by Abigail Owen
His teasing earned him a tap on the top of his head with the ruler. “Keep that up, and you don’t get any.”
“My apologies, ma’am. No coal in my stocking this year, please.” Before she could change her mind, he picked up the dessert plate she’d brought over and held it up, offering her an expression of total innocence.
She shook her head but served both of them before taking her seat. Then took a bite and smiled. “When what to my wandering eyes did appear…” She paused and grinned. “But ten extra pounds, on hips, thighs, and rear.”
Thanks to the dry delivery, Cade gave a crack of laughter. “There’s not a spare ounce on you.”
“Huh. My nickname in high school was speedbumps.”
Thanks to the generous curves no doubt. Still, his wolf gave a soft growl in his head. No other men should ever have been looking at his mate.
“So why are your supporters angry?” her question yanked him back to the moment.
That’s what she was worried about? “They think I’m spending too much time here when I should be making my presence felt in the pack, garnering support.”
Her eyebrows went up. “Makes sense. You have been here from dawn to dusk for several days.”
He shrugged. “I had my reasons for that.”
A speculative light came into her eyes. Hell, the way he’d been acting, he was surprised she hadn’t put two and two together and asked him a much bigger question.
She sat forward, picking up her fork. “Now that you’re done with the pipes, I guess it’s no longer a problem.”
“Trying to get rid of me?” He bopped her under the table with his knee.
But instead of the small smile that casual touch usually got him, she paused and pinned him with that direct stare again. She seemed to be considering her next words carefully, taking her time. “You said the other day that I can ask anything.”
He leaned back in his chair, staring right back. Inside him, his wolf stilled. Here it came. She’d figured it out. “Anything.”
“Why did a wolf shifter attack me?”
7
SHYLA
I can’t believe I asked him that.
Cade’s reaction, however, about knocked her into a full-on panic. He went from laid back in his chair to kneeling beside her, her face in his hands, blue eyes gone almost navy and deadly serious. “What do you mean a wolf shifter attacked you?”
This much aggressive male in her space should be sending her heart rate sky high. Not even her dad and brother had been able to do much more than hug her since that night. Instead of needing to fight her way out of Cade’s hold, though, her muscles slowly loosened as though the heat from that simple touch soothed away her anxiety.
She blinked at the sensation, then took a deep breath. “It happened a few days after you left town. I was home alone. Mom and Dad were at one of Sean’s basketball games. I went to bed early and woke up with a man in my room, his hand over my mouth.”
A snarl ripped from Cade’s throat, and that should have terrified her, but it didn’t. He wasn’t angry at her, she could tell.
She raised her hands and wrapped them around his wrists, not to pull him away, but in some perhaps misguided attempt to sooth him. “I’m okay,” she whispered.
“What happened?” A demand, not a question.
She grimaced. “I got lucky. Dad came home for Sean’s jersey that he forgot and scared the man away. He’d come in my window.”
“Fuck,” he muttered.
The air whooshed from her lungs as he scooped her off her seat and sat down with her in his lap. Then he buried his head in the crook of her neck, inhaling deeply, his body practically vibrating with tension.
The logical part of her mind should have categorized this as a blatant overreaction. He hadn’t seen her in ten years. What should he care? But some instinct, deep in her core, told her this was important.
The same instinct also told her to hold very still. The predator inside him was close to the surface.
“Sorry,” Cade muttered. Then whispered a kiss over the curve where shoulder and neck met, so softly that when he lifted his head, she wondered if she’d imagined it.
“There’s a reason I’m acting like a caveman, and I’ll tell you about it soon. But let’s get your thing hashed out first. Okay?”
This much male wolf shifter, this close in, should have her in a dead faint at his feet. Instead, she felt more relaxed sitting in his lap, the powerful bands of his arms anchoring her to him, than she had in years and years.
The caveman comment pinged around inside her, and finally she let her mind open to the thought she’d been holding off since he showed up at her door. Am I his mate?
“Okay,” she murmured, keeping her thoughts to herself.
“Did the sheriff find out who did it?”
“No.”
He canted his head. “Did you see who it was? Recognize him?”
“No.”
Cade’s jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. “Then how do you know it was a wolf shifter?”
Here we go again.
Was Cade going to be another in a long line of people who didn’t believe her? Shyla pushed at his arms and he released her, though with visible reluctance. She resumed her seat, needing the space and tweaked her knife straighter. “I don’t have any proof. At least nothing anyone else seems to think matters.”
He frowned, and she sighed. “The sheriff didn’t want to upset the balance in our small town. Without a definite ID or any kind of human proof, he couldn’t do anything.”
“Fuck,” Cade said again. He leaned closer but stopped when she stiffened and ran a hand through his hair, though he gave her space. “Tell me why you think he was wolf.”
Swallowing hard, she shifted her gaze to her plate, though not really seeing the now cold spaghetti. Instead she ran through the impressions of that night as she had done a thousand times since. “The way he moved. Like you. More prowl than walk, and on silent feet.”
