Desert Blood (The Wolves of Twin Moon Ranch Book 2)

by Anna Lowe

  “Other wolves have mated with humans.”

  “Other wolves, yes. But never one of us. Never.”

  “So?”

  “So?” Ty shot it back at him.

  A cardinal swooped by, a splash of red in the desert landscape. Cody hung his head. If Heather were a wolf, it would be so easy. She’d know their ways, submit to his bite. They could build a life together, one day at a time.

  “Stay away from her,” Ty said, his baritone grinding over bedrock. “Focus on the case.”

  Cody threw up his hands. “I can’t stay away. I can’t not see her. It’s like…like the wind purposely carries her scent to me.” His shoulders slumped. He could imagine the lecture Ty was about to deliver. Duty. Maturity. Responsibility.

  Ty took a long time answering, though, studying Cody closely. “You actually mean it.” Wonder tinged his words.

  “Of course I mean it!” All the frustration of the past years found release in those words. Damn it, what would it take for his brother to take him seriously? “I love her.”

  Ty chewed on an answer then spit it out. “Might not be enough.”

  That arrow penetrated Cody’s deepest fears. He let out a breath and took a long time finding another. How could he ever explain things to Heather? Could she live with the truth? Suddenly, his father didn’t seem like his biggest obstacle any more.

  “Watch it,” Ty warned. “You break that chair, my mate will kill you.”

  Cody looked at his hands, clenched white on the back of the frame. He let go with some effort. Wasn’t there something around here he could break, throw, or smash?

  He could feel Ty’s eyes boring into him, looking for the truth. Then from the depths of that glower, a whisper emerged. “If you’re serious, I’ll back you up.”

  Good thing he was sitting. His brother was actually offering support? Cody managed a nod, not sure whether his burden had just been eased or increased. “So what do I do?”

  Ty shrugged, looking for Lana. Cody’s two minutes were up. “Do what you have to do.”

  That was about as much as he’d get out of his brother. More than he expected, in any case. Cody stood and replaced the chair as Lana reappeared, shaving brush in hand.

  “But Cody?” Ty’s voice halted his steps.

  “Yeah?”

  “If you’re not serious...you’re on your own,” Ty finished with a murderous look.

  Now that was the brother he knew. As Cody scurried away, he saw Lana straddle Ty and get back to work. He gave them three minutes, tops, before they hit the sheets. If they even made it that far.

  He gave himself three minutes to pull his act together and figure out what the hell to do next.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  “Miss Luth! Do you know where ghosts swim?”

  Heather turned from the geography lesson on the blackboard to eleven grinning faces, all anticipating Timmy’s punchline.

  “Lake Erie!” he said, sending them all into laughter.

  Heather did her best to look stern, cutting him off before he could get on a roll. “Timmy, what did we say about appropriate times to make jokes?”

  Timmy tried to look repentant, but it only gave him an endearing pixie effect.

  “Right, everyone to learning stations,” Heather said, keeping her momentum. “You know where to go?”

  A chorus of voices chirped Yes as Heather turned on a quiet Mozart fugue. She glanced at the clock; not long before lunch. “Remember, you can talk to your partner, but keep your voices low. Nothing louder than the music. Right, Timmy?” She gave him an extra sharp look.

  “Right, Miss Luth!” he shouted, bouncing to the “Europe” station by the windows.

  For all that Timmy tested her patience, he was a great kid. Funny, energetic, and sharp. Too bad he kept the latter hidden away while he played his favorite role: class clown. A pity she only had a few more weeks here; give her a school year and she’d bet she could help Timmy work up the confidence to just be himself.

  Just like Cody. The man was ingrained in a role, yet so desperate to break free.

  Most people grabbed the chance to reinvent themselves the minute they left home, just as she once had. The thing was, Cody had never really had that chance, not from what she could gather. Family was everything on the ranch, and the kids didn’t fly far from the nest. She wouldn’t have, either, if she’d grown up in such a utopian place.

