by Sarra Cannon
“You’re looking at the future alpha of North Ridge pack.” The ass had the nerve to say it with a perfectly straight face.
Cocky son of a bitch. Zack sniffed and got a lungful of raw wolf power. But it was all bulk and bluster, no brains or balls.
“Give it a break, Jed,” Rae muttered, crossing her arms over her chest.
Jed? Zack’s wolf bristled. Who the hell is Jed?
A good thing he had arrived in time, before…before… Well, he didn’t want to imagine what this ass wanted with Rae. Only that it wasn’t good, and she sure as hell didn’t want any part of it. That much was crystal clear.
His pulse spiked a little higher just in seeing her again. It had only been a couple of days, but the ache for her had only gotten worse. He’d been rushing through this tracking job as fast as he could. Normally, it was the opposite with him: he loved the feeling of being out in the desert alone.
Except this time, something felt off. The minute he left the ranch on this assignment, he had the feeling he’d forgotten something in that timeworn shack he called home.
Something. Maybe even someone.
Zack told himself it wasn’t her, but the minute he did, his wolf got all worked up again, pulling him away from duty and back to her. So he’d tracked his ass off to hurry up and get the job done. So far, he’d tracked and gotten rid of three intruders. Two had the good sense to run off, while the third was stupid enough to think that he might best an angry werewolf on his home turf.
That one was dead.
He’d had a fourth in his sights when the call came. Rae had been reported missing on the ranch, and old Tyrone was throwing a fit.
“She’s run off,” the old alpha snarled into the phone. “Track her. Find her. Bring her back.”
Zack didn’t like the alpha’s urgency. Audrey had once taken off for three weeks when she’d hooked up with a passing trucker and no one had blinked an eye. So why the three-bell alarm when Rae had only been gone for a couple of hours?
Why did she merit the special attention? Was she the daughter of another alpha, maybe? She didn’t seem like the type. Too flighty. Too defensive. Too damn modest.
He just didn’t get it. But he did as he was told and dropped everything to track her—which was easy, as it turned out. She’d been in his general area, and it wasn’t like he could miss her scent once he was tuned in to it. He’d picked it up from miles away; there was something regal and Old World in it. Then it was just a case of racing after her. That was one of the advantages of his Harley—the one useful thing his father had ever left him, even if it had been half-wrecked at the time.
The crazy thing was, he’d not only found Rae, but another trespasser, too. This jerk, Jed.
“Future alpha, huh?” Zack asked, unimpressed.
Jed puffed his chest out another inch. “Got that right.”
If it were just him and the intruder, Zack would have launched straight into a fight, even if he knew it meant risking death. Jed might not know much, but he obviously knew how to fight. Big, young, and cocky added up to danger in its own way, and Jed had the brash confidence of a young gun who’d yet to be put in his place.
Zack would have been happy to do just that, even if meant the fight of his life. But Rae was standing right beside him, and prudence held him back from launching into flesh-tearing violence. Right now, it was better to keep his cool and go for the diplomatic solution.
He could always kill the motherfucker later.
The prospect was tempting, given the way the ass was crowding Rae. Like he owned her. Like she was his.
Zack’s wolf growled. Mine!
He superimposed an even tone over the low rumble in his chest. “Well, future alpha of North Ridge pack, you’re trespassing on Twin Moon territory.”
Jed threw his head back and laughed. “This ain’t pack territory.”
Zack lifted an eyebrow. The right one. “You sure about that?”
Jed’s cool gaze lost its edge. Definitely not the brightest bulb because they were on ranch property, but the far outer fringes. There was no one here to contest his intrusion but Zack. Not that he was going to tell Jed that.
“Of course,” Zack started, “we can fight here and now and solve this.”
“We will,” Jed growled and stepped closer. “And I will wipe your sorry ass straight into the dust.”
Try me, his wolf snarled.
“Right,” he said calmly. “Let’s say you do. Then the whole pack will be on your ass, and the lady here will be less than impressed.”
