by L Ann
Another step forward brought him within arm’s reach of her and, he knew he should stop there. But he didn’t. He took another step, and another. Until he was as close to her as he could get – breast to chest. So close, he could feel her body trembling, hear the thunderous beat of her heart, the short choppy breaths as she tried to control her fear.
His wolf surged to the fore, demanding he take his mate. The scent of her fear mixed with the smell of her skin, the touch of her body pressed against his drove him crazy. He wanted to soothe her, own her, calm her, claim her, control her, fuck her. He wanted to bury himself so deep inside her, neither would be able to say where he ended, and she began. He wanted to coat himself in her scent, taste her on his tongue.
A growl escaped him, and she shrank back further against the tree. Shaun frowned when the movement separated him from her and leaned forward, sealing her against him again.
Cassie was crying silently, the tears marking silver tracks down her cheek in the moonlight, and he caught a drop on his fingertip, lifted it to his mouth, tasted it. He shuddered, bowing his head, and buried his face into the crook of her neck, feeling her stiffen in terror. The smell of her skin, the faint strawberry tang of her lotion steadied him, dulled his need to hunt, to kill.
“I’m trying, Cassie,” he whispered, against her throat. “Need a minute. Just … please … don’t run.”
The fine hairs on the back of his neck rose, and a whisper of movement behind him told him Deacon had shifted once again. He lifted a hand, informing his brother without words to stay back and slowly lifted his head. He could see his reflection looking back at him from Cassie’s eyes. The yellow of his own eyes stood out in stark relief in the darkness of her pupils. She was breathing in small, panting gasps. A quick glance down showed him her fingers flexing and straightening as she battled with her desire to run.
“I know this is weird, and scary, and not normal. I know you’re looking at me, at Deacon, and wondering what we’ve done, if we’ve drugged you. Whether we’re the ones who brought you out here. If this is some kind of game we’re playing.” He forced his voice to stay low, soft – used his need to focus on words as a way of calming his wolf and himself. “I didn’t want you to find out this way. Not like this. Not with fear and violence.”
Her eyes stayed locked on his as he spoke and slowly, carefully, he tipped his head forward until his forehead rested against hers.
“I’m not going to hurt you. I don’t think I could hurt you even if you ran. But there’s something in my blood right now, something that’s fucking with my control. It’s in my brother’s blood, too, and he doesn’t have the link between us to stop him. I need to get you out of here, get us out of here. And to do that, you have to trust me. I understand you’re scared, you’ve seen things you don’t understand and can’t explain.” He curved the fingers of one hand over hers, stopping their movement. “Your fear is making it very hard for me to focus. So please, baby, you have to calm down.”
“Can you do what he did?” The shrill demand came with a shifting of her eyes to look at Deacon where he stood just behind Shaun.
“Yes.” Shaun knew there was little point in lying or avoiding the truth. He needed her trust, so he could see her safely out of the forest.
“How is it possible?”
“I’ll answer that. I swear I’ll answer anything you want. No more secrets if you’ll come with me now.” His fingers threaded between hers and he took a chance and stepped back, putting space between them.
“My … my sister?”
Shaun risked breaking eye contact long enough to glance at Deacon. His brother shook his head at the silent question. Gemma hadn’t been found.
“Mac is waiting for us on the ridge, he might have news.” He found himself holding his breath, waiting for Cassie to decide, and then she slowly peeled herself away from the tree trunk.
The journey back toward the ridge was slow and cautious. Shaun cast constant quick, furtive glances at Cassie, who didn’t say a word. She hadn’t even commented on the fact all three of them were naked.
The scent of fear surrounding her had abated a little, enough for him not to worry about either himself or Deacon losing control, but not enough to stop her jumping at every unexpected sound. He knew part of it was shock, trauma, maybe even the same drug in her system that was in theirs. He just hoped whatever was keeping her calm enough to walk with them stayed with her until they reached Cormac and safety.
“There’s someone out there.” Deacon’s voice was a low murmur, pitched at a level Cassie would have found difficult to hear. “I can hear them moving around.” His eyes shone gold in the moonlight as he glanced to the left. “Whoever it is isn’t pack but might be wolf.”
