by Dana Archer
She thought of her boys and their lack of family. Who held their ancestor’s spirit? “What happens if family members are separated?”
“We would know if our leader died. The spirit would call us home, and one of us would become its new vessel.”
“Why did Kade become leader, then, and not you?”
“Because I didn’t want to kill my brother in order to rule, so I didn’t try for it.”
She gasped. “Kill him?”
“You heard me right.” He sighed. “The spirit wants the strongest vessel. We would’ve had to fight to prove our worth. Remember what I said about the gods wanting vicious warriors.”
Respect for Rafe grew with his confession. He gave up leading his family out of love for his twin.
She slipped her arms around his waist. The sensation of his strong body against hers muddled her thoughts, but she wanted to know more about the selfless man who might very well become the head of her family.
“That’s the reason your gods made the Royals, isn’t it? If one animal spirit made their warriors stronger, three would be even better?”
“No. The Royals are the result of the goddesses sleeping with those first shifters, the single shifter warriors who fought the gods’ battles.”
“That sounds like a soap opera. I bet there was cheating, lies, and betrayal involved too.”
“Probably”—he ran his hands over her back and pulled her closer—“but it’s no longer something I want to talk about.”
The look in his eyes tempted her. She hooked her finger through the belt loop of his pants. “Do you have something special in mind you want talk about?”
He pressed his lips to the spot right below her ear. “Yes. Getting inside you again.”
He kissed his way across her jaw and slipped his tongue between her parted lips. She opened to him, and he twined his tongue with hers in a confident, lazy way that left her breathless, aroused, and eager for him. The deep swipes and rolling thrusts of his tongue were wonderfully erotic.
Trapped between the counter and Rafe’s body, she had nowhere to go. The memory of being in a similar position in the apartment above her garage returned to her. He’d taken her to heaven then. It had only been a few hours ago, but it could’ve been months since she’d felt his passion. She hungered for it. Craved it. What better time to indulge in him? Her family was safe, and she had Rafe to thank for it.
She wanted to reward him for being patient and not whisking her off to destinations unknown. She was certain the bond she’d watched form between her kids and Rafe’s family wouldn’t have come as quickly if Seth and Levi had been ripped away from the only home they’d ever known.
She broke their kiss and held his face between her hands. “You are an amazing man. Do you know that, Rafe?”
“Am I now?”
She grinned at the pleased look on his face. “Yes, and I want to show you how much I appreciate you.”
His eyes glowed, and the golden brown color spread to encompass his entire eye until no white showed in his orbs. Feline eyes stared back at her. It was the first time she’d seen his eyes completely colored, but the sight of his primal side didn’t frighten her. It excited her.
She leaned closer until his eyes became the center of her world. “You’re absolutely beautiful this way.”
“What way?”
“With feline eyes.” She skimmed her fingers along his cheekbone. “It almost feels like your cats are watching me.”
“They are. No other woman has been able to accomplish what you have.”
His words rocked her, and her heart swelled. Love—that was what she felt growing inside her. She was falling in love with Rafe. Maybe she had already fallen. At the moment, she didn’t care to dissect the emotion. She only knew it made her feel good. Right.
“Take me upstairs, Rafe.” She licked her lips. “I want to worship you.”
“And I want to treasure you. Forever.” He pulled back and his golden eyes focused on hers. “You’re my heaven. The center of my world, and your kids are our blessings from the gods. Nothing is more important than you, our family.”
She licked her suddenly dry lips. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“Yes. Very.”
“We haven’t known each other long.”
“You’re my true mate.”
“But I’m human and—”
He pressed a finger to her lips. “You bridged me and my cats, allowing us to live as one, not fighting each other for dominance. That’s how I know. Sometimes it can take years for lovers to figure out they’re true mates, but I’ve lived a long time, and I’ve searched for peace just as long. You’ve given it to me.”
She linked her arms around him. “That makes me feel incredibly special.”
