by T. S. Ryder
The night was over, anyway, and he needed to seek out a shifter support group that might have information on the anti-shifter group that mostly likely took Seth. He still thought the senator was dead, but he had to expose this group if he was going to expose the dirty cops in the precinct. If Buck was here—
He's not.
Joseph jumped when he opened the front door to find Ana standing right in front of him.
"Did you really think you could sneak out without me knowing?"
He stared at her. "How did you—"
"I climbed out the window. Sophie used to try to sneak out all the time. I got quite adept at making it to her getaways before she did. I had to stop her from breaking Mama's heart by going to wild parties." Ana lifted her chin, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "And if you think you are going to leave without me, you have another thing coming. Either I come with you or I go to your precinct and tell them everything I know."
Was she threatening to expose him?
I like her, his Bear chuckled. She'll make a good mate.
Yes, she will.
Joseph jumped. Where had that thought come from? Not our mate.
"Well? Which is it?" Ana put her hands on her hips.
The detective hesitated a moment but nodded. "You can come with me. I'm not going anywhere dangerous right away."
"Good," Ana smiled. "Now we have to say goodbye to my parents before we leave, or they'll never let me forget it."
***
Apparently 'saying goodbye' meant 'staying for breakfast', but Joseph had to admit he had never had a more delicious meal in his life. He had been too nervous the previous night to eat, afraid that they would be tracked, but with the hearty pancakes and sausages that Ana's mother made for them before they left, he felt much better prepared to face the day.
He found Tracey, the wolf shifter in charge of a shifter support group he attended, at the café she ran. It was a well-known place where shifters went for a safe haven against the prejudices in the city. The entrance also went to several other boutiques, so people on the street couldn’t see who was going into the café. It made shifters feel safer inside the quaint, cozy place.
Today it was completely empty and Tracey actually jumped when they entered. Seeing the normally calm Wolf so jumpy made him frown. He led Ana over to her and took a seat at the counter.
"Ana, Tracey, Tracey, Ana," he introduced. "What's going on here? The café is usually full to the brim."
"I was hoping to see you," Tracey said. "I phoned you at the station, but they said that you weren't available."
Joseph nodded. So there wasn't an arrest warrant out for him. Good. It meant that either the captain was hoping to handle this quietly or he was giving Joseph time to do what he needed to do. "What happened?"
"I came in today and found this on my door." Tracey unfolded a piece of paper and passed it to him. "It's about that kidnapped senator, Seth Fischer. They say that if I don't publicly announce a need for a shifter registry, they'll kill him and burn down the café."
Tracey was one of the best-known shifters in the city. For her to say they needed a registry would be a severe blow to shifter rights. Joseph scanned the note. Nothing jumped out at him. No hint or clue he could use. Once he was done reading the note, Ana took it.
"They'll kill him no matter what you do," he told the Wolf.
She gave him a dirty look. "I know that. But I have a mate and two little ones. What if they go after them next?"
"Why wouldn't they have done it already?" Ana looked up at them, her brow furrowed. "Why threaten the senator and your café, rather than the people closest to you?"
It was a good question. Joseph resisted to urge to smile at Ana for thinking like a detective. Instead, he grunted and inched a little further away from her. "Our best bet is to find the people who took Fischer. I'm going to show you some pictures, Tracey. I want you to tell me if you recognize any of them.
She didn't, nor could she tell them anything new about the anti-shifter group that the dirty cop had been a part of. Joseph left the café feeling worse than when he arrived. He continued to go around the city, asking all of his contacts if they knew anything. Other than the rumor that Seth was alive, he learned nothing.
That evening, he checked himself and Ana into a hotel. It was too risky to go back to her parents' place. He paced around the room, feeling his frustration build with every passing second. He didn't know where to go from here and had never felt so utterly useless before. He teased his hair to its ends, desperately trying to come up with another lead for the investigation.
Eventually, he knew that he had to stop himself from worrying about this or he'd never be able to think. Ana was at the window, peering out through the blinds, and he went to her, gently tugging her away. Just being near her helped him calm down.
"So how did you end up working for Seth, anyway?" he asked. "What got you interested in shifter rights?"
Ana looked a little startled at the question. "Umm… well, as far as Seth goes, we've known each other since we were kids. He's basically my older brother. I knew I wanted to get a job in politics and when he offered me the position as his PA, I took it."
"Simple as that, huh?"
"Pretty much. My family isn't really political. My father is a kindergarten teacher and my mother an insurance broker. But I was always taught to be thankful for what we have, stand up for what we deserve, and give freely to those who are worse off than us. It was never a pity thing. And like I said, Seth is basically my brother. When I started to see how poorly shifters are treated… it makes me angry."
That surprised Joseph. He was used to non-shifters expressing sympathy for their cause, but never anger. Even other shifters were usually too afraid of harming their tentative position in society to be angry about the way they were treated.
"Why?" he asked before he could stop himself.
"Why not?"
"You're not a shifter. Discrimination against people like me wouldn't hurt you if you hadn't gotten involved."
