“Hell,” Travis muttered, scrambling sideways. It stung, but it was nothing. The tear in his side from the previous night was far worse.
“Did he hit you?” LeAnn asked, her mouth dropped open. “Oh, no he didn’t!” He should have known what her reaction would be from earlier with Alanna. She jumped up and emptied her gun into the trees.
“Was that really necessary?” he asked when she dropped down beside him.
“Yes.” She grinned. “I think I got him.”
More swearing from outside.
“Damn.”
“Was that for your arm or because I just took that?” When he didn’t answer, she continued, “I guess I can use your rifle.”
“Hell no.”
She was back to looking at the gun safe.
Then he heard it and relaxed against his bullet-riddled table. The pound of feet. The pack had come.
He heard more swearing and then a snarl as Troy shifted and ran.
Travis grabbed LeAnn and pulled the side of her head against his chest in a hug while he covered her other ear just as they caught him. Pack killings were ugly—and loud…far too loud. The revulsion hit him hard and fast and he tightened his arms around her. Troy still felt like pack, and this was so senseless. It shouldn’t have gone this way, but the moron had left them no choice.
“What?” she asked.
After a moment, he released her and answered, “Nothing. It’s over.” He grabbed her shirt from beside them. She felt like heaven with her skin against his, but no one else was seeing her like this. She was accepting the scent-match, which meant they were married, and no one was seeing his wife in only a bra…other than him…later.
“What happened?”
“Pack law.”
She swallowed and nodded and hugged him tight.
He winced and tried to get a look at his arm. It was nothing. He’d live. And he hugged her back.
“Just so we’re clear, I won, right?” she asked.
“I’ll give you this one.” It’d put her in a better mood for later, and he wanted her in a very good mood.
“You’ll give me this one?”
He laughed.
…
LeAnn studied the wound on Travis’s arm. He sat on the counter in the bathroom off one of the lodge’s upper rooms.
“It’ll fall off if I shift,” Travis said, staring down at where she’d put the bandage on his bicep.
She rolled her eyes. Idiot man. “Well, don’t shift.” Biting her lip, she nodded at the bandage. “You should really have that stitched. Maybe we should ask Alanna.” It cost her so very much to suggest that. And no one would ever appreciate how much.
“Hell no. It’s not even as bad as the one on my side.”
She leaned forward and pressed her forehead against his. “You’re not filling me with confidence.” That one on his side was pretty bad. Tipping back, she pulled up his shirt to look at it.
“Here, I’ll help.” He pulled his shirt off and tossed it to the side before giving her a hot look. Lifting his hands, he cupped her hips before slipping them up and underneath her shirt and around her waist.
He had to be kidding. Half the pack was staying the night in the lodge, but his place no longer had a back sliding-glass door, and he refused to stay at Ross’s place when her brother might possibly be on a psychotic rampage. But he was feeling amorous? Here? Now?
“Travis.” She looped her arms around his neck. “You need sleep.” Not to mention that she hadn’t planned on the whole pack knowing firsthand that she was accepting Travis as her mate.
He leaned forward and kissed her neck.
His mouth was so warm, and he smelled so sexy and heavenly. Yeah. Still no. She could hear a few other couples getting it on in the lodge, and that was already too close to voyeur for her. Sometimes having great hearing really sucked, and it’s not like the walls were helping. She’d wanted to yell, “Get a room!” like twenty times, but she also was very happy to have one of the few rooms above the large common area. Being with the Alpha definitely had its perks. He’d pointed at the one he’d wanted, and they’d all nodded.
She cupped his face and pulled him up to stare into his eyes. She had to stop him while she still could. Her body was starting to say “yes” in a real way. “Travis, we’re going to get some sleep.”
He scowled…which made her grin.
“Is this your way of telling me you’re only interested in me for my body?” Not that she thought that. Okay, maybe she thought that. A little.
The frown fell from his face.
Crouching, she grabbed his shirt and handed it back to him before exiting the bathroom.
“You know that’s not true,” he said, following her and pulling on the shirt.
“Do I?” she asked, sliding into the bed. He’d said that he “wanted her” a ton of times, but that was a far cry from other emotions. She wanted chocolate cake right now, but she wasn’t about to go all primal on a slice of it. Well, maybe. That was a bad comparison. The point was that she didn’t know if he felt anything more than “want.”
He flipped off the light as he headed toward her. Crawling across the bed, he kept their gazes locked. “Yeah. You do.” He stopped right above her, though he slipped under the covers, too.
“I guess I asked for it. Showing up naked that first time—it probably gave you the wrong idea.”
“You had a knife. Up to my neck. I think I got the right idea.”
“And what idea was that?”
He lay down beside her and pulled her up against his side. “That you’d be a helluva lot of work, but you’d be worth it.”
“You thought that?”
“The knife said that.”
“Yeah?” That sounded like more than “want.”
“Mm-hm. You know what else I thought?”
“What?” she asked, yawning.
“That you had the hottest body I’d ever seen, and it might be worth dying to touch.”
