His obvious affection for his sister was the only reason she’d agreed to meet him. She kept telling herself that he simply couldn’t be like Nigel with the way he cared for Kat. Nigel had never cared for anyone in such a way. Plus, Josh had been given leave to come to live in Dark Moon Falls, hadn’t he? And as a shifter, she was certain that meant he’d been vetted by the pack leader. If he’d been a bad egg, the pack would have picked up on it, from the little she understood about the wolf shifters and their society.
She hated that she couldn’t trust her own intuition and had to rely on all these cues to try to fathom whether Josh was a safe person to have a meal with. Her therapist told her repeatedly that she could trust herself, and that letting one bad person into her life didn’t mean she had no ability to judge, it simply meant that Nigel had been a very adept con man.
Adding jewelry to her outfit, in the form of a shell bracelet and some gold hoop earrings, Rebecca stood back and studied herself in the mirror in her bedroom. She wore biker style jeans tucked into Western boots, with a low heel. She’d put on a loose T-shirt with sleeves long enough to hide her upper arms, where there were some scars on her left side. She’d let her hair dry naturally, and it hung in loose waves. Unusual for her, she’d put on make-up, not much, but some blush, mascara, and gloss. She would do, she supposed.
Rebecca knew she wasn’t a bombshell, but she was pretty enough, in an average, girl-next-door way. She certainly wasn’t anywhere close to Josh’s league, and perhaps she was getting herself in a tizzy for nothing. The shifter probably only wanted to take her to dinner to quiz her about her paintings once more. He seemed a touch obsessed with the fact that she’d painted two pictures of wolves who resembled his parents. She imagined it was nothing more than mere coincidence, but understood only too well the desire to look for signs of those recently lost.
By the time she arrived at the diner, Rebecca was ten minutes late. She hurried, hating to keep Josh waiting. Nigel would snap at her when she was late, and then sulk the whole night. Unfortunately, she often forgot the time, or misjudged how long it would take her to do things…like walking to the diner.
There was no sign of Josh and she wondered if he’d left already. Then she saw him, sitting at a bench off to one side, scrolling through his phone. Rushing over, she was already mumbling an apology before she reached him. Josh looked up, smiled, and rose to greet her with a kiss on her cheek.
Just a small, chaste peck, but it did something to her. She shut up, unable to think what she was going to say next. Josh pulled back and grinned at her.
“Hey,” he said easily. “You look nice.”
“Oh, thanks…sorry I’m late.” Her cheek still burned from where his lips had brushed her skin. What was that all about?
He frowned, glanced at his watch and shrugged. “Only by ten minutes. I hadn’t even noticed. I was checking my messages.”
Thank God he wasn’t angry at her. She’d hate to ruin the night before it began.
“I’m a terrible timekeeper,” she said nervously, as they walked toward the door of the diner. “Always late. My mum used to say it is because I have my head in the clouds all the time.”
He chuckled. “An artistic temperament. Well, if being late now and again is what enables you to create such glorious paintings, I’d say it’s worth it.” He smiled, and she tried not to lick her lips as she stared at his delicious dimples.
Josh held the door open and they stepped inside the diner. When they’d settled and ordered drinks, wine for her, a light beer for him, they perused the menu.
“I can recommend the meatloaf,” Josh said.
“I kind of fancy the chili and the nachos with all the sides…is that greedy?” she asked with a laugh.
“Hell no, and it’s delicious. What kind of food do you have in Britain?” he asked her.
Their drinks arrived, and she took a grateful sip of her wine, needing it to calm her nerves. “Well, all kinds really. We have a lot of the same food you have here. Chili, nachos, burgers and fries. But then a lot of the food is different. We don’t tend to have meatloaf, and our favorite meal, at least where I came from, is a Sunday roast.”
“What’s that consist of?”
“Chicken or turkey, maybe roast beef, with all the vegetables. You know, roast potatoes and parsnips, sprouts, green beans, mashed potato too, and of course Yorkshire puddings and gravy.”
