along for the ride, she knows the rest of us will have to play along.”
“So, this human isn’t part of the Vasullus family?” Eric asked, referring to the select few humans who knew of the Amoveo’s existence and helped if needed.
“Nope.” Dominic turned on his heels and strode away from the barn as Eric followed. “Has no idea what we are.”
They walked in silence for a few moments, and Dominic debated telling Eric the most important part. Up until today, both were without their mates and had practically given up hope of finding one. He wondered if Eric would be happy for him or feel betrayed.
“She’s not trying to keep all the Amoveo away,” he murmured. “Tatiana is my mate.”
“Hold up.” Eric grabbed his arm and stopped dead in his tracks. “Say again?”
“Tatiana is my mate.” Dominic flicked a brief glance at Eric, and his mouth set in a tight line. “She’s a hybrid from the Timber Wolf Clan.”
“I don’t get it.” Eric’s brow furrowed in confusion, and the smile at his lips faltered. “Why aren’t you doing a fucking backflip right now? Shit, man,” he said through a laugh. “You should grab that girl and get busy. Now you’ll have no trouble staying on as Guardian.”
“It’s not that simple.” He put his hands on his hips and let out a slow breath, struggling to hang onto his patience. “She tried to get me to believe that Matt, this human, is not only her assistant, but also her boyfriend. She basically told me to fuck off, and I have a feeling that it’ll be a cold day in hell before she mates with me.”
“Bullshit.” Eric clapped him on the shoulder. “She’s your mate. You’re hers. End of story.”
“It’s not that cut and dry.” Dominic shook his head and walked toward the open field with the mountains looming large. Now, more than ever, he could use a run in his tiger form, but that wasn’t in the cards until he was deep into the mountains. “She is not the least bit interested in mating. I don’t care how desperate I am to keep my full strength, there’s no goddamn way I’m forcing her to hook up with me.”
Eric started to protest, but Dominic held up his hand, preventing further conversation. “They’ll be leaving soon enough, but while they’re here we have to be careful about when and where we use our abilities.”
“Shit.” Eric matched his stride and groaned as he wiped sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. “Damn it all! If it were winter, the guy would be less likely to roam outside.”
“Matt seems harmless enough, but I’d like you to keep an extra eye on him. He and Tatiana are staying in the empty cabin by mine, and since I don’t know him, I don’t trust him. Run a background check. Layla should have his information. I’ll speak to William and see what he knows.”
“You’re the boss,” Eric replied. “I’ll take care of it this afternoon. Do you want me to take the night shift?”
Dominic nodded as he scanned the area. “Let’s keep a rotation of twelve-hour shifts while our guests are here. We’ll patrol in our human form on the main grounds and limit our clan form to the wooded-mountain areas. We can’t risk Matt seeing more than he should. I’ve imprinted on Tatiana’s energy signature, so I’ll be able to find her if and when necessary.” He let out a sigh.
“We get to play human twenty-four-seven?” Eric grumbled. “I don’t know about you, Dom, but I’m not much for playing games.”
“Me either,” Dominic said on a growl. “But if I’m going to play, you can bet your ass I’m going to win.”
Chapter 3
The encounter with Dominic had Tatiana all twisted up and made her brain feel muddled and off kilter, not to mention her body. He was here. The very man she’d tried like hell to avoid was on this ranch in living color and possessed all the arrogance she would expect from an Amoveo man.
The image of Dominic holding the baby flashed into her mind, and she smiled in spite of herself. He dressed like a soldier and acted like a beast, but apparently, inside he was mush. It would be easier to deny her attraction if he was one hundred percent beast.
No such luck.
Cass whined and licked her face, offering comfort.
“Thanks, buddy.” Tatiana smiled and kissed the top of his head. “You always know when I need a little extra snuggle.”
“Hey, let me have him for a minute.” Layla took the puppy from her sister gently and eyed her warily. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Tatiana said. She avoided her sister’s gaze as they walked the length of the stable. She knew Layla wanted to address the situation with Dominic, but that was the last thing she wanted to think about or discuss. “I want to get to work.”
It was an impressive setup, with ten stalls down each side, and high ceilings with exposed beams. The front sections of the walls were lined with high-quality grooming equipment, and there was a tack shed around the corner, which made it abundantly clear that the prince spared no expense on these animals. The horses were spectacularly beautiful Arabian purebreds worth a small fortune.
Her thoughts were interrupted by images of Dominic, and within seconds, his distinctly male scent filled her nostrils. Damn it. It was as though he’d crawled under her skin and mingled his essence with hers in that one brief encounter. Tatiana shook her head and sucked in a deep breath, praying she could clear her mind. She had to focus on work, and she couldn’t do that with a six-foot-three-inch man plastered all over her psyche.
