by Cecilia Lane
“Ronnie wants you,” the shifter slurred.
Mara’s blood froze in her veins. Fuck!
She opened herself to her lioness, ready to let the animal rip through her skin if he made any other moves. He didn’t smell right. The silver pumping through him would make taking him down easy. The crowd itself would either be a blessing or a curse. She didn’t want any of them to suspect she was a shifter herself. They would tear her apart, or worse, cage her again.
He pressed her against the cold concrete wall and shielded her body with his. He winced and jerked his shoulders with every brush of someone scurrying for the exit. “She’s spreading the word and even letting the fighters know they get their freedom if they bring you down. Her people get a big bounty if they bag you. She wants you alive so she can make you suffer for years to come. She knows who the big man you’re with is. She knows where your people live. She won’t give up until you’re back in chains.”
“And you’re here to make sure that happens?” Mara hissed.
“I’m here to pass along a message. The hunt stops when she has you back. One life for many. She’ll even cut her losses and give up the ones you want. Otherwise, she pads her ranks with everyone you know.” He leaned close and traced his knuckles over her cheek. “Run far, Mara Malone. Don’t show your face ever again. I’m not crazy or desperate enough to give you up yet, but that could change in one night, or ten.”
“Mara!”
Hudson’s shout jerked her attention from the drugged shifter. Like a ghost, he vanished. She tried spotting him, but the press of people only showed her glimpses of him ducking down the same tunnel she intended to enter.
Then Hudson was next to her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He used his other as a battering ram to shove people out of his way. “The others are outside. I... asked a few questions.”
Mara didn’t get a chance to ask what that meant before Hudson pushed her up the stairs with the others making a break for it. He pulled her out of the stream of people running toward their getaway vehicles and faced the opposite direction.
“Let’s be quick, kitty. Only a matter of time before someone gets the balls to check on the property.”
He urged her close to the tree line, then jogged past the doors in the ground. It didn’t take long before she spotted lights between the trunks.
Her steps felt sluggish as they neared. She could somehow forget the serious nature of their fight while they were in the thick of it. Out in the night, with no noise but the distant shouts of panicked bickering and six pairs of cautious eyes jerking to them, the costs were made deadly clear.
Six shifters were staked to the ground with barely any room to move. Hell, the transport would have been better lodging for them and that usually was no better than a cattle hauler.
The single guard left behind barely had time to register their appearance before Hudson stepped into his space and swung a fist into his face. The man dropped to the ground with a thud.
“Hurry. We don’t have all night.” He gestured to the shifters yanking on the inch of slack they were given with their hands secured to their ankles.
Hudson moved down one line and she took the other. She checked their eyes first, then let her inner animal process their scent. No threats of insanity, nothing more than a hateful glare. She tore the stake out of the ground and moved on to the next.
She knew him.
Mara sucked in a breath and searched the other faces more thoroughly. John Millios. Lisa Guerrin.
Her fingers felt thick as she took the keys from Hudson and stuck them in the locks. She couldn’t look either of them in the eyes. She couldn’t look at any of them.
They were alive. By the Broken, two more were still alive.
She marked the names off her list. Only one more remained unfound. So far—thankfully—they were still alive!
“Mara?” Hudson asked.
Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth and her ears pounded with blood. A wave of guilt crushed her moment of elation.
Her fault. Her. Fault.
The animal part of her hissed and snarled at the sudden swing into despair.
John wrapped his arms around her in a quick hug. Lisa followed with a crushing embrace of her own. “Thank you. You saved us.”
Mara didn’t know what to think, and blurted out, “I put you here.”
More would wind up like them, too. Ronnie spread the word. Everyone she knew would be chained and caged. Mara’s stomach turned to think of Kate and the kids locked away again or Hudson with a collar around his neck.
“And now you’re getting us out. That matters more.” Lisa said harshly. She could hardly take her eyes off John.
No. Lisa was wrong. The good didn’t change the bad. She’d still hurt them. She was still a threat to others. Black, toxic waste followed her around and ate everything she touched.
Ronnie still wanted her. Ronnie would hurt everyone she loved. They would all be staked to the ground unless she offered herself up.
Her lioness growled and clawed at her, but Mara shoved the beast away. She didn’t have a happy ending after all she’d done. She needed to find a way to live with her actions. Her little road trip with Hudson was just that—a trip. Trips ended. Stories came to a close. Hers would end without another soul hurt.
Her cat screamed at the whirlwind of half-formed ideas coming together. Save the children. Save Hudson. Save Kate and Joy and Jack. Save Bearden.
One life was all that was demanded.
Hudson stepped forward in the silence and cleared his throat. Worry ate at his scent when he looked at her. “There’s a place for you in Bearden if you want it. Others that have been rescued are there, too.”
John met Lisa’s look, then shook his head. He pulled her close to his chest in a clear sign of possession. “No. I think we’re going to find our own place in the world and figure this out for ourselves.”
Mara blindly followed Hudson through the rest of the interaction. Seeing two of her victims made her feel small. Knowing Ronnie still wanted her made her skin crawl. It was a relief when she slid into the truck after Hudson tried one more time to convince John and Lisa to go to Bearden.
