by Claire Adele
“It’s kind of complicated.” Lucky wondered how the hell he could tell her what happened at the testing ceremony. He hated to, and he shouldn’t.
“I need to know, Lucky. I care for you and Rafe very much. I want to understand what happened.”
“I’ll explain it as best I can, but please, you’ll need to keep an open mind about what I’m going to tell you. Okay?”
“Certainly, I can keep an open mind. Go ahead, I’m listening.”
Dallas stood and headed toward the doorway to the pool. “I’m going to sit outside and finish my dinner. Holler if you need me.”
“Go ahead, Dallas.” Lucky worried he would say too much, although Dallas couldn’t help him with this problem. How much was enough to tell her so she would understand what happened? He sighed and plunged in.
“Our families have had adjoining cattle ranches for generations. There’ve been many marriages between our two families. The most recent marriage proposed by our parents was supposed to be between Rafe and Kelly. Our parents are pretty definite about what they expect us to do, and marrying who they pick out is one of those things. Their decisions about marriages have always been followed. We don’t marry our cousins, but they try to arrange marriages every generation.”
Darlene nodded. “I can understand that kind of situation. My parents were the same way with me. That’s why I’ve been living alone. I intend to marry the man I want to marry some day for love, not money or business.”
“Well, Kelly ran away to avoid marrying Rafe. She’s known Rafe all her life, and he’s been as protective of her all these years as he has been of all us guys. We were all worried when she didn’t come home, and so we started searching for her, hoping we would find her before she ended up in trouble or left dead in the street somewhere. She had been sheltered all her life, and she had no idea how dangerous it could be for a young woman alone on the run. I’d like to talk to her one of these days and find out how she did survive.”
“So you found her at last, and she was staying with me by then.”
“Yeah. But she didn’t want to come with us. Rafe couldn’t understand why, and it upset him. When we found her one night out for a run with Derek, we all realized there was more between them than just being friends. We had a feeling she and Derek had made love with each other while staying at his friend’s home.”
“I see.” Darlene looked away.
“It’s not that simple. It’s pretty complicated actually.” When Darlene looked up at him, he continued, unsure if he could explain what happened. “The families have meetings in which decisions are made about these things. Since we found her here instead of at home, our parents decided that Beau should be in charge and carry out the family tradition used in a situation like we had with Kelly. It was up to Kelly’s oldest brother, Beau, to take charge. He called for a meeting between us and Kelly and Derek. It all came down to who was going to marry Kelly and look after her in case she was already pregnant.”
Darlene nodded.
Lucky took a deep breath. “Not knowing Derek at all, Rafe didn’t believe that Derek would marry Kelly, even if she was pregnant with his child. So Rafe tried to trick her into becoming his wife. It was an underhanded trick, and it didn’t work, and not only that but the families don’t stand for tricks in dealing with each other. There are rules, and Rafe broke the rules. Beau told Rafe he couldn’t be involved with Kelly any further. Derek said he wanted to marry Kelly, and she said she wanted to marry him. So that turned out for the best, I think. She seems to be really happy about it.”
Darlene nodded as if she understood. “I can see that a protective guy like Rafe would have been insulted and hurt. But it was his own fault for trying to trick her. He should have respected her ability to make the best decisions for her own future. Men don’t seem to get it that women make as good decisions as men do.”
“Yeah, it was his fault,” Lucky agreed, hugely relieved Darlene didn’t ask the details of Rafe’s trickery. “But he’s always been our protector, the one we look to for help, and he thought he knew the best way to protect Kelly.”
She shook her head. “It’s ironic to me that even though I find overbearing men despicable, and I’ve avoided them for so many years since my parents tried to marry me to one, I now want Rafe to explain himself to me. If I hadn’t agreed to take him in when he was injured in that gang fight that brought you all to my back door, I never would have gotten to know him. I would have always considered him the same as all the other overbearing men I’ve known. But now, I find I want him to explain why to me so that I can understand him better. I like him too much not to try to see his side of this.”
Lucky shook his head. “He’s not like those overbearing men. Not really. He just feels a huge responsibility being the oldest, and he tries his best to take care of all of us. He doesn’t want anyone to get in trouble and get hurt.”
“Thank you for explaining to me.” Darlene smiled at him. “Rafe will have some explaining of his own to do if he wants to when he comes back in the house. I care about Rafe, but I’m afraid I might feel differently about him, if he doesn’t help me understand in his own words why he tried to trick Kelly. I want to hear it from him, but thank you for telling me as much as you did. I’m rather disappointed in his behavior this evening. I need to talk with him. I don’t know if he’ll stay, but I would like for you to stay for as long as you want.”
When she looked up at him, Lucky wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. “I’d like to stay, as long as you can put up with me.” He grinned at her.
Rafe stepped back inside. “Since it’s important to you to hear from me about what happened, I’ll tell you if it will make a difference whether you want me to stay or leave.” He sounded as serious as the look on his face.
Lucky shook his head at Rafe.
“It’s all right, Lucky. If I expect Darlene to forgive and accept me, I need to be honest and up front about what happened between me and Kelly that night.”
