Where an hour ago, he’d felt nothing but pity as his parents called him “mutant” and “a mistake,” now he felt staggering pain and rage—at just the idea of releasing Tryst, giving her to another male. It was true. He had no cat. He was certain of that. But something clawed and scratched at his insides at the thought of Tryst in another male’s arms.
Before he could say anything to Raph, the soft but unmistakable sound of paws hitting earth rent the air. Both males turned to see a massive black puma entering the clearing. When it got about six feet away, it stopped and sat back on its haunches.
Waiting.
“I’ll leave you here,” Raphael said. “My mate and daughter made dinner tonight. Can’t be late.”
Simon nodded, but his eyes remained on the puma. “Good-bye, Raph.”
“No,” the leader of the Pantera said as he walked away. “I’ll see you later, Simon.”
Chapter Ten
Mine.
This male.
The taste of blood still on her tongue, the cat pushed from its sitting position and advanced. It was true he carried no shifting puma within him, but it was there—in a different way. In his heart and mind, and in the blood running through his veins. In some ways, it had made him even more powerful than the rest of the Pantera.
He didn’t need to shift to be a formidable warrior.
The ones who had made him couldn’t understand such beauty. They saw his difference as wrong. She and her female form, Tryst, saw him as special.
Mine.
As if he heard her thoughts, he came toward her, stopping when she did. Dark blue eyes to her pale blue, she stared up at him. After a moment, he exhaled heavily, reaching for her. She felt his hand on her massive neck, and instantly she began to purr.
“I’ll never be this, Tryst,” he said in an even voice.
The cat had no choice but to retreat, and in seconds Tryst stood before him. Naked. Completely at ease with herself. “You’re more.”
He stared at her, his eyes clinging to her eyes despite her obvious nudity.
“You may not be able to call a cat forward,” she said. “But you brought a female out of hers, out of the self-imposed prison she’d been hiding inside of. You showed her what it was like to be touched, to feel, to be vulnerable and happy.”
He reached out and brushed his fingers over her cheek. “I don’t know if I belong here, Tryst. Don’t know if I can be happy here.”
“You don’t have to live here. I’d be content in my female form forever if it was with you.”
His eyes drew sadness and he shook his head. “I would never do that to you.”
Didn’t he understand? “But you’d have me live without you? I’m your mate, Simon.”
“Why do you believe that?” Even with the question on his lips, a growl vibrated in his throat.
She covered his hand with her own and smiled softly. “Tell me you don’t. Tell me you don’t and I’ll walk away right now. I’ll let you leave and I won’t chase you.” Tears pricked her eyes and she cursed inwardly. The hardass Hunter who handled pain like it was nothing at all was breaking at the thought of this male walking out of her life.
“Listen to me,” she continued. “I know you’re scared to trust me again. I don’t blame you. Especially after what you’ve been through. But I’m so sorry I betrayed you.”
His jaw tightened. “You had a duty to Raphael and the Pantera.”
“I wish that was the full reason,” she said, her heart squeezing with worry.
His brows drew together. “It wasn’t?”
She shook her head. “I wanted you to come back here. For me, and for you. I’d heard you say things in your sleep about not having a cat inside you and how you were a worthless cub...”
He dropped his hand and snarled, shame glistening in his eyes.
“I see what you’re doing,” she said, her hands going to his face now, forcing him to look at her, deep into her eyes. “Don’t go there with me. Not ever. I’m not them. I see you, Simon. Do you understand me? I see you.”
“I know you do,” he said on a rush of breath.
Again, her heart squeezed. “Really?”
His eyes locked with hers. They were stormy blue, but it was a storm that raged from love.
“I wanted to bring you here,” she continued, her voice breaking with emotion, “because I was hoping you’d change your feelings about the Wildlands. I was hoping that if you had a cat, it could be released by someone who cared about you so deeply you actually felt it, knew it in your heart—without them around, without those horrible pieces of—”
She started to cry, for real now. Great big tears forming in her eyes and falling on her cheeks. “Goddess, I’m a mess. This isn’t how I am. Or wasn’t. It’s tearing me up, Simon. I didn’t know I could feel like this.”
“I understand. I do. Hush now.” He took her in his arms and held her close. “Love does some crazy shit, ma chère.”
