by Lisa Kessler
My heart pounded in my chest, but I fought to keep it from showing. I lifted my chin slightly, my hand sliding into my pocket for the pepper spray. “Look, I don’t know who you are, but I’m not interested.” I gripped the canister. “Leave me alone.”
I walked away, fighting the urge to look back. I didn’t need to look, I reminded myself. If I paid attention, I could hear if he was following.
Suddenly he was right in front of me again, his broad shoulders blocking the flashing lights of the casinos, leaving me in shadow. I didn’t hear a thing. Shit.
“We need to talk, Little One.” He wasn’t smiling anymore and a lock of his black hair fell across his forehead.
My brow furrowed. Who the hell was this guy? “I don’t need to talk to you.”
I withdrew the pepper spray just as he grabbed me around the waist. A spray of the canister went off, hitting him in the face. He grunted, clamping his other hand over my mouth as he lifted me up and rushed into a darkened alleyway lined with parked cars. In the faint light, I still caught a glimpse of a lion tattoo on the inside of his wrist. The same tattoo as the leader of the team that came for me during the new moon. Thank God for night vision.
My self-defense training kicked in. I threw my head back, cracking against his hard enough that I saw stars, but he still didn’t loosen his grip. Adrenaline spiked my blood stream. I kicked my legs back hard, connecting with him a couple times, but the most he uttered was a grunt. He stopped behind a big silver Hummer and growled against my ear.
“I know what you are.” My struggling wasn’t loosening his grip, but it was apparently pissing him off. “I could snap your neck before you could scream. Understand?”
I nodded, and he slowly slid his hand down from my mouth. His fingers rested around my neck. I was sure he could feel my racing pulse.
“The Organization sent me to find you and bring you back. You have been difficult to track.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” The Organization? How could I go back to a place I’d never been?
“We are the same, Little One.”
“You’ve got the wrong girl.”
He squeezed my throat, trapping a sob as he growled. “Don’t lie to me.”
“I’m not lying,” I gasped. “I’m a writer.”
He let go of me with a hard shove, and I hit the pavement like a rag doll, sucking in air while he paced around me.
Without making a sound.
Something in my brain clicked. The scent. The same scent that had lingered around Gabe when we found him. This guy was a jaguar. That’s why he could move silently and my senses were on full alert. The animal in me knew I was in danger—something wasn’t right about this guy. He knelt down beside me, lifting my chin to meet his eyes. His slick smile was back in place, like a cat that just ate a canary for lack of better description.
“You are a beauty, Little One. Why has no one claimed you?”
I shook my head, shifting onto my knees in hopes maybe I could spring up to outrun him. “I’m no one’s ‘Little One.’”
He laughed and took my hand, pulling me up onto my feet. “You are a treasure to our kind. You must come with me.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you.” I rammed my knee into his groin with all the force I could muster, and when he folded over, I followed it up with an uppercut to his jaw that knocked him on his ass.
I didn’t waste any time admiring my fighting skills. Instead I spun around and ran toward the well-lit, highly populated streets. Ducking into a Starbucks, I found a table in the back corner and collected myself. I needed to get back to my hotel and get the hell out of dodge, but I also didn’t want to chance the jaguar might follow me and find out where I was staying.
The door opened, and my heart sank. The tall man walked directly to my table and pulled up a chair. The corner of his mouth was starting to swell, his eyes were red from the pepper spray, and a little blood stained the side of his nose from my head butt, but it didn’t stop him from giving me that sick predator’s smile.
In the light I could see his eyes were bright green, or maybe they just looked brighter because his olive-colored skin was dark. Either way, it gave his stare an intensity that could have been magnetic if he hadn’t just tried to abduct me. Under other circumstances he might’ve been attractive, like a younger Jimmy Smits.
“Every rose has its thorn, Little One.” He rubbed his bruised jaw. “I am impressed. But you can’t hide from me. Your scent is too strong.”
“Goes both ways, buddy.”
He chuckled. “You didn’t catch my scent at the lake.”
