Hearts Unleashed: A Limited Edition Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy Collection

by C. D. Gorri

  Dakota dragged down a breath and rubbed her hands on her thighs. “Thanks for the ride—”

  He cut off her words by shoving open his door and dropping to the ground. Quick steps carried him to the other side to unlatch her door.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, staring at his outstretched hand.

  “Taking you home. The way I see it, you’re not there until you’re over the threshold. And,” he glanced at his feet, “it’s a bit of a drop to the ground. Which we’ve already established is your weakness.”

  She glowered. Folded her arms over her chest. Glowered harder. “This is ridiculous. I don’t know anything about you. Your full name. Where you work. Nothing!”

  Abel blinked. A slow smile spread over his face as he held out his hand. “I’m Abel Blackthorne. I work as an architect for my family’s construction firm.”

  “The family you’re on the outs with, and reason for sleeping in your Jeep.”

  “The one and the same.” He slashed a look away into the darkness and frowned, wishing everything was a little more normal. “Look,” he said, pulling his attention back to his mate. His mate. The words still rang like a gong and turned his wolf into a hyper little pup. “It’s a messy, complicated situation, and still very raw. Clearing out for a few days seemed like a better choice than doing something stupid and rash that would get others hurt. Now, may I please help get you inside? Because my wolf still needs to make sure you’re okay.”

  He rubbed at his chest, but the motion did nothing to calm the raging beast under his skin. Instincts roared to life. He needed to stay by Dakota’s side. Care for her. Protect her. He hadn’t been there to stop her tumble into the gully, but he’d be damned if he let anything else happen to her as long as they lived.

  Dakota pressed her lips together and watched him for a long moment. He could practically see the wheels turning in her head. Fuck, this would be so much easier if she had a wolf inside her. The truth of his intentions wouldn’t be in question if she could sense the honesty in his words.

  “Inside, then,” she said finally. She dropped her eyes to the ground. “And only because that does seem like a bit of a drop.”

  Abel grinned his triumph before scooping Dakota into his arms. “Keys?”

  “Back pocket. Just put me down when we get to the door.”

  Those short steps passed far too quickly before he carefully let her feet touch the ground again.

  The interior was cozy without feeling cramped and tidy without seeming clinical. Signs of life were everywhere he looked from the small pile of mail unopened on the eat-in counter to the sneakers toed off near the front door. He—and his wolf—liked that the place felt like a home instead of something like a staged set for a magazine.

  There were only a handful of photos in the place, the majority of them of Dakota as a young child. Playing in mud, cuddled in bed with an older woman and a book, wet hair clinging to her face as she flashed a double thumbs up at the beach.

  In another shot, she stood with two women in a desert somewhere, the ground cracked and dry, mountains in the background. The family resemblance was clear with their dark hair, high cheekbones, and identical smiles.

  Abel turned from the pictures and nodded at the suitcase on the floor. Clothes waiting to be folded were piled on the couch. “Going somewhere?”

  “Yeah. Something came up back home, so I’m abandoning my post for a couple weeks.” She scowled, but the irritation on her face didn’t match the hurt in her scent. “Was. Not sure how soon I’ll be able to work the gas pedal now.”

  “Where is home?”

  “Ah, that’s a trick question. Home where I’m from? Home where the heart is? Or the home that currently houses my meager belongings?”

  “I pick where you’re from, but I’m absolutely interested in knowing where that heart belongs.”

  “I’ll save you the suspense. It’s here. Or as close to here as possible. Nature in general, really. My grandmother is responsible for the little feral child that dwells in my heart.”

  She had a life and a family. Plans. Not that he was surprised. He didn’t expect her to be sitting around and simply waiting to come to life with his appearance.

  He wanted what his parents had enjoyed. They’d been so wrapped up in each other and full of love, not a single person ever doubted their devotion to one another. They’d disagreed, too, and challenged each other to be better.

  They’d had time to figure out their lives and how they fit together. And they did, without any complications like their mating going against the laws of the pack or needing a quick completion. He didn’t have the luxury of time, but uprooting Dakota from her place in the world felt wrong.

  If she even believed him. Or trusted him. Or wanted a shifter as a mate.

  She hobbled past him. Or tried to. She made it three steps before losing her balance and tumbling against the back of the couch.

  Abel crossed the space in a blink to steady her before she went down. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. What do you think you’re doing?”

  She shook herself, then waved a hand down her front. “Showering. I’ve been outside all day, not to mention rolling around in the dirt. If I look even a tenth of what I feel, it can’t be a pretty sight.”

  “I wouldn’t say that at all,” Abel told her softly. “Dirt washes off. Ankles heal. What you did was very brave, and that matters more than a few smudges.”

  “See? You said there were smudges.” She scrunched up her nose. “Shower time.”

  Abel reached out and brushed his thumb against her cheek. “Maybe more than a few.”

  Dakota swatted his hand away, but he only chuckled and winged out his elbow. A calm settled over his wolf when she took it without objection.

  He helped her down the hall and into the bathroom, flicking on the light before turning in the doorway to make room. The tight squeeze brushed her shoulder against his chest as she hobbled past, and he didn’t miss the little shiver that shook through her frame.

