Rhylan could have told her that her brother was okay. He could have said her brother’s soul was in one piece. But, he refused to lie to her any longer. He couldn’t keep feeding her lies if he wanted to earn her trust, even if that meant showing her the horrid truth.
He swallowed and looked to the floor, trying to get his words in order. There was no easy way of saying it. When he looked back, she watched him with watery eyes, clutching the comforter to her bare chest. He reached to touch her face, wishing he could ease away the pain he saw there, but his hand hung in the air. Her brows flattened, the hopeful look gone and replaced with a shield against whatever he had to say.
Good.
She was prepared.
He let out the breath he’d been holding and began to tell her about the past few weeks. Rhylan filled her in on everything, from the missing shifters, to the den of shifter hunters nearby, and how he’d been pulled into the fight against them. He left out Sydney, but not the creature that attacked her. She needed to know what her brother might have gone through. By the time he finished, she lurched from the bed and raced toward the bathroom. He could hear her emptying her stomach.
Rhylan stood, uncertain. Should he go to comfort her? Or, should he give her space while she came to terms with what he’d said? There was no easy way of telling a person their brother might be a soulless monster.
Moments later, she returned. She didn’t bother with modesty, standing nude in the doorway with a resolute look on her face. Her long hair had gone wild, growing in volume and enveloping her shoulders.
“These people need to be stopped.”
Rhylan nodded in agreement. “And, we’re working on that. You don’t have to worry about it.”
She shook her head. “You don’t understand. I’m going to stop them.”
His heart lodged itself in his throat. He couldn’t breathe, let alone speak. The idea of her in their hands terrified him. As she passed him, he grabbed her arm and halted her.
“I can’t let you do that alone.”
“Oh, good. Because you were going to help me anyway.”
Rhylan threw his hands in the air. Thalia shoved past him to grab clothes from the bins on the floor, sifting through the contents until she found a pair of black leggings and a crop top. She pulled her hair from the collar of the shirt and fluffed it over her shoulders.
Her eyes raked over Rhylan, still bare to the world. Her eyes caught on the V of his lower abdomen before stuttering down. Her cheeks turned pink and she spun away. His wolf yipped with pleasure. She’d liked what she’d seen.
***
Her head still throbbed. Probably a combination of the tranquilizer and vomiting several times. Her stomach churned, nausea cramping her muscles. She tossed a pair of oversized pajama pants at Rhylan because she couldn’t stand to see him in his naked glory any longer.
It wasn’t that he was an unattractive man. Quite the opposite. The sight of him stirred things inside her that pissed her off. Rhylan had blackmailed her and wasted her time. If anything, she should have thrown him out on his ass. Instead, she stole glances at him from behind her curtain of hair and felt her stomach flutter with annoying butterflies.
Where she hadn’t inherited her mother’s dark, Hispanic skin, it seemed Rhylan had inherited gleaming, bronze skin from someone in his family. Thalia didn’t think it was Hispanic. Perhaps Native American, she thought as she stared.
When he caught her staring, she twisted on her heel and stalked down the narrow hall. “So, what brought you to Fangway?”
He made a sound in his throat, something between pain and humor. She fought the urge to turn and glance at him, keeping her chin up and head straight.
“I needed time off from my job.”
“Wow, that’s incredibly vague.” Within her own home, her snark became sharper. Maybe it was the hunger now gnawing at her insides. Maybe it was surviving a deadly encounter with him.
He pulled out a rickety chair, the rusted legs scraping against the floor with an unholy sound. She turned to glare at him and found him cringing apologetically. The expression was comical, exaggerated in a way that made her smile. She hated that he could make her laugh. She should kick him out soon.
Throw him on his ass.
But, he was the key to rescuing her brother. Now that she knew where Javier was, she needed to know any and everything about the people who held him. She jerked the refrigerator open and bent to peer inside. The shelves had yellowed, and there wasn’t much on them. Shrugging in defeat, she pulled out a jar of pickles and placed them on the table before sinking into a seat across from Rhylan.
