by Lacey Thorn
“Why shouldn’t I answer my phone?” Diane demanded just as it ceased buzzing and Kenzie’s began.
“Because we didn’t exactly have Tah’s permission to leave when we did this morning,” Kenzie admitted quietly and walked a bit faster as if that would keep Diane quiet.
“What?” Diane couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
Kenzie sighed. “I owe Zane, and I wasn’t going to take the chance of Tah changing his mind and not letting us go. He gave his approval once. That’s all we needed.”
Diane didn’t know which of them Kenzie was trying to convince with that logic. Either way, she was sure Kenzie knew she was wrong. Chances were very good they were both in very serious shit with Tah, now. But Diane focused on something else Kenzie had said.
“How do you owe Zane?” Diane asked.
“He saved my life,” Kenzie admitted. “It was after we were all back state side. Holt went home for a bit to check on his parents and younger brother. I found myself in a bad situation, one of those caught in the wrong time and place sort of circumstances.”
“How wrong?” Diane asked.
“I was out numbered and unsure of how the hell to get out of the situation without getting myself hurt or without hurting someone seriously. Then Zane walked through the door.” Kenzie grinned again. “He has a commanding presence. He called my name and held his hand out to me. The look on his face. It was as if he were defying anyone to stop him. He was dominant and forceful.” Kenzie laughed. “Oh, God, you should have seen him. Picture this. I’m in a dark bar. There are six guys in there with me. I was drinking way more than I should have and not paying attention. I should have cared that I was the only woman in there and maybe got a clue there might be a reason for it.”
“Why were you drinking?” Diane interrupted to ask.
“I’d just decided to end things with Holt. I was afraid of hurting him, losing his friendship,” she admitted.
“Obviously, you didn’t.”
“No,” Kenzie said with a shake of her head. “He understood and agreed. We’ve been best friends since.”
“So what happened with Zane?”
“I was surrounded when he walked in. One of the guys had a hard grip on my arm. I was a little roughed up. I’d uttered the word no, and they didn’t take it very well.”
Diane looked at Kenzie’s tiny build. She was not just short but carried a smaller frame, as well. Her long brown hair was usually pulled back in a braid down her back, making her huge brown eyes the focus when you looked at her. She was beautiful, especially when she smiled, which was most of the time. But she was also quiet—almost to the point you didn’t realize she was there, until she wanted you to. Diane had noticed all the guys in their group had a tendency to be a little over-protective of Kenzie.
“I tugged my arm and tried to walk over to Zane, but the guy didn’t want to let me go. He asked Zane who the fuck he was. Zane said he was the one who was going to kill anyone who’d touched me. He looked pointedly at the guy’s hand still on my arm and just lifted his brow. God, his eyes! He let just enough of the animal loose so that they really glowed. It was scary as fuck. I thought a few of them were going to piss their pants. Here I am surrounded by a bunch of dickheads who think they’re really bad boys, and in walks six and half feet of pissed off muscle. Ebony skin that only seems to make his eyes look all the lighter, you know?”
Diane nodded. Yeah, Zane was gorgeous.
“The one who had a grip on me dropped my arm and practically shoved me toward Zane. He’s all, ‘we don’t want any trouble’.” Kenzie mimicked. “Zane swept the room with all of them before we left. My God, I knew he was lethal, but his control. When he was done, none of them were moving.”
“Did he kill them?” Diane asked with wide eyes.
“No,” Kenzie answered with another shake of her head. “He just taught them a lesson. The main guy kept saying no and begging Zane to stop hitting him. Zane would just hit him again and ask how many times the guy had ignored others saying the same things. When he thought the guy had enough, he took my hand and pulled me out of there.”
“What happened then?” Diane wanted to know. Good grief, she couldn’t control the fact she was feeling a bit jealous. Had Zane comforted Kenzie? Kissed her? Jesus! Had Kenzie been fuck buddies with Zane, as well?
“He chewed my ass out when I woke up,” Kenzie admitted with a shudder. “Lord, I’ve never seen him so mad. He was absolutely livid with me. Told me he didn’t care what I was dealing with, there was no excuse for stupid.”
