Human and Freakn'

by Eve Langlais

  How he wanted to hack a wide path for her to walk through unhindered. Carry her over the slippery rocks. Press her against a tree and suck on her full lower lip.

  God, how he wanted her. She was utterly magnificent. Her skin glistening with exertion, hair standing on end, cheeks flushed, beautiful. So beautiful. And his hard cock throbbed for a taste. Forget his earlier qualms at her less than petite size. He could see how well she’d fit against him. Plush and delicious. Oh how nicely he’d sink into her, her fleshy thighs a vise to keep him deep. His gums ached with teeth dying to burst forth and claim her as his.

  There existed just one teensy tiny problem with that plan.

  She was still a freakn’ human. Not a wolf or a shape-shifter. Not even someone who knew their secret. And to top it all off, his buddy had a thing for her too.

  What was wrong with him? She couldn’t be his mate. There were too many things wrong with her for it to work. Although, his initial impression that she could stand to lose a few pounds? Yeah, that went away quick considering every time he peeked her way, or caught her scent, his cock got hard enough to pound nails. How he wished he could stop imagining her sweet backside bent over, a perfect cushion for the pushing.

  Tall with curves that went on and on, he could see himself worshipping every inch of her creamy skin. He just couldn’t picture doing it alongside his buddy. Nor could he imagine a forever after with a human. Shifters were a rough bunch, and secretive to boot. He couldn’t just tell her what they were, not without being one hundred percent sure of her reaction. What if she freaked? Left?

  Destroyed him like Joel’s mom killed the spirit of Joel’s father?

  Why couldn’t Ruth have gone back to the village when he first demanded it? He could have handled her from a distance. Forgotten her perhaps?

  He needed to get his head in the game. He’d come here looking to rescue some women, not mate with the sister of one. Add in the fact someone manipulated them into bringing a civilian and he really had to wonder what they’d find once they reached the coordinates on the map. Something didn’t seem right. Actually, it stank to holy heaven. But, he couldn’t turn around. Somewhere in this humid jungle, three girls needed his help. Despite his tingling wolf scent, he had to go on if only to get answers for their families.

  A growl left his lips as Liam helped Ruth up from her latest fall. Ours, snarled his wolf. No she wasn’t, he rebutted. Try telling that to the irrational jealousy pounding through him, demanding he challenge Liam. Try explaining to his chivalrous side, raised to help those weaker that demanded he scoop her into his arms and carry her so she’d stop injuring herself. Try shutting up a wolf that whined, a wolf that demanded he mark her now before it was too late.

  Joel was right. This mission was the worst idea ever.

  Best idea ever.

  Sure, Joel trudged through a jungle – sweaty, confused, horny, very horny, but he couldn’t say he was depressed. Didn’t give a damn what his father was up to. Wasn’t worried about proving himself better than everyone thought. However, he did have to wonder at his sanity as he mulled over the question of mating with a human.

  Humans plus wolves equaled extremely bad idea. Or did it? Others mated with humans just fine. Not all of those pairings ended up with a shifter going crazy when their human left. Heck, Kendrick’s aunt married a human and they were still going strong forty years later.

  Could it work for me? The blame for his newfound interest in the question rested squarely on Ruth. Tougher than he’d have credited, she didn’t once complain about Kendrick’s forced pace. She bore everything with grace – and killer looks. Literally. If she could have made Kendrick explode with her eyes, they’d be picking up pieces.

  It shouldn’t have made him snicker. But it did. He’d not missed the heat behind Kendrick’s glare. Nor could anyone miss the bulge a little lower, a hard discomfort Joel also wore since meeting her. He just hid his better with a shirt.

  Of course, Joel could hide it in a better spot. Say between her legs while she screamed his name, but once he did that, the game was over. He’d end up mated to a human. Freaking and wondering if she’d accept him, wolf and all.

  Also of concern was Kendrick’s interest. Was he just reacting as a normal male to the only female in the group, or did his best friend battle the same dilemma? Did Kendrick feel the mating urge too?

