Wyatt turned to her with a grin. “Jesse and Bonnie weren’t sure they’d be able to mate, whether bears and cats would be fertile together.”
“I’m happy for them,” she said honestly. Watching them all together, she felt a wistful feeling that shone in Wyatt’s eyes as well. What would it be like to be part of such a big, beautiful family? Where everyone watched out for one another.
Still, they were good at making her feel welcome, and as they settled down from their news, they got straight to work getting to know her.
Where she was from, how she’d found Wyatt, how she liked the ranch.
Everything but what was going on between her and Wyatt. For now, she’d keep that to herself. Not that she really knew what was going on at all.
They were wrapping up lunch, finishing with popsicles that had been shipped in, when they heard the front door of the lodge open and slam shut.
Wyatt and Maverick immediately stood, on guard, and Val felt the hairs rise on her neck at their alarm.
Someone had just entered the building. Someone they weren’t expecting. All she could do was pray it wasn’t her family or anyone related to them.
13
“Stay here,” Wyatt said, putting a finger to his mouth.
“You got this?” Shane asked, and Maverick nodded. “Okay.”
The two men jogged toward the front entryway, which was out of view of the dining room.
Valerie heard raised noises, a loud thud, and then silence. Then shouting again. Then normal talking. She couldn’t help standing, wanting to go over and see what was happening, but Harmony put a hand on her arm to stop her.
“Whatever it is, those two will deal with it,” she said. “No one can take out Mav.”
Val nodded and slowly sat back down, but nerves went through her at the thought of anything happening to Wyatt.
The next moment, Wyatt and Mav were walking into the room, struggling to drag in a huge man between them. They dropped him in the middle of the floor, and Valerie rushed up to go over to them.
“What happened?”
Shane and Jesse came over too, but not before reassuring their pregnant mates they should stay put.
Val wondered if that’s what being a mate was. Having someone that told you what to do all the time.
Still, the women seemed very happy with the arrangement, practically glowing.
Val turned her attention to the man in the middle of the floor, with Mav and Wyatt standing over him.
She looked from Mav, who looked confused, to Wyatt, who was rubbing his fist for some odd reason.
The man in front of them was unlike anything Valerie had seen.
He wore a black leather jacket, the same color as his silky black hair that fell over his forehead. He had sharp, handsome features, a strong jaw, a hawkish nose, a prominent chin. He was wearing black jeans tucked into motorcycle boots, and on his hands were black leather gloves, cut off at the fingers. One of his ears was pierced, and even when unconscious, he seemed to be frowning.
“What the hell did you do?” she asked, looking at Wyatt, who seemed guilty.
“I… might have jumped to conclusions,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “But he walked in asking for Valerie, and I just… reacted.”
“I see,” Shane said. “You reacted a lot.”
“Yeah,” Wyatt said. “I’m overprotective.”
Val knew it was hard for Wyatt, having seen what she’d gone through. But this wasn’t one of the men who’d hurt her, and he must have known that now from the way she looked at him with surprise and curiosity rather than fear.
Wyatt shook his hand. “I didn’t know who else would come looking for you,” he said. “And I definitely smelled cat.”
“Damn, that’s not fair,” Maverick said, folding his arms as he crouched next to the fallen man. “You cats being able to scent each other, but we can’t scent you.”
“He’s a cat?” Val asked. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” Wyatt said.
“I can’t scent him,” she said.
“I have purer cat blood,” he said, not in a bragging way, just matter-of-fact.
Jesse came a little closer. “I scent it too.”
Wyatt nodded. “You’ve always had a pretty good nose.”
Val was mildly offended to be left out, so she scented the air and focused hard. Then she caught it. This slightly unfamiliar, acidic scent that made the hairs on the back of her neck rise.
“That’s no cougar,” she said.
The man’s eyes flickered open for a second, and they all tensed up. There was a flash of orange before his lids flickered closed once again and he let out a sigh.
“You don’t think…” Wyatt said, looking at Jesse and the others.
Jesse folded his arms. “I’d heard rumors… but I don’t know. I thought they were just rumors.”
“I didn’t call the dragons,” Wyatt said. “I thought these guys worked only with them…”
“Will someone tell me what the heck is going on?” Harmony yelled from their table.
The men looked between each other as the stranger started to stir. Shane shook his head at Wyatt, who nodded.
“Let’s get him out of here. Whoever he is, we can’t risk him around the mates.”
“We’ll be right back, Harmony,” Maverick said. “I promise.”
Harmony let out a huff and sat back as the men worked to raise the tall man to his feet. He was easily the size of Maverick, with a well-muscled body that seemed almost too good to be true. Like he’d walked out of an action movie.
The men started to walk out of the room with him, and Valerie followed. Wyatt pinned her with a look. “Stay here with the others.”
“You don’t get to tell me what to do,” she said. “And he asked for me. This involves me.”
“Exactly why it’s not safe for you,” he said. “You need to stay here.”
“And you need to get that you don’t get to tell me what to do,” she repeated. “I’m coming, and that’s that.”
Finally, Wyatt sighed and shrugged.
