Sedona Seduction (Sedona Pack Book 2)

by Lisa Kessler

  I didn’t deserve Kaya’s smiles anyway.

  CHAPTER 4

  Kaya

  I woke up early, stretching my sore muscles. The wound on my shoulder was already almost healed, but I hadn’t slept well. Nightmares had tormented me all night. In my dreams, my lynx had pulled back to reveal that the throat we’d mangled was really Vance’s. I jolted awake, heart racing, and when I finally had fallen asleep again, the dream had continued just where I left off.

  Seeing the life draining from his face, I’d shifted back to my human form and fumbled to stop the bleeding. The second I touched his bare skin with my hands, the wolf inside me howled, at once recognizing and mourning her mate.

  We killed him.

  I didn’t try to sleep again, opting for a hot shower instead. Under the warm water, I closed my eyes and tried to wash the nightmare from my mind. No such luck. It had seemed so real.

  And the emotions that came with it scared the shit out of me.

  Vance and I were friends. Nothing more. But the dream had me rattled. I racked my brain for any moment we might’ve touched skin to skin, and I came up empty. The first time the concept of mates had been mentioned to me, I resented the notion of fate deciding my destiny. I mean, what if I shook hands with a random stranger and my wolf lost her shit? I’d need to make him love me or choose to be alone forever. Wolves mated for life.

  But I was also a human being, and I liked the idea of free will.

  If it hadn’t been for my friend Naomi, I could’ve talked myself out of the whole mate legend. Besides, I had been bitten, not born a werewolf. But Naomi had been bitten, too, and she told me the first time she and Asher touched skin to skin, the realization that he was her mate had been so overwhelming she almost fainted. The world almost literally tilted.

  Seeing the bond between the two of them, I started believing the stories that fate had never made a mistake where the wolf’s mates were concerned.

  Was I worried Vance might be my mate, or had my dream been wishful thinking?

  Hell if I knew…

  Either way, I hadn’t hurt him last night. In fact, I had probably saved his life.

  But the gunman had been hunting me. Maybe the dream was warning me that I was going to get Vance killed.

  Enough. I was thinking myself in circles. I stepped out of the shower and grabbed my towel. My phone vibrated on the counter. A welcome interruption at this point.

  You’re coming with me to taste cakes today, right?

  I smiled at Naomi’s text and fired one in response:

  I’ll be at your place in an hour.

  She sent back a smiley face emoji, and I chuckled, setting my phone aside while I got dressed. Naomi and Asher were getting married next month, and I was pulling double duty as maid of honor for the ceremony and caterer for the reception. I was happy to do it. Plus, it gave our new pack something to look forward to that didn’t involve jaguar shifters or politicians or Nero.

  I pulled on my jeans and a black sweater, then blow-dried my hair before pulling it back into a ponytail. My makeup consisted of some eyeliner and a little lip gloss. I was glad to be rid of the heavy foundation from the television shoot the day before. My mother blessed me with her darker complexion, and I was a less-is-more kind of girl anyway.

  My apartment was a few blocks from my restaurant, and about twenty minutes away from the pack’s ranch. When I drove through the gates of the ranch, two little brown-haired boys with dark, almond-shaped eyes raced out the front door, down the steps, and toward my car. I parked and barely got out before I had a little werewolf clamped around each leg.

  “Auntie Kaya!” they squealed in unison.

  I bent over and hugged Naomi’s twins. Bart and Ben weren’t quite three years old yet, but no one would believe it. They already spoke in full sentences and were physically the size of kindergarteners.

  Which was exactly why they couldn’t go to preschool. Cole, our pack doctor, said shifter children matured much faster than humans. Their development would slow by the time they were school-aged, but until then, we sheltered them from the rest of the world.

  “How are the cubs today?” I grinned at the little boys.

  Bart looked up at me from under his thick dark lashes. “You smell like soap.”

  I chuckled and mussed his hair. “It’s called being clean.”

  Ben giggled on my other side. “Were you stinky, Auntie Kaya?”

