by Anna Lowe
He kissed it. “Hey, you.”
Slowly, carefully, he settled down over her. Her body curling into his set off a low, steady buzz, and the way she wrapped her arms around his neck told him she never wanted to let go.
Just as slowly and carefully, Kyle closed his eyes and looked to his inner wolf. Would the beast be greedy for more? Triumphant? Possessive? He peered beyond the pleasure flooding him and past that inner door.
And damned if the beast wasn’t curled in a ball, thumping his tail in sheer contentment. The greed was replaced by something a whole lot…softer. Kinder. Mushier, if that was the word.
What are you thinking? he asked the wolf, suddenly suspicious.
The wolf gave a deep sigh, and the image of a couple of brown-eyed, brown-haired pups popped into Kyle’s mind. Cute and fluffy and helpless without his love.
Pups. Good idea. The wolf nodded then broke into a lazy yawn.
Kyle reeled in surprise, stuck between a chuckle and a heady sigh. He risked a peek into the muted light of his bedroom, worried that daylight would bring all this to a crashing end. Some ugly truth would be revealed, Stefanie would bury her head in shame and regret, and this impossible vision would slip away once more.
But the sun was still shining, the room bright and hopeful. Stef was draped over him like she’d had a decade to find her favorite spot and not just a couple of days. He reached out with a finger, waiting for the mirage to pop and dissipate, but it didn’t. Her muscles were hard, her flesh real, the truth hale and hearty. He wondered when he’d last felt this good, when the house had ever felt so full of…something. Something nice.
“Maybe,” Stefanie whispered, fingers strumming the line of his ribs.
He combed his fingers through her hair, twirling it into a bun. “Maybe?”
“Probably,” she mused.
Probably what? He cupped one side of her face in his hand, looking into her eyes.
She smiled back, nodding. “Definitely.”
“Definitely?”
Her smile stretched. “Definitely all grown up.”
He gave a tiny nod so she’d go on.
“As a kid, I never wanted to let that happen. But now, I kind of like it.” She smiled, a little mischievous, rubbing her chin against his chest.
He chuckled. “Yeah, I kind of like it too.”
“Yeah?” She studied him closely.
“Yeah.” He pulled her close.
Though kind of didn’t come close to the truth. They were meant for each other, and he was all in. No matter what kind of trouble came their way.
The curtain flapped in agreement with both sentiments: that this was the real thing, and that trouble was sure to be lurking somewhere not too far away.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Stefanie was still floating on a silken cloud when a movement registered in her mind. She mumbled, finding Kyle’s skin with her lips, and sighed herself back to sleep. But there it was again, the shift of his muscles beside her.
She cracked an eye open. The room was warm as summer, cozy as winter, and it could have been either given the way the slanting sun was making the curtains glow. Late afternoon, she thought lazily and felt a smile spread at the realization. Because now she knew. Being with Kyle was a function of her human heart, not just a trick of the night. She’d spent a happy hour snoozing on that idea, and even the color of sunset couldn’t change her mind.
“Stef,” Kyle whispered. The sound of his voice like his body: all the softness in it had gone rock hard. “Stay here,” he grunted, rolling away.
She reached for him, too late. He couldn’t be leaving her now, could he?
She wanted to call out his name, but the sound caught in her throat. Kyle was listening at the door, naked, every muscle defined as his nostrils tested the air. He glanced back, and the look on his face scared the hell out of her.
That look said I will die for you, and he meant now.
She scrambled up beside him to peer out. Lights filled the driveway along with the sound of tires crunching over gravel, the squeak of misaligned brakes. They had company.
“Stay there,” he said, his voice an octave lower than usual. He pushed her gently back, slipped out, and pulled the door closed.
She stared at the doorknob in shock. What was going on? She grabbed the shirt laying on the floor and yanked it over her head then followed him outside. As soon as she stepped out onto the porch, she froze in her tracks. Even with the sunset glinting off the windshield of the truck outside, she knew exactly who was inside.
Ron. Greer. They’d come for her.