God, she missed Yorkshire puddings.
“It sounds delicious.”
“It is. Maybe I could make it for you and Kat one day?” she said it before she even stopped to think. She’d missed having a proper Sunday dinner and it wasn’t a meal you could make for one. But now he’d probably feel obligated to accept, and then she’d have to allow him and Kat…in her home, her space, where she tried to keep strangers out. “Where is she by the way? Is she okay?”
His smiled. “She’s fine, and is staying over at Sally’s tonight. And we’d love to come for dinner one day.”
Anxiety began to churn in her gut at his words because now she really would have to have them in her home, but Josh took her hand in his large, warm one, and rubbed his thumb over the skin at her wrist.
She marveled at his ability to calm her. Bold for once, she looked into his gorgeous eyes and asked. “Why does your touch soothe me?”
He smiled. “I think I might have the answer…but I’m not sure, and I don’t want to say something to you that might be false before I’ve asked around and gotten more information.”
Talk about a mysterious answer. Still, it had taken all her courage to ask in the first place; she certainly wouldn’t push him on it. Something told her Josh would open up when he knew more. Despite hardly knowing the man, she trusted him.
After a delicious, if calorific meal of loaded nachos and chili, followed by chocolate fudge cake, they strolled back toward Rebecca’s cabin.
“Are you okay with me walking you to your door?” Josh asked.
“Yes,” she answered with a smile. She felt as if she were dreaming. The night was warm, and the air scented with jasmine. The man next to her was gorgeous, and she was ultra-aware of him by her side. Their hands were almost touching, but not quite. If she just reached out with her pinky finger, she’d be able to stroke the side of his hand. She didn’t though. Such a thing would be far too forward, and with her taste in men, far too dangerous.
Although her instincts screamed at her to trust Josh, her mind kept getting in the way and reminding her that her instincts were for shit when it came to judging people.
When they neared her cabin, her senses went onto high alert. Darcy was barking up a storm. Someone had been near her home. Nothing else would have him barking that way.
Josh stopped and turned to her. “Does Darcy bark when you leave him alone?”
“No, he only barks if there’s someone nearby.” She wrapped her arms around her stomach.
“Uh-uh.” Was all she got in answer, but his jaw was set tight.
As they neared her home, Josh put a hand out and halted her. Then he crept forward, in that freakishly quiet way of his.
As he approached her front steps, he dropped to the ground and she blinked twice in total shock. One moment he’d been a man, the next he was a magnificent, larger than life wolf. He sniffed the ground all around her cabin, paying particular attention to the far corner and the door.
His wolf was stunning. A silvery gray, with darker gray on his legs, and down his tail, he looked regal almost. She watched in fascination as he checked all around her home.
When he was done, Josh changed back into human form and returned to her side.
“A man has been here, and he spent quite some time walking all around your cabin. He tried the door too, and possibly the window as there’s a footprint under your bedroom window. Is there anyone it could have been? A friend?”
“No,” she said, but already the panic was building. She had no male friends here, no one except Josh. There would be no reason for a man to sp
end time walking all around her cabin and trying to find a way in.
She shivered and wrapped an arm around herself. “I’m scared.” She couldn’t keep it in.
“I know,” he said. “And not just because of tonight.”
“No, not just because of tonight,” she admitted.
He gently squeezed her arm, a look of concern on his face. “Can I come in? I don’t think you should be alone.”
Although she should be scared of having a strange man in her house, and Josh was a stranger despite the sensation of safety she felt around him, she was more scared of being alone.
“Yes, come in.”
6
Josh
He entered Rebecca’s now familiar living space, and glanced around as he surreptitiously scented the air. The bastard who had been creeping around outside at least hadn’t been in here. Darcy ran to Rebecca and greeted her with joyous barks, so different from the deeper ones he’d given earlier when they’d been approaching.
