by Cara Carnes
He stroked a path from her temple to her elbow. The comfortable silence settled around them, but Dani accepted it wouldn’t last forever. “That was amazing.”
“You okay?” he asked.
Typical Thane. No bullshit, no delay.
“Yeah. Dandy.”
“Sweetheart, I get women are different than men, but I’m thinking crying doesn’t belong around what we just did.” He pulled upward on her chin. “I’m thinking we need a moratorium on my rules to hash a few things out.”
“Your rules?” Her pulse rattled when he traced the swell of her breast.
“I’m thinking you need a few more turns to get past my leaving. We’re getting this settled once and for all before we vacate the cave, Dani.”
“The past doesn’t matter.” She settled her palm over his chest. With the subject in play, she released the questions rattling around in her head. “Where did you go? What did you do? Why did you come back?”
Are you staying?
Thane sighed and contemplated his response. She didn’t need to hear about the challenges he’d faced, the battles he’d nearly lost. Yet he’d sworn long ago there’d be no lies between them.
“Dominants wolves without a pack aren’t exactly a welcome commodity. I traveled, remained alone for the most part. A few jobs here and there among humans got me the spending money I needed.”
“And your wounds?” She touched one scar then another and another. Each hesitant swipe along his skin had his beast rising to the surface.
“I thought you said the past doesn’t matter.”
She sighed. “So that’s it?”
“What else would there be?”
“Did you meet anyone?”
The question bothered him because he wondered if she’d hooked up with anyone while he’d been away. Of course she had. She was a young, gorgeous woman with no one except a big brother standing in someone’s way. An easy target for a wolf stud looking for a good time. If someone hurt her, added to the grief he’d already given her, he’d get a name and kick their ass.
Set an example for everyone else.
No one messed with Dani.
“I didn’t meet anyone serious.” He grimaced. The truth sounded harsh, too coarse.
“I see.”
“Dani….”
“No, Thane. I get it. Honestly, I had no business asking. Our kind have high sex drives, so of course you’d find a way to sate your needs.”
“Is that what you did? Sate your needs? Who?” The obvious jealousy hung between them. Yeah, the conversation shouldn’t have been broached, not when so much was already in the air. “Get some rest.”
He rose and slid into his pants.
“Where are you going? We aren’t done talking? Are we?”
“There’s nothing else to discuss, Dani. You know where we stand. I told you before. I’m back. I’m not leaving until we figure out where we stand, but a cave on the edge of pack land isn’t where we’re having this discussion.”
“You started it.” She grabbed her shirt.
“I gave you an opening to unload whatever shit made you cry while my dick was inside you. I won’t ignore what went down because it’s an uncomfortable discussion.” He zipped up his pants. “Who I screwed doesn’t matter.”
“So that’s all I am? A screw?” she screamed.
He prowled toward her as she rose. Anger reddened her cheeks. “You’re reading into my words, sweetheart. I figured the lessons from back in the day were still there in you somewhere. Dust them off and remember. I don’t handle you hearing shit I’m not saying.”
“What exactly did you say?”
He grasped her neck and dragged her toward him until their breaths mingled. “When we get Charles handled and we’re back in Los Lobos, we’re figuring out where we stand. But I’ll tell you now, so you can think on it. You’re mine. I’m back. I’m not going anywhere. I don’t want to ever know who in the pack you were with while I was gone because I’d kill them. Straight up, Dani. Make sure I never hear a name or see a hint.”
When she didn’t respond, he grazed her lips with his and continued. “You understand? Not a single word.”
She nodded.
“Since you seem to need to know, I fucked women while I was away. But only when the ache for you was too much to ignore. I’m not a saint, Dani. Leaving you damn near destroyed me.”
She studied him a moment. Her voice was a bare whisper against his throat as she wrapped her arms around him. “Just so you know, Thane. There was no one else. There never will be.”