  So Cody remained stuck in that role—except maybe when he was off the ranch and at her door. She pictured him there, on the threshold to a different persona: the real Cody, emerging like an overcautious turtle from its shell. The Cody nobody knew. She had gotten a few glimpses of that man, and she wanted more. Parting from him that morning had been like breaking their first kiss. It hurt, as if she were up a mountain, struggling to breathe in thin air. She’d had to fight back the feeling with a couple of long yoga breaths. She did the same now, extending the inhale and finding that yes, Cody was somewhere near. Somehow, she could just feel it.

  The memories washed over her as she checked on the youngest students, working on their map puzzles. It had been the most beautiful morning of her life, bar none. She’d never had a man kiss her that hard or that soft. Never had a man nuzzle her for a full ten minutes, as if he wanted part of her to rub onto himself. She’d never had a man look into her eyes like he was looking into a crystal ball. And she’d never, ever had that feeling of completion before. That was the stuff of fairy tales, not real life—and certainly not her life. Yet the moment had been hers. Being with Cody chased the fears away.

  It wasn’t just his bulk or his coiled power, but that watchfulness he exuded, awake and asleep. She’d come out of the shower that morning to find him walking a slow circuit of her tiny yard, inspecting every inch of fence. The man had all but peed on the four corners to mark his territory. His possessiveness should have annoyed her, but she found herself cherishing it. For the first time in her life, she felt protected. Desired. Loved.

  A soft knock sounded at the open door, and she opened it to find Cody’s sister, Tina, bearing something fragrant and colorful.

  “Hi,” Tina whispered, waving her over and handing her the gift—a beautiful glass bowl filled with potpourri. The aroma of it filled the schoolhouse, overpowering everything else.

  “It’s a thank you,” Tina said, “for taking on the job and doing it well. We’re so glad to have you.” She placed the bowl on the front desk. “I think it looks nice here, don’t you?”

  Heather might have wondered a bit at that, but Lana and Ty had walked by then, Lana’s long legs easily keeping pace with her partner’s. One of Ty’s hands pushed little Tana’s tricycle; the other was firmly over Lana’s shoulders. Tina smiled and waved at them then winked at Heather with her dark chocolate eyes. “He’s gotten very possessive.”

  Yep, just like Cody and the way he inspected her yard that morning. “They do seem pretty…territorial.”

  Tina chuckled. “Imagine a pack of dogs,” she said. “Better yet, wolves. Our guys are a lot like that.”

  She smiled. The ranch folk were a clan, friendly yet fiercely protective. Just like Cody. As she watched Lana and Ty, a pang went through her. This morning, she’d had her own tiny taste of that kind of happiness. Dare she wish for more? She caught herself then and threw a worried glance at Tina. Wouldn’t do to let on.

  But Tina was lost in her own thoughts, watching the couple with eyes so full of yearning that Heather closed her own. Maybe hers wasn’t the only heart aching on the ranch today. Dark and intense, Tina was nothing like Cody. Her beauty had an edge to it, like the desert air. Heather recalled the scene at the barn, when Tina and Cody danced. Surely, a woman like Tina would have her pick of a dozen men. Yet she’d been dancing with her brother. Why?

  Tina let out an audible sigh then snapped back to herself.

  “Why do I have the feeling,” Heather said, filling the silence, “that Ty didn’t play quite as many pranks as Cody when they were kids?”

&n
bsp; Tina laughed out loud. “Ty was always the serious one. It’s only since Lana that he’s loosened up.”

  She shot a look at the imposing form. If that was his loose, she’d hate to see the man uptight. No, she’d take Cody any day. Any day or any night. Just the thought sent a ripple through her body.

  “Columbus Day weekend is coming up soon,” Tina said. “Are you going away?”

  She forced a smile. “I’m not sure yet.” In truth, she’d been dreading the time off. Work was her anchor to sanity. That and Cody. Would he come back to her tonight? His eyes had been full of unspoken promises that morning when they kissed goodbye. That kiss…

  “You’re from back East, right?” Tina continued. “Any family visiting?”