  God, he hoped not. He loved Kendrick like a brother, but sharing a woman? For life? That was not his idea of a happily ever after. However, what could he do, either of them do, if Fate had decreed Ruth was theirs? The mating fever might only end up one-sided, but if they claimed her and she left, that meant twice the men crushed.

  He’d still not come up with an answer to his dilemma when they found their next camp. Poor Ruth, she huffed as she slumped to the ground on her back, arms and legs spread like a starfish, her heavy pack still on her back, and probably not too comfortable.

  Help? Joel vetoed his wolf’s query. Touch her? Not a good idea. He turned away, out of sight, but unfortunately not out of mind as her scent carried through the moist air. A grunt. Two grunts. He couldn’t stop himself peeking over to see her trying to sit up and not succeeding as gravity clung to the pack on her back, her muscles giving her a hell of a screw you message.

  No matter which way he looked at it, it was kind of funny. Especially when she thrashed her legs and let out an annoyed yell. He snickered, and thought he’d kept it discreet until he looked over again and found her glaring at him.

  Oops.

  Easing her arms from the straps, she rolled off her baggage and got to her feet, trying to appear nonchalant, but failing due to the pink spots in her cheeks.

  A slap against the back of his head distracted him. “Hey!”

  “Stop watching her.” Kendrick kept his words low.

  “I wasn’t.”

  “You were.”

  “Okay, maybe a little. Seriously, though, dude. She was like a turtle stuck on her back. Can you blame me?”

  “Try harder. Remember our purpose is rescue, not getting hitched or banging group members.”

  “Only until the mission is done, though. Then maybe as a goodbye to the jungle I could tap a piece?”

  “Would you stop thinking of her like that?”

  “I can’t help it. Every time I look at her, I want to do such bad things.” His tone turned wistful as his gaze veered once again in her direction.

  Snapping fingers drew him back. “Focus, Joel. Or I’ll be forced to do something for your own good.”

  “Forced to do what?”

  “Can I trust you not to touch or kiss the human?”

  Could he? There went his wandering eyes again, this time catching her swatting at a butterfly determined to land in her messy mop of golden hair. She batted it, her raised arms lifting her t-shirt high enough to show the top of her rounded belly – and milky, white skin. Skin that would feel so –

  The punch hit him out of nowhere along with Kendrick’s growled, “You can thank me later.”

  How about right now? Joel threw the second punch and their version of a tension reliever was on. Or as it was known in Kendrick’s house, family time.

  Chapter 5

  “Why are they fighting?” Ruth asked as she paused rummaging through her bag in favor of watching Kendrick and Joel duke it out.

  Peter shook his head as he walked past her with an armload of fronds. “Because they’re guys.”

  “You’re a guy and I don’t see you fighting.”

  “Yet.” His grin made her lips curve.

  “And they say women are hard to understand.” She shook her head with a smile. “Hey, while I’ve got your attention, how important is sleeping in a tent, do you think?”

  “How do you feel about waking up covered in bug bites and looking like a lumpy troll?”

  “That bad?” Her shoulders slumped. “But I saw Kendrick sleeping under the stars last night and he seemed fine this morning.”

  “Because he’s got t
ough skin. Your soft skin doesn’t stand a chance. I’m going to guess your question has to do with the fact you’re still having a hard time with your tent.”

  “No comment.”

  “Here, let me help you put it up while they’re busy.”

  “Would you?” Exhausted, she didn’t think she could handle trying to figure out the contraption.

  “No problem.” In mere moments, Peter had it up and ready for the stakes, which she hammered in just as Joel and Kendrick separated, chuckling and slapping each other’s backs. Men. She’d never understand them.

  Exhausted, she barely managed to wash herself and eat before she passed out in her tent.

  The following morning, she woke early enough to get ready and packed without interference from one of the guys on her behalf. The second day of marching proved no easier than the first, not with her sore feet, an aching back, and a less than pristine smell. So much for taking the stairs everywhere I go to try and keep in shape. Muscles she never knew existed protested their abuse and threatened to go on strike if she didn’t give them a break.

