Ancient Ties (Pale Moonlight (Wolf Shifters Romance) Book 2)

by Marie Johnston

  The wolf in distress was female. Terri?

  “I’ll shift back and take you like a dog,” the male snarled. “You’re a fool if you think it doesn’t matter.”

  A female’s voice spoke with sinister humor. “You already proved that to the other one.”

  “Maybe I should shoot her in the leg.” This from another male who sounded bored. “Take some of the fight out of her for a few hours.”

  Chayton’s voice floated through her mind. We’re downwind. You and I sneak as close as we can. They have at least one gun. We take the armed ones down first. Blanche, Patton, hang back until we attack, then get in and save the female.

  The two shifters communicated their understanding.

  Chayton eased forward and stopped. She pulled up next to him and surveyed the scene.

  The four rogues in their naked human form surrounded Terri. A fair-haired male whose skin was dotted with freckles pointed a shotgun toward her.

  Kaitlyn’s head spun and her vision blurred for a moment. What the hell? She wasn’t shifting back, why’d she feel like she was going to pass out? She shook off the sensation.

  Wait for my signal, Chayton ordered.

  A third man kicked the wolf. She yelped in pain, and Kaitlyn barely bit back a growl.

  Wait. Chayton glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

  You don’t have to worry about me. Like she was impulsive enough to mess up this mission after they’d trekked miles and miles.

  She breathed calmly through his loaded silence lest she signal their presence by her massive spike of vexation.

  “We need to keep moving,” the female rogue said. “You shouldn’t have let her heal well enough to fight. She’s slowing us down.”

  “Sida, you’re such a fucking downer.” The male with the shotgun tapped Terri’s flank. She spun and bared her fangs. “Shift.”

  Terri snapped at the barrel of the gun. The male’s expression didn’t change when he swung the barrel to catch her in the jaw. Her head was flung back. The crack of bone made Kaitlyn’s blood boil. Next to her, Chayton stood, ready to attack, but as seemingly unaffected as if he’d watched them doing the waltz.

  Kaitlyn’s gaze riveted on the fair-haired male. Something about him revolted her, other than his rogue behavior. She couldn’t quite pinpoint it. And the way he held that gun with a cruel glare…

  Terri lunged to attack the male, but he grinned as the other three jumped her before she reached him.

  You take the lone male. Now! Chayton bounded into the melee, Kaitlyn hot on his heels. He landed on the topmost shifter, one of the males, and sunk his teeth into a hamstring.

  The male’s yell rang out as the one brandishing the shotgun shouted, “Guardians!” He swung his gun up to aim at Chayton.

  Kaitlyn leapt, knocking it off target as the boom rang out. The world momentarily muted from the blast firing next to her ears. She chomped down on the male’s trigger arm. He snarled in pain and rage, his other fist beating at her as he stumbled back.

  His strength astonished her. The brain chemistry of rogues and ferals changed, much like someone high on meth. And he knew it.

  His fist rained down on her, but he wouldn’t drop the gun. She wanted to gag on his sour blood, but she’d lose her grip. Barks and howls told Kaitlyn that Blanche and Patton had joined in to rescue Terri.

  The fair-haired male swung around with Kaitlyn still attached. She danced on her hind legs, whipping her head back and forth until his bones ground against her teeth. It’d take a whole river to wash the gross tang out of her mouth.

  Despite their jerky movements, he landed several solid blows on her side. Ribs cracked and pain blossomed over her back. She’d have to let go and use another route of attack.

  During their spin, her back paws tripped over someone else’s legs. Her jaw disengaged as she struggled to right herself but ended up crashing to her belly. The limbs that had felled her belonged to an unconscious Terri, whose sweat-clumped hair draped over a pale face.

  Kaitlyn swung her head up to face the gun-wielding male, the image of Terri branded in her mind. The male’s hard stare pinned both of them and he raised the gun.

  Oh god. Kaitlyn’s world slowed. An unconscious, defenseless woman and Kaitlyn looking up at a male determined to hurt them both. Déjà vu slammed into her.

  Oh god. She’d been through this before. Her world spun. She shook her head and heard the male chuckle.

  Rage filled her, but instead of fueling her, her world dimmed. She was out before her nose slammed into the ground.

