Seamus kept his back to them for a long time. He let his hands drop and looked up at the stars, which swam thick and white across the black backdrop. The night was clear, no clouds between them and the heavens.
Seamus turned around again. He didn’t approach, keeping a distance between himself and Kendrick.
“Did ye give him a chance?” Seamus asked.
“Yes.” Kendrick’s body tightened with anger as he remembered. Ivan had aimed at Kendrick as he’d flowed out of the diner, a tiger, then cursed as Kendrick flattened himself to the ground just in time for the bullet to soar over Kendrick’s head.
Then Ivan had thrown the gun aside and shifted, meeting Kendrick as his wildcat. They’d fought savagely. Kendrick, filled with the rage of a Shifter protecting his cubs, hadn’t held back.
Ivan, lower in dominance than Kendrick, hadn’t stood a chance. Kendrick had tried to make himself ease off, give Ivan the opportunity to surrender, but Ivan was determined to fight on. Conquer or die. Kendrick, enraged and fearing for his cubs, couldn’t stop himself. He’d torn Ivan apart.
Then Ivan had apologized but warned Kendrick at the same time that he could expect more Shifters to fight him. Kendrick had wanted to lie down and weep after he’d sent Ivan to dust but he’d had to get his cubs to safety.
Seamus’s breath came faster, sharing Kendrick’s grief. Seamus flinched, as though a cramp had clenched his body, then he let out a soft sound of distress.
Kendrick went to him, his instinct as leader and Guardian to comfort him. “I gave him what chance I could.”
Seamus twisted away. “No, don’t touch me.”
“I never meant it to go down like that,” Kendrick said. “I was protecting my cubs.”
He placed a hand on Seamus’s arm, and Seamus jerked from him, eyes wide. “Ye don’t understand. I can feel it—all ye did. Your anger, fear, grief—I feel it.” He thumped both hands to his gut. “Ye have to back off, leave me be.”
Seamus didn’t explain his bewildering statements, simply pivoted and strode away. He didn’t go far, stopping to throw his head back and study the stars.
Kendrick’s chest tightened, his hands clenching. He didn’t know what Seamus meant or how the death of Ivan would affect Seamus’s loyalties to him. He couldn’t lose Seamus, not after all they’d been through.
Kendrick felt a hand touch his. Addison had come to stand beside him, her fingertips on his hot fist.
“You didn’t have a choice,” she said quietly.
Kendrick didn’t move, letting her touch ease him. “A leader pledges to protect his Shifters. That means all of them, regardless.”
“You were protecting them,” Addison pointed out. “Why was defending your cubs wrong?”
“If I had an easy answer, my life would be so much better,” Kendrick said with grim humor. “I hurt him. That hurts me.” He gestured at Seamus, who’d drawn into himself.
Addison’s fingers caressed his. “You can’t think that what everyone in the world does is your fault.”
“Not everyone in the world,” Kendrick said. “I’m not that crazy. Just people I pledged to take care of.”
Another caress. “You’ll figure it out,” Addison said softly.
Kendrick stopped. In his dream last night, Addison had stood with him under the sky and said the same thing. You’ll figure it out. Look around you, white tiger. Live.
Had the dream been premonition? Or his brain trying to get him to understand?
Voices floated up the hill from the house, small ones with determination only tigers could have. “They want to stargaze too,” Robbie called as he walked with the younger boys toward them.
Zane stared up at Robbie in outrage. “No, you wanted to,” he said when they reached Kendrick and Addison. “And told us we had to come with you.”
Robbie flushed, but Kendrick didn’t admonish him. Robbie had to give in to Zane’s and Brett’s needs all the time—once in a while they should give in to his. “Is Uncle Seamus all right?” Robbie asked.
Seamus straightened up and came back to them. He had a welcoming look on his face but Kendrick saw the strain.
Robbie seemed to notice the tension as well. He was perceptive, for a cub. He pointed upward. “Look, there’s the Great Bear.”
