What?
Trevon didn’t reply. Her neck throbbed. She resisted closing her eyes against the pain. She had to finish him to get to Trevon. The male thrashed, but his power drained quickly. Kaitlyn’s mouth filled with blood, but not enough to drain his energy. The damage to his gut must be the reason.
“Stop,” a female’s voice commanded.
Kaitlyn tried to whip her head toward the sound, but her teeth were locked into the male. A brief touch against her mind, so similar to what she’d felt earlier, but it was gone. She pried her mouth off the male and kicked his limp body away. She flipped to face the female who stood above her in human form.
The other shifter drew her lips back. “I said stop.”
There was the sensation in her head again. No time to think. Kaitlyn jumped up. Shock registered on the female’s face before Kaitlyn tackled her. In her human form, the rogue shifter couldn’t compete with Kaitlyn’s ability.
Her jaw was tired, but she targeted the vulnerable neck again, an even better target on a human.
The female screamed. She tried to push Kaitlyn away, but wasn’t strong enough to stop her momentum. Kaitlyn didn’t have to clamp on. She took a mighty bite and the female toppled with a gurgle.
Kaitlyn crouched and shuffled back, her flanks heaving. The female was done for, the male twitched to the side. They both deserved a silver bullet, but Kaitlyn didn’t dare transition and leave herself vulnerable. Too many shifters counted on her.
She trotted over to Trevon’s prone form, each step ricocheting through the wound in her neck. When she reached him, she thoroughly sniffed him, but detected no scent of death. From his position at the base of a tree, his distress over not being able to move was from a broken back before he’d been knocked unconscious.
The two males she’d shot were both dead. Head shots with silver, speedy and efficient. With a fortifying breath, she padded to Chayton. A layer of snow covered his body, giving his injuries the illusion of being less severe than they were. Shifters lived long and died hard, but constant, severe trauma where the body couldn’t keep regenerating often resulted in death. Or so Kaitlyn had been told. She’d never witnessed it before and didn’t want today to be the first time.
His chest barely rose with each breath. Old blood spotted the ground around him, some in large pools, and some splattered on the trees. He needed fuel, but could he heal enough to ingest it?
He will make it. Des appeared in the trees. His hulking, brown man-wolf streaked in blood, the thing of nightmares. The only difference from her dad was the color. Ancients looked terrifying, and perhaps during their time, they were. Now Des and Cian reminded her of the old black belts who used to come into the various dojos she’d worked in. They still had the skills, but had accepted that they would never be the fighters they used to be.
Those other two are dead? she asked.
I ripped their hearts out myself.
Perhaps Des hadn’t lost as much ability as Kaitlyn had assumed.
The gun to take care of the two shifters Trevon and I fought is laying by my things. Kaitlyn inclined her head toward the pile of gear hidden a couple hundred yards away.
Des considered her before he nodded. As he strode to retrieve the gun, he flowed to two legs. She turned her attention back to Chayton. Prowling up and down each side of his body, she determined the severity of his lingering injuries.
Still so strong, so proud. A jab of loss hit when she got to his head. His glorious hair had provided an intimate curtain when they were together. Logically, she knew it was only hair and it’d grow back. Only a silver blade would poison the hair follicles, but still, it’d take years to get that long again.
She’d like to be around to see it.
Mato ran to Chayton. We can feed him as we carry him back. We’ll take him to my place, where Tika can care for him.
The female’s name was a cold splash of reality.
We’ll get him back for her. She was grateful for mental speak to keep her from gagging.
She spun away to check on Trevon, who was groaning. He flipped to his feet and scanned their surroundings.
The fight’s over? You got her?
Des was coming back carrying all of her gear in one hand and the gun in the other. Kaitlyn wanted to see how he used it. Trevon seemed to want the time to gather his wits.
Des shot one bullet into each rogue. He lifted the gun to inspect it closer. This is handy. Much easier. He slipped it into her pack and lifted a questioning brow at her.
I can travel quicker in this form.