“Are these all of them?” she asked Layla as scattered bits of hay crunched beneath her hiking boots. Sandals were more appropriate for summer, unless you were about to work with horses. One misplaced hoof could get you several broken toes. “I know you said one died.”
Tatiana felt more at ease as the familiar scent of the animals filled her head. Her sense of smell was heightened, thanks to her Wolf Clan heritage, and she could detect each unique scent within the massive space. Hay, manure, horse, water, and leftover apple and carrot rounded out the plethora of smells.
However, the usual odors of a barn weren’t the only thing she sensed. The long, cavernous structure was filled with anxiety, fear, and pain—all coming from the hors
es as they shuffled their hooves nervously. The Arabians approached the doors of their stalls as she walked slowly down the center aisle. They lifted their heads and let out snuffling breaths.
It appeared they sensed her as easily as she did them.
She breathed deeply, closed her eyes, and focused on connecting with the animals and their energy signatures. Tatiana could read emotions of animals big or small, and she preferred it to reading humans. The air around her hummed, and her body tensed as she solidified the connections. Tentacles of energy touched hers like invisible tethers, linking them together.
“There are ten left,” Layla said quietly as she stood to the side and let Tatiana work. “Eight mares and two stallions.”
“Several of them are sick,” Tatiana whispered. “But there’s more to it than that. They’re scared.”
Eyes closed, she held her arms out wide, allowing the buzzing flickers of power to wash over her, flashing around her bare arms and rippling up her back swiftly and silently. She turned her palms toward the animals and sent them calming energy in return, hoping to put them at ease and reassure them that she meant no harm. Sweat broke out on her forehead as she concentrated and absorbed their energy, allowing it to mingle with her own.
“They’re definitely frightened,” she whispered. “But not by me or you.”
“I’ve got the bag, Tatiana.” Matt’s eager voice cut through the room, bringing a sudden end to her focused connection.
Tatiana dropped her hands abruptly and forced a smile as she took the bag from Matt, who gave her a quizzical look. The leather handles, cool and smooth in her hands, rooted her to reality and helped pull her back from the foggy place of reading the horses, but nothing, it seemed, could get Dominic out of her head. The image of his fierce gaze fluttered around her mind like a buzzing fly.
Placing the bag on a weathered wooden table by the doors of the stable, she made quick work of getting the items they needed. Over the next hour or so, they took basic bio readings on all ten horses with Matt recording the information on her tablet. Layla watched quietly as they tended to each of the massive creatures.
Even Cass got in on the action. When Layla put him down, Tatiana thought he would shy away from the much larger animals, but he did the opposite. In fact, after investigating the length of the stable, he parked himself outside the stall of the sickest of the horses—a beautiful white mare.
“Three of them have slightly elevated temperatures of one hundred and two.” Tatiana removed the latex gloves and nodded toward the first stall. “This white mare is in the worst shape.” She smiled down at Cass. “But you knew that already, didn’t you?”
“Oh man,” Layla said, approaching the mare’s stall. “That’s Salinda’s horse. Her name is Spirit.”
“Well, in addition to the fever, she’s got diarrhea. The other two are only exhibiting fevers at the moment, but I imagine it’s only a matter of time before they show other symptoms.”
“What do you think it is?” Layla picked Cass up, and the puppy instantly began to chew on her long, curly hair. “Is it poisoning, like Steven suspected?”
“Who’s Steven?” Matt asked as he packed the bag and cleaned up the medical waste. “Your usual vet?”
“Um, no.” Layla flicked her gaze to Tatiana. “He’s a people doctor and the Muldavi’s personal physician. He and his wife, Courtney, live here on the ranch. He had a look at the horses because our local vet is… out of town.”
Yeah, right. Tatiana thought. Not exactly a people doctor, more like a shapeshifting Amoveo healer. Tatiana squashed her gut instinct to scoff aloud and continued.
“Based on the symptoms of these three and what you told me about the one that died, I have a feeling it’s poisoning. Selenium maybe. I doubt it’s viral, since they aren’t exposed to other horses.” Tatiana pushed sweaty strands of hair off her forehead. “I’m going to run a couple of tests to be certain, and I’ll need to check the feed as well.”
Without even having to ask, Matt handed her a specimen cup.
“Matt, would you get a sample from each of the feed containers and water buckets and mark them accordingly. If it is poisoning, then food or water is likely contaminated. I’ll look around the areas they graze and see if there are any plants that could’ve contributed to the problem. Selenium is an important part of their diet, but too much or too little causes problems. If someone wanted to make the poisoning look like an accident, using too much selenium would be a good way to do it.”
“Sure,” Layla said as she placed Cass on the ground. He immediately sat in front of Spirit’s stall again. “Steven has a pretty extensive lab, and it’s at your disposal while you’re here. I’ll take you there after we’re done here.”
“Right.” She nodded and gave Layla a tight smile.