“Oh, my,” Diane breathed out. Would he be mad at her for this plan to save him? “Sounds like he helped you out of tight spot. Wait a minute, what do you mean when you woke up?”
What had happened between Kenzie and Zane that had exhausted the woman? Kenzie gave a snort of laughter.
“What?” Diane demanded and even she could hear the growl in her voice. Good grief. She wasn’t even a shifter.
“Not what you think,” Kenzie stated. “I’ve never been anything more than friends with Zane. Never. To be honest, he scares me a little. He’s all intensity and control and intimidation without even saying a word.”
Diane knew what she meant, but where it scared Kenzie, it just turned Diane on. She wanted Zane like she’d never wanted another man. Truthfully, there was a part of her who relished the thought he would be her first lover, and if they were mates like she suspected, her only lover.
“So what happened after?” Diane asked again. “You said he didn’t say anything until you woke up.”
“My drink was drugged. Apparently, the bar was a known place where women have a tendency to disappear. Zane was checking into it, and there I was. It might have taken me a little longer to lose consciousness under the drug they were lacing my drinks with, but I would have been as much at their mercy as a human woman when I did.”
“But you’re a shifter,” Diane argued.
Kenzie stopped and shifted from foot to foot. She skimmed her gaze around them, but Diane sensed a nervous tension in the other woman. “That doesn’t make me invincible, Diane. I can still be drugged, killed.”
“But couldn’t you have shifted? Saved yourself?” Diane asked.
“No,” Kenzie admitted.
“Too dangerous to shift?”
Kenzie blew out a breath, and the look in her eyes when she finally met Diane’s gaze sent a shiver of foreboding through Diane.
“I can’t shift,” Kenzie confessed. “That’s why the Professor came to me and asked for my help.”
“No,” Diane countered, shaking her head. “That’s not possible. You have the same coding as the others. Your blood work shows a strong shifter hormone in your blood, similar to Clara’s. There’s nothing to make us think your animal’s recessive like Finn’s.”
“It’s another anomaly. Didn’t you ever notice my canines?” Kenzie opened her lips wide again, and Diane stared at the shorter canines more similar to hers than Clara’s. How had she not paid attention to that before?
“How did the Professor know?” Diane demanded, and why hadn’t he told Diane?
“He approached me after he ran the first blood test. I told him I wasn’t ready to come forward, yet. He was okay with it, but wanted to ask me some questions,” Kenzie explained. “I couldn’t answer them all. I admitted to him that I couldn’t shift, that I never had. Have to admit, I’m surprised he didn’t tell you.”
“I’m not,” Diane grunted. Oh, she’d have plenty to say to the Professor when she got back. Then another thought occurred to her.
“Can you even smell Zane?” she demanded.
“Yes. I have all the enhanced senses of a shifter. I can even manage claws when I need them. But I’ve never been able to pull off a full shift. I often wonder if my birth parents knew I was defective and that’s why they gave me up for adoption. They thought I was normal and wanted me to have a normal life.”
Kenzie’s face took on a sad expression.
“Bu
t you didn’t?” Diane prompted.
“No, I didn’t. I told you I have shifter senses. Sometimes my ability to smell or see something I shouldn’t have been able to freaked people out. My adoptive family couldn’t wait to be rid of me. My bags were packed as soon as I hit eighteen. I stuck around until I graduated then took off and joined the Marines.”
“Oh, Kenzie, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s worked out for the best,” Kenzie said, but Diane didn’t think so. How would it feel to think you didn’t belong in either world?
“So how are you going to be able to protect me out here?” Diane asked, changing the subject and hoping to spark something other than sadness in Kenzie.
“I might not be a fully merged shifter, but I am a Marine. Trust me. I can kick ass with the best of them,” Kenzie assured her with a hard look.
Diane continued, wanting to banish any remaining crumbs of sadness that might remain. “Well, your story of Zane coming to the rescue hasn’t exactly invoked a confident feeling.”