Addison glanced skyward, following his finger. “Ursa Major,” she agreed. “I never knew it was a bear when I was little. I only knew it as the Big Dipper. And the Little Dipper over there.” She pointed to the north sky.
“That’s not a dipper,” Robbie said, with the incredulous tone of a boy who knows something an adult doesn’t. “The Great Bear is a mother bear Shifter searching for her son. When bear Shifters were first created by the Fae, a mother and her cub escaped out of Faerie into what would become America. One day, the cub went missing and the mother bear searched for him frantically. The native people of the place where she found refuge told her to look in the sky. That night, she looked up, and saw the little bear.”
Robbie pointed at Ursa Minor—the little bear, Addie realized—and continued. “The mother bear leapt high, swung up on the stars, and started chasing her errant son. The Fae came boiling out of Faerie, ready to shoot them both down. The shamans of the native tribe used their magic to change the mother and son into stars. The Fae couldn’t reach them and went back home. So now the mother chases the son around and around the North Star.”
Robbie moved his arm to illustrate as he talked, and Addison listened, enchanted.
“It’s not the story I learned,” she said when he finished.
“There’s all kinds of stories about the stars,” Robbie said. “Dad knows them all. He told us.”
Addison sent Kendrick a look. “Did he?”
Kendrick rounded up his sons. “Inside, you three. It’s getting late and colder. Seamus?”
Seamus, without saying a word, started for the house. He leaned down and picked up the smaller boys on his way, and Robbie, with a hopeful look at Addison, went after them.
“I’ll be in to put you to bed,” Addison promised, then she turned to Kendrick. “Is he going to be all right? Seamus, I mean.”
Kendrick looked after his tracker, who had reverted to his good-natured ways with the boys. “I don’t know. There’s something going on with him.”
“Will you tell me?” Addison gazed up at him as wistfully as Robbie had. “The Shifter stories of the constellations?”
There were many—the Lovers, which humans thought of as the twins of the Gemini, the Tiger, and the Wolf Cubs. Kendrick had a tale for each of them.
“Yes,” he said in a low voice. “When this is done, I’ll tell you the legends of the stars.”
Addison didn’t answer for a time. She studied him with her clear-eyed watchfulness, then gave him a nod. “Good. I’ll hold you to that.”
* * *
Charlie made no comment about having to accommodate yet another Shifter in his house and had a bedroom ready for Seamus by the time Addie walked back in with Kendrick.
“Does me good to see the place so alive again,” Charlie said to Addie as he bustled around with pillows and blankets.
Seamus disappeared into his room, and Addie heard him on the phone as she lingered in the hallway. Seamus was speaking in a gentle tone, obviously to someone he cared about.
“I’ll be all right, sweetheart,” he said. “Home as soon as I can.”
His voice was so full of love that Addie’s heart ached. How wonderful to have someone care that much for you that every word was a caress. She thought of her conversation with Charlie when he said that not everybody was lucky to love someone who loved them back.
Addie sighed, hid her longing, and went to put the boys to bed.
The little ones seemed happier tonight, less afraid. Uncle Seamus was here, they were safe in Charlie’s house, and Addie could tell them more stories.<
br />
Addie repeated stories from the Oz books, which she knew by heart—the originals, not the 1939 musical. All three boys were fascinated, listening, mouths open, until they finally drooped and slept.
Addie had to wonder whether she’d be sleeping in the bed in this room or in the big bed across the hall, and whether it would be with or without Kendrick.
When she checked their bedroom, it was lit but empty, as was the living room. Charlie must have gone to bed, because he was nowhere in sight.
Addie poured herself a glass of water in the kitchen and carried it back down the hall with her. She heard voices from Seamus’s room but it didn’t sound like he was on the phone anymore. Kendrick’s rumble answered Seamus and Addie tiptoed along the hall until she stood outside Seamus’s door.
“I don’t know when it started,” Seamus said. “I had it all my life, maybe, and it finally was noticeable when terrible things happened.”
“But terrible things have happened to us before,” Kendrick said. “We’ve had death, outright slaughter, had to flee for our lives. Why didn’t you know about it then?”