My face paled and I swallowed the swell of emotion. “I thought I recognized your scent. You killed Gabe…”
“So he is dead? Good. One less filthy wolf in the world.”
I slapped him. Hard.
All eyes in the coffee shop turned to look at us. The manager came around in front of the counter. “Is this man bothering you?”
The jaguar man never lifted his gaze from mine, ignoring the Starbucks manager as he snatched my hand and brought it to his lips. “Some are born to sweet delight. Some are born to endless night,” he whispered. “The night is ours, Little One. I will find you again. Stay away from the wolves.”
Without another word, he rose and walked out of the Starbucks.
I jumped when my cell phone rang.
“Adam? You’ve got to get over here. I know who killed Gabe.”
Chapter Six
Adam
My shoulders tensed, my hands shook with rage as I closed my cell phone and put it back into the front pocket of my jeans. Aren, my younger—by a few minutes—twin brother, was staring at me with his arms crossed over his chest. If he expected me to tell him who I called, he could keep waiting. Instead, I cleared my throat, working to keep my expression neutral.
“Everything okay?” Aren asked.
No, it was fucking miles from okay. I shifted with a nod. “Yeah, it’s fine.”
Aren waited for more, but I didn’t bother to fill in the silence. He knew me better than anyone else on earth; being twins, we had a sixth sense when it came to one another. Keeping a huge secret, like the fact that I accidentally found my mate, was going to be tough. But I didn’t see any other way around it. I couldn’t introduce him to her any more than I could tell him that Lana was a jaguar. I needed to either keep quiet or lie.
I didn’t have any other choice.
And Lana knew who killed my friend.
How could she have found out? I left her at her hotel. Did she have some kind of jaguar hotline I didn’t know about? She couldn’t possibly know.
Unless the jaguar found her.
My pulse skyrocketed. If I could smell the jaguar in her, then her own kind most definitely could. I shouldn’t have left her alone. My muscles tensed with adrenaline. I reminded myself that Lana had managed to keep ahead of the armed mercenaries who tailed her before she ever met me. She didn’t need me to come to her rescue.
But that was my human rationale. For the wolf inside of me, the physical need to go to her was almost overwhelming. The wolf demanded protection for his mate. For the first time in my life, my loyalties were torn. The wolf wanted to go to Lana, but my Pack needed me to stay and honor Gabe.
Aren’s eyes narrowed, but he finally shook his head and his arms slid down to his sides. “We should get back down there with the others.”
The rest of the Pack was gathered at the end of the barn aisle. My gut twisted and grief burned inside me, coloring my voice. “I can’t believe he’s gone.”
“We’ll find out who did this, Adam.” Aren gripped my shoulder. “We’ll make things right.”
“This will never be right.” I shook off his attempt at comfort. I didn’t deserve it. “He died in my sector. I let the Pack down.”
Aren ground his teeth and grabbed my arm, pulling me in closer to him. “Don’t put this on yourself. I know Gabe was your friend, but this is not your fault. The Pack is lu
cky to have you. You’re fast, and you never turn away from a fight.”
Yanking my arm free, I shook my head. “Not fast enough.”
Without another word, I stormed through the center of the barn, away from Aren. I couldn’t stomach listening to him trying to convince me this wasn’t my fault. I knew the truth. While I was out watching over Lana, I should’ve been warning the others about another jaguar. Instead, Gabe was ambushed and dumped out on the shore of Lake Tahoe.
Gazing at all of the faces gathered around Gabe’s body, my throat tightened until I felt like I was choking on my own emotions. My father, Malcolm, our Alpha, stood at the head of the pyre. The breeze pulled at his silver hair. His piercing green eyes and strong jaw made clear our family resemblance. Although he was nearing sixty years old, he had an aura of power that surrounded him, giving him an animal magnetism that was hard to deny.
His gaze met mine for a moment before he carefully washed the blood from Gabe’s face with mineral oil. The oils helped the fire dispose of the bodies faster. Cremation was the only way to ensure those from our wolf clan wouldn’t be examined by a coroner. Secrecy was a cloak our kind had worn for thousands of years.