Rebecca petted her dog, and Josh watched her, a warm feeling in his chest growing so bright it almost burned. Damn, but she was lovely. Not just to look at, but to talk to, and in the way she loved her dog more than most humans loved one another.
When she was done saying hello to Darcy, she went to the fridge and poured herself another glass of wine. “Do you want a glass?” she asked, holding the bottle aloft.
“No thanks. Just a Coke or a lemonade for me, if you have any?”
He didn’t want to drink in case the bastard came back tonight.
She handed him a can of Coke, and sipped at her wine. Josh took a deep breath and prepared to ask her a question she probably wouldn’t like.
“Listen, Rebecca, I know you don’t know me very well, but you need to talk to me. I can sense there’s something going on with you…you’re running scared and I can’t protect you if I don’t know who from.”
She laughed then, and it wasn’t her normal brittle laugh, but a natural, full laugh, and it made his stomach tighten…and parts further south. “With all due respect, Josh, it’s not your place to protect me.”
He smiled at her in return and shrugged one shoulder. “Actually, I think it kind of is.”
“Why? You want me to open up to you, but yet you keep talking to me in riddles.”
Shit, she was right. But if he told her she was his mate, would she freak out and run away? Also…what if he was wrong?
He stared at Rebecca as he weighed his options. She was scared, but also something else…she was turned on, by him. Had been all night. He could scent it on her, and sense it too. Maybe she would be freaked out, but she felt the attraction too.
He needed her to start talking, so he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, then looked at her, giving her his full focus.
“Okay, let’s make a bargain. I already told you about my past, what happened to my pack, and why I’m here. If I tell you why I think it is my place to protect you, then you’ve got to tell me why you’re running scared. Deal?”
“Deal,” she said, uncertainly.
“Promise me you won’t freak out.”
“Erm…I’ll try.” She smiled.
How to say this? Josh knew his touch soothed Rebecca, so he leaned in and took her hand in his, taking a risk it would help. “You know about us, right…about shifter society?”
She nodded.
“Do you know how we organize our…romantic life?”
She nodded again. “Yes, so far as I’m aware, you have mates. Fated mates, I think you call it, but…I personally believe there must be a rational explanation, possibly something biological…oh.” She slapped her free hand over her mouth. “Do you think…are we…no…really?”
He laughed a little at the way she tripped over her words, and her wide eyes, but then sobered. “Yes, and really. I think you’re my fated mate, Rebecca.”
“How do you know?”
“We sense it. I think you do, too. We feel…attraction, but more…we feel an urge to protect, to be with the person. I suppose it’s like you humans falling in love, but much more immediate.”
She frowned, but she hadn’t run yet, or taken her hand back. He relished the feeling of her small, warm fingers curled in his palm. A fierce protectiveness washed over him, and he both welcomed it, and didn’t want it. He’d sworn, to the Goddess, to his ancestors, and to himself, to make Kat the only priority in his life. He wouldn’t go back on that, but it would be hard to override this need he felt to ensure Rebecca’s safety.
“I’m human,” she said.
“Yes, but it happens. Look at Jagger and Storm.”
Her eyes widened farther. “You said you weren’t sure though?”
“No, I’m not. It’s why I’ve hesitated to tell you, but the signals I’m getting are pretty clear…it’s only…my pack didn’t believe in humans and shifters mating, so it’s odd. Why would the Goddess choose you for me, if our pack saw it as wrong?”
“Do you see it as wrong?”
He didn’t quite know how to answer that. It was what he’d been brought up to believe, but then his people had been insular, old-fashioned, and that had been why he’d left. His upbringing told him a mating between him and a human would be wrong, but his body told him it was so, so right.
“Now…I think I’ve told you all I can,” he said, with a smile to soften his words. “And we made a deal. What are you running from, Rebecca?”
“Who, don’t you mean?”
“Okay, who?”