…
LeAnn heard both their screams—her mother’s and the little girl’s—but it was her mother she saw, pointing at her. The world was drenched in anger and heat.
She wanted to rage. She wanted to scream herself, but she couldn’t move. She looked up from the ground at her mother and she heard a growling monster come from behind her. Its teeth snapped and claws scrabbled across the floor as it moved.
When LeAnn turned, she saw the little girl screaming and screaming.
Moaning, she struggled to get free, trying to get away from the monster that lurked in the room. LeAnn was trapped in this body. This was not her. It couldn’t be her. Why could she not move?
When she turned back, her mother’s fear had melted away to anger, and she darted forward yelling, “You’re just like him. A monster.”
LeAnn tried to deny it. Why would her mouth not move? Why would her legs not work? The growling and snapping of teeth filled the room. If only her hands could cover her ears. The vicious clacking of those jaws would end. If only she could see the monster…
“You are a monster,” her mother yelled again. “Stay away from me. Stay away!”
I’m not a monster.
The young girl screamed.
I am a monster.
“Shh, LeAnn. Shh. You’re safe now. I have you. You’re not alone. I’m here. Shh, honey. You’re okay.” His warmth enveloped her and his scent filled her nostrils as she inhaled. His voice promised security…and acceptance.
The sharp red rage the color of blood receded. The beast inside her retreated.
With a sigh, she drew closer to the only thing that mattered…the peace in the middle of the madness.
I am not a monster.
Chapter Eleven
He jerked awake and searched the bed beside him. Empty. Then he heard her laughing elsewhere in the house, and his body flushed with heat and want. Mine. Taking a deep breath, he forced it back, because there were definitely others with her…making her laugh. Meanwhile, he’d woken up al
one. He took another breath and exhaled slowly.
She was his.
She was accepting the scent-match.
Everything was better today. The world was brighter. Finding balance seemed more plausible. She was accepting the scent-match, and she sounded happy.
After her nightmare last night, it was good to hear her so lighthearted. Her body had shaken and she’d twisted and arched her back as she moaned. Maybe he should have done something more than just hold her and rub her taut muscles while reassuring her with his voice. It seemed to have worked. That was something. And she was laughing this morning.
Life is good.
There is no reason to fly into a jealous rage and kill whoever is making her laugh.
He dragged a hand through his hair. Okay, they had to have sex soon, or he’d get homicidal. This was probably how it started. One day, you were a sane, rational person, and then, less than a week later, you were mentally tearing the head off anyone who dared talk to her.
His life used to make sense.
She laughed again.
His body flushed with heat. Hell, he wanted her. She was his.
Making sense was overrated.
Travis pushed out of the bed and went to go find his mate, pocketing his phone on the way.
LeAnn was downstairs in the kitchen with six of his pack making breakfast. The smell of bacon was as mouthwatering as her scent—which called to him despite all the other scents around. Everyone quieted and lowered their heads when he walked in, and it dampened his irritation. Striding through the gathered Lycans, he went to her side at the stove and wrapped an arm around her as he kissed her on the mouth. It was possessive and arrogant, but he didn’t care.
When he pulled back, her lips tipped up in a half smile. “Good morning. I was about to bring you some breakfast as soon as the bacon was done.”
“I heard you down here laughing.” He hadn’t intended for it to sound like an accusation, but it did.
She nodded at the Lycans behind him who’d gone back to eating. “Kristin was telling me that you guys have some raccoons getting the best of you. She said they’re harder to deal with than the bears.”
He smiled and relaxed. “Did she tell you about Ugly Bart?”
“She was starting to.” She fed him a piece of bacon from the nearby plate before transferring the remainder from the skillet to the plate.
“That thing’s days are numbered,” Travis said, leaning against the counter beside LeAnn.
Kristin continued looking down as she said, “I can’t figure out how he manages to break into all our garbages in one night, let alone with one eye.”
“And he doesn’t even want the garbage,” Grant added, sliding closer to Kristin. “He just wants to dump all the damn cans to annoy us.” Things had changed between a few of the couples. The dynamic had shifted. They weren’t squandering the opportunities or chances at relationships.
Kristin looked up at Grant and smiled and winked.
Travis turned his attention back to LeAnn, who was humming under her breath.
She glanced up and caught him staring. Grinning, she fed him another piece of bacon.
“Is all the bacon for me?” he asked, nodding at the two dozen pieces of bacon.
There was a chorus of disappointed groans behind him.
Shaking her head, she grabbed the plate of bacon, sheltering it with her body, and twisted to set it on the island with plates of eggs and hash browns. “Quick, I’ll hold him off,” she said, turning back to him and wrapping her arms around his waist.
He winced when her arm rubbed against the healing gouge in his side, but hugged her back. He could get used to this. The last few days had been intense—days spent waiting for the next thing to go wrong.
“What are the plans for patrol today?” Liam asked, walking in. He sounded far more somber than he ever had, and he kept his head bowed in deference. He’d led the pack in killing Troy and overseen the cleanup, and some of his disregard for authority had died with his friend. Liam had watched over the lodge for part of the night after he’d returned. “Oh! Bacon!” Well, okay, that was less somber, but it was bacon.
