by Lia Davis
Shaking his head, he stood and noticed his suitcase on the floor next the nightstand. He clenched his teeth together at the thought of Danica going out in the snow to bring his bag inside. He walked to the window, moved the curtain, and peered out at the blanket of white snow covering the ground and trees. At least it stopped snowing.
Turning from the window, he grabbed fresh pair of jeans and a long sleeve shirt, then made his way to the kitchen where the delicious smells of breakfast beckoned him.
Danica stood at the stove flipping a pancake, dressed in a pair of black jeans that looked like they were painted on her long legs and a white turtleneck sweater that hung to mid-thigh. Her strawberry blond hair was braided down her back, revealing the scars peaking out of her sweater under her ear. He guessed she hid them from everyone.
Many burn victims he’d worked with hid their scars because the emotional ones were enough to deal with. They didn’t want the physical reminders. He should have known better than ask about them.
“I was working at the hospital in town, helping with a drug-addicted youth,” she said as she handed him a bottle of syrup and a plate with three pancakes.
“You don’t have to explain. It was insensitive of me to ask. I’m sorry.”
She smiled. “No, I’m sorry. I’m not used to strangers. Everyone in town knows and avoids talking about it.”
“Is that why you live here alone?”
She nodded. “They drove me crazy with concern and pity.”
He couldn’t help but think there was more to it, something she wasn’t saying. But he let it drop. It wasn’t his business.
“I don’t remember much. One minute we were talking the male down and the next he freaked out, then there was an explosion. I woke up ten days later, scars littering the right side of my body.” She turned back to the stove. The hesitation as she spoke told him she was leaving pieces out. Something his brothers and Sarah did when they were around humans.
They carefully planned every word to avoid alluding to the fact they were different.
Nev, you’re losing it.
“I lost my dad to a car accident five years ago and my fiancée a year later.” He wasn’t sure why he was telling her, but it felt good to talk to someone outside his family, he continued, “I turned to my work and away from my stepmother and brothers.”
She faced him now and held his gaze with the palest green eyes he’d ever seen. “I’m so sorry.”
He shrugged, trying to push away the pain that threatened to consume him. “I agreed to spend the holidays with my family, hoping it would heal some of the loss.”
“How did she die?”
A dull ache formed in his chest threatening to bring back the buried pain. “Becca had leukemia. She died before a bone marrow donor was found.”
She reached over and covered his hand with her scarred one. “Oh, no.”
He absently stroked her palm with his thumb. “She was ill for a very long time. I took care of her the last year.”
She pulled her hand away. “That must have been hard.”
He nodded. “It wears you down, emotionally and physically. Her death was almost a…”
“A relief?”
He met her gaze and frowned. “That sounds horrible, but yes, in a way it was.”
“No, not really. She isn’t hurting any more. In a way she’s free.”
He smiled at her. She was right. That was exactly how he felt. He never talked about it to anyone, because he was afraid that they would judge him. That they would think he was a uncaring and selfish bastard. “Becca is free.”
Danica offered a smile, then asked, “What do you do?”
“I’m a psychiatrist. Started my own practice after Becca died.” He studied her as she poured syrup over her pancakes. She was the most exotic looking woman he’d ever seen. Tiny ribbons of reddish-blond hair left loose to frame her face teased him to touch them. Talking about Becca to her eased some of hurt he’d buried. “What about you?”
Her lashes lifted, revealing green irises. “I…was a heal…um, doctor.”
“Was?”
She nodded. “My sense of touch in my right hand isn’t what it used to be.”
“Surly, there are other things you can do and still practice.”
“That part of my life is over.” When he opened his mouth to speak, she held a hand up. “We should hurry. Blaine will want us there early so he can torture you before feeding you.”
He chuckled, catching the humor in her tone and the smile in her eyes. There was something captivating about this woman. He was determined to find out what.