  In his peripheral vision, Chayton saw Kaitlyn crumple completely and shift back to creamy skin. He loosened his jaw from around a dark-haired shifter’s ankle and jumped to defend her from the blond shifter who repeatedly kicked her prone form. Chayton sailed over the prostrate Terri to tackle the man assaulting Kaitlyn.

  In his rational mind, he cursed himself. How dare he leave a victim to save a Guardian? The mission came first. Any Guardian would expect their partner to save the helpless, even if they were incapacitated themselves.

  The male sidestepped. He cradled the shotgun in his good arm while his other hand hung in a bloodied, dripping mess at his side. A flash of metal preceded another boom, this one aimed in Chayton’s direction.

  Heat seared through his back right leg. It wasn’t a direct hit, but enough to pepper his extremity with tiny granules of torture. For a heartbeat after the blast, everything quieted. The eruption of growls and barks behind him meant the other rogues had shifted to fight Blanche and Patton.

  Chayton ignored the agony in his hindquarters to lunge at the male, who shifted and met Chayton in midair. Chayton blocked out the fire of teeth tearing at his hide as he tried to subdue the shifter, but couldn’t latch on to the male’s neck. When Chayton could glance at the dogpile, he saw his two helpers losing ground. The rogues exploited the unconscious Guardian and Terri.

  A deep howl blasted through the trees. The rogues flinched and broke apart from the fight. The way their eyes darted back and forth, they were communicating mentally.

  Abruptly, they all turned and sped away as fast as their four legs could go. The lightest wolf was the slowest, from the damage Kaitlyn had caused. Chayton strained to run after them. Patton and Blanche would care for the females, but he couldn’t leave Kaitlyn’s side.

  He had to pursue. His nature, his job, was to destroy the rogues. He sprinted several yards, and kicked up dirt when he skidded to a stop.

  The howl sounded again, but closer. The enemy of his enemy may not be his friend. Chayton needed to stick around to cover the others from the unknown shifter approaching.

  Blanche stood point, facing into the trees like Chayton. Patton hovered over the downed females.

  The shifter stepped from the copse and he wasn’t a typical shifter. He stood on two legs like a man, but had a lightly furred torso and a shaggy mane of fur around his neck. He was the same shifter he and Kaitlyn had encountered earlier.

  It’s the ancient one, Cian. Blanche visibly relaxed. He will not harm us. He is…he’s not quite right in the head, even for an ancient.

  Ancient. No wonder the male’s scent had registered as oddly familiar. A small amount of similarity to his ahte’s scent.

  No menace radiated off the large humanoid wolf. He kept his distance, his keen gaze on the females.

  A groan and rustling captured all of their attention. Terri sat up with a gasp, shoving hair out of her eyes. The cascade of emotions flipping across her face dug into Chayton’s gut. Confusion, followed by panic, then rage, and when she realized she was surrounded by clan members and Guardians, relieved sorrow. She drew her feet up to herself as her gaze landed on Kaitlyn. When she saw the rest were in wolf form, she transitioned.

  Are they dead, Terri asked, her tone hopeful.

  No, Chayton answered. I will hunt them after I care for my partner.

  They all stared at Kaitlyn. Her long, toned body starkly contrasted with the green and brown earth
. Her coppery hair was freed from its braid and splayed around her, covering her face and shoulders. Besides the angry red welts across her ribs, she didn’t appear injured in any other way. She wasn’t an idiot. She wouldn’t have tried shifting in the middle of a fight, not with her history of passing out.

  Chayton addressed Terri first. Do you think you can travel back to the colony?

  Yes. Her answer was firm, resolved. She might be weakened, traumatized, but she wasn’t empty of fight.

  Are you okay with your clan members leading you back? Chayton wasn’t going to make the female go anywhere with anyone she didn’t want to.

  Terri inclined her head.

  Leave the remains of Shelly. We’ll carry her back to the colony. The rogues were still out there and they had Terri to protect.

  I will return Shelly to her family. She was in my pack. Patton threaded his way through the trees, taking lead as if sensing Terri didn’t want a male where she couldn’t see him. Blanche hung back so Terri was effectively sandwiched between them.