He kissed her, allowing the need he’d held in check free rein. There’d been no one else. The possessive bastard in him rose to the surface. His. The urge to claim her as his mate rode him, but no way in hell was it happening in a cave.
Lifting her, he grabbed her ass as she wound her legs around his waist. She writhed against him. Twigs snapped behind him. A growl rose from his throat. He severed their kiss and settled her on her feet.
Eyes wide, she looked up at him. Palpable fear wafted off her. He settled a finger on her lips to signal for silence. When she nodded, he headed toward the mouth of the cave.
Limbs snapped toward the west. Alert, he summoned his shift and tore off toward the scent. The trespassing shifter would get handled. He wasn’t letting Dani cower in a cave for another night, and Thane still had to find Charles.
The farther he chased the trail, the more uneasy he got. Leaving her alone was a necessity. The faster he ended him, the better. He had a mate to claim.
The prey lunged from the left, diving through the trees. He slammed into Thane with the force of a brick wall. Pain ran from his rib cage and along his shoulder. The two rolled.
The wolf clamped his teeth into Thane’s shoulder and twisted, determined to rend flesh from bone. Thane relaxed enough to take the man by surprise. The moment the bite eased, he growled and pulled away, absorbing the shock of losing flesh.
Blood coated the trespasser’s mouth when he snarled and circled Thane. End him quick. The decision looped in his mind as he charged the quarry. They rolled. His teeth sank into the man’s throat, but the slippery fucker escaped.
“Thane!”
Damn.
Dani’s voice fractured the hold Thane had on the situation. The trespasser pounced, knocking her down. A feral growl rumbled from his throat. The man shifted and wrapped his hand around her throat.
Dani trembled. Pain ran up her reddening face when the man squeezed, pressing his meaty arm into her trachea.
“One more step and I snap her neck.”
“Let her go,” Thane growled. “Fight me like a real warrior. Don’t cower behind a female.”
“That’s rich coming from a coward who left his pack.”
“You know me.” Thane studied the man.
“What? You kicked so many out of Los Lobos for Magnum you don’t remember?” The man laughed and wrapped a second hand around Dani’s waist. “I lost my woman ’cause of you. Seems only fair I take yours.”
Clyve. Fucking pain in Thane’s ass back then. He and his brother had raised hell, inciting people with the sole purpose of pissing off Magnum. Chasing him off had been the only option, short of murdering the miserable prick. Clearly, Thane chose wrong.
“You led those humans on pack lands, Clyve. That wasn’t smart.” Thane stepped forward.
“A man’s gotta earn. Consider it my way of strengthening the pack. If you all can’t handle a few human hunters, you deserve to die.” He sneered. “Now step back or I snap her neck. That’d be a real shame ’cause I can think of lots more fun ways to spend the night.”
A growl rose from his throat when Dani wheezed. She slumped against Clyve. “She can’t breathe. Ease up on her throat. I’m not moving.”
He chuckled and licked her cheek. “I smell you on her. Think I’ll have to dunk her in the river a few times to get your stink off her before I rut between her legs. Figure it�
��ll take a few days before I get bored then, if you’re lucky, I’ll give her back.”
“Let her go or you die a slow, painful death.”
Thane studied the man’s stance, the way he shifted his hold every few seconds. Before he could sync his attack, a wolf lunged from the woods behind Clyve.
The trespasser shifted quickly, but the surprise attack left Dani beneath the two massive beasts as they fought. She screamed when Clyve sank his teeth into her side.
The attacking wolf growled but backed up enough for his opponent to tear off into the woods. The beast pursued his prey. Thane sank to his knees before Dani and took her into his arms.
“I think I got hurt again.” She smiled and looked up at him. “You didn’t chase him.”
So she’d scented the fact the beast who saved her was Charles.
He rose with her in his arms. “Rest, sweetheart. Nothing else matters but you.”
Chapter Six
A dull throb along her side woke Dani. Warmth seeped in through her back and arms. Stretching slowly, she halted when her hand landed on Thane. Memories flooded her.