  He backed her against the counter, then shuffled to the side and twisted the knobs to start the shower.

  Her eyes latched on him when he turned. “I can do it myself.”

  Abel leaned into her space a fraction more. He couldn’t help himself with her scent filling the air. Tough, strong woman. There was a bite to the intoxicating swirl that clouded his head and made his mouth water.

  His lips brushed against her ear. “Why do it alone when you have a friend willing to help?”

  Her pulse beat like a drum as she leaned back to meet his eyes. “Is that what you are? A friend?”

  “I could be. If you let me.” More, too.

  “I don’t know what you think this,” she twirled a finger in the air between them, “is, but it’s definitely not a game of ‘I’ll Show You Mine If You Show Me Yours.’“

  Abel grinned. “Well, good. Because you’re losing if it is.”

  “But currently winning.”

  He canted his head. “I like a challenge. Up on the counter with you.”

  She pursed her lips and watched him with narrowed eyes, but scooted back.

  Abel knelt in the cramped space and caught her uninjured ankle in his hands. Quick plucking untied the laces of her boot, and he eased that off before stripping her of her sock. She wiggled her toes as soon as they were free, and he grinned at the soft pink painted on her nails.

  For all her tough exterior, there was a softness at her core.

  “This one might hurt a little,” he warned, glancing upward. Eyes serious, she nodded.

  Abel stayed as gentle as possible as he pulled the laces of her other boot almost entirely free. He cursed the world at her sharp intake of breath when he drew out her foot.

  The damage wasn’t as bad as he expected. Swelled, bruised, but that wasn’t a surprise with her hobbled walk. A few days of rest was likely all she needed.

  He gripped her muscled calves and dragged his eyes higher. His fingertips traced over her pants, rubbing higher a
nd higher until he reached the backs of her knees. Her scent thickened. Sweetened. Wrapped a leash around his neck and called him to heel.

  He wanted to shred the fabric under his fingers and strip her down to her skin, dip his head between those strong thighs, and see if she tasted as good as she smelled.

  “Abel…”

  He lifted his head to meet her eyes, and nearly growled at the desire he found there.

  “Pants next.” Skies above, was that his voice? Rough as sandpaper and heavy with need? “Wouldn’t want you losing your balance in here.”

  Bite. Claim.

  By the Broken, he wanted to sink his fangs in her.

  Questions and doubt broke through her heated look.

  Abel rocked back on his heels and shoved his wolf to the darkest corner of his mind. She didn’t know him. Didn’t know his ways. Probably didn’t understand why she responded so strongly to his touch.

  She was so… human.

  Her throat worked with a hard swallow. “I think I can manage the rest on my own.”

  Right.

  Every muscle in his body straining against the order, he pushed upright. “Give a shout if you need anything,” he said. He added a wink as he backed out the door. “Maybe we can even the score.”

  Her husky chuckle followed him through the door he left cracked.

  Abel braced his hands against the doorframe and let his head hang between his shoulders. His wolf prowled and panted through his mind, restless with the urge to tear down the wood that stood between them and their mate. She was so close, close enough to touch, to cherish, to make howl all through the night—

  His phone buzzed with an incoming call. He squeezed his eyes tighter with irritation before yanking it out of his pocket. Mom flashed across the screen.

  Shit.

  “It’s done,” Adella spat without preamble. “Rasmus has seized control of the pack.”

  Abel let go of a harsh breath. Expected news didn’t ease the ache of the blow. “Did anyone challenge him?”

  In his head, his wolf growled. Sendings flashed faster than he could pick up on the images, but the meaning was clear. Red and death, all focused on Rasmus.

  “Two. Lyle and Stephen. He put them both down quickly, then banished their families. He said he didn’t want any traitor’s blood poisoning the ranks.”

  Abel scowled. Death was punishment enough. The pups and mates didn’t need every other aspect of their lives upended, too. “The Conris will take them in. The Redwoods, if they don’t want to move states.”

  “Rasmus is threatening to cull the submissives if they don’t prove their worth by the next full moon.”

  Motherfucker.

  He shoved a hand into his hair and started pacing. His wolf growled in his head, demanding an end to the fucker threatening the pack. Their pack.

  Culling was old, old law. As old as killing any human who discovered their secrets. The twisted idea put survival of the fittest as a pack’s top priority. The resulting wolves were mean as sin, tough as nails, and without a caring bone in their rotten bodies. The constant fights and jostling for position were a threat to everyone that crossed their paths. If Rasmus wanted to remake the pack in his image, a culling would do the violent trick.

  “I’m sure anyone with an objection will be deemed unworthy,” Abel snarled.

  His mother hummed her disapproval. “I can’t take any more death, Abel. They forced me out of the pack house and into the cabin, but I still hear and see everything.”

  The defeated note in her voice cut him to his core. She should be happy. Laughing. Adding more lavender to the vases she kept in every room of the pack house. Mourning her mate and seeing the pack they built destroyed wasn’t the fate she deserved.