Jed’s eyes slid to Rae, and for a moment Zack saw something like affection there. The question was whether the affection was for the woman or a lunatic’s cocky vision of the future. Either way, he wanted those eyes off Rae and on him.
You touch her, I kill you. He hurled the words out, straight from his mind to Jed’s.
Let Jed know exactly who he was dealing with. Let him show a little respect. That’s what it always came down to. Respect.
He knew he had it when Jed’s chin whipped over to him, eyes registering surprise. Bull’s-eye. Now he really had the man off-balance; it was a rare shifter who could reach the mind of a complete stranger.
Maybe we should try that trick with Tyrone someday, his coyote snickered.
Zack ignored him. It was time to get Rae out of Dodge. Keeping a firm eye on Jed, Zack tilted his head just enough for Rae to get the message: Get on the bike. His mind was already calculating—he could get her back to the ranch within a couple of hours, then turn around and chase this ass down. Because sooner or later, Jed would come back for another try at Rae. And Zack would be right there to intercept him.
He threw a leg over the bike and nodded Rae onto the back. The crazy woman had to detour to grab her quiver of arrows out of the car first, which had him steaming, but once she slipped into place behind him, his innards went all warm at the barrage of sensations. Her thighs, clamped around his hips. Her breath, tickling his ear. The soft flesh of her breasts, pressing against his back. And most of all, that scent, like a whole season was clinging to her shoulders, ready for a wild ride.
Thunder clapped in the distance, snapping him out of his trance. The storm was close. Very close. He started the engine with a sharp kick and took off. Originally, he’d been thinking to head back to the highway, but the hills were a better place to take shelter, and he knew just the place to go.
His wolf hummed in recognition. The cozy little cabin tucked in behind Scarecrow Mesa?
Yes, that would be just the place.
Chapter 11
They reached the cabin just after sunset and just seconds before the rain hit. Rae ran straight into the cabin, holding the door for Zack. He pushed the bike under the overhang of the porch then whisked right up to her, and they stood side by side, watching the storm break.
She’d never seen anything like it, not in Nevada, not in Colorado. The front edge of the clouds rolled and twisted, while thin dark tendrils reached ahead of the mass like scouts. It was menacing. Powerful. Thrilling, too.
Only part of her attention was on the storm, though. The rest was on Zack, standing shoulder to shoulder with her while the thunder rumbled. His chest rose and fell as if he wanted to fight this intruder, too.
She breathed him in as if she hadn’t been doing that for the past hour, half an inch away from his neck while the motorcycle throbbed between her legs. At first, she’d done it to settle her fears, because Jed was back after all this time. A crazy man on a mission—and he wanted her in on it. She’d been so absorbed in thinking ahead to her hunt that she let Jed sneak right up on her. Her worst nightmare come true.
So she’d nestled deeper between Zack’s broad shoulder blades and inhaled the thick scent of his leather jacket. Concentrated on the light curl of saddle-brown hair behind his ears, the steady heartbeat. Bit by bit, the anxiety faded and was replaced by another emotion aroused by the heat of his body, the pulse of the powerful engine.
Desire.
&
nbsp; At least her nose had had the good grace to keep a tiny distance because what her arms and legs had been up to under the guise of hanging on was positively scandalous. His heat pulled her in, inviting her hands to slip into his jacket pockets and trace everything underneath. Like the thick layers of muscle stretched diagonally over his ribs. Like the mogul course of his abdomen. Like the waistband of his jeans—
Thunder shattered the air, and she fought the urge to flinch.
“After you,” Zack tilted his head toward the cabin doorway.
“After you.” She tilted right back, trying to keep her cool even with her mind still swimming in the sensation of him snug between her legs.
He arched one perfect eyebrow, and she held her breath. This was it. Either the alpha in him would show his true colors, or he’d prove himself able to give and take.
