“You asked for it—damn it, I saw how you were always walking around the house, wearing nothing but clothes like…like that,” Kelly hissed, gesturing towards the pajamas Kennedy had put on.
Glancing down, Kennedy just shrugged. As she looked at her mother, wearing a skin tight v-neck and a skirt two sizes too small, Kennedy said dryly, “You’re right. What you’re wearing is so classy. But if you were worried about me…tempting that pervert, maybe you should have stayed home instead of running around town and spreading your legs for anybody who’d have you.”
Her face turned red and Kennedy braced herself as her mother stormed towards the porch. But Kelly stumbled and ended up on her hands and knees. “Damn it!” Kelly sobbed out, slamming her fists into the porch. “It’s not right, damn you! You end up with…with this…and I don’t have anything!”
With a smile, Kennedy shook her head. “I get it now.” Crouching in front of her mother, she said quietly, “I was given this house by two people who loved me, who thought I was worth taking care of, worth protecting. You…you left me alone in the emergency room when I was black and blue from what he did to me. You didn’t care. If you’re jealous of what I have, you only have yourself to blame. I wouldn’t have ended up with them if you were any sort of parent. Now get off my property before I call the Sheriff’s office.”
With that, she stood up and walked away, closing the door quietly behind her. She clicked the deadbolt and lingered there for a moment, pressing her brow to the door as she took a slow, steadying breath.
Finally, a smile spread across her lips. It was over—for fifteen years, leftover feelings for her birth mother had kept her from completely moving past her rape. She’d blamed her mother, yes. She couldn’t deny that.
But she didn’t need to do that any more—she could put it completely behind her.
Jack…and her mother.
Duncan scowled as he pulled up behind one of his deputies. The car in front of the cruiser was a familiar one. Duncan had pulled it over more than once himself.
Life hadn’t been kind to Kelly Masters. In the past fifteen years, she had gone from a fairly attractive, if somewhat trashy, looking woman to a woman with lines no amount of make-up could hide. Her hair was brassy and dry and there were huge bags under her eyes. Her teeth were stained yellow from tobacco and she always smelled like a bar.
Stale smoke and alcohol.
As Duncan climbed from the car, he could hear her yelling at the deputy from fifteen away.
Her car was stuck—no way was it getting out of the ditch. But Kelly didn’t look too interested in climbing out of it. Duncan could hear the wail of sirens far off and knew they were all going to have their hands full dealing with this bitch.
Damn it, he wanted to be at Kennedy’s. Wanted to make love to her one more time before he had to turn on the lights and explain.
Instead, it looked like he was going to have his hands full with her stone bitch of a mother.
“Damn it, it’s not my fucking fault…there was a cat in the road…”
Kennedy watched as her mother sped down the lane, the car weaving back and forth. Disgusted, she turned away from the window and walked over to the phone. Kelly was going to hurt somebody if she stayed on the road too long.
A few minutes later, she hung up the phone and she stood there, staring around the living room, staring at familiar pictures. Cole and Lisa, on their trip to Hawaii. Lisa standing with Kennedy on the rim of a deep gorge—the trip to the Grand Canyon.
Minutes passed and she finally turned away from the pictures and headed for the kitchen.
She needed more wine.
The skin on the back of her neck prickled and she spun around with a smile on her face.
But the shadow standing in her hall was all wrong. She shivered as a cool wind blew in through the open back door. Swallowing, she stepped back and the shadow advanced, stepping out of the darkness of the hall with a smile on his face.
“Zane. What are you doing here?”
He smiled at her, a slow friendly looking smile. But there was a light in his eyes that made her skin crawl. “You shouldn’t have done it, you know,” Zane said, his voice friendly and level. “You should have just left…or never come back to begin with.”
He paused, casting a look around the house, his mouth twisting into a snarl. “Maybe I should have burned this place to the ground—then you’d have even less to come back to.”
Fear curdled in her belly but she forced herself to stay calm. “Zane, I really don’t understand.”