He kissed the tip of her nose. “You are. Now, let me carry you upstairs and love you. I want to fall asleep curled around you.”
She settled into his embrace and went over his words as Rafe climbed the stairs. He’d told her she was his true mate, his one.
But he hadn’t asked to join their souls.
She couldn’t help but wonder why.
Chapter 28
Rafe cracked his eyelids, just enough to see the clock. One twenty-seven. It was too soon to be awake, but something had stirred him. Not danger. His cats would be tensed and ready to take out the threat if there’d been one.
He opened himself to the animals, hoping for a clue. The three big felines lounged in the mystical field where they lived while he was in his human form. His jaguar glanced in his direction and yawned. The other two didn’t move.
Great. They were no help. He’d have to investigate on his own.
He let the connection to them fade and slowly sat up so as not to wake Jasmine. She rolled to her stomach, and her blonde hair pooled to one side, exposing her shoulder. Her bare skin taunted him. He wanted more than anything to see his bite displayed there.
The conversation he’d started before bed would’ve been the perfect lead-in for the topic of mating and what it meant to be his. He hadn’t been able to bring himself to broach the subject.
Really, how were you supposed to tell your true mate you were going to kill her and not have it go over badly? Okay, not exactly kill her but bring her to the point of death.
He had to find a way. He wasn’t about to lose her.
Rafe ran his fingers lightly over her hair, needing the reminder that she was real.
That she was his.
Hands fisted so he didn’t reach for her a second time, he padded to the attached bathroom. The bag of clothes he’d brought in from his SUV sat in the corner. He dug out a T-shirt and pair of shorts.
Clean and dressed, he slipped into the hallway. A quick run through the woods would ease what tension had stirred him from sleep. Thoughts of Jon had no doubt been the cause. Rafe wouldn’t rest well until the male paid for his crimes.
He headed toward the back set of stairs that led into the kitchen. Another set connected the second floor to the entryway. The old farmhouse Jasmine owned had been built in a time when the working part of the house was kept separate from the living section. For Rafe, it just meant he had his choice as to what door he wanted to leave through—front or back.
A few feet into the hall, he froze. The sound of someone talking reached him. A voice he’d never heard before. A male’s voice.
He parted his lips and tasted the air, drawing on his felines’ enhanced senses to feed him information. No unusual smells were present. It didn’t mean anything. Scents could be masked or eliminated.
The urge to rush toward where the voice came from gripped him. He resisted. If the intruder was talking, it meant he hadn’t killed anyone yet. Rafe didn’t want that to change.
He walked past Seth and Levi’s room, then inched his way past the small game room where Mira slept. The only one left was Megan’s.
“Sometimes when she’s alone, she talks. Well, whispers.” Josh’s words came back to him.
&nbs
p; If Rafe had been human, he probably would’ve said the same. The voice had a low rasp to it, such as what would be heard if a person whispered. Even with Rafe’s enhanced hearing, he couldn’t quite make out the words spoken. They were garbled by the door, but he heard the difference in pitch. There was no way Megan was the one speaking.
Rafe reached for the knob to Megan’s door, and the voice coming from inside the room cut off. A light flicked on. The narrowed beam swept over the door, sending an arc to illuminate Rafe’s toes before turning off. He shoved open the door and flipped the switch on the wall, flooding the room with light.
Megan sat on the floor facing the wall with a flashlight in her lap. There was nobody else in the room.
He closed the door behind him and crossed to the closet. Empty. He peered under the bed, then scanned the yard from the window. He caught sight of Xander’s black wolf lying just inside the boundary of the woods. Xander, in his wolf’s form, lifted his head from where it rested on his paws and met Rafe’s gaze. Xander’s relaxed state matched what his cats had shown. There was no danger close by.
Rafe allowed the curtain to fall into place. He faced Megan. She wore the pink set of pajamas with cartoon kittens she’d had on at bedtime. Her hair was tousled from sleep, and her eyes looked droopy.