Hudson turned to her after he jammed the key into the ignition. His goofy grin didn’t slip. He even smelled… excited.
“Did you see the way they looked at each other? They’re mates.”
Mara clicked her tongue. “You’re not going to suggest I brought them together, are you?”
“You said it. Maybe it was fate.”
“Fate is a cruel bitch if that was what took them to find one another.” Fate sucked, end of story. Hers was covered in darkness. “No, Hudson, I’m not going to feel better about this.”
“I didn’t meet you until after we dismantled a camp looking for Nolan and Becca. Fate acts in mysterious ways.”
“Yeah, and how’s that working out for you?”
“Pretty well, I thought.” He reached across the cab and squeezed her tight. “I’ve had a wild vacation with this spitfire of a woman where we’ve saved some lives and kicked ass. Who wouldn’t want that?”
Mara sank down into her seat. She tried to calm the guilt churning in her stomach and contain her spitting and hissing cat at the same time. “Let’s get out of here before I need to kick your ass,” she mumbled.
Chapter 18
Something had changed.
Hudson watched Mara stalk through their motel room. He could practically see fur bristling all down her spine. If she’d been a house cat, her tail would have puffed up the width of her body.
Damn it all. He thought they’d found their groove. She wasn’t fighting their fate. They worked through a hunter cell together. Some laughs were had. But now…?
She’d been off since they were separated inside that damn bunker. She’d followed him through the trees and helped rescue six more shifters, two of which she personally put in chains. He’d expected some reaction to that revelation. Anxiety clawing through he
r, maybe. Sinking down into her beliefs that she couldn’t be redeemed. Shame. Shock. Anything but the cold quiet that followed. Her calculating silence set him on edge.
He leaned against the door and crossed his arms over his chest. She didn’t stop moving. She tossed her bag to the floor, kicked it under the table, then settled into a path that took her from the closed window, past the end of the double beds, and back again. Agitation rolled off her in waves.
The minutes ticked by without either of them saying a word. Hudson’s bear paced through his mind, matching Mara step for step. His skin felt too tight. Her unease fed into his own and made him want to shift.
“What’s wrong?”
There were only a thousand possibilities. Each one deserved its own time in the spotlight so he could point out all the reasons why she needn’t worry. She was a fiery badass in her own right and with the proper battle plans, nothing would stand in her way.
“Nothing. I’m fine.”
The three most dangerous words in the world, according to his father. They stank of her lie.
Hudson cocked his head and watched her pace her territory once more. “Mara.”
“Hudson,” she echoed.
Of course she wouldn’t make digging into her pain easy.
He’d found one way to get through to her. If she wouldn’t talk, then maybe she needed a reminder of how much they owned each other. She walled herself off and posted signs warning everyone away.
Too bad he was never good with following the rules.
They were supposed to be a comfort to one another. A team. But teams were only as strong as their weakest link, and the chain between them would stay broken until she opened up. They had fights ahead of them. He couldn’t bring her into a battle if he couldn’t trust she’d keep him in the loop about anything coming around the corner.
Her silence and spiky tension drove a knife into his heart. He couldn’t help if she wouldn’t be honest with him.
If she wasn’t willing to let him past all her defenses, then he could soothe her in other ways. He’d made it past the first hurdle before, and killed that doubting voice in her mind in the process.
She’d claimed him with one word. He wanted to know she still believed he was hers as she was his. That one word might mean the difference between her pacing the room and giving him a clue as to which way he needed to jump next.
He needed her touch, too. His bear prowled through him. Fur pressed against his mind, and his gums ached with the added pressure of fangs trying to descend. She hurt, so his bear wanted to fight off her attackers. That there was nothing in the room to bleed just made the creature furious.
Hudson almost felt sorry for the next hunter he caught unaware. The pent-up energy and need for blood wouldn’t go anywhere if his mate kept denying him the chance to actually be her mate, bad thoughts and all.
He moved when her next circuit brought her close to him, body uncoiling like a snake. His hands landed on her hips and he pulled her hard against him. Heat flared everywhere her skin touched his, and a slower warmth spread in all the places separated by clothes.
“I know you feel our connection when I touch you,” he said in a low voice. “And maybe that’s what you need right now. I’m here, Mara. I’m not going anywhere. Touch me and see for yourself. Doesn’t matter what happened in the past. I’m not going to vanish before we can make a future.”
“Why? Why me?” she choked. “You could have anyone else in the world.”
“I want you.”
“It’s not in your best interests.” She relaxed a little further into him with every word.
Hudson stroked a hand down her hair. The silky smooth strands filled his nose with her delicious scent. Even her worry couldn’t compete. “You let me make that decision.”
She sighed. “Hudson,” she protested again, softer.
“No. Mara, you did the best you could. You don’t get to disregard the good you’ve done. It’s your knowledge that saved those shifters tonight. I didn’t know those symbols. Your information helped me bust up other camps. You want to feel guilty over surviving, fine.” His voice rasped with a harsh growl.