“Of course, you don’t. Not now. Not ever.” He stepped towards her, his eyes gleaming. “You see, I’m not going to let him do this. He can’t destroy the Pride. And that’s what will happen if you become his mate. You’ll destroy him. That’s what humans do to our kind. And I won’t let you destroy him.”
Destroy the pride? What in the hell…Her voice shook a little as she said, “Destroy who? I don’t know what in the hell you’re talking about.”
Zane shook his head. “I know—it’s no surprise. Humans are pathetically weak, stupid. They always have been. My wife was the same way, weak and stupid. I had to get rid of her—I waited until she had Casey. Wanted to see if the baby was mine. She was. Good thing, otherwise I would have killed her too.”
“Zane, your wife died in childbirth. Lisa told me that,” Kennedy said. She took another step back but she couldn’t go any further. The gleaming oak of the butcher block was at her back and Zane was entirely too close now.
He smiled. “No, she didn’t. She was bleeding, I know. But I could have gotten her to the hospital. They could have saved her. But I didn’t want that whoring bitch around, not when I had a daughter to raise. Casey was one of us and I wasn’t going to let her mother’s weak blood ruin her.”
Kennedy blinked away tears as horror wrapped a fist around her heart. “You let your wife die?”
Zane nodded, his face blank and empty. “I didn’t just let her. I stood there and watched. Of course, not the entire time. I had to clean up Casey. But once I knew she’d lost enough blood, I called the ambulance. They got there just as she died and I stood there, holding my baby and crying, pleading with them to save her. I’d just gotten in, you see. Can’t you save her…?” He mimicked the voice of a man lost in frenzy of grief and then he smiled.
Shaking her head, Kennedy whispered, “You’re crazy.”
He just shrugged. “I do what I have to, Kennedy. And what I have to do is protect the Pride. Duncan needs a mate who is one of us. Not a human.” Reaching out, he caged her with his arms, leaning into her body.
Icy tongues of fear lashed at her and Kennedy shrank away as he bent down and nuzzled her neck. “Duncan—what in the hell does he have to do with this?”
But even as she asked, she knew.
Duncan…it was him. He’d been the man she’d slept with last night. She should have known—those odd golden eyes…And she would have recognized him, if it hadn’t been for his voice. He’d lowered it…made it sound deeper, barely spoke above a whisper. Disguising it just enough to keep her from recognizing him.
“You didn’t know,” Zane mused, chuckling. “I knew you didn’t know the whole truth of it, but I thought you at least knew who he was.” He pressed his hips against her and she felt the hard length of his penis against her belly. “I didn’t figure you for somebody to fuck a man without even knowing who he was.” He trailed his hand up her neck, fisting there in her hair as he smiled. “Maybe you’re more like your mama than I thought. Of course, you’re quite a bit prettier. And you don’t stink of other men.”
Kennedy tried to jerk away, but his hand tightened in her hair and leaned more heavily into her, effectively keeping her from moving away. “Maybe I’ll have a taste of what it is that has Duncan so determined to have you.”
“Let me go,” she whispered, trying to shove him away. It was like shoving at a brick wall.
“No.” He lowered his head and licked at her neck. “Don
’t worry about Duncan. I’ll take care of him—that’s what I do. And in a few years, I’ll make sure he finds a mate. A woman worthy of him.”
Tears burned her eyes. “What—are you going to pick her out for him?” she spat, still struggling to get away.
Zane laughed. “I already have. Casey will make a perfect mate for the leader of the Pride. And we’ll keep any more weak, human blood from tainting our people.”
With a scream, Kennedy shoved at him with all her might. “Damn it, let go of me!”
His hand tightened in her hair to the point of pain. She saw red and turned her head as much as she could, sinking her teeth into his forearm and biting.
She bit until she tasted blood and then she went flying. As she shoved herself up from the floor, she found him staring at her with a smile. Like a cat, toying with a mouse…
“Oh, I liked that,” he murmured, lifting his arm and licking the blood away.