"Discrimination hurts everybody, whether they're willing to admit it or not. What if God gave us the cure to cancer, but the teenager He gave it to committed suicide because they felt they could never be accepted?"
"You make a good point. I wish more people could see it that way." Joseph found himself stroking her hair again and moved his hand away. Physical boundaries were necessary. "I'm glad that we have you on our side, Ana."
She ducked her head. "So… Seth told me that shifting isn't always hereditary. Did you always know if you were a shifter?"
"Pretty much. I was able to distinguish my thoughts from my Bear's at a young age. But my parents never tried to suppress that part of me. I know a lot of shifters aren't that lucky. People whose parents heard that they were brutes for so long that they started thinking it of themselves, and then passed on that mentality to their children."
His gaze flickered to her lips. He wanted to taste them so badly he forgot what he was saying.
"And that makes them more susceptible to mental illness." Ana's voice was pitched. She was leaning forward, her gaze on his lips as well. He could see her pulse beating in her throat.
I can't, Joseph thought. I'm meant to protect her, I'm on a case… I haven't even told her she's...
Our mate, his Bear said firmly.
What about Buck?
He'd say go for it.
It was true. All resistance crumbled as their lips brushed together.
Chapter Seven
She knew she shouldn't–not only was the timing and situation all wrong, but everything that Joseph did told her that he was just one of those beefy jerks who thought he was better than anybody else. Well, almost everything… There was a tenderness to him occasionally that she hadn't been expected.
But, she didn't need another guy like that in her life. She didn't need somebody who would use her and leave her with a broken heart, an empty bank account, a pregnancy scare. Whatever it was, he would leave her. Just
like all of the others did.
But the moment he kissed her, she forgot all of the reasons why she shouldn't want this. There was fire in his lips, a fire that sparked her blood and sent shivers down her spine. Ana seized his head, digging her fingers in his hair and thrust her hips forward, grinding against him.
Belatedly, she realized that it probably wasn't the best course of action… men like Joseph Baker, in her experience, liked to be the ones doing the seducing—
Holy Crap!
Her eagerness woke something in him and he answered hungrily, gripping her so tightly that he lifted her half an inch off the floor. He spread her thighs to either side of his body, bringing her injured leg up over his hip. Ana gasped into his mouth as he supported her with one hand and slipped the other under her shirt.
Ana's skin tightened. Joseph caressed her breast, tweaking the hardening nipple with one hand. He ground more firmly against her. She did her best to grind back against him, kissing his neck now, nipping at his collarbone.
"Tell me what you want," he whispered.
Joseph pushed her bra up to her chin and tugged her shirt out of the way, letting both feet back on the floor as he began kissing each breast in turn. Ana struggled to think as heat and pleasure coursed through her. She always did like it when men paid attention to the girls, and feeling his mouth on them in real life was so much better than the dream she'd had.
With one hand, he pulled her pants down to her knees. Another moan broke from her as he retook his position against her, brushing his lips against hers while he cupped her. She could already feel how ready she was as he eased a finger inside of her. Her muscles clenched, sucking him in deeper.
"Tell me what you want," he ordered again. "What you've always wanted and never done."
Thoughts and positions flitted through Ana's head. What did she want that she had gotten? All her previous boyfriends only did the same old plain vanilla sex. She was too heavy to do it standing, they said, or her butt was too big to do it from behind. It was only missionary for them, over before she even got started.
Blood rushed to her chest and face, heating those areas thoroughly, as Joseph slipped his finger in and out, his thumb moving lazy circles a little higher. She stared into his eyes; they were dark with lust, yet there was a pained look to them, too, a kind of desperation.
"From behind," she blurted. "Hard. Like animals."
He responded to her by lifting her from her feet. Pressing more open-mouthed kisses to her mouth neck and breasts, he carried her the few steps to the bed and threw her on. Ana bounced, unable to stop a thrilled giggle from erupting from her throat. This was really happening! Her heart was going so fast she thought she might have a heart attack.
Joseph seized her hips and flipped her onto her stomach in one fluid motion. Ana moaned, shaking her head.
"I need to help you first."
A deep, throaty chuckle that sounded nothing like Joseph answered her. "That won't be necessary. When you say hard, how hard do you want it?"
The sound of his zipper had Ana's mouth so dry she couldn't answer. All of the moisture in her body seemed to be concentrated between her thighs and she rose on her hands and knees, backing up to the edge of the bed. She met him and groaned. He was right–he didn't need any help getting ready for her.
"Ana?"
"I don't know. I've never done this before. I'll let you know." Ana twisted, grinding herself against him in desperation. She needed this so bad… if he wasn't inside her soon she might scream!
The first time he entered, it was so slow that she was almost in tears. At the same time, she recognized that it needed to be slow–he was so big that she stung a little, stretching to accommodate him. Ana chewed on her lip, desperately holding in her pleas for more. He pulled out–she moaned in protest–he pushed back in, faster this time. And faster, and faster, until her breasts were bouncing with each thrust. Ana braced herself against the bed, loving the feelings he could evoke in her.
"Is this good?" he grunted from behind her.