“I should have had him grab more bacon,” LeAnn said. She looked up. “I sent Kurt out for food for all of us. I failed to consider how much a hungry bunch of Lycans might eat.”
She’d organized breakfast. And the pack was following her directions. All this hell might end up being worth it.
“As far as patrols go,” Travis said, “I think it’s time to figure out where Ross stashed the vehicle he was using and where he’s holing up at night. Jordan and LeAnn found some tire tracks yesterday behind Merilee’s that I want to take a closer look at—providing the rain hasn’t washed them out.” He’d been too tired yesterday to follow some of the more obvious plans of action, but with a mostly uninterrupted night’s sleep and LeAnn in his arms, his brain was much sharper, even if her scent was playing havoc with his libido. She smelled like bacon and herself, and he was only a man.
Liam nodded as he dished himself food.
“Someone should check on everyone who wasn’t here last night,” LeAnn said. She left him to go fix a plate of food, too.
He should really grab his own food before it was all gone, but this rare harmony among pack members was a relief. It felt like they were a pack. Finally.
“We should get a head count every night until this is resolved,” Travis said. “Resolved” was a strange word choice, but the fact that they were hunting down his mate’s brother made him temper his words more than he ever had.
LeAnn turned and handed him the plate she’d filled, along with a fork, before going to get her own food.
He fought a smile as he noticed all the quick glances from the pack. LeAnn had inadvertently acknowledged him as Alpha—her Alpha. Also, she’d gotten him even more bacon. Life was very good.
His phone rang, and he frowned at the number before answering, “Hello.” That was strange. Maybe someone in the pack had picked up the phone, not realizing it was Troy’s.
Ragged breathing met this, and the pack went still in the kitchen.
“Who is this?” His tolerance for playing games was at an all-time low.
“I know what you’re doing. Leave my sister out of this.”
Blood thrummed in his ears as the threat registered. The wolf surged up inside him. Nothing could happen to LeAnn. Nothing.
There was a crunching sound that probably indicated tracing the phone would be a dead end.
LeAnn’s plate shattered as it struck the floor.
…
They were back to looking at her like she was an outsider who didn’t belong. It was just as well she hadn’t started eating, because her stomach clenched and ached. She was never meant to belong anywhere. They couldn’t actually accept a traitor’s sister no matter how much Travis fought to claim her as pack.
I’m not pack.
“You’re okay?” Travis asked, crouching beside her as she cleaned up the broken plate. “You’re okay.” And he was up and moving before she’d even answered.
She opened her eyes wide and blinked them furiously without looking up. Yeah, the pack wouldn’t see her cry over this. She dumped the remnants of her breakfast in the trash while Travis started arranging groups to go check on others. He was taking Liam and Grant with him to go circle Troy’s place and see if they could catch Ross.
She stood in front of the sink washing her hands mindlessly as she stared out across the forest. The murmuring voices of the pack wrapped around her.
What the hell was she doing? Just like that, they’d remembered that she didn’t belong and that her brother was the monster hunting them.
And what did Ross mean? Was any of this because she’d come here and stepped into the life he’d thrown away? It didn’t make sense he’d kill Merilee, but maybe Ross had long since stopped making sense.
“You shouldn’t come with us,” Travis said, touching her back. He’d moved so quickly and silently.
“Some of the others are staying,” he said, rather than explaining.
She shrugged. What did he want her to do? Accept it? Be all woo and yay? He was immediately back to keeping secrets and shutting her out. It felt like he didn’t trust her, either. Then again, Ross was her brother.
But maybe that was the reason she should come. She could reason with Ross. He might listen to her.
She definitely wasn’t going to beg to come with him, not in front of the pack.
“We need to go so we don’t lose the trail.” Travis turned her toward him, but she stayed staring straight ahead—at his chest.
Screw it. “I can help you. I’m good at tracking, and I’m the most familiar with his scent.”
Travis lowered his voice and said, “I need to know you’re here so I can concentrate.”
She stared at him. Did he even realize what he’d done? And in front of the entire pack. Her worth was solely in being his arm ornament apparently, and he didn’t trust her to stay out of his way and out of trouble.
“It’s fine,” she said finally when it seemed like he wouldn’t leave without a response.
“We’re going on four feet, so you can hang on to this for me.” He handed her his phone.
Oh, great. As far as consolation prizes went, being keeper of the phone wasn’t stellar. Here, wait at home for me, little woman. All you’re good for is sex and sandwiches. Okay, maybe it wasn’t like that. It just felt like that.
It also seemed to reiterate that she was the only non-Lycan in the house. She wouldn’t be changing form, so she might as well be of use in some other way.
She didn’t fit, didn’t belong.
…
“I’ll be back.” He kissed her mouth firmly.
Heading out the back door, his heartbeat was picking up as his Lycan side anticipated the hunt, but there was a niggling sense that he was making a mistake. He shouldn’t be leaving her. She was the best tracker in the pack. Still, he had to keep control. There’d been too much death already. He wasn’t about to lose her like he’d lost his brother.
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