by PJ Schnyder
“Some dark chocolates are fantastic to eat right away, but they don’t melt well in milk for hot cocoa, like stone ground. Straight up, they have a lot of character, but melted, they leave a weird taste.” As she wrinkled her nose, her tongue peeked out. In an instant, she was a child again.
Released from the spell, he swallowed hard. He wondered if he should risk buying her a café mocha at the coffee shop before returning back to the guest house. Probably not.
“I’m sorry.” She shook her head, silken hair swinging out around her face. “I’m being silly.”
“No.” Clearing his voice of the gruff tone, he gestured at the chocolate. “Get what you like.”
She nibbled at her lower lip in thought and then nabbed a bag of the semi sweet chips and a bar of dark chocolate.
He raised an eyebrow.
“One’s for cookies.” Defending her choice, she lifted her chin. “And this kind is good for hot cocoa or …or enjoying as it is.”
“Thorough.”
“It doesn’t hurt to be prepared for all contingencies.” How she managed to say it with a straight face could’ve been anyone's guess. The slight flush of rose at her cheeks and the sparkle in her eyes gave away her composure.
A smart cat, he only nodded.
As they left the market with her loot, he considered buying her café mocha anyway. Then his cell chimed in his pocket. He fished it out and activated it as he held it close to his ear. “Yeah.”
“Adam, we have a situation.” Mack spoke, one of the Enforcers at the outskirts of the territory and one of the instructors at Jake’s school. He held the same nickname Mackenzie answered to.
Adam froze, scanning the streets. His cat on alert, he automatically shifted to block her from the street. “Go ahead.”
“We’ve caught an intruder. He had forged travel documentation. Thought he could get by with those when we caught him, but he didn’t come through the main check point.”
“Shifter?” He hoped they’d caught her stalker. He’d do anything to take away the fear lurking inside her.
“Human.”
Not him, then. Her stalker was a southern peninsula panther. He might be able to hide his scent from a tracker, but he wouldn’t be able to hide it from an Enforcer facing him at close range. He wouldn’t have been able to pass for human.
“Contacted you first, because he insists he needs to see Mackenzie.” Mack's growl deepened, his words short and bitten off. “Says he knew her attacker.”
A dangerous risk, shapeshifters were fiercely territorial. They had to be, to survive the wild. The Conservation had been established not only to restore the wilderness but to provide ruling guidelines for the shapeshifters. But it only provided guidelines. The dominant pride or pack in each territory had final jurisdiction. Any intruder, shapeshifter or human, who ventured into a territory without permission, ran the risk of facing a harsh, and usually permanent, reaction.
“Name?” He didn't really want to know, but he had to check to see if she actually knew the human.
A long pause. “Documents are forged, but the male says his name is Devo.”
“Hold him for now. Call in one of the patrols to watch him.” Suddenly the town presented too much danger, with too many potential threats moving close to his charge. “I’ll get back to you.”
As soon as the call ended, Adam turned and herded her back in the direction of the guest house.
She didn't struggle or waste time, but she wanted an explanation. “What?”
“We’ve got a situation." He bit off his words, blunt, his voice flat.
He cursed inwardly a moment later as panic shot through her and filled his nostrils. His internal cat clawed at him to eliminate the danger, destroy any and all causes of her fear. He strained to keep his beast from bursting through the calm surface he maintained.
“It’s not him.” He clarified through clenched teeth. “But it’s some human who says he needs to see you.”
They arrived at the guest house as the sun faded behind the trees. Evening darkness gathered as fireflies rose up out of the cool grass to fill the air with their tiny lights.
Breathless with the speed of their rush, she panted in distress. Adam’s beast only slightly calmed once he had her in the guest house. To his cat, the temporary human dwelling couldn’t be safely defended. But she felt comfortable there, familiar with it, and he didn’t yet perceive enough of a danger to move her.
“Who’s Devo?” He couldn’t keep the faint growl from his question, his cat restless inside his head.