“All right.”
There was nothing he could say or do to convince her. He might want to protect her, but Valerie wanted to have a say in things that concerned her. She wasn’t his mate yet; she didn’t have to stay behind if she didn’t want to.
And if he was that worried about her, he’d just have to protect her.
Just like she would protect him if he ever needed it. Because that’s what friends did.
They didn’t leave each other behind.
* * *
Wyatt stared down at the stranger they’d just dumped in the study. Valerie was sitting on a chair behind them, where he could protect her if needed.
Maverick was rummaging through the man’s pockets. “You’ve gotta be kidding me,” he said, lifting up a wallet and looking inside. He held it out to show the others an ID. “They’re real.”
He was what they’d thought when they saw that flash of orange eyes.
A very rare, very powerful creature. One who was technically on their side.
And Wyatt had laid him out with one punch. He put his hands through his hair. He didn’t know what had come over him. He was never the type to punch first and ask questions later.
But when the man had walked in, looking dark and dangerous and asking questions about the woman Wyatt loved, all he could see was her bruises, her pain.
And anyone coming for her would have to go through him.
Maverick put the man’s wallet back in his coat and grabbed a glass of water. He threw it over the man’s face and he startled, gasping and trying to sit up.
Jesse put a hand on the huge man’s shoulders, holding him back. “Take it easy,” he said.
“I didn’t mean to hit you that hard,” Wyatt said, somewhat unapologetically. “But you hit the wall.”
The man narrowed his unnerving orange gaze, shaded by long, dark lashes, on them. “And you hit me why?” he asked, slowly
bringing himself to a sitting position.
“Why are you looking for Valerie?” Wyatt growled, unwilling to give the man any information until he knew what he was doing.
“Someone reported a kidnapping,” he said. “To the dragons. You’ve probably heard there are a few of us working for them.”
“So it’s true, then,” Shane said. “You’re a tiger.”
The man nodded, and Wyatt studied him carefully. They were rare creatures, supposedly bred to help dragons keep up with the increasing number of reckless shifters. They had the senses and ability of cats, plus a few other traits.
Like those orange eyes and that coal-black hair.
And, apparently, a grumpy personality.
The man sat forward, arms over his knees. “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t take you in myself,” he said, glaring at Wyatt.
“Because I wasn’t kidnapped,” Valerie said, standing and walking forward, arms folded, eyes glaring intently. “You heard wrong.”
“Valerie came to me seeking shelter,” Wyatt said. “I’m her employer.”
The stranger looked between them, dark hair partially shading his eyes. “That’s all you are?”
“None of your business,” Wyatt said.
The room got tense for a moment, and then Valerie pushed between them and shook her head.
“Let’s all calm down for a moment,” she said. “Wyatt, show him the photos you took the day after I got to your place.”
“Okay,” Wyatt said, reluctantly pulling out his phone and handing it to the stranger with the photos opened.
It was silent while the big man looked down at the screen. Then he let out a hissed curse. “Who did this to you?”
She bit her lip. “Probably the man who called you.”
“Lyle Blake?” he asked, still flipping through the photos. “Rich dude? Snobby?”
She nodded. “My family—”
“Tried to sell you to him, didn’t they?” he asked in a dark voice.
She nodded. “How’d you know?”
He waved a hand. “A guess. I deal with the worst of shifter kind. It’s my job.” He put out a hand for her to shake it. “My name’s Jace. After seeing those photos, I’m one hundred percent on your side.”
Wyatt cleared his throat, and Jace switched his attention to him, reaching out to shake his hand, which Wyatt shook a little too harshly. “I’m sorry I clocked you. We don’t take well to strangers around here. I’m Wyatt, and this is Shane, Jesse, and Maverick McAllister.”
“Right, I read up on the McAllisters,” he said. “Bear shifters that own the ranch. And as for hitting me, hell, if you thought I was one of the dudes looking for her, I don’t blame you.” He sat back in a chair. “So what now? Were you planning to call and report this at some point?”
“Yes,” Wyatt said, leaning on the desk as Valerie came around to stand at his side. Seeing her there made him well up with pride. There was that damn possessive instinct again. “I was waiting until Valerie was ready to deal with it, but we were going to call the hotline today. We ran into someone she knew and we think he could potentially tell the family and make them step up their efforts to find her.”
“Or we could find them,” Jace said, cracking his knuckles.
“We’ll help however you need us,” Shane said, looking to Maverick and Jesse, who nodded.
“Thanks,” Jace said, shaking each of their hands. “I’m still thinking, but what would probably be best is if you could hide Valerie here with you while Wyatt and I go back to the ranch and find a way to lure them there. For instance, I could place a call to Lyle, letting him know I found her and let him think she’s at Wyatt’s ranch when she’s really here. Then arrest him when he shows up.”
“Okay,” Wyatt said. “Not a bad idea.”
“I want to stay with Wyatt,” Valerie said, folding her arms. “I understand the risks, but—”
“No,” Wyatt said, not even leaving it up for debate. If they were going into danger, the last thing he wanted was to take her with him. She’d been hurt enough. Now she deserved to sit back and let others dish out the vengeance these men rightfully deserved.