“I was drugged.” Kenzie grunted, and Diane did her best to hide a smile. This was much better.
Diane’s phone started vibrating in her pocket again.
“I should probably answer, or we’re going to have a whole posse on our tails,” Diane said, pulling free her phone and answering. She hit the button to place the call on speaker.
“Hello.”
“What the fuck part of see me before you leave this house did you two not understand?” Tah’s voice was hard and lethal, and Diane was very happy she wasn’t there to see his face.
“Uhmm. What?” Diane mumbled.
“Put Kenzie on the phone, now,” Tah commanded furiously.
Kenzie sighed as Diane looked at her. “I’m here.”
“You’re most definitely not here or you’d feel the full brunt of my anger,” Tah seethed. “Do you have any clue what you’re walking into? What you’re taking Diane into?”
“I’m not a child, and you’re not my parent, Tah,” Kenzie fumed. “And yes, we’re both aware of what we’re doing and why.”
“Does Diane know you can’t shift?” Tah asked softly and the menace in his voice was so much scarier for the quietness of his tone.
“Yes,” Kenzie answered in surprise, her gaze clashing with Diane’s. “You’re on speaker. We can both hear you.”
“Did you think Holt wouldn’t tell us when he found out what you’d agreed to?” Tah demanded.
“Fuck,” Kenzie seethed.
“How far away are you? Holt and Murphy will come get you,” Tah stated.
“No,” Kenzie said quietly.
“Excuse me?” Tah asked, his voice rigid with disbelief.
“I said no,” Kenzie repeated, her gaze bouncing around them as she inhaled. “It’s too late, anyway,” she admitted and Diane felt a chill run up her spine. “We’re close. I’ve picked up his scent, which means he’s already caught Diane’s at this point. It won’t be safe for anyone else to be around.”
“Fuck!” Tah shouted the expletive and Diane heard a loud cracking sound and wondered if Tah had just punched something. “I want you back here as soon as possible, and we will have a long talk, Kenzie. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, sir,” Kenzie muttered.
“Diane.” He said her name softly.
“Yes?”
“Be careful. I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to you,” he told her.
“I’ll be fine,” Diane said, not sure if she was assuring him or reassuring herself. “I’m his mate. Zane won’t hurt me.”
“I pray you’re right,” Tah grunted. “You two have tied my hands, now. All I can do is wait to hear from you or risk the possibility of getting people killed by sending others after you. This is a hell of a fucked up mess.”
A loud hiss rocked the woods followed by a growl that sent more shivers coursing through Diane. Holy fuck!
“It’s too late, Tah,” Kenzie reiterated, wide eyes meeting Diane’s. “He’s closer than I thought. I need to find a place for Diane to camp so I can keep an eye on them. We’ll talk to you when we get a chance.”
Kenzie hit the end call button on Diane’s phone and shoved it at her. “Hurry up. We’re out of time. Hope you know how to pitch your own tent.”
The predatory call of Zane’s animal filled the air again, making Diane feel stalked. Time was up. Soon, she’d know for sure if Zane was her mate or not. She took a deep breath and followed Kenzie at a jog.
Chapter Five
Fuck! That was the mantra going through Diane’s head. As soon as they’d hit the small clearing, Kenzie had done a dump and run, leaving Diane on her own. She’d known she’d be alone at some point, had even anticipated it, but the reality was far more frightening than she’d imagined.
It had been almost an hour since had Kenzie left and there was still no Zane. Diane wasn’t sure what that meant. Had she been completely wrong about being Zane’s mate? Maybe he’d just been nice to her? Maybe she was the only one who felt heat between them?
She kicked at the ground and glared at the tent. If she was wrong, then it would offer no protection against an enraged, primal panther. Tying one of the front flaps back, she tossed her backpack and the extra food bag inside, out of the way. She knew she was supposed to tie the food up or something, but she wasn’t a camper, damn it! And Zane should already be here to protect her!
She glanced around and had not a clue what to do. Kenzie had been so certain Zane was coming for her. Another thought skated through her mind. What if it wasn’t Diane he was after? What if he’d gone after Kenzie? What if they’d all been wrong, and he saw her as a threat?
