He squatted on his heels and rubbed a hand over his scalp stubble. He had a few calls to make while waiting.
***
Kaitlyn sank to the bed. It was where she slept the second night while Waylon took the couch. Of course, he’d heard the full phone call with Chayton and understood everything.
“Want to talk?” He’d been giving her sidelong glances, like he was dying to ask, but she hadn’t said much of anything since the call yesterday.
She scoffed. “He didn’t want me. Enough said.”
Waylon folded his arm, his biceps bulging. He was a prime specimen she knew nothing about. His place had an open layout, because it was in a warehouse. A punching bag that’d seen better days hung from the rafters. She knew how it felt. Especially after she went twenty rounds with it last night once she found out the roads were still blocked with snow.
“Chayton Eagle is your mate.”
She nodded, her gaze on the floor. “He swore himself to someone else and is honoring that vow.”
Waylon’s scent swelled with anger and surprise. “What an idiot.”
“Yeah.”
“Want to fuck?”
She scowled at him, but a smile played at her lips at his playful tone.
He broke into a smile. “I get it. Friend-zoned. Let’s go get some lunch before you take off.”
Why couldn’t he have been her mate? He looked out for everyone, a real friend when she was in need.
Why did she need a mate?
“I need to go, but thanks for the offer. And don’t let anyone tell you you’re not awesome.” She gathered her items and headed for the door. “I mean it. Thank you.”
“Anything.” His answering smile held a hint of regret in his eyes.
Kaitlyn loaded her gear into the SUV. The rumble of larger engines crisscrossing town echoed in the distance. The plows continued clearing the roads. She hoped they attacked the back roads to the lodge. They’d never find all the roads, but her pack took care of those.
The drive back to the lodge was uneventful, much to her disappointment. Something to take her mind off her emotional woes would’ve been appreciated.
Chayton had been so jealous. Chalk it up to all the other idiosyncrasies she’d experienced from him. Like going from insulting and derisive to caring and territorial.
No, she couldn’t dwell on it. It encouraged memories of them in the woods when he’d been so worried about her well-being.
Activity around the lodge was minimal. She parked in the large garage and trudged to her cabin.
God, it felt good to be home.
And lonely.
She dumped her gear and started the process of sorting and cataloguing inventory. She’d lost some weapons and her ammo supply was down. Those would need to be reported and replaced.
Footsteps on her porch gave her pause. She didn’t feel like talking, to anyone. Her time with her sister and Waylon was what she’d needed. Facing others now held no appeal. Not even Cassie. But she had to face her team someday and they might have questions.
She answered the soft tap at the door. Commander Fitzsimmons stood on the landing. His expression was carefully neutral, but she sensed an I don’t want to have this talk mood from him.
“Tell me what’s going on.” Ever to the point, the commander brokered no sway in his order. Since she’d already reported their mission to him, he was asking about the rest.
“Commander, I owe you my life, but this is really personal. I promise it won’t affect my work.”
He cocked his head at her and shoved his hands in his pockets. If it was a casual stance meant to put her at ease, it didn’t work. Her boss didn’t do casual.
“If Jace had been injured on a mission, would you have left him at the colony, during a snowstorm?”
Touché. “Cassie would kill me if I did.” And Jace wouldn’t have been in another female’s bed.
“Cut the shit, Kaitlyn.”
Defeat. She spilled everything while she stood in the doorway and the commander remained planted on her deck. He didn’t move, his expression didn’t twitch. He assessed her and her words. It was disconcerting, but made the telling easier. The story rushed out and when she was done, she leaned against the doorway, waiting for his reaction.
“I need you to go back.”
“No way.” She’d rather go back to being an aimless human than find Chayton.
“This was your mission and it isn’t done yet.” He stared hard at her. “The rogues you hunted weren’t typical and they were getting help from packs in the colony.”
“Mato can take care of it. We don’t need to step in.”
“You do when they attack a Guardian to get to Mato’s daughter. There’s something else going on and you would’ve figured it out if you’d stayed and followed up.”
“Tika was attacked?”
“By three men who intended to kill her.” He stalled and she knew she wouldn’t like the rest. “Chayton was there, fought them off, and saved her.”
Chayton was there…
“Has he questioned them yet?”
“No, Tika’s life came first. You need to go back and finish the mission. You and Chayton let this dispute between you interfere with sorting out the real issues that led to the rogues terrorizing the entire county. And you and Chayton need to settle this shit. I can’t have you ignoring each other and refusing to work together.”
Exactly what she didn’t want to do. The bottom of the lake was looking really good right now.
“I thought he’d stay there to live and work. Mato’s tagged him as the next leader.” Would he bring Tika back with him as long as Mato was still in position?
“Mato might think he’s doing the best for his colony and his family, but the shifter world doesn’t work that way anymore. Rogues and traitors indicate more than an issue with the colony members. It points to high dissatisfaction with Mato and his leadership that shifters are willing to give their lives to stop him.”
No choice but to accept what her boss was saying. She’d fucked up, hadn’t looked past her drama with Chayton. “When do you want me to go back?”
“Now.” He turned to go.