Moonlight filtered in through the cavern entrance, and she immediately realized he’d chosen her security over the obligation to find her brother. Again. Guilt kept her silent a few more moments. Ryker wouldn’t be pleased, and no sane wolf in the Tao pack pissed off the enforcer.
“How long have I been out?”
“A few hours. You needed the rest. Your side okay?” he asked as he slowly turned her over.
The soft lilt in his voice belied the mocha flecks in his eyes. The protective wolf prowled near the surface. Hers responded in kind, rumbling an approval which rose from deep within her. Her gaze swept across his face and down his exposed chest. Dried blood coated his upper arm.
“You’re hurt.”
“I’m fine. You are, too.” He kissed her lips with a gentleness that tingled to her toes.
“It was Charles, wasn’t it?” she whispered as she rested her head on his chest, listening to the dull thud of his heart beneath her ear.
“Yeah. He saved you.”
“He always did.” The truth almost hurt more than the reality she’d come to accept. “We should head out, pick up the trail before it gets any colder. I smell snow in the air.”
“Dani.”
She barely heard the call as she rose and headed toward the swirling wind whipping through the cave like an icy slap. Ignoring the call, she stepped outside and dragged in a deep breath. Nope, she wasn’t a tracker. Had zero clue how to pick up the trail he’d ignored to keep her safe.
“Dammit, Dani.” He grabbed her about the waist and dragged her against his body. “Hold up there, slugger. You’re sitting this one out. I’ll track them, but you’re staying in the cave where you’re safe.”
“I’m going with you. Think about it, Thane. I can talk Charles down. No one else can.” She faced him, noted his ticking jaw, and knew she had won.
“You follow my lead; do exactly what I saw without question.”
“Of course.”
He muttered something beneath his breath as he headed out. Smiling she followed. Although the past few hours had sucked in epic proportions, Thane was back. Darkness diminished visibility, so she stayed as close to him as possible.
Oak and honeysuckle hung in the air. They entered the clearing where the battle occurred earlier. Tension knotted around her shoulders, hardened her stance as she stood beside Thane and waited for whatever happened next.
With a parting glance filled with concern and determination, he headed away from the clearing. The farther they went, the darker the inky blackness became. Moonlight beamed through the branches, casting ominous shadows all around.
Her skin pricked with unease as a foul odor, coppery and sweet, filled her nostrils.
“Stay here. Don’t move,” Thane ordered.
“W-what is that smell?” She looked around. “I want to come with you. Don’t leave me here. It’s creepy.”
Thane kissed her and rested his forehead against hers. “You don’t want to see what’s up ahead. Let me scope it out then I’ll be right back to get you. Okay?”
Dread anchored in her gut. She inhaled deeply again. “That’s blood, isn’t it?”
“I need your trust, Dani. Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
Charles could be wounded. Or worse—dead. What if whoever hurt him hurt Thane? Fear quickened her pulse, labored her breathing. Spots appeared in her vision as her wolf rose to the surface, flexing beneath her skin in a desperate attempt to take over the situation.
Damn. The symptoms spiraled, warning her of the ensuing results. Her brain battled the terror, the inability to salvage the situation. Weariness weighted her limbs, stilted her reactions.
“Hey!” An ache settled in the back of her neck where Thane touched her. “Focus on my voice, Dani. We can’t have you locking down on me right now. I know you’re scared, but I swear it’ll be okay. You with me?”
“I won’t get in the way. Let me go with you. Please.” She clung to him, desperate to maintain physical contact. As long as he was here, he couldn’t be there—where the stench of death threatened everything that mattered. Her only kin and the only man she’d ever loved. If Charles lay up ahead, dead, then Thane was all she had. “I can’t lose you, too.”
“Stay behind me.”
Dani snagged the waistband of his pants and stepped wherever he did. The last thing she wanted was to distract him. Warmth seeped into her fingertips when she grazed his back accidentally.