A stubborn silence ensued. The air around them crackled as the next stroke of lightning gathered its energy. She could feel the power building, building, waiting to snap.
One corner of Zack’s mouth twitched, and he headed in.
She exhaled, long and shaky, then followed. A lightning clap exploded, chasing her over the threshold. Right up to his chest.
Zack was looking at her, wondering, perhaps, what demands she’d place on him next. There was only so far an alpha wolf could be pushed. So she took a step back and nodded at the rafters, pretending she hadn’t noticed the king-size bed that took up most of the tidy space. “Nice place.”
He smiled a small, secret smile, the first she’d ever seen on her dark knight. If she hadn’t been steeling herself to resist at all costs, it would have been devastating. A curl of those perfect lips, a crinkle in the corner of his eye, and the briefest flash of white teeth. Part of her heart melted right there, wondering what this man would look like if he had a little more joy in his life.
She forced away a lump in her throat. What would it feel like to be the one to help him find joy—not just in tiny doses on stormy nights but in broad daylight, too? Joy he couldn’t shrug off as belonging to someone else. The man was a mystery, equal parts unassailable alpha and humble refugee.
“The pack has a few cabins scattered around. Just in case,” he said, nodding around the cozy space.
She leaned her bow in a corner, making sure to place the quiver at just the right angle for quick action. Just in case, the stubbornest part of her insisted—the same part that said men were not to be trusted. She’d had a prime example of that not an hour ago with Jed. So what was she doing letting her guard down with Zack?
Lightning illuminated the single room in three distinct flashes, chased by a mighty clap of thunder. The storm was right over them now, surging with power.
“How’d you know where I was, anyway?”
He shrugged, like finding her in a couple hundred square miles was child’s play. “I’m a tracker. I track.”
Anything on two feet, she remembered Jean saying. And zing—there it was again, that tingle in her heart. But her mind snagged on the first words and played them back.
“Wait. Why were you after me, anyway?”
As soon as she said it, she wanted to rephrase the sentence, just so he couldn’t get any ideas. But he was already breaking into a mischievous grin that had the power to slay every dragon of her resistance. Maybe she should get him off the ranch more often. He seemed freer here, more at peace.
She leaned in, wanting more of that look, then froze at what she found. Deep in his eyes lurked a wolf, and the green shone with resolve.
I would come for you, the wolf said, through a thousand fiery hells.
That look went on for an eternity, and she wondered if she’d ever break free. Wondered if she even wanted to. Everything about him was honest and sincere and strong, a promise that wrapped around her like a high, defensive wall. But then thunder clapped again and Zack blinked the look away. He mumbled something to himself and pulled a phone from his pocket.
He dialed, held it up to his ear, and studied her. “What were you thinking, coming out here on your own?”
She opened her mouth, thought a second, then closed it. How much to tell him? How much to trust?
He lowered the phone and studied the display. “Shit.” He squinted at her, like she’d hexed it or something. “No reception.” His eyes bored deeper. “Why did you run away from the ranch?”
She huffed. “Can’t a woman decide to hunt for a day or two without being accused of running away?”
“Hunt?” The way his eyes gleamed, she was sure his wolf liked the sound of the word.
A second ticked by, then another.
“You shouldn’t be out here alone,” he said, stepping so close she had to tilt her head back to keep her eyes locked on his. The heat of him embraced her, pulling her even closer.
I’m not alone, not any more, she wanted to say. Wanted to run a hand along the contours of his abdomen, too.
“You sound like someone I know,” she said, surprised at the bitter edge in her voice.
Zack fixed her with a deep, dark look that said her comment had cut deep. “I will never be like him,” he said, punctuating each syllable. Every sentence the man uttered was an oath: that he’d never be like Tyrone, the overbearing alpha, nor like Jed, who took without asking, nor any other alpha she’d ever known. He was Zack, no more, no less.
“I know,” she whispered, bowing her head so low, it touched her chest. But he was already shunning her, turning to the window to study the emptiness outside.
