"What is going on?" she asked, groggily, lifted herself from the bed.
"Sssh," Dane said. "I need you to throw this on." He handed her one of her dresses. "We have to get out of here now. I sense danger. It's time to leave."
"What?" She looked around at the window. The sun had barely risen. "You said we were leaving later today."
"Please. We don't have time to talk right now. I'll explain everything when we're on safer grounds. Stay close to me."
Her heart began to beat nervously as she caught the hint of urgency in his voice. She said nothing else as she pulled the long sundress over her naked body. Dane grabbed a duffle bag from the closet, threw some items inside, including her purse, and reached for her.
"This way," he urged.
As soon as they opened the door, smoke billowed into their faces. Her own senses kicked in as she heard the telltale signs of a house on fire.
"Shit, Dane. What is going on? Tell me."
"The left end of the ranch is on fire. Stay low." He pushed her out into the hallway and down the stairs. Once they were on the first level, he grabbed her hands and his rushed steps turned into a jog.
Trina held her breath against the putrid smoke until they reached the sliding glass doors of the papers. They moment they hit the deck she breathed exhaled deeply.
Crackled flames caught her attention and she snapped her head to the right to confirm Dane's confirmation. The left side of the home was engulfed in flames and lit up the morning sky.
"Oh my God. We need to call the fire department," she said, following Dane down the patio steps.
"No human authorities involved. They'd done enough damage already. There's nothing of value in the home. The land is what I'm after."
Trina noticed his strained voice and turned to see his canines dropped in anger. "Are you in some kind of trouble?"
"Yes and no. I want to get you out of here safely. I promise we'll talk later."
His irises sparkled brightly with specks of gold. It seemed as though his wolf half was taking over. He lifted his hand and brushed some hair away from her neck. He narrowed his gaze, stroking at the crevice near her throat. His lips fell open.
"Trina, where did you get this?"
"This what?"
"This mark."
"What mark?"
Dane's eyes widened. "I had a feeling…Impossible."
"What are you talking about?" She coughed when the wind pushed more of the smoke toward them.
He took her hand again and rushed them further away from the burning home. Pausing near a tree, he took her chin gently and lifted her neck again.
"Why the heck do you keep looking at my neck? Do I have a pimple?"
"You're wearing my mark, Trina. And I haven't even bitten you."
"Bitten me?" This time she looked at him strangely. "Of course you haven't bitten me. I would know. If you bite me, I will slap the hell out of you."
She slid her palm against the area he'd examined. "I don't feel anything."
"It's not that type of mark. Your's is natural." Dane turned and pointed to the nape of his neck. "Look at the back of my neck. What do you see?"
She stepped closer to him, squinting against the first rays of sunshine. There was some type of birthmark near his hairline, similar to a tattoo, but the coloring was all wrong. It was embedded, not inked, into the skin.
"Two figure eight signs. Like an infinity symbol. They form an X."
He turned around and rubbed the area near her throat again. "This explains why I can't get enough of you."
"I can see what you're seeing, Dane. Do you mind telling me what you're talking about? And why the hell is your house on fire? Did we leave a burner on after dinner or something?”
“Yes, the house is on fire, and no, we didn’t leave the stove on. About the mark…mated pairs carry matching ones. It only appears as the result of a true union. You're my intended, Trina. There will be no need for me to temporarily mark you as confirmation to my people because you are my true mate."
"What…" She shook her head. The smoke must have gotten to him.
"Hey!" The voice to the behind him them came from a male. "Hey, you two! What are you doing out here?"
Dane spun around and quickly shielded her. The man had a gun, pointing it at them from several yards away. As she held her hands against his back, he felt the vibrations that came along with his growls.
"Hey! Answer me! Are you a wolf?"
Dane turned slightly to issue his order. "Get behind the tree."
He didn't have to tell her twice as he scrambled behind the massive oak tree. Two shots rang out sending her heart into a frenzy. Her fingers trembled against the bark of the tree as she pressed her back hard against it.
The next growl was so deep and animalistic that it had to have come from a wolf. Three more shots rang out and the man screamed. There was a scuffle on the ground and then complete silence.
The atmosphere was so quiet that all she could register was her own panicked breathing and the sound of fire burning the house.
A black wolf emerged from the corner of her eyes. Its eyes were gold and majestic. Its body was large and muscular and the fur was shiny and sleek. At the sight of such beauty, her muscles relaxed. It was a reaction she didn't understand, but yet she felt she knew this wolf.
"Dane," she whispered, her hands still gripping the bark. Her breathing became erratic as she tried to withstand the polluted air around her.
The wolf shook its massive head and torso and out of the haze of what Trina could only describe as magical and luminous, Dane Magnus appeared.
He came to her and she walked right out into his arms.
“It’ll become difficult for us to breath with all the smoke,” he said. “Let's get out of here now. I have a cell in the storage pack on my motorcycle. I’ll call the fire department.”