***
The residents of Ashwood Falls buzzed around busy with preparations for the Winter Solstice festival. Danica parked the snowmobile in a small lot next to the community center and watched some leopard and wolf cubs throwing snowballs at each other. Nevan pulled up next to her and took off his helmet.
“They look like they’re having fun.”
She glanced at his face and then at his hands. “Don’t you dare.”
He waggled his brows. “I’ll give you a head start.”
Shit. He was seriously going to throw a snowball at her. She took off toward the park where the kids where playing, figuring she’d at least be a little safe. A solid ball of snow hit her in the back. She squealed, and the kids laughed.
“Oh, yeah?” She gathered some snow in her hands to form a small ball. The children scattered as she threw it. It hit one of the Russell twins in the bottom. The six-year-old yelped playfully, and he fell to the ground as if he’d been shot, landing in the snow on his back with his arms spread out straight from his little body. Danica laughed, and then she let out a yelp when the sting of a frozen ball hit her on the butt.
Whirling around, she quickly picked up more snow to form an adult-sized ball and hurled it at Nevan, hitting him in the chest. He fell to the ground, and fear shot through her. Shit. She forgotten to hold back. Rushing over to him, she checked for a pulse, and she hovered her left hand over his chest.
Suddenly, she was pulled down and flipped onto her back, Nevan’s smiling face inches from hers. “Gotcha,” he said.
The rapid beats of her heart quickened to heavy thumps behind her ribcage at the thought of his lips touching hers. His pine-and-sage scent teased her muted sense of smell. He inched closer until a shadow fell over them.
They quickly stood to face the newcomer, and her happy mood turned sour. “Hello, Jared.”
“Good morning, Dani.” The alpha jaguar was dressed in his usual dress pants and button-up shirt underneath his black, unbuttoned wool jacket. Jared was very handsome with his sun-lightened brown hair and golden-brown eyes. He was the Packs’ legal advisor; a lawyer by human definition. He aided Keegan and Luna—the wolf’s Alpha female—in any, and all, legal issues that concerned the citizens of Ashwood Falls. He would be the perfect mate. But, Danica couldn’t find the spark. Her cat wanted nothing to do with him.
“Who’s your friend?”
Danica winced at the sharp undertone of his question. Please, don’t let him cause a scene. Not in front of the children. Taking a breath, she linked the fingers of her scarred hand with Nevan’s. “This is Nevan. Nevan, Jared.”
Squeezing her hand slightly, Nevan nodded. “Nice to meet you.” He held out his free hand to the cat.
Ignoring the offer, Jared met her stare. “I take it you’re on your way to see Keegan.”
“Yes. Blaine and Shay invited us over for a late lunch.”
Jared narrowed his eyes, and his nostril flared a fraction. “I see.”
A rain of snowballs assailed them, followed by children’s laughter. Jared’s face reddened with irritation, only making the twins, and leaders of the assault, increase the number of projectiles flying toward the well-dressed lawyer.
“Kyle! Cole!”
Danica turned to see Jasmine Russell, the twins’ guardian and older sister, running at them, horror and fury in her expression.
“So
sorry, Jared.” She stopped between the boys and grabbed them by the upper arms.
Jared didn’t comment. He just stormed off without a word.
Jasmine frowned. “Sorry. These two are always causing some kind of trouble.” She held out her hand to Nevan. “Hi. Welcome to Ashwood Falls. I’m Jasmine.”
Nevan shook her hand and smiled. “Thanks.”
Jasmine excused herself and moved to march the boys home. Danica placed a hand on her arm, making her peer at her. “Don’t be too hard on them. I found it very amusing.”
Jasmine offered a weak smile and turned to leave.
“Come on. We should get going.”
They walked down the sidewalk in silence. Nevan’s scent was heavy with anxiety. And, she was going to feed him to the leopards. She wondered what was going through his mind. He had to have a thousand questions. He was a psychiatrist, trained to read and understand human behaviors. Had he picked up on Jared’s animal-like presence?
“Look, I’m sorry about Jared. He’s usually not so rude.”
“He was jealous.”
