by Elena Aitken
Nash.
“Kira?” Sasha smacked her palm against the glass to get her attention. “Seriously. Are you listening to a word I’m saying?” Kira blinked hard and tried not to look too out of it. “I just told you he was up at the south shower house. Another clogged drain to deal with.”
“I’ll go find him there, thanks.”
“Aren’t you going to tell me about your brother?”
Kira smiled. “He’s not single.”
“Damn.”
Kira laughed. She was used to women being ridiculously attracted to her brothers. It had been happening since they were teenagers. “In fact, he brought his ma—girlfriend with him.” She corrected herself quickly. She hadn’t met Kade’s mate yet, but she was looking forward to it, just as soon as she found Nash and…what? She didn’t know yet. “Anyway, I should get going. I think I’ll go check on the progress of those clogged drains.”
Sasha wiggled her eyebrows. “You do that.”
Chapter Eleven
“I was hoping to find you here.”
Kira hoped her voice sounded natural as she walked up behind Nash, who was loading his toolbox into the back of the truck. He turned and gave her such a sexy smile that all the concerns she had only moments ago disappeared.
“Hey, babe.” He slid his arms around her and pulled her close. “I’ve been looking for you all day. Where’ve you been?”
Instead of answering him, she kissed him. The slightest touch of his lips on hers fired her internal fire and her bear both settled inside her while at the same time, demanded more from her mate.
“I’ve been crazy busy today.” It wasn’t a lie, but she still felt guilty. “What’s happening here? Everything under control?”
Nash shook his head. A frown slipped over his handsome face. “No. I mean, I fixed the clog. But when I was doing a routine check, I noticed one of the shower heads wasn’t flowing properly. Turns out there was a cracked pipe in the wall. I had to shut the entire system down.”
“Down? What does that mean? Is it operational?” Kira instantly slipped into manager mode. If the shower house was down, it meant they would have double the capacity at the north shower house and it was definitely not designed to handle that capacity. Which meant one thing: pissed-off campers.
“It’s not.” Nash shook his head. “I have to go to West Yellowstone to get parts. It’s just outside the gates.”
“I know where it is.”
He smiled, and she realized she probably sounded edgy, so she offered him a smile in return.
“Until then, I have to close it off.”
The smile vanished. “What?” She bit her lip. “Now?”
“I’m sorry, babe.” He stroked her cheek. “Don’t worry about it though, okay? I’ll get it fixed as fast as I can. It will hardly be a disruption.” He stopped talking and gave her a strange look. “You look stressed. Please don’t worry about this, okay?”
Kira shook her head and pulled away from his arms. As much as she wanted his touch, first she needed to tell him about Kade. “It’s fine,” she said. “I know you’ll get it fixed as soon as you can. I’m not worried about the shower.”
“Then what?” He reached out, but she stepped aside. “What’s going on, Kira? You’re scaring me.”
“Sorry.” She forced a smile. “I’m not trying to scare you. Actually, it’s a good thing.” She took a breath. “My brother is in town, and I thought maybe you could meet him but if you have to go—”
“Your brother?”
The rest of the words she was going to babble froze on her lips and she nodded.
“He’s here?” Nash’s eyes widened as he took in what she was saying. “At the campground?” She nodded. “Your brother, Kade?”
Kira nodded again.
“But I thought you didn’t speak? I thought your twin connection or whatever wasn’t working.”
“It wasn’t.” She shrugged. It was too much to get into right now. “But it is now. He’s here.”
Nash’s face split into his trademark grin and he pulled her back into a hug. “Babe, that’s fantastic. You must be thrilled.”
She was thrilled. She couldn’t even process how good it felt to have her brother back. But she was also terrified. Because she hadn’t really been sure she was going to tell Nash about him and now that she had, it felt amazing because she wanted to tell him everything, always. But it was equally scary because now he’d want to meet Kade and then…well, she couldn’t think about it. Not yet. Because no matter what, she would not lose her brother again. Now that she had filled that missing piece of her heart, Kira knew with certainty that she would never be able to survive the loss a second time.
“I am,” she answered after a moment. “And I really wish you could meet him, but now you have to go to West Yellowstone and get that piece.”
“No.”
“No?”
“Well, of course I have to go, but it can wait a few minutes. Let’s go back to the office now, I should grab a quick overnight bag anyway, and then I can at least meet him. I mean, he’s your brother, Kira. Your twin. I think I can find a few minutes to meet my mate’s brother. Don’t you?”
She nodded with a smile pasted on her face and hoped Nash hadn’t noticed the way she flinched at the use of the word mate.
Nash followed Kira’s ATV back to the main offices and tried to shake off the feeling that something was wrong. Very wrong. It wasn’t just that Kira didn’t seem as excited as he would have thought, with her brother there, but it was something else. He couldn’t pinpoint it, but something was off. It was probably just the shock of Kade showing up. After all, they hadn’t seen each other in almost two years and as far as Kira was concerned, would likely never see him again. Of course it would be shocking for him to show up with no announcement. And then, of course, there was everything that had happened between the two of them.
Damn. It had definitely been an eventful few days.
