Shayna came hard around his cock, his name a silent scream on her lips as she flew apart in his arms. She’d never felt anything like it before. A pleasure so intense, she was being consumed by it. Soon, he was following her, a loud roar filling the room as he pulsed deep inside her.
They stayed locked together for a long time, by both teeth and body, neither willing to let the other go until they had no choice. Finally, Cannon slipped from inside of her and removed his fangs, licking at his bite to help heal the wound. Shayna slid her teeth from him, running her tongue over the mark, a feeling of satisfaction settling over her as she leaned back and looked down at it. “Mine,” she whispered softly, reaching out to trace around the edges of it lightly with her fingertip.
“Always,” Cannon whispered, kissing the mark he’d left on her gently, and then kissing her lips.
Shayna frowned when his eyes clouded over before he quickly lowered his gaze as if to hide it from her. Placing a hand on his cheek, she said his name. When he didn’t look at her, she whispered, “Cannon, tell me. What’s wrong?”
Swallowing hard, he said, “I just realized what hell my brother must be going through.”
“What do you mean?”
He raised his tortured gaze to meet hers as he replied, “Do you feel that bond between us now, Shayna?” She nodded slowly, understanding where he was going now. It was as if something had snapped together between them, merging them as one for all time. Without Cannon, there would be no Shayna. Without Shayna, there would be no Cannon. They were one, or they were none.
“Oh, my God. Nadine,” Shayna whispered, finally realizing exactly what the poor woman had to be going through. This was what her own mother had endured. The reason she’d never fought back. The reason she’d lived her life the way she had, and had urged Shayna to run as soon as she was able, kicking her out of the house, making her feel unloved. Because she couldn’t leave the hell she was in herself but didn’t want her daughter to suffer. She was gone now. The bastard had finally killed her before putting a bullet in his own head because he couldn’t survive without her. Shayna finally understood it all. One day, she would tell Cannon about it, but not yet. Right now, this was about his brother. “Cannon, we have to find Casen.”
Lying down beside her, Cannon pulled her close, holding her tightly. The pressure on her ribs hurt slightly, but Shayna stayed quiet. Her mate needed her, and she needed him.
“I agree,” he finally said, “but not at the risk of you. Doc Freya said at least two days. It’s only been one.”
“Cannon.”
“No, kitten, I can’t put you at risk.”
Shayna didn’t argue. She could feel his determination, but also his pain and helplessness. His need to find his brother fought with his need to protect his mate, and she was quickly learning the need of a mate trumped anything else.
“Let me shift for a couple of hours,” she said quietly. “Then, we will go talk to Nadine and get as much information as we can. Tomorrow, we go hunting.”
“We? I thought you worked alone?” His tone was teasing, but the look in his eyes wasn’t. For so many years, she had worked alone. But that was before. She had Cannon now. A mate. They were one. There was no more being alone. He had proven himself to her, and she had decided to place her trust in him. She’d given him all of her. There was no taking it back, and no part of her wanted to.
“Not anymore,” she whispered right before she shifted.
Cannon pulled the covers up and held her close in cat form for a long time before he said hoarsely, “I don’t deserve you, kitten, but I am so damned honored that you chose me. I love you.”
Chapter Eleven
Cannon stared at the woman sitting across from them, looking silently out over the ranch. She watched the horses as they galloped in from the pasture, but he could tell her mind wasn’t on them. No, it was with his brother. The mate who was stolen from her over a year ago. His hand went to his chest, which was tight with grief. Grief for not only his loss, but for Nadine who not only lost her mate, but also her child for most of that time. Hell, Athena was still lost to her, because she couldn’t seem to focus on anything with Casen gone. Cannon finally understood why.
“Nadine,” Shayna said, her voice cutting through the peaceful night, “I need your help.”