Her eyes raked down his chest, distracted by the bare presence of him again. Without a shirt, she could see the jagged scars that tore through his skin. Whoever had mauled him, the shifter that had attacked and changed him, had been massive. It’d been vicious. The scars ran in zig-zags from his neck to his belly-button. Would it feel smooth if she ran her fingers over it? Would it tell her the story of his life?
“We need to get you some clothes.”
Rhylan laughed and opened the jar of pickles before shoving it back toward her. She narrowed her eyes at him. It wasn’t like she needed help with it, but she wasn’t in the mood to argue with him about it either. She needed to pick his brain instead.
“When you learned about them, why didn’t you just leave? Save your own neck?”
Rhylan shook his head. “Was I supposed to turn my back on people that needed help? Was I supposed to let people around me die? That isn’t the kind of person I am… Or, at least, that isn’t the kind of person I want to be.
“Today, I freed a few more. I hate to say this, but they provided a good distraction while I grabbed you. That just means they’ll come after us again. They’ll need to replace their batteries.”
“Batteries?”
He looked away. “Their leader is an enchantress who uses soul magic. She drains the souls of the shifters they capture.”
Her body went cold. She wrapped her arms around herself, but it didn’t go away. The thought of losing one’s soul terrified her. “Oh, yeah. You told me about that. It’s no wonder I decided to forget. That sounds horrible.”
“I didn’t see it firsthand. Only Jax and Sydney have. They had to put the shifter down. Her human side was lost forever.”
Her brother. Javier. How long had he been in their hands? How much of his soul remained? She shuddered to think of him as a shell, a monster in place of the sweet man she loved.
To distract herself, she reached for the jar of pickles. Her stomach rumbled with need, empty and aching. Rhylan’s eyes followed the thin pickle slice, from her fingertips to her lips. His cheeks darkened as he watched her lips move. An epiphany rocked through her. It was an explosion in her mind, one that knocked over a number of dominoes.
She smiled, ducking her head and looking at him through her lashes. She’d found exactly what was going to get him to help her. It’d taken a while, but she’d finally noticed the signs. His eyes followed her small movements with greedy attention. He watched the way her fingers moved, the flicker of her eyes.
Rhylan wanted her.
She was going to use it against him the same way he’d used her violence against her. It was only fair, she decided. If he thought he could get away with the things he’d done, she could turn the tables and use him the same way.
Things clicked into place, the events of the past few days starting to make sense. He did everything to be around her, to get her to fall for him. Hell, maybe he’d just done it to get into her bed. The idea made her want to snort, but she held it back and kept the demure smile on her lips.
She watched him swallow and shift in his seat. She slid out of her chair and moved toward him. His head fell back, eyes wide as she moved close enough to touch. Her knee was a breath away from his. She touched it, walking her fingers over the thin layer of fabric between their skin. Unable to stop himself, he reached for her. His hand was warm as it closed around her wris
t and gently pulled her into his lap.
She let him, eager to see how far she could take this. What could she pull from this liar? How far would he go for her? She slid one hand behind his neck, letting the other move through his long hair. It was fine and silken in her hand, stirring something inside her in turn. She shuddered away from the rising desire, reminding herself she could not fall into her own trap.
She needed help.
Her brother was all that mattered.
But, Rhylan’s lips were inches away from her own. They were all she could see. His hand ran up her waist, slipping beneath her shirt. The touch made a shiver race up her spine. It pulled her toward him. She sank into him, their breath mingling.
She couldn’t fall into her own trap. She repeated the words over and over. Rhylan was a means to an end, a liar she would not feel anything for. Yet… he’d saved her. Rhylan could have run away from the hunters. He could have left her in their hands, her soul ripe for the picking. Instead, he risked everything to save her.
The thought rippled through her.