She took her hand back and placed it on her lap, gripping her other hand in it, squeezing her fingers together. “I had a boyfriend, and things were quite serious between us. He started out so charming…so unbelievably charming, now that I can look back on things with some distance. Then over time, he got more and more controlling. He always wanted me to do everything his way. If I didn’t, he’d get moody, act as if I’d done something wrong. No matter how small the issue was, he’d be there with his advice, and if I didn’t take it, he’d become angry, and push more and more for me to do as he said.”
She took a deep breath, and Josh reined in his need to hold her, soothe her. She sipped her wine, composed herself, and carried on. “Over time, he slowly ostracized me from friends, from my few remaining family.”
“What do you mean few remaining?”
“I lost my parents, and have no siblings.”
She was in a similar situation to him, but even more alone. Some days, if he were truthful with himself, Josh could admit he found the prospect of being responsible for Kat daunting, but he’d hate to be without her. Rebecca had no family left. His heart ached for her.
“I’m sorry.” Goddess, but the words seemed so inadequate.
“It’s okay, it is what it is.” She shrugged, but her eyes showed her sorrow. “Then one day…he attacked me. Badly. I can’t remember much of it, not really, but I sustained terrible injuries.”
“Do you think it could have been him outside tonight?”
His heart picked up speed. Not only could Rebecca be in danger but possibly Kat too, if this guy were some jealous asshole who’d come after her, purely because he somehow managed to find out she was related to Josh, and didn’t like Josh getting close to Rebecca.
“No.” She laughed then, but it was the brittle one, not the real, throaty one. “Surely not. I came here for a reason. He’s terrified of shifters, and witches, and all that kind of stuff. He used to talk about it, call the people who came here as tourists, freaks.” She broke off and looked down at the floor, her cheeks coloring a fetching shade of pink. “Sorry, I know that’s not nice of him. He said he’d be terrified to come here for a holiday, and at the time, I kind of agreed with him. The idea of actual witches…wow. Or people who could change form. It scared me, I’ll be honest, but he scared me more, so I ran here. Once I was living in Dark Moon Falls, and because of Sally really, I stopped being afraid of the shifters and witches, and to be honest, now I think you guys are awesome.”
Aweso
me. He’d take that.
“I’m concerned he might come after you,” he said.
“I changed my name, have a new identity, and I moved all the way from England to the western side of America…I doubt it’s him.”
Did she truly doubt it? Or was she hiding something? She’d told him the truth, he sensed as much, but there was something else bothering her, and he didn’t know what. If they were already mated, he might be able to pick up on it, but as it was, he could only sense her discomfort but not what had caused it.
Kat was with Sally, and they had a sleepover planned tonight. Sally’s parents lived right next door to Levi, a fearsome shifter, and someone who wouldn’t let any harm come to the little girl or his neighbors. Josh might not have done much socializing since arriving, but he’d kept his nose clean, helped out if needed, and made no enemies, so he felt able to ask Levi to keep an ear out for any issues tonight. He’d also call Sally’s parents and ask them to be alert to anything and to inform him and Levi both, immediately, if they were concerned.
“I need to make a couple of calls,” he told Rebecca. “And then you need to find me some spare bedding for the night because I’ll be camping out on your sofa. I’m not leaving you alone.”
She began to object, but he held his hand up. “Seriously, it’s non-negotiable. If you don’t want me to stay, fine, but you can’t be alone. If you don’t want me here, then we have to call someone else, see if anyone has a spare room tonight.”
With a sigh, and a roll of her eyes, Rebecca nodded. “You can stay.”
She might be acting like it was an imposition, but he sensed her relief. Rebecca had a need to be independent and make her way alone, and he got that, respected it, but not tonight.
A few minutes later, she returned with a couple of blankets and a pillow.
He was in for a long night because her scent was going to drive him crazy!
7
Rebecca
Dark Moon Falls: Volume 2 Page 112