Chapter 15
"What the hell was that about?" Trina croaked out the moment she got the motorcycle helmet off.
Dane had come to a full stop in front of a one-story brick house. As soon as they pulled up in the yard, the porch lamps flickered and the lights inside came on.
"He was a trespasser. He was looking for something but he didn't say what,” Dane said, lifting her off of the bike and setting her down on her feet.
Trina swore that her blood pressure had sky-rocketed five times over, and plus this mark that Dane insisted was on her throat felt like an annoying skin irritation. She rubbed her throat as she said, "Well what happened to the guy? Did you kill him?"
"No, but the way he was firing to kill I probably should have. I caught his scent before he ran off. I really need to find out what's going on."
"Is this your other home or something?"
Before answering, he slid his fingers against her neck and back along her nape. He gave her a single kiss on the forehead and then said, "Don't worry. You'll find relief soon from the mark. It's the first time it's risen on your skin, so it's going to be noticeable. As time passes, it won't bother you as much."
"About that…" Before she could finish her sentence, his brother Brock opened the door to the brick house and came to stand out on the porch.
"I need to have a word with my brother before we head into town," he said, taking her hand.
When they reached the front steps, the brothers greeted each other silently, and this time Brock gave her a respectable nod.
"You're mated," Brock said, as they crossed the threshold into the house. "Forgive me for ever doubting you, brother," he added, and then closed the door.
"That's what brothers are for…and yes, we most certainly are."
"Have a seat." Brock motioned toward his couches. "Can I get the new Mrs. Magnus something to drink?”
She nodded. "Water or juice, if you have it."
"Be right back." Brock exited the room.
“Explain this mating mark to me," Trina said, following Dane to a small closet near the other end of the living room.
She watc
hed as he grabbed one his brother's flannel shirts and shed his torn and tattered shirt. He'd sustained a few bruises and scrapes from the recent scuffle. She hadn't seen the fight with the trespasser, but it appeared that he'd been knocked across the face a few times too.
"You're feeling okay, right?" she asked, reaching out and taking his forearm and then letting her fingers slide over the scratch on his jaw.
"Yeah, I'll be fine." He took the hand that was on his face and then urged her into a small guest bathroom near a kitchen. “Look at your neck and tell me what you see." He adjusted the folding medicine cabinet so that she could see both sides of her face and neck.
Her attention moved to her throat where she'd felt the changes on her skin and sure enough the mark was there, right above her collarbone. "Two infinity signs, forming an X. How did this happen?"
"It's a birthmark. It's been there since you were born. Sometimes, they're not visible until something happens to activate it, like meeting your mate."
"Just meeting?" She grinned.
"Us not being able to keep our hands off each other sped up the process," he added.
Dane must have heard Brock waiting in the living room because he walked back out. Brock handed her a glass of ice with a bottle of orange juice and a bottle of water.
Once they were seated on the couches, Brock asked, "You got something?"
"Yeah." Dane reached into his back jeans pocket and pulled out a ripped shred of clothing and handed it to his brother.
Trina recognized instantly that it was the same type of fabric from the trespasser’s shirt.
Brock held it up to his nose and took a whiff. "Smells of cigarettes and processed meat."
"That's what I got from it. He either has connections to one of the butcher shops or the meat market."
"Then, it'll be easy to find him," Brock replied.
"I would have run that bastard down and beat the answers out of him, but I wasn't going to leave Trina out there alone with the house burning down."
"Understood. I know you were going to tear that old house down anyway, but he and the person who set him up to do this need to be found. He either needs to be turned in or dealt with."
"That too, brother," Dane agreed. "But I'm also interested in why he was snooping about on my land in the first place. I'll need you to help me to gather some scouts. I want the answers that he ran away with."
Chapter 16
Trina peered out through the visor of the motorcycle helmet at the long row of retail shops as Dane brought his motorcycle to a halt in front of a local post office. They'd ridden almost thirty miles before crossing into the side of town known for its abundant shifter population.
In a matter of days, her life had completely changed and she was still trying to process everything. She kept having to remind herself of the deal she made with Dane Magnus, and more importantly, of the reason she was in this place now. In less than six weeks, she wouldn't have to worry about where the money would come from to pay for her dad's surgery. And more importantly, she had a reason to be happy with Dane.
Trina had concluded days ago that the pull she felt toward Dane would've still been there had it not been for the money. There were many questions to be answered. Not only was she intrigued by the man itself, but by his declaration that she was his intended true mate. She loved the ring of it more than she loved the notion of their six-week marriage of convenience.
Dane helped her off the bike and put their helmets away. All the while she was assessing the row of shops situated just on the outskirts of Aspen Valley. Besides the post office, there were several retail and restaurants along the main street. There was even a fresh produce stand adjacent to the lot where Dane had parked. From recollection, the town of Aspen Valley was larger in acreage than population. However, it was one of the biggest shifter towns in the U.S.
"Welcome to my birthplace," Dane said, taking her hand.