The emptiness inside, something whispered from the depths of her mind. That’s what he was seeing.
Her wolf cursed inside. Why do you keep pushing him away?
Because a man can steal my freedom, croaked a voice from deep within her scarred memories.
This man can give us freedom, her wolf snarled back. And we can give him his.
At that moment, it felt as though they were both out in the open, being buffeted by the storm. The cabin stood in the eye of one of those electrifying desert storms that filled the sky with raw power without offering the relief of rain. The clouds were swirling, building, heaving all around, kneading her emotions.
Trust. That was the issue. Was she capable of it, even for just one night? Zack had come after her. Not to drag her away, as Jed would have, but to protect her. What was the malice in that?
Lightning lit the downcast face of the man before her. Thunder clapped right on its heels, nearly on top of them now, but Zack didn’t flinch, not even as the walls shook with the power of the storm.
Some spark of lightning must have leaped over to Rae then, because her lips tingled the way they had when he’d kissed her what seemed like ages before. The feeling raced along her synapses, igniting something in her soul. Maybe it didn’t have to be one or the other: her freedom or a man. Maybe for once, she could give herself the freedom to take a man—a real man, an alpha. Like Zack, who promised her everything while asking for nothing.
Her wolf gave a long, lustygrrrr.
Tomorrow, she’d have plenty of time to be alone. Her whole life had been spent alone. So why not give herself this one night, far from the reach of the pack?
One short step and she was at his side, a hand resting on his waist. Layers of muscle, one chiseled over another, bundled around his torso like overlapping sheets of armor. She wanted to feel his arms around her the way she’d had hers around him on the motorcycle.
Trust. She pulled it around her like a blanket and then tugged the edge over toward him. With one quick inhale, she was on her toes, reaching for his brow with her fingers. No, with her lips. Because she wanted more than a broken-off kiss, stolen between two heartbeats. She wanted more of this man.
All of him, if only for tonight.
Chapter 12
Zack had given up counting the beats between sledgehammer blows of thunder and flashes of lightning. At some point, one had caught up with the other; they were right on top of each other now, cracking directly overhead.
If only his
brain could catch up to his body the same way. Because the more Rae melted into him, the harder he grew. His shoulders pulled back, his stomach knotted, his cock pushed at the confines of his jeans. He was a rock, but she was the stream, running gently over him with a soothing touch. He wanted to dive right in.
Deep in, the coyote in him growled.
While his body raced away on wild fantasies, screaming for the woman at his side, his brain muddled along in a fog. He was stuck, immobile, unable to react.
Off-limits, his mind said. She’s way, way off-limits.
Didn’t stop his heartbeat from jumping as she inched closer, though.
Thunder rattled the windowpanes, yet her breath tickling his ear had a greater impact on him. He struggled to keep his breathing steady, not to give anything away. Why did he feel so out of control?
Because she’s so close! The coyote grinned inside.
So close that every rivet in his mental armor was creaking under the pressure to break free.
Take her! Take her now!his wolf howled.
In that moment, it was easy to believe the old stories. Maybe there really was such a thing as a destined mate. Not that destiny had spent a lot of time visiting Twin Moon Ranch in the past century, or so much as spat in his direction. But maybe the drought was over. Maybe even a guy like him—a mutt, the product of an empty union—could get that lucky.
Lightning flashed, illuminating the harsh truths concealed amidst the desert landscape. He could see them cowering out there. Truth, like the fact that a life lived alone was empty. Truth, that good enough was not enough, not for his restless soul.
Truth, that the path to his future lay not in the barrens but right at his side. His future was her.
For all that lightning tried to tell one tale, though, thunder told a different story. Each roar was like the stomp of an insistent foot. Duty! Duty!
Every member of the pack had a duty and Zack knew his. He was supposed to bring Rae back to the ranch. He was supposed to protect her, not get carried away with crazy ideas.
“Zack,” she whispered, running a hand over his shoulder.