As always, Des seemed to sense more to her, like maybe he suspected her human upbringing caused certain deficiencies. Maybe, unlike his son, he didn’t care and accepted her anyway.
Why couldn’t he have been her father?
With the thought came a hint of Cian in the air. She squinted through the trees. The flash of white was difficult to distinguish in the falling snow, but her dad was out there.
She’d grudgingly accept his limitations, too. He didn’t want to jump into the fight and rip out his own daughter’s heart by accident. With her history, she’d respect that.
I will transport my son. Des shouldered her gear. Trevon transitioned to human to sever the bonds around Chayton’s limbs.
He was so limp when Des lifted him across his shoulders. Kaitlyn firmly ordered herself to stay in place. She did her job as a Guardian. The rogues were dead, Chayton should recover, and Mato could deal with any lingering traitors in the colony.
We need to move to get back in time. She raised her head to sniff the wind. Travel when night was falling was far from ideal, but it was better than getting snowed out in the mountains. The snow will slow us down, but we can be back to the colony by daybreak.
Mato’s mental snort raised her hackles. If we’re lucky.
She bit her tongue, reminded herself that he’d helped her on the mission, and took off into the night. Her dad paralleled her. The others, so used to his random presence, didn’t question it.
Chapter Ten
Chayton didn’t want to open his eyes. Just breathing was agony. Pain lanced his lungs and each muscle protested at having to move as much as a centimeter.
A lush body pressed against him. Oh, yes. He could go for some of that. Flashes of red hair and creamy skin eased the pain.
He frowned. His genitals were unresponsive. Understandable after what they’d been through.
Wait.
He wasn’t strapped down in the forest anymore. He inhaled, registering the familiar smells around him. He’d been to this place before, but he couldn’t recall it immediately.
The female whose nude body curled into his trailed her fingers over his chest.
“Chay, are you finally awake?”
Oh, shit. He was at Tika’s place. He’d only been there once, last year when he wanted to see how compatible they’d be. At the time, he’d thought they had a lot of potential.
He kept moving his lips around until it was possible to form words. “Kaitlyn?”
Tika lifted her head off his shoulder. “Your partner went home. I assured her I’d take good care of my future mate.” She landed tiny kisses on his chest.
Chayton squeezed his lids tighter. He still hadn’t opened his eyes, and now he wished he’d go back under to delay having to face the mess he’d gotten himself into.
“Was she—” he swallowed. When he’d last seen her, she’d been plugged with four rounds. “She was well?”
Tika propped herself up on an elbow. He finally opened his eyes. Hers widened in delight and she brushed her fingers over his cheek. “She was fine. After you were taken, she came and got Des and my dad. I guess she was injured in the rescue, but she was healed before they returned.” Laughter burst from her, bouncing the bed. He winced at the sudden movement. “I guess she passed out when they got you back to the village and she had to shift back. Trevon had to carry her to Des’s place.”
A surge of propriety beat back his physical torment.
Another agile, single male had his hands on his mate. Chayton should’ve been the one to be there to pick her up. Instead, she’d had to drag herself out of the lake and save his ass—then leave him.
Could he blame her? And it ended with her weakness displayed in front of Mato. Something about that male knowing her shifting disability made Chayton uneasy.
“Anyway…” She danced her fingers over his abdomen and down his hipbone. He flinched and she withdrew her hand. “You’re snowed in and officially on vacation.”
His eyes flew wide as he realized what she’d said. He surged up to a sitting position. Agony speared him and he didn’t care. Dizziness spun the room, but his gaze anchored on Tika. “What do you mean?”
Her brow furrowed. “They barely made it back with you in the snow. It was noon the day after they left before they reached the colony. I guess once she came to, she packed everything and dropped your stuff over when she checked on you.” Tika lifted her chin to point out his satchel and tactical gear. “Said she was going back to Valley Moon before snow accumulation blocked her in. She’ll have an easier time getting back to West Creek from there. Their roads are cleared much earlier than ours.”
Because Mato didn’t think the colony needed access to civilization to survive; they owned one snowplow.
Tika reached for something on the nightstand. She handed the mug to him. “Drink.”