Shaun didn’t reply, nodding acknowledgement, his attention on Cassie.
“We need to find out what Cassie saw.”
Shaun’s eyes slid sideways. “When we’re back home.”
“Shaun …”
“Not now. She’s barely hanging on. If we start questioning her now, she might run again.” Cassie stumbled beside him, and his hand flashed out to steady her. She immediately tensed at his touch, and he sighed, releasing her. “We need to get back.”
Deacon grunted and fell silent, and they continued through the darkness.
Cormac and Asher were waiting with Jaden, parked on the side of the road not far from the ridge where Shaun had first seen Jaden. Cormac was heading toward them when Shaun, Deacon and Cassie exited the tree-line. He said nothing when they met, handing Shaun a soft suit jacket which he placed carefully around Cassie’s shoulders.
“There are clothes in the pick-up,” he told them, watching as Shaun buttoned up the jacket. “Isabella and Roxie are sleeping on the backseat, try not to disturb them. I’ll watch her,” he added in response to Shaun’s concerned glance at Cassie.
Shaun nodded and loped across to the pick-up, with Deacon close behind him.
Cassie stood quietly, ignoring the tall man standing beside her, her expression vacant. Cormac waited until Shaun had his back to them, pulling on clothes, and moved to stand directly in front of her.
“Look at me, little female.” A thread of his power as an Alpha coated the words and Cassie raised her eyes to meet Cormac’s silver ones. “What do you remember?”
Cassie blinked slowly and licked her lips. “A van,” she said softly. “Voices, moans. I think I heard Gemma. Someone crying.”
“Good girl,” he praised. “What else? How did you get free?”
“I … didn’t.”
Cormac’s head tilted to the left, and the silver in his eyes brightened. “Think harder, little one. How did you end up in the forest?”
“A man. He said … said that Shaun would come for me. That … that I would see the truth … see the monster.”
“And what did this man look like?”
“I don’t know.”
“No?” Cormac’s lips turned up at the corner. “Are you sure, little female?”
“I –” Cassie swallowed. “I … no, I’m not sure.” She clutched at the lapels of the jacket and drew it closer around her. “His hair was dark. Not as long as Shaun’s, but longer than Deacon’s. He smelled funny,” she wrinkled her nose up.
“Funny how?” Shaun appeared beside Cormac and Cassie tensed, her eyes darting to him.
“Look at me, little one,” Cormac’s voice washed over her, drew her attention back to him. “The smell – describe it to me.”
“Musty … like damp dirt. I don’t know if it was him or the coat he wore.”
“Tell me about the coat.”
“It looked like one of those old fake fur ones. Old, threadbare in places.”
Cormac went still, lips thinning in anger, and Cassie shrank backwards. He immediately wiped the expression from his face.
“It’s not your fault, little female,” he soothed. Breaking eye contact, he sought out Shaun. “Get her and the others back to the house. There’s definitely a Hunter here,
and he’s using your mate as a way of drawing us out.”
“What about you?”
“Jaden and I will continue to hunt.”
“And me.” Deacon joined them. “I’m a better tracker than Jaden. And I know her scent.” His eyes flicked to Cassie and then back to his brother “I will find her.”
Cormac’s silver eyes rested on Deacon for a long silent moment, holding his brother’s gaze. Deacon’s chin lifted, his own eyes narrowing, and Cormac nodded. “So be it.” He turned, raising his voice. “Asher, take the girls and Shaun back to the house.”
Isabella and Roxie were both awake when Asher led Cassie and Shaun back to the pick-up. When Shaun opened the door and held out a hand to help Cassie in, she skirted around him and pulled herself up onto the backseat beside the two women. Shaun hesitated, watched as she pulled on the seatbelt and refused to look at him, then slammed the door shut and strode around to the front passenger side. He climbed in to find Asher already buckling his own seatbelt. The other man paused to glance over at him, his shrewd gaze taking in Shaun’s pensive expression.
“It’s a lot to take in. Give it time,” he said softly, and fired the engine.