She stifled a yawn.
No way had he been wrong. He’d clearly heard a man speaking.
Rafe studied Megan for some hint as to what was going on. She didn’t seem all that surprised that he’d rushed into her room or searched it for the mysterious source of the voice he’d heard.
Rafe shoved his confusion deep so as not to upset Megan and sat on the edge of the bed. “Can’t sleep?”
She shrugged.
“Me neither. I was on my way to the kitchen to get a snack. Want to join me? I think Jazz has cookies left.”
She shook her head.
Great. Megan wasn’t going to talk. He racked his brain for a way to coax her into telling him what was going on, but the direct way she’d spoken to Josh at the scene of the accident changed Rafe’s mind. The little girl was a dominant. Rafe would treat her like one.
“Who were you talking to?”
Megan turned her attention to the flashlight in her hand, rolling the black handle between her hands. “Nobody.”
“Pride members should never lie to each other, Megan.” He waited for some kind of sign that she understood what he was saying, but she only stared at him. “You, Seth, and Levi are now a part of my pride, so that means you shouldn’t lie to me.”
She studied him intently. “We’re not family.”
“No, but when you get older, Kade can ask our family’s spirit if it’ll accept you. If it agrees, Kade will join you to us.” Rafe motioned to the door. “Devin and Mira aren’t related to me, but they’re a part of my pride.”
She tilted her head. “What if I already have a…a family spirit?”
“I’m sure you do, but we don’t know where your pride is. Do you?”
She shook her head. No sadness showed on her face or altered her scent.
“Well, until we find them, you can join our pride. Think of it as an adoption. Would you like that?”
Her eyes lit up. “Adopt. Yes, I’d like that.” She scrunched her nose and gave him a questioning look. “But only if Uncle Josh can stay with me. I promised I’d watch out for him.”
Rafe grinned. Megan’s protective instincts were strong. It didn’t seem to matter to the preschooler that Josh was an adult who’d held his own against a three-hundred-year-old shifter. There’d be no changing her mind. Which meant he’d be spending a lot of time with Jasmine’s ex-lover.
“I don’t think that’ll be a problem. Josh can stay with you.”
“Okay then.” Megan sat up straighter. “I’ll be an Alexander.”
He grinned. “Well, now that we have that settled, how about you tell me who you were talking to.”
“My wolf.”
Rafe stared at her a moment, then cleared his throat. “You don’t carry a wolf, Megan. Once you get closer to maturity, you’re going to be able to shift into a white lioness.”
Single shifters didn’t shift until they hit their mid-twenties. It happened a little earlier for girls because they developed sooner, but it’d be years before Megan would even be able to distinguish between her soul and her cat’s, let alone shift. Royals didn’t get that buffer. Their animals were too strong not to make their presence known early on. Usually about the time they could crawl. Their animals would want to stretch their legs too.
Megan sighed. “I know I don’t carry one. My wolf is stuck out there.” She waved her arm to encompass the room. “He’s going to fade away if I don’t figure out how to get him in here.” She thumped her chest.
Every muscle in Rafe’s body tensed. Talking with Jasmine earlier about his family’s spirit had stirred stories to life he’d forgotten. Each of the gods’ warriors had gone on to father his own family, be it a pack if he’d been a wolf shifter, a pride if he’d carried a feline, or a clan if he’d housed a bear. The Royals had done the same.
In all the years shifters had existed, no pack, pride, or clan had ever died out. Their instinctual drive to reproduce prevented such a fate from occurring. There was also the option of an outside shifter taking over, not an ideal situation but it did happen from time to time. So, in all honesty, no spirit, the soul of the first alpha, should ever be without a host.
But if it was without a host, what would happen to it? Would it return to the gods or fade away without an anchor to the mortal world?
Or latch on to the closest shifter it could find, even if it was a little girl?
“Your…umm…wolf is a he?”
She nodded. “He’s the spy.”
Rafe’s heart raced. He slid off the bed and knelt on the floor.