He accepted the mug, his arm as weak as a newborn. It shook as he drained the salty broth, but he didn’t know if it was from his injuries or his agitation.
Even if Kaitlyn didn’t know he was her mate, she had to have experienced the strong drive of the mating call. He sure as hell had. What they’d done together, she had to feel like he’d slapped her in the face, repeatedly.
Sweet Mother, he’d fucked up. He’d fucked up twenty-five years ago when he caved under Mato and Zitkana’s pressure and he’d nailed his coffin lid over the last week.
He’d need to be full strength to face reality. Sinking back down with a sigh and a moan, he closed his eyes. “Thanks,” he mumbled before he drifted off.
***
Kaitlyn tapped her fingers against her other hand waiting for the door to open. She’d found the address Cian gave her easily enough. The tiny clapboard house sat on a postage stamp-sized lot on a long street with other similar houses, much like the neighborhood in Freemont she’d grown up in. Nervous energy had coursed through her body from the drive to Valley Moon. Snow had fallen steadily since Chayton’s rescue. But she was determined to get away from his colony and the clingy Tika while she still could. The risk of driving through the winter storm was worth it. Drifts across the highway had created a few white-knuckled moments when she plowed over them and the SUV almost got hung up.
The door opened to a young woman, slightly younger than Kaitlyn, with pale blonde hair chopped off at the chin. Her green eyes flashed with curiosity as she studied Kaitlyn’s appearance. Her name, Tawny, was a perfect fit.
The female’s nostrils flared, studying Kaitlyn’s scent. She spoke with no hostility, but no welcome. “Can I help you, Guardian?”
God, yes. Leaving Chayton shredded her. She wished she had a mirror to see if her eyes were still bloodshot from crying after making the mistake of turning on the radio to classic country. “Actually, I wanted to talk. May I come in?”
The female’s eyelids fluttered in question, but she opened the door wider for Kaitlyn to step in. Several scents assaulted Kaitlyn. One was a scent so much like her own Kaitlyn almost didn’t notice it. Another she almost missed it because this girl, her sister, had a characteristic scent, one Kaitlyn knew well.
Like a coward, Kaitlyn jumped on that topic first. “Why aren’t you a Guardian?”
A guarded look shaded Tawny’s expression. “My father requested I find a less violent path in life.”
“You’re not Cian.”
“How did you—are you here to recruit me?” The spike of hostility in her sister’s tone scared Kaitlyn that she’d get kicked out.
Kaitlyn sighed and stomped snow off her boots in case she was invited to stay. “No, I came because Cian is my father, too.”
Tawny looked like Kaitlyn had felt when Cian told her.
Kaitlyn hooked her thumbs in her waistband and let it all spill out. “I don’t have any family left and my mate chose another, so I’m kind of in a shitty spot right now.”
Sympathy filled her sister’s expression. Kaitlyn hadn’t told half of her pathetic story, but Tawny sensed the anguish.
“And you’re snowed in here needing a friend?”
Kaitlyn nodded and blinked back tears. What she wouldn’t give to bawl on her bestie Cassie’s shoulder and have a good sparring session with Jace, who’d add a word or two of wisdom, even offer to hunt down Chayton. “Once I found out about you, I planned to find you anyway.”
Tawny opened the door to let Kaitlyn inside with a small smile. “We’re kind of an oddity, huh?”
Kaitlyn hastily wiped her eyes. “Has it been bad for you?”
Tawny barked a laugh. “Sweet Mother, I’m miserable. My mom’s a drunk because my dad won’t mate her, and my dad wasn’t here to raise me, yet I let him run my life.” Her eyes widened and she put her fingers to her mouth. “I can’t believe I said that.”
Kaitlyn chuckled, relieved. “Have I got a story for you.”
Chapter Eleven
Chayton prowled his father’s home. After three days, he’d healed enough to escape to his dad’s place. Hell with the weather, he couldn’t lay in Tika’s bed any more.
“Son, I didn’t rebuild this house so you could wear a hole in the floor.” Des sipped coffee at the tiny kitchen table and read a book.