"Looks cozy," she said.
People started coming out of their shops with their immediate attention fixed on them. Suddenly, it was Trina who felt like the alien here. She was a human in the shifter's part of town. She even wondered if they were partial to her being here.
Dane led her by the hand down the paved walkway, nodding and lifting his palm up to acknowledge the spectators. Then it dawned on her that she wasn't the one they were entranced with. It was Dane. They regarded him like any citizen would regard the President or any influential person if he ever came into town. Several of them bowed as he passed by their doors. There was no mystery now—these people knew Dane very well.
He stopped in front of some double doors and held it open for her. "I've got to pick up some paperwork and then we'll head over to my old cabin."
"How many homes do you have?"
He bit his lower lip and seemed to contemplate her question. "There's the mansion where I mostly do business from. I'm usually there five days a week from sunup to sundown. And then there's my old cabin which is where I used to crash before I got the mansion. My mom's house, which just got burnt to the ground, was mine. And I have about a half a dozen other properties on Justice Enterprises’ portfolio too."
"Well, of course," she said. "I keep forgetting that you're wealthy. But you're so down to earth."
"That's because even though I like making money, I never let the money make me. There's no changing who I am deep down inside no matter what title I have."
"Good." She smiled. "My father. I need to make sure he's okay." She dug her cell phone out of her purse.
"I sent Brock out already to speak with your father. He and Marcia will be moved to a safer home. One of my rentals out west in the city."
"You think of everything, don't you?"
"You are my priority now. I take care of you and that includes your father."
They entered another door and approached a counter. A woman stood behind it, flipping through papers and applying a stamp. She stopped what she was doing as Trina and Dane reached the counter.
"Good morning, Alpha. What can I do for you?"
Trina gasped and executed a sharp ninety-degree turn. She glanced up at Dane, whose expression was unreadable. "Wait a minute! Alpha?" If she had registered correctly, the woman had just called him Alpha, which in shifter terms was reserved for the leader of a pack.
"Yes, Trina. I'm Dane Magnus. Alpha of the Aspen Valley Wolf Pack."
Her blood rushed hot through her as an emotion akin to deception filled her heart.
"You never told me," she said.
"I didn't think it would matter before we signed the paperwork, but with everything happening, I haven't had the chance to officially tell you."
"Officially? What happened to just telling me? This isn't what I signed up for. You led me to believe that you were just some wolf down and out on his luck with your parents' land being snatched from under you." She folded her arms across her chest. "You could have told me you led a wolf pack."
The woman waiting behind the counter brought her hand up to her lip in shook and her eyes were wide with curiosity.
"I need you to understand something." Dane ushered Trina aside, out of earshot but not out of eyesight. "None of that information would have mattered to our agreement had I not found out you were my intended."
She shrugged out of his grasp. "What do you mean?"
He took her forearm and pulled her against his chest again. "We agreed to split after six weeks? What does my being the Alpha of this pack have anything to do with the end of our agreement?"
"You could have been truthful. You dug into my past like I was filling out a freaking job application. You know almost everything about my personal life."
"Let's take this outside and somewhere in private. We have a lot to discuss. I told you that."
"As far as I'm concerned…" She snatched her arm away from him, putting several feet of space between them "…there is nothing more to discuss. You had plenty of time to tell me about your position before and after you fucked me. What did
you think?" She didn't pause long enough for him to answer. "That I would want more of your money when I found out?"
Dane studied her. "I recall telling you the main reason why I couldn't make this arrangement with a woman in my own pack. Because of that reason…but once I met you, once I knew who you were…I knew you weren’t like that.
She swallowed. "It's because you don't want commitment…"
"That was the reason," he said. "Was."
"Let's keep it that way." Trina frowned and backed away.
"Where are you going?"
"This marriage of convenience doesn't require me to live anywhere near you. The papers have been signed. At the end of six weeks, contact me again and I'll release the deed for your land."
She tore off into the hallway.
"Trina, wait!" Dane called out to her just as she exited the building.
Trina didn't look back as she headed down the sidewalk toward the bus station she noted on the way in.
What was wrong with Dane Magnus anyway? What gave him the right to demand that she stay with him all of six weeks, enjoy sex with her, mark her throat, and toss her aside after the deal was done?
Something didn't feel right about this at all, but Trina picked up her pace anyway. As if on instinct, her hand went up to rub the area where Dane had insisted there was a mark. She rubbed hard at her skin, but that only made her flesh burn. When she lifted her fingers, the mark was still burning hot.
Someone stumbled into her, reminding her that she wasn't paying attention to where she was going. They growled. Literally growled. "You might want to watch where you're going before you hurt yourself."
"Sorry." She scooped up the case then ran like the wind to the bus station stop that she saw when Dane first brought her in this neighborhood.
Her stubbornness urged her legs forward, but her cognizance wanted her to remain behind with Dane Magnus.
Aspen Valley Wolf Pack (The Complete Series) Page 8