Something warm filled her chest. It wasn't the same sort of heat that was building in her stomach, making her feel full and tight, building to a point of snapping. It was something else… she loved that he was concerned about what she liked, what she wanted, not just his own pleasure.
"Yes!" she gasped, loving the feel of his hands, one gripping her thigh, the other tracing small circles on her back. "Joseph!"
His steady rhythm built her higher and higher until her arms were trembling with the exertion from keeping herself in place and she was crying out with every thrust, blind with the pleasure. Something snapped inside her and she went spinning over the edge, throwing her head back in a long howl. She collapsed onto the bed. Joseph went after her, his huge hands on either side of her, his body against hers but holding himself up just enough that he wasn't crushing her. He bit her shoulder, hard, then kissed it when she cried out.
Ana almost asked him to bite her again, she liked it so much, but she was panting and couldn't get the words out. They lay there together, half on the bed, bodies still joined. Ana's eyes slid shut. She was perfectly happy at this moment. Perfectly content. Satisfied.
Mated.
***
Ana woke the next morning feeling stiff but still glowing. It had definitely been too long since she last had sex!
Joseph wasn't in the bed. When Ana opened her eyes, she saw that he was writing on a piece of paper. She yawned, loudly, and he turned. There was a hesitant, regretful smile on his lips and Ana felt the euphoria that still held her from their night start to fade. He regretted sleeping with her. Already, she could see that he was going to leave–that was what he was planning right now!
"You were just going to leave me with a note?"
"I got a call from one of my contacts. I might have a lead on where Seth is being held."
Ana bolted out of bed. "I'm coming."
"Ana."
She ignored him, hunting for her clothes. Her heart was in her mouth. Seth. They could find him, save him. She knew he wasn't dead, she knew it! They would be able to find him and bring him back to where it was safe. And they would put the scum that kidnapped him behind bars, and everybody would see what sort of people these anti-shifters nuts really were.
Joseph crossed the room as she retrieved her pants and began stuffing a leg into them. He grasped her wrists, stopping her, and shook his head. "Ana, no. You are not going to come with me."
"Do I have to blackmail you again?"
"Go ahead and try. Your safety comes first. It has for a while now… I let them take Seth because I heard you scream."
"You–What?"
"I… I have been fighting my feelings for you, Ana." There was a look of deep regret in his eyes. "I'll explain everything, I promise I will, but I won't be able to save Seth if I think you're in danger. Trust me on this one. The best thing you can do is stay here. Stay safe. Give me something to come back for."
The earnestness in his eyes, coupled by the words she never thought she would hear him say left her speechless. Ana opened and closed her mouth, breathless as a fish, but somehow managed to make herself nod.
It would be dangerous for me to go with him. Whatever brings Seth back… and Joseph, too.
The detective kissed her; it was as wild as passionate as it had been the previous night, and then he was gone.
Ana sunk onto the bed, her mind reeling with everything that had happened. Her night with Joseph suddenly took on a completely different light… that feeling she had had, mated, like she was that one that he would be with forever. It had seemed ridiculous last night and she had brushed it off, but in the light of day she couldn't help but wonder if it was real. What if the feeling Joseph had been fighting wasn't just animal lust… but the urge to take her as his mate?
What would she do if it was? She’d only known him for a couple days, it was too early to say that she loved him. Wasn't it?
But was it determination to get Seth back that made
her willing to risk her life and seek out the anti-shifter group, or was it because she began trembling from just the thought that she might never see Joseph again? Seth's mate was human, and she had told Ana that she knew the instant he did…
Ana believed in love at first sight, so wasn't it possible that love and lust were mixed into her reaction to him when she saw him for the first time?
She showered and dressed on autopilot, thoughts bouncing around in her brain. It was ridiculous to think that she would be his mate. She wasn't entirely certain what was real and what was myth when it came to that… it was one subject that Seth was rather tight-lipped about. But she did know it was more than sex. And that when a shifter mated, it was for life. She always thought she was a for-life kind of girl, but what if she wasn't? What if she thought she loved him right now, but when she got to know him better, she didn't?
I can't start worrying about futures I'm not sure will happen, she told herself firmly.
There was nothing to do in the hotel room and though she remembered Joseph's admonishment to stay where she was, her stomach growled. There was nothing wrong with going across the street for a croissant, was there? After the week she had, she deserved it. Maybe a donut, too.
She didn't see the white van pull up onto the street until it was right beside her. Before she could even process what was happening, two men dressed all in black jumped out. They seized her around the waist and lifted her from the ground.
Ana screamed as they forced her into the van. She grabbed the door, trying to stop them, but one of them hit her knuckles, making her release it. The door slid shut. The men forced her to the floor, her hands twisted behind her back. Something hard hit her head, and everything went black.
Chapter Eight
He couldn't go after these nutcases alone. Ana's knowledge that Fischer had asked for the captain of his precinct personally helped make seeking him out a little easier, although it still grated against Joseph to ask the captain for help in this situation. His Alpha instincts were strong, especially when combined with his loner personality, and more often than not, they demanded that he take care of his own problems.