  Chayton didn’t argue. He wouldn’t take the honor from the male.

  Kaitlyn’s legs twitched, drawing his stare to her lush, rounded bottom. Why’d he have to be here with her? He needed to convince the commander to switch her out with another Guardian. One of them had to be freed up by now.

  He lifted his gaze to the ancient, sensing only curiosity. What do you seek?

  The female. Is she well?

  If the ancient had a history with the colony, perhaps he knew Terri.

  Chayton glanced in the direction the other shifters had gone. She’ll recover.

  Not her. The Guardian.

  A low rumble of a growl escaped Chayton. Why was the male inquiring after his…Kaitlyn? She’s fine.

  The ancient studied him, like Chayton’s soul was bared. Another similarity with Chayton’s father. The males had once been superior to modern shifters. Now, Chayton wondered if the purpose of life was escaping them.

  Cian turned and trotted away, but he didn’t go far. Perhaps he knew Chayton still sensed his presence and didn’t care.

  Kaitlyn’s awareness flipped on like a switch. Chayton waited with mild annoyance as she twisted and jumped to her feet, frantically looking around. When she saw no one else, she gulped and turned her attention to him. Bright spots highlighted her cheeks once she realized she stood nude before him.

  What a sight. Her body was a masterpiece. It took serious effort to hold his gaze on her face. Desire had no place in dealing with what had just happened.

  Her intention to shift showed in her expression.

  Don’t you dare shift. He may have mentally shouted his command.

  She winced and put her hand to her head.

  Allowing calm to take over, he flowed into his human form with his braids gone, his ink-black hair draped across his shoulders. Kaitlyn’s blush deepened and she glanced away.

  “What happened?” She scanned their surroundings, but he knew she was avoiding him.

  His anger spiked. “You passed out, that’s what happened. We had to protect your sleeping ass while handing our own over to four nearly feral shifters. If that fucking ancient hadn’t howled and scared them shitless, I honestly don’t know how this situation would’ve ended.”

  Her jaw worked and her eyes glistened. She was fighting tears. He should’ve felt like a jackass for tearing into her, but it wasn’t only anger fueling his reaction. The thought of her getting hurt tore him apart inside.

  He directed his next question to the area of the forest that Cian watched them from. “If they’re so scared of you, and the colony is full of adoring fans, why haven’t you killed those rogues?”

  Silence.

  “Glad to see ancient morals are alive and strong.” Chayton huffed and pushed his hair away from his face.

  Kaitlyn was also peering at where Cian hid. Of course she could tell he was there, just like she’d spotted him the first time. What was it with her and this ancient? Had they met before?

  “I think I had a flashback.” Kaitlyn pulled her attention to him, her eyes anchored to his face just like his were to hers. “I think…I have an idea why I have trouble shifting. Or at least where it originated from.” She blinked rapidly and pressed her fingers to her temples.

  He wanted to snap at her, but she spoke softly, seemed distressed. If she passed out again, he’d either have to perch next to her naked body or carry it. He didn’t dare let that idea take root. Kaitlyn didn’t suspect his feelings toward her and he wasn’t going to broadcast them with an erection.

  “Talk and walk, Cinnamon.” Chayton did just that, not waiting for Kaitlyn to follow.

  They covered a few hundred yards before Kaitlyn continued. “My dad killed my mom.”

  He cut a surprised look over his shoulder that she was going to talk about it and slowed enough that she pulled even with him.

  “He was super controlling, obsessed with Mom, but he loved us. We had good days and bad days. Life was normal, nothing different from any of my friends.” She absentmindedly pulled all her hair over one shoulder, letting her fingers work through it. “During the struggle with the rogue, I fell over Terri. She lay so pale, so still. Then I looked up at him, standing over us with his gun.”

  She fell quiet. Birds paused in their singing as they passed. They hiked and scrambled through the trees. Their feet were dirty and torn navigating the terrain. Two legs were so much slower than four. Sweat dotted his brow despite the coolness of the day. He missed his braids with his unbound hair acting like a thermal blanket over his back.

  “I’ve seen that look before,” she continued. “I’ve seen it all before. And I’ve seen it all from the perspective of a wolf, but I don’t remember that night.”