  She wondered what she might say. That there was no one to visit and no one interested in coming to see her? “Um, probably not. They’re really busy.” Too busy with new lives and new families. “I’ll need the time to look for a new job, anyway,” she added, sagging at what that meant. Before long, she’d be back on the run.

  “We’ll hate to see you go,” Tina murmured, and then checked her watch. “Oh, I have to run. Time to babysit for a friend.”

  Heather barely waved in time, too preoccupied. Back on the run. The words echoed in her mind as she circulated between learning stations, checking for questions. How long would she be on the run for? Would the nightmare ever end?

  No, no, no, she told herself. There was only the here, only the now.

  Then a small voice spoke from the back of her mind: the old Heather. There’s more. There’s Cody. He’s worth fighting for.

  But the new Heather trembled and hunched her shoulders, as frightened of hope as she was of the creature that hunted her.

  There’s more, the wind echoed. The words seemed to drift in on a breeze and perch on the rafters, peering down on Heather like a panel of judges. There’s Cody.

  Her heart pounded with the words, circulating them through her body. Cody. More.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  “Cody!”

  He whirled, a guilty man. After seeing Ty, he’d spent a few hours making the rounds of the core team of guards. Someone was always on watch at the ranch for all manner of dangers, but it was time to push vampires to the high end of the list. So far, the threat was a distant one, but with vampires on the move… The pack could never be too sure.

  He’d just finished up and was making his way to the schoolhouse on a contrived errand—he needed Heather, even just a whiff, a stolen glance from afar—when Tina’s voice caught him.

  “Cody!”

  She was standing on the footpath ahead, bouncing a borrowed baby on her arm, cooing to it in a tone much softer than she used for him. A pity Tina did so much for the pack and so little for herself, really. His eyes narrowed on the baby, then his sister, only to find her giving him the same kind of inquiring look. He had the sneaking suspicion she was on to him and Heather. And the even sneakier suspicion she approved. Why?

  The answer should have been obvious, though he’d never really given it thought until now. Tina suffered as much as he did from their father’s heavy-handed leadership. Maybe even more. And for all her hard edges, Tina was definitely a closet romantic. A little like Ty.

  A little like himself, if he had to admit it. Maybe the three of them had more in common than he thought.

  Still floating between despair and elation, he looked to Tina for good news, something to tip the balance. But her grim look told him he was about to be knocked off the tightwire entirely. “Dad wants to see you.”

  Shit.

  Shit, shit, shit.

  Tina gave him a sympathetic look between making baby faces and walked on, talking to the baby. “Now I’ll show you your Auntie Tina’s office. Won’t that be fun?”

  “Take me with you?” Cody half-joked. Because a meeting with his father was never a fun thing.

  “Forget it, Cody.”

  “What happened to blood helping blood?” he shot after her.

  Tina tossed a firm look over her shoulder. “This is one of those times when you’re only my half brother.”

  “Traitor,” he grumbled.

  “I heard that.”

  He sighed. Time to face the firing squad. He squared his shoulders and headed to his father’s house. That is, after a detour to the old juniper beside the tool shed, where he rubbed against the trunk like a bull—extra cover for Heather’s scent.

  Then there was no avoiding it. His father’s house was in sight, a bare adobe surrounded by a moat-like ring of knotted thorns. Fitting, really. The man had run off every woman who’d ever dared enter his private life. The place reflected it, a bachelor pad gone gray around the edges. No hummingbirds blurred the air here; instead, a wizened old sentinel of a raven perched outside. Cody knocked, gulped a last breath of fresh air, and entered.

  “Cody.” His father nodded. The prelude to a lecture, for sure. Cody forced himself to meet the stare of death. It was the same pointless test, every time. How long will you last this time? How long before you falter? Sweat beaded on his brow; his cheeks smoldered. That stare could kill. Ty had the same ability, though he usually had the tact to reserve it for enemies. Not so their father. The man was old-school alpha, through and through.