Nash chuckled to himself as he reasoned it out. Of course Kira seemed a little preoccupied. The last twenty-four hours had been intense, to say the least.
A few minutes later when they pulled up behind the offices, everything made perfect sense to Nash. He pulled her into his arms and gave her a quick, hard kiss that he hoped expressed his love and support for her. She melted into it, and when he pulled away, the sparkle was back in her eyes.
“Babe, you know I’m here for you.” He squeezed her hand. “Whatever you need, okay?”
“Thank you.” She smiled. “You go pack your things and I’ll get Kade, okay? Meet me back here in ten?”
“Make it five. I’ll be right back.”
Her smile wavered, but she agreed, so Nash didn’t push it. Instead, he gave her one more kiss on the cheek and took off into the cabin. He was only inside a few minutes, but when he returned, Kira was already there, sitting at the picnic tables behind the offices with a man and a woman. Nash dropped his duffel bag by the door and strode over to the small group.
Kira stood the moment she saw him. Her smile was strained, and once again she looked worried.
“Hey, ba—”
“Nash.” She smoothly interrupted him and sidestepped his arm, clasping her hands together in front of her as he joined her next to the table. “There you are.” Her eyes wouldn’t meet his. Her voice was high and tight. “I want you to meet my brother, Kade.” She pointed to the man, which was completely unnecessary. The family resemblance was clear.
Nash looked the man in the eyes and shook his hand. There was a flash of something in Kade’s eyes, a thread of tension in his handshake. No doubt he recognized him as a shifter. How much had Kira told him?
“It’s good to meet you, Kade. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“I can’t say the same.”
There it was. The tension turned slightly to animosity. Nash released his hand.
Before he could say anything, Kira was making the introduction to the woman who stood next to Kade. “And this is Kade�
�s ma—fiancée, Ella.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Ella.” The woman had a warm smile and even warmer demeanor. It only took a quick shake of her hand for Nash to know he was going to get along just fine with Ella. It was Kira’s brother who was definitely going to be the problem.
“I just met Ella myself.” Kira was babbling. “It’s been kind of crazy around here today. First Kade shows up, and then the showers. Never mind everything else, and I haven’t even thought about the fish problem yet.”
Her face was lined with tension, and Nash wanted nothing more than to go to her and pull her into his arms and tell her not to worry, that everything would be okay. But he couldn’t. Something was off.
“Where are you from, Nash?” Kade was still staring at him. “And what is it you do around here?”
He knew exactly what the man was asking him, and Kira’s long-lost brother or not, Nash was not one to back down. “I don’t think where I’m from or what it is that I do is nearly as important as who I am to Kira.”
Protectiveness and anger flashed in Kade’s eyes at the exact moment that Kira jumped between them. “Would anyone like a bottle of water?”
Nash and Kade shook their heads at the same time.
“I want to know what Nash was going to say.” Kade’s hard gaze didn’t leave his. “Who is he to you, Kira?”
She swallowed hard, and Nash could see the struggle on her face. She closed her eyes briefly and when she opened them again, she stared directly at her brother. “Nash is the maintenance man at Riverside. He’s also a friend.”
Friend. The word sliced through his heart. Kira wouldn’t look at him. She’d called him a friend. After what they’d done last night. With her arm likely still sore and throbbing from the evidence of their mating, and she’d stood in front of her brother and denied him. Her mate.
Nash choked on the growl that threatened to escape his lungs.
“Kira?”
Still, she wouldn’t look at him. He waited a beat. And then another.
“Don’t you have some work to do?” The question came from Kade, but he ignored him for the moment, his eyes fixed on his mate. He could see her jaw tremble, her knuckles white where she clenched her hands together. Finally, she turned to him.
Seeing the pain in her eyes, he wanted to go to her and shake her. Growl at her. Whatever it took to figure out what the fuck had just happened. But he was aware of their audience.
Mustering as much composure as he could, Nash said, “Well, it was nice to meet you both.” It was a lie, and they all knew it. “But I should get going if I’m going to get to West Yellowstone to pick up the parts for the shower. I just have a few questions. Kira, would you mind walking me to the truck so we can go over a few things?”
Kira kept her eyes fixed forward on the trees as she walked. She couldn’t look at him. He was going to be mad.
No.
He was mad. She could feel the anger radiating off him as he walked next to her. They didn’t touch. They didn’t talk. Not yet.
Besides the anger, there was something else coming from him.
Pain.
She felt it as acutely as if it were her own. Because it was.
Together, they turned the corner around the building and then they were alone, away from the prying eyes of Kade and his mate Ella. Kira didn’t doubt for a moment that they’d be watching closely. The way her brother had reacted when he met Nash—no doubt he sensed something.
Had she made the wrong choice not telling the truth?
She lifted her head and, for the first time since they’d walked away, looked at Nash.
Yes. She’d made the wrong choice.
“Nash, I need to—”
“What was that all about?” His words were controlled, but only barely. She could see the fire flash in his eyes, his animal contained just below the surface. “What the hell was that about?” He demanded an answer and more than anything, she wanted to give him one.
“I need you to understand.” Tears pricked at her eyes, but she wouldn’t cry.