“I have no idea,” Seamus said. “All I want to know is, what the hell is a Shifter empath, and how did I get this way? Dealing with it, Kendrick, has been a bitch.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Addie had no idea what a Shifter empath was, and her curiosity stirred. She leaned closer, listening without shame.
“Dylan didn’t tell you about what happened to me?” Seamus asked.
“Dylan didn’t tell me a lot of things,” Kendrick said. “Not that I’ve actually had many conversations with him. He gave orders; I gave him information. I don’t really blame him. It’s tough for leaders to know who to trust.”
“Yeah, I get that.” Seamus’s growls softened. “Thank you for trusting me. Now, what are we going to do?”
“Can you find Jaycee? Or Dimitri?”
“I don’t know.” Seamus sounded troubled. “Haven’t heard from either of them since we went to ground. Of course, I’ve been inside a Shiftertown and both of them must think I went over to the dark side. But I’ll try to find them. Francesca can help.”
“Only if Francesca can get away from the Shifters. I don’t want her or Katie to be hurt by this.”
Amusement entered Seamus’s tone. “You’re not going to believe this, but the two that broke our compound—Rebecca and Walker Danielson—are pretty good people. They take care of foster cubs and help a lot of Shifters. We’ve become good friends.”
“I might choke on the sentimentality,” Kendrick rumbled. “But I’m going to trust you to know which Shifters you can trust. Try to get hold of this Ben guy too. Seems like he’s resourceful.” Kendrick paused. “Addie saw Tiger and Spike yesterday when she went into San Antonio. She said they saw her but they have no reason to connect her to me. Do they?”
Seamus whistled. “If Tiger saw her . . . He’s something different, is Tiger. That might be a problem.”
“Do you trust him?”
“With my life. But . . .” Seamus trailed off. “Then again, it depends. Tiger obeys only Tiger. Even Dylan can’t control him. No one can, except his mate, who is half his size—it’s adorable. Tiger doesn’t wear a real Collar either. I mean, who would be fool enough to put one on him?”
“Hmm.” Kendrick’s concern touched Addie through the door. “Well, I’ll worry about him when I need to. Sleep on it.” He gave a laugh. “That is, if you aren’t busy calling your mate again to coo at her.”
“I don’t coo.” Seamus didn’t sound the least bit embarrassed. “And Bree’s a wonderful woman. You’ll see.”
Kendrick made another growling noise, then there was a rustle, both men going silent. Addie pictured them hugging again—they liked to do that.
Before she knew it, the doorknob was turning. Addie fled down the hall, trying to move swiftly and silently, the water in her glass sloshing over.
She made it to the bedroom but a second later, Kendrick was there, pushing her inside, rescuing the water before she dropped it.
He closed the door and leaned against it. “Never think a Shifter can’t hear the softest footfall, Addison.”
In the dim light cast by the lamp on the nightstand, Kendrick’s face faded into shadows, but his green eyes were sharp.
Addie shrugged, trying to be nonchalant. “I was curious.”
“If you want to know anything, all you have to do is ask.”
Addie snorted a laugh. “Yeah, right. When you first met me, you wouldn’t even tell me your name.”
“I told you plenty tonight.”
Addie could not decide whether Kendrick was angry or not. He remained against the door, blocking her way out but not advancing on her.
“Not everything,” she countered. “What’s a Shifter empath?”
Kendrick finally left the door. He went to the dresser and drew off his shirt. His firm back came into view, crisscrossed with fine white scars.
“I don’t really know,” Kendrick said. “Seamus says he can sense strong emotions in others, feel what they’re feeling. That’s why he was so upset on the hill—he caught my grief at having to kill Ivan. So he says, anyway.”
“I’m sorry about that,” Addie said. She remembered the deep pain in his eyes when he’d used the sword on the dying Shifter. She came to him, putting her hand on his bare arm. “You okay?”
Kendrick looked swiftly down at her. “Addison, it’s best not to touch me.”