Humans had laughed that off, but a swift glance at Cade’s face showed him watching intently. No laughter in sight.
She closed her eyes, resisting the urge to get up and start cleaning the kitchen. “The smell of him. Like outdoors and pine trees and musky animal. How he made it out my window so fast and without a sound and was gone when I looked, even though I ran to try to see.”
“Is that everything?” he asked when she paused.
She shook her head slowly. “Fur.”
“Fur?”
“A tuft of fur stuck to a shirt of mine that had been on the floor. Grey fur.” She lifted her gaze to him. “You knew Pokey. Our chihuahua. She was golden, and her fur wasn’t that long.”
Cade nodded slowly.
Did he believe her? Her parents had tried to, though the doubt in their expressions had always given them away. In the end, especially when nothing had happened again, and no one else had reported a break-in, they’d put it down to a case of teenaged stalking thankfully ending well and hopefully nipped in the bud.
Shyla had not put it behind her as easily.
Suddenly Cade straightened, peering around her kitchen. “Is that why?” He waved a hand around.
Unexpected humor pulled her mouth into a semblance of a smile. “Why the obsessive neatness, the locks, the counting, the checking the house every night…”
He covered her hand with his, and she cut off what was turning into slightly hysterical babble and took a deep breath.
“The OCD? Yes,” she said. “The sheriff asked if anything had been disturbed and I wasn’t sure. My room was a bit messy. But now, if someone is ever in here, I’ll know it. No one will surprise me like that ever again.”
8
CADE
Cade dropped his head into his hands, guilt spiraling through him in piercing waves. “I should’ve been there.”
“Why?”
Her question brought his head up, and it was on the tip of his damn tongue to tell her exactly why. She was his mate.
Protecting her, and eventually their family, was the most important thing he’d ever do in life. Bigger even than being alpha. When he’d left, he’d thought he was the only one who knew Shyla was his mate. Leaving was supposed to protect her, not put her in danger. It made him sick to realize the wolf who’d gone after her had known. Otherwise, why go after a human?
Realization layered over the shock of hearing all this. Gods above. How would he ever convince her to mate him now? Not if a wolf attack had left her that scarred.
“Why’d you choose to live alone in the woods, at the edge of wolf territory?” he asked.
Shyla screwed her face up. Clearly, she’d had to answer this before. Probably her parents asking. “I can’t explain the logic well…but being surrounded by humans and living in town didn’t do a damn thing. I made sure this house was fitted to hold stronger creatures out. I made sure to locate it in a clearing where I could see them coming. I’m in control here. You know? Plus, out here, I can…I don’t know…breathe better.”
Because she was his mate. Wolves preferred to live in the wild this way—she didn’t know that.
“A bit of a fuck you to the guy who scared you, too, huh?” he asked.
She blinked rapidly, then smiled a little. “Maybe.”
“Is there anything else you can tell me about this man?” he asked, rather than answer her question.
The scent she described already narrowed things down to two men he knew of. One was no longer a problem, but if it was the other…
“He wore a black ski mask. It was dark, so I couldn’t see the color of his eyes or how old or young he was.”
Damn. “Anything else?”
“You believe me?” Something in her voice snagged his attention. Not a waver exactly, and not fear. Almost a hope that she wouldn’t allow.
His heart ached for the girl she had been. Damn the pack for letting this happen to her, if they even knew. It sounded as though things had been hushed up on the human end. All for the sake of peace. Not the kind of peace he wanted if he became alpha.
“I believe you.”
Her mouth dropped open slightly, and though she remained silent, he swore she took a deep breath. “He was tall,” she started slowly. “About your height. Lean. Though all wolf shifters I know are built that way. He laughed at one point, though it sounded more like a cough than a laugh. He spoke in a whisper, so I’m not sure what his voice sounds like. And his bottom right incisor is chipped.”
A chipped tooth, most likely from fighting. That might help.
“Is that everything?”
“Yes.”
He got to his feet, and her eyes widened in surprise. “I’ve got to go.”
She frowned. “Now?”
“This can’t wait.” He was going to find out who went after his mate and rip his fucking throat out with his teeth.
“Where are you going?”
He should be readying himself to challenge tonight. Maybe he could kill two birds with one stone. “I can get to the pack faster as a wolf. Tonight is the full moon. They’ll be out.”
“Don’t do anything stupid on my account. I didn’t tell you this to get you into more trouble with the pack.”
He stalked to the hallway, and she jumped up and followed. Already, Cade had his hands to the buttons on his shirt, undoing them quickly.
“Are you going to shift?” Only fascination in that question, a note in her voice that made him want to drag her upstairs to the bedroom, except the need to find out what happened to her clawed at him.
“Yeah.”
Shyla gave a derisive snort. “Well you’re not shifting in here and getting fur all over.”
He paused, then laughed despite himself. “You’re adorable.”
That drew an ironic grin from her. “You’re the first to say so.”
Need to touch her overrode the need to go, and he hooked an arm around her waist, dragging her up against him. “Adorable,” he growled, and claimed her lips in a kiss that was pure alpha demand.
