by Meg Ripley
15
Alex
To pull off something as huge as stopping the She Devils’ ride, we needed backup. I talked to Sawyer earlier in the day and he called a clan meeting for that night. Roxy and I ran together, both in animal form, to Sawyer’s house.
When we got there, we kept in the shadows for privacy and shifted back, dressing from the sack I’d carried along. I made sure to face away from Roxy, knowing that if I saw her naked, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from touching her. My body tingled all over with the memory of what her skin felt like on mine.
When we were both dressed, we walked together toward the house. I had the urge to reach over and grab her hand, but I resisted. Affection like that would indicate something more than friendship between us. When I looked over at her, she smiled back.
Inside, several of my clan mates sat around Sawyer’s living room table, and when we joined them, I introduced everyone. Once we got some general small talk out of the way, Roxy explained to them what was going on and what had to be done.
“I’m glad you found this out,” Sawyer said. “I hate to think what might have happened.”
Wyatt added, “We’re going to need to add some kind of permanent security. Put up a fence and only let people in at certain times.”
“Right, but first we need to find a way to stop this ride,” I said. “I have some details that we’ll need to consider.”
I opened my notepad and gave them the distance from the main road to the cave, how fast the bikers are estimated to travel, and the predicted time of the ride.
I spread a map out on the table. “These are the two places the trail can be entered. It’s a dirt trail with many bends and twists, so that should slow the bikes down some.”
“We can shut the trail down early in the day,” Sawyer suggested. “Then have teams of Rangers at each entrance and along the trail.”
“Set up blockades before the cave on both sides,” Wyatt added.
“What we really need,” Roxy pointed out, “is tack strips. That’s the only thing that will stop them for sure.”
Sawyer raised his eyebrows. “Really? That’s not a bad idea.”
“We’ll have to post a warning,” Wyatt said. “It’s the law.”
Roxy shrugged. “They don’t pay attention to that sort of thing, so it’s perfect.”
We worked out the details of who would be stationed where and when. The plan came together easily, but I still felt like something was missing. Elijah, who probably knew me the best, seemed to pick up on it.
“What else do we need to do?” Elijah asked, looking at me.
“I’m not sure.” I scratched my chin as I looked over the plan again.
“It’s a good plan,” Roxy said. “It’ll work.”
I shook my head, realizing what the problem was. “Here’s the thing. It’ll work perfectly, as long as the date and time are correct. What if they change things? What if someone decides to make an earlier ride to check things out?”
We all looked at each other.
“We need some form of permanent security, anyhow,” Wyatt said. “There’s no reason not to put in place what we can ASAP. We’ll just need the funds approved to station someone out there at all times.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Sawyer assured him. “There’s a lot of support for the protection of those bats. In fact, I’m sure several of the organizations will be thrilled to see more security measures put in place.”
The knot in my chest eased some. “And let’s add in a protocol to call for backup immediately. If a group shows up, we can have people in place in time.”
“I can arrange that,” Wyatt said.
“Then I think we’re all set.” I looked to Roxy. “Anything else?”
“What will happen to them?” she asked. “The She Devils who get caught. How major of an offense is this?” She looked to Wyatt.
“Depends. If they show up and leave when told to, nothing will really happen. If they refuse to leave, they could be fined for breaking curfew and trespassing, but that’s a misdemeanor. But if they bypass everything and get to the cave, if they cause any harm, it could be major. Harming an endangered species on federal property is a felony.”
I watched Roxy’s reaction as she nodded slowly. “Can we post a sign somewhere that warns people of that? Maybe if they understand that they could go away for a long time, they’ll reconsider.”
“Absolutely,” Wyatt agreed. “I’ll get that in place as soon as I can.”
Sawyer stood at the head of the table. “This has been an extremely productive meeting. I feel good about this.”
“Me, too,” I said. I looked at Roxy expectantly.
She smiled at me and nodded.
“So,” Sawyer clapped his hands together, “now that the work is done, shall we have a little fun?”
We stayed for several hours, just sitting around and chatting, drinking some beers. Roxy seemed very comfortable. I’d have to talk to her later to make sure, but she joined in the conversation, and it seemed to me that my clan mates liked her in return.
When the time grew late and the group dispersed, I walked out back with her.
“I’m glad you could meet the guys,” I said.
She laughed. “Yeah. They’re pretty cool.”
“Really?” I raised an eyebrow. She’d made fun of my friends in the past.
“Yes, really.” She playfully shoved my shoulder. “Much cooler than you.”
I put my hand to my chest. “Ouch. But hey. If you’re the coolest one and you hang out with me, that makes me cool by default.”
She rolled her eyes. “If that’s the only way you can be cool, I guess you’ll just have to hang out with me all the time.”
My mouth pulled into a half smile. “Works for me.”
“Okay, teddy bear.” She tapped her finger to my nose. “See you tomorrow?”
“You know it.”