  “I was not!” I scooped him up and blew a raspberry on his round belly. “You smell…like bacon!”

  “Because…” Ben squealed in delight, wriggling like a fish out of water. “Mama cooked us eggs and bacon!”

  I set him down and turned to Bart. The little guy was only ten minutes older than Ben, but he took being a big brother very seriously. My grandmother used to tell me stories about children born with old souls. I’d never met one until the day I had helped deliver Bart while we were locked up in the storage facility.

  “Where’s my squeeze, little man?”

  Bart grinned and opened his arms. I scooped him up, and we hugged tightly. “You be good for Asher today.”

  “I will.” He pulled back, pressing his forehead against mine, his smile long gone. “Take care of my mom.”

  I hated that these little guys already understood that danger awaited us anytime we stepped out of these gates. “You know I will.”

  He nodded, his expression brightening. “Will you bring something back for us?”

  “Like…” I pretended to be deep in thought as I lowered him to the ground. “An elephant?”

  “No.” Bart shook his head, laughing in spite of himself.

  “Hmm… An armadillo?”

  “No!” both boys answered.

  “No?” I scratched my head as Naomi and Asher came toward us. “What about a warthog?”

  “No!” Ben almost fell down he was giggling so hard.

  Bart grabbed my hand. “Cake, Auntie Kaya. Mama said you were having cake.”

  “Ohhh.” I glanced at Naomi. “Can they have some cake?”

  Ben raced to his mom, staring up at her with a dynamite set of sad puppy-dog eyes. “Please, Mama, can we?”

  Naomi nodded. “We’ll bring a piece home to share.”

  “Yay!” The toddlers galloped around Asher’s legs whooping for joy.

  Asher caught Ben and boosted him up on his shoulders. “But if you don’t let them get to the bakery, you’ll never get any.”

  Bart wrapped an arm around Asher’s leg and waved at us with his other hand. “Bye, Mama!”

  Naomi chuckled. “See you guys soon.” She rose up on her toes to kiss Asher. “Thanks for watching the monkeys.”

  “We’re wolves not monkeys!” Ben giggled.

  Asher smiled. “I love you. See you soon.”

  He turned to walk to the boys back up to the house, and Naomi watched his ass the whole way. I bumped her with my hip. “Get a room.”

  She grinned, walking over to my car. “Some days I have to pinch myself just to be sure this is real.”

  I went around to the driver’s side and got in. I glanced her way. “I’m happy for you and the boys. You deserve this.”

  “So do you.” She looked at me as she set her purse down by her feet. “Someday you’re going to find your mate. He’s out there.”

  “I don’t have time for a boyfriend.” I turned the key as the dream about Vance flashed through my head. “Besides, who would want to get tangled up in a werewolf pack anyway?”

  “You’re worth it.” Naomi glanced my way. “Let’s go taste some wedding cakes.”

  I drove us to the Red Rock Bakery and followed Naomi inside. The bakery had come highly recommended from some of my friends, so I hoped Naomi would find something she liked. I was happy to cater the event, but baking wasn’t my strong suit, and trying to make a tiered wedding cake and decorate the thing was way above my pay grade.

  An employee greeted us at the door and led us to a tasting room off the main bakery area. �
��We’ve got four different cakes for you to taste today.” She handed Naomi a binder. “And these are all the cake designs we have available, along with the number of people each one will feed.”

  When she left to get the cake samples, Naomi grinned at me. “This feels so…normal. It’s making me twitchy.”

  I chuckled, giving her a playful nudge. “Soak it up while you can. I got grazed by a bullet last night.”

  She sobered. “Asher told me. He said the shooter is dead so I… Sorry, I should’ve given you a pass for today.”

  “No.” I shook my head. “I’m fine. Really. I was joking.” I smiled. “There is no place I’d rather be than helping my best friend pick out her wedding cake.”

  Our consultant returned with plates and plasticware, and her assistant followed with tall glasses of iced water. “I’m going to give you guys some time. Let me know if you have any questions.”

  “Will do,” Naomi answered. She checked over her shoulder to be sure they had gone before she leaned over and whispered, “Is Vance okay? Asher said the bullet hit you both.”