Luke and his twin Logan stood shoulder to shoulder across from me. Their ice blue eyes pointed down at the dense wooded pyre as if they could light it with the intensity of their stares. Logan wore his light brown hair longer than his brother, but the cut of their sharp features were identical. Jared and Jason stood across from one another on opposite sides of their fallen friend.
Jason looked like a surfer with his tan skin and sun-streaked light brown hair, but he actually spent most of his time at the local hospital working as a doctor. Every pack needed one since traditional medical centers were too risky. As Malcolm applied the oils to Gabe’s body, exposing the extent of his wounds, I could see Jason studying the injuries. I bit back the urge to smack him—Gabe was our friend, not a cadaver to learn from.
Then I reminded myself it wasn’t Jason’s fault Gabe was on the pyre.
Facing forward again, I found myself staring directly into Gareth’s dark brown eyes. His rough hands clenched into fists at his side, every muscle in his arms tense. For a moment, it felt like Gabe’s twin brother could see right into my soul. Did he see the regret that weighed on my shoulders? How would Gareth go on without Gabe?
Werewolf pairs were nearly inseparable from birth. Two identical infants who would one day be identical hunters when the moon was full. Gareth was an exact copy of the mutilated body lying on the pyre behind my barn, only their haircuts differed. Gareth wore his jet black hair tied back in a ponytail, while Gabe always kept his in a short military cut. It was on the inside where the two brothers differed. There was a cold edge to Gareth. He was the first-born son by three minutes, and he took the mantle of older brother onto his shoulders like a second skin. He was always tense, while Gabe was quick to laugh. But Gareth seemed content to fade into the shadows and allow Gabe to shine.
I stared down at Gabe’s pale, lifeless face, and my chest constricted.
I’d never see him smile again.
Malcolm lifted his arms, his face up toward the stars and the sliver of moon that shone above us. The Pack lifted their heads in response as our Alpha chanted into the night.
“We offer our brother back to the moon and the night. May his spirit be lifted, free to run with the pack of our ancestors and watch over those he left behind.”
It was tradition for each Pack member to speak before the pyre was lit. Gareth, being Gabe’s last living relative, spoke first.
“I call to our father, Dominic, and our mother, Isabelle. Please guide my brother. Take him back into your arms.” Gareth paused, but his voice never betrayed the emotions he kept so well guarded. “He is no longer bound by his physical body. His spirit is free.”
After a moment of silence, Luke and Logan spoke in unison. “Run free, Gabe.”
“Spirits guide him. Moon embrace him,” Jason said quietly.
His twin Jared added, “I can almost hear you howling, Gabe. Be free.”
“Gabe…” Aren cleared his throat, but his voice wavered anyway. “Watch over your brother.”
I blinked my eyes hard trying to force back the tears that were threatening. What would happen if I ever lost Aren? We’d been together since birth, watching each other’s backs, and leaning on each other when we couldn’t stand on our own.
I gazed across the pyre. Gareth was alone now.
With a deep breath, I tipped my head up toward the stars. “Spirits, please guide my friend, our brother.” I clenched my jaw, allowing my pain and guilt to smolder toward anger. “Help us avenge his death. He was taken too soon.”
Malcolm lowered the torch to the dry timbers and the flames crackled to life. Someday the task would fall on my shoulders as the eldest son of the Alpha, and it was a responsibility I never wanted to face. But fate made the decision for me, like it or not.
Smoke stung my eyes as I turned and walked away. Aren was close behind me. Only Gareth would stay behind to watch his brother’s spirit soar up to the moon.
The muted nicker of the horses broke the silence as Aren and I walked the length of the barn. When we got to the other end, I sighed and shook my head, staring out into the darkness. “I’m going to make whoever did this pay.”
“And that’s going to bring Gabe back, how?” Aren asked.
I glanced over at my brother. Aren was always so logical. It was annoying as hell.