“Devo?” Her face drawn and her lips pressed tight. “He’s someone I knew.”
“Is he a threat?”
“I-I don’t think so.” Taken by surprise, her heart still kicked at a high rate. He heard the staccato beat, saw the flutter of pulse beneath the silken skin at her neck. To him, her fragility left her vulnerable. He wanted, needed, to remove every possible danger from her physically and emotionally.
He took a deep breath, steadying himself. “Why would he come looking for you?”
Her mouth hung open for a minute, and then she clamped it shut and walked into the kitchen to set down her package of groceries. He waited impatiently while she stalled and thought it through. He gave her space with an effort.
“He shouldn’t have known I’m staying here.” Mackenzie's brows drew together, her mouth twisted into a confused frown. “But, the last time we talked wasn’t the greatest.”
Not looking good for the human. “How's that?”
Mackenzie blushed, but answered him. “I don’t date multiple men at a time, but I’ve never promised not to. Devo pushed for a stronger commitment in our relationship, but I wasn’t ready, wanted to keep things light. Devo and I got into a fight and he called me some things.”
Adam growled.
“He shouldn’t be looking for me.” She shot him a nervous look and didn't continue until he swallowed another growl. “But we had friendship before we became…something more. He used to coax me into coming out to dinner with him by saying he wanted the pleasure of a friend’s company. He’d always pick these posh restaurants and splurge, claiming more fun with a friend.” She frowned at the memory. “And then in the fight, he said either I’d used him or I was absolutely naïve if I believed him. Said I was a kid.”
"You're inexperienced." Adam didn’t mind driving the point home since the opportunity presented itself.
The look she shot him slashed so fierce, he thought she’d drawn blood. “You need to let that go and get a new point to hammer on.” She paused for a moment, daring him to speak. When he didn’t, she continued. “Devo called me a user, stringing him along and squeezing him for cash. He swore I should have known his intentions held more than friendship regardless of what he said. I got fed up with having to read past the facade and stopped talking to him.” She raised her chin. “I stopped trusting him. So, there’s no reason he’d be looking for me.”
Adam relaxed slightly. The history she described sounded like drama, but it wasn’t danger. The human named Devo didn’t terrorize her. But Adam’s cat still didn't like the man anywhere near her.
“Did you believe him?”
She blinked, not expecting the question. “I said I stopped trusting him.”
He shook his head slowly as he stalked around the counter, standing so close her breath fluttered hot across his arm as she looked away. “But did you believe what he said to you?”
“No.”
He smelled the change in her scent, heard the skip in her heartbeat, saw the slight change in her body language. “Lie. Try again, Kitten.”
“He said I used him.” He sensed the hurt, how it kept her anger from rising to the surface. “He said I used every guy who came anywhere near me, used them up until they were nothing but ashes.”
Rage swept across Adam's vision and rumbled through his chest.
“I didn't set out to use him, or anyone.” She blinked rapidly, those dark brown eyes tear bright. “But
, it has to be someone's fault when a couple breaks up. Not every guy I've ever known has been as bad as Van, not every relationship ended so black and white.”
“Ass.” Adam snarled.
Startled, she looked up at him, her eyes widened in surprise. “No. He hurt because I wouldn't give him what he wanted. I've been dumped before, I can understand how he felt to be dumped by me.” Exasperated, she gave a huff, blowing a few locks of hair off her forehead. "Look, contrary to the evidence at hand, I don't have such a bad a track record for picking men. Devo isn't even bad, only full of himself, and one insane stalker in my history is more than enough. I've got plenty of normal ex-boyfriends who weren't the right fit."
“Any ex is an ass by default.” Adam's voice became suddenly too light, too pleasant.
“How so?” She narrowed her eyes at him and he felt his anger ease back on the stranglehold he had on the mental leash. Unlike many, she didn’t buy his flippant tone.