She closed the door after he left and faced her gear. Time to pack it all back up.
Think like a Guardian. Chayton would need his gear replenished.
Taking a few moments to gather her things, she made a stop at Chayton’s cabin.
His door wasn’t locked. She’d never been in there. Had any of the others?
She stepped in. It was…nice. Expecting plain furnishings and empty walls, she stared. Beaded artwork was hung with pride. Blankets draped over the chairs had colorful—were those porcupine quills sewn in? After picking those out of her hide following an unfortunate encounter with the prickly rodent, she couldn’t imagine turning them into her hobby.
It struck her how homey the cabin felt. Not only did his home express a whole different side to him, but it was comfortable as well.
His bedroom was no different. In fact, she could curl up on his bed and sleep like Goldilocks. Or gaze in awe at the painted buffalo hide draped across his mattress.
She ran her hands over the smooth surface. The pictures were stories. The birth of a son, a young boy dancing during a ceremony, a young man going off on his own. She wondered if they were of his life. Then she got to the one with flames. The fire his mother died in?
A tear rolled down her cheek. This hide was more than a symbol of his history; it was everything he shared with his mother, his ina. Spirit Moon was one of the few places where he could closely connect with his heritage.
Perhaps she’d forgive him one day.
Chapter Fourteen
“You’re safe here with your parents.” Chayton evaluated Tika’s curled-up form on the chair. “My ahte’s watching outside.”
Tika nodded woodenly. She hadn’t spoken much since she’d come to in her mother’s arms. He’d had to physically restrain Mato from beheading the two survivors secured i
n Tika’s house.
He stuffed his hands into his pockets. Tika wasn’t who he wanted to mate, but he didn’t like seeing a young innocent so shaken. Violence happened to all shifters, though, whether or not they lived long enough. Plans streamed through his mind. He’d get the names from Mato, interrogate them—not that they’d talk—and at least glean any clues he could of their pack affiliation and personal habits.
A chill shivered across his scalp. He brushed a hand over it, used to the sensation, but this was different.
Something was off. He wandered to the window in time to see Mato streaking across the yard as a wolf.
That son of a bitch.
Without a word, Chayton stormed down the stairs where he passed Zitkana, wearing a defensive, righteous expression. He burst out of the house and charged after Mato.
He wouldn’t make it in time. Mato as a wolf would make better time and the silver glinting from his mouth said he went armed. Mato would get to Tika’s, shift, and execute.
Chayton jumped fences and plowed through snow piles until he reached the little house at the end of the block.
Slamming through the door, he almost ran into a nude Mato holding a machete.
Skidding to stop, his heart pounding, ready to tackle someone, Chayton looked around. What was the guy standing there for?
No bodies.
“Shit.” He knew the shifters couldn’t escape, but he didn’t expect someone to take them. Cursing his lack of foresight, he went to shove a hand through his hair only to hit stubble, which spiked his irritation.
“You should’ve put someone on guard.” Mato’s lilting tone grew more pronounced with his anger.
“Who? Who can you fucking trust in this colony? I was watching out for your daughter, you wouldn’t leave her side, Ahte is guarding your house. Who is left?”
A muscle danced in Mato’s cheek. Damn right. Mato should be able to rattle off a long list of trustworthy shifters that encompassed ninety-nine point five percent of his colony. But throw in the trust factor and he couldn’t name one. Chayon had suggested Trevon, but Mato had brushed him off, too. Control freak.
“Come on.” Chayton took one last look, hoping they’d dropped a knife or something to give him the advantage for once. Was a stray wallet or family photo too much to hope for? At least he knew their faces. He could work with that. “We’re going back to your place for a nice long talk.”
***
“Dammit, Mato!” Chayton slammed his palms on top of the table in Mato’s conference room. “You can’t round up the town for interrogation.”
Mato leaned over the table, jabbing his index finger on the surface. “It’s my town and they attacked my daughter. I will damn well do what I please. I’d think you’d be beside me. You were the one who had to save your own mate.”
Exactly. He couldn’t help but keep comparing Tika with Kaitlyn. If the intruders had gotten close enough to hit Kaitlyn, she would’ve either had a salt packet on her or made it to the kitchen and saved herself.
Chayton steadied his voice to get his point across. “You doing what you want is what started all of this. Did you kick those shifters out? Is that why they went rogue? You cut them off when they spoke against you.”
A beet-red flush took over Mato’s face. Bingo.
“I dedicated my life to this community and what happened? Two children murdered.” Mato sat back down and shook his head. “We waited damn near a century for another child. They weren’t getting Tika. I knew if I tied her to you, no one would cross a Guardian. You could fight and none of their abilities would work on you.”
That’s why Chayton was chosen, his future disregarded, to secure one for Tika. He released a long breath and counted to ten. He knew he’d been manipulated and hearing the depth of it didn’t help. It wasn’t coincidence they caught him after the vulnerable time of his ina’s death and he’d caved; they’d hunted him.
Chayton hadn’t been around when Mato’s young kids were killed. His position as a Guardian had carried him away from home barely out of his teens, but he’d come back in an official capacity to investigate the incident—after Mato had “dealt” with it. “The deaths of your first children may not have been targeted assassinations.”