“Kenzie!” she yelled as loudly as she dared. “Kenzie, are you out there?”
Her phone vibrated in her pocket, scaring the shit out of her and making her jump with a squeal of terror. Good grief, she was freaking herself out.
“Hello?” she answered.
“I’m here.” Kenzie’s voice came through the line. “I moved up higher, trying to get upwind of you. Be careful. Your voice carries really well here.”
“Maybe to someone with enhanced senses,” Diane hissed. She could barely hear herself over the staccato beat of her heart. “How far away are you?”
“Far enough that hopefully Zane won’t feel threatened anymore by my presence so near his unclaimed mate,” Kenzie uttered. “But close enough to get to you quickly if needed.”
“He’s not here,” Diane muttered. “Are you sure that was him we heard?”
“It was him all right,” Kenzie confirmed. “And he’s there. Trust me.”
“Then what is he doing because I’m in this clearing alone wondering if I’m going to be panther food.”
Kenzie snickered. “If he eats you, I’m sure you’ll enjoy every flick of his tongue.”
Diane groaned as that thought filled her head. The image of his dark head nestled between her thighs licking and sucking on her pussy almost had her orgasming on the spot. She knew she had it bad when just the thought of him had her so close.
“Kenzie, I’m serious,” Diane hissed again. “He’s not here, and I’m starting to freak out.”
“He followed me for a bit,” Kenzie said.
“Why? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. More than likely, he was making sure I wasn’t a threat to you. I kept moving higher away from you until he seemed satisfied and turned back,” Kenzie said. “Everything will be fine.”
Diane snorted. “Are you sure about that?”
“It’s too late for second thoughts,” Kenzie warned her. “You said you were his mate, so prove it.”
“How the hell do I do that?” Diane demanded.
“Talk to him. Let him know you’re there for him. If Zane is still exerting some control over the animal, and he obviously is, then he’s probably using everything to hold the beast in rein, trying to protect you from a mating. You need to let him know you want to be his mate. Your fear might incite the beast, but it w
ill make the man fight all the harder to protect you.”
“What if—”
“Enough,” Kenzie said, cutting her off. “You’re either his mate or you’re not. You either want to save him or you don’t. Say the word and I’ll force him back to me.”
“You’re not his mate,” Diane gritted out.
“No, but I’d sacrifice myself to save him,” Kenzie replied.
“No. He’s mine,” Diane growled and hung up, tossing the phone into the tent behind her.
She paced around the clearing, muttering under her breath. Fear was gone, overshadowed by anger at the thought of Kenzie trying to get Zane to claim her, instead. Over her dead fucking body!
“Zane,” she called. “I know you’re out there. It’s Diane.” Shit! He probably already knew that. “I came here to find you. I…I’ve been worried about you. I want to help if you’ll let me.”
God! This was getting her nowhere. What did you say to the man who filled your dreams? What would it take to get him to release whatever hold he had over his beast and come to her?
“I’ve been thinking of you,” she said as she continued walking in circles around the outside of her tent. “No, that’s not exactly right. I’ve been consumed with thoughts of you. I can’t work. I can’t sleep. I can’t eat. I keep seeing your beautiful eyes, the way one corner of your mouth lifts when you smile. I keep picturing the night you returned with Finn. Things changed that night, when I went to you and touched you.” She sighed and stopped, lifting her face to the sky and closing her eyes. “I know you felt it, too. I know it wasn’t just me. More than a spark, so much more. It was like a bolt of lightning lancing from you to me. I saw the look in your eyes. It took all I had to pull away and go check on Finn. I wanted you then, and it’s only grown like a physical ache I can’t appease. I touch myself and dream it’s you. I think I know what’s happening between us. I think I’m your mate, and yes, it scares me. But not nearly as much as the thought of losing you when I don’t even have memories to sustain me. Only dreams. I have plenty of those. Dreams where you touch me, kiss me, make love to me. I want more than the dreams. I want you, anyway I can have you.”