  “I know,” he told her. His wolf whined in his middle. “I’ll be home…”

  The words died on his tongue. This full moon had passed, but the next? The one after that? Rasmus would always be looking over his shoulder and wondering when the rightful heir would return. Abel’s blood put a target on his back.

  And his mother was in the thick of it.

  He chose his words carefully while kicking himself for not dragging her out when he left. He doubted she’d betray him willingly, but he knew the power an alpha commanded.

  That was the family he had to show Dakota? She’d run as soon as she knew the fucked up details he wanted to put at her feet.

  Abel stopped in front of another photo. He thought it must have been taken at her high school graduation. If she had others of herself as a teen and an adult, she kept them hidden away. The smiles were gone. As were the two older women. She and a man he assumed to be her father stood close for the shot, but didn’t touch or hug or even seem to exist in the same moment. Dakota’s face was turned to him, but his eyes were distant as he focused on the camera.

  Maybe he wasn’t alone in losing important people from his life.

  “I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

  Abel whipped around at a small sound, nostrils flaring. Nothing was out of place. The door was still cracked. The shower still pattered. His wolf went still and quiet, on alert but not readying for an attack.

  He made another circuit.

  His mother’s voice dropped to a near whisper, and he wondered if someone else truly was listening in all those miles away. “Have you found what your father sent you to look for?”

  Abel bit off all the questions that had been building since his father’s death. He didn’t know how Conrad knew to send him to Yellowstone or Dakota’s name. He’d been too shocked to consider it earlier, too wild with his wolf trying to steal control. Maybe he’d consulted with the fae; some were rumored to see into the future. Or maybe in those final moments before his body gave out, he’d been able to see through the veil.

  One thing he knew for certain, those final words led him to the woman he needed for any chance at taking his rightful place at the head of the Blackthorne pack.

  Abel ran a hand through his hair. Too many wants and needs circled through his head. He needed her. He wanted to care for her. Justice for his father. Protection for his pack. Each new point tied another string around him, and every single one tried to yank him in a different direction.

  Balance was necessary. Finding it seemed impossible.

  “I found someone,” he admitted. “Whether or not she’ll help remains to be seen.”

  He didn’t know how else to answer or what to hold back. He suspected his words would be understood if they were overheard or if Adella was ordered to repeat them to Rasmus. Not that there would be any surprise in them. He had a very clear goal in mind.

  Claim his mate. Claim his throne.

  Human. Dakota was human. While she was willing to throw herself between danger and a child, he didn’t know if she’d be so willing to face down pack politics and the threat of death if his uncle had his way.

  “She?” His mother sucked down a sharp breath. “Is she your mate?”

  “That remains to be seen.” His wolf snarled at the answer.

  “Be upfront with her. Don’t play around with her heart or her head.”

  Abel darted a look to the cracked bathroom door. This wasn’t how finding his mate was supposed to go. She should have been a wolf. Should have stumbled into his life years in the future. Shouldn’t be a necessary step for him to challenge Rasmus.

  What was he even supposed to tell her? Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, but help me claim my wolf pack, maybe? How very romantic.

  “And if that doesn’t work?” he grumbled.

  “Your father had to ask me out five times before I agreed. I couldn’t let that old wolf win so easily,” Adella chuckled, the noise choked with sadness. “Sometimes, my son, even what’s right for us requires some fighting and convincing.”

  Chapter Seven

  Dakota slumped against the counter and let go of a long sigh. Every inch of her skin felt on fire.

  Green. His eyes were green. Darker than the bright glow of his
wolf, but no less intense.

  Hell, she’d hardly been able to breathe just moments before. That was what it felt like to be caught in those eyes. As if the world had slowed down and faded away, leaving her and him.

  She didn’t know what threatened to consume her more—those gorgeous green eyes or the feel of his fingers stroking and caressing, hinting at what he’d do with a few more layers removed.

  She swallowed hard and gave a shake of her head. Barely any touching involved, hardly any skin shown, and she was ready to combust.

  That instant attraction, that was how her dad always described locking eyes with her mom across the room at some party. He’d always joked about it being lust at first sight, love at first word. She hadn’t truly understood the retelling as a girl, then rolled her eyes and gagged when the words finally clicked.

  Of course, the reminiscing always descended into a strained silence.

  The silence was the loudest part of her teenage years.

  She shook herself out of unpleasant memories before they took hold.

  There wasn’t a possibility of that future because there was no future with Abel. Happy, sad, or anywhere in between. He seemed like a great guy sure to make many, many women stupid with those lines at his hips, but that was where their paths separated. He lived elsewhere in the country. She had her job in Yellowstone. Which was exactly why she didn’t get involved with tourists—nothing lasted when they were gone in just a few days.

  Still.

  Still.

  Those fucking lines.

  Dakota shook her head once more before sticking her hand under the water and fiddling with the knobs to take the temperature down a notch. While waiting for the stream to adjust, she carefully stripped down the rest of the way. The task, she ruefully noted, was made easier by not needing to contort herself to take off her boots. A glance in the mirror when she was done showed her a door that hadn’t latched closed.