The gesture looked almost feline and she shivered as he lifted his head and stared at her. Holy shit…his eyes were glowing.
“We like it when our mates bite, Kennedy. I think I understand a little of what he wants so bad—I almost regret taking it away.”
Duncan held his body absolutely still, even though he wanted to tear inside the house and gut Zane. He couldn’t completely control his rage—his hands had Changed, and as he turned and pressed one palm to the door, black claws glinted.
He was scared to move—the one brief glance he’d had into the window had shown him that Zane had cornered Kennedy. With him standing that close, Zane could break her neck in a second.
“Don’t worry about Duncan. I’ll take care of him—that’s what I do. And in a few years, I’ll end make sure he finds a mate. A woman worthy of him.”
Duncan clenched his eyes closed and prayed for a miracle as Kennedy hissed out, “What—are you going to pick her out for him?”
Zane’s laugh made cold chills run down Duncan’s spine.
He’s completely insane, Duncan realized.
And what his lieutenant said next only made Duncan’s blood chill even more. “I already have. Casey will make a perfect mate for the leader of the Pride. And we’ll keep any more weak, human blood from tainting our people.”
Kennedy screamed and he heard the soft sounds of struggle as she tried to move away from Zane. Then Duncan heard a soft, harsh intake of breath and the scent of male hunger spiked.
There was a crash and Kennedy cried out. The sound was closer. Duncan eased inside and saw her lying on the floor, staring in front of her with horror on her face.
“I liked that. We like it when our mates bite, Kennedy. I think I understand a little of what he wants so bad—I almost regret taking it away,” Zane said.
Duncan could see the shadow of the man moving closer to Kennedy and he sprung, placing his body between Kennedy and the man who’d been like a second father to him.
“Oh, you’re going to regret a lot of things, Zane. But not for long.”
Kennedy screamed as Duncan suddenly appeared in front of her. Then relief overtook her and she felt trembles of shock starting to settle in.
She scurried back, scooting back on her butt and pushing with her heels. “Duncan… Oh, God.”
He didn’t look at her. “Why don’t you get out of here for a few minutes, Kennedy? I’ll handle this.”
Zane snarled—the sound wasn’t remotely human. “If you had handled it, I wouldn’t have to do this.”
Duncan shook his head. “You aren’t doing this.”
Zane grinned at Duncan. “Don’t count on it, cub.”
Cub…
And then Zane leaped. What happened next was something that didn’t make sense to Kennedy’s terrified mind. It wasn’t a man that landed on Duncan.
It was a cat. One of those cats, huge, snarling, and deadly.
Duncan punched at the cat’s head and the beast went flying. He stood up and Kennedy swallowed, hardly able to breathe, as something happened to Duncan.
He was…he wasn’t…oh, shit. She keened and the sound made her jump. Clamping her hand over her mouth, she stared at the huge cat that stood in Duncan’s place.
The cougar cast a look at her over one massive, muscled shoulder and she found herself staring at the cat she’d seen just a week before, when she’d woken up on the forest floor. Duncan—
He lunged for the other cat just as it started to move towards Kennedy. Burying her face against her knees, Kennedy tried to block out the snarls, the hisses and growls.
“Come on, sweetie…”
She felt gentle hands on her shoulders and cried out, trying to back away before she even looked up. It was the medic—Kennedy remembered her—when she had woken up in the ambulance a week ago, this woman had been crouched over her, cleaning up the various scrapes and scratches. Her dark liquid eyes stared at Kennedy with sympathy and used her body to keep Kennedy from looking where the two cats continued to battle. “Come on, honey. You don’t need to see this. Duncan will be fine.”
“Duncan…” She turned her head, but the woman caught her face with a gentle, unyielding hand.
“He can handle this, Kennedy. It’s what he does.”
It’s what we do… The words eerily echoed the ones that had been murmured to Kennedy just a few nights ago. Looking up, she saw nothing but concern in the woman’s dark eyes. Slowly, she reached out and let herself be helped to her feet.
