by J. D. Tyler
Numbly, he walked past her and out the bedroom door. Kept going, all the way outside to his motorcycle, where he sat and stared at her house for long moments. A tear trailed down his face, and he wiped it away with his sleeve. Trying to keep it together.
Failing.
Cranking the bike, Micah sped away from the house. From the loss tearing out his insides. He ran from his ruined life, the destruction of his hopes and dreams. With the Pack, with his mate.
And so he didn’t see the shifter with the huge wings swoop down from the sky, talons extended, intent clear. Nick couldn’t scream. Couldn’t warn Micah of the danger.
The creature hit Micah from the side, hard, knocking him from the speeding motorcycle. Micah went airborne, flying through the air for awful seconds—until he slammed headfirst into a tree. Falling to the ground in a crumpled heap, head at an unnatural angle, he stared into the sky. Struggled to breathe.
And then stopped, brown eyes fixing on a point he could no longer see.
And that wasn’t all. Another vision hummed at the edge of Nick’s awareness and slid slowly into his consciousness like a snake through tall grass.
A predator watched from the shadows, seething with hatred. He was careful, keeping himself hidden. Always hiding in the shadows. No one could see what he’d become.
But the one who’d done this would pay. He would see.
And he would die.
Nick stood, shaking off the exhaustion. Micah’s fate hadn’t changed, but it would. It had to. He hadn’t lost one of his men yet.
And he damn well wasn’t going to start now.
Four
A real date.
Almost giddy, Jacee dug through her small closet and discarded one top after another. She felt like a silly teenager, trying to find the perfect thing to wear in order to please Micah, when deep down she sensed he wouldn’t care. Even if he wasn’t scarred, she didn’t believe he’d be hung up on appearances.
But she still wanted to please him, and twenty minutes later, she finally settled on a short-sleeved blue blouse that contrasted nicely with her dark hair. Then, wanting to show that she owned more than just the jeans and cowboy boots she wore at the bar, she pulled on a pair of breezy black capris and slipped her feet into a pair of black sandals.
In the tiny bathroom, she put on minimal makeup, not nearly as much as she wore at the Grizzly. She stared at herself for a few minutes, fretting over that some. Again with the appearances. But the Jacee who flirted and made nice with the customers at the bar, who wore tight jeans, low-cut tops, and heavier war paint, wasn’t who she really was on her own time.
No, she was a simple girl. She liked to think of herself as a nice person who wanted someone to see the real her. Not the made-up slut a lot of folks no doubt believed her to be. Especially Jax and his buddies.
That thought made her cringe. Even more, the idea of what Micah would think or do when he found out that his future mate used to sleep with one of his Pack made her sick to her stomach. She had harbored some feelings for Jax at one time, so it hadn’t been just sex on her part. But it had been on his, and he’d never made any promises. She’d known their brief fling couldn’t last, and yet she’d let it go on until he met his mate.
Who knew how long she would’ve continued to cling to a man she’d known wasn’t hers? Until she finally met Micah, which it turned out was inevitable. God, that was what embarrassed her more than anything. To realize how lonely she’d been, so much so that she’d been willing to sacrifice her self-respect to stave it off, even for just a while.
Micah would understand. She hoped.
Enough of that. Tonight was about new beginnings, and it seemed both of them deserved to be happy. Leaving her hair loose, she left the bathroom and made sure she had her small cross-body purse, wallet, and keys ready to go.
A few seconds later, she heard an engine and the crunch of tires on the driveway out front. Peeking out through the blinds, she was surprised to see a sleek black two-door Mercedes coup parked there. The driver’s door opened, and Micah got out and stood—and Jacee’s mouth watered.
He wore dark jeans, which hugged his thighs and sex like a glove. An emerald green button-down shirt emphasized his strong shoulders and chest; it was tucked in, showing off his trim waist. Dark coffee-colored hair fell in layers to his collar and around his handsome face. Yes, handsome to her even with the scars. She wondered if he wore his hair longer to obscure some of it or if he just preferred the style.
