Strength Enduring (Talon Pack Book 8)

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  Kameron really didn’t want to be alone with her. Because that meant all he wanted to do was listen to his wolf instead of the logical part of his brain that told him he needed the Pack to be safe before he risked it all and took a mate. His mate wouldn’t be safe thanks to his role as Enforcer, and he wanted to prevent that hurt.

  But his wolf wanted nothing to do with that twisted logic.

  It wanted the woman in front of them.

  And because she stood right there, brow raised, he did the one thing he shouldn’t.

  He kissed her.

  He knew he should have asked, should have backed away, should have done anything but what he was doing just then, but he couldn’t. He didn’t. Instead, he crushed his mouth to hers, savoring her sweet taste as his wolf growled deep in his throat, and Dhani plastered herself against him, her fingers digging into his forearms as she pulled him closer.

  He wanted this woman. Had wanted her from the first time he saw her. But he knew this could be a mistake. She could be in danger by mating with him, so he had to stop the kiss.

  It was damn hard doing what was right, but he pulled away, leaving them both shaking, their chests heaving.

  “What the hell was that?” she gasped.

  “A mistake.”

  Shit. He shouldn’t have said that.

  Her eyes went wide before narrowing into slits. “Well, fuck you very much.” She flipped him off and turned to leave, but he reached out and grabbed her wrist to stop her. Her skin was soft and warm under his touch, and he had to swallow hard not to pull her closer.

  “Let go of me, Kam, or I swear to your goddess, we’ll figure out what a wolf with no balls looks like when he’s part of this Pack. Get me, wolfy?”

  He barely resisted the urge to cross his legs. “Shit. I didn’t mean that kissing you was a mistake. I meant the timing. I can’t be your mate right now, Dhani. It wouldn’t be safe.” There, he said the words he should have in the first place. “I’m the Enforcer. Lives depend on me. And I’m on the front lines when the battle between the Aspens and us comes about. You’d be in danger if we mated.”

  The anger leached out of her eyes at his words, but she tilted her head, studying him. “You know? I think that’s the most you’ve ever said to me. You’re the quiet guy, Kam. And I’ve always been okay with that. Because I thought, one day, we could be friends because my friends are your family now. This going from fighting and sometimes talking to a kiss like that? That’s not something one can take lightly. I know that the rules of this world are different. I know that once the spark enters and the idea that someone could be your mate takes root, everything changes. But we both know that’s not the case for us. The fact that you were honest just now? That means everything. You’re afraid you’re going to hurt me, you’re afraid of what the other Pack might do. I don’t get that, but I can see why you might feel that way.”

  He ran a hand over his face, annoyed with himself for falling into temptation. She was right, they’d gone from knowing each other on the periphery to him kissing her like he wanted nothing else. It was too fast. Calling it a mistake had made it worse. But he didn’t know how to fix it, didn’t know if he should fix it. Not when he needed to keep her and his people safe.

  “I still don’t know how you know we’re mates.”

  “I don’t know either. But I do. But I can tell you one thing, Kameron Brentwood, just because fate decided something, doesn’t mean I have to follow that path. I told you once you figured it out that I’d be there to talk to you about it. But I’ve watched my friends break before they fell. I’ve watched my friends fight against what could’ve been their happiness and almost lose everything because they thought they weren’t enough. I don’t want to be that, Kam. I don’t want to be told I’m not enough. And I know you didn’t say that, but never use the word mistake when it comes to me again. Whether we learn each other or are ready to walk away, it’s going to be both of our choices. Not fate. Not yours alone. Get your head on straight, and then we can talk.”

  He let out a growl. “I have my head on straight, and it’s telling me that I need to put all of my energy into fighting against Blade. And I know that’s not the right thing to say, I know that I’m probably going to get burnt to ash if lightning strikes me down for my words, but I wasn’t counting on you, Dhani. I never thought I’d find a mate. Not really. And I don’t know what I can do about it now. Because as you can tell from that kiss, I want you, but I don’t know if I’m the best for you.”

  Again, he hadn’t meant to be so honest, but there was something about the woman in front of him that made him want to bare the truth—and his soul. And he didn’t think it was just that they could be mates. He knew he was fighting this against his wolf’s wishes. He knew it was probably a mistake, but what if he gave in and she lost her life because of his decisions?

  “If the other Pack comes after me, if they come after the Pack, you could get hurt. I don’t know if I could forgive myself for that.”

  She let out a breath and shook her head. “I don’t know what to do either. Because, honestly? My life is in a state of flux as it is. Something’s coming, something’s changing, and I don’t know why, but I know it. I don’t know why I’ve always known.” She held up a hand when he would have questioned her further. Because, dammit, he wanted to know what she meant by those cryptic words. “One day, I might elaborate on that, but today is not that day. I’m not going anywhere, but then again, neither are you. And there’s no rule that says we have to jump into each other’s arms right now. One day at a time. Let’s just figure out how to live within the same wards, and then the rest will come. Oh, and Kam? That was a damn good kiss.”