  “He was all right last night. I haven’t heard from him today.” I popped a bite of cake number one into my mouth to keep myself from spilling my weird nightmare about Vance.

  Oh my god, it was delicious. I grinned as my taste buds sang. The sweet, fruity, apricot-cheesecake filling was heavenly, and the white velvet cake was fluffy and moist. I was impressed.

  I pointed my fork at the slice, raising my eyebrows while I savored the cake.

  “It’s good?” Naomi forked a piece as I nodded enthusiastically.

  “So good. Wow.” I took another bite, laughing as she groaned in delight.

  This was the kind of day I wanted our pack to have more of. It gave me hope that someday I might not have to be watching for snipers and shifting in the parking lot of my restaurant to save my packmates.

  We finished all the samples, and Naomi decided on the three-tiered brandied-apricot cake. After packing up a slice of cake for the twins, we hooked our elbows and left the bakery.

  I smiled at the bride-to-be. “One month to the big day. And one more dress fitting. Ready?”

  She flipped her hair over her shoulder with a sparkle in her dark eyes. “Yes. I can’t wait to be Naomi Mateo. It has a nice ring to it.”

  “Happy is a great look for you.” And I meant it. After we’d been bitten, Caldwell had locked us in a storage facility. Naomi and I had been imprisoned for months. Seeing her smile and hearing her twin boys giggle lit an empty spot in my soul that had been dark for far too long.

  “Thanks for all your help with the wedding.” Naomi got in my car and reached for her seat belt. “It’ll be fun to have a pack event that’s not centered around survival.”

  “I feel the same way.” I started the engine. “New moon tonight. Did Asher make a plan for the pack while I keep Vance away from the city?”

  “And Chandler.”

  I blinked. For a second, I didn’t remember him. “The reporter? He’s going to shift in Sedona tonight?”

  “Yeah. Asher convinced him to take the day off and shift with us. It’s making him nervous that Chandler’s a part of the pack but he’s not protected from the humans during the new moon.”

  Chandler worked as an anchorman for the CBS affiliate in Phoenix. He’d been bitten by a jaguar shifter up in Reno almost three years ago, and since then, he’d found a job in Arizona and Asher had welcomed him into our pack. While each pack member brought their own skills to the family, Chandler was our ears for any news stories that might expose shifters. He’d been the first one to tell us about Senate hopeful Brad Newport’s interest in super soldier research.

  But hearing that Chandler would be shifting with us tonight disappointed me. Even though we had never discussed our new moon adventures, I looked forward to spending the evening with Vance. Alone.

  “Are you all right?” Naomi asked.

  I put the car in gear and nodded. “Yeah. I forgot about Chandler, that’s all.”

  “Okay.” She watched me for a second before she added, “The rest of the pack will be at the ranch. Asher is firing up the barbeque. He figures that way Gage can bring his boys over and we’ll have plenty of wolves to protect the four little guys.”

  Gage was another bitten wolf. He was ex-military, so great with weapons, and was working on mastering being a single dad to his twin cubs, Henry and Hawk. They were a few months younger than Naomi’s boys and equally as wild. When the four of them got together, the house pulsed with both joy and chaos.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked me again.

  I shrugged, making a right turn. “Yeah. I’ve never shifted with Chandler before. It’ll just be…different.”

  “If he can’t control the cat, let Asher know. We can’t let him shift if he’s going to hurt someone.”

  “I’m not worried about getting hurt.” I looked her way at the stoplight. “I had a dream about Vance last night. It’s got me freaked out.” I gave her the details and waited for her to weigh in.

  “Wow.” She ran her fingers through her hair. “What do you think it means?”

  “I don’t know. That’s why I’m nervous. What if something happens and I hurt him?”

  “Or what if he really is your mate?” Naomi voiced my biggest fear.

  “Nah.” I shook my head, driving through the intersection. “We’d know.”

  “Not unless you touch skin to skin.”

  “We never have because…there’s no attraction there.”