“Nothing can bring him back,” I said. “But knowing the cat who did this is no longer breathing might go a long way to relieving some of my anger.”
Aren nodded, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “It might. But the question is, why are you so angry?”
“What?” My blood pressure shot up a couple of notches, but I did my best to hide it. “I’m pissed because one of our best friends is dead. Gone way too soon. A jaguar murdered him, and I intend to even the score. Simple.”
“Is it?” Aren raised a brow.
I shook my head. “They murdered Gabe, Aren. Are you going to stand by and let that happen? Doesn’t this piss you off, even a little?”
My brother nodded slowly. “Yeah, I’m upset. We all are. But we also hunt as a Pack. You’re acting like you’re going to jump in your Jeep like a one-man militia. We’ve lost Pack members before. I want to know why this time has you so riled up.”
I stared at my brother. My twin. My best friend. For the first time in my life, I was hiding something from him. How could I tell him that while I’d been on patrol for jaguars during the new moon, I actually found one? And instead of killing her, the wolf inside of me recognized her as my mate.
I couldn’t. I couldn’t tell any of them. They wouldn’t understand. Hell, I didn’t understand it myself. Until I did, I couldn’t let any of the Pack know about Lana.
I shook my head. “I’m not going to debate this with you. I’ll find the bastard who did this, and then I’ll make him wish he never set foot in Reno.”
“I’ll go with you,” Aren said. “No one should go after this guy alone.”
“New moon is over. He won’t be able to shift. I can take care of it.”
“He may not turn into a jaguar, but he could still fire a gun.”
I yanked my keys out of my pocket as I walked toward my Jeep. “I’ll call you once I track the guy down, okay?”
Aren stepped in front of me, blocking my path, his gaze searching, judging my own.
“I know you’re hiding something, Adam.” Aren kept his voice low. “Whatever it is, you can’t shut us out. Family comes first.”
I clenched my jaw and nodded. “I know.”
“But you’re still not going to tell me what’s going on?”
“Nothing’s going on.” I moved around Aren to the driver’s side.
I jumped into the driver’s seat and Chaney’s engine fired to life. I drove up the road, but my eyes were on my rearview mirror. Aren never moved. I watched my tw
in get smaller and smaller as the distance between us grew.
Chapter Seven
Lana
I stayed inside the Starbucks for at least a half hour, sipping coffee and hoping Gabe’s killer was long gone. Adam still hadn’t called, but I understood. His friend died in his arms today. It didn’t stop me from wishing I knew when he’d be meeting me back at the hotel though.
At this rate, I had to make my own plan. There was no one to rely on but myself, and being on my own was my way of life. I could figure something out.
Creepy cat man’s threat to track me down echoed through my mind, and a chill crept down my back. I’d never been on the run from an actual murderer before. I’d been on the lookout for the gray riot gear, sure, and they definitely weren’t thrilled with me, but a tall, exotic-looking man with heightened senses who killed in cold blood? That added a whole dimension I wish I’d never confronted.
Actually he confronted me, but either way, now that I knew he was out there, waiting for me, it made it much tougher to devise a plan and force myself to go outside again. Knowing the Starbucks was about to close was an effective impetus though. I needed to get back to the hotel.
I wasn’t sure if Gabe’s killer knew which hotel I was staying in. He’d caught up with me at the library, but I didn’t have a clue how long he’d been following me. What if he was back at the hotel waiting for me to arrive? Adrenaline lit up my bloodstream.
When my cell phone rang I almost fell off my chair. Yeah, I was the picture of calm and cool.
I flipped open my phone, grateful to hear Adam’s voice. “Lana? Tell me how you found this guy. Are you all right?”
“I’m okay, but don’t go to the hotel. I’m not sure it’s safe.”
I could almost hear him frowning through the phone. “Where are you?”
“I’m at the downtown Starbucks on Virginia Street.”
“Good. Stay there. It’s well-lit and public.”
I rolled my eyes. Why did he think I came in here in the first place?
“They’re about to close, so hurry.”