He understood the complicated emotions that twisted together when someone close died during danger. Bloody dreams of war still haunted him some nights. For months, the what-ifs tried tying stones around his neck until they dragged him as far down as possible. He couldn’t stand by and watch her give up. He wanted her kicking her way to the surface.
“Do something about it.”
Mara turned in his arms. Her eyes flashed with something he couldn’t quite identify. Anger didn’t make sense. Sadness, either. Determination was a better fit. The look was almost like a person about to be marched to the gallows.
It was gone as quickly as he spotted it. Then she stood on her toes and crushed her mouth against his. The fight that she’d lost before returned with all the furious need she pushed into the kiss. Her teeth grazed his lips before she pushed her tongue past to stroke against him.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and stumbled backward until her knees hit the bed. Hudson’s bear roared in his head. His body responded to the siren call of his mate. His heart tripped in his chest and his cock sprang painfully to life. He wanted—needed—her.
“Mara,” he groaned. Fuck, he wanted to rip out his own voice box. Her needs mattered more.
Mara’s hands gripped his shirt and yanked.
In a tangle of limbs, they fell to the mattress. He nipped at her bottom lip and groaned when a sexy snarl worked out of her throat. Lips, tongue, neck, nothing was untouched. He ground his hips against hers as she dragged her mouth to his neck and sucked hard.
He pushed up enough to yank his shirt off, then covered her again. His hands roamed over her curves. He pressed his nose to the column of her neck and inhaled her scent. “Need to feel your skin,” he rasped.
Mara wrapped her legs around his waist and rolled her hips. Fuck. The heat of her stroked him even through her jeans.
Then she twisted herself around him and he was given the option to follow her move or pin her down. Both options came with their own rewards. He chose the one that let her take control. She needed to believe in her own power.
Hudson trailed his fingers up her thighs and watched his mate from below. Her legs straddled him. With a tiny smile playing over her lips, she leaned down and kissed the base of his throat.
“I want to play.”
He tried to wipe the smile off his face. She pushed her lower lip out in a slight pout and widened her eyes in a wicked mockery of innocence. He laced his fingers behind his head and lifted his chin. “Oh yeah, kitty? And what game do you want to play?”
With a lopsided grin, she pulled something from her back pocket. Her grin grew wider as she twirled the handcuffs looped over her finger.
Hudson narrowed his eyes on the pair. “Where did you get those?”
“After we found out about the auction.” Pain flashed across her features and vanished almost as soon as it registered. “Lots of toys were found there, remember?”
He never expected any of them to get turned on him. Then again, he never expected her to have such a wild side. “What are you planning to do?” he asked mildly.
Mara tried to contain her smile and failed. She nodded behind him.
He hadn’t noticed the bars of the headboard until that moment. They were a tiny detail of a nondescript room, and something he’d need to keep in mind in the future.
He would let her tease him all she wanted. He had his own plans for payback. Licking every inch of her skin until she begged for more, for starters. Holding her wrists above her head while he bucked into her. Sucking hard enough on her skin to leave a mark right where he wanted to put his claiming bite.
The first cuff snapped around his wrist and Hudson frowned. His bear went quiet.
“Silver, kitty?” He tugged on the inch of slack she left him after she looped the other end around the bar and ratcheted the second band s
hut. The bars on the headboard were surprisingly strong.
She leaned over him more than necessary. Hudson turned his head and licked across the swell of her cleavage. Fucking delicious. He wanted more.
Mara dragged his hand out as far as he could stretch. The second cuffs looped around the bar and snapped around his wrist.
“I’m at your mercy, kitty,” he smirked. “Do with me what you will.”
Her face fell. “I’m sorry. I need to go and I couldn’t have you trying to stop me.”
“Go? Where?” He blinked in confusion. One minute, she was hot and needy. The next, she tore his world apart.
She turned her face from him as pain built in her scent like a thunderstorm on the horizon. This was only the beginning.
Even with his bear locked down deep by the silver, Hudson felt a roar of betrayal rising up from the beast. His heart hurt. Worse than any wound in any fight, he felt like the organ itself was ripped out of his chest.
Duplicitous cat. Tricked him with his utter need for her.
“Why? Dammit, why?”
“You were right. I need to do something.”
“Mara, kitty, don’t do this.” He jerked on the cuffs around his wrists. The bars protested, but nothing moved. Again. More straining noises, but he watched helplessly as she crossed the room. “Unlock me.”
“Ronnie won’t ever let me go.”
“So we’ll make sure she can’t go after you. You don’t need to be afraid of her.”
She shook her head sadly. “You don’t get it. If she’s gone, someone else will take her place. I talked, Hudson. I gave up their secrets. I helped you. A shifter fucking them over? That can’t be allowed.”
Too fucking bad for them, because that’s exactly what was going to happen. She couldn’t leave him behind. Not just because his bear wouldn’t allow it and he couldn’t stand it. She couldn’t go into battle alone. He wouldn’t let anyone hurt her again.
She slid his wallet into the back pocket of her jeans and palmed his keys. “Can’t have you getting a rental and coming after me, sorry,” she told the ground.