  “You were there?” That would begin to explain some of her issues. He’d heard she was adopted by humans, but not why.

  “Yes.” Her expression was pensive. “I woke to—” she dipped her head with a grimace like her lingering headache had flared “—police banging on the door. I guess the neighbors called the cops after they heard the gunshots. I was naked, lying next to my mom, and my dad…” She drifted again. “That rogue resembled him.” She sighed. “Dad shot himself after he killed Mom. I think I witnessed it all, and I think I was in my shifter form.”

  “Your mom wasn’t a shifter?”

  Kaitlyn shook her head. “Not that I remember. Dad wasn’t either.”

  “One of them had to be.” A simple gunshot wouldn’t kill a shifter.

  Her stricken expression dented his resentment. He’d given her so much shit for being raised human, but it’s not like she’d had any control over it. Like him, she was piecing together that one of her parents may not have donated part of her genetic material.

  She coughed in an attempt to cover up a sniffle. “I don’t remember shifting—ever—before the night the Guardians helped me out. The two men I had partied with tried to kill me. I shifted and ripped them apart. I was kind of a mess after that.”

  He held back a growl. It was a good thing they were dead then. “Not remembering you shifted doesn’t mean you never had. Were your parents together when you were born?” When you were conceived?

  She read into his question. “As far as I know. Dad was the jealous type. He and Mom always fought about where she’d been and how long she’d taken, but he must’ve had no reason to think I wasn’t his. I’m the spitting image of my mom, so if one of my parents isn’t my birth parent, then it’s Dad. Mom must’ve strayed.”

  Sweet Mother, Kaitlyn looked miserable. She wasn’t holding tears back any longer, but seemed too numb to cry.

  “After the cops came through, then what?” He had to know the rest of the story, had to know everything he could about Kaitlyn.

  Her expression turned disgusted. “They tested me for sexual assault. I mean, I didn’t know why I was naked either, but Dad wasn’t like that. He wouldn’t have hurt me.” Again she blinked rapidly and shook her head like she was fending off a
nother blackout. “I think that’s why I was still alive. He couldn’t kill me, just stormed to his bedroom, dug out his pistol, shot himself. That’s the police report, anyway. Like I said, I don’t remember, probably had passed out already. My mom’s sister and her husband adopted me.”

  He didn’t want to keep pushing—she was obviously destroyed. Even his libido shut down around her mental torment and she was walking buck-naked next to him. “Did you sense anything about your aunt and uncle having any shifting abilities?”

  “Nope.”

  So Kaitlyn’s abilities came from her dad’s side. And the dad she knew probably wasn’t her real dad. Shifter healing abilities made it difficult to commit suicide.

  She rubbed her forehead. “Can we shift and run back? I can shift at the edge of town and as I come to, you can head in and talk to the colony.”

  Like he’d leave her naked ass out cold in the forest where rogues and weird ancients ran? “We’ll figure it out when we get there.” He flowed into his wolf and Kaitlyn did the same.

  Chapter Four

  Kaitlyn sat on the bed in the small motel room with her elbows resting on her knees, head hanging.

  What a terrible day. Night had fallen and she was running on no sleep. Well, other than her nap on the forest floor. Fatigue dragged at her. She’d be humiliated if it wasn’t for the flashbacks. Sometimes images visited her in her sleep, but never in Technicolor like earlier. Never with the full play-by-play.

  A hot tear slid down her cheek. Ugh, she hated crying. It had frayed her nerves trying to hold it together around Chayton. It would’ve helped if he’d been his normal self, but he’d listened, although she sensed his upset at stopping pursuit of the rogues for her. She wished he hadn’t.

  The ancient who’d shadowed them all the way to the colony had intentions to protect that were almost palpable. No hostility, no hidden agenda, he just watched over them. Why her and Chayton when Cian survived in his own little world?

  Chayton. After she’d awoken from her shift back, she’d found him with his back to her, keeping watch, his emotions carefully concealed, fortified by steady breathing, almost like meditation. They marched into town in silence and quickly dressed. More people had seen Kaitlyn naked today than she cared for, but she had to admit how freeing it was. Shifters didn’t possess human mental limitations about nudity.