At first, Nadine didn’t respond, but then she drug her gaze from the horses and looked over at them. “Anything.” There was hope in that word, along with so much pain, Cannon almost couldn’t stand it. He reached over, grasping Shayna’s hand tightly in his, needing her strength at that moment. Nadine’s eyes went to their clasped hands and agony shrouded her eyes. But when he would have pulled away, she shook her head. “No, please, I need to see the two of you together like this. I won’t lie, a part of me hurts because of what I am missing, but a bigger part gives me hope that one day, Casen will hold me again and look at me the way you look at your mate.”
Shayna’s eyes glistened with unshed tears as she whispered, “I am going to do everything in my power to bring him home to you, Nadine.”
“I know you will.”
“I need your help to make that happen.” When Nadine nodded, Shayna said, “Is there anything, anything at all, that you can tell me about Casen that could help my investigation? I’ve gone to every place you mentioned to your sister. Your house, your work, the places you met Casen. I haven’t been able to find anything.”
Nadine frowned, wrapping her arms around her waist, and rocking slightly back and forth as she thought. “We used to go to a meadow way on the outskirts of Turnbalt. It was our special place. It’s where he gave me this.” Her hand went to the claiming bite on her shoulder, where it was visible, half of it peeking out from under the shirt she wore.
“Yes,” Shayna said softly. “I went there. It was so beautiful.”
“There was a tree,” Nadine whispered, a faint smile appearing. “He carved our initials in it. Said it was something a teenager would do, but that I made him feel like one.”
“I can understand that,” Cannon said, his hand tightening on Shayna’s. “That’s how Shayna makes me feel sometimes. Happy and carefree, even with the pain and suffering going on around us and in our own lives.”
Nadine nodded, the hand from her shoulder going to trace small patterns of circles on the patio table in between them. “Casen even started writing in a journal again, like he used to years ago. He said he stopped after your parents were killed. That he didn’t have the heart to do it anymore. But after he met me, he started again because I gave him his heart back.” Raising her gaze to meet Shayna’s, Nadine asked, “Do you have his journal? Can I read it?”
Cannon froze, feeling his mate stiffen at the same time. He hadn’t known Casen kept a journal. As Nadine said, he used to write in one daily years ago, but had stopped after their parents were murdered. He didn’t know his brother started journaling again. “No, Nadine,” he said carefully, knowing this could be the one clue they needed to find his brother. “I didn’t know about his writing again. Did he happen to mention where he kept his journal?”
Nadine frowned, cocking her head to the side as she thought for a minute. “I’m not sure. He always had it with him when were together, and I’m sure he took it with him when he went back home. Did you look in his room there?”
“No, but if he brought it home, he would have kept it hidden somewhere.”
“Because of the people who are after you,” Nadine said, nodding her head. “Casen told me about it.”
“He did?”
Shit, they didn’t talk about it to anyone. He hadn’t even had the chance to tell Shayna yet, but he planned to. Because they were mates, and mates didn’t have secrets. Which would be why Casen shared his past with Nadine. He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. There was so much he didn’t know about his brother and the woman in front of him.
“Yes. He explained that you are always in danger. That someone targeted your father for death years ago, right after Cora was
born. That your father had to fake his own death and also your mother and Cora’s, and then take them on the run. They caught up with you fourteen,” she paused, her brow furrowing, before she said, “I guess it would be fifteen years now, and killed your mother and father, but the four of you managed to get away. And you are all still running.”
“Holy shit,” Shayna whispered, moving her chair closer to Cannon’s. “I knew you were running from something, but I didn’t realize the extent of it.”
Sighing, Cannon raked a hand through his hair. “Yeah. I fucked up, Shayna.”
“How?”
“I should have told you about all of this before we sealed the mate bond. You had a right to know what you were getting into.”
Shayna cocked an eyebrow. “You think my answer would have been different?”
“I hope to hell not, but I still should have given you the chance to say no.”
Her gaze softening, Shayna squeezed his hand gently. “You gave me many chances, Cannon Channing. I chose you.”