Earlier, he’d said it took four of them to rescue one man. Rhylan had stormed in and saved her single-handed. Her stomach twisted, a bomb of emotions hitting her at once. Her fingers tightened in his hair. She wanted to hate him, to use him as a means to an end, but her sensibilities told her what she was doing was wrong.
No.
That didn’t matter. Only Javier mattered. Rhylan would help her free him, soul or not, and then she would deal with the bevy of emotions cutting through her. Mission first. Emotions later.
“I can’t do this without you,” she whispered into his lips.
A groan slipped from him. His hands tightened on her. He pulled her into him, as if they might melt into one creature.
A vibration hummed through the air. The moment was broken. Thalia leapt away from Rhylan. He reached for her, but she was already out of his reach. She searched for the source of the sound while fighting with the thunderous hammer of her heart. She needed to watch how far she went with him. She needed a cage around her own heart.
Finally, she found her phone in the small living room. The number on the screen made her heart flip. Bile burned the back of her throat. She thought about cancelling the call, setting the phone down, and pretending she’d never seen it. But, there was no way she would get away with that. Miles would call her father, and her father would call her.
Thalia looked over her shoulder. Rhylan watched from the kitchen, hunger still clearly written across his face. He was in her hands, but if she answered this call in front of him, the plan would be blown apart. Instead, she raised a finger and disappeared down the hall. The phone rang and rang as she threw a blanket over the bedroom door behind her, muffling any sound from inside the room.
Finally, she slid the button across the screen and held the phone to her ear. “What do you want?”
“You don’t have to bite my head off,” Miles grumped. “My plane landed. I was calling to let you know I’m renting a car.”
She slapped her hand over her eyes. “Thanks for the warning.”
“You could at least pretend to sound happy about it.” He pulled the phone away from his mouth because she heard his faint voice as he complimented another woman.
“You could at least pretend to love me.” The words hurt to say. They were pins in her soul, trapping her in the life others wanted for her.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Hey, are there any good restaurants in town? I’m dying for some good surf and turf.”
She wanted to hang up. She wanted to throw the phone against the wall. Instead, she responded. It was her only choice. Miles had her father on speed dial. If her father told him to, he had the right to drag her back out to California.
She couldn’t risk it. Not now that she’d found Javier. There was no way she was leaving her brother behind now. Not in the hands of those hunters.
“Is everything alright?” Rhylan shouted through the house. The concern in his voice was genuine, a breath of fresh air after dealing with Miles.
“Did I hear another voice?” Miles jerked back to attention.
“No. That was just the TV.”
He didn’t seem too concerned because his voice grew distant again. She heard the soft laugh of another woman. Would he take her in the airport bathroom? In the back of the rental car? Her heart twisted. She closed her eyes tight, trying to dispel the images and the pain she’d summoned.
She shouldn’t care. This wasn’t a marriage of love. It wasn’t even convenience. It was what her Alpha, her father, told her to do. Miles tried to make sure she was faithful to the agreement, as if catching her straying meant he could bring her to her father. She couldn’t imagine why. He was getting moved up through the ranks of the Pack.
Thalia clutched the phone in her hand for a long moment. Instead of throwing it through the window, she carefully set it down and turned to saunter into the hall. She meant to ask Rhylan to take a shower with her, drawing him closer while she fulfilled some sort of need for closeness.
What she found was Rhylan moving about her kitchen. Savory scents filled the air while chicken sizzled away on the stove. Her stomach growled fiercely. The jar of pickles was still out, placed onto the counter instead of the table. Rhylan had also found some buns and a jar of mayo.
“What are you doing?”
He looked up for a moment, quickly taking in whatever expression still hung on her face after that call. He seemed to read her easily, choosing not to bring up the phone call. Instead, he smiled.
“While pickles are delicious, your body needs protein and carbs.”
“Yes, doctor.” She dropped into one of the kitchen chairs. It creaked beneath her, threatening to break because of her carelessness.