“Doesn’t Mato have the plow out?” Chayton slammed his own mug down for coffee. It cracked and he growled and tossed it. “It’s been a week.”
“What are you going to do when you get back?”
Good question. He needed to get out of city limits first. Rolling his shoulders, trying to loosen knots, he finally asked Ahte his burning question. “Why didn’t you say anything all those years ago when Mato hounded me about Tika? Did you think it was a good idea?”
Des set his cup down. “Right after your mom told me what was going on with Mato and Zitkana hounding you, the fire claimed her.” Lines creased his eyes, lending to his constant aura of sadness. For once, his father looked old. “Once she was gone, it was all I could do to remain on this earth for you.”
“Why did you?”
“It wasn’t easy. I wanted to find a deep hole and wither away. Even start my own fire. But once I discovered you swore yourself to Tika, I couldn’t go.” He grimaced and rubbed his chest. “I had this sense that it wasn’t a good idea, that you’d need my help.”
Chayton stabbed his boot into the floor. “Kaitlyn’s my mate.”
“I sensed as much. Mato won’t let you go free.”
Mato? Tika wouldn’t let him go. Chayton scrubbed his face. Once he’d regained enough vitality to get out of bed, he dressed and grabbed his pack. Tika tried to seduce him back between the covers, but he used the excuse that he needed to talk to his dad and call his commander. In the days since he’d fully recovered, his mating bond screamed that he go after Kaitlyn.
He still had to call Commander Fitzsimmons. Kaitlyn likely already had, but he needed to touch base. Find out if he was welcome back to the pack.
“You’ve been with Tika already?” There was no censure in his dad’s tone.
Chayton nodded.
“She didn’t mark you. As tenacious as she seems, I would’ve thought she’d mark you. But it’s not like she’s been patiently waiting.”
“What do you mean?”
“She fulfills her needs often.” When Chayton shot him a sharp look, Des lifted a shoulder. “It’s a small town. Sometimes my only amusement is gossip, though I do pay more attention to Mato and his family. They are affecting your life, and that concerns me.”
Great. A year of abstinence for
an unfaithful mate. To think he’d tried so hard to stay away from Kaitlyn, might have missed those stolen moments with her.
Chayton strode to the sliding door. The sun was high, its strong rays rapidly melting snow. “I made a blood vow with Zitkana. You really think they’ll release me?”
“Mato’s been a strong leader, but his age is catching up to him. He and Zitkana finally had a kid make it to adulthood, I don’t blame him for trying to secure a future for her.” Des shook his head. “I think you were targeted for your parentage, your Guardian connections, and, more importantly, because no one could undermine your authority. Not with your gift.”
Chayton crossed his arms and watched water drip off the gutters. “So I can turn any shifter’s ability around on them. What would I do with that?”
“Retain power, for Tika. She must have an ability, but I suspect that like her, it’s not that strong.”
He frowned. “If she can’t retain authority when Mato dies or steps down, then she doesn’t deserve the position.”
“Says someone who’s not a father.”
“Mato’s afraid Tika will inherit the position and get killed when she’s challenged?”
“Targeting his children while he’s alive hasn’t proven fortuitous. There are enough shifters who back Mato. I think that’s why no one’s challenged him.”
Chayton clenched his jaw. “Biding their time, weakening the colony.”
He’d worried Kaitlyn’s perceived weakness would be used against her, but it was Tika who was vulnerable. Other than her beauty and charm, there wasn’t much to her.
“Exactly.”
“Dammit, Ahte, quit reading my thoughts.”
“Quit projecting them.” Des stood and walked around the table. “I couldn’t read Kaitlyn’s.”
Chayton let the information sink in. “Resistance to other’s abilities is a unique gift. I assumed she hadn’t come into them or possessed none.”
“I’ve met one other who can do the same thing. Cian.”
Chayton scoffed. What were the odds? “No.”
“Yes, I believe so. He has another daughter in Valley Moon.”
Ancient Ties (Pale Moonlight (Wolf Shifters Romance) Book 2) Page 12