Forged Decisions

by Katherine McIntyre

  Navi glanced at her bare thighs, noticing for the first time that she wore his shirt, which allowed his fantastic pecs to remain on full display. With the anger cleared from her headspace, the lust returned in full force, the close proximity fueling her fire. “Don’t suppose you’ve got a back entrance for those spares? It’d be a discredit to my surly Tribe image if I’m walking through the place in your shirt.”

  A different scent tingled her nose, the strong note of his arousal that made her want to moan on the spot. She didn’t need to glance over to those gym shorts to notice the erection he was packing. Her panther wasn’t resisting the wolfish scent of him either and, instead, the bitch preened inside her chest. Not helping her ignore the tangled web of need she’d rather leave for a rainy day. Or never.

  “Feisty thing like you? No one would dare make a comment. Even if my shirt might as well be a dress on you,” he teased, his dark eyes sparking with amusement.

  Navi cracked her knuckles. “You’re playing with fire, babe.”

  “Maybe I like the flames,” he shot back while he maneuvered the Challenger right into the parking lot of Beaver Tavern.

  Midday, the normal cozy glow wasn’t evident, but the sun enhanced the dark wood accents of the bar and made the cream exterior even brighter. Although the place was still under construction with sections of the wall riddled with bullet holes, the Red Rocks and Silver Springs had rallied fast after Drew Williams and the Landsliders had wrecked this place. Navi had worked with packs her entire life and yet that level of togetherness baffled her. Not like she didn’t work in unison with her Tribe unit once in a while, but all of them tended to operate independently.

  Finn buzzed with tension again despite the resolution they’d come to and, for the life of her, Navi couldn’t figure out why. He wheeled his car to park around back in the employee lot, tires crunching the gravel before he braked into Park. Navi hopped out, her bare feet tough enough for the uneven stones to not bother her much.

  “Lead the way, pup,” she called over to him as they crossed the lot to the back entrance where the door was held open by an orange bucket.

  Finn lifted a brow at her comment, the motion tugging at the raised scar that ran right through it. He loped up the steps, his muscles moving with a piston-like efficiency. Navi followed him inside and he strode straight to a cabinet and flipped the doors open before tugging out a pair of black gym shorts and a faded gray shirt in a smaller size. He tossed them her way.

  She caught them quick and slipped the shorts on first, a surprisingly decent fit, then stripped off his shirt to toss it to him. Not like his gaze left her for a second. The way his eyes burned with heat as she slipped into the new shirt scorched through her and he stood there clutching his tee without making a motion to put it on.

  “Got a little drool on your lip,” she drawled while she made her way through the kitchen toward the front of house. “Might want to get that before we grab a pint.”

  He caught up within seconds, wrestling into his shirt while they walked. “Can’t help it, sweetheart. You’re stunning.” He said those statements like utter fact, making her flush despite herself. She’d been on the receiving end of lines that dripped with sleaze, but the sheer honesty and straightforwardness Finn spoke with was the furthest thing from contrived.

  A willowy woman stepped into the doorway leading to the other side of the tavern. She had delicate Japanese features and rich black hair pulled into a bun. Her hands balled into fists at her side and she glared at Finn. He glanced up and the smile vanished from his face.

  “Hey, Raven,” he said, attempting casual even though his voice came out clipped.

  “It’s been a while, Finn,” she said, her eyes darkening as her gaze settled onto Navi. “Why show up now?”

  “We came for a pint,” he said, ducking his head before slipping past her as if to avoid scrutiny. Navi’s brows drew together on instinct and her stomach flip-flopped. Not like she had any reason to pry into his private life, but the tension between them seemed too personal—beyond a disagreement between packmates. This sheepish behavior from Finn didn’t reflect the ballsy guy she’d come to respect.

  The small part of her that had begun warming to him iced over. She was Tribe, temporary, and this tension between Raven and Finn was none of her concern. Even still, she swallowed hard, trying to dispel the waves of disappointment coasting over her.

  “Hey,” Navi said, extending a hand in greeting. “You’re the bartender here, right? Can we get two pints of your darkest beer? I’ve got some business to discuss with this guy.”