“I’m trying, Kira. But for the life of me, I can’t think of one fucking reason why you would put me through that. I am your mate,” he growled. “And you treated me no better than a fucking employee.” He turned on his heel and stamped a few feet away before he turned around again and stalked toward her.
Reflexively, Kira stepped backward until her back hit the side of the building. He was inches from her. The anger and hurt darkened his gray eyes, intensifying his energy. “Tell me,” he demanded. His hands pressed up on the wall on either side of her head, caging her in. “Tell me why you would deny me.”
Her stomach knotted and twisted, torn between her mate—her love—and her brother and the promise of family. She’d seen the way Kade had reacted to Nash and that was before he knew the truth. He’d tear him apart if he knew Nash was her mate. He’d walk away forever. The sister-in-law she’d only just met, the promise of her other brothers’ mates, Axel’s new cub….it would be gone. The family she’d just found would be taken from her.
This time, forever.
But Nash…
A sob caught in her throat but she swallowed it back, hard. Nash was everything. How could she walk away? It was an impossible choice.
“Kira.” Some of the anger faded from his voice. “Talk to me. What happened back there?”
She shook her head. “I…I have a family.”
Nash nodded. “I gathered.”
“No.” She desperately needed him to understand. “You don’t get it. My brothers all have mates now. My oldest brother has a cub. A cub.” Nash nodded, but she could see he didn’t understand. Not really. “When I left, it was just the four of us and then when I thought they were gone forever, I forced myself not to care.”
“But you do.”
She nodded. “I do. My family, they mean…” She trailed off. How could she stand in front of her mate and tell him that her family meant everything to her? Just like her choice would be made. Maybe it already was.
Her arm throbbed and ached from his bite, and she couldn’t find the words. She couldn’t make a choice.
“And if you tell them you’re mated to a wolf…” Nash picked up her arm and pulled it high over her head where his pinned it to the wall, so his mark was exposed. Kira knew if she turned her head, she’d see the mark of their love. Hot tears slipped from her eyes and she turned away. Nash lowered his head and traced the tender mark with his tongue. Kira’s entire body quivered from the intensity of his touch. “If you tell them you bare the mark of a mate…” Nash kissed the center of his claim before raising his head. With his free hand, he turned her head and forced her to look at him. “They won’t accept your choice.” It wasn’t a question, but Kira nodded.
He kept her arm pinned over her head; his free hand held her under the chin, forcing her eyes on his. She saw the anger change to understanding, but the hurt never faded.
“Nash, I—”
He shook his head to stop her words. “We all make choices.”
“But, Nash. I—”
“I think it’s time I told you about my brother and my pack.”
He’d only spoken vaguely about his pack and how the wolves differed from bears. Nash had never seemed open to discussing his family and she’d never pushed.
“It’s imperative to our pack that we increase our numbers,” Nash started. “After being reintroduced to Yellowstone, we got a chance we never thought we would and now the only focus for my family is to reproduce.”
She nodded. It was a familiar story for many shifter families.
“Remember when I told you we didn’t have fated mates?”
She nodded again.
“That’s only because in my pack, we don’t choose our own mates. They’re chosen for us.” He’d told her that part before and although not an ideal situation, it was also a fairly common practice among shifters. It was, in fact, part of the reason Kira’s own mother had been cast out of their clan by her
grandfather. “I’ve always known that’s how it was,” Nash continued. “And part of me didn’t really mind, but when it came time, I decided I needed space. So I left.”
“That’s why you’re here.”
Nash nodded. “He made it clear when I left that I wouldn’t be welcomed back unless I was willing to play by his rules. I think I always thought on some level that I’d go back and take a mate the way my brother wanted me to. I never thought I’d actually stay away. Not forever anyway.” He reached out and stroked a finger down her cheek. “And then I met you.”
Kira’s knees buckled beneath her, but Nash held her strong.
“From the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew you were mine.” He stared straight into her eyes, challenging her to say differently. She couldn’t. Despite the way she’d fought it, she’d felt it, too. “I knew what taking you for my mate would mean to my family and my future. But that’s what I chose.”
A sob rose in her throat at the knowledge that he did for her the exact thing she wasn’t sure she could do for him.
“Kira, I love you.” His lips brushed hers. “You’re my world, my heart, my mate. Without you, I have nothing. But I will never ask you to choose between me and your family. If it’s a choice you have to make, I won’t stand in your way. But I won’t lie to you and tell you it’ll be okay. It won’t. Every moment without you by my side will shred me from the inside out.” He pressed his mouth to hers and kissed her with a heat that threatened to consume them both. Kira’s body lit up in response, her animal rising to the surface. It was a kiss of possession and ownership, but also, one of good-bye. When he pulled back, his gray eyes were clouded, the feeling unreadable. “You are my life, Kira. But if it’s what you want, I love you enough to let you go.”
And then he did. He released her arm, letting it slide down the wall to her side, and he stepped back.
“Nash.” She took a step forward, but he shook his head, halting her.
“I’ll go to town and I’ll be back in a few days. The extra time will be good. For both of us. If you decide this is what you want, I will renounce you and you’ll be free.”