She stopped and faced him. “Really?”
He chuckled. “It’s a human emotion everyone has. He obviously likes you and didn’t like it that we were together. I’m a stranger, and he feels threatened.”
Raising a brow, she studied him. “You’re that good at reading people?”
He leaned into her and whispered, “I’m empathic.”
Her breath hitched. How was that possible? She’d never heard of humans with the ability. Did he have shifter blood in his veins?
“There you two are.”
Shay’s chipper voice broke her from the swirl of questions in her mind.
The tigress continued her rapid speech in her carefree way. “Blaine has been running a groove in the floor. You know how he gets, Dani.” She smiled at Nevan. “Morning! You’re even cuter in natural light.”
Danica released a growl before she could stop it. Shay peered at her, shocked and amused. “Sorry, my dear friend and sister.” Shay looped her arms with Danica’s and laid her head on her shoulder. “He’s not for me.”
Smiling at the telepathic acknowledgment, Danica relaxed. A little. What unnerved her was the reaction she had because Shay gave Nevan a compliment. Damn. She was in so much trouble.
Chapter 3
It had been the strangest twenty-four hours in Nevan’s life. Well, at least stranger than it had been in the last five years. Growing up with four mountain lion-shifters would be pretty strange to the normal human.
However, the residents of this small town didn’t seem too human. Then again, it could have been his imagination running wild. His hormones sure were on overdrive since he’d met Danica. Watching her smile at Shayna made him want to touch her, to see if her skin really was as creamy as it looked.
Shaking off the inappropriate thoughts, he followed the women into the house.
The large man from the night before was the first to greet them. The sense of familiarity settled over him again. He’d seen him somewhere before but could not place the where or when.
“Blaine. Relax.”
Nevan cut his eyes toward the commanding voice. An older, larger man who looked a lot like Blaine entered the living room. His dark brown hair back in a loose ponytail, and his brown eyes darkened as he locked gazes with Nevan.
Danica linked her fingers with his and tugged him farther in the large living room. They stopped a couple of feet from the man. The only way Nevan thought to describe him was an alpha male. The energy flowing off him was similar to his oldest brother. Sarah had said his brother could be alpha of his own pack one day.
“I’m Keegan.” He narrowed his dark brown eyes at Nevan and motioned to the couch. “Please have a seat. Lunch will be ready soon.”
He felt like a hormonal teen meeting his date’s father, but he fell into step with Danica as she led the way to the sofa. Even Danica seemed tense.
Keegan sat in a recliner across from them while Shay perched on the couch arm beside Danica and Blaine held the wall in place behind his father. “Blaine failed to get your last name.”
Was he for real? The only thing Nevan wanted was to call Sarah and let her know he was at least alive and maybe put a call out to the supernatural police or something. Because there was definitely something preternatural going on.
“My name is Nevan Mathews.”
One of the alpha male’s dark brows rose and amusement brightened his features. “Was your father Walt Mathews?”
Nevan cut his eyes to Blaine, who pushed away from the wall and studied him closer. Like a bug under a microscope… “Yes,” he answered Keegan, meeting his gaze once more.
A frown wrinkled his forehead, and he tossed a cordless phone to Nevan. “Call Sarah and tell her I send my best.” He stood, motioned to his son, and they left the room.
Confused, Nevan glanced at Danica. A wash of relief, happiness, and worry flowed from her. “I’ll give you some privacy.” She moved to stand, but he covered her hand.
“Stay.”
She gave a short nod and sat back. Shay smiled at him and picked up Danica’s right arm to gently massage her fingers and palm. Stopping the questions from tumbling out of his mouth, he dialed Sarah’s number and wasn’t surprised she answered after the first ring.
“Nev?”
“Yes, Ma. I’m fine.”
“What happened? Where the hell are you?”
Closing his eyes, he took deep breaths to hold the buried pain in check. Hearing his stepmother’s voice brought a flood of memories. Memories of his father and the family they’d once been. “I had an accident, but I’m not hurt.”