  And with that, she walked the opposite direction, leaving him with a hard-on and a muddled brain. He might think he knew what the right path was for him, but one moment in her presence and everything went out the window. Dhani was a temptation for sure, the only problem was, he wasn’t sure he was strong enough to fight that and what was to come. Not while keeping her safe.

  FACTION

  Blade knew what must be done. Rather than worry, he relished. It was past time to take this step, and now that he had his top enforcers and witches on his side, he knew he would prevail.

  Scarlett prowled around him, the scowl on her face annoying him so he did his best to ignore her. “What’s the plan, Alpha?”

  He hated the way she disrespected the title, but he needed her powers to complete his plans. When she lost her mate thanks to the Talon trash, they’d been forced to form a bond so she wouldn’t die since she wasn’t nearly immortal like the wolves were. Witches who mated into the Pack were able to lengthen their lifespans by matching them to their shifter mate’s. He and Scarlett weren’t mates—thank the goddess—but she’d used dark magic to keep herself alive and connected to him, and he hated the oily feeling on his skin thanks to her.

  But he needed her, so he would deal with the magic. Once the Talons were taken care of, and she was no longer of use to him, he’d cut the link, and she wouldn’t be a problem for him anymore.

  “We’re going to dispose of the humans that seem to be constantly getting in our way. There are only two left—two associated to the Talons the way they are—but they will be the easiest to get rid of. Then we won’t have to waste our manpower taking out their infrastructure. The humans who are slowly coming against certain Packs will do it themselves. Because once wolves start killing humans, the human factions will be happy. It’s an excuse to retaliate. But if it falls through, we both know what must be done.”

  Scarlet nodded as if she had any say in his plans. He hated the woman, but he needed her power. Once the two human women who had latched themselves to the Talons were gone, the other human factions would take care of the den for him. At least that was the goal. Because Plan B wasn’t something anyone wanted to see. But he would take care of it. Because there was no other choice.

  Sacrifice begets sacrifice, after all.

  Chapter Five
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  Dhani dreamed again. It didn’t matter that she was in a new place, in a different bed, the dreams would always come. She should have learned that long ago, yet for some reason, she had thought perhaps the magic in the wards and the shifters surrounding her would protect her.

  But it wasn’t to be the case.

  Flames surrounded her, licking at her skin, prickling against her soft flesh. She couldn’t see through them, but the fact that there was no smoke worried her. Shouldn’t there be smoke when there was fire? That was what she’d always learned. But then again, these were dreams, and perhaps this wasn’t true fire. Maybe there wasn’t truth in anything.

  She tried to see, attempted to feel, but all she could sense was the heat of the flames that didn’t burn, couldn’t turn the world to ash. That would come later. A child cried, and a woman called out, but Dhani couldn’t help.

  She was never able to help.

  The flames parted, and another surge of fire slammed into her—this time, the burning almost real. She screamed.

  Then she found herself sitting up in bed, the scream all too real this time, and sweat dampening her skin. She swallowed hard, trying to calm her erratic heartbeat. It wasn’t easy when all she wanted to do was wrap herself in a blanket and try not to let vertigo take over. Because she couldn’t seem to suck in enough breath.

  Then someone slammed what sounded like his or her fist against the door multiple times, and she almost screamed again.

  She wasn’t in Kansas anymore. Instead, she was in the middle of a wolf den. This time, instead of Dorothy, she was more like Little Red Riding Hood. Or maybe Goldilocks. If Goldilocks had wolves—but she was in and out of beds, so that counted. The loud knock on her door came again, and she got out of bed, wrapping an afghan around her shoulders as she made her way out of her bedroom, through her small living room, and to the door. She looked through the peephole, and though she should have been annoyed; instead, her whole body relaxed at the sight of who was on the other side.

  She opened the heavy, oak door, and Kameron walked right in as if he owned the place, his bare chest with its light dusting of hair glistening under the moonlight since he was a tad sweaty. She did her best not to stare at the sweats riding very low on his hips. Very low. The damn man was way too sexy for his own good. No, scratch that, he was way too sexy for her good.

  “I heard a scream. Are you okay?” His voice was a low growl that went straight to her lady parts. She would not cross her legs to relieve the ache.

  Her eyes widened, and she could feel her cheeks blush. “You heard me? What were you doing, standing right outside?”

  “No, my house is right behind those trees. I’m actually closer to you than Dawn and Mitchell are.” His gaze traveled over her body, and she wrapped the afghan around herself a little tighter. She was only wearing a T-shirt and panties, and suddenly, she felt cold. Bare.

  She licked her lips, and his gaze followed the movement. “I didn’t know that.” Someone probably should have warned her, but it wasn’t as if anyone knew what was going on—or not going on—between them. “But I’m okay. I just had a bad dream.” Or a dream that wasn’t a dream, but she didn’t really know how to tell him that. “I’m sorry I woke you up. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t know that I screamed that loudly.”

  He shook his head then ran his hand through his hair. The action brought her attention to his bulging biceps, and she almost swooned. Seriously, swooned. It was going to take all of her energy to resist this man.