  Finally, Cody couldn’t hold his gaze any more and dropped his eyes to the floor. Even then, he could feel his father’s ever-present scowl.

  Silence hung in the room like a raised ax. He steeled himself, wondering what today’s lecture might be. That he spent too much money? He had an answer to that one. Over the past three years, he’d built up pretty decent savings, for the first time in his life. Too many women? Not these days, no. And never again, not with Heather in his life. Slacking off on the job? He’d been working his tail off on all that the ranch demanded of him, not to mention perpetually sweeping up the debris left in the aftermath of his father’s rough-riding ways. Whatever his father was about to say, he had a response.

  “I’ve decided it’s time you took a mate.”

  He nearly took a step back. Of all the things his father might hit him with, he never expected this. “A mate?”

  “A mate. You’ve had long enough. Time to choose.”

  His mind spun. Choose? Who? There was only Heather. “Why?” was the best he could manage.

  “Look what it’s done for Ty.”

  He didn’t know whether to nod or shake his head. Yes, being mated was the best thing that ever happened to his brother. It had pulled Ty back from a near breaking point and given him balance. But that was Ty. Cody didn’t need to loosen up.

  “Being mated might finally teach you about responsibility.”

  He wanted to say, You trusting me more would do that, too.

  “Having a mate is a good thing.”

  He gave an inward snort. Like his father could talk. The man had led on at least a dozen women without ever committing to one. Fathered four children with two women who’d each run off before his intensity killed them. This was the man lecturing about commitment? The one who snorted at the idea of destined mates?

  “You have three months.”

  Three months?

  “And if you don’t settle on a suitable partner…”

  What, like Lana, who you once threatened with death?

  “…then I will find one for you.”

  Cody cringed, remembering how his father had once tried finding a match for Ty. Thank goodness that hadn’t gone according to the old man’s plan. He wondered who his father might deem suitable for him. Beth? Sweet, but not really his type. Audrey? God, no. None of the ranch girls interested him, not in that way.

  Only one woman did. The first ever. She’d be his last. His only. Heather.

  His wolf let out a ferocious growl. Mine! Mate!

  The one person his father would never, ever accept. Cody turned for the door, choking on the stuffy air.

  “And Cody,” his father snapped. “That teacher, what’s her name?”

  “Hea
ther.” As soon as he said it, Cody knew he’d answered too quickly.

  His father’s eyes flashed obsidian black. “Keep away from her.”

  All he could manage was a curt nod, telling himself it was a nod of goodbye and not a sign of agreement. Then he was out and away, speed-walking past a blurry landscape, stomach a knot of rusty steel. He flung open the door to his truck, climbed in, and backed out in a roar. He sped out the ranch gate, not caring about the dust cloud it kicked up. All he wanted was some form of escape.

  Heather.

  Human.

  Forbidden.

  The words played over and over as he drove, half-blind to his surroundings. Going somewhere, anywhere, he replayed every harsh look his father ever shot him, every disappointed sigh.

  He did manage to point the car in the direction of Kyle’s office and spend a couple of hours there. But all he accomplished was growling at false leads—not to mention Kyle—before heading back out on the road, his mind fixed on Heather. What the hell was he going to do?

  His wolf gave an inner huff. Do what feels right. What the night tells you to do.

  The next time Cody blinked, the sun had set, and he was at Heather’s front door.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Heather knew that knock. She’d already sensed his approach somewhere deep in her bones. She flung the door open, trying to rein in her delight. Cody, back at her door.

  But the Cody standing there tonight was different. Brooding, dark—as dark as she’d ever seen him. Darker, even. She had already guessed he had that side to him, but he kept it hidden behind the mask.

  Danger! Run away! the voice of fear trembled.

  Heather looked closer. It wasn’t the sinister kind of dark. There was something serious about to burst out from behind the facade. He hid it immediately, though, pasting on his show smile. Why did he do that? If he couldn’t be himself with her, maybe she didn’t deserve him.

  “Hey, babe,” he started in that happy-go-lucky, Huck Finn way. “I was in the neighborhood and figured we could—”