Kyle hustled her off the porch and over to the side of his truck then fumbled with the driver’s side door. He cursed when it jammed, and they both whirled at the sudden silence behind them.
Ron slid out of the truck and approached with the easy step of a welcome visitor. For all of two steps, that is, until Kyle growled in a warning.
Stef wished she could be a cobra; now would be her time to strike. She’d spit her poison at Ron and get this nightmare over with for good.
“Leave,” she barked, packing the word with all the venom she could muster.
“Please, Stefanie.” Ron spread his arms wide, the very picture of an unjustly wronged man. “I’m here to take you home.”
Right. Home.
Behind him, the mountain that was Greer unfolded his body from the truck, making a show of stretching to his full height in a slow, bristling process. If she hadn’t known the word alpha, she was sure it would have popped into her mind.
“We got tired of waiting for the elders to decide,” Greer said.
“Got nervous, you mean,” Kyle shot back.
Testosterone filled the air and a standoff ensued. She tried not to shiver. Kyle formed a solid wall in front of her while Ron stood with the confidence of a sheep who knew the farmer was guarding his back with a shotgun aimed squarely at the wolf. Greer, meanwhile, threw Kyle a look of dismissal. Clearly, he expected Kyle to back down.
Only Kyle didn’t budge. He snarled. “Back off. Now.”
Ron reached a hand out, palm up. “Stefanie. Come home with me.”
She snorted out loud. Home was right here.
“You belong with me,” Ron said over Kyle’s continuous growl.
Like hell I do. She wanted to shout but couldn’t quite form the words. Out of the blue, her side was cramping. It was only Kyle’s hand on her arm that kept her from doubling over.
Ron flipped his fingers in a come here motion, and a thousand tiny needles jabbed her ribs.
“Yes,” Ron hissed. “Come.”
Kyle threw an arm in front of her, blocking her path. “Never!”
Stef was shocked to find herself leaning forward, as if she wanted to step forward and take his hand. Her insides were churning; everything was propelling her forward.
The need will start to pull you in.
God, was it true? Her eyes stung, her heart fluttered and she felt—Christ, did she really want him? Ron?
A wave of nausea rolled over her. She was getting pulled in by some invisible force, and the only thing stopping it was the thick muscle of Kyle’s arm against her chest.
“Get in the car,” he grunted, every inch of him poised for a fight.
That was enough to break the invisible grip Ron seemed to have over her—that, and the shove Kyle gave her toward the front of the car. She wrenched the handle to the passenger’s side open and scrambled inside. She slid across the seat, found the keys, and started the engine with a roar. When she slammed on the gas pedal, the wheels spun madly and sent gravel flying like shrapnel. She could feel the pull of Ron even as she sped off. She’d nearly walked to her own doom. If it hadn’t been for Kyle, she would have—
Her thoughts collided with a brick wall. Kyle. She’d felt a pull toward him, too. She hunched over the steering wheel, her stomach heaving. God, what did it mean? She thought that their lovemaking was the result of an attraction that was pure and good. But what if it wasn�
��t? Maybe Ron’s bite had set off something in her body that had her lusting after the closest source of testosterone. Kyle. Ron. Greer. What if she wasn’t able to distinguish them any more?
She flew around the next bend so fast, both right wheels lifted off the ground. The truck nearly skidded out when the tires hit the ground again. She fought the vehicle back under control then rolled the window down to gulp fresh air. The enemy wasn’t just the men back there. The enemy was within.
Escape. Was there any escape from the beast she had become?
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Kyle listened to the truck thunder away in an explosion of sound and motion, feeling like a man who’d been trampled by a herd of bison. Or maybe that was just his heart being dragged under the spinning wheels of the Chevy. He could feel every chunk of gravel, every sharp-edged rock along the way.
His soul wailed to see her go, but his wolf just saw the red of anger.
Kill these bastards. Now.
Sending Stef away went against every instinct, but what else could he do? His chances of beating Greer outright were slim. The best he could do was buy Stefanie time to escape.