Staking a claim in a way no one could mistake.
She tasted of heaven and apples, exactly the way she smelled. His.
With a groan he broke the kiss and put his forehead against hers, eyes closed, breathing hard. “You’re driving me insane,” he whispered. “I want to go kill whoever hurt you, but I don’t want to leave either. Can you feel how much I need you?”
“It’s poking me in the stomach,” she whispered back, laughter in her voice. “Kind of hard to miss.”
He opened his eyes to find her watching him with glittering desire and slowly shook his head. “I should be the good guy here. Walk away. Let us both think this through.”
Shyla cocked her head, eyes sparkling. “You don’t want me?”
The woman was going to choose now to get flirty? “I want you so much, I think it’ll scare you.”
Everything about her stilled—her body, her breathing, even her heart paused for a second before racing. “Cade…” She swallowed and gave a shake of her head, as though arguing with herself.
He tipped her chin up with one hand. “Ask me anything.”
Her pupils had dilated until they’d consumed her irises, heart pumping, breathing turning more to panting. “Am I your mate?”
“Yes.”
He held his breath and had no idea what reaction to expect. Her pulling him tight, wrapping her arms around his neck almost like she wanted to crawl into him wasn’t it, and relief burst through him even as a new tension ratcheted up.
“Good,” she said against his chest. “I really, really wanted to be your mate.”
Inside, his wolf howled his triumph, and Cade tightened his arms around Shyla. The fates had blessed him with a woman who was so damn brave he wanted to shout it to the moon. Except he owed it to her to make sure she understood everything.
“You’ve seen Sean and his mate? How they are together?”
She nodded against him. “I was always a little jealous of that. It’s like they can’t settle when the other is away, even just in another room.”
“After ten years of not being able to settle, that might not be my favorite part.” He grimaced.
She lifted her head to blink at him. “You knew when you left?”
He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I left to keep my mate safe.”
“Oh,” she breathed the word out.
“And it didn’t work.” The anger started to build again, pressure inside him building, his wolf pacing.
“Hey.” She put a hand to his cheek, forcing him to focus on her. “Not your fault…and you’re here now. Stay?”
Cade gritted his teeth, duty and love pulling him in too many directions.
“Stay,” she whispered. “Please.”
“You need to be sure, because if I stay, I stay in your bed. And if I do that, I’ll turn you. Claim you.” His voice was more growl than human now.
He waited for fear to register in her eyes. But it didn’t. He held still and waited for her to run away screaming or shove him out the door and bolt all the locks. But she didn’t. She lowered her gaze, thinking. Thinking for so long he was ready to shake the answer out of her, because damned if he ever thought they’d be here this fast.
Her tongue swept over her lower lip and she raised her gaze to his. “I think I’ll take my chances.”
Color stained her cheeks and her eyes dilated, and his wolf howled in his head again.
Fuck. His mate was a gift. A Christmas gift he couldn’t wait to unwrap.
Confronting the pack about Shyla could wait. It had gone this long. Besides, if he thought about it first, he could approach it with smarts instead of gut instinct to shred.
“Be sure, Shy. Because after I bite you, it’s not reversible.”
In answer, she stepped back, lips tipped in a siren’s call. “I’m sure I’m already on Santa’s naughty list. Might as well go for broke.” She took a few steps back and started to undo the buttons on her shirt. “Well, come on then. Put your
money where your mouth needs to be.”
If he’d have been in wolf form, he would’ve dropped into a crouch, ready to spring at her, focus entirely on his prey.
Shyla must’ve seen that, because she squealed and ran up the stairs.
Cade and his wolf lunged at the same time.
9
SHYLA
Shyla was fast, but Cade was faster. He caught up with her halfway up the stairs and tossed her over his shoulder, fireman style.
“Which way,” he growled at the top, his voice a low rumble that skated over her skin and did things to the tingling at her core.
“The door on the left,” she said, breathless from the chase, and his shoulder in her stomach.
He carried her into her room, then went to walk away from the door, but no matter how safe he made her feel throughout the day, night had fallen. Full moon or not. “Lock the door.”
He paused, then turned back and did as she asked.
She cringed as he turned away. “Wait.”
He stilled.
“Three times. Lock it three times.” She bit her lip. The man was here to fuck her, bite her, pleasure her all night long, she hoped, and she was going to ruin it—
Rather than comment or tease, he simply turned back to the door and counted out loud as he locked it three times.
Tension whooshed from her. Wow. Okay. Not ruined.
Because he’s my mate. He gets me.
She’d hardly processed that, excitement rushing in to replace her worry, as he moved to the bed, still carrying her. He went to yank the sheets and covers back but stopped with a grunt, and Shyla had to button her lips around her laughter, because she knew what had stopped him.
“Damn, Shy. The military needs to take bed making lessons from you,” he grumbled. Then yanked harder, and the tightly tucked sheets gave way. Laughter bubbled from her lips as he tumbled her to the bed…until he followed, pressing her into the mattress with his weight.