The drive back to the house was made in silence. Asher was focused on the road while Shaun was wrapped up in his own thoughts, worrying about Cassie. The three women in the back drifted in and out of sleep.
When they drew to a stop outside the house, Cassie scrambled out of the car before Shaun could stop her. With a heavy sigh, he exited the vehicle and was about to follow her when a hand on his arm stopped him.
“She is not a Shifter, no?” Isabella’s heavily accented voice turned him around. “Cormac says you were planning on introducing her to the pack. He also said you have claimed her as your mate before asking her. That is topsy-turvy, Shaun.”
“I know.” He lifted the petite woman’s hand from his arm. “I need to make sure she’s okay.”
“No. Right now you need to give her space and time to process what she’s seen. Let me see to her.” Her lips curved up into a smile. “I’m far less intimidating than you are.” She raised a hand and patted his cheek. “You wolf males,” she chided. “Sometimes a gentler touch is required.”
“Is that what Cormac needs?” He couldn’t resist asking.
Isabella sniffed. “The Midnight Alpha needs many things; a gentle touch isn’t one of them.” And with that, she walked into the house.
Shaun shook his head with a low chuckle and turned to look at Roxie. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”
Roxie – their youngest pack female at only nineteen – gave him a wobbly smile. “Better than Scarlet, I think.”
“We’ll find them.” Asher appeared from the opposite side of the pick-up and dropped his arm across the young Shifter’s shoulders. “DJ is out there, and you know he won’t rest until he’s tracked them down. Why don’t we go and see if Shaun has any hot chocolate inside, and maybe some marshmallows?”
“I’m not twelve, Asher,” Roxie grumbled, and Asher threw a tight grin at Shaun over the top of her head as he led her inside.
When the bedroom door opened, Cassie tensed and spun around, expecting to see Shaun. Instead the exotic beauty Gemma had said was Isabella slipped through the doorway.
“I’ll understand if you would prefer me to leave,” she said, her voice rich and husky. “But I think you need a friend right now.”
“Are you one of them?” Cassie couldn’t disguise the fear in her voice.
“If, by them, you mean the Jacobs men, then obviously not. If you mean am I a wolf Shifter, then guilty as charged.” She settled gracefully on the edge of the bed and patted the space beside her. “Sit with me, Cassie. You must be tired. You ran for miles and you’re hurt.”
“It’s not possible,” Cassie whispered.
“Oh, you have no idea of what is possible. This is just the tip of a very large iceberg.” She paused, and when Cassie didn’t move from where she stood, Isabella rose to her feet. “Will you at least let me clean up that nasty cut on your leg?” She walked past Cassie and entered the bathroom, only to reappear a few minutes later with a wet cloth and a tube of antiseptic.
“You’ll learn that living with wolves, especially the males, comes with certain expectations. One of them is having to clean up bites and scratches. Sometimes our males are like children, they do like their rough and tumble games. So always keep a handy supply of bandages, antiseptics and alcohol.”
Isabella stopped in front of Cassie. “I know you’ve been through a lot tonight, but so has Shaun. While you’re thinking about everything else, you might want to keep that in mind, too.” She took Cassie’s hand and led her to the bed. “Sit down and let me look at that cut.”
Cassie gave a jerky nod and sat on the edge of the mattress. She allowed Isabella to push the edges of the jacket she wore up slightly, so she could inspect the deep gash on her thigh.
“How did it happen? Do you remember?”
“He … the man … dragged me out of the back of the van and told me I’d be b-bait, but the … the monsters would need incentive. He … he cut me and said the blood would bring them to me. Then he pushed me and told me to run. If I d-didn’t, he would kill Gemma and the other girl.” Cassie’s eyes widened. “Gemma! Have they found her?”
As Cassie spoke, Isabella cleaned the wound, then smoothed the clear gel from the tube across it. She shook her head at Cassie’s question.
“Not yet, but they won’t rest until they do.” She rose smoothly to her feet. “Pack is a little like a human family, only more … invested?” She ended the word with a small lilt to it, questioning whether it was correct. “We may not all be related through birth or mating, but when someone joins a pack, they become part of the connection between us all. If we lose one, we all feel it.” The smile she directed toward Cassie was gentle. “When a new member joins us, we feel that as well.”