  “You weren’t that loud. I just have more acute senses than most wolves, and definitely better than humans…especially when it comes to you.”

  “Oh. The whole mating thing?” She didn’t know anything about how any of that worked. And since it seemed so personal, she hadn’t asked too many questions when it came to Aimee’s and Dawn’s matings.

  “Yeah. Seems so. As the Enforcer, I’ve always been able to hear things farther out in the distance than most. Gideon is really the only one who can match me, and he’s Alpha. I can usually drown out most sounds since it would be too much for me to function without that ability, but I can’t ignore you.” He paused, and she was grateful because there was a lot packed into that statement. “You sure you’re okay? I know I’m not the best at talking about important things, but if you need to talk about your dream, I can listen. Or I can go wake up one of your friends who would probably be much better at it.”

  And that was how she knew that this Kameron was going to be far more dangerous than the one who was icy and cold to her. Because she knew that his go-to setting was to tighten his jaw and scare off anyone that could possibly hurt those he loved and protected. But the fact that he was so helpful now, so intuitive? That would be the Kam that could possibly make her think about fate more than she should.

  “I’m okay. Really. I have dreams sometimes. Doesn’t make for a good bed partner.” She snapped her mouth shut and met his gaze. Thankfully, he didn’t say anything, but she could see the wolf in his eyes surface at her words. She had to be careful what she said when it came to Kameron, and they were both well aware of that.

  “If you’re sure. I can check out the house and the surrounding area if you want.”

  He was such a protector. So much so that he was pushing away anyone that could possibly interfere with that role. Not that she had much to say about it since she would probably do the same in his shoes. Maybe.

  “I’m okay,” she repeated. “Why don’t you go back to your place and get some sleep. I know you have a thousand things on your mind, and you don’t need to worry about my nightmares.”

  “Maybe someone should.” And with that, he left her house, not touching her in the slightest, yet she could still feel the heat radiating off his skin. The man was more than dangerous for her, but she knew the pull between them meant something. It was that knowing again, the kind that annoyed her to no end because she didn’t know where it came from.

  She never knew what any of it meant.

  Chapter Six

  Thankfully, Dhani’s mind let her sleep a few more hours before she was up at dawn and getting ready for her first day of teaching at the shifter school. She couldn’t quite believe that she had packed up her entire life and moved in with a Pack of wolves. Well, wolves and one lion. She wasn’t used to making such rash decisions, but this one felt right. Gideon and Brie had opened their arms to her in a way she hadn’t thought possible. The fact that they had been so open to her not only teaching their young but also living within the den wards made her feel as if she belonged. She’d never quite felt that way when she was outside the den. And that was weird, considering it hadn’t been that long ago that she didn’t know the paranormal existed at all.

  But before she knew that what went bump in the night was truly real, she’d always felt like an outsider. And though she still felt like that somewhat being a human living amongst wolves, it wasn’t the same. And maybe that should have worried her, but it didn’t.

  What concerned her was the fact that Kam apparently lived really close. And he could hear her scream in her sleep. What else could he hear her do?

  And that was something she wasn’t going to think about because she had a plan for the day. And her plan didn’t include thinking about a man. A half-naked man who’d come running to her in the middle of the night.

  Her phone rang just as she was about to start her second cup of coffee and look over the lesson plans that one of the maternal dominants had given her. The maternal dominants and Brie ran the show, and Dhani didn’t mind. She was in their world now, and as long as she could help, that was all she needed.

  But as she looked down at the screen of her phone, she sighed. Because, apparently, the outside world wasn’t through with her yet. She picked up on the third ring and tried her best to sound normal.

  “Mom, I see you got my message.” She loved her parents, she really did. But it was always so awkward with them. She hadn’t noticed when she was younger, but she’d always known someth
ing was off. They seemed like shells of something they had once been, and she’d never been able to understand what was missing. They loved her, that much she knew. But something was off, and she couldn’t put her finger on what. It’d always been that way. They were remote in a way she hadn’t been able to understand when she was younger, and truly still didn’t now. Because while they had always been there for her, something was lacking. At one point, she had thought it was her, but now she wasn’t so sure. Maybe her parents weren’t the warm and loving type that she saw in movies, but they had always been there for her in their own unique way.

  She just wished she knew what was wrong.

  “Of course, we did. I still can’t quite believe what I’m hearing, though. You quit your job?”

  “No, I was fired. Although, technically, I think I might’ve walked out before I signed the severance package. It’s a little murky whether I quit or was fired at this point. Either way, I’m no longer working at my last place of employment.”

  “Why on earth would they do that to you? You’re an amazing teacher.”

  It was statements like those that made her heart warm for her family. They truly believed in her, even if they didn’t always say things like that.

  Dhani wasn’t sure if she should tell her mom and dad the truth, but she didn’t want to hide things from them. They should know more about her life, even if her connection to them was always remote.

  “They didn’t like my connection to Dawn.” She didn’t say anything about Aimee or the rest of the Pack. Because, in essence, her friend was her connection. Dawn telling them that she was a wolf and not a human barista like Dhani had always thought was what had started Dhani’s discovery of the supernatural.