As a scream sounded through the air, Kennedy flinched, but the woman continued to guide her out onto the back porch.
She stilled as she realized there were others out there. Samuel Pride, she’d gone to school with him, shared classes with him in high school. Glenna McGuire…and more. Even as she watched, more and more people trickled out of the woods until her backyard was so full of men and women…and children…they had to stand shoulder to shoulder.
Even when no more bodies could fit, they drew close, crouching on the low brick wall, even crouching in the tree limbs. Two young men, identical, from their silvery gold hair down to the heavy boots they wore on their feet, stood closest, waiting at the bottom of the porch steps and staring in the door of her house with an expectant look.
There was one more scream. Kennedy licked her lips as silence fell.
There was a soft sound, a clicking on the brick patio porch and she turned her head and found herself staring into golden yellow eyes. The cougar was bleeding from half a dozen small wounds but he didn’t seem to pay any attention to them as he padded a little closer.
Kennedy backed away a step, shaking her head.
The cat stilled and sat down on his haunches. She felt something tighten in the air around her—it was happening again. She heard wet, cracking sounds, a harsh gasp of breath—and then the cat was gone.
And Duncan was kneeling on the patio. He lifted his head and stared at her from golden yellow eyes, regarding her somberly.
Kennedy blinked. “Am I going crazy?” she whispered softly.
Duncan shook his head as he stood slowly. “No. You’re not crazy.” He briefly glanced at all the people gathered in her backyard with a faint smile. “Although I can understand if you’d prefer that.”
“You were the man here last night,” she whispered.
“And the night before.” Thick lashes covered his eyes for a moment and he lowered his head a little. “I was going to tell you tonight.”
“Tell me what?” she asked weakly. Gesturing toward her house, she said, “A little late night breaking and entering is nothing compared to this.”
He stared at her, the expression on his face uneasy. “I was going to tell you as much as you could handle—tonight. But I would have told you everything.”
Kennedy breathed out shakily. “Who are all these people…what are they doing here?”
“That’s the Pride.” Duncan smiled at the woman who had helped Kennedy out of the house as she moved past him, lowering her head in a deferential nod. “They came because they might be needed.”
<
br /> “Needed for what?” she asked weakly. “Is there a parade or a party I don’t know about?” Why would that many people be needed? There had to be at least a hundred of them. No…more.
“Needed to protect my mate.” He moved a little closer and when she didn’t back away, he closed the distance between them.
Warm, strong arms closed around her and she tipped her head back to stare up at him. “Mate?” she repeated a little dumbly.
He nodded, lowering his head to skim his lips across her cheek. “Yes…my mate. You. Unless—unless you don’t want me.”
She heard the doubt in his voice. Slowly, she wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered, “How I could not want you? I came back here to find you.”
As his mouth lowered to hers, she heard the people all around them break into laughter.
Epilogue
So she was more than a little nervous, that was understandable, right?
Staring at her reflection, she told herself she had good reason to be nervous. Hell, it wasn’t like she got married every day.
A funeral, her wedding…all in one week. She bit her lip, recalling said funeral in vivid detail. It hadn’t been a public one—in fact, it was one the vast majority of people would never even know happened.
There was no way to explain away what had killed Zane Matthews, not without the Pride risking exposure.
He’d been cremated. Kennedy had been there—Duncan had refused, but she insisted. Zane had meant a great deal to Duncan and she suspected it had torn a hole in his heart, what had happened. Oh, she knew he didn’t regret it, but not regretting it and not hurting over it were two different things.
Kennedy had to admit, she’d been a little surprised as Duncan confessed what would be done with the body. Bones never burned completely away.
“Human bones,” he’d told her. “We’re not human…”
No. No, they weren’t. The three hundred people who had crowded into her back yard weren’t human, but they were going to be her family. Married into a pride of mountain lions, she thought with a faint smile.
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