“Bullshit,” Zitkana announced from the doorway, her expression severe, unyielding. “Everyone knew where they played and who with. Silver didn’t accidentally lace their toys.”
“Too bad I couldn’t investigate.” There’d been no one left. Mato had executed the family the toys belonged to, whose own kids had also been victims. Chayton rose and eyed both Zitkana and Mato. “Now I will investigate and you two will stay out of my way.” Zitkana opened her mouth to argue, but he held up a hand and continued. “You will do this because I’m a Guardian and the one you trusted with your daughter.”
A honeysuckle scent wrapped around him, one he should’ve noticed if he weren’t so emotionally charged.
Mato and Zitkana both turned to peer out of the room, into the hallway where Kaitlyn stood, having heard Chayton’s last statement.
His body rejoiced at her proximity, his head cursed it. Why did the commander send her back here?
Mato made a disgusted noise. “Guardian.”
“We’ll start by looking through your records. Everything you have, we’ll sift through it all.” She exuded professionalism even though she had to be seething inside to have to be close to him, helping to find who hurt Tika. “I understand how close this is to you. We’ll give you regular updates, but any punishment will need to be doled out by us.”
Zitkana’s glare could’ve cut a swath a mile wide through the forest. “Find them, make them pay.” She shoved past Kaitlyn. “Or I will.”
Kaitlyn ignored Chayton, her neutral expression on Mato. “The records.”
Chapter Fifteen
What seventh hell was this? Working in close proximity with Kaitlyn, while hints of Waylon lingered on her, was a torture Chayton could only wish on his worst enemies. His blood pressure had to be sky-high.
She studiously ignored his pointed glares, only saying, “We can’t let more drama interfere with this mission.”
Chayton noticed her subtle use of more drama instead of our drama. She’d written him off.
“We still need to talk,” he growled.
She glanced up to him, then to the closed door. “And do you think this is a good place for it?”
A breach in her expression revealed deep hurt. He’d caused it.
He took a stack of records and pushed them toward her. “Why don’t you look through these and I’ll take the laptop. I know what they look like and can spot them in any photos.”
The gentleness of his tone must’ve surprised her. It didn’t assuage the effect of his actions, but he didn’t want to add to it. She swiveled the computer toward him, the action stirring up her scent.
“How was Waylon?” He was a dog with a bone, what could he say?
“Fine.” She ruffled through the papers, but he could tell she’d lost her focus. “And Tika?”
“Recovered, but in shock.” Weak.
“Good thing you were there, then.” She readjusted her pencil and notepad and focused on the documents. Her emotions shut down as if she decided to pretend he wasn’t in the room.
It was for the best. He scanned the computer through news clippings and logged in to social media to try to find an image of one of the attackers.
Hours of research later, he pushed back, frustrated and hungry. The sun had set long ago and would rise in only a few more.
“Enough.” He cleared his browsing history. “We need food and rest. I’m sure there’s an empty room in this monstrosity for you to catch some Zs in.”
“There’s a little motel down the road. I’ll stay there.”
After working next to her half the night, he didn’t want her to leave. “I wouldn’t put it past whoever’s behind this to target you if you’re alone.”
She rammed the papers into the filing cabinet. “I
’m not staying here with you and Tika.”
Full of resentment. He didn’t blame her. It hadn’t dawned on him where he’d sleep.
“I’ll take the floor in the conference room.” It was a good enough compromise. One that would keep her here.
She sighed and hefted her backpack. “Fine. I just want to be up shortly after sunrise to search Tika’s home.”
“Good idea. You might see something I missed. I won’t bother Zitkana. There’s a guest room on the second floor—” Right across from the room Tika was in. “Actually, the den might be better. It’s around the corner.” And closer to me.
***
Kaitlyn stretched out on the couch in the den. For once her mind wasn’t on Chayton but on the details she’d unearthed during her research.
Execution records, notes from town meetings, population rises and falls. Mostly falls. Geez, the whole town could be suspects. No wonder Chayton was such a dick—he was raised here.
Odd, because she liked Des, but centuries could’ve mellowed the guy out. Not to mention she sensed a similar instability in him that she did in her own dad.
She’d spotted Cian running in the trees as she drove past Valley Moon. How’d he always sensed she was near?
Her eyelids drifted closed. Dawn would arrive shortly and she needed rest. This mission was emotionally and physically brutal, and it’d end sooner if she kept her wits intact. She tediously kept her thoughts off Chayton, thinking about Cian, her sister, anything.
The heavy veil of sleep hung over her, muscles loosened, her breathing steadied. Ultimate relaxation allowed the image to form of a bald male with flashing brown eyes. He kneeled next to her, his broad shoulders blocking out the rest of the dark room. He felt so real, as if he was really there.
At last. She wanted him closer. Nothing would be right until he was closer.
“Kaitlyn,” he whispered. He stroked his calloused fingertips along her jaw.
Ancient Ties (Pale Moonlight (Wolf Shifters Romance) Book 2) Page 14