  However, she forgot all about the woes of her body when Kendrick announced, “This is where they took them.”

  “This is it?” Ruth asked, catching up to him and peering around the nondescript area with its hacked vegetation. “Are you sure?”

  He snorted as if he couldn’t believe she’d question him and moved away to examine some of the more crumpled areas. Jerk.

  Ignoring him, Ruth walked the perimeter of the area and tried to picture the scene, recreate it, just like one of those crime scene shows she liked to watch with a big bowl of buttery popcorn. Now that she knew what to look for, she could see the indents of where the tents must have sat, the bent grass and leaves already springing back, except for the parts too squashed to recover. Peering more closely at the ground, she almost held her breath as she examined it for clues – and hopefully, no signs of blood.

  She wasn’t alone in her circular search. While Joel, Fernando, and Liam wandered off in different directions outside of the camping area, Kendrick and Peter paid close attention to the site itself, crouching low to run fingers over the ground, even leaning forward to sniff the very earth. How odd. Did the tracking skills they learned teach them how to differentiate smells? She’d never heard of that.

  Eventually, the whole group rejoined and exchanged observations.

  “More than one abductor,” Joel announced.

  “Six or seven by my count,” Liam confirmed.

  “They kept mostly to the trees,” Fernando said, his hair rumpled and his shirt off. Did he detect better with fewer clothes? A shame the others didn’t use the same methods.

  “No signs of violence,” Kendrick added. “But I did notice a powdery residue, heavier around the tents of those left behind.”

  “Sleeping agent?” Joel queried.

  “Seems likely, given the girls were taken without waking anyone.”

  Ruth blinked as they kept spitting out clues. “How do you know all this?” They exchanged a conspiratorial glance.

  “Trade secret,” Peter finally answered with a wide smile.

  She didn’t understand the chuckles at his reply, nor did she grasp a lot of their cryptic comments about other things they’d observed. Leaving them to talk, she wandered away and stared at the dead ashes of the fire pit. To think, only days ago, her sister was here. Alive. Not a victim of kidnapping or God knew what torture.

  Tears pricked her eyes.

  “Why is she crying?” she heard Kendrick ask in a not so quiet whisper.

  “Because her sister is missing, dumbass.”

  “Stop it.”

  Lost in her momentary lapse of self-pity, Ruth didn’t realize Kendrick spoke to her until he came to stand directly in front and tilted her chin up with a calloused finger. “I said no more tears.”

  She sniffled. Loudly.

  “I said enough.”

  “I will c-cry if I w-want to,” she retorted.

  “I don’t need you getting hysterical on me.”

  “I’m not hysterical,” she muttered.

  “Says the girl who is crying. If it’s any consolation, we didn’t see any sign the girls were hurt.”

  “B-b-ut you don’t know for sure wh-what happened to them,” she hiccupped.

  “What happened to believing that note about them not being harmed?”

  She’d lost that optimism with the reality of the jungle. “What if you’re right? What if I’m being stupid? What if Carlie’s hurt? Or dead? Or—”

  “Enough of that,” he rebuked. “You’re tougher than this.”

  “No, I’m not.” Her shoulders rounded in as she slumped.

  His brows arched in surprise. “Since when?”

  “If you knew me in real life, you’d know I’m a wuss without a brave bone in my body.”

  “Says the girl who won’t listen to anything I say, in the middle of a jungle, surviving just fine.”

  “Only because I have to.”

  “Necessity doesn’t make you strong. The courage was always there, you just chose not to exercise it before.”

  “Carlie’s the brave one.”

  “If you say so. I say, stop feeling sorry for yourself, have a shot from that flask Fernando keeps hidden in his pack, and get ready to move out. I want to make the next set of coordinates on my list before nightfall, not play Dr. Phil while you deal with your abandonment issues.”