She let him hold her. For several seconds. Reveled in his warmth and protection. But it couldn’t be forever. Not until she said what she needed to say. Pulling away, her eyes found his once again. “Listen—”
“Kitten, you don’t have to say anything more.”
“Yes, I do,” she insisted, passionately. “If you can’t be mine…” Her voice broke again. “If you can’t...will you at least forgive me before you release me?”
He gazed at her, his eyes filled with something she couldn’t name. And then he leaned in and kissed the top of her head, whispered into her hair, “I can’t, Tryst.”
“Oh, Simon...” she cried, wanting to die, wanting to run, wanting to scream and beg and—
“I can’t release you.”
Tryst froze, pulled back. “What?”
He tipped her chin up and wiped the tears from her eyes. Then he kissed her gently on the mouth. “Oh, kitten, there’s nothing to forgive. It was a miracle. I actually found peace here. For the first time in my life.” He smiled at her, lovingly, adoringly. “And I found you. My mate.”
Her heart filled to bursting and she smiled through a fresh batch of tears. “Yes. Yours. Out of the Wildlands—”
“And in,” he finished.
Crying out, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, hard and long and sweet and true. And when he eased back, his nose resting against hers, and whispered the words, “My home” and “My Tryst” against her lips, she finally understood the true meaning of the word “mate.”
It wasn’t about claiming at all. It was about connecting.
Two Hearts.
Two minds.
One soul.
Forever.
* * * *
Also from 1001 Dark Nights and Alexandra Ivy and Laura Wright, discover Rage/Killian.
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Kill Without Mercy
Ares Security Book 1
By Alexandra Ivy
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From the hellhole of a Taliban prison to sweet freedom, five brave military heroes have made it home—and they’re ready to take on the civilian missions no one else can. Individually they’re intimidating. Together they’re invincible. They’re the men of ARES Security.
Rafe Vargas is only in Newton, Iowa, to clear out his late grandfather’s small house. As the covert ops specialist for ARES Security, he’s eager to get back to his new life in Texas. But when he crosses paths with Annie White, a haunted beauty with skeletons in her closet, he can’t just walk away—not when she’s clearly in danger…
There’s a mysterious serial killer on the loose with a link to Annie’s dark past. And the closer he gets, the deeper Rafe’s instinct to protect kicks in. But even with his considerable skill, Annie’s courage, and his ARES buddies behind him, the slaying won’t stop. Now it’s only a matter of time before Annie’s next—unless they can unravel a history of deadly lies that won’t be buried.
* * * *
Friday nights in Houston meant crowded bars, loud music and ice-cold beer. It was a tradition that Rafe and his friends had quickly adapted to suit their own tastes when they moved to Texas five months ago.
After all, none of them were into the dance scene. They were too old for half-naked coeds and casual hookups. And none of them wanted to have to scream over pounding music to have a decent conversation.
Instead, they’d found The Saloon, a small, cozy bar with lots of polished wood, a jazz band that played softly in the background, and a handful of locals who knew better than to bother the other customers. Oh, and the finest tequila in the city.
They even had their own table that was reserved for them every Friday night.
Tucked in a back corner, it was shrouded in shadows and well away from the long bar that ran the length of one wall. A perfect spot to observe without being observed.
And best of all, situated so no one could sneak up from behind.
It might have been almost two years since they’d returned from the war, but none of them had forgotten. Lowering your guard, even for a second, could mean death.
Lesson. Fucking. Learned.
Tonight, however, it was only Rafe and Hauk at the table, both of them sipping tequila and eating peanuts from a small bucket.
Lucas was still in Washington D.C., working his contacts to help drum up business for their new security business, ARES. Max had remained at their new offices, putting the final touches on his precious forensics lab, and Teagan was on his way to the bar after installing a computer system that would give Homeland Security a hemorrhage if they knew what he was doing.
Leaning back in his chair, Rafe intended to spend the night relaxing after a long week of hassling with the red tape and bullshit regulations that went into opening a new business, when he made the mistake of checking his messages.
“Shit.”
He tossed his cellphone on the polished surface of the wooden table, a tangled ball of emotions lodged in the pit of his stomach.
Across the table Hauk sipped his tequila and studied Rafe with a lift of his brows.
At a glance, the two men couldn’t be more different.