As he started up the steps to her porch, she went to the door and flung it open before he even got the chance to knock or ring the bell.
He smiled, happiness lighting his eyes. “You look beautiful.”
“Thanks,” she said. “You look gorgeous yourself. Want to come in?”
“Sure.”
Stepping inside, he immediately gathered her in a hug. He felt so good and warm, she wrapped her arms around him, pressing her check against his shoulder. Just stood there getting the feel of his body against hers. And it felt pretty damn nice.
“Is this okay?” he asked.
“More than.” She smiled. “You smell good.”
“So do you.”
“Mmm.” Pulling back slightly, she tilted her face up for a kiss. He wasted no time giving her what she wanted.
His mouth was every bit as delicious as she remembered, but fresh and minty with a hint of toothpaste. Her tongue stroked his and he moaned, the vibration making her tingle all over. She found she liked being the cause of those sounds from him, and did it again.
Chuckling, he put a bit of space between them. “If you don’t stop, we’ll never make it to dinner.”
“And your point is?” she teased.
“As tempting as it is to stay here and have dessert first, I want to prove I’m a nice guy. I’m not just out for your hot body.” Grinning, he winked.
He looked so much like a mischievous boy, she laughed. “I already think you’re a nice guy. But I am hungry, so shall we?”
“You bet.”
They stepped outside, and she locked the house. Then he escorted her to the car, where he opened the passenger’s door and helped her inside. It seemed chivalry wasn’t totally dead, contrary to rumor, and she liked that. A lot.
Almost as though reading her mind, he said, “My mother raised me to treat a woman with respect. That means opening doors, paying the tab, running to get the car when it’s pouring rain, bringing her soup in bed when she’s sick—you name it. If any of this is going to be an issue, it’s best to get it on the table now.” He quirked a brow playfully at her as he backed out of her driveway.
“Well, we’ll have to negotiate on you always paying the tab,” she informed him pertly. “I work and I can pay, too. And I’ll take care of my mate any way I see fit, when he’s sick or not.”
“Hmm. I can work with that.”
As he turned off her street, he reached out with his right hand and held hers. That simple act sent a wave of joy through her so fierce, it was dizzying. How long had it been since she’d done something so pleasurable with a man that had nothing to do with getting naked? This touch was about companionship, getting to know each other. It was pure and good.
She had so desperately needed that in her life, and fate had sent Micah.
“So, does your mother live in Wyoming?” she asked.
He shook his head. “She lived in Los Angeles, California, where my sister, Rowan, was a cop with the LAPD. Mom passed away a few years ago from cancer.”
“I’m so sorry.” She squeezed his hand.
“Me, too. She was a great mother, did everything she could to raise me and Rowan up right. We lived in a barrio on the East Side and didn’t have much, especially after our dad took off when we were little, but she gave us all she could.”
“You grew up in a barrio?” She couldn’t help being curious about his background.
He nodded. “Mom was a legal immigrant from Mexico. She met my dad in LA, and he moved in with her.
He was a white man, good-looking, but looks couldn’t save his wicked soul, she used to say. Guess she was right.”
“Then you take after your mom, because I don’t sense an ounce of bad in you.”
He looked startled for a moment, then huffed a laugh. “I hope you’re right.”
That seemed like an odd response. What did he mean by that? Delving deeper would probably make things awkward at this early stage, however, so she let it drop.
They rode in comfortable silence the rest of the way to the restaurant, which was only a few short minutes. He parked in front of a nice steak-and-seafood place she’d seen only from the outside, and shut off the ignition.
“Is this all right?” he asked, turning to her. “I found it online, and the reviews were good. It’s supposed to have great food with a higher-end menu, but not so fancy that you need to dress up or make reservations.”
It struck her that he really wanted this evening to be nice and to make a good impression. She leaned in and gave him a soft kiss. “It’s perfect. I can’t wait to try it.”