Rhylan laughed. “You know… that’s what I am. At least, that’s what I was. I’ve been away from the job so long, I’m not sure if there will be a place for me when I return.”
Thalia cocked her head. “You’re a doctor? That’s quite the job.”
“Spent the best years of my life nose deep in a book. Not that it matters now. The change gave them all back to me. Small price to pay, huh?” He winked.
Her stomach did something funny in response to the small gesture. She looked away before remembering her plan. Rhylan was clearly interested. She had to use that to her advantage. She pulled her head up and offered a slight smile. Her eyes fell on the scars again. He didn’t bother hiding them, unfazed by their presence.
As if feeling her gaze, he ran his hand over his bare chest.
“Sorry,” she whispered.
A long moment of silence stretched, grease popping in the frying pan, before he spoke. “Don’t be. It wasn’t like you attacked me. If anything, I saved the guy. So, there’s that.”
“What do you mean you saved him?”
Rhylan put the chicken on buns, topping it with cheese and pickles before placing one sandwich before her. “The shifter who changed me was a patient that came through my ER. He was delirious and hurt when he attacked me. Silver. I managed to get it out of his body before I passed out myself.”
This was a new man. This wasn’t the liar she’d come to know. A vision unspooled in her head. Not Rhylan in a pretentious white lab coat, but Rhylan in a set of blue scrubs, rushing from patient to patient with the need to save lives. Who was this man? Why hadn’t she seen him earlier?
“You were attacked by a shifter and still worked to save him?”
Rhylan shrugged. It was nothing to him. Nothing special, at least. It was only what he’d devoted himself to. Saving everyone. It explained why he’d saved her earlier. He couldn’t help himself. He was a white knight.
She squished her sandwich before taking a bite. Using him was getting harder and harder by the moment, and it hadn’t even been an hour under the same roof yet. The man before her was unspooling, becoming someone new moment by moment.
“What did you do before you left to find… Javier, right?”
She swallowed, mouth suddenly dry. The bite of chicken and bread stuck in her throat. What had she done? Anything important? No. She’d only been the daughter of an Alpha. A princess, in spirit.
“Do you want to shower?” she asked instead. “The hot water tank doesn’t hold a whole lot. I don’t mind showering together. We’ve already seen each other naked and it would make sure we both get hot water.”
Her cheeks warmed. It was all a part of her seduction plan, but that didn’t mean there was no flutter of excitement in her own heart. Rhylan paused, eating the last of his own sandwich before meeting her eyes. He held her gaze, the moment stretching.
“So, what do you say?” She shifted nervously in her seat, feeling her own face grow warm. Thalia hoped it came off as cute and not sketchy.
“Uh…” He scratched the back of his head. “Why not?”
Chapter Nine
Steam filled the air. Despite their nakedness from earlier, Rhylan couldn’t help but watch as Thalia peeled off her clothes. Pale skin looked like velvet, like the skin of a peach. She glanced over her shoulder, cheeks pink and lashes lowered. His cock rose.
That was going to be hard to hide, he realized. He looked away and filled his mind with thoughts of silly things.
Potatoes.
Tacos.
Shoes.
The shimmy of her hips as she peeled away the tight leggings.
No, that was wrong.
The cascade of her dark, brown curls over her shoulder blades.
Nope. Wrong again.
She parted the shower curtain and stepped inside. Rhylan waited, second guessing himself. He shouldn’t do this. He wanted to earn Thalia’s trust first. He’d done nothing since bringing her here to clear his name. Yet, something had changed. When she pulled back the curtain there was a come hither look on her face.
Against his better judgement, he stepped forward. What had changed? She’d gone from fighting against him at every turn to beckoning him with only a look. Had it been his act of bravery? Or, had it been whoever was on the phone? She’d gone to lengths to make sure Rhylan couldn’t hear the conversation, putting not only the space of the trailer, but a fabric sound dampener in the shape of a blanket between them.
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