  Naomi burst out laughing. “Oh please. We’ve all seen you two together. There are so many sparks you could cause a wildfire.”

  She wasn’t wrong, but there was also something else between us—an invisible barrier of some kind. I wasn’t sure what it was, but it definitely existed. “Well we’ve been alone together more times than I can count and he’s never so much as held my hand, so…”

  I pressed the button on my visor to open the gate, grateful to pull into the driveway and leave this conversation behind us.

  Naomi didn’t get out of the car. “I think the dream means you’re afraid that he could be your mate and that loving you might get him killed. You feel like it would be your fault.” She paused, allowing the silence to sink in. “Maybe that’s why neither of you have touched the other.”

  I frowned. “You think he’s afraid I’ll get him killed?”

  “No.” She opened her door. “I think he’s worried that one day he might be too late to save you.”

  Naomi got out and embraced her boys while Asher watched them with a crooked smile. Naomi and Asher knew more than most how close they had come to losing each other—Asher had been shot and Naomi kidnapped. But in spite of the risks, they were still getting married, still carving out a future.

  They were damned brave.

  CHAPTER 5

  Vance

  I brushed the red dirt off my chest and stuffed my binoculars into my duffel. Duane was on the move. He’d just ended a heated conversation with Brad Newport’s campaign finance manager. I couldn’t hear exactly what had been said, but I had a pretty good idea: Duane had to admit he didn’t have Kaya in custody.

  But he also didn’t leave the meeting empty-handed.

  I grabbed my duffel and followed him and his new briefcase. A devil sat on my shoulder, whispering in my ear that I had the perfect position to take out my target. Duane would never see it coming, and since I was downwind, he wouldn’t catch my scent, either. The cool metal of my Ruger teased the small of my back, reminding me of its presence.

  I ground my teeth, fighting the temptation to take the easy road. Maybe easy wasn’t the right word, but I was well versed in killing. Being a part of a pack, a family, and having to think about what was best for them was all foreign territory.

  If Sebastian was right about the four emperors, Duane’s death could bring a war to the pack’s doorstep. We’d be outnumbered and outgunned.

  And deeper, in the dark places o
f my soul, I worried. What if killing had become more than a job? What if it was my identity? Maybe I couldn’t be anything more than a killer.

  I shied away from further examination and focused on my target: the briefcase.

  Duane stopped behind a black Mercedes and popped the trunk. Checking both sides of the street, he laid the case inside and slammed the lid.

  Shit. My car was a block away. I’d lose him.

  He answered his cell phone, and I crept closer, my pulse settling into a familiar deadly rhythm. It would be so simple.

  My gun was in my hand before I realized what I was doing. Dammit. Suddenly, Kaya’s smiling face filled my head. Although she knew my background, there was never a trace of fear in her eyes when we were together. And when she smiled at me with that dimple in her cheek, she made me want to be a better man, a man that might deserve an amazing woman like her.

  I stuffed my Ruger back into its holster. Killing Duane might be easy, but it would hurt my pack in the end. I wasn’t a lone hunter anymore. Duane ended the call and dropped his phone into his pocket. I held my breath, waiting for him to drive away.

  He clicked the key fob, locking the car, and headed for the coffee shop on the corner.

  I could not fucking believe my luck.

  But there wasn’t time to revel in it. Once he was inside, I jogged across the street. The ice creamery two doors down was pumping out the sweet, sugary scent of fresh waffle cones. The normalcy wasn’t lost on me as I plucked my lock-picking kit from my pocket.

  I braced myself, muscles tight and ready to run. If Duane had set a car alarm, I’d need to disappear fast. I slid the pick into the lock. Nothing. I ran my tongue along my teeth as I wiggled the metal rod, feeling for the pins inside. The trunk clicked. I was in.

  As I lifted the lid, I scanned the coffee shop for any sign of Duane. Nothing yet. I reached inside, popping the latches on the briefcase. I frowned.

  What the hell is this?

  I had expected money, but the inside of the case was lined with gray egg-crate foam. A square cut out in the center housed a glass medicine bottle with a syringe beside it.