He shrugged. “If they dumped you, they hurt you and are therefore asses. If you dumped them, they must have done something to screw up and are therefore asses. Simple.”
The human, Devo, had hurt her and said things to lose her trust. Therefore, Devo should be kept away from her.
Besides, she hadn’t said as much, but Adam guessed their relationship might have become intimate. His cat wouldn’t let anyone near her who might try to claim intimacy privileges so soon after her attack. She wasn’t ready.
“We’ll send him back to the city." Decision made. Send him back, or Adam might kill him.
She hesitated, nodded slowly, but made no protest. He studied her, realizing the space around her echoed. She looked so alone.
Moving slowly, fighting not to, even as he reached out to her, he gathered her into his arms and held her to his chest. She stood stiff at first, but slowly the tension melted away as she breathed deeply, her face tucked into his shoulder out of sight.
She relaxed into his arms, soft and warm and silken. Strength waited there too, and the beginnings of trust. Her confidence would build, in him and in the pride giving her protection. She had so much courage, to come out of the city and into the wilderness, away from everyone and everything.
He pressed his lips to her temple, teased by the fluttering pulse under satin skin. Her heart rate quickened and his arms tightened around her, melding her against him. Rubbing his cheek against her hair, he savored the softness of her form pressed against his body. When he brushed another kiss over her temple, she lifted her face and sucked in a breath.
Her arousal began to fill the air around them with sweet spice. He stepped back before he did something he couldn’t forgive himself for and ran a shaking hand through his hair.
“W-what?” She stood a little unsteadily in the middle of the kitchen, her eyes slightly out of focus.
“I need to get to the patrol holding him, Kitten, and send him on his way.” He said it gently, knowing she needed to calm down to get her thoughts back again. “You need to go to the bonfire, where there are backups to keep you safe while I’m gone.”
“The bonfire?”
“Liam will be disappointed if you don’t show up.”
She frowned. “He’s nice, but…”
“He’s a good guy,” Adam forced himself to say, though the words stuck in his throat. “He’ll make sure you have fun. It can’t hurt to have a little fun.”
“You’ll come back to the bonfire after Devo goes home?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay.” He could see it in her face when she agreed. She would ask him about what hung between them. With all she had to learn, she shouldn’t worry about it.
“The kids will love meeting you, Kitten, you’ll have fun.” He put a little push behind the phrase.
They turned to head back out the door. He scanned the area outside before letting her come out of the guest house.
As they walked quickly through the gathering dusk, he looked back at her. Her brow wrinkled as she continued to think. How did he know how to find me?
Chapter 5
A half hour later, Adam stalked towards Mack alone and in a foul mood.
Mackenzie’s question had pushed his cat over the edge. The urge to protect her, to hold her and mark her so no other male would even consider touching her, had been so strong he’d had to rush her to the bonfire and away from him.
His cat had fought him, only backing down when he left her in the care of several other Sentinels. His pride brothers could be trusted without question, even by his cat, blinded by inexplicable need. With the families and children running everywhere, the bonfire had the most protection in pride territory. Surrounded by children, Mackenzie would be safe from the pressure of adult males. The Sentinels wouldn’t make a move on her because they had to keep everyone there safe, leaving children and juveniles. The logical part of Adam’s mind reinforced the thought that easy interaction with juveniles would be better for Mackenzie.
Giving her the best protection he could from himself, Adam put distance between them. He decided to direct his cat’s attention to the human stupid enough to follow her.
“Adam.” Mack stepped out of the gloom, a huge wall of solid muscle.
Adam snarled in response.
The Enforcer held up his hands. “Hey, easy there. What got under your skin?”
It wasn’t something Adam planned on answering, so he shot a question back. “Where’s this Devo kid?”
“Not a kid, Adam.” Mack turned to lead Adam a short distance off the trail.
A full grown, human male sat at the base of a tree, looking to be in his late third decade. But, he had his back to the broad trunk and his knees drawn up, sulking like child. A tattoo ran up a forearm and a long lock of blond hair fell over one eye. Under the straw-colored hair were rough features and a nasty glare.