A slow smile spread across his face and he nodded. “Yeah, you did.”
Turning back to Nadine, Shayna asked, “Can you think of anything else to tell us about Casen?”
A soft smile crossed Nadine’s lips, and she whispered, “He loves his sisters and brother above all else, and would do anything for them. That’s why we were waiting. He said it was time for them to move again. He was going to do that, and then he was coming back to get me and take me with him to live with them. He said we would have to live a life on the run, but that it would be worth it. Because we would be together.” She stopped, her breath catching in her throat, tears slipping down her cheeks. “He just wanted us all to be a family.”
“Mama.”
Nadine’s head swung around at the quietly whispered word, her body starting to shake as she stared at the little girl who had suddenly appeared beside them. “Athena.” Her voice cracked with pain, and she acted as if she wasn’t sure what to do.
At just over a year old, the child was more advanced than a human child. She had been walking for the past five months. She could also speak. Not in complete sentences, but enough to get by. The little girl walked over to her, stopping by Nadine’s chair. She stared at her for a moment before lifting her arms out to her mother. Her way of asking to be picked up. More tears streamed down Nadine’s face, but she leaned over and gathered her daughter in her arms, something Cannon was sure she’d never done before from things they’d been told.
“Mama cry.” Athena patted Nadine’s cheek gently, then leaned up to smack a kiss on her forehead. “Mama okay now.”
A sob tore from Nadine’s throat, and she held the child closer, rocking back and forth. She cried and cried, and at first, Cannon wasn’t sure what to do. But as her sobs began to settle, he looked up to see they were surrounded by the rest of the Channing family, who were all watching the interaction with tears in their own eyes, just as he was.
Nadine finally looked over at him, and then at Shayna, still holding her daughter close. “You will find him for us.” It was a statement, not a question. She was letting them know that she had complete faith in them, and he prayed it was deserved.
“You’ve given us a place to look, Nadine,” Shayna said softly. “We will leave first thing in the morning.”
“We will?” Cannon asked. “Where are we going?”
“Back to the last place you lived. We need to find that journal.”
“We’re coming, too,” Cora said, stepping forward, Camila at her side.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Wait,” Nolan cut in, “I thought you worked alone?”
“Not anymore,” Shayna said, smiling at Cannon. “I have a family now. We stick together.”
Cannon raised her hand, brushing his lips over her knuckles. “You better believe it.”
Chapter Twelve
Shayna slammed the car door shut, staring up at the dark house in front of her. It gave off an eerie feeling, one she’d had before that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She’d learned a long time ago not to ignore those feelings. As the other doors shut after hers, she held up a hand. “Something’s off.”
“I feel it, too,” Cora said quietly, coming to stand beside her. “Someone’s been here. May still be.”
“They still are,” Camila whispered, her eyes on the top floor windows of the house. “They’re watching us right now.”
“Well, shit,” Cannon growled, casing the area. “Now what, Shayna?”
She loved how he deferred to her when he knew she had more experience in something. There was no hesitation on his end, no fighting over who was going to make the decisions. He trusted her and was waiting for her direction.
“I love you, mate,” she said, slipping her Glock from the holster on her hip.
“Now’s a hell of a time to tell me,” he muttered, going for his own gun.
“I think you two better table this discussion for later,” Cora cut in. “Right now, we need to take out the threat.”
“No,” Shayna whispered, her eyes on the window where a lone person stared down at them, not moving. “First, we need to figure out who they are and what they want. I don’t believe the person in that window is the threat I’m feeling.”
“No,” Camila said softly. “I agree. The threat is coming from the trees.”
“How the hell do you know that?” Shayna asked, moving toward the house, the others right behind her.
“I don’t know,” Camila whispered, “I just do. I can feel it. Feel them. Their emotions. There is so much anger and hostility, but the person in the window doesn’t feel those same things. They are more… sad.”