“Where are you?”
“Ashwood Falls.”
Silence filled the line for several seconds before she responded. “Are they…Have you met Keegan?”
He counted to three in his mind. She knew these people, knew of this town, yet, she’d never once mentioned it to him. Nor had his brothers ever spoken of it. All his life she’d taught him about the shifter way of life and the importance of secrecy. Was that it? She didn’t trust him to keep the mountain town a secret?
“Yes, I met him, and he sends his best.” He didn’t keep the hurt out of his tone.
A soft sigh rushed through the phone. “The town is not of my people. It was not my secret to tell. Please don’t be angry.”
“What do you mean?”
“Please trust me. I can’t spill secrets of another pack.”
Pack? Was she serious? “I’m not understanding.”
Danica’s hand touched his knee, causing him to jump. Locking gazes, she whispered, “I’ll explain later.” The plea in her eyes made him want to hold her.
The annoyance drained from his body. “I’m sorry, Ma.”
“I know, baby. You’re one of my cubs, even if you can’t shift.”
That made him laugh. “Yeah, because I’m human.”
“Shh. We won’t talk about that,” she teased. “Look, the little bit of snow we got last night was only the start of the huge storm headed this way. Stay there until it passes.”
The way she could sense the weather change had always amazed him. “All right. Do you have everything you need?”
“Yes, Nev. We’ll be fine. I have my grandbabies.”
“What? Who?”
“Cale and Monica had a set of twins a couple of months ago. I thought I told you.”
He sighed. “Oh, yes, I’d almost forgotten Cale and Monica’s twins.” He’d been busy forgetting and burying his pain.
“Don’t worry about it. You’ll get to meet your nieces soon.”
He smiled and glanced at the females at the end of the couch, cuddled up like the pair of cats, listening to the conversation. Everything fell into place. The too-careful actions of everyone around him and the over protectiveness Blaine had shown the night before made sense. “I’ll see you when the storm passes. Love you, Mama.”
A choked sob came from Sarah before she r
esponded. “It’s been too long since you called me that. Love you, too.”
Swallowing the lump in his throat, he disconnected the call and peered at Danica and Shay. Both women looked back at him as though they were about to cry. “What’s wrong?”
Danica smiled. “You called her mama. That’s so sweet.”
“And girly.”
Nevan clenched his jaw at the sound of Blaine’s voice. Before he could lash back, Shay reached out and hit the large shifter in the stomach hard enough that he took a step back. “Shut it, Blaine.”
A few seconds later, Shay squealed as he flipped her over his shoulder. The smile on his face read of the pure love a brother would have for his sister. “Watch it, kitty, or I’ll rearrange your potions, again.”
She kicked wildly. “Don’t you dare, leopard-boy!”
“Leopard?” Nevan studied Danica as she stiffened then dropped her shoulders.
“It was me. I’m the reason you’re stuck here instead of being with your family.”
Her guilt rushed out to him. “It was an accident.” He knew from his brothers that, when in animal form, they thought like the animal. The headlights mostly likely had startled her. “I was tired and not concentrating on the road.”
“But, your car.”
He chuckled. “It’s a rental, and I bought insurance.”
She laughed at his poor excuse of a joke and reach out to touch his cheek. Her pale green eyes brightened and seemed to dance. His gaze lowered to her lower lip she held between her teeth. Suddenly, he had the urge to kiss her. Keegan’s husky tone calling them to the dining room broke them from whatever trance they’d fallen under. Much too quickly, she stood and rushed away. All he could do was watch her follow her family into the other room.
Get a grip, Nev.
***
Back at the cabin, alone with Nevan, Danica thought she’d be more relaxed now that he knew what she was, but she’d been wrong. Her cat was hyper-aware of every movement and the heat of his stare. The more time she spent with him, the more intrigued she became.
To try to shake off some of the rising need, she turned toward the fireplace. Nevan stepped in her path and touched her lightly on the hand. Sparks of desire rippled on her skin, and startled her.