“I deserve to get them back,” she said.
“Oh?” Wyatt asked a little too sarcastically as he turned toward her. “And how would you do that? You’re basically human.”
He hadn’t meant to fling the words at her like that, but he’d been drawn tight as a wire. So far, he’d let her make all the rules, decide everything, because he knew she needed her freedom. No matter how she’d stressed him or bothered him or demanded things from him, he’d always given in and agreed.
But no more. Not when it came to her safety. He and the tiger were purebred cat shifters. She couldn’t even shift, let alone have shifter healing.
Someone had to make that clear to her.
Instead of accepting he had a point, her eyes narrowed dangerously, and a hint of tears glittered at the edges. “Fine, you asshole. See if I care.” Then she turned on her heel and went out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
The room went quiet, and then Maverick scratched his head. “Dude, you better go after her.”
“I second that,” Jace said. “We have to know she’s on board with the plan. That she won’t try to run.”
Wyatt pushed himself off the desk with a little groan. “She won’t try to run. But yeah, I’ll go talk to her.”
“And dude?” Jace said, folding his arms and wrinkling the leather on his jacket.
“Yeah?” Wyatt asked, turning back.
“She might just be more shifter than you think,” he said.
Wyatt gave him a reluctant look, then quirked his mouth in a sad smile. “And I might be more in love with her than you think,” he said, leaving the room gaping as he shut the door and went to seek out the woman he wanted as a mate, no matter how human she was.
14
Valerie had been given a bedroom at the top right corner of the second floor. Luckily, when she’d been storming out of the office, Ruby, Shane’s wife, had been making her way up the stairs for something and was happy to show Valerie to a room.
She didn’t want to stay here, but if she had to, she wouldn’t mind getting to know these girls. Ruby had looked concerned for her, happy to stay and talk if she wanted, but Valerie wanted to be alone.
It had been humiliating, having to show the stranger the pictures of her. But she couldn’t stand him accusing Wyatt. Why couldn’t Wyatt understand as much as he wanted to protect her, she wanted to protect him too?
But he’d made it clear it didn’t matter. She’d never be equal to him. She was just a puny human after all. Not big enough to matter. So she’d have to stand at the sidelines and accept any of his calls, because he was the big, bad shifter.
Well, she was tired of shifters thinking they were better, that they could control her life. She’d said good-bye to that when she’d packed up and ran away with a black-and-blue face.
Not that Wyatt would ever abuse her that way, but it really had hurt when he’d said she was only human.
Deep down, she wasn’t that sure.
But he was. And she’d never be good enough. Still, he was the one who’d wanted more from her. He was the one who seemed disappointed she didn’t want commitment.
Did she want commitment? After seeing the women downstairs with their men, something stirred inside her. She wanted that. Wanted that with someone like Wyatt. And that was a bad thing because she never could be that way. She wasn’t made for that. She’d have had a happy ending by now if she was.
It was too confusing.
And now Wyatt wanted her to just stay out of his way while he dealt with things like a man. Well, she’d be damned if she’d listen.
As she paced, she heard a knock on the door and knew it was him.
Might as well get this over with. “Come in,” she said tersely.
When he opened the door, she caught her breath at his beauty. So tall, so male, with those refined, m
asculine features. Those sleepy gold eyes. Those cheekbones that could cut glass. Those wicked lips.
She shook her head and turned away, walking to the closed window. “What do you want?”
He took a step into the room and shut the door behind him. “This the best place for you, Val,” he said.
“Because I’m a silly human?” she snapped, glaring at him over her shoulder before turning away again.
He came up behind her, trying to put his arms around her, but she pushed away, hissing angrily.
“Don’t do that,” she said, shoving hard until they were several feet apart. “Not after what you just said down there.”
“I never said you were a silly human,” he said, folding his arms and having the nerve to look every bit as angry as she was. Although, he was more intimidating, with that huge height and the breadth of his shoulders. His golden eyes were glowing like metal in the depth of a forge.
“You said I was human, and that’s why I don’t get to come,” she said, glaring.
“You don’t get to come because you don’t have shifter strength or shifter healing,” he said. “Not because you aren’t an asset or because I think less of you because you’re human.”
She frowned. “Sure. But you don’t trust me. I could stay out of trouble. I’m not an idiot or a child. Yet you get to make decisions for me.”
“It was Jace’s idea,” Wyatt said. “I just agreed. We can’t fight if we’re worried about you.”
“Have you thought about how I feel?” she asked, stomping a foot. “I dealt with them for years. Years,” she said, blinking back unexpected tears. “They’re monsters. There are only two of you…”
Wyatt cocked his head, confusion lighting his eyes as he took a step forward. “Val, are you… worried for me?”
She looked away, frowning. “No.”
“You are,” he said, a slight teasing tone in his voice as he took another step, backing her toward the wall.
“Am not,” she said. “I don’t care what happens to you. I was just hoping for sex before you went and got yourself killed.”
Mountain Lion (Bear Haven Book 4) Page 10