Darlene nodded. “Thank you, Rafe. I want to hear what you have to say about what Lucky told me. I need to know what you did and why.”
Lucky ached for Rafe. He knew, from the way he felt about Darlene, that Rafe must be dying inside. It was a terrible thing for an honorable man to go against his code. It was maybe even worse to have to explain why he did what he did to a person he cared about, like Darlene. Lucky hoped for Rafe’s sake that she’d understand and continue to be his friend.
Darlene waited quietly with her arms crossed beneath her breasts.
Rafe paced the floor a moment and stopped in front of Darlene. “Kelly disappeared from her parents’ ranch a couple years ago when her parents and mine decided it was time for us to be married. At first, I was insulted that she left, and when we couldn’t contact her or find her, and she didn’t get in touch with her family, I became worried for her well-being just like her family. Kelly and I had always been family friends, but our relationship hadn’t gone any farther than that. As time passed and we never heard from her, I worried that she could have landed in a bad situation. Her brothers kept searching for her, and my brother and I joined the search when we had an opportunity to leave the ranch. We never gave up hoping she was alive. We kept searching and finally found her here in Desert Edge with people we didn’t know until now.
“Right after we discovered she was here in Desert Edge, she disappeared again. We continued to search the area and finally found her in this part of town. We suspected she was staying with you. We kept watch until we were certain.
“When she disappeared from this area, we searched the entire west side of Desert Edge until we ran into her one night when we were all out for a run. She admitted to staying with Derek. From the way they acted, we suspected they’d had sex. Beau and I were worried she could become pregnant, and since we didn’t know anything about Derek, we didn’t know if Derek would actually look after her and marry her if she was pregnant. Beau insisted she take part in a testing ceremony to prove which
of us, Derek or me, could prove to be the best man for her.
“Not knowing Derek, I didn’t know if he would be good for Kelly. I wanted to take care of her and keep her safe. So I cheated in the test when I realized that Derek was winning it. It was a stupid thing to do on my part, and I wish now I hadn’t taken advantage, but I thought at the time it was the last opportunity to protect her and take her home where I thought she belonged.”
Darlene frowned at Rafe. “What kind of test?”
Rafe took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
Lucky took a step closer to them. “Darlene…”
Rafe slashed his hand through the air. “No, Lucky. She needs to know what really happened if we’re going to have an honest relationship. Even if you don’t want to have anything more to do with me, and don’t feel you can trust me any longer, you need to know and I respect that. It’s a family tradition when things like this happen. I wish it wasn’t, but our parents insisted on going by it.”
Darlene nodded slowly.
Lucky thought she looked like she was having second thoughts about hearing everything that went down. He didn’t think Rafe should tell her. He should wait and ask Darlene if she would rather not know. But Lucky couldn’t stop Rafe. This whole situation was out of control and someone was going to get hurt.
“It was a sexual test.”
Darlene gasped.
Rafe continued. “Both Derek and I had to prove that she desired one of us over the other. The proof was her reaction to our seduction of her, as judged by Beau, who had his back to us, giving us as much privacy as he could. It’s a serious test to prove two people’s love for each other. Derek and I were required one at a time to mate with her and bring her to the best climax each of us could.”
Darlene covered her mouth with one hand and shook her head, obviously shocked and distressed at Rafe’s words.
Lucky wished Rafe wasn’t telling Darlene all of this. It couldn’t go well for him. He was going to lose Darlene. Lucky ached for his friend and the woman they both cared so much for. Lucky paced as Rafe went on.
“When I realized that Derek could win, and I was worried he wouldn’t be a good husband for her, I cheated. I used a prop which is not allowed in the test, a sexual enhancing drug. I’m not proud of it. All I can say for myself is that my worry for Kelly’s welfare overrode my good sense and I took a chance on winning her over, at least by appearances if it worked. It wasn’t dangerous, just not right.”
Darlene rose from her seat on the sofa. Her eyes filled with tears. “You took it upon yourself to decide what was right for Kelly. You couldn’t trust her to make her own best decision for herself and her future! You’re just like the men my father wanted me to marry. Men who didn’t believe I had sense enough to live my life successfully. You may have endangered Kelly by the very fact that you didn’t respect what she wanted, and what she was, and is, capable of accomplishing.”
Lucky’s heart was breaking for Darlene and Rafe. It was obvious to him that they were both hurt by this. Pain ripped through him at the thought of their pain. He wished he knew what to say to ease this awful situation, but he didn’t know. He wished he had never said anything about this to Darlene. He’d best keep quiet and let them each have their say. He hoped it would all smooth over sooner than later.
“I’ll leave,” Rafe said, the hurt in his eyes palpable.
“No, you need a place to stay for now. You can stay here. I need to be alone for a while. I need to think about all of this and decide what I should do.”
Lucky lifted his hand, meaning to say something that would help.
She shook her head at him. “No, Lucky. I just need to be alone. Don’t say anything more. Nothing can be changed.” She turned away from them and walked down the hall.
When Lucky heard her bedroom door close, he turned to Rafe, intending to apologize for saying anything about the whole damn thing to Darlene.