Adam stood in front of the human, folding his arms across his chest to hide the claws threatening to break past his fingertips. Mackenzie deserved better. It was a good thing she had already moved on, or he might have helped things along a bit.
Seeing Adam, the man struggled to a standing position. He’d taken a couple of taps from Mack, a decent-sized bruise darkening across one side of his face. The mark, more than anything else, told Adam the human had a knack for stupidity. Any shapeshifter would be stronger than a human, faster and exponentially deadlier. Devo must have resisted being detained. Resistance on a shapeshifter’s own territory usually equaled a death wish.
As an Enforcer, Mack personified one of the elite—efficient and deadly. The human must be stupid, but lucky.
“I want to see Mac.” Beside Adam, the Enforcer growled at the tone of voice. Okay, the human really was stupid.
Adam growled too, but he wanted answers so he reached for control. “Mackenzie is under River Gap Pride protection.”
“I’m not a danger.” Devo's face turned a blustering red. “I’m her boyfriend. I have a right to see her.”
“She has stated she has no such attachments,” he was inordinately pleased to say, even through his aggression.
“Look.” Adam’s sensitive hearing picked up the sound of grinding teeth as Devo spoke. “We had a talk. She didn’t take things well. Doesn’t mean she should run away. How am I supposed to trust her? I need to see her, work things out.”
Funny how Mackenzie needed to earn his trust after the human had betrayed hers. It would be over Adam’s dead body, or better yet, over Devo’s.
He let his beast out, just a little. The color fell away from Devo’s face and the whites of his eyes showed in the gloom of the coming night as he took in the predator standing before him.
“How did you track her to River Gap?” Adam's temper wore too thin and he needed to know the answers to her questions before the human pushed him past control.
“I’m her boyfriend,” Devo insisted, crossing his arms. “I had a right to know.”
“Her family wouldn’t have told you.” Of that, Adam was sure, even if she hadn't told him earlie
r. He took a step forward. Devo gave way, his fear a telltale scent in the air. “How did you track Mackenzie to River Gap?”
“Th-the freak told me.” Devo shook, faced with Adam’s leashed rage. “The shifter with sketchy black eyes. The mangy cat told me where to find her before I beat it out of him.”
Adam’s cat yowled inside his head. The sense of wrongness shot past anger at the human’s disrespect. The human thought he was telling the truth, but something didn’t fit right.
“What cat?”
Devo's face twisted. “The little monster who took her from me, thinking he could be all sorts of exotic and interesting. He convinced her not to commit to me, to our relationship, and then he made her break it off with me completely.”
“How did you find him?”
“The cat was easy to find.” Devo stuck out his chin, snatching bravado from thin air. “Practically hung out on Mackenzie's front doorstep when I looked for him. Stupid cat.”
It meant her stalker had been close to her family and the human police hadn’t noticed. The shapeshifter probably let Devo know where she'd gone for a purpose, but why?
“Get out.” Done listening to Devo, Adam made a cutting gesture with one hand. “Mackenzie is River Gap’s responsibility now. You do not have permission to be here. Get out or fight for your right to set foot on pride territory.”
Lucky he’d been given even that much warning, Devo stumbled against the tree, and Adam’s cat wanted to leap forward, to pounce on his prey and crush his skull. The human’s fear had saturated the air around them.
“She left without saying anything, didn't give anyone a chance to talk to her,” Devo babbled as he tripped onto the trail. He fell and crawled backwards on his hands and feet. “I only wanted to see her.”
“Mackenzie is with River Gap now.” Adam had no mercy in him, not a hint of genial teacher. But, at the moment, he was all Sentinel. “She is mine to protect.”
The human turned finally, his fear too much. He scrambled to his feet and ran. Foolish, to turn tail and run from a predator, it only invited the chase.
It took everything Adam had to stand rather than run the human down.