“That’s good. I was afraid you’d already been here and maybe didn’t like the place. But I wanted to surprise you.”
“No worries.”
They got out, and he held her hand as they walked inside. He gave the hostess his name, and they were immediately shown to a candlelit table in a secluded corner.
“I thought you didn’t have to have reservations?” She studied him as he sat beside her.
“Right, but I wasn’t leaving anything to chance.”
That warmed her inside, and she melted. The waiter brought their menus and took their drink orders. He ordered a beer, while she asked for a glass of red wine. That decided, she focused on her man.
“So, I half expected you to drive up to my house on your Harley, plop me on the back, whisk me into the sunset, and enjoy burgers and beers on a patio somewhere.”
“Oh, we’ll do that. Don’t you worry. Probably more often than not, because I don’t eat like this every night, I’m sorry to say.”
“That sure clashes with the image of the Mercedes. That’s a ‘steak every night’ kind of car if I ever saw one.”
“Isn’t it? I don’t live very high on the hog, though. I just love the car. Bought it with my settlement money from the Navy.”
“You were in the Navy?”
“I was a SEAL,” he confirmed. Looking around, he lowered his voice and met her gaze again. “Like a lot of my team was, before we were turned.”
That part was a shock. Quickly, she, too, made sure nobody was in their vicinity to overhear. “You’re not a born wolf?” she whispered.
“Nope. There are only two-natural born ones at the compound—Nick Westfall, my commander, and his daughter, Selene.”
“I’ve met Selene, when she first came to town.” Time for a confession. “She wasn’t a happy camper back then, and she realized what I am. I didn’t want anyone to know, and she knew that, too. She put some pressure on me to tell her what I’d heard about your team. So I told her what I knew, which wasn’t much.”
Micah’s eyes widened, and he whistled softly. “Wow. What did you learn about us?”
“I have great hearing, and you know why. I’d picked up pieces of your conversations at the Grizzly and put them together enough to find out that you guys weren’t running any kind of regular research facility, and your team is black ops of some sort. And that you’re wolves, and Kalen is a panther.”
“Thanks for telling me.”
“Your commander won’t be happy when he finds out.”
Micah laughed, and the reason soon became clear. “He might know already. He’s not just a born wolf. He’s a rare white breed, and a PreCog.”
She gaped at him. “You’re kidding.”
“No. His white coat signifies his status among his kind as a Seer. So, basically, he knows stuff. Sometimes stuff we don’t want him to know.”
That made her laugh. The waiter brought their drinks and took their order. Jacee went for a filet mignon and Micah asked for a big ribeye, both with salads and baked potatoes. Her stomach rumbled just thinking about the meal, but the real feast was right in front of her eyes.
Micah told her some about growing up, and she was surprised to find out that he was actually two years younger than his sister, Rowan. Jacee had trouble thinking of him as the “little” brother when the fine specimen of a man with her was anything but small. As he related tales of him and Rowan getting into trouble in the barrio as teens, she enjoyed observing his expression and his mannerisms when he spoke. He was so animated and funny.
“Rowan was always much more of a hellion than me,” he asserted smugly. “It’s a wonder she turned out to be a cop. Mama was sure she’d end up in juvie, especially after she stole twenty packages of hot dogs from the grocery store.”
“But you were the perfect child?”
“Of course!”
“I’ll bet. What the heck did she do with that many packages of hot dogs?”
“Did you know you can draw on a hot dog with a Sharpie?”
“Um, no,” she said with a giggle.
“Well, you can. Rowan had me help her draw googly faces on all the wieners, and then we stuck them in all the neighbors’ mailboxes and on their front porches.”
“Oh, my God! Didn’t you get in trouble, too?”
“Sure, I did. But I didn’t know she’d stolen them, even though Mama smacked me in the head and yelled at me to use my brain, and where the hell did I think she’d gotten two hundred wieners?”
Jacee snickered. The image was pretty humorous. “How did she get them out of the store?”