  Raven glanced to the hand, and to her tattoos like shifters always did, before she gripped it and shook. “Sure thing. Take a seat, and I’ll bring them right over to you.” The woman plastered on a fake customer-service smile, even though the sharpness in her delicate eyes betrayed the real emotions she pinned back.

  Navi wanted to be out of this bar—hell, out of this town—but she couldn’t leave until they resolved the problem with the Landsliders. She felt stupid for even wasting a second of thought on Finn Kelly, when she was a passing ghost, soon to be a memory. She nodded to Raven before stepping past her and walking through the doorway to the front of house. A few glances flickered her way from the shifters at the bar and the other guys clustered around one of the tables, but they averted their eyes the moment they caught sight of the tribal markings swirling up her arms and down her legs. The normal greeting one of her kind received.

  She didn’t glance behind her to see if Finn followed, but headed straight for one of the round tables by the door, a smaller one tucked near the corner. Navi snagged the heavy oak chair and slipped into it. A moment later, Finn sat in the one opposite, the chair creaking when he settled down.

  He cast a quick glance to the bar. “I’m sorry about that,” he said, a slight flush of embarrassment staining his cheeks. “Raven and I aren’t anything serious, but we’ve fooled around more than a couple times and I owe her a talk.”

  Navi clenched her jaw and her insides froze over, but she didn’t betray an ounce of emotion. “That’s your business, Kelly. Unless it has to do with finding the Landsliders and your ability to help me there, I don’t give a damn what you’re up to.” Her voice came out as cool as morning frost.

  Finn pressed his lips together tight as he gave a firm nod, even though those too-expressive umber eyes flashed with something like hurt. “Right. My mistake, boss.”

  The easy banter between them vanished in the wake of this brittleness, the tension in the air palpable. Navi’s stomach twisted into knots, but she’d perfected her mask by this point. “We’ve got a stakeout tonight, so let’s lay out some ground rules for working together.”

  Focusing on the job centered her. She didn’t have any stake in Finn—never could—so she needed to tamp down whatever this sickening swill was.

  Raven hustled in their direction with two pints in her hand and the most strained smile Navi had ever witnessed. The Asian bartender’s fine features exuded a natural femininity Navi couldn’t hope for. Despite her short stature, she was all brawn—her survival through the dangers she faced required her body to be a lethal weapon.

  Finn stiffened at Raven’s approach and the guilty way he avoided her gaze sparked Navi’s temper. No way in hell would she get sucked into their interpersonal drama. He might’ve gripped her imagination for a half-minute, but she’d been entertaining pipe dreams. She formed a tight-lipped smile of her own as she accepted the beers from Raven. Navi placed one in front of Finn and lifted the other straight to her lips. In the midst of this awkwardness, she needed the stiff drink.

  “You mind if we talk later?” Raven asked Finn, her arms crossed over her chest. The woman’s nails pricked into claws, revealing how on the edge she skated.

  Finn had spoken about his relationship with her like it meant nothing, so either he was the biggest idiot on the planet, or he was living in a state of perpetual delusion. Based on the guilt gleaming in those dark eyes whe
n he looked at Raven, Navi guessed the latter. She couldn’t resist the bile rising in her throat, no matter how illogical.

  “Yeah, we need to catch up to speed,” he said in response, tightening his grip around the pint. He broke their eye contact to stare into the murky surface. Raven nodded, not saying another word while she slipped away as quickly as she’d arrived.

  “That’s barely anything to whip out the popcorn over,” Navi drawled, unable to help herself.

  Finn’s eyes flashed. “Panther side peeking out, darling? Didn’t expect that sort of cattiness from you.”

  “And I expected you to have a bigger set of balls,” she shot back. “First impressions deceive.”

  She sucked in a deep breath, the acid spewing from her mouth the sort that squeezed her heart. Few managed to get under her skin like Finn Kelly, but the man had his talents. In the moment, letting her mouth run loose felt damned good, but, already, she regretted those words. What was she heckling him for? Not like she had any future with him beyond their one-night stand.