The grim hope must have been stamped on his face because Greer sneered. “We found her once. We’ll find her again.”
“You. Will. Not. Have. Her.”
He clenched his jaw so hard, it clicked. But Greer was right. Stef’s blood would call to Ron and they’d find her, wherever she was. She’d never be safe, unless she were claimed by another wolf with a second bite that would supersede Ron’s imprint and free her from his hold.
Kyle waited for his inner wolf to shout that he could have been the one. That he should have claimed her when he had the chance. But the wolf seemed quiet on that matter; even he seemed to accept that it wouldn’t have been right. Not until she was ready.
But now, he’d never get the chance. He felt it in every choked breath that signaled the growing distance between him and his destined mate. Stefanie was the one.
And she was racing away.
Let them try to find her. Let them try to get past me. His wolf bristled, scratching to get out.
He forced a breath past the lump in his throat and faced Greer. “What kind of pack do you run that you have to recruit by force?”
The man just scoffed. “Women don’t know what’s best for them.”
He could have let a fist fly right there. “You are sick.”
His wolf grinned inside. So let’s play doctor and fix him up. Starting with ripping his lungs out.
The North Ridge alpha was eyeing him, nostrils flaring, making the most of his intimidating bulk. Greer had a good three inches over him and a significant weight advantage—not to mention a backup man.
Kyle’s eyelid twitched. If only he’d acted on the impulse to bite her. Even if he died in this fight, Stef would have been free of Ron’s hold.
He ground his teeth. It was time to think, not regret. Anything to save his mate.
Speed was his only chance. His canines pinched the back of his gums, and this time, he didn’t bother holding them back. He growled, ready to make his stand.
Greer raised a finger toward Kyle’s bare chest. “Nice print,” he taunted, pointing at the scars. “Let me guess. You’re the cop who got nicked by our biker boy.”
His skin burned at the mention of the fight that had turned his life upside down. Nicked? He’d nearly bled dry. But how would Greer know about the fight that had turned him? Unless…
The alpha was nodding, looking ridiculously pleased. “Yeah, he was one of ours. A rogue. I tried to stop him, I really did,” he said, dripping insincerity.
If Greer had wanted to stop a wolf from leaving North Ridge and going rogue, he would have. Clearly, he hadn’t bothered.
“What kind of alpha lets one of his own go rogue?” Kyle asked, infusing his voice with an evenness he didn’t feel. A good alpha would hunt the rogue down before his home pack could be discredited. Before the rogue could claim any innocent victims. Kyle had taken weeks to heal. Afterward, he’d hunted far and wide for the perpetrator but come up empty. The rogue could be anywhere, hurting anyone. Who knew how many victims had he claimed? Innocent lives? Not to mention putting all shifters at risk if his true nature were exposed.
Greer laughed. “What do you know about being an alpha?”
Kyle flashed his teeth. “I know an alpha looks out for more than himself.”
“Says the man who beds another’s mate,” Greer shot back.
Of course, the man could smell Stefanie’s scent on him. Well, let him. Ron, too.
“My mate,” he growled.
“Twin Moon pack will pay for your transgression,” Greer said, letting his voice drop to a threat.
“She was attacked!” Kyle barked.
“She’s mine!” Ron insisted.
Kyle unleashed a roar that came from a place deeper than his lungs. “She’s mine!” The words echoed through the hollow, and the silence that followed was deathly still.
Ron trembled, but Greer had never looked happier. “So you challenge Ron?”
“I challenge you,” he retorted.
Greer grinned in smug delight, and Kyle realized he’d been maneuvered into handing the alpha a golden opportunity. It wasn’t Greer challenging him; it was him, challenging Greer. Superficially, it would appear that he was at fault: taking a woman who belonged to North Ridge, then fighting the alpha over her for no reason but his own greed. Greer would kill him, hunt Stefanie down, then frame Kyle as the bad guy. And after that, who knew? Greer might even demand more from Twin Moon pack for the damage he’d claim Kyle inflicted on his female “property.”