She broke off as the door swung open, revealing Shaun, who hesitated in the doorway. Cassie went rigid, seeing nothing but the feral expression and blazing yellow eyes coming at her in the forest. At her reaction, he sighed.
“I need to get a change of clothes,” he said quietly, avoiding eye contact with either woman. He pulled out a t-shirt and jeans from his dresser and turned to leave. Cassie noted, absently that he didn’t take underwear.
But then, she thought, why would he? The less he wore, the less he needed to remove when he turned into a … a … A sob broke off the end of the thought, and Shaun’s eyes jerked to her.
“Cassie, I —”
Cassie twisted her head away, shutting him out, and shook her head. She missed the way his shoulders sagged and the pained expression that flitted across his face before he wiped it away, leaving behind weariness. He focused on Isabella.
“I’m going back out to meet Deke and help search. Asher is here, and Chase will be back in the morning. The rest of the pack should start turning up over the next few days. Stay close to Asher.” His eyes slid to Cassie again, and he shook his head and left them both alone in the bedroom.
“He’s gone,” Isabella said once the door had closed. Cassie glanced around, the tension easing when she realised it was only the two of them again.
“You should take a shower and try to sleep. The drug, whatever it was, had one purpose – to knock us out for long enough to be taken. It was never meant to kill. You don’t have our metabolism yet, so it’ll take your body a little longer to break it down. Sleep will help.”
“I don’t think I can sleep, not knowing there are mons –”
“We’re not monsters, Cassie. It’s unfair of you to say we are. But you have had a rough time of late, and this was not the way Shaun would have wanted you to find out about us, so rest and everything will be easier to deal with later.”
She patted Cassie’s hand and glided out of the bedroom, leaving her alone with her thoughts.
She was being chased through the forest – her heart racing, breath coming in short sharp gasps. I
f she stopped, he’d catch her. He’d kill her.
Eyes … yellow … gaining on her.
Hot breath on the back of her neck.
Claws grasping, digging into her thigh, dragging her backwards.
She cried out, kicking her legs and the grip tightened, pulling her closer and closer to the monster in the shadows.
~ Only prey runs ~ The growl reverberated through her mind – a promise and a threat.
Only prey runs … only prey runs … only ….
She skidded to a stop, stumbled, saw claws reaching for her ….
She landed on something warm, something solid, something which wrapped around her, held her close.
Warm breath brushed against her temple, fingers drifted lightly down her arm.
“Shhhh, don’t be afraid of me.” A voice whispered to her, one she should fear. One of the monsters, but …
A mouth touched hers, tongue flicking out to sweep across the seam of her lips.
“Let me in.” The voice, like whiskey and caramel, caressed her skin and she felt his fingers stroke down her body, seeking out the place she needed him most. “Just one more taste ….”
Cassie’s eyes snapped open and she lay still, the sun shining through a gap in the curtains, panting. Between her thighs was an ache of unsatisfied longing, and she groaned, pressing her legs together to try and force it away. Rolling onto her side, she buried her face into the pillow and took a deep breath.
Shaun’s cologne – that dark, woodsy scent she’d never smelled on anyone else – assailed her nostrils, and she bit her lip, the ache between her thighs intensifying. The image of him as she’d seen him in the forest – yellow eyes, lips curled back as he’d prowled toward her, intense, focused, deadly … sexy. No! Not sexy… scary! – flashed through her mind. In the cold light of day, she questioned whether what she had seen had been real or the drug that had been coursing through her veins.
Could whoever had taken them used some type of hallucinogen on them? Convinced her to see things that weren’t there? Shaun hadn’t actually hurt her, after all. In fact, he’d asked her, begged her not to run repeatedly. She rolled onto her back with a groan, remembering how she’d dismissed him from the bedroom the night before. Her mind drifted back to her dream. It had been his voice she’d dreamt about, his tongue, his touch. Her nipples peaked, and heat flooded her.