Shayna didn’t question it. She could hear the truth in Camila’s voice, and that was good enough for her. “Okay, we have two options as I see it right now. Run, which I know none of us are willing to do. Or get in the house and figure out who the hell is in there, and what they mean to us. While we are doing that, the others will be planning their attack.”
“On whom, I wonder?” Cora said suddenly.
“What?” Camila asked in confusion.
Shayna opened the front door easily. They hadn’t bothered to lock it when they left, and obviously whoever else was there hadn’t when they arrived.
“I wonder, are they here for us, or the person hiding in our house?”
“Both,” a quiet, female voice said. They all swung around, guns raised, aimed at the young girl in the doorway who couldn’t be more than sixteen years old.
“Snake,” Cannon snarled, taking a step in her direction, but Shayna placed a hand on his arm, effectively holding him back.
“Who are you?” Shayna asked softly, taking in the girl’s torn shirt, ratty jeans, and shoes with holes in the toes. She had black hair cut short, and eyes such a light blue they were almost gray.
“She’s a Baxter,” Cora said darkly, her nose wrinkling at the thought. “From the same nest of snakes who killed our parents.”
“Yes,” the girl agreed, lifting her head, her mouth slightly open, silent for a long moment before continuing. “My name is Diadra.”
“Nate Baxter’s sister,” Cora snarled, hate in her tone.
“Yes,” Diadra admitted, and Shayna saw shame in her eyes before she lowered her head. “Nate is my brother.”
“Diadra,” Shayna said softly, taking a step in her direction, “who our family is doesn’t define us. It’s who we are inside that does. Cora’s hatred for your brother has nothing to do with you.”
When Diadra didn’t respond, Cora sighed, moving closer to the girl. “She’s right, Diadra. I’m sorry. Your brother has done horrible things to my family, but you are not him. You’ve done nothing to us. I’ve seen you. I know you have a kind heart. I don’t hate you.”
The girl’s head came up to look at them, and she bit her lip before slowly nodding. “Thank you.” Tears gathered in her eyes, and she whispered, “He didn’t used to be bad. When we were
younger, he was good to me. He taught me to ride a bike and play basketball. He bought me books to read and watched movies with me. But after my mom died, Dad filled his head and heart with so much hate toward your family that it changed him.”
“When did your mom die?” Camila asked, her eyes narrowing. “I didn’t know she was gone.”
“Fifteen years ago,” Diadra said, lifting her head again, her mouth open slightly.
“What are you doing?” Shayna asked curiously, even though she was pretty sure she already knew.
“They’re coming closer,” Diadra whispered. “They came for me, but will be thrilled to find you here after you killed two men from our nest. They were already tracking you, but hadn’t found you just yet.”
“Why are they after you, Diadra?”
Diadra met Shayna’s gaze, one loan tear sliding down her cheek. “Because Nate decided my father was a threat two nights ago and killed him. He said he was going to mate me off to one of his men, and I ran. His men are all evil, just like him. I couldn’t stand the thought of being with any of them.”
“Exactly how old are you?” Shayna demanded, anger filling her. She looked so young.
“Fifteen. My mom died giving birth to me.” She hesitated before admitting to the others, “Your mother was there that night. She was trying to help, but there wasn’t anything anyone could do. From what I was told, my dad killed your mother after that, and then hunted down your father and killed him, too. He couldn’t find the rest of you.”
“Because they hid us,” Camila breathed, her eyes wide. “Wait, that doesn’t make sense. Your father had been hunting us for years, way before that night. Why would our mother have tried to help yours knowing that?”
Diadra’s brow furrowed as she slowly shook her head. “I don’t think he was hunting your family before that night? At least, I’ve never heard anything about that. Nothing before the night my mother died. And then he began to move our nest around afterwards. Tracking you, hoping to take all of you down, too.”
Chasing His Lynx’s Sass (Sass And Growl Book 4) Page 8