  Navi took another sip of her pint to clear her head. “You’re right,” she said. “I’m being catty. Your relationships are none of my business. I figured the fling we had was complication-free and I’m just not comfortable getting caught in the middle of whatever you have going on with that woman. This is a temporary setting for me and we’ve got enough on our hands with the Landsliders.”

  Finn’s brows rose to the point where she wondered if they’d fly clear off his face. In response to her bluntness, all his anger faded and the tension leeched from his features. He lifted a pint in her direction. “You’re more than fair. I’ve let this mess with her go on way longer than I should’ve and I’ve been too chickenshit to confront her. However, that’s my problem, not yours, and you have every reason to be annoyed.”

  Fuck. Every time she wanted to hate him and wanted to write him off as a forgettable lay in yet another city, he brandished honesty that disarmed her. Despite the way her veins blazed in irritation, she found communication with him easy and effortless. Not like it mattered. She’d be vacating these premises and he’d be returning to whatever confusing relationship he maintained with Raven once she left. The thought still tugged at her gut in a way she wasn’t comfortable with, but in clearing the air, she’d also cleared her head.

  “Let’s get down to brass tacks,” she said, setting her pint onto the tabletop. The near-black liquid sloshed around and the tan foam clung to the sides. “I’ll be the one giving the orders. That’s non-negotiable.”

  Finn shrugged in response. “Nothing new to me. I’m pack beta, remember?” He flattened his palms on the surface of the tabletop as those umber eyes locked with hers, sparking with challenge. “However, I’m not going to take orders from someone who can’t work as a team player. I’m fine with you making the calls, but when you dash off with no heads-up while we’re working a section together, I’m in the dark. And honestly, I’m a better asset informed than I am clueless to the situation and whatever dangers it entails.”

  Navi leaned back in her seat, arms crossed as she eyed him down. He was making fair points, ones she didn’t mind putting an effort into if they could shut down the Landsliders sooner. She let out a sigh and settled forward at the table to extend her hand toward him. “It’s a deal,” she said.

  His callused palm enveloped hers when they shook and Navi chose to ignore the spark traveling up her arm at the mere touch. The complication of him and Raven should’ve doused whatever flames lingered between them, but to her dismay, they still burned strong. He brought the sort of trouble and drama she avoided in every city she’d rolled through so far.

  Yet despite the collision she saw coming a mile away, despite the inevitable heartbreak, hurt and wreckage he promised, Finn Kelly was a train-wreck hurtling a hundred miles an hour toward her, and she couldn’t step away..

  Chapter Five

  Finn had made a mess of the whole situation and he only had himself to blame.

  He stalked out to his car, packing the carton of cigarettes against his palm. Navi had already headed out to return to her hotel. Within seconds, he was sucking in a drag and leaning against his Challenger. Raven would be joining him out here in minutes. That meant the time had come for the confrontation he had been avoiding ever since Navi had crashed into town and he’d found himself just shy of fixated.

  He loosed a stream of smoke, the flood of nicotine failing to curb the panic that threatened to descend. Sure, he should’ve stopped hooking up with Raven from the moment he knew there wasn’t a future there. Thing was, though, they were part of a small pack, and he’d played the field during his youth. He knew what else lay out there—no one for him. And every time he thought about severing their entanglement, of being alone, that dizzying emptiness returned.

  He’d never been able to shake the memories of pacing through the shoebox-sized motel rooms in the area, the ones his folks locked him in when they went on their meth runs for that lowlife Ace. Ever since those days, claustrophobia gripped him in an ugly way. The mildew scent had invaded his nostrils, the crunch of the crusted carpet beneath his feet. His wolf had raged inside his chest until he shifted, scratching at the walls with claws, hurling himself at the door until he broke out of yet another room to run free. Only to head out on the run with them again and again, rinse and repeat. He’d already been isolated from his pack—he couldn’t lose his parents too.

  Until he did.