Tatiana fought the growing feeling of claustrophobia, the sense of being surrounded with no way out. Hunted. As soon as she’d arrived on the ranch, the overwhelming sensation of being stalked swamped her. At first she thought it was coming from Dominic. After all, he did tackle her to the floor, but after connecting with the horses, she suspected it had more to do with them.
Tatiana gently lifted the latch on Spirit’s stall door and cautiously stepped inside. Cass tried to follow, but stopped when Tatiana sent him a gentle push of energy. Her heart went out to the elegant mare, who stood watching her through large dark eyes. Although she sensed apprehension, the big horse didn’t move or attempt to avoid her.
“Hey, girl,” she said in hushed tones. “It’s okay, and I promise I won’t hurt you.”
Tatiana closed her eyes and stroked the slight bulge on Spirit’s forehead that was specific to the Arabian breed—a jibbah. Spirit’s energy waves hummed as Tatiana created a psychic connection, and the horse’s energy fluttered over her like butterfly wings.
In seconds, it went from cool and nervous to warm and content as the horse relaxed, growing accustomed to the link. The animal let out a huffing breath and rested her head in Tatiana’s hand.
Tatiana smiled and gently touched the horse’s mind with hers, expecting the usual wave of nausea as the link was made, but none came. They joined smoothly and easily, and while she recognized the pain Spirit suffered, something different happened.
For the first time, Tatiana heard the whisper of an animal’s inner voice with a single word.
Hunter.
Tatiana’s body jolted and buzzed with newfound energy. The specimen cup fell from her fingers, bouncing noiselessly on the carpet of hay and dirt as she struggled to get her bearings amid the unfamiliar sensation. Somewhere through the fog of the connection, she heard Matt and Layla calling her, but it was no use. She was consumed by the driving need to hear that voice again.
Eyes shut she tilted her body and moved in close, pressing her cheek against the elegant arch of Spirit’s neck as she ran her other hand along the coarse hair of her mane. Tatiana’s body shook with concentration, and her breathing quickened as she focused and stretched her mind further than ever before.
Then through the warm blanket of silence and a haze of red and orange, she heard it again, a whisper along the edges of her mind that rattled with the unmistakable waver of fear. Hunter killer.
Tatiana’s heart thundered in her chest as Spirit’s energy waves undulated violently in the air and tore through her body in teeth-chattering waves. One last word rasped through her mind… Traitor.
A lightning bolt of power passed through her as Spirit reared back and sent Tatiana flying into the door of the stall. Her back hit the wooden planks, knocking all the wind out of her, and as the world around her went dark, the growl of a big cat filled her mind.
***
Tatiana moaned as the darkness receded. Her head throbbed, and her back ached from where she hit the stall, but all of it eased as she found herself cradled in warmth. Instinctively, she snuggled deeper into the comforting embrace lulled by the strong, steady sound of a heartbeat thrumming beneath her cheek. She felt safe. Cherished. As
her awareness came back, she realized she was sitting in someone’s lap. Matt?
Not likely. Dominic’s oddly familiar baritone flickered through her mind.
Tatiana’s heart beat like a rabbit’s, and her fingers curled against the muscles of his chest. Dominic?
Tatiana’s eyes fluttered open, and she found herself staring into a pair of familiar, pale brown eyes edged with worry. Dominic’s inky black brows furrowed, and his mouth set in a tight line as his arms held her tighter against his muscular frame.
“What the hell were you doing?” he said through clenched teeth. “You, better than anyone, should know how to act around horses. I thought you grew up on a farm? She almost took your damn head off.”
“I’m fine,” she seethed as she pushed at him, trying to release herself from his ironclad grip, but it was an effort in futility. “Let me go, you big ape. I got the wind knocked out of me, but unlike you, the horse didn’t do it on purpose.”
“You should sit still, Tatiana,” Layla said.
She was standing next to Matt who looked worried.
“Seriously.” Matt flicked a wary look to Dominic. “You’re lucky. Spirit probably would’ve trampled you if Dominic hadn’t shown up.” He moved his feet back and forth nervously. “That was some crazy Bruce Lee shit. I know you said you’re security and everything, but you move like some kind of ninja.”
“Let me up.” Nausea surged, and Tatiana grabbed the back of her head instinctively. She let out a slow breath and battled the feeling back. “Let. Go.”
“No.” The muscles of Dominic’s jaw clenched beneath the beard stubble, and he held her tighter. “You’re not going anywhere until Steven has a look at that lump on your head.” His voice dropped low. “You’re acting like the pigheaded woman I pegged you for. I’m not going to let you run off so you can pass out and hit your head again.”
Before Tatiana could protest, he rose from the hay-strewn floor with her firmly in his grasp. Carrying her as if she weighed nothing, he walked through the open stall door. She folded her arms over her chest and shot a furious look at Layla as they brushed past. Casanova whined and went to follow, but Layla picked him up.
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