“The spy, huh?” He knew of two wolf packs whose name could be loosely translated into spy. One of them had only a couple of members left the last time Rafe had heard. “Does he ever call himself an Ammon wolf?”
“No. He says he’s the spy, but he failed because they caught him.”
“Who are they?”
“The bears who ran the hospital where I lived before.”
Rafe fisted his hand to hide the sharp tips of his claws that had slipped free. The low growls of his cats added to the anger building within him. Not all bear shifters were corrupt, but some had decided shifter trafficking was an easy way to make money off those weaker than them. According to those select few bears, everyone fit into that category—humans and shifters alike—except bear shifters of course.
Rafe would bet every cent he owned that it had been an experimental center Megan had lived in, not a hospital.
“Can you tell me about this hospital? Did they hurt you there?”
She scrunched her nose. “No. We never saw anyone besides our nurse, and she loved us, but they hurt her. Sometimes, she came in to see us with black eyes and bruises, and I don’t think she was just clumsy like she always said.”
Curses whipped through his head. He cracked his jaw. “What was your nurse’s name?”
“Nurse Ryanne. R-Y-A-N-N-E. Not like Ryan, the boy’s name.”
He held up his hand. “Got it. Did Nurse Ryanne have a last name?”
“I guess.” She gave him a ‘well-duh’ look that brought a smile to his lips, despite the topic. “But she never told us it.”
“Who is ‘us’?”
“Me and my sister, Molly.” Megan twisted her fingers together. “When Nurse Ryanne took us out of the hospital, she gave us to different humans so we had a better chance of getting away from the bad men after us. I haven’t seen Molly since.” Megan glanced at him with tears in her eyes. “It’s been over a year. I miss her.”
Rafe opened his arms, and Megan threw herself against him. He held her while quiet sobs shook her body and blinked against the burn in his eyes. “You’re safe now, sweetie, and we’ll get Molly back. I promise you.”
&n
bsp; “And Nurse Ryanne too?”
“Yes, and Nurse Ryanne.”
She tipped her head back. “And my wolf?”
Well, that wasn’t something he could promise. For one, female shifters couldn’t house a spirit animal. For another, the species difference wouldn’t allow it. Wolves and felines couldn’t share the same body. They’d tear their host apart.
He rested his head on hers. “Yes, we’ll get him home.”
He’d just have to find a wolf shifter willing to rebuild the Ammon pack.
Chapter 29
Rafe left Megan sleeping peacefully, her stuffed lion clutched to her chest, and made his way to the kitchen stairs. The door to Mira’s room stood open. He glanced inside. She sat on the floor by her bed, her knees pulled against her chest and her arms wrapped around them.
“Are you okay?”
She lifted her head from where she’d rested it against her knees. Her familiar vibrant yellow eyes streaked with green and brown focused on him.
Yesterday, she’d worn specialized contacts that hid her feline eyes, but she didn’t sleep in them. No doubt they’d be close by. She didn’t like strangers seeing her eyes, especially humans. Too many times, she’d been called a freak because of them. The words had left their mark on her, despite the support she’d gotten from Rafe and his brothers.
“Yes.” She paused, then sighed. “I overheard you talking to Megan.”
He crossed the room. “Tough thing to learn too.”
“Wait.” She held up a hand before he made it a few steps. “Let’s talk downstairs. I wouldn’t want Jazz to see us and get the wrong idea.”
“You’re right.” Too bad he hadn’t thought of it first.
They stepped into the hall, and Mira turned toward him. “By the way, I’m sorry for blurting about our past in front of Jazz. I truly didn’t think anything of it.”
“It’s okay. Neither did I, but I should’ve. I’m doing a great job of screwing things up with her when I should be anticipating her needs.”
Mira motioned toward the steps that led to the kitchen. Once in the dimly lit room, she leaned against the counter with her arms crossed in front of her. “Jasmine is your true mate, isn’t she?”