Rafe had dark hair that had grown long enough to touch the collar of his white button-down shirt along with dark eyes that were lushly framed by long, black lashes. His skin remained tanned dark bronze despite the fact it was late September, and his body was honed with muscles that came from working on the small ranch he’d just purchased, not the gym.
Hauk, on the other hand, had inherited his Scandinavian father’s pale blond hair that he kept cut short, and brilliant blue eyes that held a cunning intelligence. He had a narrow face with sculpted features that were usually set in a stern expression.
And it wasn’t just their outward appearance that made them so different.
Rafe was hot tempered, passionate and willing to trust his gut instincts.
Hauk was aloof, calculating, and mind-numbingly anal. Not that Hauk would admit he was OCD. He preferred to call himself detail-oriented.
Which was exactly why he was a successful sniper. Rafe, on the other hand, had been trained in combat rescue. He was capable of making quick decisions, and ready to change strategies on the fly.
“Trouble?” Hauk demanded.
Rafe grimaced. “The real estate agent left a message saying she has a buyer for my grandfather’s house.”
Hauk looked predictably confused. Rafe had been bitching about the need to get rid of his grandfather’s house since the old man’s death a year ago.
“Shouldn’t that be good news?”
“It would be if I didn’t have to travel to Newton to clean it out,” Rafe said.
“Aren’t there people you can hire to pack up the shit and send it to you?”
“Not in the middle of fucking nowhere.”
Hauk’s lips twisted into a humorless smile. “I’ve been in the middle of fucking nowhere, amigo, and it ain’t Kansas,” he said, the shadows from the past darkening his eyes.
“Newton’s in Iowa, but I get your point,” Rafe conceded. He did his best to keep the memories in the past where they belonged. Most of the time he was successful. Other times the demons refused to be leashed. “Okay, it’s not the hell hole we crawled out of, but the town might as well be living in another century. I’ll have to go deal with my grandfather’s belongings myself.”
Hauk reached to pour himself another shot of tequila from the bottle that had been waiting for them in the center of the table.
Like Rafe, he was dressed in an Oxford shirt, although his was blue instead of white, and he was wearing black dress pants instead of jeans.
“I know you think it’s a pain, but it’s probably for the best.”
Rafe glared at his friend. The last thing he wanted was to drive a thousand miles to pack up the belongings of a cantankerous old man who’d never forgiven Rafe’s father for walking away from Iowa. “Already trying to get rid of me?”
“Hell no. Of the five of us, you’re the...”
“I’m afraid to ask,” Rafe muttered as Hauk hesitated.
“The glue,” he at last said.
Rafe gave a bark of laughter. He’d been called a lot of things over the years. Most of them unrepeatable. But glue was a new one. “What the hell does that mean?”
Hauk settled back in his seat. “Lucas is the smooth-talker, Max is the heart, Teagan is the brains and I’m the organizer.” The older man shrugged. “You’re the one who holds us all together. ARES would never have happened without you.”
Rafe couldn’t argue. After returning to the States, the five of th
em had been transferred to separate hospitals to treat their numerous injuries. It would have been easy to drift apart. The natural instinct was to avoid anything that could remind them of the horror they’d endured.
But Rafe had quickly discovered that returning to civilian life wasn’t a simple matter of buying a home and getting a 9-to-5 job.
He couldn’t bear the thought of being trapped in a small cubicle eight hours a day, or returning to an empty condo that would never be a home.
It felt way too much like the prison he’d barely escaped.
Discover More Alexandra Ivy and Laura Wright
Rage/Killian
Bayou Heat Novellas
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RAGE
Rage might be an aggressive Hunter by nature, but the gorgeous male has never had a problem charming the females. All except Lucie Gaudet. Of course, the lovely Geek is a born troublemaker, and it was no surprise to Rage when she was kicked out of the Wildlands.
But now the Pantera need a first-class hacker to stop the potential destruction of their people. And it’s up to Rage to convince Lucie to help. Can the two forget the past—and their sizzling attraction—to save the Pantera?
KILLIAN
Gorgeous, brutal, aggressive, and human, Killian O’Roarke wants only two things: to get rid of the Pantera DNA he’s been infected with, and get back to the field. But the decorated Army Ranger never bargained on meeting the woman—the female—of his dreams on his mission to the Wildlands.
Kayden/Simon (Bayou Heat Novellas) Page 14