Addie blinked and withdrew. “No? I was getting the idea that Shifters liked the touchy-feely stuff. Or maybe it’s only Shifter guys with Shifter guys?” She sent him a sly smile.
She only meant to tease him, but Kendrick stared at her as though he had no idea what she was talking about.
“Every time you touch me, I want you more.” Kendrick turned around and stepped to her. Addison had to crank her head back to keep her eyes on his face. “I want you so much it’s killing me.”
Addison let her hand drift to his. “Kendrick, I’ve probably made it obvious I don’t mind.” She softened her voice. “I really don’t.”
The snarl that worked its way from Kendrick’s throat was harsh. His big hands closed over her arms, and he lifted her from her feet and carried her backward to the bed. Addie stifled a yelp, his strength powerful.
She’d thought the height of the bed would stymie him, but Addison found herself on her back on the mattress, Kendrick on hands and knees over her.
“You tempt your fate,” he said, his words soft as a whisper. “I’m not gentle, Addison. Never have been.”
Addie disagreed, having seen how tenderly he held his cubs and Robbie. She recalled how careful he’d been with them when they’d played on the grass in their animal forms. He’d made sure he never hurt them.
“Tell you what,” Addie said, trying to keep her voice steady. “How about we just sleep? We both need it.” She stroked his arm, finding his skin hot and tight.
Kendrick leaned close, his eyes hard. “You want me to lie here with you, holding you for comfort? You think we can do something that tame? Every time I’m with you, I want you, and not in a nice way. What happened in the barn is only the barest beginning. I want you every way I can have you, and I don’t want it gentle. I’ve only ever been with Shifter females, and they can take what I need to do. You can’t. And so I’ll be sleeping on the porch tonight.”
Addie’s eyes widened but her heart beat faster in excitement. “You have no idea the harassment I took at the diner. Most was in fun, but some of the guys were mean, and rough.” She thought of a few pats on her ass that had stung, some that had been accompanied by a grip of hard fingers. “You’re not like that. No matter how badass you think you are.”
“Addison.” Kendrick leaned closer, his body heat covering her. “You play with fire.”
“Fire can be good.” Ad
die dared put one finger to the hollow at his collarbone, touching where a Shifter Collar would be. “It warms you and cooks things.”
“It can also be the most destructive thing on earth.”
Kendrick’s growl came again. He leaned even closer, fists tightening on either side of her head, and licked her from chin to the bridge of her nose.
His tongue was hot, his breath scalding. Kendrick came down again, this time licking across her mouth. The third time, he dipped between her parted lips, stroking inside, nudging her tongue to respond.
Addie took the weight of him, wrapping him in her arms. She slanted her mouth across his, opening for his kiss, which was deeper than any he’d given her yet. Kendrick moved his tongue inside her mouth the same as when he’d gone down on her in the barn. The sexiest moment of her life.
This one was rivaling it. While she was clothed this time, the heat of Kendrick’s bare chest through her thin shirt was intoxicating. She skimmed her hands down his smooth back, his muscles working as he strengthened the kiss. She felt his cock through his jeans as she had earlier today, his wanting clear.
Kendrick moved one hand to her shoulder, pressing down with powerful fingers. She was pinned to the mattress, Kendrick’s hold not letting her move. His kiss turned hard, almost savage, Addie sinking into softness with him on top of her.
Instead of terrifying her—which was what he was trying to do—Addie felt exhilarated. She wrapped her foot around his firm calf and pulled him closer still.
Kendrick snarled and ripped his mouth from hers. His eyes had lightened, the green so pale it was almost white. He lifted his hand from her shoulder, the other off the bed. Bedding tore, the fist that had braced him having become a paw with claws.
Another snarl and he sprang away from her, landing on his feet beside the bed. “No!”
Addie grabbed the edge of the mattress and peered over it. “What’s the matter?” Her breath came swiftly, the chill of his leaving sharp.
“If you have to ask . . .” Kendrick’s eyes held more anger than she’d ever seen in him. His fists balled and she realized he was barely containing his shift.
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