They wound through trees and navigated boulders—Thane leaped and she sort of hung on when he hoisted her—until they entered an open glade. Faint moonlight offered just enough light for her to see the body. Or the remnants of one.
Charles.
She sprinted a few yards but was dragged against Thane’s body.
“It’s not him,” he growled in her ear. “It’s not him.”
She relaxed against him, but her insides clenched in anguish. Oh, Charles, what did you do? The trespasser’s scent enveloped the area, she’d calmed enough to notice. “There must’ve been a fight.”
The justification hung between them for a moment as Thane eased his hold on her and prowled closer. She remained rooted in place.
“I understand you’re hanging onto the brother you knew growing up, but the Charles who protected you didn’t do this, Dani. Open your eyes, sweetheart. He’s sick.”
Although the words stung, the evidence unfolded in crimson and bone. Pale moonlight reflected off the bloody latter while the former appeared everywhere she looked. Yards of gore, entrails, and eviscerated flesh led to the husk of the man who’d wrapped his fingers around her throat and squeezed.
Her skin burned there as she studied the scene. Sadness consumed her. Had he done this for her? Retribution for the suffering she’d endured? Or was the slaughter before her because of Sonya’s loss? She settled on her knees a few feet away, in one of the only bloodless spots.
“Wildlife probably did a lot of this.” The pathetic reasoning hung between them as Thane stooped to a squat beside her. Unshed tears burned her eyes. She reached up and grasped the hand settled on her shoulder. “I know. I know. Just let me hold onto the little bit of hope I have. I have to believe Charles didn’t kill Sonya.”
“We have to go. He’s on the move, and the longer we wait, the weaker the scent trail will be.”
A slushy goop of sleet and snow had started a while before, but Dani had ignored the dreary cold. Though acclimating body temperature came naturally, prolonged exposure wasn’t ever wise. Thane was right, but for an entirely different reason a conditioned pack warrior like him wouldn’t ever consider.
She’d been so obsessed with how his departure and subsequent return affected her, she hadn’t taken time to think about Thane. She’d had Charles and the pack to help her through his abrupt departure. Who did he have?
No one.
<
br /> Here he was, years later, helping a pack he hadn’t renewed fealty to yet. With no one to care what he endured, suffered. Experienced.
She cared. A lot.
Something within her stirred. Her wolf was more than ready to back Thane, no matter what went down. He’d been through too much already. Once things were handled, she’d ensure he had time to acclimate to having a pack again. She couldn’t imagine surviving without anyone around.
“You’re too quiet,” Thane commented.
“Just thinking, when this is over, we deserve a vacation. You, me, and Charles.” Her voice broke on her brother’s name. “He’ll need time away after this.”
“Yeah, yeah he will.” Though his words offered agreement, the tone spoke volumes that she wasn’t willing to consider. Not yet.
“What do we do about this? We can’t just leave him here.”
“Scavengers will handle most of it. What’s left will be handled by someone else after we get Charles back to Los Lobos.”
She nodded. “Then let’s go. If we’re lucky, he holed up somewhere for the night. Charles never liked the night.”
Thane smirked as he stood and offered her a hand up. “Funny, I seem to recall you being the one not liking nighttime.”
“Hello? Have you seen the shadows? They’re just creepy.” She shuddered and grasped his waistband again. “You know better than to mention the shadows.”
He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her. “I’ll keep you safe.”
Pleasure swept through her as he kissed her. Play nips along her neck ignited a longing she’d had for years—to feel his bite where her pulse thudded. More than anything, she wanted to be his mate, his everything.
***
Thane followed the faint scent with a heavy heart. Though the end he’d sought far too long was approaching, the real battle hadn’t started. Clyve’s slaughter had been savage. Dani probably hadn’t noted Charles’s scent in the gore, but Thane had.
No sane man did what’d been done to Clyve. The prick had deserved death, but not like that. No matter what awaited him at the end of the trail, someone would get hurt. If Charles killed Sonya and shot Drew, he’d be dealt with. Harshly.