“I sure messed up. I may have just lost the most incredible woman I’ve ever met.” Rafe walked down the hall to the bedroom where he had been sleeping before last night.
Lucky headed outside by the pool and sat down. God, what a mess. What could he do now?
Dallas looked at him with sympathy in his gaze from where he sat nearby on a lounge chair. “There’s nothing you can do, Lucky. This will all work out, but it will take some time.”
Lucky hoped this would all blow over by morning.
* * * *
Rafe figured his relationship with Darlene was now over. The loss of her friendship and good opinion hurt deep inside him. Why did it take losing her to realize how important she was to him? She would never have anything more to do with him now that she knew what he’d done to Kelly. He couldn’t bear to consider the emptiness of not having her in his life.
He went to his bedroom. He didn’t deserve to wear Dutch’s ring either, after everything he had pulled on Kelly. Wearing his ring was an insult to Dutch’s memory. When he had cheated in the test, he’d not only taken advantage of Kelly, thinking he knew better than she did what was best for her, but he had also let down everyone who looked up to him. How could he have been so stupid?
Being the oldest, his brothers and cousins had always looked up to him as the leader. He had probably lost their respect that night along with Kelly’s and now Darlene’s. He could maybe get back the respect of his pack, but he wasn’t sure at all about Darlene’s respect. He had let Darlene down. She had been badly hurt by all of this. It was evident by the tears in her eyes. And he wanted her respect most of all. His wolf wanted to howl.
He took off Dutch’s ring and put it on the dresser. Until he had made things right, he didn’t deserve to wear it. He would find Kelly and apologize to her and to Colt, like Darlene said he should.
For that matter, he knew he should. Tomorrow, he would find them and ask their forgiveness. Hopefully they would all forgive him and things would be better.
Sleep would be long in coming tonight. He couldn’t stay here in Darlene’s home knowing how much he had hurt her and not able to go to her and fix things. He headed for the front door. Tonight, he belonged in the desert, alone.
Beyond the neighborhood street lights, darkness cloaked the foothills. Rafe headed toward that black covering. Once he reached the rugged land behind her home, he removed his clothing and began to shift to his wolf form. It would only take him a little longer to shift without Dutch’s ring. It didn’t matter how long it took him to shift tonight. An electric current spread from his fisted right hand up his arm and raced around his entire body in circles as if the spinning vortex of a dust devil consumed him. Heat and pain followed in his joints and bones, streaking through him, until he took the form of his beast. With the powerful vision of his feral eyes that could see in the dark, he surveyed the surrounding hillsides. He was alone except for small creatures hunting for their food.
The wind ruffled his wolfen fur. With several bounding leaps, he was racing through the foothills alone in his wolf body. He feared Darlene would never let him make love to her again. He ran until he panted for more air. He couldn’t outrun the truth. He’d been wrong, he’d hurt his friends, and it could cost him Darlene. Was she his soul mate? Was this what it felt like to find his soul mate only to lose her? He’d never felt so alone. He’d hurt her and lost her. A howl tore from his chest with the pain of his realization. His cry echoed against the mountainside.
The sound of racing footpads came to him on the wind, along with the smell of unwashed bodies and liquor. He recognized the threat. A wolf pack gained on him. In the dim moonlight, he searched for a place to face the coming attack. There was no other reason for the pack to follow him than that they planned an assault on him.
When he found a clear level surface at last, he turned to face his attackers, six lightning-fast, giant, deadly werewolves. Standing upright on their hind legs, with long claws on their hands, and angular wolf faces, the blend of their human and wolfen features was grotesque. It had to be the Hawks. His
own pack took on a wolf-like appearance, a more wolfen head, wolf fur of different colors, and moved on four paws. He braced for the fight.
One of the huge werewolves ran full speed toward him. He slammed into Rafe’s chest and knocked him to his back on the hard-packed desert floor. Sharp little rocks dug into his skin. They were nothing compared to the slash of the werewolf’s claws down Rafe’s chest. Anger ignited and blazed inside him like sparks to shotgun powder. His roar exploded with menace. He twisted and leaped back to his feet. He shook off the irritating pains and took a stance against the next assault, his lips drawn back in a feral snarl to reveal his canines. As the larger wolf charged again, Rafe lunged for the wolf’s throat and slashed with his claws.
Chapter Five
Rafe fought the Hawks’ every assault with his otherworldly strength. With his sharp canines he clamped down hard with the power of his beast on their arms and wrists. They came at him one at a time, without stopping. When he fought off one, another would attack. He had no time to catch his breath and no time to prepare for the next one. He lunged and slashed with his claws and teeth. His claws dug into their flesh and held tight like honed steel as he fought them off, leaving one after another of his adversaries running away to regroup. Bloodied and bruised, he watched for the next attack.
He panted, and his body burned all over with aching pain from their assaults. Fortunately nothing was broken inside him. There were too many of them though. His energy and quickness lagged. This could be it for him.
“Finish him!” ordered a Hawk from a short distance to Rafe’s side.
After throwing aside the last attacker, Rafe regained his feet. Facing him loomed the entire pack, rushing full speed toward him. This was it.