“She didn’t. She pinched them off the delivery truck in the alley behind the store after the guy ducked inside for a few minutes. Mama was so pissed, she marched us down there and made Rowan confess, and me, too, for my part in the escapade. We had to scrub floors and stock shelves for a week to pay for the defiled dogs.”
Jacee couldn’t help but laugh out loud, and the waiter arrived at that moment with their food. He gave them an indulgent smile, served up, and after seeing if they needed anything else, disappeared. They ate companionably, and she basked in being near Micah. At one point she noticed he didn’t seem to be eating as much as he should, but she didn’t think more of it because he seemed fine.
They chatted for the rest of their meal, and if Micah had noticed that she hadn’t divulged any history about her family, he didn’t mention it. She was grateful. She loved her family still, but talking about them was hard. Emotional. And she didn’t want anything to spoil this lovely dinner.
They each had another drink and sipped for a while, but declined dessert, being too full. After they were done, he paid the tab, as promised, refusing to allow her to even get the tip. Even Jax, as nice a man as he was, had never bought her a meal. Never paid her much attention. She was beginning to adore Micah.
Outside, he helped her into the car again, and they were soon on their way. He drove in silence for a few minutes, and she noted they were headed out of town, in the direction of his compound. Night had fallen, and the sky was clear, twinkling with stars.
“You still up for that run? Or, if you’re too full, we can just walk.”
“A run sounds great, actually.” Her coyote yipped in agreement. “I need to burn off all that energy from that great food.”
“I know the perfect place. We won’t go all the way to the compound, but we’ll go for our run in an area not too far from it. There’re other places we can go, but for miles around our facility, the land is warded.”
She peered at his profile in the darkness. “Warded?”
“By a protection spell. Kalen is a Sorcerer and Necromancer. He’s quite powerful, and he placed a ward around the grounds a while back when we were having trouble with an Unseelie King and his Sluagh. And before you ask, the Sluagh are fallen Seelie who went over to the dark side, so to speak. They used to be beautiful Fae, then chose to ‘fall’ and serve the evil
Unseelie, and so their beauty was taken from them. They become mindless drones, their only purpose to do what the Unseelie king says—which is usually to maim and kill.”
She shuddered. “That’s horrible. Those things aren’t around anymore, I hope.”
“No. The ones the Pack didn’t kill were sent back across the plane, into their own world. Hopefully never to cross again. Especially since Kalen killed their previous king, Malik.”
“Holy crap. Kalen must be all kinds of badass to kill an Unseelie king.”
“Yeah. He gets his power honest—Malik was his father.”
“Damn! Shades of Luke and Darth, anyone?”
“For real. Not only that, Kalen has a half brother at the compound as well. His name is Sariel, nicknamed Blue, and he’s the former Seelie prince who was cast out because the court found out Malik was his father, too. Fortunately for us, while extremely powerful, both of Malik’s sons are inherently good. They’re only bad when they need to be. Hopefully Kalen’s son, Kai, will follow in their footsteps and take after them, not his grandfather.”
“Oh? How old is Kai?”
“Only a couple of months. Cute little bugger, too. His mother is Kalen’s mate, Dr. Mackenzie Grant. He’s got his Uncle Blue wrapped around his little finger, and Blue absolutely hates handing him over to the new nanny when they’re all busy working.”
“I’ll bet. Gosh, that’s an interesting group you live with.”
“You have no idea.”
It occurred to her then that she would get to know all of his friends, too. Micah was her mate, and it was probable that she’d have to go to live on the compound with him eventually. That thought gave her a sudden jolt. Leave her home, her garden? She’d worked so hard for the things she had.
But they were just things. Objects. Nothing could replace a mate and that precious bond.
The Shoshone rose around them, the trees dark sentries against the sky. To a human, perhaps the sight might have been creepy, but her coyote was right at home and itching to run in the moonlight. Micah steered the car down a secluded road for a couple of miles, then pulled over into a turnabout and parked.