She turned from me and took her clothes off, but once again, I looked away. My throat still went dry knowing she was naked and so close to me. In wolf form, she gave a little yip of a goodbye and scampered off. I watched her go for a moment before shifting and heading home myself.
It wasn’t quiet in my head for long.
Oooh-eee! Wyatt said. You guys have got it bad.
How can you say that? I challenged.
I’ve never seen you so jittery, Elijah added.
Jittery? I thought I’d been my usual calm self.
Like she was giving off electricity, and you were standing too close, Elijah said.
A-ha! Wyatt exclaimed. I know what it is. You slept with her, didn’t you?
My face went hot with embarrassment and I pounded my feet harder against the ground.
That’s what I reckoned, Wyatt said.
I didn’t even respond yet!
You didn’t have to, he said.
Fine. You figured it out, I admitted. So what?
That’s great, Elijah said. I’m happy for you. It’s about time you found your mate.
I’m not convinced we’re fated, though.
How can you possibly say that? Wyatt laughed. You are in extreme denial.
We just have a lot of differences, I explained.
So? Who doesn’t? Elijah asked. You think Valentina and I don’t have our differences?
Believe me, Wyatt said, even knowing her my whole life, there are plenty of things Glory and I don’t see eye to eye on.
Being fated doesn’t mean you’ll have no conflict, Elijah went on. It just means that you’ll overcome it and your love will keep things in perspective.
Time will tell if we are, I said. I have no need to rush things and neither does she. She’s not ready for something right now. And I don’t want to take the chance that my one’s still out there.
Wyatt sighed. One of these days you’ll see it.
All week at work, I was very careful to stay friendly with Roxy. I didn’t want things to start feeling like a relationship, but I
didn’t want to lose the lightness we’d had between us. Our work on the trail progressed quickly. Roxy seemed to have given up her focus on making it the best ride for the bikers. She’d said at one point, “If they’re not going to be respectful, then they’ll just have to be limited in where they can go.”
I’d seen a very different side to Roxy, and I liked it even more. She seemed genuinely pissed off that her new friends hadn’t listened to her and were planning to do something so destructive. As badly as I wanted to protect the bats, part of me was glad it had happened. Maybe it had been the wake-up call she needed. And besides, we had a solid plan for protecting the bats.
Wyatt had posted officers near the cave on both sides of the trail, but luckily, everyone who had come had been respectful visitors who followed the rules. I was glad when Saturday arrived. I couldn’t take the tension of feeling like I could be called at any moment.
That morning, before I left, I got a call from Roxy.
“Hey, can you pick me up?” she asked.
“Sure.”
She’d hung up before I could ask why. I knocked on her door, and she pulled it open a moment later.
“Hey,” she said, stepping into the hall and closing the door behind her.
When she brushed by me, a thrill ran through me from head to toe. I sucked in a breath. She wasn’t wearing her Ranger uniform, but tight jeans and a simple tee shirt that put her body on display.
“No uniform?” I asked as we climbed into my car.
“We’re not really working. This is more comfortable.”
“Why did you need me to pick you up?”
“I didn’t want them to see my bike sitting at the station and know I was there.”
We drove to the bear station, where we left my car and took one of the ATVs, since the trail wasn’t designed for cars, either. Crossing the trail entrance, we waved to the team standing at their post.
As we neared our designated spot, we watched for the sign. At first sight of the bright yellow warning about possible tire damage, we pulled over, pulling the tack strip from the back of the ATV and laying it out so that it was ready to be dragged across the trail when the time came.
I sat back in the ATV and looked over at Roxy. “Now we just wait, I guess.”
16
Roxy
I’d known it was going to be a long wait and that I’d be sitting beside Alex, alone, for many hours. I also knew that at any moment, we would get the call that the bikes had shown up. The evening was still so early, though. It would be at least an hour or two until they came, realistically.
“Have you seen the bats?” I asked Alex.
“Yeah. Haven’t you?”
“Not in a long, long time. I came here on a field trip once in elementary school and we saw them.”
“Want to go check them out?” He smiled at me mischievously.
“You think that’s a good idea? We’ll be kinda far from where the strips need to go.”
“Not that far. And you said it would probably be later that they showed up, right?”
“It is early. They’re probably just meeting up right about now.” I wondered if they would call to see where I was.
“Then let’s go. We’ll make it quick.”
What was this sudden rebellious streak all about? Leaving his post to check out the cave we were supposed to be guarding? I liked seeing that in him. It ignited my own playfulness.
I yanked open the door and hopped out of the ATV. “Let’s go.”
We hurried to the cave, and when we got closer, we saw the sign warning of the dangers and legal consequences for disturbing the bats. Slowing as we neared the entrance, we walked inside.
I looked up in awe. The cave reached high into the sky, and its roof was a circle of rock spotted with black. The bats hung upside-down, sleeping, covering the ceiling and stretching down the walls, almost close enough to reach out and touch.
As we wandered deeper inside the cave, the light faded. In the dark, I bumped against Alex. His chest brushed against mine and his hips pressed against me for the briefest moment. But it was long enough.