Kyle shook his head, watching the gears tick over behind Greer’s eyes. The man was smarter than he looked. And he, Kyle, was a fool for letting his destined mate and his pack down.
Greer smiled like he held all the trumps in the last hand of a poker game. He stepped into motion, making a show of examining Kyle.
“Mmm, she smells good, even on you.” He followed up with an expression of mock surprise. “But wait! If you screwed her, she could be pregnant. Just think.”
Kyle’s heart skipped a beat. He hadn’t had time to think anything of the sort. Things between him and Stefanie had moved so fast, and there were so many other complications…
Greer’s face twisted into a cruel smile. “Such a pity to have to kill an unborn thing, don’t you think? But don’t worry, if there is one, I’ll make sure to replace it with my own.”
A shock wave ripped through his body. He knew Greer was only trying to rile him, but… What if? Anger like he’d never known flooded him. His wolf claws emerged from their sheaths and dug into his palms.
You will never have my mate.
More than anything, he wanted to jump Greer now. To rip him apart and scatter the pieces far and wide. But he had to fight smart. He was taking on a powerful alpha who would show no mercy, take no prisoners.
And right now, playing smart meant buying time for Stef. He needed to stay cool if he was to somehow win this fight.
Watch me, his wolf snarled.
Greer’s smug face contorted and stretched as the wolf emerged from the man. In the same moment, Kyle went from statue to living hell, snarling into his own shift.
On the sideline, Ron stood sneering, and his unspoken words shot into the night.
Let the fight begin.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Stefanie pulled the truck out of a wild skid then floored the gas pedal again. Far and fast was all she could focus on. But where could she go? Even if she eluded Ron and Greer, she’d never escape herself, no matter how many miles she covered in Kyle’s truck.
If she could crawl out of her own skin, she would. Ron had barely flicked his fingers at her, and she’d been drawn to him like a marionette. Worse still was the possibility that the same force had drawn her to Kyle’s bed. Were some crazy wolf hormones telling her to mate—with anyone? She kept one hand on the steering wheel; the other scratch
ed fiercely at her leg.
Every mile tore another thread from her heart. That warm, safe sensation she’d had with Kyle—was it all an illusion? If Ron bit her again and claimed her, would she believe she liked it? She would become one of those kidnapping victims who was brainwashed by her captors. Brainwashed, or maybe bloodwashed: whatever word shifters might use to describe the ghastly phenomenon.
Lights flashed ahead, and she jammed on the brakes, screeching right up to the edge of the highway. The sky was bloodied and bruised, the clouds pierced by slanting bolts of sunset. She let the pickup idle briefly before collecting her nerves and swinging into a squealing left turn, heading south. The humming sound of tires over smooth asphalt gradually slowed her racing pulse. She forced in a long yoga breath and glanced at the sky, picking out the first stars of the night. The W of Cassiopeia was emerging from the indigo of space and she cocked her head, remembering how right it had looked. The stars had given her hope. They’d led her to Kyle.
Mate.
Her throat thickened just thinking about him. Right now, the W of the constellation looked sad and droopy. Distinctly…not right, and worse with every mile she traveled. It shouldn’t be possible to notice a change like that within a short drive, but she was sure of it.
But south had to be the best way to head—right? The question flickered in the arc of the headlights, along with so many others. Where to go? Who to trust?
Kyle. We can trust him, the wolf said inside. Mate.
She didn’t know what was right. Only that leaving Kyle was wrong.
Another deep breath brought her a trace of his scent, and her body immediately warmed. She tried ignoring the sensation, but then allowed herself another tentative sniff. Analyzing, wondering, considering the possibilities.
Kyle’s scent is nothing like Ron’s, the wolf huffed. And neither is our attraction to him.
It was true. Kyle was like the sun: pure, warm, clean. With Ron, there’d been the suck of quicksand, a feeling of encroaching darkness. Ron set off nothing but pain, as if all the cells in her body had gotten on their hands and knees to claw their way away from him.