  Until he walked into one of the hotel rooms to find them cold and turning a pale blue on the floor, courtesy of Ace and his crew. Those were the very bastards who’d roped them into that business in the first place and the ones Finn swore he would someday tear apart with his own claws.

  He let out another stream of smoke, ash tumbling off the end of his cigarette. Down that path lay memories he’d rather forget, of a time and place he’d shut away a long time ago.

  Raven emerged from around the back of Beaver Tavern, her steps measured with the agility of a wolf. She didn’t have the slink to her step Navi did, the fluidity that mesmerized Finn, but, like any predatory shifter, she could approach quietly. She’d undone her thick black hair from the bun she kept it coiled in behind the bar and her hands balled into fists, as if she summoned her own determination. He’d seen the hurt sparking her dark eyes in the tavern. Finn felt like shit. That was the exact outcome he’d been looking to avoid. Like he could.

  To make matters worse, Navi had iced over, the growing connection with her severed.

  Finn finished his cigarette and ground it under his heel when she approached. “Why don’t we talk in private?” He cast a glance to the open windows of Beaver Tavern. As much as the pack liked sticking their noses in his business, the conversation between him and Raven was none of theirs.

  “Let’s head to our old spot,” Raven said, her eyes flashing the silver of her wolf. “I’ll race you there.”

  His heart squeezed at the thought of the spot they’d met at through their teenage years, through fumbling makeouts to escapes when the old alpha would jaw off too much over their obligations or one of them picked a fight for the thousandth time. The pack elders had run bets on who’d survive through to adulthood between him, Raven and Jer. The three of them had broken the rules and pulled the sort of risky shit in their youth that skated the line of stupid.

  “All right,” he said, cracking his knuckles in front of him. He could use the run right now. He stripped off his shirt and his jeans dropped to the ground seconds later as his skin prickled with the beginnings of his change. Raven folded her black tank top and skirt from work and placed them on the ground, the gorgeous woman’s nudity nothing new for him. He’d seen and tasted every square inch of her body.

  Finn’s claws emerged, the fur overtook his skin and his bones morphed as he shifted for the second time that day. His wolf stretched out with pleasure at the opportunity to run free. In this form, his world enhanced in every feasible way. His senses intensified the trill of the birds
through the trees, the zoom of distant cars approaching down the highway and the whistle and creak of the branches from the gusts of wind.

  Raven shifted into her sleek form, slightly smaller than his, with a dark, almost black coat apart from a couple of streaks of gray. She tilted her head in his direction, her eyes flashed silver and she bolted into the forest.

  Finn dove in after her, the leaves compressing beneath his paws, the wind whistling through his fur and pebbles spraying out of his way. The midday sun gleamed through the thick forest, creating a dappled display of light on the woodland ground. Even with the scent of thick moss, of the earth that tingled his nose and the way nature tamed his beast, he couldn’t halt the turmoil in his head.

  Not like his wolf agreed. The beast in him viewed things in black and white and from the beginning when he’d first flirted around with Raven, he hadn’t felt more in his chest than a fierce friendship. He loved her—he always would—but her similar nature had provided a comfort, a mutual sharing of the shit paths their lives had taken them. And they’d remained in a toxic cycle for so, so long, clinging to each other for dear life.

  The intense way his wolf blinked to awareness when Navi entered a room was the sheer opposite, the take-notice chemistry that gripped him by the throat. And the sort that made it all too clear he and Raven had been wasting their time together for far longer than they should’ve.

  He slowed the moment he caught the flash of the old wooden picnic table in their clearing. Raven switched to a trot, not serious about the race. In fact, she didn’t look excited about the talk they would be having either, as if they both sensed the impending storm on their horizon. Finn sniffed the ground when he came closer, the scents of Jer, Raven and countless other pack members from his generation mingling here.

  Finn came to a halt in front of the varnished trunk which sat beside the old picnic table and the hewn stumps everyone used as seats. Even though he hadn’t been here in a long while, the site got use, evident by the scorched earth from their campfires and the emptied bottles of whiskey. He shifted back, almost shaking out of his fur as he stood up to two feet. The claws retracted, morphing back to nails.