My insides awakened and my inner wolf hopped to her feet. As I reached out for him in the darkness, my hand landed on his ass and I pulled him toward me. I felt hot all over, and when I thought of him touching me and how he’d felt inside me, my body shivered. His hand brushed across the back of my neck, sending chills down my spine.
I found his mouth and he kissed me eagerly. Finding the waist band of my pants, he hungrily pushed them down, and as I pressed myself against him, he picked me up, wrapping my legs around his waist.
He carried me to the edge of the cave where we could be mostly in shadow, but not inside enough to disturb the bats, and pressed my back against the wall. With one strong arm wrapped around me, holding me up with the help of the wall, he tugged off his pants with the other hand.
As he filled me, the sensation of pleasure rushed over me. I caught my breath and sank into the feeling of him plunging into me relentlessly. From our angle, he rubbed all the right places. God, he felt incredible, but I tried to muffle my cry against his neck, not wanting to disturb the bats.
He made a rumbling groan in response and sped up; I could tell he was getting close by his urgency, so I let myself go and came with him as he buried himself in me. With a final thrust, he grunted and closed his eyes, attempting to catch his breath. He touched his forehead to mine and slowly lowered me to the ground.
As I leaned against him, panting and enjoying the moment, I put my hands on either side of his face. “You make me so wild.”
He responded with a soft growl that made me tingle all over again.
I slapped his ass as he began to walk away, remembering thinking he could end up surprising me in bed. At the time, I had brushed the thought aside, but now that it turned out to be true, I was thrilled. Somehow, he knew exactly how to move to drive me over the edge. I couldn’t resist him, and my attraction to him grew even stronger every time I saw him.
We reached the ATV and slid back into its seats. I wanted to snuggle up against him and feel his arms around me, yet underneath it all, part of me still wanted to keep my distance. The amount of time we were beginning to spend together—and how much he consumed my thoughts—made things feel like a relationship, and that freaked me out.
I liked Alex. A lot. The more time I spent with him, the more I enjoyed him. And the more I found myself missing him when too much time had passed.
I tried my hardest to convince myself that I wasn’t falling for him. But the truth was, I already had. It terrified me. Could I really trust him? Was there any truth at all to that fated mate thing and if so, what did that mean? Was I just going along with fate or were these feelings real? And most importantly, what would keep my heart from being broken again? I had to think of something else so I didn’t drive myself nuts.
“So you were really serious when you said you’ve never been on a motorcycle?” I asked.
He looked over at me. “Yup.”
“Why?”
“The risk was too high compared to the benefit.”
“How many spreadsheets did it take for you to determine that?”
“Just one.”
I rolled my eyes but laughed. He certainly was obsessed with his numbers and statistics. But where I used to find that annoying, I now saw the value it could have. He’d helped me win the chili contest, and we were able to figure out how to stop the She Devils. I had to assume that if he’d been right those times, he might not be wrong about the trouble I would have gotten in if I joined the She Devils. As it turned out, Alex was usually right when he applied his smarts and did his thing. And that seemed more admirable to me than it had before.
So what if he was a nerd? If being called nerdy meant being smart and caring about something, then I had no problem with it at all.
“So, what was the risk and what was the benefit?” I asked.
“The risk? High chance of death or other bodily inj
ury. Pretty high risk. And the benefit… I didn’t really see one. People say they’re fun, but it never seemed that interesting to me. Kinda scary, if anything.”
I tilted my head at him. “Will you let me show you the benefits?”
He looked at me sideways. “Show me how?”
“Just one ride. Nothing too scary. Just to see what it’s really about.”
“Maybe.”
“I’ve been thinking about what you said before. About fated mates and all that.”
He turned his head more to face me. “And what do you think?”
“If we are, what should we do about it?”
Just then, the radio crackled and Wyatt’s voice broke through. “Attention, teams. Bikes spotted.”
17
Roxy
We jumped out of the ATV and hurried to where the tack strip waited, grabbed one end and dragged it across the trail. We’d picked that spot because the vegetation was thick on either side of the path. That would make sure they couldn’t avoid the strip.
We got back in the ATV and Alex drove it a short distance, parking behind a large rock formation out of sight from the trail. As we hopped out, we walked around the rocks to get a better view.
Ducked down together, side by side, we watched for any sign of the bikes from around the corner. My leg rested against his. I wanted to ask him again, but the timing was off. Now my question was just out there with no response. I’d probably have to find a time to re-ask it, but it had been hard enough to get out in the first place.
Hearing a faint hum far in the distance, I pointed my ear in the direction of the sound. Out of the puff of dirt, one wheel came into sight at first, then the rest of the bike. The other bikes followed. I counted six.
My stomach twisted as we watched. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt, but they had to be stopped.
In front was Hellcat. She came around the bend and charged forward, right at the tack strip. But just before reaching it, she veered sharply to the left. A moment later, the rest of the bikes rounded the bend and veered to the right, tearing right through the thick vegetation I’d thought for sure was going to stop them.