  “I do not have abandonment issues,” she said to his already retreating back. “In case you hadn’t noticed, my sister was kidnapped.”

  “And we’ll never find her if you insist on having a pity party, so move it.”

  Despite his brusque treatment, Ruth couldn’t deny she no longer felt as depressed. She couldn’t say she was ready to try cartwheels of optimism either, but at least he reminded her of why she’d come on this trip. One, because she wanted answers, firsthand ones, and two, because in her heart of hearts, she knew Carlie was alive. And dammit all, for once she would play the sister who came to the rescue, minus the ice cream. But hey, at least she’d arrive with several flavors of men – something her sister would surely appreciate.

  With Kendrick insisting they not waste the several hours of daylight left to them, they only had time for a drink and a quick bite before resuming their mission.

  Great. More walking. But at least the view was nice, she could admit, watching the flex of Kendrick’s buttocks in his cargo pants slung low on his hips, his muscled back glistening with a sheen of sweat, his shirt removed as he forged ahead through the brush. And when she lagged, she had only to glance behind her, at a grim-countenanced Joel, also shirtless and yummy, to find an extra spurt of energy to go on.

  Why she felt it important they not view her as weak despite it being her natural state, she couldn’t have said, but she did her damnedest.

  Kendrick didn’t want to feel sorry for Ruth, he really didn’t, but dammit all, did she have to look so disappointed, and worse, cry when they didn’t find any decent clues as to her sister’s whereabouts? It annoyed him that his first urge was to hug and console her. He restrained himself, and meant to ignore her, but he wasn’t a complete ass. He could understand how Ruth missed her sister and worried for her safety. If it were his family, he’d have lost his mind. But understanding didn’t mean he could let her bow to her sorrow, especially since he didn’t see any reason for it yet.

  While he couldn’t explain how he knew, Kendrick read the signs enough to know the kidnapped girls didn’t suffer any abuse during their capture. As to after, only time would tell. The council didn’t seem to think the girls came to harm, though. Needed help getting out of the jungle, yes, but on their two feet and not in body bags – a certainty they wouldn’t explain when they set him up to go on this mission. Damned secretive bunch.

  In spite of himself, he goaded Ruth until her bothersome tears dried up and her fighting spirit came back. A part of him argued it wasn’t up to him to reassure Ruth, b
ut raised as a decent person, he did so anyway. Hell, he had to admire her spirit. Despite her brave face and attempts to keep up, any idiot could see she wasn’t cut out for this kind of exertion. He’d even slowed his pace for her, his only concession to her comfort, but it still proved a struggle. If only she’d cry uncle and ask to turn around, he’d have gladly escorted her just to get her out of here, especially once he smelled the campsite of her missing sister.

  He’d only managed to speak briefly to the team members in private, not wanting any more awkward questions from the only human in their group. They’d each smelled the same thing. That was to say, nothing. Not entirely true. They smelled what they expected from a camp of humans, the usual sweat and musk, food odors. What was lacking, though, was that of their captors. Liam thought he got a faint impression of something feline, but he lost it, and despite them searching the ground – while Fernando scouted from the treetops when Ruth wasn’t looking – they never caught another glimpse. It was as if, like the ghosts they were named for, the mysterious kidnappers vanished into thin air, and took the three women with them.

  Kendrick didn’t like it. Not one bit, however, it wasn’t because he worried about his own safety. His eyes veered to Ruth just as she tripped over an exposed root, barely catching herself from falling face first. Human and vulnerable, did he have to worry about the ghost warriors coming for her next?

  Over my dead body.

  Turning his back, lest he forget his own decree and offer a helping hand, Kendrick jogged ahead and beckoned Joel over. He waited to speak until he knew they were out of earshot, of human ears at any rate. “I was thinking we should double up the watch.”

  “Expecting trouble?”

  “Usually welcoming it, but …”

  Kendrick didn’t need to say anything further for Joel to grasp his drift. “Surely they wouldn’t be so brazen as to try and take her given who she travels with?”